Faculty Briefs

Carolyn Copenheaver, associate professor of forest ecology in the Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation, received the 2018 Carl Alwin Schenck Award from the Society of American Foresters. She is the first woman to receive this honor in its 30-year history. The award is given annually to a faculty member who demonstrates exceptional devotion to the instruction of forestry and to the development of teaching methods that impart knowledge of forestry through dynamic communication skills.

Kevin Edgar, professor in the Department of Sustainable Biomaterials, has been named associate dean of the Virginia Tech Graduate School. In this role, he assists with the school’s academic enterprises, including professional development and the graduate teaching assistant workshop. He will work in concert with administrators on projects supporting the school’s Transforming Graduate Education Initiative. “It is a great privilege to become part of the extraordinary team of talented, collaborative individuals.” Edgar said. “I am looking forward to working with them to make our graduate program even stronger and to more effectively serve our students, the university, the commonwealth, and our nation.”

Professor Emeritus Wolfgang Glasser received the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award from Marquis Who’s Who, which has been publishing biographical profiles since 1899. Glasser, whose research focuses on polymer and materials science with an emphasis on biobased materials and composites, has continued research since his retirement in 2002. This honor recognizes his professional achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes he has accrued in his field.

William Hopkins, professor in the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and director of the Global Change Center, received the 2018 Mitchell A. Byrd Award for outstanding scientific achievement in ornithology. The Virginia Society of Ornithology established the award in honor of CNRE alumnus Mitchell A. Byrd, a pioneer of wildlife conservation who devoted much of his long career at the College of William and Mary to the recovery of the threatened bald eagle and peregrine falcon in Virginia.

Professor Emeritus Mark White received the 2018 R. David LeButt Award from the International Safe Transit Association in recognition of excellence and continuing education in package design and testing. White helped develop Virginia Tech’s packaging program, which has a unique focus on systems-based design and is now the only packaging degree program in Virginia. White has founded two companies since retiring in 2007, and he continues to mentor graduate students and teach courses on a part-time basis.