Students

Solutions lab
Environment

Solutions Lab Puts UVA Students to Work on Real-World Environmental Challenges

UVA Environmental Institute launches the Energy and Infrastructure Solutions Lab, pairing undergraduates with partners like Elevance Health, Dominion Energy, and Glanris Biochar to tackle sustainability challenges. Interdisciplinary teams develop real-world solutions—from carbon storage community engagement to Sargassum seaweed conversion—receiving funding, mentorship, and specialized coursework before presenting business cases in spring 2027.

Elizabeth Mirabal
Humanities

Grad Student’s Chance Discovery Leads to an International Award

UVA doctoral candidate Elizabeth Mirabal won the Latin American Studies Association’s 2026 Best Article Award for her research on Puerto Rican writer Dolores Rodríguez de Tió’s poetic herbarium. Discovered during archival research in San Germán, the dried-plant collection reveals how exile, memory and nostalgia intertwine, offering fresh insight into ecocriticism and displaced writers’ connections to home.

Civil War Photos
Humanities

Nau Civil War Center Launches Digital History Project on ‘Common’ Soldiers

UVA’s Nau Civil War Center launches Letters Home on Sept. 17, a digital history project featuring 13,500 searchable letters and diaries, 4,200 biographies, and interactive maps drawn from the John L. Nau III Civil War History Collection. Created with student collaborators, the site highlights everyday soldiers and families, revealing personal stories from both Union and Confederate perspectives.