Dept: University Digest
High-Tech Building for High-Tech Research0
Winter 2011
Rice HallAt the beginning of the fall semester, the new engineering building, Rice Hall, welcomed both graduate and undergraduate students to its classrooms and labs. It’s the new home of the computer science department and the computer engineering program. Its six stories and 100,000 square feet include black-painted labs that reduce stray light for engineers working with light measurement and visualization. The Design Laboratory, the biggest space in the building, opens onto a courtyard for outdoor lab work. Rice Hall will also benefit engineering students beyond Grounds as the base for the school’s distance-learning initiatives, including the “Engineers PRODUCED...
News Briefs0
Winter 2011
Practice Facility Planned A new indoor practice field, designed to accommodate the football program and available to the rest of University’s teams, is on the way. “It’s a need,” said executive associate athletics director Jon Oliver. “Frankly, we don’t have a place to practice in inclement weather.” The structure would be 78,000 square feet and cost up to $13 million. Funds are currently being raised from private donors and a completion date of summer 2013 is targeted. Rise in Giving Despite the slow recovery of the economy, philanthropy is alive and well at the University. Overall giving in 2011 was up $27...
Costly Cartoons?0
Winter 2011
The cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants rules the roost as the most popular television show for children between the ages of 2 and 12. But the program’s undersea mayhem may come at a cost. A study by two U.Va. researchers concluded that fast-paced, fantastical shows are not the best things for children to watch if they need to pay attention, solve problems or moderate their behavior after watching. Those abilities, called executive functions, seemed to be impaired among 4-year-olds after watching nine minutes of SpongeBob SquarePants. That’s when compared with similar study groups: one that watched Caillou, a slower-paced, public television...
Stacked Up1
Winter 2011
Photo: Luca Dicecco A recent $5 million retrofit of Ivy Stacks has doubled the capacity of this 10,000-square-foot warehouse, which contains more than 750,000 valuable but rarely requested items from the University Library system. Capacity of this 16-year-old facility was increased by installing motorized 30-foot high bookshelves that move along rails, leaving only one aisle open at a time. Implementation of the Harvard model of high-density shelving—which organizes materials by height rather than category—further maximizes shelving efficiency by reducing wasted vertical space. According to Paul Rittelmeyer, director of interlibrary services, Ivy Stacks is now one of the world’s...
Bookmarked0
Winter 2011
Birthday wishes, event announcements, calls to action and marriage proposals. Beta Bridge displays them all. If you can’t walk up and down Rugby Road yourself, a new blog catalogs the bridge’s ever-changing paint job with photographs posted almost daily.
How We Rank0
Winter 2011
No. 2 Public University U.S. News & World Report Top 10 Best College Campus Architecture Architectural Digest Best College Towns Southern Living Darden No. 3 in Entrepreneurship Princeton Review No. 4 MBA program in the world The Economist Medical School Up 19 places to No. 20 in teaching Primary Care U.S. News & World Report
Verbatim0
Winter 2011
“At first, I thought it was a train—then I realized there was no train that would make that much noise.” —Charles Eckman (Engr ’13), after a 5.8 earthquake shook Central Virginia at around 1:50 p.m. on the first day of classes, Aug. 23, 2011. No structural damage was done to University buildings.
Meals on Wheels0
Winter 2011
Food trucks offering organic donuts, fresh dumplings, cheese steak sandwiches and more are providing students new alternatives for edibles. The six mobile kitchens spread their buffet each day around McIntire Amphitheater, helping alleviate a space crunch caused by renovations to the Newcomb Hall dining hall. The best part? They accept Plus Dollars through U.Va.’s meal plan.
HIGHLIGHTS
Theater as You’ve Never Seen It Before
Set designer Lisi Stoessel (Col '06, Grad '08) creates fantastical places.
What’s Up, Doc?
The human body is a complex machine of about 10 trillion interconnected cells. Researchers at the U.Va. Health System are working with new technology to keep everything from our brains to our blood sugar in good shape.
Jefferson’s Secret Bible
In the twilight of his life, Jefferson began exploring his faith and deepening his understanding of the Bible and Christianity.
1976: A Royal Visit
On July 10, Queen Elizabeth toured the Academical Village, where 18,000 people watched her stroll down the Lawn.
Over Seven Billion Served
Last October, the 7 billionth person on the planet was born. Professors explain the dynamics of the population boom and demographic transition.
What Can the New Frog in Town Tell Us About Our Eyes?
A biology student explains a U.Va. professor's new experimental animal
Body Builder
Mike Curtis helps athletes recover from injuries and maintain peak form
Where We Study
When finals are approaching at U.Va., the air seems charged with anticipation as students take to the libraries and cafés en masse and energy drinks fly off the shelves.
Lady Gaga Recruits U.Va. Bullying Expert
Lady Gaga's lofty goal and a Foundation stacked with experts well-suited to help achieve it.
Wrapped in Mystery
A guide to U.Va.'s student societies.
New & Notable
Listen to six innovative albums by 15 must-hear alumni musicians.
Eyes on the Olympics
U.Va. athletes play vital role in Team USA’s path to No. 1
Spirit of Adventure
Two documentaries portray challenging journeys and the importance of family
A New Kind of Leader
The Batten School was created to develop 'challengers of the status quo.'
Can Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment Prevent Crime?
Why U.Va. students are teaching Russian literature at a juvenile correctional center
