Spectrum - Volume 18 Issue 30 May 2, 1996 - 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 18 Issue 30 - May 2, 1996

Judy Bame , a lab specialist for the Department of Dairy Science, has been named the outstanding employee of the month for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

The honor is part of CALS's ongoing program to recognize the contributions of classified staff employees to the college's success. It is presented to a college staff member who has made exceptional contributions to his/her department and to the college.

A 16-year employee of the department, Bame works as a research technician for large-animal reproductive and physiology programs. She supports both the teaching and research needs of two full-time faculty members and several graduate students.

She also provides support to students, faculty members, and courses in other animal- and veterinary-science-related disciplines. She has been actively involved in teaching some undergraduate laboratory courses.

Bame was cited for her devotion to her job, as exemplified by her willingness to work long and sometimes unpredictable hours. Her contributions to the Department of Dairy Science are viewed by her supervisors as being crucial to meeting their teaching and research objectives.

Chester L. Foy , professor of plant physiology and weed science, was appointed to a third three-year term as editor of Weed Technology , a quarterly scientific journal published by the Weed Science Society of America. Foy is also a charter and current member of the editorial board of the international journal Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology . In addition, he served five years as editor of Reviews of Weed Science , many years as associate editor and reviewer for Weed Science , and as an occasional reviewer for several other scientific journals.

Foy presented a paper he co-authored with Jinxia Sun , Ph.D. candidate from China, on "Structurally Related Organosilicone Surfactants, Their Physical-Chemical Properties and Effects on Uptake and Efficacy of Primisulfuron in Vlevetleaf ( Abutilon theophrasti Medikus)," at the Fourth International Symposium on Adjuvants for Agrochemicals held in Melbourne, Australia.

Foy has been named vice president/secretary of the newly incorporated international Association of Formulation Chemists. Foy and David Pritchard, an executive at International Specialty Products and president of the association, have co-edited a book titled Pesticide Formulation and Adjuvant Technology which is to be published soon by CRC Press Inc. of Boca Raton, Fla.

Merle D. Pierson

, professor of food science and technology, was appointed to the organizing committee for the "First European Food Safety and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Conference" to be held in December.

He presented an invited lecture on "Managing Food Safety using Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points" to directors, managers, and production supervisors of Alimentos Heinz, C.A., Carretera Nacional , Valencia-Maracay, Venezuela, March 22. He gave the opening address for the March 23-26 I Congreso Venezolano de Ciencia y Technologia de Alimentos. The title of his presentation was "El HACCP y su aplicion en la Industria de Alimentos." Also at the conference he presented an invited papers on "Major Issues and Challenges in the Industrial Application of HACCP," "Verification of HACCP Systems," and "Practical Implementation of the HACCP System for Food Safety."

Pierson presented an invited paper on "Current Status of HACCP Principles and their Application" at the Symposium on HACCP Chemistry at the 211th American Chemical Society National Meeting, New Orleans on March 26. Pierson was recently appointed to Institute of Food Technologist's (IFT) HACCP Committee to plan programs for IFT in food safety and HACCP.

James R. Claus, associate professor of food science and technology, has been awarded $49,723 over a two-year period by Southeastern Poultry & Egg Association to investigate the "Effect of Milk Proteins on the Reduction of Pink Color Development in Cooked, Uncured Turkey Breast."

At the invitation of Antonio Flos, the secretary of state for defense in Spain, three Virginia Tech engineering faculty members helped produce a recently published monograph series, Systems Engineering , that is used as a major reference source throughout Spain's defense ministry and military services. Benjamin S. Blanchard , director of the Tech systems engineering graduate program, wrote monograph 1, "Systems Engineering," and monograph 7, "Logistics Engineering." Donald R. Drew , endowed professor of civil engineering, wrote monograph 4, "Systems Dynamics." Joel A. Nachlas, associate professor of industrial and systems engineering, wrote monograph 8, "Reliability." The monographs were translated into Spanish.

In conjunction with this project, Blanchard was invited to address two seminars on systems engineering in Madrid for university faculty members and professional systems engineers.

