The Virginia Tech Landscape Architecture Symposium, held April 14-16 on Virginia Tech's campus, features a keynote speech by renowned National Geographic photographer and motivational speaker Steve Uzzell. Symposium events also include a two-day Rain Garden Workshop, lectures from landscape architecture professionals, a career fair, and workshops that include portfolio reviews.

Steve Uzzell, one of the top advertising and corporate photographers in the country, will speak at 4 p.m. Friday, April 15, in Hancock Hall. His lecture "Open Roads Open Minds, An Exploration of Creative Problem Solving" discusses how Uzzell’s approach to his photographic work serves as a universal blueprint for problem solving. Audiences not only learn to be open to solutions that can be found in unexpected places, but that preparation lays the groundwork for magic to happen.

Steve Uzzell is well known for his work as a photographer for National Geographic and his work with countless major clients including Honda and Boeing. In addition to photographing two books, his editorial work is published in more than 50 publications including Newsweek, Smithsonian, Time, and U.S. News & World Report. He has garnered international acclaim and won numerous awards, including 10 from Communication Arts. Uzzell was the keynote speaker at the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA).

The Landscape Architecture Symposium will feature a career fair at 1 p.m. Friday, April 15, at the Landscape Architecture Studio. Firms have been invited from Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida, that will be interested in entry-level landscape architects and interns.

Sponsored by the Community Design Assistance Center, the symposium also features a Rain Garden Workshop on Thursday and Friday, April 14 and 15, at Squires Brush Mountain Room. Rain gardens are a method of stormwater management that allows stormwater to slowly filter back into the ground. This not only reduces the amount of stormwater runoff but also improves the runoff water quality by trapping pollutants as the water infiltrates. The garden consists of plants that grow well in wet environments but also add a level of aesthetic quality and function to the garden.

For more information contact Ricky Wiatt at rwiatt@vt.edu or Ben Crew at bcrew@vt.edu.

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