News and Notes
ODU algae-to-biodiesel facility opens near Hopewell BY JIM RAPER Gov. Timothy Kaine on Sept. 23 helped cut the ribbon formally opening Old Dominion’s pilot facility for algae farming and biodiesel production near Hopewell. He praised the facility, saying it fulfills the main tenets of a Virginia energy plan that strives for reliable new sources of energy while also protecting the environment. Algal Farms Inc., on a 240-acre tract in Prince George County near the border with Surry County, currently has a working, 1-acre pond composed of parallel “raceways,” which researchers believe is capable of growing enough microscopic, green algae to produce up to 3,000 gallons of biodiesel fuel per year. A second pond under construction has been designed to grow algae in wastewater effluent, stripping the effluent of harmful nutrients while also producing biomass for conversion into biodiesel. If the pilot project is successful, dozens of ponds could be dug on the property and Algal Farms could become the first commercial facility of its kind in the country. The project was brought about by the General Assembly’s creation of VCERC in 2007. VCERC is headquartered at ODU and a 15-person team of the university’s scientists and engineers has led the consortium’s push to explore algae as the raw material for biodiesel fuel. The team’s first project involved the installation of three Plexiglas algae-growing troughs atop the Virginia Initiative Plant (VIP), a regional treatment facility at the southwest edge of the campus. The experimental station was designed to test the use of treated wastewater as a growing medium and to investigate various aspects of the algae growing process. ODU researchers produced a small amount of biodiesel fuel from the experiment – using a proprietary process to convert the algae – and received local and national media attention because of their work. Jes Sprouse saw news stories about the algae-to-biodiesel project at ODU and it struck him as the wave of the future. “It hit me in February of this year,” he said. “Fuel costs were going up and we have global warming. I read about what ODU and Pat Hatcher were doing and I started looking into algae. I e-mailed Pat and told him I wanted to build an algae farm. He called me back and it’s been all a productive venture from there.” The young contractor chose the 240-acre plot primarily because it includes manmade lakes as a water source. But an important medium for growing the algae, if his plan evolves as he envisions, will not be the lake water. It will be effluent trucked in daily from the Hopewell Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility (HRWTF). The plan calls for the tanker trucks to bring in up to 15,000 gallons a day for the test pond. The effluent will have been treated, but still rich in nutrients, and as the algae grow in it they will consume nutrients. After the algae are harvested, the water that is left will be cleaner than the wastewater now discharged by HRWTF. Tanker trucks will haul the finished water back to the Hopewell plant, where it can be discharged into the James River. Treatment facilities in Virginia would be willing to pay for the nutrient stripping that goes on in wastewater algae ponds because it is akin to a final scrubbing of the water before it is discharged. This helps the facilities avoid more expensive treatment upgrades to meet ever stricter discharge regulations. Also, Virginia is considering a program that would award valuable credits to entities whose discharges are cleaner than regulations require. Therefore, the total product of the algal farm would be 1) a renewable biodiesel fuel that would be produced locally for local use at prices competitive with fossil fuels, 2) fuel that would result in carbon emissions lower than those for fossil fuels, with the aim of producing a zero net carbon emissions fuel, 3) cleaner discharges into Virginia waters and 4) marketable credits for removal of nutrients and carbon dioxide from discharges and emissions. Also, alternative fuels made from algae have an edge on fuels made from food crops. For instance, the push to produce ethanol from corn or other food plants has brought about the destruction of forests, the plowing under of grasslands, pollution from fertilizers and the escalation of food costs around the world. Also, an acre of corn can produce only about 300 gallons of ethanol, compared to 3,000 gallons of biodiesel from a 1-acre algae pond. Open algae ponds have been tried in the past to provide biomass to biodiesel fuel projects, but they have been stymied by inefficiencies, including problems with keeping the oil-rich, good algae in the ponds from being overwhelmed by less productive invasive species. To counter this problem, the ODU researchers have installed 30 covered algae-growing tanks, each holding 500 gallons, along the length of the completed pond. Algae-rich water from these tanks will seed the pond, and it can also be used to fight invasive species. “Right now, the plan is to keep pure strains in the tanks and dump those into the raceways to overwhelm any unwanted algae,” Hatcher explained. “The best solution seems to be to keep hitting invasive species with infusions of what we have in the tanks.” A major consideration of this pilot algae-pond project, he said, is “keeping track of our algae.” Other questions the pilot project needs to answer include:
