Winter 2004

Aerospace/Engineering Mechanics

The year that marks the centennial of powered flight has been an industrious one for students in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Several students participated in a variety of projects outside their regular regimen of course work. Members of these student teams spent the spring semester designing a remote control aircraft, which flew in the Design, Build, Fly international competition. Some involved themselves with creating a microgravity experiment, which flew aboard NASA’s KC-135 Weightless Wonder aircraft. Others participated in various projects within the new Satellite Design Lab, which was recently selected as one of 12 facilities to participate in a national competition to design and build two satellites.

Dr. Robert H. Bishop began serving as the new department chair in September, succeeding Dr. David Dolling, who served two four-year terms as chair. Dr. Bishop’s research and teaching focuses on spacecraft control and navigation, and aircraft tracking, and he has received numerous awards for both research and teaching. 

Biomedical Engineering

This summer the UT Board of Regents approved the construction of a new $25 million biomedical engineering research and teaching facility. The building will serve as the home of the two-year-old Department of Biomedical Engineering. The new four-story building will include floor space for research laboratories, teaching laboratories, faculty and administrative offices, and student study and computation areas. Groundbreaking should occur in fall 2004 with completion planned for early 2006. 

 Biomedical engineering at UT Austin was initiated as a graduate program in the late 1960s, and granted department status when it established an undergraduate program in fall 2001. With the second class of freshman biomedical engineering students enrolled for 2003-2004 the department has a total of 274 undergraduate students and 72 graduate students. After a four-year cycle, the department projects 500 undergraduates will be enrolled. The faculty currently numbers 15 with further recruiting underway.

 This year’s freshman class once again has the top academic standards of the entire university. The median SAT score for these students is 1400.

Chemical Engineering

This fall the department serves 620 undergraduate and 182 graduate students. There are 180 new first-time in college students. The undergraduate student body represents 12 percent of the College of Engineering undergraduates. More than 42 percent are female while the female undergraduate student population college wide is 22 percent.

 The department, currently ranked sixth in U.S. News and World Report for both graduate and undergraduate programs, also welcomed 35 new graduate students from six countries and 17 states. Collectively, research expenditures hover at approximately $11 million annually. 

Civil/Architectural Engineering

This marks the centennial year of the Department of Civil Engineering. One hundred years ago, Dean T.U. Taylor formally organized the College’s first department with two faculty members and a handful of dedicated engineering students.  Today it is one of the largest civil engineering departments in the country, with more than 9,000 living alumni, and more than 1,000 current students. The department employs more than 50 faculty members, and its undergraduate and graduate programs are both ranked third nationally.

 In early November, a weekend-long celebration highlighted the extraordinary contributions of the department and its alumni over the past century. In conjunction with this centennial celebration, the department announced three new initiatives.

  First, the Civil and Architectural Engineering Academy of Distinguished Alumni was inaugurated to recognize and honor the many professional accomplishments of our alumni. Up to eight alumni will be honored annually by induction into the Academy, based on nominations from alumni and faculty. 

 A departmental alumni association is organizing to help

alumni stay in touch with one another and to promote the involvement of alumni in the department. Lastly, a three-year Centennial Campaign was kicked off to provide the department with the resources needed to sustain excellence into their second century.

Mechanical Engineering 

Engineering students celebrated an expanded community study area when the first phase of the $1.2 million Ford Academic and Student Life Center on the second floor of the Engineering Teaching Center (ETC) was dedicated in September.

 Through generous gifts from alumni and Ford Motor Co., the 2,100 square-foot main hall of ETC, known as “the cave” has been transformed into a light, open and airy gathering space for study, conference or leisure. The effort is the first phase of renovating 7,000 square feet in ETC to enhance the student body experience for engineering students. 

 The concept is based on the 1950s, student-led excavation of Taylor Hall, the College of Engineering’s only building at that time, to create a recreation and study lounge. Students and faculty removed 2,300 cubic yards of dirt and rock in an effort now known as “Operation Gopher.” At that time, more than 3,000 students contributed hands-on work, using donations from College alumni totaling more than $27,000, a sizeable sum in 1950s dollars. They created the first “Taylor T Room,” an 8,000 square foot student lounge named after the College’s first dean, T.U. Taylor.

Electrical/Computer Engineering 

As part of its mandate to increase the number of electrical engineering graduates, the Texas Engineering and Technical Consortium (TETC) and National Instruments have partnered to provide relevant, hands-on engineering design projects from the freshman year on. One tool in this effort is a system called ELVIS. It combines virtual instrumentation, data acquisition, and a prototype station so that students can create, measure, and analyze “real” circuits, even as freshmen. This combination provides a ready-to-use suite of instruments that can be used throughout a student’s education—from introductory classes to senior design work. National Instruments and faculty Archie Holmes and Bill Bard are spearheading this effort.

