Marine biologist awarded two NSF grants in two days BY JIM RAPER Kent Carpenter, an Old Dominion University marine biologist whose research in recent years has shed light on the remarkably high marine diversity of the Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago (IMPA), will expand upon that work as the lead principal investigator on a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) award will provide support over five years for scientists from 15 universities, including Duke, Penn State and NYU in the United States, and others in the Philippines, Indonesia and Malaysia. The ODU Research Foundation will administer the grant. A main goal of the project is to determine why the IMPA has such rich diversity in fishes. New techniques in genetics and ocean current research will be put to use. Carpenter was informed about the PIRE grant on June 29, one day after he got word that the NSF had funded another grant for which he is an investigator. Under this grant, which involves the evolution and diversity of Euteleostei ray-finned fishes, ODU will receive $383,000 over five years. “I’m excited about both projects because they involve the three things I am most interested in: evolution of fishes, speciation in the marine environment and marine conservation,” Carpenter said. The e-mails he was sending to colleagues and friends on June 29 were headlined, “Unbelievable,” reflecting his reaction to two awards in two days. In response to the awards, Provost Thomas L. Isenhour called Carpenter a “cutting-edge marine biologist” who is making major contributions to our understanding of systematics and evolution of marine fishes. The NSF awards cap an extraordinary month for Carpenter’s research. The Global Marine Species Assessments (GMSA) project, which he leads and is headquartered at ODU, received a $1 million shot in the arm in early June from one of its sponsoring organizations, the World Conservation Union. The GMSA also won worldwide media attention during the month from a warning it issued about the damage done to Caribbean coral by climate change, warmer waters and toxic runoffs. Carpenter’s past work with the World Conservation Union and Conservation International has included a focus on waters near the Philippines, where he has documented the existence of a region that has the richest shore-fish biodiversity in the world. When President Gloria Arroyo of the Philippines signed an executive order Nov. 8, 2006, to strengthen environmental protections applying to waters of her archipelago nation, she was endorsing Carpenter’s scientific research. His nearly 30 years of research in and around the Philippines resulted two years ago in a much-publicized finding – waters near the nation are the “center of the center” for world marine shore-fish biodiversity. The entire Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago (IMPA) has extreme marine biodiversity, but much more needs to be known about the reasons for this concentration. In fact, the origins of this biodiversity that Carpenter has helped to catalogue “remain one of the greatest evolutionary and biogeographical mysteries,” according to a project summary he wrote for the NSF. One reason, he contended, is the “lack of a coordinated research and education effort focused on this question across the different countries and cultures of the IMPA.” Although the IMPA is the center of marine biodiversity, active research in this region is far less than that in the Great Barrier Reef and Caribbean regions, the summary asserts. By joining forces, researchers from the United States and the IMPA countries can overcome bureaucratic roadblocks, cultural and linguistic differences and difficulties in identifying local collaborators that have plagued IMPA marine research in the past, the summary adds. The researchers will employ a novel multidisciplinary approach that combines geospatial modeling of ocean currents with comparative population genetics. “Better understanding of the origins of marine life in the IMPA will lead to a better understanding of the evolution of biodiversity on the planet and how to safeguard this biodiversity,” according to the summary. The title of the $2.5 million grant is: “Origins of High Marine Biodiversity in the Indo-Malay-Philippine Archipelago: Transforming a Biodiversity Hotspot into a Research and Education Hotspot.” The U.S. Peace Corps, which sent Carpenter to the Philippines more than 30 years ago for the volunteer assignment that sparked his interest in the nation’s marine environment, is a partner on the grant. So is Conservation International, which has supported Carpenter’s research in recent years. For the other project, “Collaborative Research: Assembling Euteleost Tree of Life – Addressing the Major Unresolved Problem in Vertebrate Phylogeny,” Carpenter will work with scientists at eight universities to answer questions about the crown group of ray-finned fishes. The 17,500 species of euteleosts include virtually all of the fish that are commercially harvested. Despite their popularity on the dinner table, however, the phylogenetic relationships among many euteleost taxa remain unresolved at the level of order, suborder and family, Carpenter said. By generating DNA sequence data for most of the species and comparing morphological characteristics, the researchers propose to advance scientific understanding of the evolution of fish diversity and to revise the systematics of euteleosts. Educational aspects of the grant include the production of a fish diversity guidebook for upper-elementary and middle school students, and the development of a Web page at http://fishtree.org. Back to top
