Virginians receive IBM Faculty Awards

Three Computer Science professors from VA Tech, Kirk Cameron, Wu-Chun Feng, and Dimitrios Nik, have just received IBM Faculty Awards. The other Virginia professor recognized by IBM was Kurt Maly, chairman of the Old Dominion University Computer Science department.

VA Tech, Updated

On August 19, VA Tech dedicated a memorial to those who lost their lives last April. The panel appointed by Governor Kaine issued its report on August 22 (Overview on VA Tech Site). An internal report by VA Tech calls for better communication about troubled students, more locks on classroom doors and improved communication to ensure that students are alerted to a campus-wide crisis. The Richmond TimesDispatch summary of the report notes that the shooter was rarely identified in the 200 page report.

A special report to the President was issued in June. They addressed "...the complex balancing of fundamental interests in our communities -- interests of protecting privacy and civil liberties, ensuring that our communities are safe, and helping people get the care they need -- is appropriately calibrated. Carrying out the President's charge, we have met with Governors, legislators, state officials, and experts from the spectrum of mental health, education, and law enforcement communities, who have identified obstacles they face and steps they believe should be taken to address school violence and mental illness at the community level." They offered recommendations for federal government actions in several areas related to preparedness training.

VA Tech to Transfer More Tech

According to the Roanoke Times, Virginia Tech is significantly expanding their tech transfer capacity, in anticipation of increasing the number of inventions that Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties (VTIP) licenses and doubling revenue in the next few years.

John Fraser, past president of the Association of University Technology Managers, is quoted as saying that "perhaps 12 of the more than 200 technology transfer offices in the U.S. are self-sufficient", a near-term goal for VTIP. Virginia Tech is a member of ALCOVe, the Academic Licensing Community of Virginia.

Hokies in SL

VA Tech Hokies have established additional memorial sites in SL. Thank you to Hokie avatar Milosun Czervik, organizer of these memorials and the SL Hokie Spirit Fund.

The Info Island Site, where one can find SL Hokie T-shirts for Orange and Maroon Effect Day (April 20), and contribute to the Hokie Spirit Fund.



The temporary memorial site located in Fame (182, 92) was donated by Linden Lab, and includes links to brief biographies of the 32 victims.

Hokie Hope

VA Tech and the Web

From Ryan Singel's article in Wired

Since 9/11, some security experts have pushed the idea that peer-to-peer alert systems that rely on openness and the crowd can save lives, particularly when centralized communications and decision-making break down.
As the carnage unfolded, [VA Tech] eyewitnesses IM'd terrifying firsthand accounts to their friends, some of which appeared on blogs and MySpace within minutes of the shootings.

The ability of the Virginia Tech community to use the available technology to organize itself quickly and effectively deserves great respect. In the debate about what could or should or might have been done to prevent this tragedy, it is well to remember that it could also have been much worse.

From the first 911 cell phone call from Norris, continuing through the effective use of sites like VA Tech Sideline, Live Journal, MySpace and Facebook to connect with friends and families, the members of the VA Tech community have been giving an exceptionally good account of themselves.

The Monday posting by Dr. Ishwar Puri, Professor and Department Head, Engineering Science and Mechanics, was a shining example of humanity, clarity and calm in the midst of emerging chaos. (My apologies for not providing the other links yet) UPDATED

Here is the timely and thorough Wikipedia entry for the Virginia Tech Massacre.

VA Tech Memorial

The Virginia Tech memorial service on campus will be held at 2:00PM (Eastern) today.
The SL memorial site at Lion Sands [Name Corrected]is below.

VA Tech

Thank you to the creator of this image.