Spectrum - Volume 19 Issue 07 October 10, 1996 - Newsmakers

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

Newsmakers

Spectrum Volume 19 Issue 07 - October 10, 1996

Virginia Tech faculty and staff members and students are often the subject of significant national and statewide news coverage. To better inform the university community about these accomplishments, the Office of University Relations has compiled this monthly report. This report excludes coverage in the Roanoke news-media market. For more information about the articles mentioned, call Julie Kane, university public relations coordinator at 1-9934, or contact your college public relations office.

ABC Radio News (March 5): History Professor William Ochsenwald was interviewed regarding the continued violence in Israel, disrupting the peace negotiations there.

Voice of America (March 6): Ochsenwald was interviewed regarding the continued violence in Israel, disrupting the peace negotiations.

Voice of America (March 8): Ochsenwald was interviewed regarding Hamas, the organization responsible for recent terrorist activity.

The Voice (Richmond, July 24): An article about a G.E. Fund grant of $305,000 to Virginia Tech Minority Engineering Programs (MEP), featured MEP Director Bevlee Watford , associate professor of industrial and systems engineering.

Virginia Engineer (August 1996): An article about a $1.2-million Department of Defense grant to the Virginia Tech Information Systems Center (VISC), quoted electrical engineering faculty members Jim Armstrong , VISC director, and Peter Athanas , VISC researcher.

Virginia Engineer (August 1996): In the "Engineers on the Move section," Professor John G. Casali's appointment as head of the Virginia Tech Industrial and Systems Engineering Department was noted.

United States Information Agency TV (August 19): Virginia Cooperative Extension Agent Gary Larrowe discussed setting up artificial bee houses to attract wild bees to areas where the population has been severely damaged by weather and disease. Similar to Voice of America radio, the USIA TV service broadcasts television news around the world.

Wall Street Journal (August 23): Psychology Professor Richard Winett was quoted on the front page in a story about body building for older people.

(Bristol VA-TN) The Bristol Herald Courier (August 24): A story on the mussel research of Dick Neves , professor of fisheries was featured . A nationally known expert on freshwater mussels, Neves is studying the mussel population on a section of the Clinch River in Scott County for VDOT. They want to determine if a highway and bridge construction improvement will have any impact on the mussels, which act as an early-warning system for water quality.

Bay Journal (September 1996): Alumni Distinguished Biology Professor George Simmons was featured in an article on tracking down a source of pollution in a remote part of the Chesapeake Bay.

Blue Ridge Regional Business Journal (September 1996): An article by editor Dan Smith about the Industrial and Systems Engineering Department's Performance Center featured center Director Stephen K. Hacker ; Associate Director Marta Carter ; Larry Bowman , director of business development; Ray Butler , accounts manager; and Scott Sink , special research faculty member.

(Richmond) PBS (September): Diane Zahm , assistant professor of urban affairs and planning, was a speaker at the Attorney General's Summit on Protecting Virginia's Places of Worship From Arson and Vandalism. The event was sponsored by Attorney General James S. Gilmore III and was held at Virginia Union University on September 4. Her segment was "Effectively Addressing Crime with Proven Crime Prevention Techniques." The summit was taped for distribution by the station.

Virginia Business (September 1996): The magazine included a special section, "Building Bridges to Business: Virginia Tech's College of Engineering." The section featured several engineering faculty members, including Dean F. William Stephenson ; Pamela Kurstedt , assistant dean for enrichment programs and director of engineering programs at the Northern Virginia Graduate Center; Fred C. Lee , director of the Virginia Power Electronics Center; Michael C. Vorster , associate dean for research and graduate studies; Theodore S. Rappaport , founding director of the Mobile and Portable Radio Research Group; Charles F. Reinholtz , professor of mechanical engineering; John S. Bay , associate professor of electrical engineering; William R. Knocke , head of the Civil Engineering Department; Ronald G. Kander , associate professor of materials science and engineering; Leonard A. Ferrari , head of the Electrical Engineering Department; Kent A. Murphy , associate director of the Fiber and Electro-Optics Research Center; Scott F . Midkiff, associate professor of electrical engineering; and William H. Velander , associate professor of chemical engineering. Also quoted was Bruce N. Chaloux , associate dean of Virginia Tech's extended graduate campus program.

Virginia Engineer (September 1996): An article about a $6.8-million dollar project funded by the U.S. Navy cited engineering science and mechanics (ESM) professors Ali H. Nayfeh and Dean Mook as the lead researchers. Also noted were Fred C. Lee , director of the Virginia Power Electronics Center; Dusan Borojevic , associate professor of electrical engineering (EE); Char-Ming Chin , a senior research associate in ESM; Chris R. Fuller , professor of mechanical engineering; Muhammad R. Hajj , assistant professor of ESM; Daniel J. Inman , professor of ESM; Saad A. Ragab, professor of ESM; Stergios I. Liapis , assistant professor of aerospace and ocean engineering; and Hugh VanLandingham , professor of EE.

CBS Radio News (September 3), WRVA Radio (Richmond (September 4), Virginia News Network (week of September 2): History Professor William Ochsenwald talked about the U.S. bombing of Iraqi targets.

Discovery Channel Canada (September 3): Psychology Professor Helen Crawford discussed hypnosis and pain reduction on "Brain Matters."

United States Information Agency TV (September 4): Retired Mechanical Engineering Professor Robert Comparin, Virginia Tech's College of Engineering's "car factory," where students work on prototypes of future vehicles.

CNN (September 6): CNN's reporting on Hurricane Fran included coverage of Virginia Cooperative Extension's World Wide Web page on dealing with the aftermath of natural disasters.

Outside Online (September 10): Urban Affairs and Planning Associate Professor John Browder's comments were included in a news brief about the Amazon on a World Wide Web daily news source .

(Channel 13) WSET-TV ( September 10): Stergios Liapis , assistant professor of aerospace and ocean engineering, and Ray Plaut , professor of civil engineering, were interviewed after Hurricane Fran about their research on inflatable dams and breakwaters.

Discovery Channel (September 11, repeated September 14): "CyberLife," a program on information technology, featured the Blacksburg Electronic Village .

Virginia News Network (September 11): Associate Biological Systems Engineering Professor Glen Hetzel discussed safety precautions during flood clean-up.

Mutual Radio Why is it? (September 12): Chemistry Professor Larry Taylor discussed the chemistry of water and why molecules don't necessarily exhibit the properties of the atoms they comprise.