Blacksburg, VA -- Wayne Purcell, a Virginia Tech agricultural economist who has been credited with transforming a major sector of America's agriculture industry, and chemical engineering professor Y.A. Liu, who has been nationally recognized for his teaching for three decades, were among 11 faculty members from colleges and universities throughout Virginia selected to receive the Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award from the State Council of High Education in Virginia yesterday. The awarded based on contributions a faculty member makes in the classroom, through research, and beyond the campus through public service activities.
Purcell, an alumni distinguished professor at the university, says he's gratified with the recognition. Still, he says, the impact he has had in the 30 years of work leading to the award -- and the impact he plans to have in years yet to come -- are really the reward that is most meaningful.
Purcell's classroom ability has been recognized through numerous awards through the years. During the 12 years he was on the faculty at Oklahoma State University, he won every teaching award available. Since he joined Virginia Tech's faculty in 1978, he has earned every major teaching award the university has to offer. In addition, he has won teaching awards from American Agricultural Economics Association, the Southern Agricultural Economics Association, and from professional and industry groups.
Purcell's applied research, especially in the area of pricing, price discovery, and demand shifts in the livestock economies of the mid-1980s led to him establishing the Research Institute on Livestock Pricing. He obtained nearly $2 million in outside grants to fund research efforts and to pass findings on to those who could use it -- producers, trade groups and Congress.
"Dr. Purcell is widely respected throughout the U.S. beef industry," said Chuck Lambert, chief economist for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. "His persistent efforts to help the beef sector understand the importance of strengthening demand has led to wholesale changes in the direction of beef marketing."
His public service activities have made him a well-known and well-respected personality across the state, throughout the nation, and even in other countries. They include special-issue conferences for producers and his weekly reports for certain agricultural commodities which reach audiences throughout North America. He is coordinator of the Rural Economic Analysis Program, established at Virginia Tech in 1986 to use economic analysis to address issues of concern to the agriculture industry and rural communities in Virginia.
When asked what one theme runs through all that he does, Purcell responded, "I try to make a difference."
Purcell was raised on a tobacco farm in Patrick County. He lives in Montgomery County near the Virginia Tech campus.
"I chose university teaching in 1974 because I enjoy the challenge of motivating and inspiring young people, and years of teaching have only deepened my enjoyment," says Y.A. Liu, the Frank C. Vilbrandt Professor of Chemical Engineering (ChE) at Virginia Tech.
Since coming to Virginia Tech in 1982 from the faculty of Auburn University, Liu has received several honors in recognition of both his teaching and research, including the 1984 Western Electric Fund Award from the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) for excellence in instruction of engineering students; the 1986 National Catalyst Award for excellence in chemical education from the Chemical Manufacturer's Association; the 1990 George Westinghouse Award, the highest honor presented by the ASEE to educators under the age of 45 for outstanding achievements in teaching and scholarship; and the 1993 Fred Merryfield Design Award from the ASEE for creativity and excellence in teaching and research of engineering design.
In addition, Liu has been honored as a teacher by the faculty and students of Virginia Tech. In 1996 he received the College of Engineering Sporn Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Instruction, the highest honor awarded by the college's 5,000 students. In 1997, the faculty presented Liu with their most prestigious teaching recognition, the W.E. Wine Award for Teaching Excellence.
Ley Richardson, a 1999 ChE graduate who won the highly competitive Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship for Minorities and is a Ph.D. candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, regards Liu as "the most inspiring professor in the classroom I have ever witnessed."
"He is a rare individual who cares deeply about his students and colleagues and has the innate ability to evoke the best in them," Richardson adds, noting that Liu "remains in his office every weeknight until at least 2 a.m., and he always has an open-door policy."
Liu continually brings his research and industry expertise into the classroom. His senior design students, for example, have developed computer models for manufacturing processes to reduce pollution and costs at Alliant Techsystems in southwest Virginia. Liu's graduate students are assisting AlliedSignal Polymers in Richmond with engineering staff training and process improvements projects that have a potential annual economic payback of more than $35 million.
Liu also devotes time to students outside the classroom, serving as the faculty advisor for the Association of Chinese Students and Scholars, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers Virginia Tech Student Chapter, and a student Christian fellowship group.
When Liu was promoted to the Vilbrandt professorship in 1983, he became the youngest Virginia Tech faculty member at that time to hold an endowed professorship. He has achieved international acclaim for his research and publications in magnetochemical engineering, coal cleaning, engineering design and artificial intelligence. He has published four pioneering textbooks in the field of chemical engineering, as well as more than 100 papers.
In addition to his teaching and research at Virginia Tech, Liu has served since 1992 as a senior technical advisor for the United Nations Development Program. Since 1986 he has conducted intensive training courses in new chemical engineering technology to more than 3,000 practicing engineers in Virginia, China and Taiwan.
Liu received his undergraduate engineering degree from the National Taiwan University, his master's from Tufts University, and his Ph.D. from Princeton.