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including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year

ACHIEVERS
James (Sean) Arthur and Richard Nance of computer science attended the meeting of the Practical Software Measurement Product Engineering Study Group in Crystal City. Arthur chaired the meeting.
Larry T. Taylor of Virginia Tech's chemistry department recently gave an invited lecture at the 26th Biennial Meeting of the Royal Spanish Society of Chemistry in Cadiz, Spain. The title of the presentation was "The Employment of Hydrofluorocarbons for Achieving Greater Selectivity in Analytical Supercritical Fluid Extraction." Mehdi Ashraf-Khorassani, research scientist in chemistry, was co-author. Taylor also recently gave an invited presentation at the 11th meeting of the Association of Official Analytical Chemists in San Diego, Cal. The title of the talk was "Sample Preparation for the Analysis of Sulfa Drugs from Various Food Matrices." Michael Combs, a former graduate student of Taylor's, was co-author.
John M. Carroll, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction, participated in an NSF-sponsored Design Education Workshop at Georgia Tech. With co-authors Suzan Mauney of Blacksburg Middle School and C. Fred Rencsok of Auburn High School, Carroll contributed a paper titled "Learning by Design in a Virtual School."
Michael T. Combs, graduate student in chemistry, recently received the Student Research Award in Supercritical Fluids for an outstanding publication describing research in the use of supercritical fluids in analytical chemistry. The award was presented by the Tri-State and Mid-west Supercritical Fluid Discussion Groups at the Atlanta-Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry. The award of $250 plus plaque is presented to an undergraduate or graduate student who served as the primary author of a paper published or accepted for publication during the 1996 calendar year. Judging was based on the technical content, research approach and originality, and writing style. The title of his paper was "Comparison of Supercritical Fluoroform and Carbon Dioxide for Extraction of Sulfonamides from Various Food Matrices." Combs's thesis research was done under the supervision of L.T. Taylor in the chemistry department.
Russell T. Jones, professor of psychology, recently received a National Institutes of Mental Health Minority Research Supplement of $50,000, which is awarded on a competitive basis, for a graduate student in clinical psychology, Cheri Weeks. Jones, who is primary researcher on a $1.2-million National Institutes of Mental Health Residential Fire Grant, nominated Weeks for the supplement because of her demonstrated research potential on that grant. The supplement will extend over two years and will provide academic as well as research support for Weeks.
Heide Witthoft, instructor of German at Virginia Tech, presented a paper on "Whodunit? The Disambiguation of Meaning in Annette von Droste-Hulshoff's `Die Judenbuche' (`The Jews Beech Tree')" at the 21st annual conference of the Philological Association of the Carolinas at East Carolina University in Greenville, N.C.
Richard Shryock, associate professor of French at Virginia Tech, has published a book, Lettres a Gustave et Rachel Kahn, an annotated selection of letters written by a variety of turn-of-the-century authors addressed to the French Symbolist poet Gustave Kahn and his wife. The book was published in France by A.G. Nizet.
C. Wayne Patty, professor of mathematics, was one of 14 invited presenters at a state-wide conference in Boxborough, Mass. The conference was sponsored by the Center for the Enhancement of Science and Mathematics Education at Northeastern University, and it was attended by more than 200 mathematics and science teachers representing the school districts throughout Massachusetts. The title of Patty's presentation was "Integrated Mathematics: A Modeling Approach Using Technology (SIMMS)."
Brenda J. Husser, executive secretary senior in sociology, has met the requirements to update her certified-professional-secretary credentials through recertification, according to Kathryn T. Burroughs, international president of the Association for Office Professionals Institute for Certification.
Donald J. Shoemaker has had his article "Juvenile Corrections in the Philippines: The Barangay System" published in the Journal of Offender Rehabilitation. He has also had two articles published in the Philippine Sociological Review: "Ethnic Identity and Delinquency among Filipino-American Youth: A Theoretical View" and "Student Organizations as Conflict Gangs, University of the Philippines, Diliman" (with Ricardo M. Zarco.)
John M. Carroll, professor of computer science and director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction, participated in a panel, titled "Reconstructing minimalism: New developments in the application of minimalist principles for the education and information of users," at a joint meeting of the ACM Special Interest Group on Documentation (SIGDOC'97) and the IEEE Professional Communication Society (IPCC'97) in Snowbird, Utah, on October 22. Carroll introduced the minimalist approach to designing instruction and documentation in his book, The Nurnberg Funnel (M.I.T. Press, 1990).
