Virginia Tech Coastal Collaborator opens new space to create opportunity to tackle emerging coastal challenges

Robert Weiss (left), director of the Center for Coastal Studies, and Michael Schwarz (right), director of the Virginia Seafood AREC, met in spring 2020 to initially form the concept for the VT Coastal Collaborator. Photo by Jonathan van Senten for Virginia Tech.

A nexus where the Chesapeake Bay flows into the Atlantic Ocean, Hampton Roads has become Virginia Tech’s gateway to emerging social, economic, and environmental dimensions on the coast for research, extension, and education.

Coastal areas are brimming with commerce, people, and economic opportunity — and also a growing number of challenges. Of Virginia's 8 million people, 60 percent inhabit coastal areas — and that number is increasing even as rising sea levels, poor water quality, and coastal hazards pose a mounting threat to the health, homes, and livelihoods of Virginians and coastal communities around the world.