Mechanical engineering student recognized by international fellowship
October 8, 2008
Dinesh Rabindran, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, received an honorable mention for the 2008 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Robotics and Automation Society Fellowship. The fellowship supports a student who will significantly impact the future in robotics and/or automation and increase gender diversity in this field. Rabindran's research investigates a dual input parallel actuator using a differential drive to make robot manipulators mechanically safe around humans. This approach might find application in areas where robots physically interact with humans, such as rehabilitation robots. Rabindran has also been an active mentor for the Graduates Linked with Undergraduates in Engineering (GLUE) initiative for the past 4 years.
Rabindran is completing his doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Dr. Delbert Tesar, professor of mechanical engineering who holds the Carol Cockrell Curran Chair in Engineering and directs the Robotics Research Group.
Chemical engineering professor wins national award
October 7, 2008
Dr. Venkat Ganesan , chemical engineering professor and the Frank A. Lidell Jr. Centennial Fellow at The University of Texas at Austin has been chosen as the recipient of the 2009 Dillon Medal Award for his contributions to innovative computer simulation approaches and analysis of equilibrium and dynamic properties of multicomponent polymetric materials and nanocomposites. The annual award, presented by the American Physical Society, recognizes outstanding research accomplishments by young polymer physicists who have demonstrated exceptional research promise early in their careers. Recognition consists of $2,000, up to $1,000 allowance for travel to the meeting of the Society at which the award is being presented, a bronze medallion, and a certificate citing the accomplishments of the recipient.
Chemical engineering professor to give 2008 Thiele Lecture
September 24, 2008
Dr. Thomas M. Truskett , chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has been invited to give the 2008 Theile Lecture in chemical and bimolecular engineering at Notre Dame. The annual lectureship, established in 1986, recognizes outstanding research contributions by a younger member of the chemical engineering profession. Professor Truskett’s research focuses on properties of confined fluids as well as the biological activity of proteins in cellular and pharmaceutical environments. Controlling the motion of fluid particles through tiny channels will potentially aid the development of micro- and nano-scale technologies such as drug delivery devices, chemical and biological sensors and components for miniaturized biological "lab-on-a-chip" applications. Protein aggregation has been implicated as a key step in a wide variety of diseases, including Alzheimer's.
Truskett is a fellow of the Paul D. and Betty Robertson Meek Centennial Professorship in Chemical Engineering.
HENAAC awards scholarships to four engineering students
September 22, 2008
Four University of Texas at Austin engineering students will receive scholarships this year from the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Corporation.
Senior biomedical engineering undergraduate Stephanie Orci won for the first time this year. Aerospace engineering junior Miguel Cruz and civil engineering senior Denise Trevino will receive the scholarship for the second year in a row, and biomedical engineering graduate student Carlos Aguilar will receive the scholarship for the fourth year in a row.
The students can use the money for tuition, books or living expenses. They also won trips to the 2008 HENAAC Conference in Houston. The conference package includes airfare, hotel and registration expenses.
Winners were required to maintain minimum 3.0 grade point averages and be of Hispanic descent or have exhibited leadership and service on campus and in the Hispanic community.
HENAAC is a nonprofit organization that promotes the achievements of Hispanics in engineering, science, technology, and math.
For more information on HENAAC, visit http://www.henaac.org/.
For more information on the scholarship recipients, visit http://www.henaac.org/pressreleases/files/2008HENAACScholars.pdf
Petroleum engineer student named ESPN Academic All-American of the Year
September 10, 2008
Donovan Kilmartin, petroleum engineering graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, has been named 2008 ESPN Academic All-American of the Year in Men’s Track and Field. Kilmartin is a three-time National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Champion in the indoors heptathlon and is the only male in NCAA history to win the event three times. Each eligible athlete is a varsity starter with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or better, and must be nominated by his/her sports information director.
The NCAA heptathlon comprises a two-day competition of seven events: the 60 meter sprint, the long jump, the shot put, the high jump, the 60 meter hurdles, the pole vault and the 1,000 meter run.
Kilmartin, a native of Eagle, Idaho, is working on his masters researching the viability of using loss function in flow simulation under Dr. Sanjay Srinivasan, assistant professor of petroleum engineering. He expects to graduate in May, 2009.
Transportation engineering professor receives national award
September 9, 2008
Dr. Chandra R. Bhat , transportation engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the Wilbur Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award at the Institute of Transportation Engineers 2008 Annual Meeting and Exhibit. The annual award seeks a professional who has made an outstanding contribution to the transportation profession by relating academic studies to actually being involved in transportation. Throughout his career Bhat has established himself as one of the foremost international educators and leaders in the transportation profession through his integration of academic studies with the actual practice of transportation. He is also an internationally recognized research expert and pioneer in the development and use of quantitative techniques to study travel behavior.
Bhat holds the Adnan Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professorship in Transportation Engineering.
Petroleum engineering professor receives highest honors
September 8, 2008
Dr. Gary A. Pope , petroleum engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received an honorary membership to the Society of Petroleum Engineers, the highest honor that the society presents to an individual and is limited to less than one tenth of one percent of the society’s membership. The honor recognizes a career of significant professional engineering achievements. Pope, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, researches and teaches multiphase flow and transport in porous media and applies these principles to improved oil recovery and aquifer remediation. He has authored or co-authored more than 210 technical papers on enhanced oil recovery and related research, and supervised the research of more than 120 graduate students at the university.
Professor Pope holds the Texaco Centennial Chair in Petroleum Engineering.
Civil engineering professor and graduate students receive international recognition
September 8, 2008
Dr. Richard L. Corsi , environmental engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, was elected a fellow of the International Society of Indoor Air Quality and Climate (ISIAQ). The election recognizes Corsi’s work to understand sources of indoor air pollution, pollutant interactions with indoor materials and innovative control strategies to reduce exposure to indoor air pollution.
Corsi holds the E.C.H. Bantel Professorship for Professional Practice.
The society also announced three University of Texas at Austin civil engineering students received four of six new awards established by the ISIAQ. Donghyun Rim won best student paper for his paper on movement of particles in buildings under different flow conditions, including effects on air flow around the human body. Chi Hoang received second for her paper on ozone reactions with green building materials and third for best overall academic performance. Michael Waring received third for his student paper on removal and generation of ultrafine particles by commercial air purifiers. Dr, Corsi and the three students received their awards at the 11th International Conference on Indoor Air Quality in Copenhagen Denmark.
Chemical engineering professor’s text book receives national recognition
August 21, 2008
Basic Principles and Calculations in Chemical Engineering, a text book written by Dr. David Himmelblau, chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has been recognized as one of the most important books in chemical engineering by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. The original 40-year-old book currently in its seventh edition will be displayed at the Chemical Heritage Foundation’s Othmer Library of Chemical History to highlight its long-term impact on the chemical engineering field.
Petroleum engineering professor receives international research award
August 20, 2008
Dr. Carlos Torres-Verdin , petroleum engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the 2008 Society of Petroleum Engineers Formation Evaluation Award for his original research on numerical simulation and interpretation of borehole geophysical measurements, including well logs, acquired for the petrophysical assessment of rock formations penetrated by a well. His research determines how porous and permeable rocks are, and whether they are saturated with enough hydrocarbon volume for efficient and economical oil/gas extraction.
Professor Torres-Verdin holds the Zarrow Centennial Professorship in Petroleum Engineering.
Environmental engineering graduate student receives award
August 19, 2008
Susan Jablonski, graduate student in environmental and water resources engineering at The University of Texas at Austin, received the 2008 Richard S. Hodes, M.D. Honor Lecture Award. The award recognizes an individual, company or organization that contributed in a significant way to improving the technology, policy or practices of low-level radioactive waste management in the United States. Jablonski, who currently serves as director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s Radioactive Materials Division, manages Texas’ regulatory programs for the disposal of commercial radioactive material, source material (uranium) recovery, and commercial radioactive waste storage and processing.
As the award recipient, Jablonski will present a lecture during the Waste Management ’09 Symposium.
Jablonski’s supervising professor is Dr. Randall Charbeneau, professor of civil engineering.
Staff engineer elected national president of Women in Engineering ProActive Network
August 19, 2008
Tricia Berry , director of the Women in Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected national president of the Women in Engineering ProActive Network. At the university Berry, chemical engineering alumni, leads the efforts to recruit and retain women in the Cockrell School of Engineering. She concurrently serves as director of the Texas Girls Collaborative Project, an initiative aimed at connecting Texas organizations, companies and individuals working to increase gender equity in science, technology, engineering and math fields. Berry is also executive vice president of 825 Basics, LLC, a professional training company with the mission to help develop healthy, fit and full of energy careers.