A trailer at the site houses a centrifuge that will separate the oily mass of the algae from water, as well as the converter that turns the biomass into a brown liquid that looks similar to crude oil. Other than Hatcher, ODU faculty members involved in the VCERC algae-to-biodiesel project include Margaret Mulholland, Harold Marshall, Andrew Gordon and Aron Stubbins from the College of Sciences and Gary Schafran, Han Bao and Robert Ash from the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology. Back to top
Deford was originally slated to speak the evening of Sept. 25, but his talk was canceled due to inclement weather. He did, however, give an informal talk (right) to students earlier in the day. Panel to discuss upcoming elections The Department of Political Science and Geography will present a panel discussion on “The Race for the Presidency: The 2008 General Election” from 7-8:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 27, in the Batten Arts and Letters Building auditorium. Panelists will include four Old Dominion faculty members and a guest panelist from Christopher Newport University. Former Congressman G. William Whitehurst, Kaufman Lecturer in Public Affairs, will serve as moderator. “Given the differences over policy positions held by the Obama and McCain campaigns, this election will have far-reaching implications for U.S. domestic and foreign policy,” observed Glen Sussman, professor of political science, who will speak on the topic “Presidential Campaign.” David Earnest, who teaches courses on international relations and international political economy, will address the topic “The Election and International Politics.” Jesse Richman, who teaches courses on electoral politics, will speak to the congressional election race. Elizabeth Esinhart, who teaches constitutional law and judicial behavior, will address the topic “Impact of the Election on Supreme Court Appointments.” Quentin Kidd, chair of the government department at CNU, will discuss “The Election and Virginia Politics.” The panel discussion is free and open to the public. For more information call 683-4643. Back to top
The French Legion of Honor was established by Napoleon to recognize the accomplishments of distinguished individuals. “To honor Simon in this manner is indeed a fitting recognition of his many distinctive contributions to transatlantic and especially American-French relations,” said Regina Karp, director of the international studies programs. “Most of all, I believe it pays tribute to Simon’s unwavering faith in the enduring bonds that tie Europe and America together, our common heritage and the need to jointly face international challenges.” Serfaty, who also holds the first Zbigniew Brzezinski Chair in Global Security and Geostrategy at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C., is the author of many books and publications. His most recent book, “Architects of Delusion: Europe, America and the Iraq War” (University of Pennsylvania Press), was released in January. Back to top
Members of the campus community are encouraged to stop by and meet with representatives from vendors and agencies that provide benefits to ODU employees. The following outside vendors and agencies plan to attend: Ameriprise Financial Services, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Long Term Disability & Accidental Death, Commonhealth, COSTCO, Equitable/AXA Advisors, Fidelity Investments, Great-West Retirement Services, Legal Resources (open enrollment), Lincoln National, MetLife, Minnesota Life Insurance, Social Security Administration, TIAA/CREF, Travel Counselors Inc., Value Options Inc., VALIC and Virginia Retirement System. Employees who visit the fair can register for door prizes, including gift certificates, an IPod and luggage. Door prizes will be raffled through out the day. Back to top Africa Day features guest speakers, exhibits, Oct. 16 “Politics of Development” is the theme for this year’s Africa at ODU Day celebration, to be held Thursday, Oct. 16. Guest speakers will include Myrtle Witbooi and Hester Stephens, of the South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers’ Union, and keynote speaker Welile Nhlapo, South African ambassador to the United States. Africa at ODU Day, an annual event instituted in 2007, is an opportunity to educate students, faculty, staff and the community about current events and the cultural characteristics of the many countries on the African continent. Through student and faculty collaboration, the event highlights regional and national achievements in Africa in an effort to dispel the stereotypes that often are propagated by news headlines. Prior to his current post, Nhlapo served as South Africa’s ambassador to Ethiopia, permanent representative to the Organization of African Unity and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, and also served as South Africa’s non-resident ambassador to Djibouti, Eritrea and Sudan. In 1997 he was appointed as South Africa’s special envoy on Burundi. He will deliver his keynote address at 5 p.m. in the North Cafeteria of Webb Center. For a complete schedule of Africa Day activities, visit www.odu.edu/news. Back to top
Under the agreement, which was signed Aug. 27, reciprocal teaching and joint research will take place at the two universities, and ODU will help UET develop Ph.D. courses. In addition to the teaching and research, “this linkage would be a source of cultural exchange,” said Muhammad Munir, president of the Pakistani Americans Cultural and Educational Society (PACES), which negotiated the academic and research program. “These agreements are not only useful for dissemination of knowledge and research, but also foster good relationship between the two countries,” said Munir, a former education counselor at the Pakistani embassy in Washington, D.C. PACES has previously negotiated UET academic linkages with the University of Maryland, George Washington University, George Mason University and the University of California at Berkeley. Back to top
