[plt-scheme] Virtual machine and dynamic language implementation research?

The blurb for the Ruby interpreter Rubinius

http://rubini.us/

mentions that it

"draws on the best virtual machine research and technology of the past
30 years and incorporates the newest research in dynamic language
implementations."

Has that topic been a "hot area of research? Is it still today?

I am starting to think of Scheme as the interpreter for any given
language; but as folks have mentioned before, most "high
performance/professional" interpreters are written in C.

-- 
"Wisdom begins in wonder!"
http://www.wisdomandwonder.com/