December 2003

Virginia Tech to host "Bassmaster University" Jan. 17 and 18 in Roanoke

Fri, 19 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Area anglers can attend "Bassmaster University," a highly-acclaimed course on bass fishing strategy that will take place in Roanoke on Jan. 17 and 18, 2004. Hosted by Continuing and Professional Education at Virginia Tech, the institute will be held at the Holiday Inn Tanglewood on Starkey Road just north of Route 419. "Bassmaster University" is presented by the Bass Anglers Sportsmans Society (BASS).

Former Virginia Tech Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Department Head Dies

Fri, 19 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

James B. Eades, Jr., retired aerospace research scientist from Bluefield, W. Wa., and former professor and department head of aerospace and ocean engineering at Virginia Tech, died Dec. 14 at Veteran's Hospital in Washington, D.C. He was 80.

Virginia Tech-led group receives third five-year international biodiversity grant

Fri, 19 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Ten years ago, a Virginia Tech-led team of chemists, conservationists, and botanists began work in Suriname to discover new drugs and to give the country reasons to preserve the biodiversity of its forests. Five years later, in 1998, they were screening two potential anticancer compounds, had discovered five rare plants, and had saved some of the country's tropical forest from wood harvesting. They also expanded their research to Madagascar and have discovered four additional potential anticancer compounds.

Major gift to underwrite Pete Dye renovation at Virginia Tech's River Course

Thu, 18 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech Foundation announces a major renovation and improvement project to take place at the River Course of Virginia Tech golf facility, located between Blacksburg and Radford in Pulaski County, Va., during the next 18 months. The work will provide the Virginia Tech community, along with the golfing community in Southwest Virginia, the opportunity to benefit from one of the finest golf courses in the nation and will afford the area with a significant golfing destination for travelers.

Watchful eyes warn no-passing zone violators on Route 114, Va.

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

New driver-warning technology, developed by Antoine G. Hobeika of Blacksburg, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, alerts drivers when they attempt to conduct illegal passing maneuver in dangerous no-passing zones. Currently, this technology is being tested on Route 114, located in Christiansburg, Va. By stopping violators before they attempt to pass, deadly accidents can be avoided.

Senator Allen, Congressman Goode announce $1.6 million in Federal funds for research at Danville's Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

U.S. Sen. George Allen and Fifth District Rep. Virgil Goode today jointly announced $1,592,000 in funding for research at the Advanced and Applied Polymer Processing Institute (AAPPI), one of the research centers of the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in Danville. IALR will receive the funds via the Small Business Administration under the terms of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2004.

Media Advisory: Virginia Tech to hold Fall Commencement Ceremony Dec. 19

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech will hold its Fall Commencement for graduate and undergraduate students Friday, Dec. 19 in Cassell Coliseum. The University Ceremony for undergraduate students will begin at 11 a.m. The Graduate School Ceremony will follow at 3 p.m. It is expected that approximately 1,250 undergraduate students and 500 graduate students will participate in the two events.

New Brochure Helps Motorcyclists Discover the Rural Routes of the Blue Ridge

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech's Community Design Assistance Center, in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Travel Association of Virginia, has published a new brochure to help motorcyclists enjoy half-day self-guided tours of some of Virginia's rural, and almost forgotten, back roads. The Motorcyclist's Guide to Lost Communities features two 3-4 hour tour routes, and offers suggestions for stops at points of interest along the way.

Virginia Tech's Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences receives a five-year $2.7 million NIH grant

Wed, 17 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech will become an important stepping stone for up to seven students from groups under-represented in the sciences each year who want to pursue a doctorate in biomedical engineering or biomedical and behavioral sciences, thanks to $2.7 million in funding from two federal agencies.

Virginia Tech researcher receives $1.8 million to study Arabidopsis genome

Tue, 16 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) researcher Vladimir Shulaev has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for the collaborative "Arabidopsis 2010" research project. Through such projects, the NSF hopes to determine the function of 25,000 genes in Arabidopsis thaliana by the year 2010. The research conducted at VBI will examine parts of the Arabidopsis genome that are involved in essential functions of the plant, leading to improvements in crop yield and nutritional value.

Media Advisory: Sen. George Allen, Congressman Virgil Goode to announce funds for polymer research at Institute for Advanced Learning and Research

Tue, 16 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

United States Senator George Allen and Fifth District Congressman Virgil Goode will make a joint announcement involving significant funding for research at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) on Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 at 5:45 p.m. Charles W. Steger, president of Virginia Tech, will also speak about the university's commitment to groundbreaking research in Southside. The institute is located at 150 Slayton Avenue, Danville, Va.

