Latest News

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NSF-funded research is looking at the recruitment and retention of African-Americans in IT-related graduate studies and jobs.

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The researchers of the Hurricane Loss Reduction Consortium have instrumented homes along the Florida coast that were subjected to the winds of various storms. They have analyzed these results and made preliminary comparisons to wind tunnel results.

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To help the news media give its readers information they need to recover from a disaster, Virginia Cooperative Extension has developed a website with publications and tips.

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Sensors invented by the Center for Photonics Technology will make oil wells more productive. Meanwhile, an economical fuel cell material created by the Macromolecules and Interfaces Institute will reduce our dependence on petroleum-based energy.

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A blooming Amorphophallus titanum, or titan arum, is so rare that only 20 have bloomed in the United States. VT's second such plant will flower on or about August 4.

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Affordable homeownership is generally available in most of Virginia, according to a recent study that measures affordability based on percent of income required for owner-occupied homes. But regions like Northern Va.-Fairfax and Dulles-Loudoun are out of reach for the average Virginian.

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Unmanned air-ground vehicle experiments will begin this year at the Virginia International Raceway near Danville as an initial step in the Joint Unmanned Systems Testing, Experimentation, and Research (JOUSTER) program.

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A professor of geography says that the federal government's latest tightening this week of study travel is a sad development for students and scholars. The restrictions abolish the short term trips and mandate that study trips must be at least 10 weeks long.

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An associate professor of forestry and Extension specialist has been advising students and teachers at Ocean View Elementary School in Norfolk, Va., to save what appears to be the last mature dune in Norfolk on the southern shore of the Chesapeake Bay.

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A World Health Organization panel announced last week its conclusions that formaldehyde poses a greater hazard than previously thought. Emissions cannot be completely eliminated for certain adhesives. Emission-free alternatives exist but cost more.

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Researchers have mapped the genome of the pathogens that cause sudden oak death, killing tens of thousands of California and Oregon oak trees. It has now been found in woody ornamentals in the east. Nursery and eastern forest contact information is provided.

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Researchers have developed a way to monitor survival of black bear cubs in Virginia by using an expandable radio collar.

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By summer 2005, researchers will be able to look for evidence of water on Mars by examining submicroscopic bubbles in martian meteorites, determine whether fluids and silicate melts trapped in volcanic rock can help predict future eruptions, and locate buried mineral deposits using data from surface rocks.

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Virginia Tech researchers received 24 patents in 2003, including a gel that will allow women to discreetly control their fertility and reduce the risk of infection from sexually transmitted diseases. Fuel cell technologies, cancer cell toxin, new plants, materials, and sensors also received patents.

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Virginia Tech Commencement: Individuals' stories include overcoming challenges, twins with honors, and a man in a nontraditional field for men.

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Newsman Pierre Thomas will be the keynote speaker at the university commencement event. Howard University's Graduate School Dean Orlando L. Taylor will speak at Graduate School commencement. Harold G. Koenig will be the keynote speaker at Virginia Tech's Center for Gerontology's ceremony.

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The most recent ice age was about 20,000 years ago. But much harsher ice ages hit the Earth in an ancient geological interval known as "the Cryogenian Period" between 750 and 600 million years ago. A team of geologists now report evidence of at least three ice ages during that ancient time.

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Virginia Tech offers experts in political advertisements, what campaigns reveal about a candidate's ability to be an effective president, Internet politics, and voter turnout.

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Scientists are trying to clone cattle that are genetically incapable of developing "Mad Cow Disease." They have knocked out prion proteins in laboratory mice. They expect to clone a cow by year's end.

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Seismological Observatory and geological scientists and engineers at Tech continue to work to provide in-depth scientific analysis of Tuesday's Virginia earthquake. Contact information is provided.

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Aerospace engineer and professor is available to discuss the details of the Wright brothers' craft, and aircraft of the future: Two alums will fly a replica of the Wright Flyer on the 100th anniversary of their first flight.

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The papal elections of Christianity's first millennium were public affairs. By 1159, however, a small group selected the pontiff. History Professor Fred Baumgartner explores the high drama of the papal election in his book, just released by Palgrave MacMillan press.

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Virginia Tech is an official giant in the supercomputing world. Participants at the SuperComputing 2003 conference, held in Phoenix, Ariz., heard Sunday that Virginia Tech's X, is ranked number three in the world and the fastest university supercomputer.

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Virginians report themselves happy with the quality of their lives in Virginia, according to the 12th annual Quality of Life in Virginia Survey. But concern about the economy is growing. The survey also asked for opinions on crime, terrorism, health care, education, the environment, and several social issues.

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Virginia Tech is building a supercomputer that "will arguably be one of the world's cheapest world class supercomputers. The system will also be the most powerful homebuilt supercomputer in the world," according to Virginia Tech President Charles Steger.

