Virginia Tech Board of Visitors names 2005-06 graduate student representative

The Virginia Tech Board of Visitors named Navin J. Manjooran of Kerala, India, as its graduate student representative for the 2005-2006 academic year. Manjooran will serve as a liaison between Virginia Tech’s graduate student population and the board of visitors.

The two student representatives to the board, Manjooran and an undergraduate representative, are appointed to one-year terms. They each sit on a committee on the governing board and serve as ex-officio members on the Commission of Student Affairs. Student representatives are non-voting members and are required to maintain contact with university administrators, including the President's Office and the Provost, as well as Tech students.

Manjooran will articulate graduate student issues and perspectives to the board of visitors, report back to graduate students, and serve on task forces and search committees. "

"I am pleased to be a part of the board of visitors,” Manjooran said. “Virginia Tech is a complex institution, as any other top ranked university, with many issues which require extensive time and energy to address and I look forward to actively participating in ongoing efforts to improve Virginia Tech. The unifying theme, in my mind, is the goal of being a top research institution in the world. Graduate students are a significant portion of the research and this past year, the administration sent a strong message that they will do what it takes to ensure that graduate students are successful.”

Manjooran, a Ph.D. student in the materials science and engineering program, received his bachelor’s in Metallurgical Engineering from the National Institute of Technology in Warangal, India, where he graduated with Highest Honors. He received his master’s in materials science and engineering from the University of Florida.

Manjooran has a graduate research assistantship with the Materials Science and Engineering Department and studies the areas of fiber optics, nanotechnology, ceramics, and biology. He has been instrumental in helping file two patent disclosures, several journal and peer reviewed publications, as well as giving numerous presentations at international conferences.

Manjooran also is a national level tennis player, a sailor, and a water skier. He has been ranked in the top 100 in men’s tennis in India.