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Office of Recovery and Support personnel perform with valor
by Albert Raboteau
The shootings at Virginia Tech on April 16, 2007, prompted many extraordinary gestures of support. Then-President George W. Bush flew in for a convocation at Cassell Coliseum. The New York Yankees donated $1 million and played the Hokies in an exhibition game at English Field. Hundreds of volunteers traveled many miles to help on campus when classes resumed.
But one of the most intensive and demanding efforts to help those affected by the tragedy occurred out of public sight. In July 2007, the university created the Office of Recovery and Support to address the needs of students who were injured, their families, and the 32 families who lost loved ones.
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University asks account holders to change passwords
Virginia Tech is asking some 120,000 alumni, faculty, staff, and current students to change passwords for university e-mail addresses and accounts by July 1. Provisions of the directive from the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors aim to help protect users, encourage good computing habits, and add another way users can protect against hackers' attacks. The decision was based in part on a recent trend in successful password-guessing by hackers and the arrival of sophisticated password-guessing software. All university account passwords, including those linked to university e-mail, Hokies accounts, PID, and Banner, must be changed prior to July 1. In the future, passwords will also have to be changed a minimum of once per year. Visit www.vt.edu/password for additional information. Meanwhile, beware of phishing attempts. Do not respond to e-mails asking for usernames and passwords. Virginia Tech will never ask for this information.
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Blind driver makes history at Daytona
by Steven Mackay
A team of graduate and undergraduate students from the Virginia Tech College of Engineering helped make history Jan. 29 at Daytona International Speedway. As part of the ongoing Blind Driver Challenge, a blind man drove a 2010 Ford Escape Hybrid SUV on the famed course during the three-day Rolex 24 race extravaganza. At a top speed of 27 mph, he steered through obstacles that included stationary barrels and cardboard boxes thrown randomly from the back of a van. He then passed the moving van. Assisting the driver was high-tech hardware developed by Hokies.
Warm hearts: Ventures to Malawi enlighten all
by Jean Elliott
Malawi is not your typical study-abroad location, and the experience is sure to leave deep impressions. Led on an annual summer trip by Professor Patricia Kelly in the School of Education, Virginia Tech students teach in the Malawi schools for one month. Despite advance preparation with readings and discussions on hunger and poverty, nothing compares to meeting the children of this southern African nation on their own turf.
The second night of Hannukah 2010 proved to be the coldest. Jewish students huddled outside Squires Student Center, trying to keep menorahs lit through Blacksburg wind and falling snow. For more than an hour, they sang holiday songs through chattering teeth, spun dreidels on the ice with shivering hands, and managed to keep their candles lit.
Why brave the weather? Candles aren't allowed indoors on campus, so no other option was available.
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Civil War sesquicentennial to draw history enthusiasts to campus
On May 21, Cassell Coliseum will be alive with fans—fans of the Civil War, that is. The one-day event, Military Strategy in the American Civil War, features noted historians, such as Tech's James I. Robertson Jr. and William C. Davis, in a signature conference sponsored by the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission. Highlights will include discussions of Virginia and the Eastern and Western theaters, elements of the war that affected strategy and tactics, and a lunchtime performance by the Stonewall Brigade Band. Robertson, one of the nation's foremost experts on the war, has his own history with the war's commemoration. In 1961, he was tapped by then-President John F. Kennedy to serve as the executive director of the U.S. Civil War Centennial Commission.
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Oldest building on campus undergoes careful restoration
Solitude, the oldest structure still standing on campus, underwent restoration from July 2010 to January 2011. The building houses the Appalachian Studies Program. The renovation project was largely funded by a gift from the Mary Morton Foundation of Richmond, Va.
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The madness of March
For the ups and downs of pure drama, look no further than a sports season. Their curiosity piqued when the Hokies were left out of the NCAA men's basketball tournament in 2010, two statisticians in the College of Science quantified biases that play a role in selecting at-large teams for the tournament. Analyzing data as far back as the 1993-94 season, assistant professors Leanna House and Scotland Leman found that in addition to the standard Ratings Percentage Index used by the 10-member selection committee, biases such as a team's marquee name and the strength of its schedule are also factors.
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MICHAEL SHROYER
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After knocking off then-No. 1 Duke University on Feb. 26 in Cassell, Hokie hoopsters were surrounded by jubilant fans. |
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Meanwhile, postseason prospects were looking up when fans stormed the Cassell Coliseum court on Feb. 26. The Hokies had just stunned then-No. 1 Duke University, 64-60, chalking up one of the biggest wins in program history in front of a national audience and ESPN's "College GameDay" crew. But the good vibes didn't last. The Hokies dropped their last two regular-season games and, despite winning two games in the ACC tournament, missed out on a bid to the NCAA tournament.
