Luke Ward
Blacksburg Electronic Village team members and local BEV users in 1996. Luke Ward is in last row in the center with his arm up.
Luke Ward came to Virginia Tech in 1977, developing applications and performing database administration for VT administrative systems, including an electronic signature workflow application. In 1988, he shifted focus to the development of client-server internet services. Luke received a B.S. in Computer Science from Virginia Tech, and holds multiple GIAC computer security certifications. Luke Ward is currently the technology manager for the Enterprise GIS.
Start in IT
Luke Ward describes his start in IT at Virginia Tech in Administrative Accounting. He talks about using trays of cards for data sets to moving to virtual machine operating systems, and planning for future storage needs.
Evolution of IT at Virginia Tech
Luke Ward talks about the evolution of IT at VT from cards to Ethernet.
The early days of email
Luke Ward talks about bringing email to everyone at Virginia Tech and connecting Hokies to each other and the world through BITNET.
Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEVNET)
Luke Ward talks about the beginning of the Blacksburg Electronic Village (BEVNET) and the international media coverage this project received.
More resources on BEVNET:
Chandrasekaran, Rajiv. “WIRED BLACKSBURG SENDS A MESSAGE.” Washington Post, 16 May 1997.
Women as programmers
Luke Ward talks about the impact women had on programming at Virginia Tech.
Special projects
From Enterprise GIS to meeting computing bigwigs at early International Federation for Information Processing (IFIP) conventions, Luke shares his experiences including amusing quotes from Einar Stefferud.