Virginia Tech will conduct a full-scale test of its VT Alerts system sometime between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Oct. 1, according to a news release from the university.

VT Alerts is the campus emergency notification system put in place after the April 16, 2007, shootings at West Ambler Johnston and Norris halls. Tech was criticized for a lack of communication in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy.

The system is used only for emergency situations and when severe weather disrupts class schedules. The system uses e-mail, Internet, loudspeakers and sirens, phone and text messages and electronic message boards in classrooms.

About 39,000 students, faculty and staff subscribe to the phone alert system, according to the news release.

ENGINEERING

Professors work on U.S. electrical grid

Virginia Tech electrical engineering professors Arun Phadke and James Thorp have received more than 50 percent of federal stimulus funds allocated by the U.S. Department of Energy to modernize and safeguard the nation's electrical grid.

Phadke and Thorp won two of four grants awarded for such projects, beating out about 300 other applicants, according to a news release from the university. Together, the projects total $2.6 million in federal funding.

Both professors are recipients of the 2008 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering for their combined 60 years in the industry.

ENVIRONMENT

Volunteers needed for stream restoration

The Stroubles Creek stream restoration project on the former Heth farm behind Foxridge apartments in Blacksburg has begun. Eroding stream banks there will be graded and trees and other plant will be put in to reduce erosion.

Volunteers 14 and older are needed to work Mondays through Saturdays through October and should RSVP via the project Web site, www.stroublescreek.bse.vt.edu/restoration.htm, or by sending e-mail to tesswynn@vt.edu.

Stroubles Creek was placed on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's list of impaired streams in 1998. Subsequent studies identified runoff and sediment infiltration as main causes of pollution. The construction of repairian buffers around the creek are part of a plan to help it recover.

AWARDS

Radford professors earn recognition

Michael Moore, a professor in the Department of Exercise Sport and Health Education, and Jennifer Jones, an assistant professor in the School of Teacher Education, have received the outstanding scholarly activity award from Radford University's College of Education and Human Development for the 2008-09 academic year.

Award criteria include recognized writing in a professional publication or other innovative or creative application of scholarship and a significant contribution to the research and practice, according to a news release from the university.

Moore's article, "The Use of a Tuning Fork and Stethoscope to Identify Fractures," was published in the Journal of Athletic Training.

Jones' award was based on her article "Comprehension Strategy Instruction in Core Reading Programs" published in the Reading Research Quarterly.

Other faculty receiving recognition were Jill Summerlin, outstanding performance award; Wendy Eckenrod-Green, outstanding teaching award; and Susan Miller, outstanding faculty service award.

Bruce Chase, director of Radford's Government and Nonprofit Assistance Center, was named one of Virginia's "Super CPAs" in the educator category by Virginia Business Magazine and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants.

This is the second such award Chase has received. The recognition is based on a poll of members of the society.

RESEARCH

Tech team gets grant to study knee injuries

A team of Virginia Tech engineering researchers has won a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to study knee ligament sprains.

Raffaella De Vita, director of the Mechanics of Soft Biological Systems Laboratory, and a team will examine the causes of injuries that lead to partial and complete ligament failure, according to a news release from the university.

The study will focus on the most common orthopedic injuries, such as hyperextension and impact injuries.

ENVIRONMENT

Panel to discuss climate change

The Transatlantic Climate Bridge, launched in Germany, will hold a panel discussion on global climate change and energy policy from 10 a.m. to noon Thursday at Squires Student Center at Virginia Tech.

The initiative seeks to foster transatlantic cooperation and partnerships between Germany, the U.S. and Canada on climate and energy policies at the local, state and national levels.

Thursday's discussion will focus on energy independence, boosting energy efficiency and investing in renewable energy. Representatives from the U.S. and Germany will talk about how communities can engage in local energy planning and report on best practice examples with a transatlantic perspective.

DIVERSITY

Events celebrate Hispanic heritage

Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month at Virginia Tech will wind up Friday with a free performance of "Tres Vidas" at 7 p.m. in Haymarket Theatre in Squires Student Center.

"Tres Vidas" is a chamber music work that celebrates the lives of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, El Salvador's peasant activist Rufina Amaya and Argentinian poet Alfonsina Storni.

The monthlong celebration included several events and activities and is sponsored by Tech's Leadership Development Office, Department of Student Activities and Multicultural Programs and Services.

RESTRUCTURING

Tech reorganizes some departments

The Department of Theatre and Cinema, formerly called the Department of Theatre Arts, will now include some faculty and courses formerly housed in the communication department, according to a news release from the university.

The restructured department remains part of the School of Performing Arts and Cinema, along with the Department of Music. All reside within the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

The former interdisciplinary studies major has been restructured into the Department of Religion and Culture. The program houses the undergraduate major in interdisciplinary studies and a graduate certificate in liberal arts and is a contributing department to the alliance for social, political, ethical and cultural thought doctoral program.

Students study topics such as religious violence in the medieval and contemporary worlds, secularism, globalization of Appalachia and gender and Islam, according to the news release.

SCIENCE

RU physics student gets real-life lesson

Laura Sweat, a Radford University senior physics major, along with physics professor Rhett Herman, used the electrical resistivity subsurface mapper called an OhmMapper to survey and compile data over parking lots adjacent to Waldron Hall slated for development as College of Business and Economics building.

According to a news release from the university, Sweat dragged heavy equipment over the site and entered data into a handheld device.

This process, Herman explained, is like an electrical CAT scan of the subsurface showing where wet soil and dry bedrock are located. The bedrock is important in order to locate the building safely in the proposed area, according to the release.

LIBRARY

Consortium offers scholarly resources

The Virginia Tech University Libraries has joined the Chicago-based Center for Research Libraries, a consortium of more than 200 North American universities, colleges and independent research libraries.

The center makes available more than 4 million publications, archives and collections to its member libraries to supplement their humanities, social science and science holdings.

Tech's library system has suffered continuing cuts over several years that have reduced its journal subscriptions and other resources.

VET SCHOOL

Annual dog wash planned for Oct. 3

Students at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine will hold the annual community dog wash from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 3.

Parking and services will be available behind the vet school on Duck Pond Drive.

A basic wash will cost $10. An additional $5 pays for nail trimming and ear cleaning.

Services are provided on a first-come, first-served basis. Dogs must be on a leash and be at least 5 months old with up-to-date vaccinations.

For more information, send an e-mail to karap@vt.edu.