Old Dominion increased campus security measures over the past few months, including the addition of several new public safety positions and implementation of an emergency text messaging system. The measures, some part of a security master plan and some in response to the tragedy at Virginia Tech, will be in full operation for the start of the fall semester. Four new public safety positions will be added, including two police officers, an emergency coordinator and a technology specialist to oversee the campus card access systems. A police substation will be opened at Powhatan Apartments this fall. Additionally, security officers have been posted at campus residence halls around the clock, peepholes will be installed in all suite-room doors and residence halls now require card access 24 hours a day. Students, faculty and staff can now sign up to receive emergency text messages from the university. The service, ODU Alerts, will deliver security information to users’ cell phones in the event of a campus emergency. ODU will continue to use campus-wide e-mail, the university Web site, information phone line, and television and radio media outlets to notify the public of an emergency. To sign up, members of the campus community can follow the link to “Emergency Alerts” from the home page or go directly to www.odu.edu/alerts. A Midas ID and password are needed. Users can register up to two cell phone numbers. Members of the campus community are encouraged to enroll for this service and to keep their information current. The following Q&A further explains the ODU Alerts system:
An important reminder: the ODU Web site is the primary and most complete resource for current emergency information. The ODU Alerts text messaging service is just one of the methods the university will use to communicate emergency information. If appropriate, global e-mails, the telephone switchboard, flyers, local media and other communication tools will also be used. Back to top Former students, emeritus professor and wife make majors gifts to ODU BY STEVE DANIEL Old Dominion has received generous capital campaign gifts from two alumni and a former faculty member, Daniel E. Sonenshine. The graduates, Sofia ’84 and Dr. David Konikoff ’74, recently pledged $250,000 over the next five years for the purchase of state-of-the-art instrumentation for the Dental Hygiene Care Facility. It will be renamed in their honor at a ceremony during the fall semester. Staffed and supervised by licensed dental hygienists and dentists, the facility trains future hygienists and provides services to ODU students, faculty, staff and the local community. Sofia Konikoff, who earned her bachelor’s degree in dental hygiene, worked full time as a hygienist from the time of her graduation until 1998, and helped her husband’s practice adopt a stronger dental hygiene focus. “Hygienists truly make a difference in the dental community,” she said. Konikoff said she made the gift, with her husband’s support, because of her love of and appreciation for the Old Dominion program. “The ODU staff does wonderful work, and I wanted to support them in growing the program and continuing to graduate better and better people,” she explained. Dr. Konikoff, who earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology, operates three offices in Virginia Beach and two in Chesapeake, with a total of 19 doctors and 36 hygienists. Sonenshine, professor emeritus of biological sciences, and his wife, Helen, recently announced two gifts to the university: $100,000 to support the Batten Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies and $50,000 to to establish the Helen N. and Daniel E. Sonenshine Lectureship in Jewish Studies. “The lectureship will bring in internationally known scholars to help students as well as the community at large gain a greater appreciation of Jewish and Israeli contributions to civilization, both ancient and modern,” the Sonenshines said in a statement. “Our contribution toward the Batten Endowed Chair in Jewish Studies will help ensure the growth and development of this important field of research and study.” The donation to the Batten Chair is a matching gift to the Batten challenge gift of $1.5 million to establish the endowment. The lectureship, to begin in spring 2008, will bring a distinguished scholar to campus each year as part of the Institute of Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding. Helen Sonenshine serves on the institute’s advisory board. The Sonenshines also fund the Daniel E. and Helen N. Sonenshine Lectureship in Infectious Diseases. The development office reports that the Propeller Club Port of Norfolk has established a $50,000 endowed scholarship in support of students in the maritime and supply management program. The endowment is in memory of Rolf Williams, a past president of the club and founder of Anders Williams Ship Agency, Marine Oil Service and Port City Transportation. It complements the club’s many years of support to the university. Back to top
The morning ceremony, for graduates from the colleges of Education, Engineering and Technology, and Sciences will begin at 9 a.m. Exercises for graduates from the colleges of Business and Public Administration, Arts and Letters, and Health Sciences will begin at 2 p.m. The university is expanding the traditional single ceremony to two separate programs due to the increasing number of fall graduates. For more information, including deadlines and participation information, visit www.odu.edu/commencement. Back to top
Fine and Performing Arts brochure, designed by Shara Weber, award of distinction;
The Office of Admissions received an award of distinction in the marketing and promotion packaging category for the “See Yourself in ODU Blue” compact disk, led by Heather Huling and designed by Bob Jones. The Communicator Awards are open to companies, agencies or organizations involved in producing communication materials. The award of excellence is given to those entries whose ability to communicate puts them among the best in the field. The award of distinction is presented for projects that exceed industry standards in quality and excellence. Back to top
Eligible classified employees may receive assistance for up to 15 credit hours per year: six credit hours for the fall semester, six for the spring semester and three for the summer sessions at the in-state rate. Eligible part-time classified staff and hourly employees are eligible to receive 75 percent of the benefit or less (prorated upon the hours worked per 40-hour week). Requests to complete degrees at other Virginia four-year institutions must meet the following requirements:
Eligible faculty and faculty administrators will be awarded full tuition support at ODU, not to exceed three credit hours per semester and three in the summer session at the in-state rate. The tuition assistance program for dependents and spouses of employees is not available in the summer. Spouses and dependents of full-time faculty, faculty administrators and classified employees will be eligible for tuition assistance at ODU for six credit hours in the fall semester and six in the spring semester. The benefit for dependents and spouses of part-time classified and hourly employees will be prorated upon the hours worked per average 40-hour week, not to exceed 75 percent of the benefit. Policies may be found on the Web at www.odu.edu/af/humanresources/benefits. Information and application forms are at http://forms.odu.edu/browse.php?cat=4. For more information call Natalie Watson at 683-4237. Back to top