WEPAN seeks to transform engineering higher education culture to open the field to women in support of America’s demand for innovation in engineering.
Petroleum engineering professor wins international technical award
August 19, 2008
Mukul M. Sharma , petroleum engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the Anthony F. Lucas Gold Medal, the Society of Petroleum Engineer’s major technical award. This medal recognizes distinguished lifelong achievements in improving the technique and practice of finding and producing petroleum. Professor Sharma has spent his career researching better methods for finding and producing oil & natural gas, and to improve utilization or re-injection of produced water. Most recently, he has helped to improve production of gas from unconventional resources, which represents the single fastest growing domestic source of energy for the United States.
Sharma holds the W.A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. Centennial Endowed Chair in Petroleum Engineering.
Chemical engineer receives national new faculty award
August 15, 2008
Hal Alper, chemical engineering assistant professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has won the national 2008 Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation New Faculty Award. This $50,000 award supports faculty at the beginning of their first tenure-track appointment who demonstrate the potential to produce an independent body of scientific scholarship of outstanding quality and will make significant contributions to education in the chemical sciences.
Alper engineers cells to produce important chemicals such as biofuels, pharmaceuticals and other industrial commodity chemicals. He focuses on engineering molecular transporter proteins to improve their metabolic pathways and pathway flux. The methods developed in his laboratory are generic and using biological conversion rather than petroleum-based processing can be applied to many different cellular systems to produce commodity and specialty chemicals, and biofuels.
Prior to coming to The University of Texas at Austin Alper’s research findings were published in 14 technical articles by the highly cited journals Science, Nature Biotechnology and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Nuclear and Radiation Engineering program receives $610,000
August 11, 2008
The Nuclear and Radiation Engineering Program at The University of Texas at Austin received $610,000 from the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission through two grants. A $450,000 award to Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Mark Deinert, will support his research using advanced nuclear fuel cycles to dramatically reduce nuclear power’s radioactive signature. This research aims to diminish the long-standing problem of spent nuclear fuel disposal and the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons. Assistant professors Mark Deinert and Erich Schneider (Mechanical Engineering) are working on methods to recycle the radioactive elements from spent nuclear fuel in the reactors that produce them. Currently their research has shown that recycle in present-day reactors could be used to achieve more than a tenfold reduction in the overall radioactivity produced during their operation. It might be possible to extend this further if the systems appropriately optimized, they say.
The second grant of $160,000 was awarded to Assistant Profesor Schneider,in conjunction with Professor Sheldon Landersberger, Associate Professor Steven Biegalski and Dr. David Hernsberger, to develop a summer institute for nuclear engineering. The program is aimed at students in the Big Twelve Athletic Conference whose universities do not have nuclear engineering programs. The faculty of the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering program, in conjunction with their graduate students, will conduct a two week course for highly qualified students interested in a nuclear systems career. The teaching and training will extensively use the research reactor and laboratory facilities at the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Lab at the Pickle Research Campus.
Computer engineering professor’s textbook wins national award
August 8, 2008
Dr. Charles H. Roth , electrical and computer engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has received the 2008 McGuffey Longevity Award for his fifth edition of Fundamentals of Logic Design. The Text and Academic Authors Association created the McGuffey Longevity Awards in 1993 to recognize textbooks and learning materials demonstrating excellence over a significant period of time. Works must have been in print at least 15 years and currently remain in circulation and use. Judges decribed Fundamentals of Logic Design as, “exceptionally written” and “an excellent text because it can easily be used for a self-study or distance learning course.”
Chemical engineering professor receives national award
August 5, 2008
Dr. Benny Freeman , chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the 2008 Award for Excellence in Industrial Gases Technology for his work on gas separations using membranes. Freeman was recognized for a number of contributions to his field. For example, iIn contrast to the traditional approach of using rigid, glassy polymers for gas separation materials, Professor Freeman’s group tuned the molecular structure of polar, rubbery polymers to remove CO2 from gas mixtures missed by traditional rigid polymers. Membranes based on these materials are being deployed commercially for hydrogen purification. Today, purified hydrogen is required for many industrial processes such as the processing of crude oil into gasoline, manufacturing ammonia (for fertilizer), methanol and other chemicals.
Freeman holds the Kenneth A. Kobe Professorship in Chemical Engineering.
Two engineering students receive national fellowships
August 5, 2008
Alvaro Garcia and Nathan Malcolm, engineering doctoral students at The University of Texas at Austin received 2008 Applied Materials fellowships. The $35,000 annual graduate fellowship is given to doctoral students who engage in research closely aligned with Applied Materials’ business needs.
Through his research, Garcia, an electrical engineering student, aims to measure low temperature plasma. If successful, he will help to understand how to confine plasma in a special device called a Tokamak, where a critical region of cold plasma separates very hot plasma from the walls. This is particularly important because it will help create fusion energy, a safe and clean source of nuclear energy. Low temperature plasmas are also used for fabrication of semiconductors, and these plasmas need more accurate measurement. Garcia works under supervising professor Gary Hallock, professor of electrical engineering.
Malcolm, a mechanical engineering student, focuses on nanoscale radiation heat transfer modeling, and he is using a 3D Finite Difference Time Domain model to simulate radiation heat transfer between nanosphere gold markers and a ZnO nanowire embedded in a silver substrate. This can be used in the integrated circuit industry for a nanoscale thermal probe and in the medical community for detecting individual cancer cells marked with gold nanoparticles. Malcolm’s supervising professor is Jack Howell, professor of mechanical engineering.
Electrical engineering professor wins national award
August 5, 2008
, electrical engineering assistant professor, received the North American Molecular Beam Epitaxy (NAMBE) Young Investigator Award for his work on devices made from semiconductor nanostructures. Bank’s research helped develop a class of semiconductor materials used to make lasers replacing fiber optic communications. His group also hopes to cover critical portions of the electromagnetic spectrum with laser sources for gas sensing, as well as find the eventual replacement for silicon-based complementary metal oxide semiconductor transistors. This is a particularly urgent need because the power consumption of these transistors increases dramatically as they make them faster.
Transportation engineering professor named chairman of state transportation committee
July 17, 2008
Dr. Michael Walton - , transportation engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, has been elected chairman of the Texas Department of Transportation’s “2030 Committee.” Deirdre Delisi, Chair of the Texas Transportation Commission, appointed the committee to undertake this important oversight role for the needs assessment. The 12-member committee, comprised of experts in business and transportation, is coordinating a comprehensive update of Texas transportation needs through the year 2030. The committee is charged with presenting an estimate of the state’s transportation needs in the context of today’s economic reality and will work to quantify and describe the need for infrastructure investment over the next 20 years and beyond.
Walton holds the Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Mechanical engineering professor appointed to U.S. Army Science Board
July 10, 2008
Dr. Delbert Manuel - The Secretary of the U.S. Army has appointed Delbert Tesar, mechanical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, to a three-year term as a member of the U.S. Army Science Board. This U.S. Army senior scientific advisory body is comprised of individuals from the private sector, academia, retired flag officer ranks, and non-U.S. Department of Defense government agencies. The board conducts multiple level meetings to enable members to review U.S. Army science development, become better educated on U.S. Army issues and advise U.S. Army managers on relevant scientific and technological matters.
Tesar directs the Robotic Research Group at the university, where he develops advanced component and system technology for intelligent machines and robotics. He holds the Carol Cockrell Curran Chair in Engineering.
Civil engineering professor and former student receive national best paper award
July 8, 2008
Dr. Lance Manuel , civil engineering professor, and Patrick Ragan, his former student, received a Best Journal Paper Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineer’s Technical Committee on Wind Energy for their paper, “Statistical Extrapolation Methods for Estimating Wind Turbine Extreme Loads.” The paper seeks to establish design standards that will allow turbines to safely, efficiently, and economically produce electricity over their planned service lives. Its findings are being used in changes proposed to a wind turbine design standard issued by the International Electrotechnical Commission.
Professor Manuel holds the Flour Centennial Teaching Fellowship Engineering.
Civil engineering professor receives national honor
July 2, 2008
Dr. James Jirsa , civil engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, was named an American Concrete Institute Honorary Member for his outstanding accomplishments in the research areas of design, behavior, and durability of concrete structures including repair and strengthening of structures, and for his leadership in improving the institute’s international relationships.
Jirsa holds the Janet S. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Transportation engineering professor receives statewide student advisor award
July 2, 2008
Dr. Chandra Bhat , civil, transportation engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin, received the 2008 Texas Institute of Transportation Engineers Student Chapter Advisor Award. The award recognizes Bhat’s dedication and hard work guiding the future generation of transportation engineers in the state of Texas.
