Davis College
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The Davis College’s Division of Forestry and Natural Resources has selected its outstanding faculty for the 2008-09 academic year.

Jim Armstrong, associate professor of wood science and technology, has been recognized for outstanding teaching. Armstrong generated nearly 1,000 student credit hours in 2008, teaching two sections of Forest Resources in U.S. History, Wood Anatomy and Structure, Physical Properties of Wood, Advanced Physical Behavior of Wood, and Wood Anatomy. He advised 25 undergraduate students, one doctoral candidate, and one master’s candidate during 2008, and served on two doctoral committees. He served as the adviser to the student chapter of the Forest Products Society. Armstrong has been integral in recruitment efforts for WVU’s nationally recognized program in Wood Science and Technology, almost tripling enrollment between 2003 and 2007.

Ben Dawson-Andoh, associate professor of wood science and technology, has been recognized for outstanding research. He was awarded two externally funded grant projects in 2008, one from WVU’s USDA-funded Center for Wood Utilization Research which involves seven faculty members conducting a number of specific projects focused on wood-based research. He and colleague Jingxin Wang received a patent from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory for gluing technology, and Dawson-Andoh is currently working on another patent application for a new development in nanotechnology. He authored or co-authored five articles published in three different peer-reviewed journals, and he has two articles in press and three in review.

Todd Petty, associate professor of wildlife and fisheries resources, has been recognized for outstanding service. In 2008, Petty was involved with seven professional focused service or outreach efforts. These were developed for groups including the West Virginia Abandoned Mine Land Stream Restoration Advisory Group, the West Virginia Stream Mitigation Working Group, the West Virginia State Brook Trout Conservation Working Group, and the Friends of Decker’s Creek. Petty served as a member of five national or international professional societies, as a reviewer for four peer-reviewed journals, and as associate editor for fisheries with the Proceedings of the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies. He served as president-elect of the West Virginia Chapter of the American Fisheries Society and chaired that organization’s fundraising committee. Petty serves on nine different faculty committees at division, college, and university levels, and he advises the division’s Graduate Student Association and the WVU Student Chapter of Trout Unlimited.