ODU'S RULE SERVES AS JUDGE IN FAA DESIGN COMPETITION

Joseph Rule, the Old Dominion University biogeochemist who is interim dean of the College of Sciences, served as a judge in the Federal Aviation Administration's 2007 Airport Design Competition for Universities.

He was assigned to the portion of the competition involving airport environmental interactions. This included three challenges: making snow and ice removal more environmentally friendly, improving methods for containment and cleanup of fuel spills and increasing energy efficiency in the management of airfields.

Rule, who is professor of ocean, earth and atmospheric sciences, teaches courses related to soils and environmental geochemistry. His lectures while he was a Fulbright Scholar in Poland in 1991 were compiled into the book, "Topics in Environmental Sciences." He also has been an adjunct professor of horticulture at the Virginia Tech Agricultural Experimental Station in Virginia Beach.

Teams of students that won awards in the environmental category are from San Jose State University, San Jose, Calif.; University of Alabama, Birmingham; and Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, Ind. The awards were presented in Washington in June.

The competition was administered for the FAA by the Virginia Space Grant Consortium.