Robert C. Richardson (physics '58, M.S. '60) has won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics. Richardson, who is Cornell University's Floyd R. Newman Professor of Physics and director of the Laboratory of Atomic and Solid State Physics, shares the prize with a fellow Cornell professor and a former doctoral student now at Stanford.

The two discovered that a helium isotope, helium 3, can be made into a superfluid--meaning that it can flow without resistance--at about two-thousandths of a degree above absolute zero. Such a discovery is outside the realm of classical physics, which says that movement always causes resistance. The discovery gives scientists studying the origins of the universe a possible explanation for why stars and galaxies are clumped rather than evenly scattered throughout the universe. The theory is based on the idea that the original material for the universe was a superfluid, and therefore did not encounter friction after the "Big Bang." It is friction that causes debris from an explosion to scatter in an even pattern.

Richardson has taught at Cornell since 1968. He has served since 1989 on Virginia Tech's Physics Advisory Committee, a troup that meets occasionally to examine the university's physics program and to offer advice on its future directions.l Richardson is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Guggenheim Fellow, and a Fellow of the American Physical Society.

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Campus experiencing building boom

Virginia Tech is experiencing a construction boom as capital projects are begun across campus. The building program comes after years of efforts to raise funds for construction.

The capital budget for 1996-98, which totals more than $61 million, comes from general and non-general state funds. General funds, which are state taxpayer dollars allocated by the General Assembly, may be used for educational and general-purpose buildings only. Non-general funds support all auxiliary facilities, including dining and residence halls. These funds include revenue bonds, grants and contracts, federal funding, money from auxiliary enterprises, and private money. Currently under construction are the engineering building, due to be completed in spring 1997; the Northern Virginia Graduate Center, due for completion in December; a track and soccer complex, scheduled to be completed this fall; and an architecture facility, to be completed in late fall 1997.

Among projects in the planning stages are two new residence halls to be located between Pritchard and Payne halls, behind the War Memorial gym. The 440 beds in the new residence halls will replace beds lost when the upper quad buildings were converted to academic use. Planned completion date is summer of 1998.

An athletic facility adjacent to the Jamerson Center will offer modern training facilities, and should be completed in the fall of 1997.

As part of the university's plan to fulfill its commitment to providing facilities for women's sports, a women's softball field just north of the track and soccer complex is under construction.

Planning for the Advanced Communication and Information Technology Center is expected to be completed next summer. The building will be constructed adjacent to and over the mall to connect with Newman Library.

The Student Health and Fitness Center, to be located just south of the intersection of Washington Street and West Campus Drive, is in the final stages of design and should be constructed by summer 1998.

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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.

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Trucks converted to natural gas use

The campus physical plant is converting seven pickup trucks to run on compressed natural gas as an alternative to petroleum gasoline, through a $28,000 grant from the Virginia Department of Transportation.

The university built its own filling station for about $12,000, with assistance from United Cities Gas Co. The trucks can run on either regular gasoline or natural gas. The natural gas used for the pickups is the same as the natural gas used to generate heat in homes. Virginia Tech is the first university in the state to implement this kind of alternative fuel.

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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.

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Wines bear Virginia Tech label

The most popular wines at Virginia Tech's Donaldson Brown Hotel and Conference Center display Burruss Hall on their labels. The campus conference center has been serving private-reserve Virginia Tech chardonnay, pinot noir, and blush wines for the past three years. Last year, more than 183 cases of the wines were sold.

The wines are bottled exclusively for Virginia Tech by Prince Michel Vineyards in Madison County, Va. The mid-priced wines are often mistaken for French products, according to Tony Galderisi, food and beverage manager for Donaldson Brown.

Galderisi, who has 27 years of wine importing experience, selected the three Prince Michel wines after extensive research of Virginia wines. The wines were first served at the 1993 Old Guard Reunion. According to Debbie Day Shelton, Virginia Tech Alumni Association associate director, they were an immediate hit.

