Spectrum - Volume 17 Issue 09 October 20, 1994 - Achievers

A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor , a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

Achievers

Spectrum Volume 17 Issue 09 - October 20, 1994

Sharon Dwyer , doctoral student in family studies in the Department of Family and Child Development, has been elected to serve as Student/New Professional Relations representative of the National Council on Family Relations.

Irene E. Leech and Constance Y. Kratzer , assistant professors and Extension specialists in the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management, presented a research report, "Selection of Bankruptcy Chapter: The Influence of Collection Efforts," as part of a public-policy session at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual meeting. The paper was also co- authored by Ruth H. Lytton, an associate professor in the department.

Kathleen M. Stadler , an instructor in the Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, presented the paper "A Collaborative Approach for Health Issues of Appalachian Women" to a collaborative-research session on "Cooperating with Agencies To Help Shape Change" at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual meeting. Barbara A. Board , a 4- H Extension specialist in Lynchburg, co- authored the paper.

Constance Y. Kratzer , an assistant professor and Extension specialist of family financial management in the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management, was a co- presenter of a workshop on "Financial Issues of Women Preparing for Retirement" at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual meeting.

Rebecca P. Lovingood, a professor in the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management, presented "Consumers' Knowledge, Practices, and Satisfaction with Cooking Systems Interaction" as part of gave a research- poster session at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual meeting. Irene E. Leech , an assistant professor and Extension specialist in consumer affairs in HIDM, Janet Johnson , an associate professor in the Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, and Elizabeth A. DeMerchant , a graduate student in HIDM, were co- authors of the presentation.

Roberta M. Minish , an associate dean of the College of Human Resources and an associate professor of hospitality and tourism management, presented "Comparing Career Development of Women and Men in the Hospitality Industry" as part of a research- poster session at the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences annual meeting. The presentation was co- authored by Peter H. Laws, a computer analyst in the college.

Two sections of the 11th Annual World Food Day teleconference, "Sharing Water: Farms, Cities, and Ecosystems," have been written by Virginia Tech faculty members. Mary Helen Osborn with the Fairfax County Cooperative Extension Office provided a "Needs Assessment Survey" section, and Ann Hertzler , professor of human nutrition and foods and Extension specialist in foods and nutrition in the College of Human Resources, wrote the section "Jack and Jill Went up the Hill To Fetch a Pail of Water--But Was It Safe?????" These publications are shared with all the broadcasting sites in the western hemisphere where the program will be received from noon to 3 p.m. EDT on Friday, Oct. 14.

Victoria R. Fu , a professor in the Department of Family and Child Development, has been named to the board of trustees of the Virginia Family and Children's Trust Fund by Virginia Gov. George Allen.

Pat Lindsey, a doctoral student in the Department of Housing, Interior Design, and Resource Management, was again awarded the NASA summer faculty fellowship to work in the NASA virtual-reality facility in Huntsville, Ala. She is comparing user perceptions of virtual-reality simulations of the Payload Operations Center (POC) to the perceptions of the actual POC.

Michael Leib , a professor in the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, presented a six- hour seminar on gastrointestinal endoscopy before two local New York state veterinary associations meeting at Cornell University.

Mark Smith, an associate professor in the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, was awarded a 1994 American Kennel Club Excellence in Canine Research Award by the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Research. His work entitled "Canine laryngeal paralysis: etiopathologic observations and therapeutic modalies was recently presented at the Advances in Veterinary Research Symposium during the 131st meeting of the AVM.A. in San Francisco.

Jeffrey S. Douglas , APR, director of public information in the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, has earned the APR designation from the Public Relations Society of America. Individuals achieving professional certification from PRSA have met specified credentials requirements and passed the organization's accreditation examination. Douglas is a member of PRSA's Blue Ridge Chapter.

William B. Ley , an associate professor in the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, spent nearly three weeks in Mongolia as part of a team of veterinarians helping that country increase its food-production capabilities through improved animal-agricultural practices. Ley's work in Mongolia was sponsored by Christian Veterinary Mission, a division of World Concern in Seattle, Washington.

Thomas Inzana , associate professor in the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, presented three papers at the Haemophilus, Actinobacillus, Pasteurella '94 Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, a meeting which attracted scientists from throughout the world to discuss the molecular biology, pathogenesis, and new vaccine possibilities for this group of pathogenic bacteria which cause disease in humans and animals. Those papers included "Cloning of a DNA region involved in the encapsulation of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae ," "Molecular Investigation of the role of ApxI and ApxII in the virulence of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae serotype 5," and "Identification of a conserved, phase variable epitope in the lipooligosaccharide of Haemophilus somnus ."

Pamela S. Orcutt , Supervisor of the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine's Multidisciplinary Learning Laboratories, recently presented three papers at the International Meeting of the Association for Multidisciplinary Education in the Health Sciences in Hong Kong. Orcutt presented "Decentralization of Computer Services: Conversion from Mainframe to Networked microcomputers," Network Scheduling- Meeting Maker Software," and "Specialization in Veterinary Medicine- Curriculum Changes."

