Leigh-Anne Krometis named Elizabeth and James E. Turner, Jr. '56 Faculty Fellow

Leigh-Anne Krometis, associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been named the Elizabeth and James E. Turner, Jr. '56 Faculty Fellow in Biological Systems Engineering by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors.

Elizabeth and James Turner created the Turner fellowships in 2011 to recognize faculty excellence. James Turner is a 1956 agricultural engineering alumnus who is the retired president and chief operating officer of General Dynamics. He is a former rector of the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors and received the William H. Ruffner Medal, Virginia Tech’s highest honor, in 2004.

Krometis will hold the title of Elizabeth and James E. Turner, Jr. '56 Faculty Fellow for a period of five years.

A member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2009, Krometis’ scholarship focuses on the field of watershed science and engineering to enable sustainable development of rural landscapes by minimizing the public health threats posed by waterborne diseases and pollutants in drinking water. Her work in watershed epidemiology has been supported by more than $1 million in new external funding over the past five years. She has published 51 peer-reviewed scientific papers, including 22 in the past three years, in leading academic journals.

In the classroom, Krometis teaches courses on nonpoint source pollution assessment and control which are foundational to watershed science and engineering specialty graduates. In 2017, she received the A.W. Farrall Young Educator Award from the American Society for Agricultural and Biological Engineers.

Krometis received her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree from Virginia Tech and a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.