News Briefs
UVA Home to New Nanotechnology Center
UVA is taking a big step in matters that are very, very small. Nanotechnology involves manipulating matter on an atomic or molecular scale, but while the work is microscopic, it has big potential for technical innovation.
The Virginia Nanoelectronics Center will explore that potential by bringing together world-class researchers to explore the development of next-generation electronics.
Research will be used to develop faster, smaller and more affordable computer applications for mobile devices, cars, energy-efficient homes—and, of course, computers.
The University is partnering with William and Mary and Old Dominion and is working closely with Micron Technology Inc.—a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions and manufacturer of memory chips—to launch the new center.
“This unique center will allow leading researchers at our state universities to work at the frontier of nanoelectronics research,” says Tom Skalak, UVA vice president for research. “ViNC is a superb example of what can be achieved when the University of Virginia collaborates with our higher-education, industry and government partners. This center demonstrates our capacity to develop technologies that drive global markets and to establish Virginia as a key destination for technology innovation.”
New College Arts Scholars Program
If humor is an art, a comedian knows the benefits of arts education. This fall, 16 incoming students will be the first beneficiaries of a new College Arts Scholars program, thanks in part to a gift from Evelyn McGee Colbert (Col ‘85) and her husband, comedian Stephen T. Colbert.
Each year, 15 to 20 incoming students will be selected based on supplements to their admission applications that illustrate talent in the arts—dance, drama, music or studio art. The students will work closely with faculty and help nurture an arts community on Grounds.
Arts scholars who elect to major or minor in one of these disciplines will be eligible for an award worth up to $3,000 to help fund an intensive art project in the summer between their third and fourth years. The Colberts’ gift will support at least four Colbert Arts Scholars Awards per year over the next three years.
Students Receive Warner Public Leadership Undergraduate Research Awards
Two students in the University’s College of Arts & Sciences have received Sen. John W. Warner Public Leadership Undergraduate Research Awards.
John Jacob Nay (Col ‘12) of Midlothian, Va., is a double major in philosophy and environmental thought and practice, with a minor in global sustainability. He is researching disaster management and climate change preparation policies.
Casey Enders (Col ‘12) of Chantilly, Va., a politics honors major, is researching the morality and efficacy of schools’ zero-tolerance policies concerning drugs and weapons.
The UVA Office of the Provost gives the annual awards, up to $3,000, to third-year undergraduates who intend to seek public office in the future.
Women’s Center Honors Carol Wood
The UVA Women’s Center selected Carol S. Wood to receive the 2011 Elizabeth Zintl Leadership Award. As the associate vice president for public affairs at UVA, Wood is the spokesperson and media ambassador for the University.
The award is presented annually in memory of the late Elizabeth Zintl, a writer and journalist who served as chief of staff to the University’s president. Given to a female employee at UVA, the award honors the high degree of professionalism, creativity and commitment that characterized Zintl’s contributions to the University.
UVA Architecture School Launches Center for Design and Health
What we build affects our health. The UVA School of Architecture launched the Center for Design and Health in May to pursue cross-disciplinary research to advance the design and planning of patient-centered facilities and healthy neighborhoods, towns and cities.
The center will act as a catalyst, providing seed funding to new research and projects already under way that bring together researchers from a variety of disciplines to address design challenges that incorporate the expertise of design professionals, policy planners and health professionals.
Sustainable communities professor Timothy Beatley and landscape architecture professor Reuben M. Rainey co-direct the center.
Fraternity Charter Suspended
After fraternity-related activities led to the hospitalization of a first-year pledge, University administrators have revoked its Fraternal Organization Agreement with Zeta Psi fraternity for a period of at least two years. Without such an agreement, the fraternity must close its UVA chapter and Zeta Psi members will not occupy the alumni-owned house until the agreement is renewed.
“I was convinced that there was substantial evidence of serious misconduct that had placed students at risk,” said dean of students Allen Groves after concluding a three-month investigation. “I also considered the overall pattern of conduct for the fraternity for the past academic year and I concluded that the correct option was to terminate the [agreement].”
Zeta Psi’s national chapter and the fraternity’s alumni leadership supported the University’s action. “A comprehensive review … led the administration to conclude that the level of risk to personal safety at the Zete House is unacceptable,” wrote the chapter’s alumni leaders in a letter to parents and other fraternity alumni. “We are saddened by this turn of events, but we understand and support the University’s decision.”