Virginia Tech Architecture and Interior Design Programs Move Up in 2004 National Rankings

Tue, 16 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

For the 5th year, DesignIntelligence and the Almanac of Architecture and Design asked the leaders of the country's best design firms to rank which colleges and universities have the most outstanding programs. For 2004, the Virginia Tech architecture undergraduate program ranked 4^th in the nation, up from14 ^th in 2003, and the interior design program ranked 8^th, up from 10^th place, in 2003. The annual rankings are compiled in conjunction with Counsel House Research.

Virginia Tech launches executive MBA program

Mon, 15 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business is launching an executive MBA program in the Washington, D.C. area in February.

Virginia Tech's Forest Landowner Education Program wins national award

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

The Virginia Forest Landowner Education Program (VFLEP) was recently received a national award recognizing the outstanding non-industrial private forest education program in the country for 2003. The award, given jointly by the National Association of Professional Forestry Schools and Colleges (NAPFSC) and the National Woodland Owners Association (NWOA), was accepted by Harold Burkhart, head of Virginia Tech's department of forestry, at the National Society of American Foresters Convention in Buffalo, New York.

Virginia Tech confers title of "professor emeritus" to six faculty members

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Six faculty members at Virginia Tech were granted the title "professor emeritus" by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors at the board's last meeting.

Experts at Virginia Tech Available to Answer Questions on Central Virginia Earthquake

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Martin Chapman, director of the Virginia Tech Seismological Observatory, and J. Arthur Snoke, professor of earthquake seismology in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, are available to comment on the earthquake that shook Virginia Tuesday and explain the scientific and geological significance of the event.

Building Construction Professor Elected to Presidency of the International Society of Indoor Air and Climate Quality

Wed, 10 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Nadia Boschi of Washington, D.C., assistant professor of building construction in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been elected to a three-year term as president of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). She took office at the 7^th International"Healthy Buildings" conference held in Singapore in December. She is the youngest person, and first architect, to hold this position.

Brown Announces Retirement as Dean of Natural Resources

Tue, 09 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Gregory N. Brown of Blacksburg, Va., dean of the College of Natural Resources at Virginia Tech since 1992, will retire from the university at the end of June 2004. Brown, the only dean the college has had since it was established, is also associate director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station and a tenured professor.

Virginia Tech Professor of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering Dies

Fri, 05 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Fred Lutze, professor emeritus of Virginia Tech's department of aerospace and ocean engineering, died unexpectedly Dec. 2.

Virginia Tech Professor Wins National Award for Design of Wedding Gown

Fri, 05 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Sherry Schofield-Tomschin of Blacksburg, assistant professor in the department of apparel, housing, and resource management in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, is the recipient of the 2003 International Textiles and Apparel Association (ITAA) Lecta Outstanding Faculty Design Award for Excellence in Creativity and Innovation.

Aquaculture renovations at Virginia Tech keep program progressive

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Recent renovations at Virginia Tech's Aquaculture Center bring to the College of Natural Resources new technology, lab space, and a greater capacity to provide useful information to industry.

Virginia Tech's Undergraduate Admissions Director Resigns

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Karen E. Torgersen, director of undergraduate admissions at Virginia Tech since 1997, has submitted her resignation from the university effective Dec. 31 to become associate executive director of U21pedagogica Limited (Pedagogica), a new international educational enterprise in Charlottesville, Va.

Ezra "Bud" Brown, Walter Rugaber to give keynote addresses at 2003 Fall Commencement ceremonies

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech Mathematics Professor Ezra A. "Bud" Brown and Virginia Tech Presidential Fellow and former president and publisher of the Roanoke Times Walter Rugaber will deliver the keynote addresses to graduating students during Virginia Tech's fall commencement ceremonies Friday, Dec. 19 at Cassell Coliseum.

Virginia Tech to hold Fall Commencement ceremonies Dec.19

Thu, 04 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Virginia Tech will hold Fall Commencement ceremonies for graduate and undergraduate students Friday, Dec. 19 in Cassell Coliseum. The University Ceremony for undergraduate students will begin at 11 a.m. The Graduate School Ceremony will follow at 3 p.m.

Virginia Tech professor elected president of national association

Tue, 02 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Donald J. Orth of Blacksburg, Thomas H. Jones professor and department head of fisheries and wildlife sciences at Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, has been selected as president-elect of the National Association of University Fisheries and Wildlife Programs (NAUFWP).

Virginia Tech forestry student wins symphony competition

Tue, 02 Dec 2003 00:00:00 -0500

Ransom Hughes of North Garden, Va., a freshman majoring in forestry at Virginia Tech's College of Natural Resources, recently won the Richmond Symphony Concerto Competition. Hughes studies music under cellist Alan Weinstein at Virginia Tech.

Baumgartner Publishes Book on Papal Elections