Wing Ng, a professor of mechanical engineering, recently made a 14-day lecture tour of Japan. The trip was funded by the Japanese government's Research Awards for Foreign Specialists, which invited internationally known researchers to visit the industrial, government and university research laboratories in Japan to promote technical exchange. In addition to giving lectures in the gas-turbine research areas, Ng also made presentations about the culture and people of southwest Virginia and the town of Blacksburg. Ng said the tour afforded him an excellent opportunity to promote Virginia Tech to certain Japanese companies.

Connie Meck , program director for Virginia Tech's Division of Continuing Education in Roanoke, has received the 1996 programming honorable mention award from the National University Continuing Education Association's Division of Continuing Education for the Professions.

Meck, who is a sign-language instructor and interpreter and holds a BA in sign-language studies, developed her award-winning program, "Professional Development for Educational Interpreters," to increase the number of qualified sign-language interpreters for deaf children in public schools. "These professionals are in high demand and short supply. Lack of available training and shortage of public school funding for the training are the challenges facing this field," she said.

The training provided through her program increased the number of educational interpreters screened at a Virginia Quality Assurance Screening (VQAS) Level II or above, created an on-going regional training program, and promoted educational interpreting as a career choice.

The award was presented to Meck at the NUCEA 81st annual conference in Boston on March 31.

The work of five members of Virginia Tech's staff won awards in the Virginia Press Women's Communication Contest.

Clara B. Cox , manager of public service communications in University Relations, won first place in the category "one- to-three color magazine with four-color cover, nonprofit," for the winter 1995 edition of Virginia Issues & Answers . The magazine staff included Meg Nugent , art director; Bob Veltri , photography editor; Harry W. Yeatts Jr ., assistant editor; Lawrence G. Hincker , executive editor; and Cox, managing editor. Rick Griffiths took the photograph used on the cover.

Sally Harris , public relations coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences, won six awards. She won second place for the college newsletter Arts and Sciences , which she writes, edits, and designs using a template by Creed Taylor of Graphic Design, and a second for news reporting in Spectrum about a Sloan Foundation grant for asynchronous learning ( Arthur Buikema, William Claus , and John Neal , biology, co-principal investigators). She won a third place for page layout of the newsletter, a third for freelance news reporting in the Roanoke Times Current , a third for a feature in Spectrum on VTOPS-Virginia Tech Outreach Programs for Schools-(Associate Dean Lucinda Roy and Nancy Metz , University Writing Project, originators), and a third for "special articles on social issues" for a articles that appeared in the Research magazine on marriage ( John Edwards , sociology), declining crime rates ( Clifton Bryant , sociology), and crime and the family ( Richard Rich , political science).

Mary Ann H. Johnson , writer with the Agriculture, Research, and Extension Communications office of University Relations, received second-and third-place awards in the "series of three news releases" category. The series were on child development and agriculture topics.

Christina Maccherone , who writes and edits The Works , the mechanical engineering alumni magazine, received a first place in the category "color or spot-color display ad: institutional or development" for the "Spirit of Mechanical Engineering" ad that appears regularly on the back of The Works. She also received a third place for the magazine itself in the "one- to three-color magazine, for profit" category.

Lynn Nystrom , director of news and external relations for the College of Engineering, won two first-place awards: caption writing for the college's annual report, Engineering Now , and for her advisorship to Virginia Tech's student newspaper, the Collegiate Times . She also won a third-place award for Engineering Now in the category of a one- to three-color brochure. Contributors to Engineering Now include Elizabeth Crumbley, Barbara Corbett , Griffiths, and Pat White.

Susan Trulove , public relations coordinator for Research and Graduate Studies, received a first-place award and two second-place awards for her work. The first place was for a two-part article on students with disabilities that appeared in Spectrum as part of the Equal Opportunity Affirmative Action Committee's "Listening to Students" series. She received a second place award in the "single news release" category for a news release about a safe cockroach bait developed by Heather Wren and licensed by Dominion BioSciences, and a second place for the 1995 Research magazine in the category "four-color, non-profit." Corbett is designer and Mary Holliman publications editor of the magazine, which also had additional design by Laurie Zuckerman , art by Robert Graham , photography by Gary Colbert , Griffiths, and Veltri, and articles by Harris, Johnson , Julie Kane, Lynn Davis, Jeff Douglas, David Nutter, Nancy Templeman , and Sandy Broughton.

First place work is entered in the National Federation of Press Women's contest.