Bhat holds the Adnan Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professorship in Transportation Engineering.
Materials science and engineering doctoral student receives national fellowship
June 20, 2008
Irvin Chen, a materials science and engineering doctoral student, received a fellowship from the Portland Cement Association for his work on “green” cements that are lower in energy and carbon dioxide production. The fellowship includes a $20,000 stipend to cover tuition, residence, research materials, equipment, study materials and other related educational expenses.
Civil engineer named distinguished member of national society
June 18, 2008
Dr. Michael Walton , civil engineering professor at the University of Texas at Austin, was named a Distinguished Member of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his exemplary career as a civil engineering educator and researcher and for his professional and technical leadership in transportation planning, financing and policy analysis.
Walton holds the Ernest H. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Aerospace engineering graduate student receives national fellowship
June 12, 2008
Makiko Okamoto, aerospace engineering graduate student at The University of Texas at Austin, received a $10,000 Amelia Earhart Fellowship from Zonta International for her research on cooperative control problems of multi-agent systems. The fellowships are granted annually to women pursuing doctoral degrees in aerospace-related sciences and aerospace-related engineering. Okamoto’s research proposes new algorithms that achieve obstacle avoidance in unknown dynamic environments while the agents are performing cooperative tasks. Her supervising professor is Dr. Maruthi Akella, assistant professor of aerospace engineering.
Structural engineering faculty and student receive national research award
June 12, 2008
John Breen, James O. Jirsa, civil engineering professors, and M. Keith Thompson, former student under Dr. Jirsa, were recently awarded the Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research from the American Concrete Institute for their paper on “Behavior and Capacity of Headed Reinforcement.” The paper reported results of tests used to develop design recommendations for the latest concept for reinforcing concrete structures, “headed reinforcement.” The concept involves attaching steel plates or “heads” to ordinary reinforcing bars (“rebar”) to further prevent the bars from pulling out of concrete.
The award is given to authors of a peer-reviewed paper published by the Institute that describes a notable achievement in experimental or analytical research that advances the theory or practice of structural engineering.
Breen develops reinforced and prestressed concrete bridge and building systems and has studied structural concrete, column design, reinforcement development, general structural integrity, segmental bridge design, corrosion protection and bridge aesthetics. He is the Nasser I. Al Rashid Chair in civil engineering.
Jirsa researches the behavior and design of reinforced concrete structures, including the anchorage and development of reinforcement, detailing, durability and rehabilitation of structures in seismic zones. Jirsa is the Janet S. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Thompson researches the development of reinforcement, strut-and-tie modeling, concrete bridges and civil engineering pedagogy. Thompson is an alumnus of the Cockrell School of Engineering and currently serves on the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
Wheeler receives honorary doctorate
June 12, 2008
Dr. Mary Wheeler, professor of aerospace engineering and engineering mechanics, and professor of petroleum and geosystems engineering was granted an Honorary Doctorate of Engineering by the Board of Trustees of the Colorado School of Mines for her professional contributions to the engineering curriculum. Wheeler researches and teaches the use of computer simulations to model the behavior of fluids in geological formations. Her research covers a broad range of applications, including computer modeling of estuaries and coastal waters, subsurface modeling for petroleum exploration, and reservoir engineering. She holds the Ernest and Virginia Cockrell Chair in Engineering.
Engineering communications professor receives national honor
June 11, 2008
Hillary Hart, graduate and undergraduate engineering communication distinguished lecturer and director of the Braden Program for Excellence in Technical Communication at The University of Texas at Austin, was named fellow by the Society for Technical Communication for her significant contributions to the technical communication profession.
“Individuals chosen to be Fellows are the cream of the technical communication profession,” explains Mark Clifford, STC president. “These are individuals who contribute significantly to the good of the field by conducting research, mentoring young professionals, giving presentations, and playing a large part in being volunteer leaders.”
Recipients of this honor have attained distinction in technical writing, advanced the profession of technical communication, and contributed significantly to the Society.
Computer engineer receives 2008 CAREER Award
June 10, 2008
Derek Chiou, an assistant professor of computer engineering, has been awarded a $400,000 National Science Foundation CAREER award, a prestigious honor which recognizes promising young faculty members. The five-year grant will be used to further develop his proposal entitled “Transforming Computer System Design.”
Chiou’s primary goal is to dramatically improve the expensive and time-consuming process of architecting, implementing and verifying the hardware, system software and application software when building or using computer systems. The CAREER project aims to automatically transform written simulators, using Dr. Chiou’s current simulation methodology, into complete implementations.
Traditionally, developing a computer system requires at least three separate simulators: one to accurately and flexibly simulate an initial design, a second to accurately implement the system, and a third to quickly develop software applications. If successful, the CAREER grant research would eliminate the need to write two of the simulators, including the most difficult one, the implementation.
Aerospace engineering junior receives NASA scholarship
June 10, 2008
Grant Rossman, an aerospace engineering junior, has received a scholarship under the NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program. Rossman is one of 20 students selected from a field of over 200 applicants to receive the scholarship. The scholarship includes tuition funds up to $15,000 for educational and related costs, and a 10 week summer internship with $10,000 stipend amount.
Academic advisor receives university service award
June 5, 2008
Audra Sneed, engineering academic advisor, was awarded the Texas Star Award for Outstanding Service by the Association of Professionals in Student Affairs for her excellent student service and outstanding contributions to the university community during the 2007-2008 academic year.
Petroleum engineer’s research group receives national best paper award
June 5, 2008
Carlos Torres-Verdin, petroleum and geosystems engineering associate professor, received the Petrophysics 2007 Best Paper Award with co-authors, Guodong Jin, Sarath Devarajan, Emmanuel Toumelin and E.C. Thomas. Editors selected "Pore-Scale Analysis of the Waxman-Smits Shaly-Sand Conductivity Model" for fundamental contributions to the pore-scale study of electrical conductivity of clay-bearing siliciclastic rocks. The simulation method correctly predicts macroscopic electrical properties of porous rocks measured in the laboratory.
Torres-Verdin , graduate student Alberto Mendoza, and their co-author, William Preeg, also received the Best Poster Award from the society. The poster describes a new accurate method to rapidly simulate density and neutron measurements acquired in drilled wells.
Graduate student receives two best paper awards
June 5, 2008
T. Muraliganth, materials science and engineering graduate student, was honored with two best paper awards. Muraliganth received the Best Student Presentation award in materials science from the Texas Society for Microscopy for his paper, “LiFePO4 Nanorods Networked with Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes for Energy Storage Applications.” He also received the Best Clean Energy Poster award at Nano Night 2008 and CleanTX Innovation Showcase for his poster entitled “Rapid Synthesis of LiFePO4 Nanorods and their Nanohybrids for Energy Storage Applications.” The research work was carried out by both Muralinganth and postdoctoral fellow Dr. A. Vadivel Murugan, who are supervised by Dr. Arumugam Manthiram, professor of Mechanical Engineering.
Both of these papers focus on developing low cost, nanostructured cathodes for high power lithium ion batteries.
Biomedical engineering professor receives Columbus Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
June 4, 2008
Dr. Christine E. Schmidt, biomedical engineering professor, received the first Chairmen’s Distinguished Life Sciences Award, along with $25,000, from the Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for her work with nerve grafting. Her cadaver nerve implanting method which overcomes a patient’s natural rejection of transplants has been successful in all 100-plus patients receiving the implants in more than 50-plus hospitals in the United States. Schmidt’s other research on nerve regeneration using advanced biomaterials was also highlighted in the award announcement. This prestigious national award is given to a scientist or engineer who is making or has recently made a significant and positive contribution toward development of a “cutting edge” innovation in the field of life sciences.
Civil engineering professor receives national award
May 9, 2008
Dr. Joseph Yura, emeritus civil engineering professor, received the Offshore Technology in Civil Engineering Hall of Fame award from the American Society of Civil Engineers for his paper entitled “Ultimate Capacity Equations for Tubular Joints.” Winning papers were selected based on innovation, vision, direction and lasting impact on the design, construction or installation of the offshore infrastructure.
Chemical engineering senior receives University Co-op grand prize award
May 9, 2008
Baltej Ludher, chemical engineering senior, received the $20,000 University Co-op George H. Mitchell grand prize award for his research paper “Novel Methods for Producing Micron and Sub-micron Pharmaceutical Particles for Pulmonary and Oral Delivery.” This award rewards undergraduate students who have demonstrated unparalleled dedication and achievement in their fields of study. Ludher’s research has the potential to radically advance drug delivery, as well as disease diagnosis and treatment. He has helped develop two novel methods for producing high- surface area therapeutic and pharmaceutical particles: thin-film freezing and pH flocculation.
