Focus on Faculty
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When most people think of VMI, the iconic image of the barracks comes to mind, or perhaps the Corps of Cadets marching in a parade. But what about cadets in civilian dress in Budapest, Bangkok, or Botswana?
The English, rhetoric, and humanistic studies 411 fieldwork class, taught by Maj. Stephanie Hodde, is taking a more creative approach to service learning by hosting the Rockbridge Community Memoir Project.
![Cadets examine soybeans in the lab.](/media/content-assets/images/news/2016-17/Soybeans2018AMW03-1-400x266.jpg)
Lt. Col. Anne Alerding, associate professor of biology, is working with a team of cadets in her lab and in soybean fields across the state to find a way to increase the plants’ production.
![Maj. Dan Harrison ’05 and Jake Hyde ’17 set up a specially designed, air-free, electrochemical cell containing one of Hyde’s iron compounds. – VMI Photo by Kelly Nye.](/media/content-assets/images/news/2016-17/HarrisonHydeLab2017KN52-400x267.jpg)
Maj. Dan Harrison '05, who’s been teaching at VMI since 2013, focuses his research around developing catalysts that can reduce carbon dioxide into a more reactive carbon species and then into a usable fuel that could someday replace fossil fuels.
![An image of trees arching over the Chessie Nature Trail.](/media/content-assets/images/news/faculty-initiatives/ChessieTrail-400x271.jpg)
Since the VMI Foundation gifted the Chessie Nature Trail to the Institute in 2010, VMI has worked with the community to ensure the trail is maintained and enhanced as an outdoor resource for cadets and members of the community.
![A closeup of an eastern small-footed bat being studied and tracked by researchers](/media/content-assets/images/news/faculty-initiatives/2-Sherando-MYLE-w-transmitterB.jpg)
Lt. Col. Paul Moosman Jr. ’98, associate professor of biology, is attempting to learn more about the eastern small-footed bat to help determine if the species qualifies for endangered status.
![Professor Greg Hartman in front of blackboard lecturing.](/media/content-assets/images/news/faculty-initiatives/hartman-etextbook.jpg)
College students need textbooks. But it’s no secret that the cost has been a thorn in the side of students for years. Col. Greg Hartman is among pioneering professors nationally developing e-textbooks, his for calculus. With the price of the book starting at free, cost is no longer a problem.
![Col. Jim Hentz in his office](/media/content-assets/images/news/faculty-initiatives/JimHentzOffice2016KN25.jpg)
Op-Ed: Col. James Hentz, Ph.D., argues that Boko Haram is engaged in a regional, not a global, conflict. When policy makers misrepresent the group as part of a global jihad, they may intensify the conflict – unintentionally or otherwise.