Most recently, Kelly served as general counsel for Norfolk State University, from July 2001 to December 2004. He has also been counsel for the University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University. He served as general counsel for Old Dominion from 1988-98. He is a member of state courts in Michigan, Virginia and Florida; U.S. district courts in Michigan and Virginia; the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals; and the U.S. Supreme Court. While in private practice in Michigan, Kelly served as president of the local bar association, chamber of commerce and Rotary Club. He also was an officer in the Kiwanis Club. Kelly received his bachelor’s degree in political science from Michigan State University and earned his law degree from Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. Back to top
Since turning 60 in August of last year, Rubin has begun a second act in his life as a singer. He sings the classics – from the heyday of Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and other legendary crooners. Rubin will make his first Hampton Roads appearance Saturday, Oct. 25, at Ohef Sholom Temple, 530 Raleigh Ave., Norfolk. The show, which begins at 8 p.m., will be followed by a social hour. The cost is $20 for general admission. Rubin has recorded two CDs, “It’s My Life” and “This One’s for You,” the proceeds from which go to the Nancy Gail Rubin Memorial Scholarship Endowment at Towson. Rubin joined ODU in 1972 as an assistant professor of speech communication. From 1976-79 he served as assistant dean of the School of Arts and Letters, the first of several administrative posts he would hold at the university. From 1984-86, when he left ODU for an administrative position with the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater, he served as associate vice president for university advancement and secretary to the Board of Visitors. Back to top
Those planning to attend should contact Judy Smith, HACE president, by Friday, Oct. 10, at 683-3269 or jsmith@odu.edu. Back to top
To purchase the sauce, visit www.barhyte.com and look for Collegiate Tailgate Medium Wing Sauces. Back to top
Mugler, who becomes the 20th rector of the ODU board, has served in his current position with Hampton since 1992. He received two degrees from ODU: a bachelor’s in business administration in 1984 and a master’s in public administration in 2003. He became certified as commissioner of the revenue through the Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia. Mugler is active in the Hampton Roads community, including serving as chair of the capital campaign for the expansion of the American Theatre, president of the Hampton Roads Commissioners of the Revenue Association and chairman of the Education Foundation at Thomas Nelson Community College. Additionally, he serves as a member of various other boards, including the board of directors for the Hampton Education Foundation, the Peninsula Command of the Salvation Army, the Volunteer Center of the Peninsula and the Hampton Roads Regional Board of the Sorenson Institute for Political Leadership. Gehman retired from the U.S. Navy in 2000, after more than 35 years of active duty service. His last assignment was as NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, and as the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Joint Forces Command, one of the United States’ five regional joint combatant commands. Immediately after retiring in 2000, Gehman was appointed co-chairman of the Department of Defense review of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole. In 2003, he was appointed chairman of the Space Shuttle Columbia Accident Investigation Board. Forehand is the senior associate director of philanthropy for The Nature Conservancy. In this role, she has organized and directed The Nature Conservancy Golf Classic, raising more than $500,000 in unrestricted gifts, and assisted in the completion of TNC’s successful $52 million Wild Virginia Campaign. She is a founding director of the TowneBank Chesapeake board, and served as chair of TowneBank’s marketing committee from 1999 to 2003. She is also a Realtor with Continental Realty in Virginia Beach. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science/pre-law, magna cum laude, from ODU in 1980, completed postgraduate public administration course work at the university, and is a 2004 graduate of the Civic Leadership Institute. Back to top