Related Link: 2008 Undergraduate Grand Prize Winner Recipient of $20,000 http://www.universitycoop.com/ePOS/form=cat.html&cat=261&store=108
Design-Build-Fly teams receive second and fourth place at international aeronautics competition
May 8, 2008
Aerospace engineering student teams scored 2nd and 4th place wins in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Design-Build-Fly (DBF) international competition. The undergraduate students achieved their wins by successfully applying all aspects of the competition’s requirements in aerodynamics, propulsion, structures, vehicle design and manufacturing.
The 2008 competition required that teams design an electric-powered, unmanned aircraft system capable of carrying a load of up to 14 partially-filled, half-liter water bottles or four half-size clay bricks, or various combinations of the two, on two flights around a predetermined course. The competition also required a flight without a load that had to complete the course using a minimum number of batteries.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics DBF competition is widely considered the premier international aircraft student design competition.
Students on the second place team were: team lead Ivan Kung and key members Jeff Chu, Jason Fortner, Stephan Greening, Vishnu Jyothindran and Daren Wang. Other team members include Tausiq Ahmed, Charlotte Bryan, Joel Chapa, Alex Cheng, Craig Dorsey, William Duong, Akash Gandhi, Charles Gilbreath, Elisa Gravis, Matthew Jones, Jason Lavine, May Ann Li, Garrett Mosely, Tarique Rahman, Krystal Stewart, Paul Wedholm and Nathan Wu.
Students on the fourth place team were: team lead Martyn Hunt and key members Ty Brockhoeft, Brady Lotz and Matias Soto. Other team members include Jeremiah Bracy, Najeh Haq, Joaquin Herrera, Justin Kizer, Michael Skyler Lawson, Seve Rizo Patron, Andrew Pritchard, Andres Perez Segura, Barton Starnes, and David Vargas.
Dr. Bishop and Dr. Chaput were the advisors for these students.
Biomedical engineering professor named fellow of American Society for Engineering
Education
April 21, 2008
Dr. Nicholas Peppas, biomedical engineering professor, was recently elected fellow of the American Society for Engineering Education in recognition of his commitment and excellence in engineering education. The American Society for Engineering Education is a nonprofit organization of individuals and institutions committed to furthering education in engineering and engineering technology. Peppas is the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering.
Aerospace sophomore receives full scholarship and guaranteed summer internships from ASEE
April 18, 2008
Philip Barcelon, aerospace engineering sophomore, received a SMART (Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation Program) Scholarship from the American Society for Engineering Education. Participants in the SMART Scholarship for Service Program receive an annual stipend, full tuition and related educational fees, $1,000 book allowance, paid summer internships at the U.S. Department of Defense laboratories, and employment placement after graduation. SMART Scholars include students who have demonstrated ability and special aptitude in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, have a minimum 3.0 grade point average, and the desire to work for a U.S. Department of Defense research lab.
Biomedical engineering professor wins alumni award
April 17, 2008
Dr. Mia K. Markey, biomedical engineering assistant professor, was selected to receive a 2008 Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award from the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy (IMSA) for her “distinguished achievements and leadership contributions in her professional field of endeavor consistent with IMSA’s mission”. The Alumni Distinguished Leadership Award recipients are selected by the board of trustees executive committee at IMSA. As director of the Biomedical Informatics Lab at the university, Markey uses signal processing and artificial intelligence techniques to design clinical decision support systems to help healthcare providers better diagnose, treat and manage diseases.
Associate professor receives Fulbright Scholar award
April 16, 2008
Dr. Elmira Popova, associate professor of mechanical engineering, was recently named a Fulbright Scholar by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board to lecture and conduct research in operations research and statistics during the 2008-2009 academic year. Popova will conduct research with colleagues at the Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics in “St.Kliment Ohridski” University and at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Popova will use ideas from operations research and statistics to address forecasting and decision-making problems and will assist in developing a new course.
Chemical Engineering professor honored as international fellow
April 15, 2008
Dr. Thomas Edgar, chemical engineering professor, has been elected a fellow of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC) for his outstanding contributions to the fields of mathematical modeling, optimization, and automatic control of chemical and microelectronics processes and professional leadership. The IFAC Fellow Award is given to individuals who have made extraordinary contributions in the interdisciplinary field of automation and automatic control, in the role as an engineer, technical leader, or educator. Edgar is the George T. and Gladys H. Abell Endowed Chair of Engineering.
Construction management professor and student win international innovation award
April 11, 2008
Dr. William O'Brien, civil engineering assistant professor, and his former graduate student Maj. March Distefano, received a FIATECH Celebration of Engineering and Technology Innovation (CETI) Award for their research project “Comparative Evaluation of Infrastructure Assessment Methodologies at the Small Unit Level.”
The researchers used cognitive evaluation techniques to better understand and improve existing US Army infrastructure assessment methodologies and tools. Their research has implications for the design of civilian infrastructure assessment technologies.
Dr. O’Brien was also awarded an honorable mention in the FIATECH CETI “Early Career Researcher” category for his ongoing research in advancing information technologies and their use on construction projects.
The CETI awards were established to recognize significant achievements in technology developed for the capital projects industry.
Assistant professors receive national award
April 8, 2008
Seth Bank and Emanuel Tutuc, assistant professors in electrical and computer engineering, and Carlos Hidrovo, mechanical engineering assistant professor, recently received Young Faculty Awards from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to further develop and validate their research.
To encourage the next generation of researchers working in microsystems technology DARPA provides each award recipient a grant of approximately $150,000.
Dr. Seth Bank will apply the award to develop new semiconductor nanostructures for lasers operating in the mid-infrared portion of the optical spectrum.
Dr. Emanuel Tutuc will use the award to help develop semiconductor nanowire tunneling field effect transistors.
Dr. Carlos Hidrovo will study high speed droplet flows for integration in microreactors and thermal management systems.
The mission of DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office is to develop breakthroughs in materials, devices, circuits, and mathematics to create components that are more advanced than today’s devices and that have the performance and functionality to enable new capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Biomedical engineering professors receive regional awards
April 8, 2008
Dr. Suggs, a biomedical engineering assistant professor, received the Young Faculty award from the Gulf-Southwest section of the American Society for Engineering Education. Suggs is the first to be honored with this award designed to encourage and recognize young faculty participation in ASEE or engineering education activities and events. Selections were made based on a number of criteria including authorship of instructional materials, contribution and participation in ASEE, and advising graduate and undergraduate students.
Dr. Zaman, biomedical engineering professor, received the 2008 Outstanding Teaching Award from the Gulf Southwest Region American Society for Engineering Education for his outstanding performance as an engineering educator. In his two years at the university, Zaman has designed two new courses while teaching core classes. The American Society for Engineering Education furthers education in engineering and engineering technology.
Aerospace engineering professor wins international computation award
April 4, 2008
Dr. Tom Hughes, aerospace engineering professor, received the Grand Prize from the Japan Society for Computational Engineering and Science. This is the highest award given by the society, an organization that promotes advances of education and technology in computational engineering. Hughes, who holds the Computational and Applied Mathematics Chair, is the first recipient of this award.
Civil engineering professor receives national transportation award
April 1, 2008
Dr. Machemehl, civil engineering professor, has been selected to receive the 2008 Wilbur S. Smith Award from the Transportation and Development Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers for his “contributions to transportation engineering as a teacher, researcher and research administrator.” The Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award recognizes a person who has been an asset to the transportation profession by relating academic studies to the actual practice of transportation. Machemehl also serves as director of the university’s Center for Transportation Research and holds the Nasser I. Al-Rashid Centennial Professorship in Transportation Engineering.
Civil engineer receives award for First Pan American Conference
April 1, 2008
Dr. Jorge G. Zornberg, associate professor of civil, architectural and environmental engineering, received the Achievement Award from the Mexican Chapter of the International Geosynthetics Society “in recognition for his invaluable enthusiasm, dedication and commitment that led to GeoAmericas 2008, the First Pan-American Geosynthetics Conference.”
Dr. Zornberg chaired the GeoAmericas 2008 international conference, which included eight concurrent technical activities, an innovative educational program, a major exhibition, and multiple social events. Approximately 1,000 individuals attended the conference.
Robotics and Automation Society student chapter mentors award-winning team
April 1, 2008
The Robotics and Automation Society student chapter mentored the high school robotics team that won the Johnson and Johnson Gracious Professionalism Award from the FIRST Robotics Lone Star Regional competition. The society assisted a team of 20 high school students, four middle school students, and one home-schooled student in building and programming a robot.
