May 2003

Baker Appointed Extension Associate For Landowner Education

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Shawn Baker has been appointed extension associate for landowner education at Virginia Tech. He will coordinate the Virginia Landowner Education Program, including the development and delivery of workshops and web-based educational programs, preparation of educational materials, and distribution of the Forest Landowner Update, a periodical newsletter and events calendar. Baker holds bachelor's and master's degrees from the department of forestry at Virginia Tech. His appointment takes effect in June.

ASCE Awards High Honors To Geotechnical Engineering

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Members of the geotechnical engineering program at Virginia Tech have received a prestigious best paper award from the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Natural Resources Research Helps HIV/AIDS Victims

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech associate professor A.L. "Tom" Hammett and research associate Marc Barany are studying the role of natural resources, specifically forests and non-timber forest products, in the strategies of rural communities and households coping with the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa.

Virginia Tech's Dean Of Students To Retire

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

After 24 years at Virginia Tech, Barbara Pendergrass will retire on June 1. She has served as dean of students since 1998.

Mosquito Bearing LaCrosse Encephalitis Found In Four Additional Southwest Virginia Counties

Fri, 30 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech entomologists have documented for the first time the presence of mosquitoes infected with La Crosse virus in four Southwest Virginia Counties.

Virginia Tech's Virtual Jamestown Anticipates 400th Anniversary Observance With Extensive Digital History

Wed, 28 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech is expanding the scope and use of rare historical materials through the award-winning World Wide Web site Virtual Jamestown.

Virginia Tech Restructures Teacher Education Programs

Wed, 28 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Changes are underway in Virginia Tech's teacher education programs.

Estate Planning Courses Slated For Forest Landowners

Tue, 27 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

One of the nation's foremost experts on estate planning for forest landowners, Harry Haney will teach multiple courses on timber income tax, estate planning for forest landowners, basic forest finance, and strategies for using conservation easements. Haney has been the Garland Professor and Extension Specialist in the Department of Forestry at Virginia Tech.

Shaffer Given Extension Award From Forest Landowner Association

Tue, 27 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Bob Shaffer, Charles Nettleton Professor of Forestry Operations and Timber Harvesting Extension Specialist, received the Forest Landowner Association's (FLA) 2003 "Extension Forester of the Year" Award at the group's 62nd Annual Meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.

Virginia Tech Chemistry Student Invited To 53rd Meeting Of The Nobel Laureates For Individual Interaction With Great Minds

Tue, 27 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Jason W. Jones expects a "surreal" experience when he and 25 other students from around the world spend a week in Lindau, Germany, with several Nobel Laureates in biology, medicine, and chemistry.

Virginia Tech Student Named Young Scientist Of Year By American Forage And Grassland Council

Thu, 22 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Pepper Raines, a graduate student at Virginia Tech studying crop and soil environmental science, was named Young Scientist of the Year by the American Forage and Grassland Council.

Student Agri-Marketing Team Places 3rd Nationally

Thu, 22 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The Virginia Tech student National Agri-Marketing Association (NAMA) team recently placed third in the organization's national student marketing competition in San Diego.

Virginia Tech Names New Dean For College Of Agriculture And Life Sciences

Tue, 20 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Sharron S. Quisenberry, dean of the College of Agriculture at Montana State University and director of the Montana Agriculture Experiment Station, will become the first woman to serve as dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at Virginia Tech when she begins her new duties on Aug. 1. She replaces Gregory L. Brown, dean of the College of Natural Resources, who has also been interim dean of CALS since the retirement of Andy Swiger on Jan. 1.

Milligan To Do Research At Los Alamos National Lab -- Her Degrees Are In Chemistry, Classical Studies

Fri, 16 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Ashley Milligan, a junior chemistry major at Virginia Tech, will spend the summer at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico under a Glenn T. Seaborg Research Fellowship.

Newly Designed "New River" Literary Journal Now Online

Fri, 16 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The newly redesigned New River literary journal is now online.

Fishwick To Edit New Series Of Haworth Press Books On Popular Culture

Fri, 16 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Haworth Press in New York and London has chosen Marshall Fishwick, professor of humanities, popular culture, and American studies at Virginia Tech, to edit a new series of books and monographs on popular culture.

Ray Martin Honored As Distinguished Alumnus Of Virginia Tech's College Of Engineering

Thu, 15 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Ray E. Martin of Ashland, was chosen by Virginia Tech's College of Engineering to be its Distinguished Alumnus for 2003.

Assumptions About What Holds Molecular Complexes Together Have Been Based On Faulty Measures

Thu, 15 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

As scientists create molecular complexes to perform increasingly minute operations -- such as molecular level switches or memory devices -- it is critical that the association forces that hold the molecular components together be accurately understood.

Engineering Staff Association Honors Snider And Williams For Outstanding Contributions

Thu, 15 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Jeff Snider of Christiansburg and Beverly Williams of Pembroke have received 2003 Employee Recognition Awards from the College Association for Staff in Engineering (CASE) for their outstanding contributions and service to the college.

