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
Joseph L. Scarpaci, professor of urban affairs and planning, coordinated a research trip to Cuba from May 22 to June 6. Other faculty members among the 23 participants were Joseph Mashburn and Ralph Hammann (architecture). All three professors gave lectures at the Universidad de Camaguey, College of Architecture and Engineering, in Camaguey, Cuba. Scarpaci appeared in a television interview on TV Nacional de Cuba, discussing comparative efforts in historic preservation in Latin American cities.
On May 4, Scarpaci's co-author of a recent policy publication, Philip Peters, of the Alexis deToqueville Institute in Alexandria, cited the team's research in testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee about the growing private-sector labor force in Cuba.
Scarpaci was the 1998 recipient of the Distinguished Alumni Award of the graduating class of Mt. Lebanon High School, a suburb of Pittsburgh. The graduating class of 625 elected the 1972 alumnus for his work in international development and the use of Spanish in professional research.
Sally Harris, Susan Trulove, Clara B. Cox, and Lynn Nystrom were presented with national communication contest awards from the National Federation of Press Women (NFPW) The four Virginia Tech public-relations women received the awards at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., during NFPW's national conference.
Harris, public-relations coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences, won the sweepstakes award in state competition, and received two awards: first for news reporting in an internal publication for an article in Spectrum on earthquake-fault findings by John Hole, geology, and honorable mention for a single news release for a release about the research of Luke Mo, physics.
Trulove, public-relations coordinator for Research and Graduate Studies received a first for non-profit, four-color magazines for editing the 1997 Virginia Tech Research magazine, designed by Barbara Corbett and copy edited by Netta Smith, with photos by university photographers and faculty members and illustrations by Virginia Tech art students.
Cox, manager of public-service communications in the Office of University Relations, received four awards: first for nonprofit, one-to-three color brochure for editing and writing Virginia Tech's 125th anniversary program, designed by Michele Moldenhauer and copy edited by Richard Lovegrove, with photos from Virginia Tech Visual Communications Photo and Special Collections, University Libraries; second for nonprofit, one-to-three color magazine with four-color cover for editing Virginia Issues & Answers, a public-policy magazine designed by Meg Nugent, photo edited by Bob Veltri, and copy edited by Smith and Patricia H. White; third for non-fiction history books for writing Images & Reflections: Virginia Tech, 1872-1997, co-edited by Cox and Larry Hincker, copy edited by Lovegrove, with archival photos from Special Collections and color photos by Todd Buchanan of Chicago; and honorable mention for speeches for writing the emcee's script for the university's 125th anniversary grove dedication ceremony.
Nystrom, director of news and external relations for the College of Engineering, received an honorable mention for advisors of student publications for serving as advisor to the Collegiate Times. Only first-place award-winning entries in state communications contests are entered in the national competition.
The Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research brochure produced by University Relations/Publications was awarded a silver medal for Visual Design in Print by the National Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) awards program. Recognized were Michele Moldenhauer, creative director/designer; Margaret Ratcliffe, editor; and Bob Veltri, lead photographer. The brochure also featured additional photography by Rick Griffiths, Ian Loomis, and Mark Nystrom. Malcolm J. McPherson is the director of the Coal and Energy Center at Virginia Tech.
John Stelmokas, Audrey Zink-Sharp, and Joseph Loferski of the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products were awarded the 1998 George Marra Award by the Society of Wood Science and Technology. The award recognizes excellence in research and writing. It was presented to the authors at the 1998 Annual Meeting held in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, in June. It consists of $1,000 to the authors, a plaque to the sponsoring institution, certificates, and plaques to the authors. The title of the paper that won the award is "Image Correlation Analysis of Multiple-Bolt Wood Connections," and it was published in Wood and Fiber Science Volume 20, Number 3.
Fred M. Lamb, professor and Extension specialist in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, and Phil A. Araman, project leader, USDA Forest Service, Southern Experiment Station and senior research scientist in the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, conducted a series of seminars on hardwood lumber processing in several locations throughout Mexico. The seminars were sponsored by the American Hardwood Export Council (AHEC). The programs of AHEC are a joint effort of the US hardwood industry and the Foreign Agriculture Service of the US Department of Agriculture.
Lamb and Araman conducted programs on hardwood lumber characteristics and processing and on furniture-manufacturing technology. The objective of the programs was to provide technical information on the properties, characteristics, and processing aspects of American hardwoods. The programs were held in Chihuahua, Torreon, and Guadalajara. The participants were furniture manufactures from these various regions within Mexico. While in Guadalajara, Lamb, and Araman also participated in the furniture-industry trade show, "Tecno Mueble Internacional 98," sponsored by the Association of Jalisco.
Robert Youngs, professor emeritus of the College of Forestry and Wildlife Reserves, presented a paper, "Processing Underutilized Timber Species: Boon or Bane? Diversity, Productivity, Profitability, Sustainability and the Tao of Underutilized Species," at the meeting of the Forest Products Society, Merida, Mexico, in June.
Wolfgang Glasser, wood science and forest products professor, co-edited a book with Th. J. Heinze, Cellulose Derivatives: Modification, Characterization, and Nanostructures, a 364-page book was published in June. Glasser also had a new patent issued: US Pat. No. 5,770,712, "Crosslinked Hydrogel Beads from Chitosan." Glasser was an invited speaker at a conference, attended by 250 scientists and 32 countries, (International Workshop on Biodegradable Materials in Stockholm), at the National Hardwood Lumber Association's (NHLA) 26th Annual Hardwood Symposium in Cashiers, NC.
Robert Bush, associate professor of wood science and forest products, discussed the decline of wood in traditional markets by reviewing data from the pallet industry. Citing growing environmental activity, Bush made the case that the industry must begin connecting the end products with the resource in all categories. "The April first issue of the Wall Street Journal carried a front-page headline that stated critics of the pallet industry were classifying used pallets as the next eco-menace", he said. "And, yet, recycling efforts in the wood pallet industry are making great strides." (The symposium was intended to provide technology and market information for the next century.)
Audrey Zink-Sharp attended the 1998 Meeting of the Forest Products Society held June 21-24, 1998 in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, and presented a paper titled "Strain Development during Drying of Red Oak and Southern Yellow Pine," during the technical session on "Using Knowledge of Wood Physics to Improve Wood Drying."
E.T. Kornegay, professor of animal and poultry sciences, received the 1998 "American Society of Animal Science Morrison Award" for his meritorious scientific contributions to the U.S. livestock industry. The Morrison Award is the most prestigious recognition the society bestows on animal scientists.
Dave Notter, professor of animal and poultry sciences, was named recipient of the 1998 "American Society of Animal Science Rockefeller Prentice Memorial Award in Animal Breeding and Genetics" at the society's national meeting in Denver. The award is the highest honor given for animal breeding and genetics research.