Nuclear engineer selected to chair international advisory group
March 25, 2008
Sean O’Kelly, associate director of the Nuclear Engineering Teaching Laboratory, was selected to chair the International Atomic Energy Agency Technical Working Group on Research Reactors. This advisory group serves programs supporting the operation and use of research reactors worldwide. The Technical Working Group on Research Reactors (TWGRR) represents senior international experts in the areas of research reactor operation, utilization, maintenance, refurbishment, modernization, fuel management, nuclear fuel cycle, quality assurance and new designs. O’Kelly represents the United States among the 20 countries participating.
Transportation engineering student selected for national leadership conference
March 21, 2008
Alison Conway, a Ph.D. student in transportation engineering, has been selected to participate in the 2008 Eno Leadership Development Conference by the Board of Regents of the Eno Transportation Foundation. The Leadership Development Conference selects 20 graduate students from around the nation to get a first-hand look at how transportation policy is developed and implemented. During the conference, these students will have meetings with federal officials as well as leaders of business and non-profit organizations.
Civil engineering professor receives lifetime achievement award
March 18, 2008
Dr. Thomas Kennedy, emeritus professor of civil engineering, was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association of Modified Asphalt Producers for his research that focused on the development of new materials and technical procedures. Kennedy managed several large governmental research programs in the 1990s which developed longer-lasting and safer asphalt paving methods now being implemented internationally. Kennedy is the first person to receive this award.
Biomedical engineering professor selected as international fellow
March 6, 2008
Dr. Brannon-Peppas, professor of biomedical engineering, was named a Fellow of Biomaterials Science and Engineering by the International Union of Societies for Biomaterials Science and Engineering for her pioneering work on degradable polymers and drug delivery products, especially for cancer treatment. This is the highest international recognition in the field of biomaterials. Brannon-Peppas is the first UT professor to receive this recognition while at UT.
Students receive Cockrell School of Engineering leadership awards
February 26, 2008
Six undergraduate students and two graduate students were recently honored with student leadership awards from the Cockrell School of Engineering. Biomedical engineering students Heidi Gensler and Christopher Green, chemical engineering students Danielle Kamel and Jesus Ramos, and electrical engineering student Madhurita Sengupta, all received the Undergraduate Student Leadership Award.
Graduate students Jessica Ventura and Qiu Wu received the Graduate Student Leadership Awards. Both doctoral candidates, Ventura is a mechanical engineering student while Wu is an electrical and computer engineering major.
In addition, second-year Andrew Wang, an electrical engineering major, was honored with the Marvin Wright Engineering Athlete Award for distinguishing himself both in athletics and in the classroom.
Nominees for each of the leadership awards must have held a leadership position in an engineering student organization, have positively affected the Cockrell School of Engineering community, and have dedicated themselves to overcome obstacles and pursuing their visions. Undergraduates must have at least 24 hours of in-residence credit while graduate students must have at least 18 hours of in-residence courses.
Civil engineering professor receives national transportation educator award
February 26, 2008
Dr. Chandra Bhat, professor of civil engineering, received the Wilbur S. Smith Distinguished Transportation Educator Award from the Institute of Transportation Engineers for his “outstanding contribution to the transportation profession by relating academic studies to the actual practice of transportation”. Bhat is the Adnan Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professor in Transportation Engineering.
Cockrell School of Engineering academic advisors receive university advisor awards
February 25, 2008
Courtney A. Lockhart and Dr. Kelly J. McQueary, academic advisors for electrical and computer engineering, and chemical engineering, respectively, received the Texas Exes’ James W. Vick Award for Academic Advising for their effective, positive influence on the educational experience and lives of university students. The award represents the highest university honor for academic advisors.
Chemical engineering student and biomedical engineering advisor receive outstanding FIG mentor and facilitator awards
February 25, 2008
Caitlin Forschner, a junior chemical engineering student, and Cindy Zimmerman, an academic advisor in biomedical engineering, both received Outstanding First-Year Interest Group (FIG) Awards. Forschner was selected as an Outstanding FIG mentor and Zimmernan received the Outstanding FIG facilitator award. The two received the awards for their effective, positive influence on the educational experience of engineering students and their enthusiasm and knowledge in applying university resources. Forschner and Zimmerman maintained a sense of approachability by creating a non-judgmental atmosphere and making a positive difference in their students' university experience.
Biomedical, chemical engineering professor elected to inaugural class of Materials
Research Society Fellows
February 21, 2008
Dr. Nicholas Peppas, biomedical engineering, chemical engineering and pharmaceutics professor, was elected to the inaugural class of Materials Research Society Fellows for pioneering contributions to the field of biomaterials and especially for the development of hydrogels as biomaterials. The society honors members distinguished for their contributions to the advancement of materials research worldwide. The maximum number of new fellow appointments each year is limited to 0.2 percent of the current membership. This year, only 30 received this distinction. Peppas is the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering.
Civil engineering students take second in earthquake design competition
February 21, 2008
Five civil engineering students took second place in the Undergraduate Seismic Design Competition at the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute Annual Meeting. The team members winning the competition are Ariana Alvear, Matt Homer, James Kleineck, Martin Scales and Ty Womble. Other members who participated in the project are Lynna Lotrakul, Michelle Wilkinson, Eleanor Reynolds, Mark Trowsdale and Philp Goertz. The competition required designing and constructing a model high-rise office building that was subjected to multiple earthquake ground motions. Teams were judged on the building’s seismic performance, architectural design, structural innovation, financial return for the client over the life of the structure, and a student presentation.
Civil engineering professor receives national leadership award
February 21, 2008
Dr. Kenneth H. Stokoe, II, civil engineering professor, received the 2008 Frank Frischknecht Leadership Award for his contributions to near-surface geophysics. The honor is given jointly by the Environmental and Engineering Geophysics Society and the Society of Exploration Geophysicists. Dr. Stokoe holds the Jennie C. and Milton T. Graves Chair in Engineering.
Civil engineer named Woman of the Year by Texas women’s transportation seminar
February 21, 2008
Kara Kockelman, associate professor of civil engineering, will receive the Woman of the Year Award from the Texas chapter of the Women’s Transportation Seminar. This award honors a leader in the field of transportation who has advanced the reputation and credibility of women in the field. Kockelman’s primary research interests include the modeling of urban systems, the economic impacts of transportation policy, and crash occurrence and consequences. She also is the William J. Murray, Jr. Fellow in Engineering No. 2.
Civil engineering associate professor to chair American Concrete Institute committee
February 21, 2008
Dr. Kevin Folliard, associate professor of civil engineering, has been named chair of the American Concrete Institute committee on concrete durability. The committee handles durability-related issues and forms guidelines for producing concrete in aggressive environments. Folliard has also been appointed to be a member of the general concrete and construction subcommittee. This subcommittee develops materials and durability-related guidance for the Structural Concrete Building Code. Folliard, who founded the Concrete Durability Center at the university in 2005, is the Austin Industried Endowed Faculty Fellow in Civil Engineering.
Electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student wins national thesis prize
February 20, 2008
Chan-Byoung Chae, an electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. student, received the gold prize in the SAMSUNG Humantech Paper Contest for his paper “Coordinated Wireless Networks with Limited Feedback for the MIMO Broadcast Channel." The paper offered new ideas to improve the use of MIMO, a major theme of international wireless research which uses multiple antennas at both the transmitter and receiver to improve communication performance. Chae’s supervising professor is Dr. Robert W. Heath Jr., associate professor of electrical engineering.
Two environmental engineering graduate students receive national research grants
February 15, 2008
Brent Stephens and Michael Waring, environmental and water resources engineering graduate students, both received $10,000 grants from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers for research projects. Stephens will be conducting a field performance study of how climatic conditions affect air conditioning energy consumption in residential and light commercial buildings. Waring will study how interior surfaces in buildings impact particle generation due to indoor ozone chemistry.
Aerospace engineering alumni selected for Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award
February 15, 2008
Timothy Price Crain II, an aerospace engineering alumnus, was selected as a recipient of the Outstanding Young Texas Ex Award from the Texas Exes for significant achievements in his career and service to the university before reaching the age of 40. Crain earned his bachelor’s degree from the university in 1995, his master’s in 1999 and his doctorate in 2000 and now works for NASA as the Orion orbit guidance, navigation, and control systems manager.
Chemical engineering supervisor receives Citizen Service Award
February 15, 2008
Kevin J. Haynes, a Laboratory/Technical Services Supervisor in the Chemical Engineering Department, has received the Citizen Service Award from the university police department. Haynes assisted the police in apprehending thieves entering the office of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers student chapter by setting up surveillance cameras and keeping meticulous logs of unauthorized and illegal activities. Haynes is only the fourth person to earn this award.