Summer research fellowships are designed to encourage research for inexperienced investigators or more experienced investigators who are branching out into fields for which they have received no external research funding. The collaborative awards go to pairs of ODU faculty members who are from two different colleges. Both programs seek to help fledgling research projects gain data and momentum that will lead to their being funded by external sources. The basic amount of all the stipends will be $6,000. For more information, visit www.odu.edu/ao/research/facultyres/fellowship.shtml or www.odu.edu/ao/research/facultyres/collaborative.shtml – or call Lee Furr, research development coordinator, at 683-3148. • • • Multidisciplinary Research Seed Grants Mohammad Karim, vice president for research, said his office plans to fund several research projects that must be conducted between January and June of next year. Maximum funding per project is $100,000, and previous awards during the four-year history of the program have averaged $80,000. These seed grants support innovative multidisciplinary projects judged to have a good chance of becoming research initiatives that will attract external funding. The deadline for proposals is Friday, Oct. 31. In an effort to support and promote the growth of multidisciplinary, multi-investigator sponsored programs at Old Dominion, the research office invites members of the faculty to submit proposals detailing their ideas for such research. The work may begin as early as Jan. 1, and will need to be completed by June 30, 2009. The goal of this initiative is to provide seed funding for projects that (a) will involve areas relevant to institutional research priority; (b) are multidisciplinary and can produce immediate impact; and (c) build thematic teams with serious prospects to attract additional and new research dollars. Those who have been funded by previous Office of Research multidisciplinary awards may not serve as investigators on subsequent proposals; however, they may serve as unpaid consultants. The proposal should consist of a narrative plan (not to exceed five pages). Proposals are due by 5 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31. Electronic versions of the proposals should be sent to mkarim@odu.edu or kferguso@odu.edu. The research office may ask for additional information as well as seek budget adjustments before making final decisions by Nov. 30. For more information call 683-3148. Back to top
Later in the day, a question-and-answer session will be held at 2:30 p.m. in the River Rooms of Webb Center. Both sessions are free and open to the public. Mather’s lecture “From the Big Bang to the Nobel Prize and on to James Webb Space Telescope and the Discovery of Alien Life,” will explore the history of the universe, the birth of planets and stars, and the existence of other Earth-like planets capable of sustaining life. Born in Roanoke, Va., Mather is a pioneer of NASA’s Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) that was launched into space in 1989. The COBE mission has allowed unprecedented insight into the remnants of the Big Bang’s radiation. Currently, Mather is a senior astrophysicist at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Maryland in College Park. In 2007, he was listed among Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. For more information about the lecture, contact Professor Amin Dharamsi in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at adharams@odu.edu. Back to top
“This is an opportunity for you to have a voice in the future direction of the university,” said Alice McAdory, associate vice president for enrollment management. Acting President John R. Broderick, Provost Carol Simpson and members of the SEM Steering Committee will attend. Back to top
Belote taught at ODU from 1958-69 and served as chairman of the Department of Business Management. While here, he served as a consultant to several business organizations and the U.S. Navy. He joined the Furman faculty in 1969 and, from 1970-89, was director of the Clemson-Furman M.B.A. Program. He returned to full-time teaching at Furman in 1989 and retired in 1995. He is survived by his wife, Winona. Back to top
What the Thunder Said,” the latest novel by Janet Peery, University Professor of English and creative writing, has been selected for the 2008 WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction. Described as a novella and stories set in the Dust Bowl of 1930s Oklahoma, the book tracks the wayward progress of sisters Mackie and Etta Spoon, who leave home to forge their own separate paths, each setting off in search of a new life, and each finding a fate different than she expected. Through shifting perspectives, voices and characters, Peery follows the sisters, their children and those whose stories intersect with theirs as they range across the high plains of the West in the decades after the Great Depression. “It is appropriate that Janet Peery be named as a WILLA award winner,” remarked Jeffrey Richards, chair of the English department. “Her writing ethos is grounded deeply in the western half of the vast Middle West, a place where duty rides hard over pleasure. We are so grateful to have a writer of her artistry and integrity in the department and benefit from her strong Middle Western sense of obligation to her students.” The WILLA Literary Award honors the best in literature featuring women’s stories set in the West published each year. Women Writing the West (WWW), a nonprofit association of writers and other professionals writing and promoting the Women’s West, underwrites and presents the nationally recognized award annually. The award is named in honor of Pulitzer Prize winner Willa Cather, one of the country’s foremost novelists. It will be presented at the WWW Fall Conference, scheduled Oct. 24-26 at the Colonnade in San Antonio. A National Book Award finalist, Peery has received National Endowment for the Arts and Guggenheim Foundation fellowships, the Whiting Foundation Writer’s Award, citations in “The Best American Short Stories,” several Pushcart Prizes and the American Academy of Arts and Letters Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Award. She is the author also of “Alligator Dance” and “The River Beyond the World,” and her fiction appears in many of the top literary journals. Back to top
