From the Dean

Greetings from Blacksburg.

Last year when I wrote to you from this space, I had only been at my job a few short weeks. I was excited to begin, and optimistic about what lay ahead. A year later, I’m even more excited about all the great things we are doing in the College of Science.

Science at Virginia Tech has been on an upward swing for several years, and we’re just getting started. We have a fabulous team of supportive alumni and friends, terrific faculty, dedicated staff, and amazing students who are driven to use their Virginia Tech education to make a real impact in their communities and the world.

When you make your way through the stories in this magazine, you will see many examples of the terrific work the College of Science team is engaged in. Our faculty researchers and their teams of students are taking on major, urgent issues that our society faces: earthquake preparedness, pollution in our water, and the race to invent new, non-addictive pain medications from nature.

Although we talk a lot about the exciting things happening in our research program, we are equally dedicated to, and excited about, our educational mission. Our faculty continue to innovate in the classroom, meaning that our outstanding students are learning more than ever. Our teaching and research missions collide in the lab, where undergraduate and graduate students gain hands-on experience performing cutting-edge science. The support of a devoted group of alumni and friends such as yourselves helps make our teaching and research programs even more robust.

There’s so much more to highlight in this year’s report, but I want you to experience the joy of discovery within the coming pages, so I won’t say more. When you peruse this year’s issue, I think our scientific excellence and the importance of our work will be self-evident and shine through.

Thank you, as always, for your support.