Fall 2014

CGIT Director Peter Sforza (center) and former Research Associate Tom Dickerson (right), along with colleague Nicholas Polys, director of Visual Computing, explore a 3-D model of downtown Blacksburg in Virginia Tech’s VisCube.

Feature

CGIT’s move into the college strengthens related centers

The College of Natural Resources and Environment recently added the Center for Geospatial Information Technology (CGIT) to its already exceptionally strong portfolio in geospatial science.

Feature

Cameroon forests, wildlife being preserved by farmers using agroforestry

Agroforestry has been introduced in the African nation of Cameroon as a way to enhance agricultural productivity and financial gain, with a side effect of being good for the environment.

From the Dean's Perspective

- - From the Dean's Perspective

College News

- - 'Roadmap' to guide natural resources research, education, policy
    Several college faculty joined more than 130 public and land-grant university scientists nationwide to prepare a “roadmap” that calls for an integrated approach to natural resources.
- - China-U.S. mussel laboratory dedicated
    Researchers at the college’s Freshwater Mollusk Conservation Center and at the Freshwater Fisheries Research Center in Wuxi, China, are continuing their long-term collaboration.
- - Furthering geospatial education
    To meet the ever-increasing demand for geospatial technology professionals in the public and private sectors, the Virginia Geospatial Extension Program continues its effort to educate community college and high school faculty members in this evolving field of study.
- - Multistate research project to advance the urban forestry profession
    A team led by Virginia Tech faculty has launched Urban Forestry 2020, a multistate research and networking project examining the challenges faced by the urban forestry profession and devising strategies for advancing the profession.
- - New international sustainability consulting certificate program
    The college’s Center for Leadership in Global Sustainability has introduced a new certificate program in International Sustainability Consulting.
- - Philadelphia Zoo CREW kids get down and dirty
    This summer the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation welcomed the Zoo CREW students to Virginia Tech where they spent an intensive two days exploring different types of wildlife research and gaining field experience.

Student Notes

- - 'Senior' is university's oldest graduate!
    Henry P. Porter Jr. is far from your typical student, even pushing the limits of the term “nontraditional.”
- - Fulbright grants awarded to wildlife students
    Erin Poor and Lindsey Rich received prestigious Fulbright grants to pursue their doctoral research.

Faculty Briefs

- - Burkhart honored by IUFRO, Virginia Tech
    Harold E. Burkhart received the prestigious Host Country Scientific Achievement Award from the International Union of Forest Research Organizations.
- - Campbell receives ASPRS teaching award
    James B. Campbell was honored with the SAIS/Estes Memorial Teaching Award from the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS).
- - New faculty publication
    Brian Czech debunks the widely accepted myths held by politicians, economists, and Wall Street that unlimited economic expansion is the Holy Grail.
- - Orth collects two university awards
    Donald J. Orth was honored with both the university’s Diggs Teaching Scholars Award and William E. Wine Achievement Award.
- - Snodgrass head fish and wildlife conservation department
    Joel W. Snodgrass has been named head of the college’s Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation. He most recently served as professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences at Towson University in Maryland.

Research Spotlight

- - Forestry geneticists developing hardy biomass trees
    Associate Professor Amy Brunner is using a $1.4 million grant to investigate the genetic regulatory networks that will allow an important bioenergy crop to be bred to grow in marginal soils and climates.
- - Giant Amazon fish becoming extinct in many fishing communities, saved in others
    An international team of scientists discovered that a large, commercially important fish from the Amazon Basin has become extinct in some fishing communities.
- - Mapping fishing resources assists land managers, anglers
    Anglers in North Carolina and Virginia who are looking for privacy at good fishing spots should head for the mountains, according to a Virginia Tech study of freshwater recreational fishing sites in the two states.
- - Monitoring, protecting bats critical as millions perish
    Since 2006, white-nose syndrome has caused the deaths of more than 6 million bats in North America. A number of species it affects are endangered or proposed for protection.

Alumni Corner

- - Alumni Profile: T. Adil Chowdhury
    Just a year after the tragic garment factory collapse that killed 1,127 workers in central Bangladesh, graduate T. Adil Chowdhury is coordinating a public-private partnership to train 2,000 factory managers.
- - In memoriam: Jacob B. Huffman
    Alumnus Jacob “Jake” B. Huffman passed away on June 5 in Gainesville, Florida, at the age of 94. Born on a farm near Maggie, Virginia, Huffman attended schools in Roanoke before entering Virginia Tech, where he earned his bachelor’s in 1941.
- - Zimmermann receives Cross Alumni Leadership Award
    Anne Zimmermann received the Gerald E. Cross Alumni Leadership Award from the Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation and the college’s Leadership Institute.

- - Additional alumni news
    We love hearing about all the great things going on with our alumni — awards, promotions, retirements, etc. Regrettably, we don’t have enough space in the newsmagazine to print them all. You can now catch up with former classmates and fellow Hokies online.