Accolades

Foster A. Agblevor - 2008 College Award for Research Excellence, Basic Research
Robert F. McDuffie - 2008 W.E. Wine Award for Teaching Excellence
James M. Orband - 2008 Alumni Award for Excellence in Extension
Scott Salom - 2008 College Award for Excellence, Applied Research
Glenda M. Snyder - 2008 Alumni Award for Excellence in International Outreach
Rod R. Youngman - 2008 Alumni Award for Excellence in Extension

Foster A. Agblevor, associate professor, biological systems engineering (BSE), received the 2008 College Award for Research Excellence, Basic Research. Agblevor has been the research leader in biomass conversion into value-added products, with more than 18 years of experience in his field.

Agblevor’s research concentrates on thermo-chemical biomass conversion and rapid characterization of biomass feed stocks. His most recent efforts focus on developing a pyrolysis process to convert poultry litter into biofuel or a slow-release fertilizer; and a low-temperature, catalytic, biomass-gasification process to produce green diesel. His leadership of the bioprocess-engineering group in BSE has helped Virginia Tech become one of the leading institutions in the world in this field.

“Foster’s scholarship has blossomed alongside the increase in societal interest in biofuels. Research that emphasized waste disposal from both the poultry and the agronomical (cotton) industries of the commonwealth were skillfully combined with research with focus on thermal and enzymatic/biochemical technologies in Foster’s labs,” says Wolfgang Glasser, professor emeritus from the Department of Wood Science and Forest Products.

Scott M. Salom, professor of entomology, received the 2008 College Award for Research Excellence, Applied Research. The award recognizes Salom’s research efforts with biological control of forest insect pests such as the hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA) and the southern pine beetle. Salom also has developed several online databases to improve the availability of pest management resources to others in the field.

Salom is part of a large coordinated effort to manage the HWA in the eastern United States. He plays a key leadership role in this national effort with his lab being among the most consistently relied upon university cooperator over the 10-year life of the program.

“His comprehensive work with the HWA predator Laricobiuss nigrinus represents a model for implementation of classical biocontrol,” says Daniel Herms, associate professor and associate chair of the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University. “Of the three predators that have been released, L. nigrinus is considered to have the most potential, and Dr. Salom’s program has been centrally involved every step of the way … If this work is ultimately successful at preserving hemlocks, it will represent one of the greatest landmark achievements in the history of forest entomology.”

Robert F. McDuffie, associate professor of horticulture, received the 2008 W.E. Wine Award for Teaching Excellence. He was recognized for his superior teaching skills, his mentoring of undergraduate students, and his leadership in producing new programs that benefit students and broaden their education.

McDuffie teaches horticulture courses on landscape construction, residential landscape design, history of landscape architecture, and computer-aided landscape design. Several years ago he saw a need for qualified individuals in the growing landscape industry and developed an option in landscape contracting.

According to Jerzy Nowak, former head of the Department of Horticulture, the program is a huge success, and a majority of the undergraduate horticulture students enroll in it. “The program is recognized as one of the premier programs in the country, evidenced by how rigorously our students are recruited and by our students’ success in the ALCA (Associated Landscape Contractors of America) Student Career Days competitions,” he said.

In addition to his numerous domestic field trips that encourage students to broaden their perspective of horticulture, he organized the first two-week, study-abroad trip to England. The program has grown over the past decade to allow alumni, landscape professionals, and others to join students in studying gardens around the world. More than 500 participants have joined these study tours to 15 countries on four continents. “No one ever asked him to create a new curriculum or a study-abroad program, but he saw a need and he did it,” said Nowak.

“Robert McDuffie and his instruction exemplify the non-science side of a very science-based department,” said Emily Feagan, a 2006 Virginia Tech graduate in horticulture. “It seems as though he has seen and experienced everything he teaches and brings it all into the classroom.”

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