In Memory of Professor Liviu Librescu Professor Liviu Librescu, 1930-2007 Renowned Researcher and Educator in Aeroelacticity, Thermal Stresses and Composites Professor Librescu from the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics died in the Virginia Tech tragedy on April 16, 2007, as he lived, devoted to his students and to his profession. His last action was to sacrifice himself to save the students in his classroom. At the hearing of the shooting, he blocked the door with his body while telling his students to jump from the window. He was shot through the door and killed. All his students survived but one. Professor Librescu survived the Holocaust and earned his Ph.D. from the Academy of Sciences in Romania (1969) where he stayed as a faculty member. He then immigrated to Israel from Romania during the communist regime and spent his sabbatical in 1985 in the Engineering Science and Mechanics Department at Virginia Tech where he stayed since then, continuing his research in aeroelasticity, thermal stresses and composites. He was a wonderful educator and a prominent researcher with numerous journal and conferences papers (“More journal articles and conference papers than anyone else in the field” say his colleagues) and a book - Thin-Walled Composite Beams: Theory and Application, with O. Song, Springer, 2005 -. He also served on the Editorial Board of seven different journals, helped organize many international congresses and symposia, and had recently participated in a project administered by the NRC involving researchers from his native Romania. Professor Librescu’s death is a great loss to the mechanics community. He will be remembered for his many contributions to research and education. Information and text partially extracted from the Virginia Tech website, April 2007 In Memory of Professor Kevin Granata Professor Kevin Granata, 1961-2007 Renowned Researcher and Educator in Biomechanics Professor Granata from the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics died in the Virginia Tech tragedy of April 16, 2007, protecting about 20 students after he huddle them into his own office from a classroom across the hallway in order to safeguard them, and after he went to investigate. Professor Granata was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio, and received undergraduate degrees from Ohio State University, a Master's degree from Purdue and a doctoral degree from Ohio State University. Before joining the faculty of Virginia Tech, he worked in the Applied Physics Laboratory in Maryland and in the Department of Orthopedics at the University of Virginia where he was the director of the Gait Laboratory. Professor Granata had numerous publications and research grants in the field of biomechanics. He was widely recognized for the development of innovative methods to quantify low back stability and for his work on movement dynamics in cerebral palsy. He recently participated in the National Academies Keck Future Initiative Conference on smart prosthetics. Professor Granata's greatest passion and pride was his family, especially his wife and three young children. He was also an athlete. Professor Granata’s death is a great loss to the mechanics community. He will be remembered for his many contributions to research and education. Information and text partially extracted from the Virginia Tech website, April 2007 In Memory of Professor G. V. Loganathan Professor G. V. Loganathan, ? - 2007 Renowned Researcher and Educator in Hydrology Professor Loganathan from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering died in the Virginia Tech tragedy of April 16, 2007, while teaching a hydrology class. Many of the students in his classroom were also killed. Professor Loganathan received a Bachelor of Engineering from Madras University, a Master’s degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, and a Ph.D. from Purdue. He was an expert on hydrology, water resources and hydraulic networks. Two of his research papers received best paper awards. Professor Loganathan was one of the best teachers at Virginia Tech, having received virtually every teaching award offered by his Department, College and University. He not only consistently received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Department of Civil Engineering, but also was a four time recipient of the College of Engineering Teaching Excellence award. Recently, he also received the prestigious University level Wine Award for Excellence in Teaching. On several occasions his teaching evaluations ranked among the top ten faculty members in the entire College of Engineering comprising about 300 faculty members. Known for his outstanding performance and dedication in education, Professor Loganathan was frequently invited to serve as an expert panelist at various forums on teaching excellence. In addition, he was involved in engineering education research, being one of the ten key investigators on two NSF grants totaling over $1M in funding. Professor Granata’s death is a great loss to the mechanics community. He will be remembered for his many contributions to research and education. Information and text partially extracted from the Virginia Tech website, April 2007 We Remember the Virginia Tech Victims of April 16, 2007 5 faculty members, 27 students Ross Abdallah Henry J. Lee Alameddine Liviu Librescu Christopher James Bishop G.V. Loganathan Brian Roy Bluhm Partahi Mamora Halomoan Ryan Christopher Clark Lumbantoruan Austin Michelle Cloyd Lauren Ashley McCain Jocelyne Couture-Nowak Daniel Patrick O'Neil Kevin P. Granata Juan Ramon Ortiz-Ortiz Matthew Gregory Minal Hiralal Panchal Gwaltney Daniel Alejandro Perez-Cueva Caitlin Millar Hammaren Erin Nicole Peterson Jeremy Michael Herbstritt Michael Steven Pohle, Jr. Rachael Elizabeth Hill Julia Kathleen Pryde Emily Jane Hilscher Mary Karen Read Jarrett Lee Lane Reema Joseph Samaha Matthew Joseph La Porte Waleed Mohamed Shaalan Leslie Geraldine Sherman Maxine Shelly Turner Nicole White Information and text partially extracted from the Virginia Tech website, April 2007.