Published by the ODU Regional Studies Institute, the report also looks at how local television stations cover crime and violence, and offers a review of the region’s housing markets. In addition, the 114-page report considers why women earn less than men in Hampton Roads; highlights the economic contributions of German firms in the area; and analyzes the methodologies of the two most respected guides of metropolitan livability, paying particular attention to how Hampton Roads fares and compares in their latest rankings. James V. Koch, Board of Visitors Professor of Economics and President Emeritus, serves as editor of the report, which received financial support from Old Dominion and a number of local organizations and individuals. Koch notes that the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of the university. “The State of the Region reports maintain the goal of stimulating thought and discussion that ultimately will make Hampton Roads an even better place to live,” he said. “We are proud of our region’s many successes, but realize it is possible to improve our performance. In order to do so, we must have accurate information about ‘where we are’ and a sound understanding of the policy options available to us.” In the section on the economy, the report notes that the spectacular first half of the decade is fading into the background as the regional economic growth rate has fallen back to the commonwealth and national averages. Defense spending continues to rise in importance and now is responsible for more than 40 percent of the regional income generation. The report’s findings regarding the region’s housing markets indicate that Hampton Roads has not been immune to national housing problems, but its mortgage defaults and foreclosures have been well below the national average. Housing prices here have not yet declined significantly, except for new residential housing. The “bottom” may be a year or more away. In its discussion of local television news coverage, the report states that while only one of every six television evening news stories relates to crime or violence, almost 33 percent of the stories that lead broadcasts focus on crime and violence, while 45 percent focus on some type of crime. African Americans are frequently featured as alleged perpetrators, while Caucasians usually are the reported victims. The State of the Region report can be found online at www.odu.edu/forecasting. Back to top
Three extraordinary musicians join Feidman – Raul Jaurena (bandoneon), Aquiles Baez (guitar) and Ken Filiano (double bass) – bringing tango and klezmer together, growing into an inspiration of exquisite sounds and passionate outbursts. Feidman, as a fourth-generation klezmer musician, grew up with the gango, classical music and a Jewish ancestry. The Harlem Quartet Composed of all first-place laureates of the Sphinx Competition, the ensemble is on a mission to engage young and new audiences and to advance diversity in classical music. The members of this innovative and daring all-black and Latino string quartet serve as principal faculty at the Sphinx Performance Academy at Walnut Hill School in Massachusetts. The ensemble released its debut CD, “The Harlem Quartet,” in 2007. Countertenor Brian Asawa ODU Theatre Written by Naomi Iizuka, “Polaroid Stories” blends the real-life stories of street kids and classical mythology. The hearts of these characters beat as chaotically as the urban jungle they run to, as they seek camaraderie and refuge in the darkest, most disturbing place on earth – the city streets. Their language is a mix of poetry and reality, which makes the play intense, spellbinding and a masterful piece of modern theater. “Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus” Art Exhibitions New York-based Stefan Sagmeister is the most noted graphic designer working today, establishing graphic design as a contemporary art form by largely eschewing the conventions of art. His work has been featured in the books “Made You Look” (2001) and the recent “Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far.” The exhibition will present a comprehensive sampling of his print media work for music, fashion, packaging and self-initiated projects. Music Dept. Performances
Faced with Old Dominion’s largest enrollment ever in mathematics and the sciences, the dean of the College of Sciences, Chris Platsoucas, has announced an all-out assault on the math-related phobias and failures that afflict college students. Learning aids ranging from old-fashioned recitations to new-fangled online tutoring are being offered this fall by the new Math and Science Resource Center. Platsoucas said the center’s goals are to increase student retention for the university as a whole, as well as to boost the percentage of four-year math and science majors who graduate with bachelor of science degrees. The center is part of an overall math and science retention plan ordered by Platsoucas that will include refresher courses offered to new students before they arrive on campus and assessment examinations offered soon after they matriculate. ODU’s experience in recent years reflects a national trend: Nearly half of the students who begin college as science and math majors switch to other majors within the first two years of their studies. Furthermore, math-related difficulties are a primary cause at ODU – and nationwide – for an attrition rate that claims more than two out of every 10 students who start a school year. With overall ODU enrollment topping 22,000, the College of Sciences reports that the student credit hours it is teaching