Light refreshments will be served. Registration is not required but requested: cswaine@odu.edu. Back to top Associate athletic director to join staff this month Bruce Stewart, the senior associate athletic director of finance at Coastal Carolina University, has been named an associate athletic director at Old Dominion, effective July 25. “He will have significant administrative responsibilities for football and other sports in our department, as well as oversight of our athletic facilities and will play a vital role in the continued growth of our athletic program,” said athletic director Jarrett. Stewart has spent the past nine years at Coastal Carolina in a variety of administrative positions, including budget and finance, internal operations, fundraising and promotions, and basketball operations, and played a key role in the addition of football at Coastal Carolina six years ago. In addition to his athletic experience, Stewart served as an adjunct professor of business law at Coastal Carolina from 1998 to 2000. He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College, and a master’s in sports management and a juris doctor in law degree from Ohio State. Back to top
The work by artists Matt Sesow and Chris Dacre “is an objection to our neutralized reception of horrific current world events,” according to Katherine Huntoon, gallery director. Dacre created his site-specific installation “War is Fun” as his thesis exhibition in 2006 for his M.F.A. in printmaking at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He transforms the gallery wall into the peaceful world of childhood’s felt board, resurfacing it with large colorful areas of felt and populating it with a plentiful supply of silk-screened cutouts of tanks, gas masks, imaginary creatures, weapons and pools of blood. “In ‘War is Fun,’ we are invited to regress to an earlier state when ‘playing war’ was no more harmful than this,” notes Huntoon. In Sesow’s “blindingly colorful scrapings and paintings responding to terror plots, missile tests, car bombings and dismemberment,” the artist “is committed to showing humanity a way off the battlefield,” Huntoon says. More information about the artists and their work can be found at www.sesow.com and www.chrisdacre.com/MFA home.htm. For gallery hours call 683-2355. Back to top
The program will be broadcast by WHRV-89.5 F.M. at 1:30 p.m. July 26. A broadcast also can be heard by visiting the Hampton Roads public broadcasting family of Web sites at WHRO.org. At withgoodreasonradio.org, the program will be available in the future within the site’s archives. It is produced for the Virginia Higher Education Broadcasting Consortium by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and is broadcast in partnership with public radio stations in Virginia and Washington, D. C. Recent research by Kelley has examined outcomes for children of a drug-abusing or alcohol-abusing parent, the effects of deployment on Navy families and the importance of fathers in children’s development. One research focus has been on the type of alcohol-abuse treatment therapies that are most successful for women. Kelley was part of a team whose paper published last year in the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology reported on treatments for women that are quite different from treatments traditionally prescribed for men. Back to top
The total budget of $381.13 million includes $84.52 million for instruction and $38.35 million for academic support. The budget reflects raises for faculty and staff, as well as funds for the hiring of new faculty. As recommended by the Academic and Research Advancement Committee, the board approved revisions to the policy on tenure and the policy on academic rank and promotion in rank. These changes address conflict of interest in promotion and tenure decisions and provide for the formation of a department committee when fewer than three members are available from the department, and require a standard letter to be sent to external reviewers. The board also approved an amendment to the early retirement incentive plan for faculty to better manage position utilization and the selection of replacement faculty. It also provides for flexibility in plan implementation for the second year, which may be needed to better serve the needs of the university and the faculty. In other matters, the board approved the renaming of the Motion Analysis Research Laboratory to the John L. Echternach Sr. Research Laboratory in the College of Health Sciences. A professor and eminent scholar emeritus, Echternach founded the physical therapy education program at ODU and remained as its director until 1992. The board also approved a resolution for naming the Charles N. Cooper Room of the Institute for Jewish Studies and Interfaith Understanding. A local philanthropist and community leader, Cooper spearheaded the establishment of the institute in 2002. In other action, the board endorsed the following eight emeritus appointments, effective June 1, 2007: John P. Broderick, English; Charlie H. Cooke, mathematics and statistics; Gilbert R. Hoy, physics; Ronald E. Johnson, ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences; Richard K. Keplar, engineering technology; Philip Raisor, English; Thomas C. Royer, ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences; and Nancy L. Wade, biological sciences. The board also approved the appointment of two faculty with tenure: Carol Doll as professor of educational curriculum and instruction and Emilia Oleszak as associate professor of biological sciences. The board endorsed six administrative appointments, including Elizabeth H. Esinhart as director of interdisciplinary studies, teacher preparation programs and senior lecturer, and Jason J. McSparren as assistant director of the English Language Center. In other action, the board approved the following faculty representatives to board committees for 2007-08: Harold Wilson, Academic and Research Advancement; Ken Daley, Administration and Finance; James English, Institutional Advancement; and Garrett McAuliffe, Student Advancement.
