Julia Kathleen Pryde

Julia Pryde, a land and water resources engineering graduate student in Biological Systems Engineering at Virginia Tech, was among those who died in the tragic Virginia Tech incident on April 16.

Julia’s major professor was Mary Leigh Wolfe, who was a co-PI on Jeff Alwang’s long-term research activity in Bolivia and Ecuador. Julia traveled to South America last summer to begin her research, which involved water quality modeling, and estimating, and controlling erosion from footpaths and unpaved roads in agricultural watersheds in the Andes.

Julia, 23, was from Middletown, N.J., where she was captain of her high school swim team and a member of the National Honor Society. She graduated from Virginia Tech in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in Biological Systems Engineering and was pursuing her master’s degree in the same field. Her career goal was to be a college professor, doing research on water purity and sustainable agriculture in South America and Africa.

Julia loved being outdoors and spent her free time hiking and camping in the mountains. “She always had a smile and thoroughly enjoyed life,” Theo Dillaha said of her this week. “Please keep her family and friends in your thoughts.”

Julia is survived by her parents, Karen and Harry Pryde; brothers Michael and Keith; and sister Leah. Memorial donations can be made to SEEDS, P.O. Box 824, Blacksburg VA 24063.