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Professor recognized for work in mathematical biology
John Tyson, University Distinguished Professor of Biological Sciences in the College of Science, was awarded the Arthur T. Winfree Prize by the Society for Mathematical Biology. The award is given to an individual who has exemplified the close connection between theory and experiment or whose body of theoretical work has led to significant new biological understanding affecting observation and experiments. Tyson was cited "for his key contributions and mathematical biology pertaining to the mechanism and function of bistability and oscillations in biological systems."
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Alternative transportation programs earn gold award
For the second year in a row, Virginia Tech's alternative transportation programs received a gold award in the Best Workplaces for Commuters Race to Excellence. The Race to Excellence is designed to encourage sustainable transportation innovation and recognize organizations that have taken exemplary steps to offer transportation alternatives for their employees, thereby reducing air pollution, traffic congestion, and fuel consumption.
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Veterinary medicine college creates new space for instruction and research
Two major improvements to the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's main building—a new research facility and an instructional space—will add more than 46,000 square feet to the college. Ground was broken on the Infectious Disease Research Facility last September; the $10.5 million, 16,000-square-foot research facility will include laboratories and support space to accelerate translational medicine research. Last fall, the board of visitors approved designs for the Veterinary Medicine Instruction Addition, which will also serve as a new main entrance to the college.
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Researcher receives award to study depression and substance abuse
Pearl Chiu, assistant professor with the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, has received a $1.13 million National Institute of Mental Health BRAINS (Biobehavioral Research Award for Innovative New Scientists) award to study depression and substance abuse. She will use functional magnetic resonance imaging to study why depression and substance abuse occur together so often and to quantify the conditions as disorders on a continuum of motivation difficulties. The award seeks to assist researchers in launching a clinical, translational, or basic research program with the potential to transform the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, or prevention of mental disorders.
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Tech earns high rankings for value among top universities
Virginia Tech ranked among the top 50 "best value" public universities for 2011, according to The Princeton Review, which teamed with USA Today to compile "The Princeton Review Best Value Colleges for 2011." The list, which features 100 schools, includes 50 public and 50 private colleges and universities. Of the 50 schools chosen in each category, the top 10 are ranked one to 10, and the remaining 40 are listed in alphabetical order and unranked. The selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, cost of attendance, and financial aid. Meanwhile, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine's "100: Best Values in Public Colleges" list, Tech was ranked 24th among 100 institutions "that combine outstanding economic value with a first-class education." Since 2006, the annual survey has ranked Virginia Tech's value in the top 25 among public universities.
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Professor receives commonwealth's highest faculty honor
Gary Downey, Alumni Distinguished Professor of Science and Technology in Society in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, was honored with the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, the commonwealth's highest recognition for faculty members. Known internationally as a founding leader of the interdisciplinary field of engineering studies, Downey was honored for excellence in teaching, research, and public service. Also an affiliated professor in engineering education, women's and gender studies, and sociology, Downey emerged as the highest-rated nominee out of 106 faculty members from a dozen higher education institutions across Virginia. The award program is administered by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) and funded by a grant from the Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion energy company.
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Architecture, design programs outpace peers
Virginia Tech's undergraduate programs in architecture and landscape architecture, both in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies' School of Architecture + Design, ranked fourth and third, respectively, in the America's Best Architecture & Design Schools study conducted by the journal DesignIntelligence. The school's programs in interior design and industrial design also ranked in the study's top 10 in their respective fields. Virginia Tech's graduate landscape architecture program, offered both in Blacksburg and in the National Capital Region, was ranked No. 4 in North America.
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Tech and science museum join forces
Virginia Tech and the Science Museum of Western Virginia have entered a partnership to expand and enhance community-based science education. The partnership formally establishes the university and the museum as educational outreach partners to promote and increase science literacy throughout the region. Tech faculty and students will collaborate with staff from the downtown Roanoke museum to reinvent the facility as a living laboratory for informal science education. The collaboration will include the development of programs and events that stimulate curiosity and encourage exploration.
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Veterinary medicine college announces formation of regenerative medicine center
The Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine has entered into a research agreement with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem, N.C., by signing a memorandum of understanding to form the Virginia Tech/Wake Forest Center for Veterinary Regenerative Medicine. Through the new center, the veterinary college and the institute for regenerative medicine, both leaders in their fields, will engage in ongoing collaborations in translational research in regenerative medicine. The agreement facilitates the application of regenerative treatments to both human and animal patients. As part of the collaboration, clients at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital may have the option to enter their pets into clinical trials, allowing them access to technology unavailable elsewhere.