are up by 29 percent to 58,080 over fall 2007. The number of freshmen who have declared a major in math or sciences jumped a whopping 41 percent to 506. “We are always very interested in giving our math and science students every possible means to succeed,” said Platsoucas, who became the sciences dean at ODU in 2007. “With this major increase in enrollment, our mission becomes more critical and our efforts to support these students must be greater than ever before.” Acting President John R. Broderick praised Platsoucas’ leadership in this initiative. “The new resource center is a creative addition to a long-standing and multipronged initiative at this university to keep students on track and successful in their chosen courses of study,” he said. Broderick added that math skills are important, not only for students in the College of Sciences, but also for those in many other degree programs of ODU’s Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology, College of Business and Public Administration, College of Health Sciences, Darden College of Education and College of Arts and Letters. Platsoucas has appointed his college’s assistant dean, Terri Mathews, as director of the Math and Science Resource Center. Mark Dorrepaal, professor and chair of the college’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, will be the center’s associate director for mathematics, and Patricia Pleban, associate professor and assistant chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, will be its associate director for chemistry. The center has launched with math and chemistry as the focus, but learning support in the other sciences will be added later, according to Mathews. Initial retention efforts will focus on Mathematics 102, which has a fall 2008 enrollment of more than 1,700 students; Mathematics 162, with an enrollment of 858; Chemistry 101N, enrollment 429; and Chemistry 115N, enrollment 668. Other than math and chemistry, the college has departments in biological sciences, physics, computer science, psychology, and ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences. Mathews said approximately 30 faculty members, graduate students and outstanding achievers among upperclassman majors in math and chemistry have been recruited to provide the new center’s services. Some students who are having difficulties in certain classes will be referred to the center by faculty members, while others only will be encouraged to get extra help. But Mathews said any student in math or chemistry who wants assistance will be accommodated. Recitations, the auxiliary instruction often provided by graduate instructors to augment the large-class lectures of faculty members, is a central component of Platsoucas’ student retention plan. “Recitations are a classic educational practice,” Platsoucas said. “The faculty member teaches concepts. Then, in the recitations, students explore those concepts in more depth and discover how to apply them to solve complex problems.” Other parts of the center’s program will include walk-in tutoring, available for as many hours each week as staffing will allow. For students who cannot take advantage of personal tutoring, the center has purchased an online tutoring program available 24 hours a day. “Even if it’s the wee hours of the morning, a student who is having difficulty understanding something can always get help,” Platsoucas said. The overall retention plan also will enforce mandatory class attendance, prescribe intrusive advising and administer a “grade alert” early-warning system for struggling students. Broderick noted that the university’s overall student retention initiative over the past decade has borne fruit, with the rate moving up from 71.8 percent in 1998 to 77.2 percent in 2005. “Remarkably, this progress has come while the university was increasing its enrollment of students from under-represented populations,” the acting president said. “For example, nearly one-fourth of our freshmen and transfer students this year are the first members of their families to attend college. About 30 percent come from low-income families and are more likely to have to work to support themselves while in school. Many of us can only imagine the obstacles to success that these students face, and we owe it to them to support their efforts to learn and to realize their career goals.” Together with the new center, Platsoucas has announced a new student recruitment strategy that will focus on successful undergraduate applicants who have scored well on the SATs. Every effort will be made, he said, to make sure these students matriculate. These measures will include communications from current ODU students and invitations to experience campus life and visit the classes and laboratories of the College of Sciences. The dean also is starting a professional development program for high school and middle school teachers, which is designed to improve the skills of incoming students by enriching the educational backgrounds of their teachers. Most of the university’s applicants attend schools near the main campus or in other areas of Virginia close to an ODU off-campus center or other sites served by ODU’s Teletechnet distance learning network. Teachers will be offered a certificate program requiring four graduate courses in math, chemistry, physics, biology, computer science or earth science. Those credits can also apply toward a master’s degree. The teaching initiative complements another of Platsoucas’ main goals, and that is to increase external support of his faculty’s research. “To move us toward this goal, we will be recruiting young, promising researchers as well as established faculty members from other institutions with national recognition in their fields and extensive research grant support,” he explained. Back to top