Karen E. Torgersen, director of undergraduate admissions, participated in a panel presentation on "What Technology Is Doing For Us Now" at a seminar on the Advancement of Women in Higher Education Administration sponsored by the American Council on Education-Virginia Identification Program.
The Virginia Tech Soil Judging team placed first at the American Society of Agronomy 1997 Southeastern Regional Collegiate Soil Judging Contest held at the University of Georgia-Athens, Oct. 13-17. Eleven teams from nine states with a total of 95 undergraduates participated in the contest. The four Virginia Tech team members placed second, twelfth, 19th, and 24th individually. The team will compete in the National Soil Judging Contest in April, also to be held in Georgia. Pamela Thomas, senior research associate in the Department of Crop and Soil Environmental Sciences, is instructor/coach of the team.
Cameron Hackney, professor and head of the Department of Food Science and Technology, was selected to receive the "Outstanding Professor Award" by the Eastern Regional Food Science Conference. The Eastern Regional Food Science Conference is being held in Newport, R.I., and the award will be given at the awards banquet on November 4. The Institute of Food Technologist is a 28,000-member professional organization of food technologists. The selection of outstanding professor is base on teaching, research and Extension programming. Hackney was recognized for excellence in all three areas. He was nominated by the Carolina-Virginia Section of IFT and by his department.
Susan Sumner, associate professor of food science and technology, developed a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) training program and manual for food distributors. This program began as a Virginia program, but it has expanded to a nationally recognized program. She is working with the International Distributors Association to further develop HACCP materials. Programs presented in Richmond and in Reno, Nev., have been attended by participants from more than 20 states.
Bruce Zoecklein, assistant professor of food science and technology, will lead a technical program and analysis workshop at the annual meeting of the Maryland Grape Growers Association. His presentation will be on the use of secondary plant metabolites as grape maturity and quality indices.
Merle Pierson, professor of food science and technology, presented a symposium paper on "The Role of Universities in HACCP Training" at the First Pan-American Conference on Food Quality, Safety and Nutrition held in Mexico City. He also gave a presentation on "Verification of HACCP Systems" at the Food Chemical News Conference on HACCP, Washington, D.C. The purpose of the conference was to provide information to the food-industry and regulatory agencies concerning the current status of HACCP and food safety management. Also in Washington, Pierson provided a status summary on "The Role of New Sensor Technology in HACCP" at a workshop on Microbial Sensors and Food Safety. The workshop was sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Michael Furey, professor of mechanical engineering (ME), took part in two international tribology conferences in September. At the World Tribology Congress in London, attended by 1,100 scientists and engineers from 51 countries, Furey presented two papers. "Models for Ceramic Lubrication by Tribopolymerization at High Loads and Speeds," co-authored by Furey and colleagues in Poland, is based on studies carried out with support from the Energy-Related Inventions Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE); "Biotribology, Synovial Joint Lubrication, and Osteoarthritis" is part of an ongoing research effort involving Virginia Tech faculty members and students in ME, the College of Veterinary Medicine, and the biochemistry and animal-science departments. In Poland, Furey participated in the 2nd International Symposium on Tribochemistry, where three papers he co-authored with Polish colleagues were presented. "Tribopolymerization I: Surface Temperatures and the Antiwear Action of Condensation-Type Monomers," "Tribopolymerization II: NIRAM Applications to the Antiwear Action of Addition-Type Monomers," and "Tribopolymerization III: Computer Modeling of Monomer/Surface Interactions" are based on research funded by the DOE and the National Science Foundation.
Thomas J. Inzana, a professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, has been elected a fellow in the American Academy of Microbiology. Inzana operates a laboratory in the VMRCVM's Center for Molecular Medicine and Infectious Disease.
Michael Leib, a professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, recently presented 17 hours of continuing-education lectures at the Atlantic Coast Veterinary Conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Leib, a veterinary gastroenterologist, presented a series of independent lectures before veterinarians and veterinary technicians.
David Moore, university veterinarian, director of the Office of Animal Resources, and associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology, recently presented a lecture titled "An Overview of Alternative Technologies for Disposal of Pathogenic and Infectious Wastes" at the Fourth Pharmaceutical Research and Development Conference in Deerfield Illinois. Conference participants represented 26 major domestic and international pharmaceutical firms.
Thomas Bailey, an assistant professor in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, has been elected president of the Society of Theriogenology, a national organization of veterinarians who specialize in animal reproduction.