E-NEWSLETTER UPDATE: UNIVERSITY NEWS
An update on building projects around Grounds
Somdev Devvarman wins national tennis championship
Ancient Rome rebuilt, virtually
Construction instructionAn update on building projects around Grounds
Source: Will Goldsmith, C-Ville Weekly
With the student population diminished and the daylight extended, summer is the season for building. New homes for research, classes, cars and students are in the works. Don’t expect a lot of construction to wrap up this year, however—2008 looks to be the Year of the Ribbon Cutting, with projected completion dates set then for all but one of the projects below. But it won’t all be shiny and new. One of the most expensive projects is bringing the Main Heating Plant up to environmental compliance, at a cost of $72 million.
—with reporting by David Moltz.
Click images for more information and photos of each project.
 Varsity Hall Renovation
Cost: $4.1 million
Location: Hospital Drive
Started: March 2005
Projected finish: December 2007
After getting moved to a new site, this 149-year-old building will be renovated to house the offices for the Vice President for Research & Graduate Studies.
Rouss Hall Renovation and Addition
Cost: $58.3 million
Location: South end of the Lawn
Started: March 2005
Projected finish: February 2008
This building will become the new home of the McIntire School of Commerce, sharing its classrooms with the College of Arts and Sciences. The entrance to Hospital Drive at Jefferson Park Avenue has been closed indefinitely.
Main Heating Plant Environmental Compliance
Cost: $71.7 million
Location: Jefferson Park Avenue
Started: April 2005
Projected finish: September 2008
The University’s main heating plant will get some upgrades to provide for additional growth, replace aging equipment and meet air quality requirements. All boilers will soon have the option of using natural gas, but the plant will continue to use coal. To meet the demand for more coal, a second rail will be added to the loading site, and expect to see a fifth silo on the skyline near the University Hospital.
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Carter-Harrison Research Building
Cost: $84.1 million
Location: Crispell Drive, near other medical
research buildings
Started: March 2006
Projected finish: December 2008
This new building in the School of Medicine will house research programs in cancer, infectious diseases, allergy and immunology.
 Campbell Hall Additions
Cost: $15.6 million
Location: Rugby Road
Started: June 2006
Projected finish: March 2008
Two sections are being added to the University’s architecture school. The east, glass-walled addition will serve as a new entrance and reception area to the building. The south addition will provide new offices, conference rooms and workspace for students.
 Claude Moore Nursing Education Building
Cost: $15.6 million
Location: 15th Street SW
Started: October 2006
Projected finish: July 2008
This building will provide additional classroom space for the nursing school. A nursing history center will also be included in the building.
 Ruffin Hall
Cost: $25.9 million
Location: Rugby Road
Started: November 2006
Projected finish: July 2008
This building will serve as the new home for the Studio Art Department. It will house offices, classrooms and gallery space.
Arts Grounds Parking Garage
Cost: $14.4 million
Location: Culbreth Road
Started: December 2006
Projected finish: February 2008
This 535-car garage will provide daily parking and patron parking for the Culbreth/Helms theaters. Culbreth Road has been closed, and the work has cancelled the summer season for Heritage Repertory Theatre.
Observatory Hill Residence Hall
Cost: $18.8 million
Location: Observatory Road
Started: March 2007
Projected finish: August 2008
This first-year dormitory will house 209 students and provide space for the replacement of certain Alderman Road dormitories over the next decade.
South Chiller Plant Addition
Cost: $22.5 million
Location: Crispell Drive, near other medical research buildings
Started: April 2007
Projected finish: June 2008
This plant, being built because of growth, will serve the University Hospital and medical school buildings in the southern area of the Health System.
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Somdev Devvarman wins tennis national championshipSource: Jerry Ratcliffe, Daily Progress
Perhaps it was only natural that a few negative thoughts ran through Somdev Devvarman’s mind prior to Monday evening’s NCAA Singles Championship. Devvarman, who lost in last year’s national title match as a sophomore, said that memory crept into his mind before he took the court to face this year’s No. 1 seed, John Isner of Georgia. But once the match started it was all about competing.
