September 2003

Veterinary College Presents Dogwash, Adoptathon

Fri, 26 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Some dogs will get spiffed up and others will find new homes during a weekend "Dogwash" and "Adoptathon" presented at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine (VMRCVM) at Virginia Tech on Saturday, Oct. 4.

VDOT Head To Discuss State's Transportation Crisis Oct. 10 At Virginia Tech

Thu, 25 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

"Transportation crisis in Virginia: Will we be able to get there from here?" will be the topic of the Vecellio Distinguished Lecture to be delivered by the Commonwealth's Transportation Commissioner Philip A. Shucet at Virginia Tech, Oct. 10 at 4 p.m. in 2150 Torgersen Hall.

Talented Hokies Research Brain Impacts While Battling Aggies

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

While they were busy overpowering the Texas A&M Aggies Sept. 18 in Lane Stadium, the Virginia Tech Hokies became the first athletes in the world to test a new brain injury monitoring system. Every year in the United States, thousands of athletes suffer traumatic brain injuries and many die as a result. Virginia Tech researchers and sports medicine professionals have launched the monitoring project in an attempt to help prevent these injuries.

Former White House Deputy Chief Of Staff Maria Echaveste To Speak At Virginia Tech During Hispanic Heritage Month

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Maria Echaveste, the first Hispanic appointed to a national Cabinet-level position, will be the keynote speaker for Hispanic Heritage Month at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2003, at 7 p.m. in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center auditorium.

Virginia Tech To Hold Undergraduate And Graduate Fall Commencement Ceremonies On Dec. 19

Wed, 24 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech will hold both undergraduate and graduate Fall Commencement ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 19. The undergraduate ceremony will take place at 11 a.m. and will be followed by the graduate ceremony at 3 p.m. Both ceremonies will be held in Cassell Coliseum.

Cell Phones And The Family -- A Lecture

Tue, 23 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

For more than a century, families have been engaging with new technologies in ways that transform how family members interact with one another and with their world.

NSF Awards Virginia Tech $1.07 Million For Underground Research

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

With increasing world population, demand for underground construction is expected to accelerate in the future. An interdisciplinary group of researchers at Virginia Tech received a National Science Foundation (NSF) research grant for the design and implementation of an Information Technology (IT)-based system for safe and efficient design and construction of underground space.

Virginia Tech Engineering Researcher Aims To Tame The Wild Chip

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

We delight in the way that each new generation of computers can perform increasingly complex tasks and operate at faster speeds, from surfing the Internet in real time to solving differential equations. But most of us don't realize that our gain comes at a high price for the semiconductor industry in terms of more complex designs and tests for speedier computer chips.

Virginia Tech Is Edging Toward The Finish Line In The Supercomputing Race With Its Groundbreaking Model

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech is building a supercomputer that "will arguably be one of the world's cheapest world class supercomputers. The system will also be the most powerful homebuilt supercomputer in the world," said Charles Steger, president of Virginia Tech, speaking at the Fifth Annual Commonwealth of Virginia's Information Technology Symposium (COVITS).

Leadership Of Ag Technology Program Retires As Program Founder Retires

Mon, 22 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Stephen C. Nickerson, head of Virginia Tech's department of dairy science, has taken over the leadership of the university Agricultural Technology program, filling the void left by the retirement of John R. Crunkilton.

Ridenour To Step Down In 2004

Fri, 19 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Minnis Ridenour, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Virginia Tech, will be stepping down from his position during summer 2004.

Carbon Dioxide 10 To 200 Times Greater 1.4 Billion Years Ago

Wed, 17 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Billions of years ago, there was a lot more greenhouse gas than today, and that was a good thing, or else the Earth might be an icy ball.

Virginia Tech Signs Agreement With Hilton Hotels Corporation To Manage Hotels And Conference Centers

Wed, 17 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech has expanded its relationship with Hilton Hotels Corporation to manage the university's new hotel, The Inn at Virginia Tech, and the Skelton Conference Center in preparation for its opening in May 2005. Vice Provost for Outreach and International Affairs John E. Dooley announced the new accord which will complement the agreement under which Hilton has managed The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center for the Virginia Tech Foundation under the Doubletree brand. This agreement, which will go into effect on Oct. 1, will also provide for Hilton's management of the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center on the Virginia Tech campus.

Virginia Tech And University Of Texas To Create Wireless Simulator

Wed, 17 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Texas and Virginia may be rivals on the football field but in the engineering world, they are colleagues working as a team.

Senior Military Colleges Meet At Virginia Tech

Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Representatives from the nation's six senior military colleges will hear from the Department of Defense and national Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) commanders during the annual Senior Military Colleges Conference at Virginia Tech on Wednesday and Thursday, Sept. 17 and 18 at the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center.

