VT College of Science Magazine Annual 2012 | Page 16

Science

Leo Piilonen, an internationally known particle scientist and university faculty member
since 1987, has been named the chair of the
Department of Physics. Piilonen holds the
William E. Hassinger Jr. Senior Faculty Fellowship in Physics and was recognized by the
Virginia Tech Alumni Association in 2011 with
the William E. Wine Award for teaching excellence. | Nancy L. Ross has been appointed
the head of the Department of Geosciences.
Ross is a professor of geosciences and has
been serving as the associate dean for research, graduate studies, and outreach in
the College of Science since 2004. She is also
the director of the university’s X-ray Crystallography Laboratory. | David G.I. Kingston,
University Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, has been named to the National Advisory
Council for Complementary and Alternative
Medicine. The council serves as the principal
advisory body to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. | University Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Thomas H. Ollendick received an honorary
doctorate from Stockholm University. He was
one of 10 individuals internationally to receive the honor. | Timothy E. Long, professor
of chemistry, associate dean of the College of

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Leo Piilonen

Nancy L. Ross

David Kingston

Thomas H. Ollendick

Timothy Long

Lee Cooper

Martha Vivian Blakely of Reading, Pa., was
named Outstanding Senior 2012 for the College of Science. Blakely graduated with a
degree in chemistry and biochemistry and a
minor in mathematics along with a near perfect grade point average.
Kayvon Izadpanah, of Sterling Va., a recent
graduate in biological sciences and biochemistry with minors in international studies,
medicine and society, and chemistry, and
Carly Stephens, of Centreville, Va., a recent
graduate in biological sciences with a minor
in Spanish, were selected as the 2012 Virginia
Tech Man and Woman of the Year.
OTHER NEWS

Virginia Tech has established a new Center
for Drug Discovery, housed in the College
of Science, to accelerate research that could
lead to new treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, cardiovascular disease, atherosclerosis, diseases of the central nervous system, and parasitic diseases, such as malaria
and Chagas disease. University Distinguished
Professor of Chemistry David G. I. Kingston
will serve as director.
More than 1,400 scientists participated in
The World Polymer Conference, MACRO
2012. Hosted by Virginia Tech and held in
Blacksburg, Va., the conference provided an
international forum for scientific discovery,
professional networking, research collaboration, interdisciplinary education, and dissemination of the most recent scientific advances.
Timothy E. Long, associate dean and professor in the Department of Chemistry, served as
chair of the conference committee.

Yili Hong

Amanda J. Morris

Susan Haymore

Julie Dunsmore

Melanie Matthews

COLLEGE OF SCIENCE MAGAZINE

Patricia M. Dove, C.P. Miles Professor
of Science in the Department of Geosciences in the College of Science, has
been elected a member of the National
Academy of Sciences (NAS) for her sustained excellence in original scientific
research. Membership in the NAS is one
of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States. Dove will be inducted into the academy next April during its
150th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
One of today’s pre-eminent geochemists, Dove has made major contributions to research
in the biogeochemistry of Earth processes, the physical basis of biomineralization, and
geochemical controls on geophysical properties. Her work is supported by the National
Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, among others.
“Dr. Dove’s pioneering research has helped put the university on the academic map nationally and internationally, and her outstanding teaching has been a draw for exceptionally talented graduate students and junior faculty,” said Virginia Tech Senior Vice
President and Provost Mark G. McNamee.
In addition, President Charles W. Steger said, “Having this world-class scholar in our
midst is a tremendous asset for the entire community, and we are thrilled that Dr. Dove’s
work has been recognized with this rare honor.”
Dove’s publications have been cited more than 3,000 times. She has had papers published in high-profile scientific journals such as Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of
the National Academy of Sciences.
Dove received the Geochemical Society’s Clarke Medal in 1996, and on two occasions,
she received the U.S. Department of Energy’s Best University Research Award. She is a
Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, the Geochemical Society, and the European
Association of Geochemistry.
Elected along with 83 others, Dove brings the number of active NAS members to 2,152.
She joins the ranks of an academy that included renowned members like Albert Einstein,
Robert Oppenheimer, Thomas Edison, Orville Wright, and Alexander Graham Bell. Nearly
200 academy members have won Nobel Prizes.
Dove earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech and her Ph.D. from
Princeton University. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University
and was a faculty member at Georgia Tech for several years before joining the Virginia
Tech faculty in 2000.

T. Daniel Crawford Michael Friedlander

Martha Vivian Blakely Kayvon Izadpanah

Jackson R. Webster William H. Woodall

Geoscientist
Patricia M. Dove
INDUCTED INTO
THE NATIONAL
ACADEMY OF
SCIENCES by Catherine Doss

Carly Stephens

For more news from the College of Science,
visit www.science.vt.edu/news
www.science.vt.edu

Established by President Abraham Lincoln, the National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineeri ng research.
The NAS is dedicated to furthering science and technology and their use for the general welfare.

Science

FACULTY | Staff NEWS

STUDENT NEWS

TOP HONOR

NEWS

Jackson R. Webster, professor of ecology,
received the 2012 William E. Wine Award. Established in 1957 by the Virginia Tech Alumni
Association, the award is an automatic induction into the Academy of Teaching Excellence. | The European Network of Industrial
and Business Statistics recognized William
H. Woodall, professor of statistics, with the
Box Medal. The annual award recognizes an
extraordinary statistician who has made remarkable contributions to the development
and application of statistical methods in
business and industry. | Yili Hong, assistant
professor of statistics, was named a DuPont
Young Professor for 2011, and was one of only
18 such professors named from 11 U.S. and six
international universities. | Oak Ridge Associated Universities selected Amanda J. Morris,
an assistant professor in the Department of
Chemistry investigating sustainable energy,
to receive the 2012 Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award. | Susan R. Haymore, lead advising coordinator in the College of Science, has received the university’s
2012 President’s Award for Excellence, and
the Governor’s Award for Customer Service.
| Julie C. Dunsmore, associate professor
of psychology and director of the Social Development Lab, and Melanie H. Matthews,
education support specialist for new undergraduate programs, were among five recently
named Virginia Tech Multicultural Fellows.

Science, and member of the Macromolecules
and Interfaces Institute at Virginia Tech, has
been presented with the Pressure Sensitive
Tape Council 2011 Carl Dahlquist Award for
his research relating to adhesive tape technology. The American Chemical Society also
named him a Mark Scholar. This award is one
of three given annually to reward leaders in
the combined fields of polymer science and
engineering. | Lee Cooper, clinical associate
professor of psychology and director of the
Psychological Services Center, received the
university’s 2012 Edward S. Diggs Teaching
Scholars Award. The award is presented annually to three Virginia Tech faculty members
to recognize exceptional contributions to the
teaching program and learning environment.
| The 2012 Virginia Tech Alumni Association
Award for Excellence in Research has been
awarded to T. Daniel Crawford, professor
of chemistry. Crawford joined the university
in 2000 and has since been recognized for
his groundbreaking work in theoretical and
computational chemistry. | The Virginia Tech
Carilion School of Medicine announced the
appointment of Michael J. Friedlander
to the position of senior dean for research.
Friedlander is the founding executive director
of the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute and a professor of biological sciences and
core faculty member in the School of Biomedical Engineering and Science at Virginia Tech.

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