Ivica Ico Bukvic receives 2010 XCaliber Award
Ivica Ico Bukvic, assistant professor of music in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, received the university's 2010 XCaliber Award for excellence as an individual involved in innovative approaches to technology-assisted learning and creativity.
Established in 1996 by Office of the Provost, the XCaliber Award (shorthand for exceptional, high caliber work) is presented annually by the Virginia Tech Center for Innovation in Learning to recognize individual faculty members or teams of faculty and staff who integrate technology in teaching and learning. The award celebrates innovative, student-centered approaches to learning activities. Awardees receive a cash award and are called upon to demonstrate their work.
Since his arrival at Virginia Tech in 2006, Bukvic has engaged in many research and creative activities, all of which have been closely aligned with his teaching. For example, his formation of the Digital Interactive Sound and Intermedia Studio is a direct result of his desire to incorporate both graduate and undergraduate students from all disciplines into the creative technologies process.
"While the term synergy is probably overused these days, I believe that Professor Bukvic's work is the rare occasion in which true synergy actually occurs," said Jay Crone, associate professor and head of the Department of Music. "In his work, there is synergy between his music and new digital technologies, synergy between his music and the performers who perform his compositions, synergy between his music compositions and the visual and performing arts, and synergy between his artistic vision and the improvement of the overall quality of life for people which he describes as assistive technologies." "Ico's research and teaching is at the intersection of computer and music, thus requiring that he and his students work in the margins between those two disciplines," said Thomas Martin, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. "The Linux Laptop Orchestra project is a perfect example of this and has been successfully used in his courses."
"He is constantly searching for new opportunities to help complete his artistic vision," added Crone. "His recent work with the laptop orchestra is a classic example of his quest for synergies between musical compositions, new digital technologies, and teaching. This distinctive use of readily available technologies has opened up new possibilities for creative expression, and created new avenues for students who would not otherwise be able to participate in the creative process."
Bukvic received his doctorate from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati.
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