Mechanical engineering senior joins Teach For America as Amgen Fellow
February 15, 2008
Ella Miesner, a mechanical engineering and Plan II senior, has been selected to join the 2008 Teach For America Corps as an Amgen Fellow. Teach For America is the national corps of recent college graduates who commit two years to teach in underserved public schools. Corps members are hired by the school districts where they work as first-year teachers and receive additional salary as part of the federal AmeriCorps program.
The Amgen Fellowship is given annually to 50 incoming math, science and engineering majors who best exemplify perseverance, critical thinking, the ability to motivate others, and a commitment to ending educational inequity. Fellows receive a signing bonus from the Amgen Foundation, which also hosts all fellows at a Washington, D.C. conference to learn and discuss the latest in math, science, and engineering education. Miesner has written for The Daily Texan, worked as a Teach for America campus coordinator, and is an active participant in the Women in Engineering program.
Mechanical engineering senior receives Student Excellence Award and scholarship
February 15, 2008
Jeff Armstrong, a mechanical engineering senior, received the 2007 Student Excellence Award from The Southwestern Company for outstanding sales and recruitment during his five summers working for the Nashville company. In addition to the award, Armstrong received a scholarship. In the summer of 2007, Armstrong recruited, managed and trained six University of Texas at Austin students to run their business through Southwestern’s summer program for college students. By the end of the summer, Armstrong and the University of Texas organization had made a gross profit of $478,340, putting them in third place in Southwestern’s Top Campus list of 356 university and college campuses worldwide.
Chemical engineering professor receives National Publications Referee Award
February 12, 2008
Dr. Jim Chelikowsky, chemical engineering professor and holder of the W.A. "Tex" Moncrief, Jr. Chair of Computational Materials in the Institute of Computational Engineering and Sciences, received the Outstanding Referee Award from the American Physical Society for his peer review work on the society’s journals. Chelikowsky became one of the first members to earn this honor.
American Society of Civil Engineers student team wins first place in Steel Bridge Competition
January 31, 2008
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) UT Student Chapter’s Steel Bridge Team finished first place overall at this year's Texas-Mexico Region competition in Beaumont, Texas. The team placed first in every category, including construction time, construction economy, lightness/weight, stiffness, and structural efficiency. The goal of the competition is to follow a set of design specifications, received six months beforehand, to build a model bridge as quickly as possible that can support 2,500 pounds. The UT ASCE Steel Bridge Team built their winning structure, weighing 135 pounds with a 21 foot span, in roughly 6.5 minutes. The team will participate in the national competition held later this year in Gainesville, Florida.
Student receives Silver Award from Materials Research Society
January 22, 2008
Christopher Carlton, a materials science and engineering doctoral student, received the Silver Award from the Materials Research Society (MRS) for his significant observations and imaging of silver nanoparticles undergoing the deformation process. He presented his research at the 2007 MRS Fall Meeting in a paper co-authored by Oleg Lourie, executive vice-president of NanoFactory Instruments, and his supervising professor, mechanical engineer Dr. Paulo J. Ferreira.
Electrical and computer engineering advisor receives Eyes of Texas Excellence Award
January 22, 2008
Janice Williams, an academic advisor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Fall 2007 Eyes of Texas Excellence Award.
Each semester, Eyes of Texas, an anonymous campus organization, recognizes “outstanding contributions to student life at The University of Texas” through the award to 10 deserving faculty or staff for their unselfish devotion to better the campus community.
Williams advises undergraduate students in electrical and computer engineering. She coordinates and oversees initiatives designed to support and partner with academically at-risk students to help them reach their personal and academic goals.
Bovik elected fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical and Instrumentation Engineers
January 22, 2008
Dr. Alan Bovik, an electrical engineering professor, has been elected fellow of the Society of Photo-Optical and Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) for his “pioneering technical, leadership, and educational contributions to the field of image processing." SPIE fellows are members who have distinguished themselves by making significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. Dr. Bovik directs the Laboratory for Image and Video Engineering and develops techniques for improving and measuring the quality of digital images and videos. He holds the Keys and Joan Curry/Cullen Trust Endowed Chair.
Biomedical engineering professor receives profession’s prestigious Galletti Award
January 17, 2008
Dr. Nicholas Peppas, professor of biomedical engineering, chemical engineering and pharmaceutics, has been selected to receive the 2008 Pierre Galletti Award from the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering for his contributions and leadership in biomaterials science and engineering, and for his work on drug delivery that led to new biomedical products and devices. The Pierre Galletti Award, considered the most prestigious award in biomedical engineering, was established in 1999 in honor of the institute’s founding member and past president. Peppas holds the Fletcher Stuckey Pratt Chair in Engineering.
Electrical and computer engineering professor receives more than $1 million in grants
December 18, 2007
Dr. Joydeep Ghosh, an electrical and computer engineering professor, received two grants totaling more than $1 million from the National Science Foundation to apply his data mining research techniques in two distinct areas.
For the first project, Ghosh and co-principal investigators, Drs. Melba Crawford and Bryan Pijanowski of Purdue University, received $851,000 to predict long-term changes in land use over large geographical areas. He will use his previously developed system for classifying land covers that extracts, analyzes and manages large sets of remotely sensed data, and determine how to apply the system for predicting change.
For the second project, Ghosh and co-principal investigator Dr. Inderjit S. Dhillon, an associate professor in computer sciences also at The University of Texas at Austin, received $430,000 to identify natural groupings and similarities among objects in data sets. For example, they will compare genes with unknown functions to genes with known functions, based on how they respond to different stress conditions, to discover the purpose of the currently unknown functions. On a larger scale, researchers will help determine compatible sets of people based on their interaction with other people through large social networking sites. Overall, this research can improve understanding of underlying physical, economic or social phenomena.
Electrical engineering professor wins third of four major signal processing industry awards
December 18, 2007
Dr. Alan C. Bovik, an electrical engineering professor, has received the Signal Processing Society Education Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). This award honors educators who have made pioneering and significant contributions to signal processing education. Applicants were judged on their technical achievements, authorship of scholarly books and texts, course materials, and innovation, inspiration, and creativity exemplified in teaching and curricula development. Dr. Bovik won this award through his series of image processing books and online lectures, making him the first person to receive three of the IEEE group’s four major awards for his service, achievements, and teaching. He holds the Keys and Joan Curry/Cullen Trust Endowed Chair.
Aerospace engineering professor elected member of the Italian Lombard Institute
December 17, 2007
Dr. Thomas J. R. Hughes, an aerospace engineering professor, was elected a foreign member in the Mathematics section of Italy’s Lombard Institute, Academy of Sciences and Letters. Hughes was elected for his work in computational mechanics. The Lombard Institute was founded in 1797 by Napoleon Bonaparte with the goal of discovering and refining three distinct areas: physical science and mathematics, political sciences, and literature and fine arts. Hughes will attend his first meeting as a member at the institute next year.
Aerospace engineering professor delivers Newmark Distinguished Lecture
December 17, 2007
Dr. Thomas J. R. Hughes, an aerospace engineering professor, delivered the 2007-2008 Newmark Distinguished Lecture at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The lecture is given annually in honor of the late Dr. Nathan Newmark, a prominent consultant and national leader in civil engineering education and research. Hughes was chosen by the structures faculty at the University of Illinois through an independent nomination and selection process. He presented his work on isogeometrical analysis, a new technology that unites computer-aided design with computer-aided engineering. He holds the Computational and Applied Mathematics Chair III in the university’s Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES).
Civil engineer receives alumni award from University of Nebraska
December 17, 2007
Dr. James O. Jirsa, a civil engineering professor, was one of four alumni selected to participate in "Master's Week" at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for his work as a leading applications-oriented researcher in the behavior and design of reinforced concrete structures. Since 1964, the University of Nebraska designates “master” alumni to return to campus for a week to interact with students and university officials. Dr. Jirsa advised students on building successful careers and updated faculty on developments in his field. He currently holds the Janet S. Cockrell Centennial Chair in Engineering.
Electrical engineer and mechanical engineer honored with Texas Exes Teaching Award
December 14, 2007
Dr. Constantine Caramanis, an electrical engineering assistant professor, and Moss Shimek, a mechanical engineering teaching assistant, were elected to receive Texas Exes Teaching Awards.
The Texas Exes have honored a faculty member and graduate instructor in each school and college annually since 1982. After accepting nominations from all university students, a committee from each school selects the award recipients.