The team, which included Bob Fenning, vice president for administration and finance; Marty Sharpe, assistant vice president for institutional research; and Deborah Swiecinski, assistant vice president for financial planning, took their case to Richmond, arguing that because of the university’s growth and transformation since its last peer grouping in 1997, it should no longer be compared to its former peer institutions. “We had passed them in areas including research, graduation rates and student quality,” Runte said in a letter to the campus community July 5. “In addition, the peer group was used to determine the allowable level of faculty salaries. Each university in Virginia was supposed to reach but not surpass the median salary of 60 percent of its peers. “Since we had invested in faculty salaries and since our peer group was no longer comparable, we did not receive special state funds for salary increases. This meant that we had to take these funds from other revenue sources. This was a handicap as we are still underfunded and need every cent to provide for additional faculty, student support and general overhead costs.” Runte added that membership in the new peer group will allow Old Dominion to qualify for increases in salary funds again. Included in the peer group is Florida State University, whose $93,301,363 in research expenditures for fiscal year 2005, leads the group in that category, with Wright State University at the low end of the scale at $27,075,511. In the enrollment category, the first and last positions are held by the University of Central Florida (44,856) and University of Southern Mississippi (15,030). For six-year graduation rates, the highs and lows are held by the University of Delaware, at 76 percent, and University of Memphis, with 33 percent. ODU’s numbers for the three comparable categories are: $40,211,338 in research expenditures, 21,274 in enrollment and 48 percent for six-year graduation rate. Seven schools in the new group were included in ODU’s 1997 peer group: Florida International University, Georgia State University, Oklahoma State University (main campus), University of Oklahoma (Norman), University of Rhode Island, University of Wisconsin (Milwaukee) and Wright State University (main campus). ODU Faculty Salary Peer Group-June 2007 Old Dominion University
(Judge and Laroussi already held the rank of associate professor.) Back to top
ODU’s counseling program was cited in the article as one “where a pocket of instructors specializes in and stresses multicultural counseling. ...” As noted in the story, “In a nation whose immigrant population is booming, many counselors find themselves working with people and cultures they had little to no contact with before.” McAuliffe, author of the book “Culturally Alert Counseling: A Comprehensive Introduction,” published last month by Sage Publications), and a companion demonstration video, offers his suggestions on practices counselors can employ to be more culturally sensitive, and therefore more effective. One suggestion is that counselors should acknowledge cultural differences early in their sessions and “explicitly consider gender, ethnicity, religion and other factors in the client’s world.” Also quoted in the story is Timothy Grothaus, assistant professor and school counseling coordinator.For more information call 683-3159. Back to top
Researchers from Old Dominion University’s Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology will participate in a Texas-based project designed to increase the use of wind turbines for the production of electricity in the United States. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced Monday, June 25, that it was granting $4 million for the development of wind turbine testing facilities in Texas and Massachusetts. The $2 million that goes to Lone Star Wind Alliance in Texas will help build a facility near Corpus Christi. Oktay Baysal, the dean of the Batten college and professor of aerospace engineering, will direct ODU’s participation. The lead member of the alliance is the University of Houston. Seven other universities are involved, most of which are in Texas, as well as several government agencies and energy companies. DOE also awarded $2 million for development of a similar facility at Boston harbor. The goal of the facilities is to advance wind turbine technologies for the production of renewable energy. President George W. Bush has announced that he believes wind energy can produce as much as 20 percent of the electricity consumed in the United States. Currently, wind generates less than 1 percent of the nation’s electricity. New turbines, utilizing giant blades longer than a football field, could help make a production leap possible, but there are no facilities in the country large enough to test such blades. Baysal predicted that ODU’s involvement in the project could be a boon to the state’s renewable energy initiative. One of the missions of the new Virginia Coastal Energy Research Consortium (VCERC), which is headquartered at ODU, is to explore the harnessing of wind energy. ODU engineers can assist the Texas project in several ways, Baysal said. The school’s Langley Full Scale Wind Tunnel, the largest university-operated facility of its kind in the country, has provided ODU engineers with expertise that can be tapped for design and operational tasks. Another asset is the university’s Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center (VMASC). Baysal said he and other ODU engineers can build computational models of wind turbine prototypes and run virtual tests of them before they are built. Finally, the dean noted his college’s overall competencies in aerospace, civil, electrical and mechanical engineering, and the history of cooperation between ODU researchers and NASA. Baysal also pointed out that Hampton Roads, with its shipbuilding infrastructure and experience with ship and barge transportation of very large structures and instruments, is a region that could readily adapt to the construction, installation and maintenance of huge offshore turbine towers. He said ODU’s strengths in oceanography and physics also would be beneficial to any wind farm that government and industry decide to place along the Virginia coastline. The Texas and Massachusetts facilities are scheduled to open in 2009 and to cost about $20 million each. Other development money is coming from governments in Texas and Massachusetts and private industry. Back to top