In the computer engineering area, Professor Jacob Abraham was instrumental in creating a new academic track graduate program in circuit design. This program was initiated at the request of industry leaders to provide a more focused curriculum covering both analog and digital design. Local companies also provided the equipment, financing, and teaching experts necessary. The curriculum will focus on the fundamentals of signal processing, communication theory, system design and modeling. Programs are available for both regular graduate students and working professionals.

Petroleum/Geosystems Engineering

A year ago, the Department of Petroleum & Geosystems Engineering began an intensive recruiting program to attract top high school seniors. Demographics indicate that the average age of a petroleum engineer in the United States is over 50 years. More engineers will be needed in the future to fill the brain drain fromretirements and to meet the increasing demand for hydrocarbons. The very high placement rate of petroleum engineering graduates with bachelor’s degrees this year and their command of the highest starting salaries of any engineering discipline confirm the trend.

 High school students appear to be getting the message. The freshmen class for fall 2003 has more than doubled to 150 from the previous year, despite increased entrance requirements. Students with strong skills in math and science are being encouraged to consider petroleum engineering as a career.

 The best way to accomplish this is to “get the story out” that we are not running out of hydrocarbons and that our economy will be dependent on the oil and gas industry for generations to come. 

Other News: 

Top 10 Engineering Discoveries To Be Unveiled

The electronic tongue, the laser cancer detection probe, desktop manufacturing—these represent a few of the most recent engineering innovations that originated within UT Austin’s College of Engineering. 

 The College wants to identify the top 10 engineering innovations born from UT Austin faculty and alumni.  Dean Ben Streetman will collect the nominations, and ask a committee of faculty and alumni to determine those with the most widespread impact. 

 These will be used by the UT System chancellor and the UT Austin president in their speeches, as well as reside upon the University’s historical and impact pages. Recommendations should be submitted to Becky Rische at brische@mail.utexas.edu or by postal mail to Becky Rische, UT Austin, MC: C2100, Austin, TX 78712.

Engineering Homecoming Weekend 

The UT College of Engineering is once again proving it has the best traditions on campus. Hundreds of alumni returned to campus the weekend of Nov. 14 for the College’s 2^nd annual Engineering Homecoming Weekend. Activities included an Order of the Engineer Alumni Ring Ceremony, 1990-1995 Engineering Alumni Reunion, Departmental Events, a Dean’s Tailgate Party and more. More info: www.engr.utexas.edu/alumni or alumni@engr.utexas.edu.

Engineering Student-Alumni Relations Team (START) Created 

 As a joint effort between the Student Engineering Council and the Engineering Alumni Relations Office, the Engineering Student-Alumni Relations Team, otherwise known as START, is a new staple to the engineering campus. START was created to strengthen the UT Austin engineering community, support student-alumni relations efforts within the College, and provide leadership and team-building skills. The 2003-2004 START Co-chairs are John Colucci III, B.S.E.E., ‘04, and Holly Tompkins,B.S.E.E., ‘04, and the alumni advisor is Nathan Lewis, B.S.E.E., ‘77. Numerous events are already planned for the upcoming school year. More information may be found at: www.engr.utexas.edu/start or by emailing start@engr.utexas.edu.

Readers can Share Opinions on the College’s Publications

 Readers with story ideas, news or strategic direction to share with the College of Engineering public affairs staff can now go online and offer their expertise. 

 Suggestions for improving the magazine, website or other communication efforts by the College are welcome.

 Many thanks to the alumni who participated in the college’s focus groups for the magazine:

 Anne Barr, B.S.M.E., ‘78; S.A. Garza, B.S.C.E., ‘55; Tara Hickey, B.S.C.E., ‘95; Michael Johnson, B.S.M.E., ‘97; Bill Klingman, B.S.Ch.E., ‘62, M.S.Ch.E., ‘63; Fred Langner, B.S.E.E., ‘64, M.S.E.E. ‘67; Nathan Lewis, B.S.E.E., ‘77; Teresa Montemayor, B.S.P.E., ‘84; Mary Purcell, B.S.Ch.E., ‘90; Catherine Riegle, B.S.M.E., ‘98; Jonathan Schulze, B.S.Ch.E., ‘95; Jeremy Segers, B.S.AS.E., ‘93; Melissa Simpler, B.S.E.E., ‘92; Amy Smith, B.S.Arch.E., ‘81; Wamac Soward, B.S.C.E., ‘57; Tom Stenis, B.S.E.E., ‘43, M.S.E.E., ‘47; Bill Thompson, B.S.P.E., ‘54; Dr. Harovel Wheat, Ph.D.M.E., ‘85; Earl Wukasch, B.S.E.E., ‘43; M.S.E.E., ‘48.