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The loss of just fractions of seconds of electric power is costing the U.S. economy $100 billion a year. To solve the problem, researchers have developed a high-power semiconductor switch.

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A face may have many different appearances, as a result of angle, illumination, or expression. Researchers are using some complex mathematics to improve facial recognition technology, and one project is developing a face recognition system that uses color.

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Plans are underway for the 2nd annual IEEE Conference on Ultra Wideband Systems and Technologies.

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Jeff Mann's intense poetry focuses on love, loss, grieving, and accepatance. His full book of poetry, published by the award-winning Gival Press, includes work from his highly acclaimed chapbooks.

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Elizabeth Fine has produced the first book to document the history of stepping -- a complex performance that melds folk traditions with popular culture and involves synchronized percussive movement, singing, speaking, chanting, and drama. Developed by African American fraternities and sororities, it is now practiced worldwide.

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By providing public access to rare historical materials, Virtual Jamestown sheds new light on the experiences not only of the well-known historical figures, such as John Smith and Bartholomew Gosnold, but also of marginalized populations, such as indigenous peoples, African slaves, indentured servants, and colonial women.

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French artist Jackie Matisse, creator of kite-like art works, premiered a new art form when her kites flew in Virginia Tech's virtual-reality CAVE(tm). The new artistic technology is being explored and researched at Virginia Tech, and being expanded to include sound for future exhibitions in Europe.

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Consumers may be their own best protection when it comes to evaluating and safeguarding drinking water. And they have at least 33 flavors to choose between so far.

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Virginia Tech entomologists have documented for the first time the presence of mosquitoes infected with La Crosse virus in four Southwest Virginia Counties -- surprising because no human cases of the disease had been reported.

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Drugs that can drastically improve and prolong the life of HIV/AIDS patients are simply not accessible for the majority of HIV/AIDS patients in Africa. But medicinal plants are being used to treat the conditions and illnesses that infect people with HIV/AIDS.

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Popular culture is a fast-growing field made even more pertinent by the Iraq War and spectacular new technologies. Marshall Fishwick, recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award in Popular Culture, has been selected to edit a new series of books on the topic.

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Pesticides are one of the most significant sources of poison to the human nervous system when misused. New research indicates that various cultures may misinterpret the directions provided by the manufacturers, thereby increasing the chances for mishandling.

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The use of Chromated Copper Arsenic (CCA) treated wood has garnered a great deal of attention over the past few years due to possible environmental and public safety concerns. A new concern is the amount of CCA-treated wood being removed from homes and businesses and going into the nation's landfills.

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"The Simpsons" initially defied conventional television programming and "was the single most influential program in establishing FOX as a legitimate broadcast television network."

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Falls are the leading cause of accidental deaths among people over the age of 75 and the second leading cause for those aged 45 to 75. The relationship between aging and falling is a mystery.

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Each year, about 2.4 million people in the U.S. sustain some type of eye injury and about 30,000 are rendered legally blind. A computer model developed at Virginia Tech can be used to accurately predict the probability of injuries to the eye.

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A Virginia Tech researcher uses infrared remotely triggered cameras to photograph jaguars. Because jaguars have distinct coat patterns, individuals can be identified from photographs. This project will produce the first density estimates of jaguars in tropical rainforests.

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President George W. Bush has designated the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial for 2003-2006, beginning in Virginia Jan. 18. Dan Thorp of Virginia Tech's history department is an expert on the Lewis and Clark expedition and can tell some stories probably not found many places.

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Virginia Tech engineering researchers are designing e-textiles -- cloth interwoven with electronic components -- for use as personal "wearable computers" and as large sensing and communications fabrics.

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The release provides tips on alternative holiday gifts to avoid overspending and enhance the giving experience. Also listed is a researcher available to discuss any aspect of family relationships, including coping with stress, depression, etc.

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Although some people want to look at local elections as national in scope; they are not. The outcome of the 2002 mid-term House of Representatives and U.S. Senate elections will certainly have an effect on the partisan balance in national politics. However, these legislative contests should no more be considered national elections than were the same races in 2000.

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The influences that guided the transformation from reticent boy to confident commander are explored in "Stonewall Jackson's Book of Maxims," compiled and edited by James I. Robertson Jr., executive director of the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies at Virginia Tech.

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Two tips: 1) Establishing a democracy in Iraq would be a hard task for anyone... The Bush administration has not outlined a strategy; 2) History lesson: US had a role in Iraqi WMD capability.

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George W. Bush may be surprised to discover that he has one other staunch and loyal ally who requires absolutely nothing for his support for a U.S. invasion of Iraq: Osama Bin Laden.

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Despite the many truths in the new British report ("Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction"), as much history has been lost as found. The fact that Saddam used weapons of mass destruction is irrefutable. What is left out is the difficult and damning history that implicates the US and other members of the international community in Saddam's evil acts.