The article is titled “Platforms for Discovery: Exploring Titan and Venus.” Noor, the William E. Lobeck Professor of Aerospace Engineering and director of ODU’s Center for Advanced Engineering Environments, wrote the article together with James A. Cutts, chief technologist in the Solar Exploration Program Directorate at Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Tibor S. Balint, senior engineer with the Planetary and Lunar Missions Concept Group at Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Explorations of Titan and Venus were selected as two of the flagship missions in the 2006 NASA Solar System Exploration Roadmap. The authors explore the sort of probes these missions could utilize to collect surface and near-surface samples, measurements and images. The solution they favor is a mobile atmospheric platform, together with a high-orbiting data relay satellite. For the Titan probe, the platform and relay orbiter would be packed separately and delivered over about seven years to their destination. They would travel by means of a conventional rocket and a solar electric propulsion system before the platform package is hurtled into Titan’s atmosphere and the orbiter package just skims the atmosphere to settle into its orbit. The authors propose some sensing duties for the orbiter, but, more importantly, it would serve, as its name implies, to relay data from the platform to Earth. The orbiter’s much larger antenna would allow the transmission of more scientific data than would be possible from the platform alone. For most of its life span – which remarkably could be decades – the platform would float thousands of feet above Titan, but close enough to not be hampered by atmospheric haze and interference. Occasionally, it would dip to the surface to take measurements and collect samples. On the gondola would be 100 pounds of instruments, including cameras and spectrometers. The balloon system, known as Montgolfiere, could operate efficiently in Titan’s high air density and low temperature – about minus 300 degrees Fahrenheit – with a long-lived radioisotope heat source, the authors state. Venus, which is closer to the sun than Earth and much warmer, presents different challenges for NASA, but probes of that planet also could be handled by some sort of air mobility platform, according to the article. The authors contend that a sensor device that floats above the surface of the planet has advantages over a surface rover. If NASA’s target schedule holds, the Titan probe would be launched in 2020 and arrive at Titan about 2028 to begin a five-year mission. The Venus probe would be launched more than five years after the Titan rocket, but would need only 180 days to get to its target, and therefore would begin its mission first. “A single atmospheric platform complemented with an orbiter proves a formidable exploration capability,” the authors conclude. “In the next two decades we can expect such platforms to assume a key role in the exploration of Venus and Titan.” Back to top
The conference brought together 1,100 participants from more than 30 countries. It is a function of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The award, which includes a $2,000 prize, is presented every other year for “outstanding contributions to pulsed power technology in developing programs of research, education and information exchange.” The Peter Haas and Erwin Marx Awards are the two most prestigious awards presented by the Pulsed Power Society. Schoenbach was honored primarily for establishing a new, interdisciplinary field of research – bioelectrics – within the pulsed power community. As the award winner, he addressed the conference at a plenary session on the topic, “Bioelectrics: Using Pulsed Power Technology to Control Biological Cell Functions.” As the founding director of the four-year-old Reidy Center, which is operated by ODU and Eastern Virginia Medical School, Schoenbach has attracted a group of researchers of international renown and has led them to the forefront of bioelectrics research. He is recognized as a pioneer in the field of intracellular electromanipulation. Schoenbach’s innovations include the use of pulsed electric fields of very short duration to trigger an orderly self-destruct mechanism – called apoptosis – in tumor cells. His collaborators at the Reidy Center include Stephen J. Beebe, EVMS professor of physiological sciences and pediatrics; Juergen F. Kolb, ODU assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; and Michael Stacey and Andrei Pakhomov, research associate professors in bioelectrics. Back to top
