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Virginia Tech Crystallography Laboratory (VTX) Expands Again by Ross Angel

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Virginia Tech Crystallography Laboratory (VTX) Expands Again by Ross Angel Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University SPRING 2004 Time for Change your department managed to reach the highest combined productivity level in by Cahit Çoruh the last fifteen years in terms of scholarships, graduate student Greetings from Blacksburg! I would enrollment, and external funding. In like to begin by saying that I have addition, the undergraduate experience enjoyed communicating with you via was also enhanced. The external the newsletter for almost ten years. research grant level has increased about Writing this message gives me great 500 percent since 1998. With thanks and pleasure for many reasons. Here’s the much gratitude, I commend the faculty, top ten: graduate students, and staff. First, the support of alumni and Third, in addition to named friends has helped us in rebuilding the endowed scholarship funds (see page department, enhancing our curricula for 23) established by our alumni and the options (geology, geophysics, friends, the department has accumulated geochemistry, earth science education) Already relaxed!!!! small but meaningful contributions from offered under the umbrella of alumni and friends in the Geosciences geosciences, and providing more staff, students, and friends for these Endowed Scholarship fund. This financial support in terms of achievements. scholarships to our students. It is a great Second, as reported in earlier pleasure to thank the faculty, alumni, issues, faculty, students, and staff of Please see Change, page 8 Virginia Tech Crystallography Laboratory (VTX) Expands Again by Ross Angel The Virginia Tech Crystallography of the two departments” (see the Fall technical support and service, while they Laboratory, housed in Derring Hall has 2002 newsletter). The summer of 2003 are able to use the laboratory as a seen an expansion in both staff and saw the purchase by the University and demonstration facility for potential equipment over the last year. Founded the Department of Biology of a customers. by the Department of Geosciences upon diffractometer from Oxford Diffraction The company also sponsored the the arrival of Professors Nancy Ross and that will enable us to determine the first Virginia Tech Crystallography Ross Angel in 2000 and 2001, the structures of macro-molecules and Workshop in July 2003 that attracted six laboratory was established with two proteins and thereby support the faculty and 11 summer research students single-crystal X-ray diffractometers University’s major initiative in from four different colleges in Virginia: devoted to studying the structures and structural biology. The purchase of this Washington and Lee University, properties of minerals at high pressures. third instrument from Oxford University of Richmond, James Madison In 2002, this Geosciences component Diffraction led the company to promote University and Ferrum College. was joined by the Department of us to being their one and only “Platinum Participants were given a one-day crash- Chemistry who installed their newly- Level Reference Site” in the USA. The course in crystallography and then spent purchased diffractometer for studying reference site agreement allows Oxford the structure of small molecules, and the Diffraction to sponsor the laboratory laboratory became a “co-located facility both financially and via extensive Please see VTX, page 15 Page 2 SPRING 2004 we needed to be closer to (rather than Alumni Careers farther from) Virginia. Ronald E. Harris ‘80, PG In 1989 we relocated to Virginia with Malcolm Pirnie Engineers where I March 26, 2004 directed the geosciences group here in Newport News. In 1993, the city offered Greetings to all current and past facing desalting technologies, a position in water resources and I have Hokies! I have prepared a brief groundwater availability, and water been with Waterworks for the last 11 summary of the past 23 years in hopes supply in general. In this capacity, I years. I have also served on the Board of of hearing from fellow alumni and have managed the permitting, Directors for the American Membrane faculty friends. My apologies in advance preliminary design, design, and Technology Association (AMTA, for a general lack of entertainment construction of a 6-mgd reverse osmosis formerly American Desalting value, but considering the subject membrane desalting facility. The supply Association). material I had to work with, it is at least, and treatment facilities have been on- We have two children whose hopefully, painless. line since late 1998. As part of the enthusiasm and talents routinely humble As a graduate from Virginia Tech in strategic planning team for Waterworks, their father. Stephanie, a junior at 1980 with a B.S. in geology, I have I have also dealt with demand, revenue, Virginia Tech studying biology and approximately 23 years of experience, and operating cost issues. In addition to chemistry, manages to stay on the and hold professional geologist project manager, I serve as the primary