Galderisi characterizes the chardonnay as dry with a firm, fruit-filled. The pinot noir, also dry, has a light body and a less woody aroma than the chardonnay. The blush, a blend of Riesling and merlot, is a little fruitier and slightly sweet with a light rose fragrance.

The wine is available for purchase by the glass, bottle, or case at the Donaldson Brown hotel and Conference Center on the Virginia Tech campus. For more information, call Galderisi at (540) 231-8000.

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Two graduates named Madison fellows

The James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation has announced that two of its 62 fellows for graduate study are Virginia Tech graduates.

Michael D'Altrui, who graduated in communication studies in May with a minor in history, and Jennifer E. Hoffman, who earned a B.A. in political science in 1992 with a minor in English, were selected in a national competition for the fellowship that funds up to $24,000 for study toward a master's degree in history.

D'Altrui, a dean's list student, plans to teach English in Korea for a year before pursuing graduate studies leading to a teaching career. Hoffman has been pursuing a master's degree at the University of Nevada at Las Vegas while working as a financial-services representative at the Nevada Federal Credit Union.

The James Madison Fellowship funds study toward a master's degree that includes a concentration of courses on the history and principles of the U.S. Constitution. The fellowship requires recipients to teach American history or social studies in a secondary school for at least one year for each year of fellowship support.

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Dekker elected rector of Tech Board of Visitors

Henry Dekker (ACCT '44), vice rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors, has been elected by the board to serve as rector.

Dekker has served on the university board since 1989 and has been involved in numerous leadership roles.

He is director of the Virginia Tech Foundation, a senior benefactor of the foundation, a member of the Pamplin College of Business Advisory Board, chairman of its development committee, and chairman of the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets Alumni Association. He received the Alumni Distinguished Service Award in 1987.

Dekker spent his career in the textile business with extensive experience in Europe and the United States. Later, he founded Louis Feraud of America to import and distribute the line of upscale women's apparel on this side of the Atlantic. He retired as vice chairman in 1991.

Dekker's leadership at Virginia Tech began early. He was class president each of his first three years and was elected president of the corps in 1942. Dekker succeeds Clifton Garvin, the retired chairman of the board of Exxon Corp., as rector. Garvin's term expired June 30, after eight years on the board. The board also selected James E. Turner, executive vice president of General Dynamic's marine group, to serve as vice rector.

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Students win FutureCar Challenge

A team of Virginia Tech engineering students drove away with $16,500 in prize money and an impressive list of titles during the recent national FutureCar Challenge in Detroit. The Tech team won first place, most energy-efficient vehicle, lowest emissions, best overall dynamic performance, best use of alternative fuels, and best workmanship.

Engine problems on the eve of the competition and an encounter with a car-eating pothole during the event left the Tech students hoping for second place. But the team of more than 40 students led by graduate students Matt Merkle and Randy Senger overcame the obstacles and won over competition from 11 other top U.S. engineering schools.

The FutureCar Challenge, aimed at encouraging engineering students to help design the next generation of automobiles, is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, a joint research venture of Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp. In October 1995, the sponsors sent the Tech team a standard Chevrolet Lumina and $10,000. The students removed the Lumina's engine, transmission, and gas tank, and installed an electric drive motor donated by the General Electric Corp. The redesigned car also has a battery pack and an auxiliary power unit (APU) under the hood. The APU is a three-cylinder Geo Metro engine, altered by the students to run on propane, and is used to generate electricity to recharge the batteries.

The prize-winning Lumina can go 600 miles without refueling, a range more than twice the minimum goal set by the competition's sponsors. Merkle said the car can reach a top speed of 75 and gets 40-50 miles per gallon from its propane-fueled generator engine. It can go from 0-60 miles per hour in less than 12 seconds. During the coming year, the Tech HEV Team will attempt to decrease the Lumina's weight, increase its power by 50 percent, and increase its luggage space by 150 percent.

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Acts of kindness recognized

A leukemia patient got a new chance for life through a bone marrow transplant. A young brain cancer victim received more than 60 cards and letters of well wishes. Virginia Tech students were responsible for both of these events.