Mohammad A. Karim, vice president for research, said the university maintained its total R&D expenditures ranking of 120th among public universities and improved from 71st to 68th in total expenditures for institutions that do not have a medical school. During the past four years, ODU has moved up to 120th from 131st in its ranking among public universities for R&D expenditures. The university’s strategic plan sets a goal for ODU to break into the Top 100 among public research institutions. The university’s rankings in federal-source R&D expenditures showed relative gains in funding from NASA (50th to 47th) and the Department of Energy (116th to 110th), but slippage from the Department of Defense (67th to 80th) and NSF (127th to 136th). ODU’s ranking among public universities places it for the first time ahead of William and Mary (123rd). Other state institutions that were ranked included Virginia Tech (25th), University of Virginia (51st), Virginia Commonwealth University (77th) and George Mason University (114th). The Top 100 academic programs in total R&D expenditures at ODU are aerospace engineering (17th), business management (14th), economics (80th), education (15th), electrical engineering (43th), engineering (84th), engineering-other (57th), humanities (26th), mathematics (81st), oceanography (40th), political science (44th), sociology (68th) and visual and performing arts (16th). Karim noted that of those 13 programs, four are new to the Top 100 list: economics, oceanography, political science and sociology. He added that within the broad category of environmental science, ODU this year was ranked 96th in total R&D expenditures and four other ODU programs crossed the threshold to be listed this year by NSF: physics (102nd), chemistry (126th), medical science (175th) and biological sciences (190th). Back to top
For decades, scientists have known that they can learn a lot about the oceans from the trace elements – iron, lead and so forth – that they find within the water column and in the sediments at the bottom. But up until now a global survey of trace elements has been hard to conduct, which is a problem chemical oceanographer Gregory Cutter is trying to solve. Cutter is one of the leaders of GEOTRACES, the largest research program ever in chemical oceanography, and which over the next dozen years is expected to cost more than $200 million and involve scientists from 30 countries. The research findings are expected to have a broad impact on our understanding of global climate change and seawater contamination. Trace elements and their isotopes, or TEIs as they are called, are nutrients and contaminants in the oceans. They also reveal information about oceanographic processes, and, when found in layers of sediment they often hold clues about ocean and climate conditions dating back hundreds of thousands of years. To the dismay of scientists, however, because insufficient data exist about the distribution and impact of TEIs in today’s oceans, they have difficulty interpreting the significance of evidence they find in sediments. They also are stymied in their attempts to create computer models based upon TEI evidence that could predict what’s in store for the oceans. GEOTRACES will allow for the first time a coordinated, global assessment of ocean TEIs. It also will establish the baseline data set that scientists can use to better understand past phenomena and to measure in the near future how human activities and global warming are affecting the health of the oceans. Cutter believes GEOTRACES can help assess global conditions that are of interest to everyone. Because TEIs, as both essential elements and toxins, “have a direct effect on phytoplankton at the base of the food web that take up carbon dioxide, their connection to the carbon cycle and global climate is pretty direct and not esoteric at all,” he adds. “That’s the answer that most people today can appreciate when someone asks who cares about trace elements in the ocean.” The researcher says that the more we know about biogeochemical processes, the more we can learn about chemical signatures in the surface sediments. “And that allows us to develop proxies, as we call them, with which we can look into the ancient sediments. In other words, from what we find in GEOTRACES, we can then tell if those same things were happening in ancient oceans.” In the Sept. 1 issue of Chemical & Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society, an article about the launch of GEOTRACES describes Cutter’s role as chair of the program’s Intercalibration Committee. In June and July, he led an expedition in the Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda aboard the research vessel Knorr to help establish what might be called the rules of the game for GEOTRACES. These rules, as it turns out, must be strict, while also allowing for procedural and analytic innovations that might come from a disparate set of scientists working all over the globe. The overarching rule is keep it clean, as in getting, storing and analyzing clean samples. This has been a pesky problem in the past for marine research involving TEIs. Because trace elements, as their name implies, are found in minute quantities in the oceans, only a trace of contaminants can throw off research findings. In the past, TEI research has been