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Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer

The future is present at Virginia Tech

By Tom Wilmer
Published May 8, 2024 at 9:49 PM PDT
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Virginia Tech, a pioneering drone advocate, was the first to institute aerial delivery of food via drones—and thus the legend of the world's first Flying Burrito delivery service.
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech, a pioneering drone advocate, was the first to institute aerial delivery of food via drones—and thus the legend of the world's first Flying Burrito delivery service.

A conversation with John Provo, Executive Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement in Blacksburg, Virginia

 Correspondent Tom Wilmer visits with John Provo, Executive Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement in Blacksburg, Virginia.

John Provo, Executive Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement in Blacksburg, Virginia
Virginia Tech
John Provo, Executive Director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement in Blacksburg, Virginia

Provo stewards the multi-disciplines that include Innovation, technology, helping industry harness the power of technological advancements for the State of Virginia’s common good, while engaging faculty and students in the art of place-based community problem solving.

Traffic going down Main Street; downtown Blacksburg, Virginia
Kim Peterson/Kim Peterson
/
Kim Peterson
Traffic going down Main Street; downtown Blacksburg, Virginia

 Come along and join the conversation to discover how a Virginia Tech partnership implemented the first aerial drone food delivery with their flying burritos, how a student led startup, Torc, grew to become a global leader with their autonomous truck control systems.

John Provo at work in his office
David Rotenizer
John Provo at work in his office

Provo shares numerous other equally fascinating stories of how Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement is not only transforming Virginia’s commercial enterprises but simultaneously the rest of America.

 

Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer is a featured show on the NPR Podcast Directory
NPR
Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer is a featured show on the NPR Podcast Directory

You are invited to subscribe to the seven-time Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, and more than twenty other podcast hosting sites including iHeartRadio and Spotify

Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer—winner of the Gold Lowell Thomas Award—Society of American Travel Writers
SATW Foundation
Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer—winner of the Gold Lowell Thomas Award—Society of American Travel Writers

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Tom Wilmer
Tom Wilmer produces on-air content for Issues & Ideas airing over KCBX and is producer and host of the six-time Lowell Thomas award-winning NPR podcast Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer. Recorded live on-location across America and around the world, the podcasts feature the arts, culture, music, nature, history, science, wine & spirits, brewpubs, and the culinary arts--everything from baseball to exploring South Pacific atolls to interviewing the real Santa Claus in the Arctic.
See stories by Tom Wilmer
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