Caramanis joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Austin in 2006. He is a member of the Wireless Communications and Networking Group and has worked on applications in telecommunications, the Internet and air traffic management. He has developed algorithms for dynamic and autonomous reconfiguration of various aspects of air space to account for the impact of weather uncertainty.
Moss Shimek, a mechanical engineering graduate student, was part of a team that won first place in the university's Idea to Product™ (I2P™) competition with an idea for a human-powered battery charger. He enrolled as a freshman in 1995 and is now pursuing his doctorate.
The Cockrell School of Engineering announces 2007 Distinguished Graduates
December 7, 2007
Four alumni were elected Distinguished Engineering Graduates of The University of Texas at Austin and were honored at fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 8.
The annual selections, made by the Cockrell School’s Engineering Advisory Board, are based on outstanding professional records, public service, support of education, and other significant achievements.
The 2007 Distinguished Engineering Graduates are: Portland State University Emeritus Dean Chik Erzurumlu, IBM Distinguished Engineer Kitty Pearsall, consultant, inventor and California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, and owner and manager of HAT Resources Harry Trueblood Jr.
Dr. Chik Erzurumlu is emeritus dean and retired professor of civil engineering at Portland State University (PSU). As the founding dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, he provided the guiding influence in transforming a pre-engineering program into a comprehensive college of engineering that now has over 1,900 majors enrolled in B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degree programs in five engineering fields and computer science.
Erzurumlu’s University of Texas at Austin connection began in 1960, where he earned his master’s degree in civil engineering in 1962. The same year he joined PSU as an instructor in engineering. In 1968, he took a sabbatical leave to work on his Ph.D. in civil engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and completed the degree in 1970.
Upon returning to PSU, he adopted a professional strategy involving teaching excellence, research productivity, and service to the institution and the profession. After serving as head of civil-structural engineering for four years, he was appointed as the founding dean of PSU’s newly established School of Engineering and Applied Science in 1980. He has more than 30 publications and presentations in topics ranging from structural engineering to professional practice at international, national and regional conferences.
Erzurumlu has also been active in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) serving in leadership positions at the local and national levels. Currently, he represents ASCE on the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the national Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology.
In recognition of his contributions to engineering education and the engineering profession, Erzurumlu was granted fellow status by both ASCE and NSPE. He received the Outstanding Engineer of the Year Award by the ASCE Oregon Section in 1985 and the Engineer of the Year Award by Professional Engineers of Oregon in 1999. Perhaps the greatest recognition occurred in 2004 when as part of an $8 million gift to the College, his former student Dr. Fariborz Maseeh, established an endowment in Erzurumlu’s name.
Erzurumlu and his wife, Ulku, enjoy traveling, tennis, reading, opera, and watching the Longhorns win.
Dr. Kitty Metcalfe Pearsall earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering in 1971 from the University of Texas at El Paso. In 1972 she joined IBM as a materials engineer, but took an educational leave of absence in 1976. She earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering with a materials option from The University of Texas at Austin in 1979 and 1983 respectively. Since returning to IBM in 1983, she has been a technical resource in materials/package engineering in manufacturing, procurement and development environments with 12 years spent in technical management focusing on the qualification of various commodities.
In 2005 Pearsall was appointed an IBM Distinguished Engineer (DE) and elected into the IBM Academy of Technology. As a DE in IBM’s integrated supply chain, she serves as a process consultant and subject matter expert working on strategic initiatives impacting qualification and end quality of procured commodities. She is engaged with world wide teams implementing cross-brand, cross commodity processes/products.
Pearsall has been a licensed professional engineer in the Texas since 1993. She is the holder of one U.S. patent, four patents pending and several patent disclosures that have contributed to the IBM patent portfolio. She has authored numerous internal publications as well as 17 external publications for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’ conferences and journals.
She is a role model to others both technically and professionally, and embraces her role as mentor. She devotes endless time to mentoring – and promoting the engineering career path to technical women professionals – by providing career guidance, engineering advice, and “lessons learned.” She actively supports the development, advancement, and recognition of IBM’s technical talent. She was recognized this year for her endless drive and passion for mentoring and people development and presented with the Women in Technology “Frances E. Allen Mentoring Award.”
Her work with the Society of Women Engineers has had an inspirational effect on today’s female engineering students, and she continues to promote engineering as a superb profession for young women to enter.
Pearsall continues to support the Cockrell School of Engineering with contributions to the Friends of Alec spanning more than 20 years.
Steve Poizner has had a successful career as a business consultant, an inventor of life-saving technology, a volunteer public school teacher, the founder of several non-profit organizations supporting improved education for disadvantaged students and as a public servant. Today, Poizner is one of California’s highest-ranking elected officials.
An inventor and entrepreneur, Poizner developed the cutting-edge technology that allowed GPS receivers to be placed into cellular phones. The technology Poizner developed can be found in more than 200 million cell phones around the globe, and has already saved dozens of lives.
After selling his company, he was selected to serve in the non-partisan White House Fellowship program, where he was appointed Director of Critical Infrastructure in the National Security Council. Beginning work just one week before 9/11, Poizner was tasked with protecting the nation’s network systems and electrical grids against terrorist attacks.
After concluding his service in Washington, D.C., Poizner returned to California where he taught government in a disadvantaged high school and refused to accept a salary.
Wanting to continue in public service, Poizner sought election as the state Insurance Commissioner, one of California’s eight statewide elective offices. On the campaign trail, he earned endorsements of more than 35 major newspapers and won the election by more than a million votes. As California’s Insurance Commissioner, Poizner regulates the fourth largest insurance market in the world.
Poizner’s commitment to bettering society is evidenced in his government service and his efforts to improve public education by focusing on under-privileged schools to ensure that every student has the opportunity to receive a quality education. Steve seeks to be an exemplary role model for addressing challenges and seeking to make the impossible possible. During his rise in both business and politics, he has sought to maintain his integrity and values. From his middle-class upbringing in Houston, Texas, he emphasizes to students that goals can be realized with hard work, vision and integrity.
During his 59 years in the energy industry, Harry Trueblood Jr. has been the president and/or chairman and chief executive officer of eight publicly-traded companies, founding seven of them. For about 30 of those years, his principal operating company was Consolidated Oil & Gas, Inc., (CGS) which made significant crude oil and natural gas discoveries as well as numerous acquisitions in the Rocky Mountains and Texas. His public real estate firm was one of the founders of Vail and developed Princeville Resort on the north shore of Kauai, Hawaii.
Trueblood earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum engineering from The University of Texas at Austin in 1948 after his studies were interrupted for two years of service in the U.S. Navy during World War II. His first industry job was with The California Company (Chevron) in Mississippi and Louisiana. Later he joined independent oil operation in Sterling, Colorado. There he founded his own consulting firm in 1952 and began his corporate career in 1955 with a small private company that became CGS.
He currently is owner and managing member of HAT Resources, LLC, and vice president/ treasurer of his Harry Trueblood Foundation, which annually supports scholarships in the university’s Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering.
Trueblood was a member of the executive committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the Natural Gas Supply Association and a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers for over 50 years. He was elected to membership in the American Petroleum Institute’s 25 Year Club, helped found the Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States (IPAMS) and its counterpart in New Mexico, and helped found the One Hundred Club of Denver and the Flatirons Club of CU/Boulder.
In 2006, IPAMS recognized him with its Wildcatter of the Year award for lifetime achievement and distinguished service to the energy industry and his employees and to society through his philanthropic works. In 2004, he was one of the 54 inductees into the inaugural class of the Rocky Mountain Oil & Gas Hall of Fame.
At the university he is a member of the UT Chancellor’s Council, the President’s Associates, and the Littlefield Society and a lifetime member of the Cowboys Alumni and Ex-Students Associations. He and his wife Lucile live in Denver and they have two children and two grandchildren.
Chemical engineering student receives national best poster award
December 7, 2007
Caleb Funk, a chemical engineering doctoral student, received the 2007 Best Poster Award from the Separations Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Funk presented a new type of membrane he devised through Thermally Induced Phase Separation (TIPS) he named the “ZeoTIPS membrane.” These unique membranes Funk developed have practical uses, such as removing salt and other minerals from water to convert it to fresh water. The membranes’ ultra-high selectivity also allows them to perform a wide range of tasks for the oil and gas industry, including separating gases, organic substances, and other liquids.
Civil engineering dissertation selected for national award
December 7, 2007
Dr. Xiaokun Wang, a former civil engineering doctoral student, has been selected to receive the 2007 Council of University Transportation Centers Pikarsky Award for best Ph.D. dissertation in Science and Technology. Wang’s dissertation developed a model with applications for anticipating land use and air quality changes across Austin. She studied under Dr. Kara Kockelman, associate professor of transportation engineering, at The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Wang is now an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Penn.
