Professor aids Unabomber search
Sheep Center named for retired professor
Johnson to lead merged colleges
Jones named director of Extension
When the FBI needed an expert to analyze the wooden boxes used by the Unabomber to carry his deadly cargo during his nearly 20-year bombing spree, they called on Virginia Tech wood sciences professor Mark White. White runs the only laboratory in the country that studies the performance of wood pallets and containers. The FBI originally thought the boxes might be made from these materials.
Since January 1995, White has been examining pieces of wood left from early bombings. He discovered that the homemade boxes used by the Unabomber were constructed from scrap wood of origins ranging from the Midwestern cottonwood to the West Coast redwood. The cutting seemed to be done with dull tools, a further indication that the bomber was using old wood rather than having lumber cut to size. The boxes were meticulously made, White says, but described the construction as "chaotic."
"A lot of small pieces were put together, but some pieces didn't make sense," he says.
White's work on the case was kept secret because the Unabomber had hit college campuses in the past. Campus police became involved when a reporter at the Roanoke NBC affiliate discovered that a Virginia Tech professor was involved in the case. Campus Police Chief Mike Jones and a university spokesman persuaded the station to hold the story about White's involvement until after suspect Theodore Kaczynski was arrested in June.
Sheep center named for retired professor
Virginia Tech's sheep center has been named in honor of Jackson Copenhaver (ANSC '42), a retired professor of animal science whose work helped establish Virginia's sheep industry as one of the largest and most productive in the eastern United States.
The sheep center currently manages 900 ewes, rams, and lambs. It supports undergraduate and graduate teaching programs in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, as well as teaching programs for the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Research being conducted there focuses on improving the reproductive performance of sheep.
Copenhaver, a Blacksburg resident, retired in 1985 after 39 years on the faculty of the university's department of animal science.
Janet M. Johnson, former interim dean of the College of Human Resources, has been appointed dean of the newly formed College of Human Resources and Education.
Johnson is a graduate of Purdue University and earned master's and doctoral degrees in nutrition from Cornell University. She came to Virginia Tech in 1972 and was named acting associate provost for research in 1992. She has served as interim dean of the College of Human Resources since 1995, when former dean Peggy Meszaros was appointed Tech's provost.
Back to Contents
Back to University News
C. Clark Jones has been selected the new director of Virginia Cooperative Extension. A member of Cooperative Extension for nearly 20 years, Jones has served the past year as interim director. During this period, he has overseen a major restructuring effort within the organization.
Jones, who will also serve as associate dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, began his career with Virginia Tech in 1971 as an instructor in its Center for Continuing Education.
Back to Contents
Back to University News
Back to Magazine Home Page
