Distinguished Engineers

Five Distinguished Engineers Named

The Texas Tech University Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering named Capt. John D. Alexander, Elizabeth F. Holland, James E. Lowder, Alan L. Smith, and Karan Watson as recipients of the 2012 Distinguished Engineer Award on April 13 at a luncheon at the Overton Hotel in Lubbock, Texas.

The Distinguished Engineer Award was established during the 1966-67 academic year to recognize the most outstanding alumni of the college. Since that time, 207 former students have received this honor.

Recipients of the award must be distinguished in their profession, an inspiration to their peers, and have demonstrated a continuing interest in areas outside the field of engineering.

Llano Estacado RoboRaiders

Llano Estacado RoboRaiders Win Awards, Advance to International Competition

The Llano Estacado RoboRaiders FIRST® Robotics Team 1817 won five awards at the FIRST® Robotics Competition Dallas Regional on March 31, 2012. The team will advance to the FIRST Championship held April 25-28, 2012, in St. Louis, Mo.

The team won the Regional Chairman's Award, the Engineering Excellence Award sponsored by Delphi, and the Industrial Safety Award sponsored by Underwriters Laboratories. Travis Ray, a Texas Tech graduate electrical engineering student, received the Woodie Flowers Finalist Award and Kenyan Burnham, a senior at Lubbock High School, won the Dean's List Finalist Award.

The RoboRaiders include students from Texas Tech University, Lubbock High School, Coronado High School, Frenship High School, Levelland High School, Southcrest Christian School, and home school students.

ASME Students

ASME Students Place in Old Guard Competition

Pejmon Arbrapour, a senior mechanical engineering major, won first place in the Old Guard Oral Presentation at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Student Professional Development District E Conference. The presentation was "Reinventing the Wheel: A Radially Collapsing Wheel for an innovative Wheelchair Design."

Kyle Ellis, a senior mechanical engineering major, won second place on the same topic in the Old Guard Poster Competition at the same conference.

Arbrapour and Ellis will compete at the national conference in November with their presentation and poster.

Alleman

Alleman Receives Hollings Scholarship

Andrew Alleman, a student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is the recipient of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings scholarship.

The Hollings Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance (up to a maximum of $8,000 per year) for full-time study during the nine-month academic year and a 10-week, full-time internship position during the summer at a NOAA facility. The internship between the first and second years of the award provides the scholars with practical educational training experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities.

Chen

Chen Receives Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award

Dr. Yong Chen, an assistant professor of computer science, was recently selected to receive a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award.

The Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards provide seed money for research by junior faculty at Oak Ridge Associated Universities member institutions. These awards are intended to enrich the research and professional growth of young faculty and result in new funding opportunities.

Jackson

Jackson Named Senior Associate Editor of Journal

Dr. Andrew Jackson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, has been named the senior associate editor of the journal Water, Air, & Soil Pollution.

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution is an international, interdisciplinary journal on all aspects of pollution and solutions to pollution in the biosphere. This includes chemical, physical, and biological processes affecting flora, fauna, water, air and soil in relation to environmental pollution.

Rengasamy

Rengasamy Named Among Top Reviewers for Journal

Dr. Raghu Rengasamy, a professor of chemical engineering, was named one of the Top 15 Reviewers of 2011 for the journal Computers & Chemical Engineering.

Computers & Chemical Engineering is primarily a journal of record for new developments in the application of computing and systems technology to chemical engineering problems.

Hanson

Hanson Named Distinguished Professor by Tau Beta Pi

Dr. Jeff Hanson, an instructor of mechanical engineering, has been selected to receive the 2012 Distinguished Professor Award from the Texas Tech chapter of Tau Beta Pi.

The organization seeks to honor professors that excel inside and outside the classroom. Hanson was selected because of his work to innovate the current mechanical engineering curriculum and his desire to help students engage in discussion of real world topics that better prepare them for industry. He was also commended for his passion for engineering integrity.

Gianoutsos

Gianoutsos Receives Award from Secretary of the Interior

Nick Gianoutsos, a 2005 Master of Science in computer science graduate, recently received an award from the Secretary of the Interior for his work aboard the NOAA research vessel M/V International Peace collecting samples in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Read about his work on a NOAA blog.

March 19, 2012 – April 19, 2012

Chemical Engineering

• Dr. Sindee L. Simon was awarded $120,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Tg Changes, Surface Effects, and Dynamics in Nanoconfined Polymers."
• Dr. Gregory B. McKenna was awarded $125,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Viscoelastic Response of Ultrathin Polymer Films: Bubble Inflation Liquid Dewetting and Molecular Architecture Effects."
• Dr. Micah J. Green was awarded $134,020 by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The title of the proposal was "YIP: Interfacial Engineering for Low-density Graphene Nanocomposites and Fluids."

Computer Science

• Dr. Eonsuk Shin was awarded $65,000 by ETRI, Korea. The title of the proposal was "Study on the Robot Component Fault Processing and Recovery Mechanism."

Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation

• Drs. Alon Kvashny, Hongchao Liu, Cynthia B. McKenney, Moon-Cheol Won, and Richard E. Zartman were awarded $42,592 by the TX Dept of Transportation. The title of the proposal was "Lubbock TxDOT IAC 05-1XXIA001."

Center for Nanophotonics

• Drs. Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin were awarded $450,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Layer-structured Semiconductor Alloys: Growth, Characterization, and Applications."

Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics

• Dr. James C. Dickens, Shad L. Holt, and Dr. John T. Krile were awarded $150,535 by the Office of Naval Research. The title of the proposal was "Frequency Agile NLTL Driver for GTEM Lethality Testing."
• Dr. Stephen B Bayne was awarded $2,600 by the U.S. Army Research Office/AAS. The title of the proposal was "Research and Engineering Apprenticeship Program."

Mechanical Engineering

• Dr. Jingzhou Yang was awarded $1,000 by the National Space Grant Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Design Flight Deck for the Future."
• Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya was awarded $10,000 by Office of Naval Research. The title of the proposal was "Metal-hydride Based Reactive Material Composites."

See a full listing of the college's events on the Engineering Master Calendar.

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