Dean’s list, a feat that eluded her father certifications/registrations in three steward of a five reservoir and river for all but one quarter. Our son Thomas, states. My special interests in membrane intake system, our watersheds, and well a high school sophomore, rebuilds and technology include expanding fields. races off-road motorcycles (yikes)! So groundwater exploration in coastal Twenty-two days after graduating, I far neither has experienced the joy of settings where salt – brackish - fresh reported for work in the oil industry. serving as Geology Club President !! groundwater relationships are only This roller coaster ride lasted for nine (Did I mention that we held our annual partially understood. The critical years, all in domestic exploration with meeting in 1979 in New River Cave?) thinking, problem solving, enthusiastic Cities Service (Citgo) and Occidental My lovely wife, Patti, manages a busy instruction, and leadership provided by (Oxy USA) in the post-merger years. dental practice, nurtures our children, my half-decade VT experience have Two oil and gas discoveries (deep gas in makes a killer spinach dip, and paved the way for a very diverse and the Mississippi salt basin, and oil/ completely spoils our two labs Harry successful career. condensate in the North Louisiana and Sally. I am currently in the position of Smackover/Haynesville trend) during Taut lines and regards to all. Chief of Water Resources for Newport this period highlight an early career that News Waterworks, a regional water was exciting, fulfilling and at times Ronald E. Harris utility serving over 360,000 customers. frustrating. When the fourth move in 808 Westgate Court As a project manager, I have dealt with nine years listed Bakersfield, California Newport News, Virginia 23602 most of the major implementation issues as our destination, Patti and I realized Department Chairman: Cahit Çoruh Alumni Relations Committee: Lynn Glover III, Chairman, Alumni Relations Committee and Professor Emeritus. Class of ‘52 F. Donald Bloss Alumni Distinguished Professor Emeritus John K. Costain Professor Emeritus Thomas T. Jeffries Class of ‘65 A. Krishna Sinha Professor Mary McMurray Staff Newsletter: Associate Editors (titles and fields on p. 18) Lynn Glover III Newsletter Editor Ross J. Angel Richard D. Law Mary McMurray Design and Copy Editor F. Donald Bloss James A. Spotila Carolyn Williams Co-Copy Editor Martin C. Chapman Robert J. Tracy Mark Fortney Photographer/Illustrator Kenneth A. Eriksson Letters to the editor, suggested articles, and other comments are welcome at this address: Newsletter Editor, Department of Geosciences (0420), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061 Office phone (540) 231-6521 Fax (540) 231-3386 E-mail [email protected] Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences Page 3 Response to Jim Spotila’s New Field Course Article Dear Dr. Spotila: One of the most memorable sites quixotic quest but, being good Tech we visited was a favorite location of geology students, we humored the The article about the new field Dr. Sears (as I recall). It was a large professor and diligently searched. course in the current (Fall 2003) exposure of metamorphic rock and Dr. I have many fond memories of my Geosciences Newsletter is very Sears thought that if enough students years in geology at Tech! interesting. It is difficult to imagine spent enough time splitting enough geology being taught without frequent rock, someone would eventually find a Richard Leary ‘59 fieldtrips. When I was a geology fossil. He wanted to know the age of 837 Roanoke Dr. undergraduate at Tech, excursions into the original sedimentary rock. We were Springfield, IL 62702 the field were taken on many Saturdays. running late the day we were there and We would all pile into cars and head out by the time we left we were holding for outcrops revealing folds, faults, rock samples in the headlights of the fossils and various lithologies. cars to look for fossils. It seemed like a Alumni Careers Michael R. Mason ’89 CES, PG (MAJ, USA, RET) I left VPI in June of 1989 to go to I now work for a company that does the Defense Mapping Agency (now design-build for integrated digital called the National Imagery and geophysical mapping systems (http:// Mapping Agency). There, I furthered www.ris-corp.com). Most of the folks my education with the Joint Space here are electronic engineers. My role is Intelligence Operations Course, to design platforms, write processing Geographic Information Systems code, transition the systems to the field, Course, and the Multi-Spectral Imagery and to train the geophysicists and Course. My duties entailed briefing operators. pilots, bombardier-navigators, cruise missile operators, and special forces on Michael R. Mason, CES, PG the sources and proper usage of Michael Mason in field Engineering Geophysicist coordinates for targeting smart weapons. RIS Corporation I retired from the military in 1992 geophysics with a move into phone:(865) 588-4456 and went back to work in the nuclear radiological and unexploded ordnance cell phone: (865) 207-3980 power industry for two years. During digital geophysical mapping.
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