Chemical engineering sophomore wins university’s first Undergraduate Research Award
December 5, 2007
Chemical engineering sophomore Barbara Ekerdt won the first Undergraduate Research Award from the university’s Senate of College Councils. The award is co-sponsored by the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Studies, and seeks to encourage students to get involved in research early in their undergraduate experience. Ekerdt received the award for her work on molecular recognition of undesirable biomarkers with associated intelligent delivery of therapeutic proteins under Dr. Nicholas Peppas, a chemical engineering, biomedical engineering and pharmaceutics professor.
Electrical and computer engineering professor receives 2007 Okawa Award
December 5, 2007
Dr. J.K. Aggarwal, an electrical and computer engineering professor, received the 2007 Okawa Prize from the Okawa Foundation for Information and Telecommunication of Japan. The award annually recognizes one person of Japanese origin and one person not of Japanese origin who make internationally outstanding contributions in research, technological development, and business in the information and telecommunication fields. Aggarwal received the Okawa Prize for his research of dynamic scene analysis and multi-sensor fusion in computer vision systems. He is the director of the Computer and Vision Research Center and holds the Cullen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Chair No. 2.
Biomedical engineering professor receives alumni award
November 14, 2007
Dr. Mia Markey, biomedical engineering assistant professor, received Carnegie Mellon University’s RecentAlumni Award. This award recognizes graduates within the past 10 years making outstanding professional accomplishments or providing exceptional service to the university. Since arriving at The University of Texas at Austin Markey founded the Biomedical Informatics Lab and assisted in creating the new undergraduate curriculum in biomedical engineering. She has also been recognized for her innovative research on designing medical decision aids that help physicians diagnose, treat and manage cancer.
Electrical engineering graduate student wins Best Paper Award
November 14, 2007
Alexander Liu, an electrical engineering graduate student, won the Best Student Paper Award at the International Conference on Data Mining. Guided by Dr. Joydeep Ghosh, a professor who holds the Schlumberger Centennial Chair in Electrical Engineering, and Dr. Cheryl Martin, a research scientist at Applied Research Laboratories, their paper proposed new solutions to particular problems in data mining and machine learning, for example, teaching computers to detect interesting patterns such as unknown pieces of information or previously unknown correlations.
Electrical engineering professor wins Best Technical Paper Award
November 14, 2007
Dr. Alexis Kwasinski, electrical engineering professor, received the best technical paper award at the 29th International Telecommunications Energy Conference (INTELEC).The paper, co-authored by Dr. Philip Krein from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discusses a planning framework to reduce telecommunication network power supply vulnerability during natural and man-made disasters. The paper’s recommendations include using alternative distributed generation technologies, such as photovoltaic panels, small wind generators, microturbines, and fuel cells, to diversify energy supply.
Electrical and computer engineering professor wins U.S. Army Research Award
November 14, 2007
Dr. Sririam Vishwanath, electrical and computer engineering professor, received a $300,000 U.S. Army Research Office Young Investigator Award to design transmission strategies of wireless networks that are both optimal in performance and simple in complexity and structure. The U.S. Army awards this grant to university faculty who have held their doctoral degrees for five years or less.
Civil engineer receives award for transportation/public health assessment
November 14, 2007
Dr. Chandra Bhat, a civil engineering professor, along with co-authors Dr. Jessica Guo, a former Ph.D. student, and Rachel Copperman, a current Ph.D. student, received the 2007 Pyke Johnson Award from the Transportation Research Board (TRB) for their outstanding paper in transportation systems planning and the environment. The paper discusses the increasing interdependency of transportation and public health by highlighting the adverse effects of motorized transportation dependency on the environment and public health, and identifies possible benefits of non-motorized transportation, like walking and biking that can increase social equity, improve personal health, and reduce traffic congestion and vehicular emissions. The paper also examines the effects of demographics and urban form on motorized transportation dependency and non-motorized transportation use. Dr. Bhat holds the Adnan Abou-Ayyash Centennial Professorship in Transportation Engineering.
Operations research student receives first place paper award
November 12, 2007
Amit Partani, a doctoral student in the Operations Research & Industrial Engineering Program, received the Best Paper Award from the Institute for Operations Research and Management Sciences (INFORMS) Computing Society. The award is given annually to the best paper on computing and operations research by a student author. Partani’s paper explained how to reduce from 1 to 5 percent statistical errors that arise when designing manufacturing systems, communication networks, and financial portfolios under uncertainty. The same paper also received an honorable mention for the INFORMS George E. Nicholson Student Paper Prize.
Earnest Gloyna interviewed by congressman for Veterans History Project
November 12, 2007
Dr. Earnest Gloyna, former dean and civil engineering professor emeritus, spent Veterans’ Day recounting stories of his World War II service to Congressman Lamar Smith for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Gloyna, who holds the Bettie Margaret Smith Chair in Environmental Health Engineering Emeritus, served as a U.S. Army Aviation Engineering Battalion Lieutenant Colonel from 1942 to 1946 in Europe. Created by Congress in 2000, the VHP collects various accounts of service from volunteers to preserve the memories, experiences, and stories of America’s veterans. Gloyna’s personal narrative will be archived along with others’ contributions at the Library of Congress.
Chen elected fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
November 5, 2007
Dr. Shaochen Chen, a mechanical engineering associate professor, was elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for his exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession. He is an internationally recognized researcher in the field of nanomanufacturing and its applications for biomedical engineering and life sciences. Dr. Chen directs the Nano-Opto-Bio Engineering Laboratory, received the 2001 National Science Foundation CAREER Award and the 2004 Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, and currently holds the Pearlie Dashiell Henderson Centennial Fellowship in Engineering.
Society of Women Engineers wins five national awards
November 5, 2007
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) university chapter received five 2007 national awards for exemplary chapter work and individual research. The Cockrell School’s SWE chapter won first place awards for outreach events, high membership retention, maintaining the best Web site, and an overall chapter outstanding certificate of merit. Individually, mechanical engineering graduate student Anne Ranes created a first-place poster explaining how compensatory mechanisms in amputees’ walking adjust with different walking speeds.
An award for the best regional newsletter went to the university’s region with credits to editor and university SWE member Nina Lu.
Electrical and computer engineering students receive computer architecture best paper award
November 5, 2007
Elias Mizan, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student, and Tileli Amimeur, an electrical and computer engineering undergraduate student, received the 2007 Best Paper Award at the 19th International Symposium on Computer Architecture and High Performance Computing. Their co-authored paper discussed a new technique that allows computational circuits in microprocessors to produce more reliable results, effectively reducing the rate of errors. Their research was guided by the late Margarida Jacome, an electrical and computer engineering professor, while she battled cancer.
Mechanical engineering professor to discuss distance learning in Niger, Africa
October 12, 2007
Dr. Sheldon Landsberger, a mechanical engineering professor, will deliver two lectures in Niger, Africa on implementing computer-based methods of teaching for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). To support the IAEA’s efforts to transfer nuclear technology to underdeveloped countries, he will discuss developing web-based courses in nuclear and radiochemistry and his experiences in teaching distance learning in the university’s nuclear program. Landsberger coordinates the Nuclear and Radiation Engineering program and holds the Hayden Head Centennial Chair.
Dean Streetman honored by IBM
October 10, 2007
Dean Ben Streetman was honored during IBM Austin’s 40th anniversary celebration for “outstanding leadership in engineering education and innovation.” The company’s research and development operation in Austin acknowledged his sustained contributions to collaborations of technology, resources and talent between the Cockrell School and IBM since IBM moved to Austin in 1967. IBM consistently ranks in the top five among the 300 employers hiring new engineering graduates from the Cockrell School. Streetman is widely recognized among leaders credited with broadening the state’s economy to include high technology industries, in addition to its historic reliance on agriculture, oil and gas. He became dean of the Cockrell School of Engineering in 1996 after founding and directing the university’s Microelectronics Research Center for 14 years. His teaching and research interests focus on semiconductor materials and devices, and he authored the textbook Solid State Electronic Devices, which has been translated into Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Polish.
Aerospace engineering senior receives Mike Wacker Award
October 10, 2007
The Texas Parents Association presented the 2007 Mike Wacker Award for overcoming great adversity to Jeffrey Mikeska, an aerospace engineering and biology senior. While battling cancer, Mikeska attended classes and served as treasurer and, later, president of the university student chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He underwent numerous surgeries last year and was forced to miss the Spring 2007 semester. He returned this fall with plans to graduate in December.