The Virginia junior dismissed any thoughts of losing, went to work and treated a partisan home Georgia crowd to one of the most dramatic singles title matches in the event’s 123-year history.
Devvarman defeated Isner for the second time in a week, this time topping the Bulldogs’ all-time career wins leader, 7-6 (7), 4-6, 7-6 (2). Devvarman not only became the first Cavalier to win a national tennis title, but was also the first ACC player to capture the crown. “I am truly happy to be where I am right now,” Devvarman said. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given.”
Remarkably, neither player double-faulted in the match, and there was only one service break, that coming in the second set when Isner took a 4-3 lead en route to his only set victory. “I just realized I won a match and did not break serve one single time,” an elated Devvarman said after winning his 16th consecutive match of the season and a UVa season-record 44th singles triumph. “I don’t think I’ve done that one, single time ever.”
Devvarman had never beaten Isner until last week’s team competition, when he scored the upset over Georgia’s best player. Doing it twice within a week’s span was even more impressive, and the Cavalier said the previous win built his confidence that he could repeat.
But it wasn’t without a fight. Isner came armed with perhaps the best serve in college tennis and gained 39 of his 80 points over the three sets with that booming service. The Bulldog senior scored 23 aces and added 16 service winners against Devvarman who was on the defensive all night. “I think his serve is a great, great, great serve and it’s going to take him a long way in his pro career for sure,” Devvarman said.
It was somewhat ironic that Devvarman closed out the championship with his own ace, one of a handful that he scored during the evening.
The first set was close all the way, leading to a tie-breaker that Devvarman won, 9-7, as each player battled royally for every point.
Isner came back strong in the second set when his serve was most evident, pulling away after he broke Devvarman at 4-3.
Up 5-4 in the second, Isner took advantage of three consecutive aces, two of them disputed by Devvarman, to tie the match at one set apiece. The Cavalier argued that two of the serves were wide but didn’t let it rattle him heading into the third set.
With neither player willing to give in the third, it appeared the match would come down to yet another tie-breaker, which it did, with Devvarman taking control early, holding a 5-1 advantage before closing it out 7-2 on an ace. The Virginia star, a native of Chennai, India, jumped skyward and let out a scream, pumping his fist toward the heavens.
“I knew this match would be a coin flip,” Isner said upon ending his collegiate career. “I played exceptionally well, but Somdev was just a little bit better. I served well and didn’t get broken the whole match. Usually when you do that, you don’t lose.”
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Ancient Rome rebuilt, virtuallySource: Leslie Katz, CNet News
Not only was Rome not built in a day, but a digital model took 10 years to construct. A team of archaeologists, architects and computer specialists from Italy, the United States, Britain and Germany has just unveiled a sprawling 3D digital simulation of the ancient city as it appeared at the height of its development as the capital of the Roman Empire.
They are calling it the largest, most comprehensive simulation of a historic city ever created.
"Rome Reborn 1.0," based at the University of Virginia, shows almost the entire city within the 13-mile-long Aurelian Walls in 320 A.D., when Rome was the multicultural capital of the Western world. Visitors can navigate through key sites such as the interiors of the Roman Senate House, the Colosseum, or the Temple of Venus and Rome, the ancient city's largest place of worship.
The $2 million simulation, which is aimed at students, scholars, travelers and anyone else interested in history and urban planning, can be easily updated to reflect the latest knowledge about the ancient city. In future releases, the project will include other phases in the evolution of the city, from the late Bronze Age in the 10th century B.C. to the Gothic Wars in the 6th century A.D.
"This is just the first step in the creation of a virtual time machine, which our children and grandchildren will use to study the history of Rome and many other great cities around the world," said Bernard Frischer, head of the project and director of the Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities at the University of Virginia.
"Rome Reborn" was started at the University of California at Los Angeles by two professors, who collaborated with students from classics, architecture and urban design to fashion the digital models using expert archaeological advice and laser scans of some 7,000 buildings. As the project evolved, it became collaborative on an international scale.
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