A nanoparticle optics project of researcher X. Nancy Xu has been chosen to receive a Nano 50 Award from Nanotech Briefs, the digital magazine from the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs. The annual awards program honors the top 50 technologies, products and innovators that have significantly impacted, or are expected to impact, the state of the art in nanotechnology. A panel of experts in nanotechnology and micro-electro-mechanical systems selected the winners. Xu, an associate professor of chemistry and biochemistry whose work is supported by grants of more than $1 million each from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health, has won international attention for creating nanoparticles that can enter a cell and literally “light up” the interior. She has a large research group of graduate students and postdoctoral assistants, and collaborates as well on the ODU campus with Chris Osgood, associate professor of biological sciences. An article last year distributed by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Alliance for Nanotechnology in Cancer, focused on the importance to cancer research of nanotechniques Xu has developed for probes of living cells. Most past and current research findings about biochemical reactions in cells come from tests of dead cells or of purified biomolecules extracted from cells. The “rate of a biochemical reaction occurring in a test tube could be quite different from that observed for the same reaction inside a cell,” the article states. The NCI article gave high marks to Xu’s silver nanoparticles, which are exceedingly bright and do not photo-decompose, surpassing any other available probes for cellular imaging. These silver nanoparticles, according to the article, promise to provide detailed information (via advanced microscopes) about the biological processes and dynamics in living cells. This information can be used to (1) identify changes that occur when cells undergo malignant transformation, (2) perform single-cell cancer tests and (3) provide exceedingly early cancer detection that could bring major improvements to cancer therapies. “The primary challenge now is to develop methods for modifying the surface of the nanoparticles to make them more biocompatible, so that more biological processes can be observed without perturbing or destroying the cell’s intrinsic biochemical machinery,” Xu was quoted as saying in the NCI article. Nanotech Briefs wrote in its awards notification to Xu that the Nano 50 winners “are the best of the best, the innovative people and designs that will move nanotechnology to key mainstream markets.” The awards will be presented at a dinner during the NASA Tech Briefs National Nano Engineering Conference in Boston in November. Xu’s ODU research group includes: postdoctoral fellows Tao Huang, Y. Eugene Song and Hongwu Xu, and graduate students Prakash Nallathamby, Kerry Lee, Lauren Browning, Tanvi Desai and Jill Lowman. Back to top
Luisa Igloria, associate professor of English, received the 49th Parallel Poetry Prize and Natalie Diaz, who graduated in May with a master of fine arts degree, was awarded the Tobias Wolff Fiction Prize. Both awards include a $1,000 prize and publication of the works in the journal, which is affiliated with Western Washington University. Igloria’s poem, “The Clear Bones,” was one of 1,000 entries in the poetry contest. Poet Carolyne Wright, who judged the 12 finalist poems, said of Igloria’s work: “This poem enacts moments of wonder enabled by a bracing intellectual curiosity, demonstrated herein explorations of relationships between the applied arts (paper-making) and the arts of divination: realms of deep relevance to writers. ...” Igloria, who has taught at Old Dominion since 1998, also recently was selected as the 2007 winner of the James Hearst Poetry Prize for her poem, titled “Venom.” Presented by North American Review, the nation’s oldest literary magazine which is published by the University of Northern Iowa, the award includes a $1,000 prize. Diaz, who received her bachelor’s degree in English from ODU in 2000 and was a four-year player for the Lady Monarchs basketball team, won Bellingham’s fiction prize for her short story, “The Hooferman.” Born and raised in the Fort Mojave Indian village in Needles, Calif., Diaz said the story is about a “mythological creature that is equated with the devil in my Mojave culture” and addresses “the reality of violence, evil, alienation and exile.” Diaz’s story was one of more than 500 contest submissions. Judge Peter Rock said of “The Hooferman”: “This story is a marvel of wonder and precision. It cleaves to a great physicality ... and does not mistake length for profundity or power.” In June, Diaz also won the Pablo Neruda Prize in Poetry given by Nimrod International Journal of Prose and Poetry for her “No More Cake Here” and other poems. Her set of three poems was among more than 550 contest entries. As first prize winner, she receives $2,000 and a trip to the University of Tulsa, where she will give a reading and participate in a poetry workshop/conference. James Bliss, associate professor of psychology – Outstanding Undergraduate Adviser. Back to top
As 3-year-olds in Carol DeRolf’s preschool class at ODU’s Lions Club Child Study Center, Julia DuBeau and Sarah Goodwyn became fast friends in nurturing surroundings, where they learned everything from colors and shapes to creative expression and sharing. The two also learned about friendship. “It just happened,” recalled Sarah. “We met the first day and have been inseparable ever since.” That was nine years ago, and the two have remained close, though they live in different cities. Last month, the rising seventh-graders surprised their former teacher with an offer to return to their “alma mater” as volunteer helpers. “I was delighted,” said DeRolf. “What a nice thing to do, plus it showed that their experience here was good enough that they wanted to come back. That’s a real compliment.” But perhaps the best surprise was discovering that the two girls had remained friends over the years. “It’s neat that they have stayed closed, particularly since