Mike Leddy (CHEM '96), who is continuing at Virginia Tech as a graduate student in curriculum and instruction, helped organize a Sigma Chi fraternity-sponsored bone marrow testing site in 1993. Last fall, Leddy was notified that he was a potential donor. Additional testing revealed he was a perfect match for a leukemia patient. Just before fall semester exams, Leddy was flown to Washington, D.C., where he donated bone marrow to a man who is now out of the hospital and in remission.

Jason Borinski (CPE '97), organized a card and letter drive for a young brain cancer victim after reading about her in The Washington Post. He collected more than 60 get-well wishes for Rebecca Lily, the first human to receive special gene therapy for inoperable brain cancer.

Vice President for Student Affairs Landrum Cross decided to recognize these and future students who perform acts of kindness that might otherwise go unnoticed.

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University sets standards for electronic graduate publications

Thanks to a Virginia Tech project, graduate students' final work soon will be available on-line in a standard format that may be adopted by other universities.

The Southeastern Universities Research Association Inc. (SURA) has funded $91,000 for a Virginia Tech project to put graduate student work on the World Wide Web.

The electronic dissertation can be easier to prepare, more error free, less expensive, and more flexible in format than printed versions. It also allows more author creativity by permitting inclusion of hypertext links, allowing access to information in other locations on the Internet. Also, the material will always be available without requiring shelf space.

Within a very few years, the results of hundreds of thousands of current research projects and scholarly studies will become available on the Internet.

Virginia Tech's effort to train the next generation of scholars to use electronic communication resources, and to develop software for electronic publication and retrieval of theses and dissertations, will be supported by another grant, the U.S. Department of Education Fund for the Improvement of Post Secondary Education (FIPSE).

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Philip Morris and Tech sponsor economic conferences

Virginia Tech has received a $200,000 grant from the Philip Morris Corporation to sponsor a series of statewide economic development conferences for leaders from business, local and state government, and higher education. Three conferences are planned for 1996 and 1997.

The keynote session, scheduled for Dec. 4-6 at the Hotel Roanoke, will focus on business development and retention, tourism product development, and workforce quality and development. Attendees will pay particular attention to identifying areas where policies are needed to sustain and strengthen important sectors of the economy. Some 175 leaders from around the state have been targeted to attend.

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Extension and NationsBank help farmers computerize

NationsBank is helping the Virginia Cooperative Extension teach Virginia farmers how to use computers to make the best possible management decisions for their businesses. Farm management teachers provided hands-on experience for 350 grain and dairy producers in 20 workshops last year.

Gordon Groover, Virginia Cooperative Extension agricultural economist at Virginia Tech, has been coordinating the program to help farmers use computers to handle agricultural data and to use Internet resources. NationsBank contributed more than $31,000 to create a Computer-Classroom-on-Wheels, with 17 computers that can be set up in meeting rooms in less than an hour.

Virginia farmers are already using computers to collect and process information for financial and tax reporting. Extension's goal is to teach farmers to use this information for improved production and financial management--from selecting a crop based on market prices and the farm's existing equipment to deciding whether certain expansions will make it profitable enough to allow an adult child to join the farming operation.

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Dorm offers health-conscious living

Healthful living is the buzzword of the '90s. "An apple a day" has given way to antioxidant supplements, relaxation techniques, and aerobic exercise. Virginia Tech students who are dedicated to maintaining health in all aspects of their lives can now check into Wellness Environment for Living and Learning (WELL), a residence hall that opened this fall.

The program, on the first floor of West Ambler-Johnston Hall, can accommodate 62 women and 50 men. The philosophy of WELL is a balanced lifestyle based on social, physical, intellectual, career, emotional, and spiritual development. The hall offers substance-free living, weekly programs on topics such as stress management, a fitness center, and an optional "WELLness Forum" residents can attend for one hour of academic credit.