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University sustainability efforts achieve "A" ratings in 6 of 9 categories
Virginia Tech received an overall rating of B+ in the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card 2011. A participant since 2008, the university has seen its overall grade improve each year. Tech received an "A" rating in six of nine categories (administration, climate change and energy, green building, student involvement, transportation, and investment priorities). In addition, three categories (climate change and energy, green building, and endowment transparency) improved one full letter grade from the 2010 report. Six categories (administration, food and recycling, student involvement, transportation, investment priorities, and shareholder engagement) received the same grade as in last year's survey.
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Center director contributes to drug-dependence research
Warren K. Bickel, director of the Center for Substance Abuse at the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, is the 2011 recipient of the American Psychological Association Don Hake Translational Research Award. The award honors individuals whose work spans basic and applied research. Bickel was recognized for his contributions to understanding drug dependence and treatment, impulsivity, and behavioral economics and for disseminating that work to a wide audience.
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Tech receives third Tree Campus USA recognition
For the third consecutive year, Virginia Tech has earned Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for the university's dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. Virginia Tech is the only institution of higher education in the commonwealth to be recognized. An Arbor Day Foundation program supported by a grant from Toyota, Tree Campus USA honors colleges and universities and their leaders for promoting healthy management of their campus forests and for engaging the community in environmental stewardship.
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College of Engineering rises in Best Graduate Schools survey
The College of Engineering continues to climb higher among the nation's 25 best engineering schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools 2012 survey, released in March. The latest annual survey ranks the College of Engineering in 24th place, one place ahead of its 2011 ranking and its highest since 2002, when the college was ranked 23rd. Six individual engineering graduate programs at Virginia Tech rank among the top 15 in their fields, according to the survey.
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Tech to lead training program in Southern Sudan
Virginia Tech received $1.47 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish university-level programs to train the next generation of agriculturalists in post-conflict Southern Sudan. The university's Office of International Research, Education, and Development is working with the University of Juba, the Catholic University of Sudan, and Virginia State University to execute the five-year program, which began in March. Southern Sudan is headed toward becoming the world's newest nation after a referendum earlier this year produced a vote to secede that passed overwhelmingly.
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Higher education conference continues growth
Hosted by Virginia Tech's Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research, the third annual Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy on Feb. 3-4 explored excellence in scholarly teaching and the best pedagogical practices in higher education. More than 600 faculty, students, and administrators from 122 institutions worldwide attended the conference, the quality and reputation of which continues to grow. As one faculty attendee noted, "[Virginia Tech is] a model for other institutions interested in expanding their reach in the area of teaching and learning."
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Engineer earns Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award
Romesh C. Batra, professor of engineering science and mechanics, received the 2011 Virginia Outstanding Scientist Award. Batra has led teams of students in the improved design of different types of armors, such as bulletproof vests, tank walls, and shields to protect vehicles against improvised explosive device blasts. He has also characterized carbon nanotubes for designing lighter and more-efficient fuel planes and studied micro-electro-mechanical systems that open up air bags in a car crash upon impact, as well as smart materials that monitor their own vibrations for safer car rides. The award program is administered by the Science Museum of Virginia.
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digital edition
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Spring 2011
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Virginia Tech fuels brainpower, passion, and creativity in the classroom. But we're also fueling performance on the raceway and efficiency on the highway.
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Learn more at www.vt.edu/impact.
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| Mark Riccobono operated the Blind Driver Challenge car as part of a public demonstration at Daytona International Speedway in January. |
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| Each year, School of Education Professor Patricia Kelly takes a group of Virginia Tech students to teach in the Malawi schools for one month. |
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| Virginia Tech's Jewish students are awaiting the completion of the Malcolm Rosenberg Hillel Center for Jewish Life. |
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| ESPN's "College GameDay" crew before the Hokies' Feb. 26 game against Duke |
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| Solitude, the oldest structure still standing on campus, underwent restoration from July 2010 to January 2011. |
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| Two major improvements to the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's main building—a new research facility and an instructional space—will add more than 46,000 square feet to the college. |
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| Virginia Tech received an overall rating of B+ in the Sustainable Endowments Institute's College Sustainability Report Card 2011. |
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| Virginia Tech has earned Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for the university's dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. |
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| Undergraduate architecture and landscape architecture programs at Virginia Tech ranked fourth and third, respectively, in a study conducted by DesignIntelligence. |
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| The College of Engineering continues to climb higher among the nation's 25 best engineering schools for graduate studies, according to U.S. News and World Report's America's Best Graduate Schools 2012 survey, released in March. |
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| Virginia Tech received $1.47 million from the U.S. Agency for International Development to establish university-level programs to train the next generation of agriculturalists in post-conflict Southern Sudan. |
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