Pamela Arnold , laboratory specialist senior in the Multidisciplinary Learning Laboratories, recently attended the 7th International Conference on Plastination in Graz, Austria. Arnold coordinates the college's activities in plastination, a technique for preserving anatomical specimens that involves impregnating them with resins.

Six teams from Virginia Tech participated in the First Annual CommonHealth Fun & Fitness Challenge at Claytor Lake State Park on Saturday, in September. They competed against teams from other state agencies located from Bristol to Lynchburg in a volleyball tournament and in several relay races which included the over-under ball pass, balloon buster, string relay, potato sack race, water cup relay and tug of war. Teams also received points for participation in a one-mile walk, one-mile run, and line dancing.

In the overall competition, team captain Stacey Cronin led her team to a second place finish. AVirginia Tech team led by Brenda Kutz won the parade competition, and a team led by Sandy Graham won the enthusiasm prize. The event was free for CommonHealth members.

Thirty-five Virginia Tech faculty and staff members participated in the second annual Day of Caring which kicked off the 1994 United Way of Montgomery County and Radford fundraising campaign. The Tech employees volunteered at United Way agencies that are also supported through the Combined Virginia Campaign (CVC), which began at Tech last month.

The volunteers worked on Thursday, Sept. 8, and on Saturday, Sept. 10, assisting the American Red Cross, Christiansburg Community Center, Radford Clothing Bank, Women's Resource Center, Free Clinic, Mental Health Association, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Community Sentencing, and Meals on Wheels.

The volunteers were recruited by the executive committee of the 1994 Virginia Tech CVC. Tech CVC co-chair Karen Cronin explained that the committee has chosen "The Community Connection" as the theme for the annual fundraising campaign.

Humberto Rodriguez- Camilloni , associate professor in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and director of the center for theory and history of architecture, chaired the symposium "Latin American Colonial Architecture and Urbanism on the Fringes" and presented the paper "The Rural Churches of the Jesuit Haciendas in the Southern Peruvian Coast."

James B. Kiracofe , in the Environmental Design and Planning Ph.D. Program, presented the paper "The Casa de la Cacica , Teposcolula, Oaxaca, Mexico: A Building at the Edge of Oblivion" at the same symposium.

The landscape architecture program within the College of Architecture and Urban Studies received an award from the National Forest Service. The "Cooperators of the Year Award" was presented by the Jefferson National Forest for CAUS landscape architecture's cooperative efforts with the U.S. Forest Service's Department of Game and Fisheries. Associate professor Dean Bork led the project which included L'ARCH graduate students Stuart Echols and Dan Mahon last year and Howard Boggess this year. The project involved constructing an accessible trout- fishing trail in Giles County.

Terry Clements , assistant professor in landscape architecture, was elected vice- president/president elect of the Virginia Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects. Its current president and chair of CAUS landscape architecture program, Professor Patrick Miller , has been named a trustee of the national ASLA representing the Virginia Chapter.

Charles T. Goodsell , professor in the center for public administration and policy in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration.

Craig A. Rogers

, director of the Center for Intelligent Material Systems and Structures; Zaffir A. Chaudhry, associate director of the center; and Daniel J. Inman , professor of mechanical engineering, participated in a live interactive satellite broadcast on Sept. 28. The broadcast, "Smart Structures and Materials," was sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and presented a variety of approaches to the use of smart structures and materials and their applications, including sensing and actuation techniques. The program included experts from government, academia, and industry, and was broadcast to 36 sites nationwide.

Paul Knox, professor of urban affairs and planning and associate dean of academic affairs for the College of Architecture and Urban Studies, gave the keynote speech at the 1994 meeting of the Nordic Symposium on Critical Human Geography held on September 22- 24 at the Swedish University in Turku, Finland. Knox's speech was titled "New Realities in the Built Environment." He also gave lectures at Turku University while he was in Finland.

Jeffrey S. Douglas , public relations coordinator for the Virginia- Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine, has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

Norrine Bailey Spencer , associate dean, Pamplin College of Business, was invited to present a session at the 1994 Continuous Improvement Symposium sponsored by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business September 21- 23 in St. Louis.

Wing Ng , professor of mechanical engineering, was an invited speaker at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Public Affairs Leadership Conference in Seattle, Washington. Ng discussed his recent testimony before the U.S. Congress concerning the government's hypersonic flight program.

Virginia Reilly , of the Office for Special Services, received third place honors in the access map and honorary mentions in the faculty handbook and student handbook categories of the 1994 Ahead Public Relations Contest. The 1994 public relations contest was a part of Ahead's 17th conference, which was held in Columbus, Ohio, in July. Entries were judged through peer review. Ahead is an international, multicultural association of professionals committed to full participation in higher education for persons with disabilities.