Virginia’s Outstanding Scientists
2005
Dr. Michael Hochella Jr. is a professor of geochemistry at
Virginia Tech. Through his work, it is now clear that interactions of
Earth materials at the atomic level with living things, water and the
atmosphere control many of Earth’s most important processes. These
include soil formation and movement of toxic substances, in addition to
water pollution and purification.
Dr. Hochella is the first person to recognize important differences in
the behavior of Earth materials at the atomic scale. He calls this
developing field of study nanogeoscience. Dr. Hochella discovered a new
mineral responsible for transporting toxic heavy metals in soil, streams
and rivers more than 100 miles from an old copper mine in Montana.
Scientists are following Dr. Hochella’s lead in studying the role small
atomic scale particles and forces play, for example, in the movement of
bacteria in the subsurface and in triggering lung disease.
Dr. Hadis Morkoç is Founders Professor at Virginia Commonwealth
University’s Department of Electrical and Engineering Physics. Dr.
Morkoç is responsible for inventing, developing and patenting in the
area of compound semiconductors such as gallium arsenide. These
semiconductors allow higher frequency of operation, higher temperature
of operation and light emission in devices such as cellular phones and
mini satellite dishes. They also provide higher power transmitters for
satellites and solid-state lasers used in medicine and home
entertainment systems.
Another example of his work is the modulation doped field effect
transistor or MODFET. Dr. Morkoç laid the groundwork for MODFETs, and he
holds the fundamental patent for a strained layer quantum well MODFET.
This device is used in cell phones and has permitted introduction of
mini-dish direct-satellite television broadcasting systems. MODFETs are
also used in automotive collision avoidance systems, automatic toll
systems, base-to-base satellite communications applications and the
Internet.
Virginia’s Life Achievement in Science 2005
Virginia Tech Distinguished Professor Dr. Ali Hasan Nayfeh’s
prime areas of concentration are theoretical and experimental mechanics
along with applied mathematics. Many of his experiments have been aimed
at understanding nonlinear phenomena, including simulating the response
of ships and boats to waves at sea. His experiments have been adapted to
research on aerospace structures and microelectromechanical devices. Dr.
Nayfeh developed a methodology for controlling ship motions. He is
responsible for a method to analyze acoustic waves in aircraft
engine-duct systems. His system for controlling the swinging movement of
payloads on cranes is being considered for implementation on container
cranes and ship-mounted cranes for naval and commercial purposes.
Dr. Nayfeh helped establish an engineering college at King Abdulaziz
University in Saudi Arabia, an engineering college at Yarmouk University
in Jordan and he helped establish a branch of Riyadh University at Abha,
Saudi Arabia. Dr. Nayfeh has been asked to join the Office of Naval
Research’s High Capacity Alongside Sea Base Sustainment team headed by
Lockheed Martin.
Virginia’s Outstanding Industrialist 2005
Richard Fairbank is founder, chairman and chief executive officer
of Capital One Financial Corporation. Mr. Fairbank began his career with
Strategic Planning Associates (SPA).
Based on his belief that information and technology would transform
consumer marketing, Mr. Fairbank developed the idea that would
ultimately become Capital One’s hallmark — its Information Based
Strategy (IBS). IBS combines information, technology and testing to
bring customized solutions to consumers.
Mr. Fairbank recruited fellow SPA consultant, Nigel Morris, to help find
a sponsor for IBS in the credit card industry. In 1988, Richmond,
Va.-based Signet Bank agreed to implement the strategy. In 1994, Signet
spun-off its credit card business as Capital One Financial Corporation,
and Mr. Fairbank became chairman and CEO of Capital One.
Capital One rapidly became one of the largest credit card issuers in the
United States, and has expanded into new products. Today, Capital One is
a diversified Fortune 200 company with more than 48 million accounts
worldwide.
Virginia’s Life Achievement in Industry 2005
E. Morgan Massey is a pathfinder in the modern American coal
industry. Under his leadership the A. T. Massey Coal Company grew from a
family operation to a publicly traded corporation and the fourth largest
coal company in the country. Mr. Massey learned the business from the
bottom up, beginning as a miner in Appalachia.
Mr. Massey retired in 1991 as chairman, president and CEO of the coal
company, but he stayed in the energy business. Through his company, Evan
Energy Investments LC, he now has interests in coal mines in South
America and China and in oil and natural gas operations in Appalachia.
He is chairman of Asian American Coal.
Mr. Massey is a founding director of the Massey Cancer Center,
established in 1983. He helped shape the center, and insisted that it be
designated a National Cancer Institute Center. Mr. Massey is an active
member of the VCU Massey Cancer Center Advisory Board.
Mr. Massey is secretary/treasurer of the Massey Foundation and honorary
chairman of the Campaign for the Massey Cancer Center. He is president
of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science Foundation, on the
University of Richmond board of advisors and the VCU School of
Engineering board of directors. His philanthropic interests include the
VCU School of Engineering, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the White
House of the Confederacy, the Historic Richmond Foundation, the Virginia
Historical Society, Hampden-Sydney College, the University of Richmond,
Children’s Hospital and Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.
Beverly Orndorff Award for Exceptional Service to Public
Understanding of Science
Chancellor Professor of Physics Hans Christian von Baeyer has a
vision of opening science to everyone. Twenty-five years ago refocused
his scholarly activity from publishing articles in academic journals to
writing for popular magazines, books and television. He is the author of
the Emmy-nominated script for a one-hour television production called
“The Quantum Universe.”
Dr. von Baeyer has written five books. His most recent, “Information:
The New Language of Science,” has been published in English and German.
He wrote “Maxwell’s Demon.” The paperback is called “Warmth Disperses
and Time Passes.” His book “Taming the Atom” is published in six
languages. He is the author of “The Fermi Solution” and “Rainbow,
Snowflakes and Quarks.” He has written 75 articles for popular magazines
including Discover, New Scientist, The Sciences and Reader’s Digest.
Dr. von Baeyer has been with William and Mary since in 1968. He served
as physics chairman from 1972 through 1978. He was named Chancellor
Professor in 1994. He has been a visiting professor at Simon Fraser
University in Vancouver, Canada. He has also worked at McGill University
and Vanderbilt University. He is a Fellow of the American Physical
Society. His William and Mary awards include the Jefferson, Graves,
Jefferson Teaching and Virginia Outstanding Faculty.