they’re of different races, different backgrounds and from different towns,” she said. “And I love the parents for helping them nurture their friendship. “They have been great helpers, and they’re so poised. They work together well and each gives the other confidence.” Julia’s mother came up with the teacher helper idea as a proactive response to the typical preteen refrain of having nothing to do on those long summer days. Julia liked the plan, then contacted Sarah to see if she would be interested in joining her. The answer was yes! “I didn’t want to sit around the house all day,” Sarah said. Julia agreed: “It makes the day go by faster.” The girls, who are now both 12, worked three hours a day, five days a week for about a month each, starting in mid-June. After attending the ODU preschool for two years in the late ’90s, the two went their separate ways – Julia is now a student at Meadowbrook School in Norfolk, and Sarah attends Great Bridge Middle in Chesapeake. But over the years, they have stayed in touch, seeing each other a few times a year at birthday parties and the like, and talking on the phone and e-mailing. The two friends said they enjoyed their volunteer work as teacher helpers, which involved everything from setting up classrooms to filing to changing the bulletin board. And they liked working with the children; they especially thought it was cool that the youngsters regarded them as adults. “Teacher, teacher, can you help me?” Julia said it was interesting because they had the opportunity to see preschool from a “behind-the-scenes” perspective. Sarah added, “I enjoyed it because two of my aunts are teachers, and I got to see what they do.” Although the girls are not sure if teaching is something they might pursue when they’re older – Sarah says her dream job is to become CEO of Tiffany and Co. – they know one thing for certain when they pause to consider the years ahead: that their friendship will remain as strong as it was on their first day of school. Back to top
Duncan was a longtime resident of Norfolk before moving to Moorestown seven years ago. She joined ODU in 1977 as dean of the library and retired in 1991 for health reasons. Her tenure at ODU was distinguished by a number of firsts. She was the first woman library director as well as the first director with a doctorate. During her career at the university, she led efforts that made the ODU library the first in Virginia to put all holdings in machine readable form, to go from a card to a microfiche catalog, to install an automated reference center and to implement a commercially produced integrated, automated library system. A self-described workaholic, she was instrumental in helping the library receive grant funding to support installation of Virginia’s first union list catalog of all periodicals found in libraries in Hampton Roads, as well as funding to implement the state’s first linked systems project. On the eve of her retirement, Duncan, who held a doctorate in library science from Indiana University, told a reporter, “When I first learned of the wealth of information in libraries, I was like a kid in a candy shop.” Duncan is survived by one niece, Cheryl George of Shamong, N.J.; one nephew, Ronald Stacey of Plano, Texas; and many great nieces and great nephews. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society or to the American Heart Association. Back to top
The University of Virginia was second overall at .638 and Virginia Commonwealth was third at .578. ODU won 64 percent of its men’s contests and 68 percent of its women’s games. Virginia led all Virginia Division I school’s in men’s winning percentage at .713. ODU was paced by its men’s soccer team advancing to the round of 16 in the NCAA tournament, while men’s golf, men’s and women’s basketball, men’s tennis and field hockey competed in NCAA championships. The wrestling team captured the Virginia Intercollegiate State title. UVa led the state in national Top 20 team finishes, including two national runners-up in women’s lacrosse and women’s rowing. There were two individual NCAA national champions from Virginia schools. Somdev Devvarman from the UVa won the NCAA men’s tennis singles title and Hampton University’s Yvette Lewis captured the NCAA outdoor triple jump championship. James Madison’s archery squad won the overall national title and William and Mary’s men’s gymnastics team captured the USAG national title. Virginia’s varsity four crew won the NCAA rowing national championship in that event. The survey began in 1978-79 and includes winning percentages of only those sports with NCAA-sponsored championships. Old Dominion won seven of the first eight titles. Back to top
Beginning this fall, the basketball game broadcasts will move from ESPN Radio 1310 to WXEZ 94.1, a 40,000-watt station with a signal strength that stretches to the Northern Neck and Eastern Shore, west to Richmond and south to northeastern North Carolina. In addition, selected games will be simulcast on WGAI 560 AM in Elizabeth City, increasing the coverage area to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. ESPN Radio will continue to air the ODU basketball call-in coaches’ shows, and broadcast Monarch football games beginning in fall 2009, and a call-in coaches’ show to begin prior to the 2009 season. “We are delighted that we have been able to negotiate a new radio contract that will provide a stronger signal and expand the listening audience for our basketball and football programs,” Jarrett said. “By placing our basketball games on 94.1 FM, our fans throughout Hampton Roads and the outlying areas will all be able to follow the teams throughout the season. “We are also pleased that Max Media has expanded our coverage into North Carolina with the addition of WGAI to the network, and that we will continue to have a strong presence on ESPN Radio 1310 with all of our coaches’ shows, and football games starting in the fall of 2009.” Old Dominion will own the advertising inventory in the above-mentioned properties and the selection of radio talent will be announced at a future date. ESPN Radio 1310 has carried ODU women’s basketball games since the 1991 season, and added men’s game coverage in 1993. Max Media is locally owned and operated and owns ESPN Radio 1310, WXEZ FM, WVBW, WXMM and WGH AM, along with WGAI AM. “Everyone at Max Media is elated to continue our partnership with the Old Dominion University family,” said Eric Mastel, president of Max Media Radio. Back to top