Prospective residents must sign a contract obligating them to a wellness lifestyle, which means no smoking or alcohol consumption in the hall. Violators can lose their housing contracts.

"Some of our applicants have had problems managing diet or alcohol and want more structure in these areas," says Edward Spencer, director of residential and dining programs at Tech. "Some are obviously fitness nuts, some are motivated primarily by spiritual wellness, and some want to learn how to manage stress more efficiently."

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School of the Arts on stage

A new School of the Arts was recently established within the College of Arts and Sciences to offer collaborative, interdisciplinary educational experiences in the arts.

In its first course, offered in spring '95, students could listen to a composer or a playwright discuss a recent composition, attend a performance, and then meet with the performers to discuss the creative process. This popular course has had to turn away students after reaching its maximum enrollment of 580 each semester.

Alumni Distinguished Professor P.A. "Tony" Distler directs the new school, which encompasses the departments of art and art history, music, and theatre arts. The new school will function as a distinct entity within the College of Arts and Sciences to facilitate a more integrated academic experience. More than 50 percent of the courses in art, music, and theatre integrate new digital technologies. The new school could provide a center for all production aspects of digital, video, or live transmission of instruction via cyberspace, satellite, or other "non-live" teaching methodologies.

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Telecommunications partnership announced

A partnership between the state\'s telecommunications industry and state and local government paves the way for a true information superhighway connecting every corner of the commonwealth.

The state-wide, high-speed, multimedia network called Net.work.Virginia will be capable of simultaneously transmitting two-way integrated voice, data, and video images over the Internet from thousands of sites across Virginia. In time, the network will connect every state and private university and college, community college, and secondary school in the state.

With this technology, music students at Virginia Tech could take courses from other state universities live over the network. Public-school teachers could take recertification courses from state universities of their choice through local community colleges. High-school students could participate in advanced-placement classes from universities in all ends of Virginia. The project will establish more than 45 sites across the state by the end of 1996. Primary test sites are operational at Virginia Tech, Old Dominion University, New River Community College, and Blue Ridge Community College. The fifth site, the Virginia Tech/University of Virginia Northern Virginia Graduate Center in Falls Church, will be connected once the new building, now under construction, is completed later this year.

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Minority engineering program receives GE grant

The General Electric Fund has awarded a $305,000 grant to the Minority Engineering Programs (MEP) at Virginia Tech in recognition of progress made toward increasing the number of graduating minority engineers.

The College of Engineering has witnessed a steady increase in the number of minority engineering students who enter as freshman. For example, the number of black engineering freshmen has increased more than 60 percent since 1992. Retention rates for minorities also have improved, particularly at the critical freshman to sophomore level, where the retention rate increased from 51 percent in 1992 to 83 percent in 1994.

The G.E. Fund grant will enable Bevlee Watford, MEP director, to expand existing programs and implement new initiatives aimed at recruiting and retaining minority students.

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DISTINCTIONS

Virginia's most diverse university

Virginia Tech continues to lead the commonwealth in the number of degree programs offered. Tech offers 200, while UVA offers 172.

Human Resources first in thesis production

An article in the Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal ranks the College of Human Resources at Virginia Tech first in the production of theses and second in dissertations in the consumer sciences field. The rankings are based on figures from 57 family and consumer sciences departments across the nation.

Finance and marketing in top 20 for research

Recent national surveys of academic research productivity ranked the finance and marketing departments of the Pamplin College of Business among the nation's top 20. High publication rates enhance institutional prestige, as measured by such rankings as U.S. News and World Report\'s annual listings of leading schools.

The finance department was ranked 20th in terms of total number of scholarly articles published in finance journals over a five-year period. In a separate, informal survey, the marketing department was ranked 17th in number of publications in leading journals specializing in consumer behavior.

Entering students hit record number

Applications for the Class of 2001 were second highest ever at 16,445. The incoming class of more than 4,795 students is the largest Virginia Tech has seen yet. Included in the 1996 freshman class are 278 cadets and more than 500 honors-eligible students.