Virginia Universities Combine Forces For The National Lambdarail -- Mid-Atlantic Terascale Partnership (MATP) Is Formed

Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

With heated global competition, the United States is in a marathon race to maintain an edge in fundamental areas of research and innovation. The National LambdaRail (NLR) initiative will provide critically needed high-speed network infrastructure for the next generation of research. Going beyond Internet and Internet2 technology, NLR will provide the resources for members across the nation to connect to a fiber optics network with supercomputing, storage and visualization capabilities suited to "big science" research. NLR will provide a national fiber optic backbone linking research universities and laboratories at gigabit and higher speeds. The NLR initiative is a partnership formed by many leading research universities and corporate networking entities throughout the United States.

Ducks' Display Donated To Natural Resources College In Memory Of Former Wildlife Student

Tue, 16 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

After the death of a 1977 wildlife graduate, John Griffiths, a unique collection of mounted ducks was donated to the College of Natural Resources in his memory. Located in the College of Natural Resources on the first floor of Cheatham Hall at Virginia Tech, the collection of ducks not only have become a star attraction but they are also used to educate students about the various types of wild ducks.

Researchers Get NSF Grant To Develop Digital Library For Archaeology

Wed, 10 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

A research team from Virginia Tech and Case Western Reserve University has received a National Science Foundation grant to develop a digital library for archaeology.

Virginia Tech Researcher Invited To NAE's Frontiers Of Engineering

Wed, 10 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Peter Vikesland, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech, has been invited by the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) to participate in the 2003 Frontiers of Engineering Symposium, Sept. 18-20 in Irvine, California.

Rugaber Named Virginia Tech Presidential Fellow

Wed, 10 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Walter Rugaber, former president and publisher of the Roanoke Times, has been named a Virginia Tech Presidential Fellow. In this role, he will work with the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the Center for Innovative Leadership (CIT) on issues of education and economic development.

Forum On Access And Inclusion Scheduled As Part Of 50th Anniversary Celebration At Virginia Tech

Tue, 09 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech will continue its 50^th anniversary celebration of blacks at the university on Friday, Sept. 12, with a community forum on access and inclusion. The event, "Delivering on the Promise: Higher Education at the Crossroads," will be held in the Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center auditorium beginning at 2:30 p.m.

Anderson Inducted In Ag Hall Of Fame; Whitacre Named Young Ag Alumni At Virginia Tech

Tue, 09 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Glenn Anderson, specialist in agricultural education with the Virginia Department of Education, was inducted into Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Hall of Fame Sept. 5.

VT Writing Expert Challenges Scientific Delivery Methods

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Michael Alley's hot-selling book on scientific presentations goes beyond providing helpful tips to students and professionals. The Craft of Scientific Presentations also challenges the practice of relying on Microsoft's defaults to prepare a scientific or engineering presentation.

Public Invited To Dedication Of Stream Garden At Virginia Tech's Horticulture Garden

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The newly completed Jane Andrews Stream Garden will become the newest feature at Virginia Tech's Horticulture Garden when it is dedicated Sept. 12.

Virginia Bioinformatics Institute Central To Regional Center Of Excellence For Biodefense And Infectious Disease Research

Thu, 04 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today a five-year, $42 million grant to establish a mid-Atlantic Regional Center of Excellence (RCE) for Biodefense and Emerging Infectious Diseases. Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech will serve as the genomics and bioinformatics core for the 15-university collaboration led by the University of Maryland.

VTTI Intersection Crash Avoidance And Crash Causation Systems Spark National Interest

Wed, 03 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

With the looming statistic of over 1.6 million intersection crashes involving light vehicles each year, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) shared its research in intersection collision avoidance at The National Intelligent Vehicle Meeting and Demonstration, held June 24-26 in Washington, D.C.

Virginia Tech Extension, Forestry Department Partner With Virginia Space Grant Consortium In Geospatial Program

Wed, 03 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech and the Virginia Space Grant Consortium have established the Geospatial Extension Program in the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus. The program will facilitate educational programs and workforce training to help deal with the serious shortfall of professionals and trained specialists who can utilize geospatial technologies at the local, regional, and state levels.

Virginia Tech Creates A Groundbreaking Supercomputer Cluster With Industrial Assistance

Tue, 02 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0400

Virginia Tech, teaming with Apple Computer, Cisco, Liebert, and Mellanox Technologies, is introducing a new, turnkey solution for creating supercomputing clusters. They are ambitiously designing a large 64-bit InfiniBand cluster using existing, off-the-shelf industry components. The supercomputer will belong to Virginia Tech, significantly enhancing its research capabilities.