The selections include former Honda Award winner Tiffany Snow (Escondido, Calif.) and All-Americans Melissa Leonetti (Erdenheim, Pa.), Angie Loy (Loysville, Pa.), Dana Sensenig (Denver, Pa.) and Caroline Nichols (Virginia Beach). In addition to the 25-member national team, Snow, Leonetti, Loy and Sensenig have been selected to the 16-member women’s roster for the Pan American Games and will compete for the United States at the XV Pan American Games, July 15-29, in Rio de Janeiro. It will be the team’s first opportunity to qualify for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. Selections to the team are subject to approval by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC). The winner of the Pan Am Games earns the continent’s automatic bid to the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. In addition, teams placing 2-6 in the women’s tournament will earn spots in one of three Olympic qualifying tournaments in early 2008. The winners of the three tournaments will earn the final three berths in the 2008 Olympic Games. USA enters the Pan American Games as the No. 2 seed and will begin play in Pool B with Canada, Cuba and the Netherlands Antilles. Pool A features defending champion Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and host Brazil. The USA women open play on July 17 against Netherlands Antilles. Back to top
Old Dominion students and faculty can access television programs from more than 95 countries and 80 languages via the nonprofit educational organization SCOLA. The programs are available, via the Internet or video-stream service to members of the campus community with a MIDAS account, from the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures or the Language Learning Center Web site: http://al.odu.edu/lang/scola/index.shtml. SCOLA “Insta-Class” lessons provide transcriptions, translations, quizzes and vocabulary with accompanying video and audio clip playback for learners in 26 languages. In addition, ODU’s SCOLA affiliation provides access to samples of world music broadcasts, the SCOLA Culture Photo Gallery and periodical archives of copyright-free materials for use in research and teaching applications. “SCOLA enhances language training through the use of current events and is suitable for use by an individual or a class to extend vocabulary, grammar, reading and comprehension skills,” said Betty Rose Facer, director of ODU’s Language Learning Center. SCOLA programs include:
For more information about SCOLA language learning content, Insta-Class lessons and ODU access, contact Facer at 683-4455 or bfacer@odu.edu. Back to top
– “Foreign firms can – and do – operate our ports safely” “Broadcasters, not so much the networks themselves, but local broadcasters do have a public interest requirement for their license. This is not a sex issue; this is a public health issue and, sure, Trojan is a company just wanting to place an ad, but their denial of that ad has ramifications beyond sex.” (Jeffrey Jones, assistant professor of communication and theatre arts) – “The politics or protection” “The original intent of the law was to provide a common set of crime statistics that students and parents could use to determine which college to go to based on safety. But the law is an unfunded mandate with no federal support. Money needs to be focused on education programs training for administrators, faculty and students to keep crimes from happening.” (Dennis Gregory, associate professor of educational leadership and counseling) – “School accused of covering up student’s murder” “If you don’t preserve the species’ habitat and the species’ prey species, then your efforts to try and preserve a species are going to be problematic at best.” (Kathleen Lyons, assistant professor of biological sciences) – “Bone-crushing wolves roamed Alaska during Ice Age” “That’s a heartbreaker. It was one of those quirky little things that makes Norfolk a very special place.” (Robert Wojtowicz, associate professor of art) – “‘Midget House’ stands tall – but only in memory now” “The sense that I’m getting from sheriffs and police is that they really don’t have any idea what percentage of crime is caused by illegal immigrants.” (Don Smith, associate professor of sociology and criminal justice) – “Are illegal immigrants more prone to crime?” “You never know what’s down the road, and I haven’t ruled going even further out, yet. Right now, I’m just teaching the children. And that will be my first priority.” (Vicki Tull, recent graduate of master’s program in elementary education) – “Chincoteague teacher of the year says children No. 1 priority” “While the new biofuel plants that may be coming to our region represent a major influx of investment, most depend on an unsustainable system of moving bulk raw materials thousands of miles to these refineries.” (Patrick Hatcher, Batten Endowed Chair in physical sciences, in an op-ed) – “Today ethanol, tomorrow ... algae fuel?”
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