VT College of Science Quarterly August 2014 Vol. 2 No. 1 | Page 2

On the cover: The Gentoo penguin
(Pygoscelis papua) is one of the most
common on the Antarctic Peninsula. The
species can be up to 35 inches tall and
weigh up to 19 pounds. A breeding colony
of Gentoo penguins greeted Virginia Tech
students upon their arrival at Chilean Research Base Gonzalez Videla during a trip
to Antarctica. Read more starting on Pg. 4
Photo by Ralph Trecartin, Assistant Provost for International Education, State University of New York,
Brockport

ADMINISTRATION
Lay Nam Chang Dean
Gary Long Associate Dean for
Curriculum & Instruction
Tim Long Associate Dean for
Research & International Outreach
J.P. Morgan Associate Dean for
Graduate Studies & Strategic
Initiatives
Janet Sanders Assistant Dean for
Finance & Administration
Jerry Via Assistant Dean for
Undergraduate Instruction

ADVANCEMENT
Jenny Orzolek Director of
Development
Donna Wardell Director of Alumni
Relations
Rosaire Bushey Director of
Communications
Tim Howland Associate Director of
Corporate and Foundation Relations

DEPARTMENT HEADS
Peter Kennelly Biochemistry
Brenda Winkel Biological Sciences
Jim Tanko Chemistry
Nic Tideman Economics
Nancy Ross Geosciences
Peter Haskell Mathematics
Leo Piilonen Physics
Bob Stephens Psychology
Eric Smith Statistics
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color, disability, gender, national origin, political
affiliation, race, religion, sexual orientation, genetic
information, veteran status, or any other basis protected by law. Anyone having questions concerning
discrimination or accessibility should contact the
Office of Equity and Access.

2

College of Science Quarterly

Message from the Dean

The world is our classroom
By Lay Nam Chang
Dean

The academic
year, for many
people, encompasses those times
when classes are in
session and rooms
are filled with eager
students and enthusiastic professors.
But that’s only half
the story.
The modern educational workplace – and
that’s what it is for both faculty and students
– is shifting. Not only metaphorically, but also
moving in a very literal sense.
In this issue you’ll have the opportunity to

meet some of our faculty and students from
the College of Science who are using the
experiences of travel as a way to leverage the
impact of their classroom education.
From the ice fields of Antarctica to the vastness of Ghana to the hills of Germany, the college has been well represented during a time
most people think of as vacation.
The truth of the matter is, we are fortunate
to have educators who are willing to go to the
ends of the Earth to bring experiential and
interdisciplinary learning opportunities to our
students.
So, please take a few minutes and read
the stories, click the video links and join the
College of Science as we look at our students
and educators who are using the world as the
ultimate SCALE-UP classroom.

Patricia Dove honored with
Dana Medal from MSA
Patricia Dove, University Distinguished
Professor and C.P. Miles Professor of Geoscience in the College of Science at Virginia Tech,
recently received the Dana Medal from the
Mineralogical Society of America.
Dove, who was inducted into the National
Academy of Science in April 2013, received the
award Dec. 10 at the American Geophysical
Union meeting.
The Dana Medal recognizes sustained
scientific contributions through original
research in the mineralogical sciences by an
individual in the midst of his or her career.
Dove is considered one of today’s pre-eminent geochemists making major contributions to research in the biogeochemistry of
Earth processes, biomineralization, and geochemical controls on geophysical properties.
In addition to the Dana Medal, she has
received the Geochemical Society’s Clarke
Medal in 1996, and has twice been selected
for the Department of Energy’s Best University Research Award. She’s a Fellow of the
American Geophysical Union, the Geochemical Society, and the European Association of
Geochemistry.
Dove earned her bachelor’s degree and
master’s degree at Virginia Tech and her

Ph.D. from Princeton University. She joined
the faculty at Virginia Tech in 2000.
Previous winners of the Dana Medal from
Virginia Tech’s Department of Geosciences
include University Distinguished Professor Michael Hochella in 2002, and Ross Angel (now
at the University of Padua) in 2011.