Accolades
Chuanxue Hong, associate professor of plant pathology, physiology, and weed science, received the 2007 College Award
for Research Excellence, Applied Research. Working from the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center
(AREC), Hong supports the nursery and landscape industry by focusing his efforts on controlling plant pathogens in irrigation water.
“His program not only provided growers with improved water treatment technology for immediate saving, but also laid a solid foundation for future management,” says Peter Schultz, professor of entomology and director of the Hampton Roads AREC. “Many nurseries throughout Virginia and across the nation use his improved chlorination protocol, producing more and better quality crops while reducing fungicide usage.”
Schultz adds that one Virginia nursery saved more than $17,000 by implementing Hong’s methods on one pansy crop. The annual savings are estimated in the millions of dollars in Virginia alone, with a much higher figure nationally. Hong is also developing biologically based, environmentally sound, cost-effective water decontamination technologies against the plant-destroying Phytophthora species.
Kenny Webb, professor and head of the Department of Animal and Poultry Sciences, received the 2007 College Award for Research Excellence, Basic Research. The award recognizes his discovery that the absorption of small peptides contributes greatly to animal nutrition.
Prior to the pioneering research by Webb and his students, animal scientists assumed that free amino acids were the only absorbable end products of protein digestion. Their observation of animal responses to different dietary regimens by changes in concentrations of free amino acids in blood plasma led to questionsabout amino acid circulation and transport across
the gastrointestinal tract.
Because of Webb’s efforts, animal scientists across the globe now recognize peptide absorption as an important physiological process and are devising nutritional regimens for livestock and poultry that take this understanding into account, especially for younger animals. Additionally, several animal nutritional supplements now being developed takeadvantage of peptide absorption.
Bill Beal, professor of animal and poultry sciences, was presented with the university’s 2007 Sporn Award for Excellence in Teaching Introductory Subjects.
Beal combines enthusiasm for the subject with concern for his students in his course “Introduction to Animal and Poultry Science” and in its corresponding lab. This course lays the foundation for all
animal and poultry sciences majors and covers a range of subjects, from species of animals and disciplines (nutrition, genetics, physiology, management) to food-safety and animal welfare issues. He routinely invites students’ parents to attend mock lab sessions so parents can experience what their students have learned.
Beal’s students deeply appreciate his contagious and invigorating enthusiasm for the course material – one student called his enthusiasm “addictive.” But what students really value and respond to are Beal’s explicit social objectives for the course, his effort to create an atmosphere of freedom, accountability, and trust, which students know lays the foundation for their success both at Virginia Tech and beyond.
Percival Zhang, assistant professor of biological systems engineering, has received an Air Force Young Investigator award to advance development of an onboard process to convert a cellulosic material into hydrogen to power fuel cell vehicles.
In the Air Force-funded research, Zhang will engineer enzymes to expedite the conversion of the insoluble cellulosic substrate into the soluble product that is ultimately converted to hydrogen energy – to effect a phase change from solid to liquid. “It is a ratelimiting step in the process and our research will speed up the reaction rate,” said Zhang.
“How fast the reaction happens is an important consideration because you don’t want to wait in your vehicle while the product of a biochemical process feeds your fuel cell,” says Zhang.
The Air Force Office of Scientific Research will award approximately $9.5 million in grants to 29 scientists and engineers who submitted winning research proposals through the Air Force’s Young Investigator Research Program. A total of 215 proposals were received in response to the solicitation in major areas of interests to the Air Force.
Ozzie Abaye, associate professor of crop and soil environmental sciences, and Thomas Wilchynski, safety and mechanical manager at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center, received Andy Swiger Land-Grant Awards for their contributions to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Established to reward creative achievement and commitment to the college, the award recognizes both a faculty and a staff member each year whose accomplishments in teaching, research, or Extension greatly benefit the agriculture industry and improves the quality of life for Virginians.
Abaye was honored for her involvement and interaction with students in the college. Along with her teaching and advising responsibilities, she has served as the Virginia Tech Crop Judging Team coach and mentor for 15 years. She is noted for her unique personal teaching and advising style that allows her to develop a remarkable rapport with her students.
“I can think of no one who better exemplifies the landgrant concept than Ozzie; she takes ‘city kids’ and makes them knowledgeable as agriculturalists,” says David Parrish, professor of crop and soil environmental sciences. “At the same time, she takes students from rural backgrounds and opens them to a whole world.” In his position at the Hampton Roads Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Virginia Beach,
Wilchynski is responsible for the maintenance and environmental health and safety for the center. Through his diligent efforts, he has been able to integrate facility systems to improve efficiency and environmental quality, as well as help to reduce costs. In addition to his facility responsibilities, he also assists faculty members with a variety of research needs such as fabricating and repairing instruments, which help them keep their research on time and on track.
“Thomas’ experience and enthusiasm make him a valuable resource,” says Peter Schultz, director of the Hampton Roads AREC. “He has been instrumental in leading the AREC staff into areas they have often been reluctant to address. Thomas
has made such a positive impact here at the Hampton Roads AREC.”