VBI Installs World's Largest Academic Accelerated Bioinformatics System from TimeLogic

Wed, 14 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Blacksburg, VA, and Crystal Bay, NV -- Researchers at Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech now do genome-to-genome comparisons at a much faster rate with the Institute's newly installed TimeLogic™ DeCypher® system, a configurable system which speeds up computational tasks. VBI's newly installed TimeLogic™ DeCypher® system is the world's largest academic installation and speeds over 30 types of bioinformatics searches. The system, composed of six hardware accelerators, quickens the analysis of DNA sequences allowing scientists to understand the actual biological function of DNA much faster and more economically. This technology will be used at VBI to study the evolutionary genetics of organisms and the genetic basis of human, animal, and plant diseases.

Many Students Would Stay Here If Offered Full-Time Jobs

Tue, 13 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Many Virginia Tech management students would stay in the area if offered full-time jobs here. In fact, more than half the management students enrolled in an internship program this past semester would like to work for their internship employers in the New River and Roanoke valleys, said Stuart Mease, who surveyed the students in the program that he coordinates for the management department in the Pamplin College of Business.

Media Advisory: Virginia Tech Commencement 2003

Tue, 13 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Friday, May 9 • 7:30 p.m. • Lane Stadium

Hokie "Robot Rivals" Team Whips Yellow Jackets And Takes On Boilermakers

Mon, 12 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

On the April 18 premiere episode of "Robot Rivals" on cable's Do It Yourself (DIY) network, Virginia Tech's team of engineering students beat their counterparts from Georgia Tech 3-0. In the next round, the Hokies will compete against a team from Purdue University.

Regional Institute In Danville Awarded Over $8.4 Million In Funding

Fri, 09 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Revitalization Commission and three federal government agencies have awarded more than $8.4 million for the benefit of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR), a collaborative educational and economic development effort partnering Virginia Tech, Averett University, Danville Community College, and local government and community organizations.

Twin Brothers, 84 Others Earn DVM Degrees During VMRCVM's 20th Commencement Ceremonies

Fri, 09 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Twin brothers who began their affiliation with the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine through the Minority Academic Opportunities Program will be among the 86 DVM students awarded diplomas during the College's 20th annual commencement ceremony in Blacksburg.

Restructuring Recap

Fri, 09 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The departmental make-up of every college but Veterinary Medicine will be different by the time Virginia Tech opens for fall semester than it was at the beginning of the current academic year. Final college-level changes will become effective on July 1. Most of the colleges are still evaluating internal changes to departmental structures and programs.

Extra Good News In The In-Box For Dave Neal

Thu, 08 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

While some graduate students scrounge for scholarship opportunities, others like David A. Neal III, a budding morphing guru, receive multiple offers.

Virginia Tech Student Wins Fulbright Grant For Graduate Study In Germany

Thu, 08 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Erik Herz, a senior and master's degree student at Virginia Tech, has won a Fulbright grant for doctoral research at the University of Dortmund in Germany.

Making Cell Phones User-Friendly For The Disabled

Wed, 07 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Cell phones are still a work-in-progress with regard to meeting the needs of disabled individuals, who are missing out on wireless communication opportunities because of usability problems.

Virginia Tech Administrator Named To Governor's Outdoor Resources Advisory Panel

Wed, 07 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech became the only university represented on the Governor's Outdoor Resources Advisory Panel when Gov. Mark Warner appointed J. Douglas McAlister, director of outreach program development, to serve on the committee.

Virginia Tech Team Repeats Top Performance At Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge

Wed, 07 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The Virginia Tech Dairy Management Consulting Team won the North American Intercollegiate Dairy Challenge for the second year in a row. The second annual competition, held April 11-12 at Michigan State University, featured 24 collegiate teams from across the United States.

Lozier's Passion For Life To Take Her To Nepal On Virginia Tech University Honors Scholarship

Wed, 07 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Leah Lozier's passion for life pushes back any walls that limit learning, experiencing, or gleaning new perspectives from books, events, life itself.

Virginia Tech's Center For Real Life Kitchen Design Is A Success!

Tue, 06 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Explore Your Dream Kitchen, a two-day workshop offered in Virginia Tech's Center for Real Life Kitchen Design, will be offered twice in May to participants who want to learn about planning and designing a kitchen that really meets their needs. Attendees explore and experience kitchens with a wide variety of designs, products, materials, and technologies during this fun and interactive course. Participants are asked to bring plans, ideas, and questions about their homes and kitchens as everyone has the opportunity to discuss their personal needs during an individual kitchen consultation. Upcoming workshops are scheduled for May 19-20, 2003 and May 23-24, 2003.

Virginia Tech Physics Students Rack Up NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Tue, 06 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

National Science Foundation (NSF) awards are one of the top measures of a scientific program's success, and Virginia Tech's physics department students received five awards this year.

Budget Cuts Will Not Cancel Fall Commencement

Thu, 01 May 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech will not cancel commencement ceremonies for Fall 2003. "The ceremonies are too important to our students and their families. These events have become part of the university culture and tradition in just a short time," said Ed Henneke, associate dean in the college of engineering and chair of the commencement committee.