Spectrum - Volume 20 Issue 04 September 18, 1997 - 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 20 Issue 04 - September 18, 1997

Norrine Bailey Spencer , associate dean for undergraduate programs, Pamplin College of Business, attended the American Council on Education National Forum, the hallmark program of the ACE Office of Women in Higher Education. Each annual forum is limited to 20 administrators as well as university presidents, scholar/practictioners, and ACE staff. The forum was held June 19-20 at the ACE office in Washington, D.C.

Osman Balci of the Department of Computer Science attended the 11th European Simulation Multiconference in Istanbul, Turkey, where he presented two papers published in the conference proceedings: "The Visual Simulation Environment" by Balci, Anders Bertelrud, Charles Esterbrook, and Richard Nance, and "Dynamic Object Decomposition in the Visual Simulation Environment," also by Balci, Bertelrud, Esterbrook, and Nance. Balci attended the Summer Computer Simulation Conference in Arlington. He co-wrote two papers that will appear in the conference proceedings: "Developing a Library of Reusable Model Components by Using the Visual Simulation Environment" by Balci, Richard Nance, Anders Bertelrud and Charles Esterbrook, and "Object-Oriented Simulation Model Verification and Validation" by Balci and Levent Yilmaz.

Richard Nance and James Arthur of the Department of Computer Science, together with Edward Dudash of the Naval Surface Warfare Center Defense Division, organized a workshop on software product engineering, the measurement challenges as part of the Practical Software Measurement Users Conference held in Vail, Col. Nance also served on the program committee for the International Federation for Information Processing Technical Committee 7 Conference held in Detroit.

Layne Watson of the Department of Computer Science attended the ICASE Workshop on Approximation at NASA/Langley in Hampton, where he presented an invited talk on "Parallel computing in multidisciplinary design optimization."

Edward Fox of the Department of Computer Science spoke on the Electronic Theses and Dissertation project to the University of North Florida and the Florida Institute of Technology.

Orson K. Miller Jr. , professor of botany and curator of fungi, was awarded the Distinguished Mycologist of 1997 Award by the Mycological Society of America (MSA) during its annual meeting, held in Montreal with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS). The award is given annually to an individual who has been outstanding in his or her mycological career based on published research and service to the MSA.

The Simone Poirer-Bures novel, Candyman , will be read on CBC Radio (Canada's National Public Radio) over a period of two weeks which started September 8. The dramatic reading is part of a series called "Between the Covers." Poirer-Bures teaches English at Virginia Tech. Her coming-of-age novel is set in the 50s in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she was born.

Michael Mills , Virginia Tech Airport, was recently elected secretary of the Virginia Airport Operators Council (VAOC) at the Virginia Aviation Conference in Norfolk. The VAOC is an organization comprised of airport operators within the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its mission is to promote the interest of airports within the commonwealth; to provide a forum to assist in the identification and advancement of common areas of concern; to provide guidance and support through the association; and to serve as a source of information for individual members.

CAUS interim Dean Paul. L. Knox recently co-authored Places and Regions in Global Context: Human Geography published by Prentice Hall on July 28.

Humberto Rodriquez-Camilloni , associate professor and director of the Henry H. Wiss Center for Theory and History of Art and Architecture, participated in the 49th International Congress of Americanists held in Quito, Ecuador from July 6-12. He presented a paper " Emanuel de Amat y Junyent and the Navona of Lima: An Example of Baroque Urban Design of the 18th Century in the Viceroyalty of Peru."He also received a diploma of recognition by the Pontificia Universidad Catoloca del Ecuador , official host of the congress.

John M. Carroll , professor of Computer Science and director of the Center for Human-Computer Interaction, and Mary Beth Rosson, associate professor of Computer Science, visited the University of Tampere, Finland, in May to present a lecture series entitled "Network communities; Community networks." Rosson also presented a colloquium talk entitled "The design of object-oriented applications from user interaction scenarios." In July, Carroll and Rosson served as outside reviewers at a U.S. Air Force workshop on scenario generation for early requirements identification.

Richard E. Sorensen , dean, Pamplin College of Business, discussed the college's experience in promoting a global focus in the business curriculum at a panel discussion on "New Models for Internationalizing the Undergraduate Curriculum," at the annual meeting last spring of AACSB, the International Association for Management Education. Business schools are increasingly placing an international focus in the curriculum through foreign language requirements, strategic alliances, and/or faculty and student exchanges. The AACSB session was aimed at providing examples of the policies, processes, and outcomes of successful new international models.

The two other speakers at the session represented the University of South Carolina and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, two institutions with established graduate programs in international business.

MBA students and their partner company, Ingersoll-Rand, Rock Drill Division, of Roanoke, received the Governor's Award for Excellence for their participation in the International Market Planning Program sponsored by the Virginia Economic Development Partnership. They were one of four student-company partnerships to receive the award this year from Secretary of Commerce and Trade Robert Skunda.

"Through the IMP program, students receive real-world training, while companies heighten their understanding of how to produce profitable exports," Skunda said. MBA students have assisted more than two dozen Virginia companies by conducting detailed market research to help new businesses break into the export market or to assist established exporters in expanding sales. The students participate in the IMP program through a course currently taught by marketing professor Joe Sirgy .

Floyd Beams has been conferred the title of professor emeritus of accounting in the Pamplin College of Business. A 28-year veteran of Virginia Tech, Beams has brought recognition to the accounting program through scholarly articles, a widely adopted textbook, Advanced Accounting , and self-study courses and technical modules with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He chaired seven Ph.D. dissertation committees and was a member of 14 others. When Beams retired earlier this year, accounting alumni and faculty members established a scholarship in his name. He has been "a thoughtful, eloquent, and caring advocate for students, faculty members, and friends," noted the resolution recommending Beam for emeritus status, which was recently approved by the Board of Visitors.

Arthur J. Keown , the R.B. Pamplin professor of finance, has been appointed co-editor of the Financial Management Association's Survey and Synthesis Series. The three-year appointment also makes Keown a member of the association's board of directors. The goal of the Survey and Synthesis Series is to publish books that assist finance professionals, focus on financial decision making, provide state-of-the-art information on well-researched topics of contemporary interest, and integrate academic scholarship with the current interests of finance professionals. Keown is also executive editor of the Journal of Financial Research .