Virginia Tech: In memory

Nine engineering students and a professor were among 32 people tragically killed on Monday, April 16, 2007, at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., when a gunman invaded an advanced hydrology class, as well as other classrooms on the second floor of a campus building. Virginia Tech and the Charles E. Via, Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) provided the following information about the slain professor and engineering students (ages and some hometowns were obtained from published news accounts):

G.V. Loganathan, Ph.D., 51, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Originally from India, he obtained a doctorate from Purdue University in 1982 and had received several awards for teaching excellence at Virginia Tech. Loganathan was an active member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and its Environmental & Water Resources Institute. He served on the Trenchless Installation of Pipelines Technical Committee, Environmental and Water Resources Systems Technical Committee, and acted as vice chair for the Operations Management Technical Committee.

Brian R. Bluhm, 25, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was a master’s student in civil engineering.

Matthew G. Gwaltney, 24, Chesterfield, Va., was a master’s student in environmental engineering.

Jeremy M. Herbstritt, 27, Bellefonte, Pa., was a master’s student in civil engineering.

Jarrett L. Lane, 22, Narrows, Va., was a senior majoring in civil engineering.

Partahi M. Lumbantoruan, 34, Indonesia, was a doctoral student in civil engineering.

Daniel P. O’Neil, 22, Lincoln, R.I., was a master’s student in environmental engineering.

Juan R. Ortiz-Ortiz, 26, Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was a master’s student in civil engineering.

Julia K. Pryde, Middletown, N.J., was a master’s student in biological systems engineering.

Waleed M. Shaalan, 32, Zagazig, Egypt, was a doctoral student in civil engineering.

The Virginia Tech CEE Department is holding a memorial service on Friday, April 27, and has established the following three memorial funds:

• G.V. Loganathan Memorial Fund,
• CEE Advanced Hydrology Class 4-16-07 Student Memorial Fund, and
• Virginia Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Memorial Education Fund.

The memorial funds for G.V. Loganathan and the CEE Advanced Hydrology Class will be used for travel expenses for families of the victims, burial expenses as needed, incidental needs of the families, or un-recovered medical expenses of victims. Any funds remaining after these needs have been met will be deposited into the CEE Memorial Education Fund.

The Loganathan and Advanced Hydrology Class funds have been established at BB&T. According to a posting on the CEE Department website, tax deductible contributions may be made at any BB&T location by providing the name of the memorial fund(s) at the teller window. Checks should be payable to the name of the fund to which you wish to contribute; if contributing to both funds, please write separate checks. BB&T will provide receipts for tax records. Donations may also be mailed to BB&T, Attn: Jennie R. Settle, 902 Prices Fork Road, Ste. 110, Blacksburg, VA 24060.

The Virginia Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Memorial Education Fund will be used to provide scholarships and fellowships for students. It will also create special programs, learning opportunities, and outreach efforts to further education within the civil engineering profession. According to the CEE Department, "We will focus not only on technical issues, but also [on] the qualities that uphold and uplift the positive human spirit that so characterized those whom we have lost."

Contributions to the education fund should be made payable to "Virginia Tech Foundation, Inc." and noted as being for the CEE Memorial Education Fund. Contributions should be mailed to Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, 200 Patton Hall (MC 0105), Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061.

The department also requests that individuals wishing to send condolence cards to the families of the engineering students or G.V. Loganathan send them in care of the CEE Department at the same address.