compromised by traces of metals that come off the large instruments that are lowered into the water to collect samples. Other contamination can originate with sample bottles, the cables used to lower and hoist instruments into the ocean, films left on the water’s surface by metals leaching off research vessels, airborne pollutants and even stray particles in laboratories. Dependable research results also will require coordination of work going on in the some 80 labs that will participate in GEOTRACES. It is the job of Cutter’s Intercalibration Committee to make sure all of the program’s researchers are operating as one, big, efficient machine. “To be usable, the results from GEOTRACES must come from collection, sample processing and storage, and analytical methods that agree with the community consensus of what the correct value is of TEI concentration,” he explains. “If we’re going to research the chemistry of the oceans on a global basis and if you want to compare what’s happening in the Indian Ocean with what’s happening in the Pacific, you have to know that data are accurate and that the value one lab gets is the same as the other lab’s,” he adds. One large sample of water from the expedition this past summer was divided into smaller samples and sent to all participating labs so cross-checking can be done and correct values established. Individual countries are funding their own portions of the GEOTRACES investigations. Cutter’s work is supported by two National Science Foundation grants, one for $529,000 for equipment and the other for the development of GEOTRACES scientific infrastructure for $1.4 million (ODU’s share is $414,000). He is the sole principal investigator on the equipment grant and the lead investigator of the science grant. The funding “represents the first phase of this international program, but with the sampling facility based here, ODU will be involved in the program for its lifetime,” said Cutter, who has faculty appointments in the departments of Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences and Chemistry and Biochemistry. Back to top
As its central mission, the center will train the next generation of accelerator and light-source scientists and engineers. The center also promises to bring more research funding to ODU and more high-technology economic development to southeastern Virginia, according to university officials. Chris Platsoucas, dean of the College of Sciences, noted that the Jefferson Lab will participate in the design of a so-called “4th generation light source” facility that is expected to be built by the DOE somewhere in the Southeast. This facility, which is projected to cost upwards of $1 billion and produce the most brilliant light yet for laser and other applications in research, industry and medicine, will employ technologies already in use at Jefferson Lab. A search will begin immediately for a center director. Back to top
– “Why you should care about the crisis” “It’s almost too good to be true, but in this case, it is true and can work.” (Patrick Hatcher, Batten Endowed Chair in Physical Sciences) – “Virginia’s first algae farm an experiment in biofuel” “So I think the range of opinion is represented; the range of ideas; the range of background. I think they very much enriched the coverage. Did they do something different from men? Not necessarily. There’s no way to differentiate women correspondents from their men counterparts.” (Joyce Hoffmann, professor of journalism, in a Q&A about her new book, “On Their Own: Women Journalists and the American Experience in Vietnam”) – “On her own” “It was a big deterrent. It gave me the impression I wasn’t supposed to be registering here.” (Mary Alana Welch, student, on the Norfolk registrar’s policy of sending a questionnaire to anyone applying to register to vote from a college campus) – “Norfolk officials ease rules for registering student voters” “I love the idea of the Novel Experience program. It’s such a wonderful idea to have the freshmen read a book and come together to talk about it. It’s such a great unifying method to give them something that’s not about them but that they’ve all experienced. It gives them an experience before they even come to campus.” (Sheri Reynolds, associate professor of English) – “Wofford students have Novel time with SC author” “Basically, what ends up in the sediment, is what’s produced in the surface ocean and what sinks down to the sea floor. The deeper the ocean is the more time the material has to degrade from the time an organism dies and it settles to the bottom.” (David Burdige, eminent scholar of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences) – “Is oil off the coast of Virginia?” “No one unfamiliar with this should conclude that Old Dominion is now rudderless. Those of us who attended the State of the University address by acting President John Broderick were heartened by his words. Broderick is doing more than ‘minding the store.’” (G. William Whitehurst, Kaufman Lecturer in Public Affairs, in a letter to the editor) – “A timeout in ODU search” “There’s something to be said about a young man who’s all about ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘No, sir.’ How you help a team comes in a lot of ways, shapes and forms. We’ve said all along we want to recruit good people, good students and good athletes. Sam’s got the first two licked.” (Bobby Wilder, football coach, on freshman football player and NROTC student Sam Reisenfeld) – “Offensive lineman at ODU also defends his country”
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