Endsley

Endsley to Speak at Texas Tech Commencement Ceremonies

Dr. Mica R. Endsley, chief scientist of the U.S. Air Force and a 1982 graduate with a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering, will speak at the Texas Tech University December 2014 commencement ceremonies. Held on December 12-13 at the United Supermarkets Arena, more than 2,300 students will graduate at the events.

After completing a bachelor's degree at Texas Tech, she received a master's degree from Purdue University and a doctorate from the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She is the chief scientific adviser to the chief of staff and Secretary of the Air Force. She previously was president of SA Technologies in Marietta, Georgia. She also previously served as a visiting associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics as well as an associate professor of industrial engineering at Texas Tech.

West Texas BEST Competition

Robotics Program Creates STEM Awareness for High School Students and Mentoring Opportunity for Texas Tech Engineering Students

Since 1995, the West Texas Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology (BEST) Program has aimed to increase enrollments and engage middle and high school students in the STEM disciplines. Texas Tech is host to the West Texas BEST Program, a part of a national competition.

"West Texas BEST," said Dr. Richard Gale, professor of electrical and computer engineering and West Texas BEST hub director, "is the middle pipeline I put in place here to try to jump interest in STEM disciplines as early as elementary school and then provide continuity through the robotics competitions and programs that go all the way through graduate school at Texas Tech."

During a six-week period, students build, program, test, and modify robots and complete required tasks outlined as part of the game. Students also create engineering notebooks, table displays, and a presentation discussing the development and creative process behind their robot, which are given to judges at the competition.

Whitacre College of Engineering students also participate in the program, including individuals from the Texas Tech student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Eta Kappa Nu, as well as electrical and computer engineering students needing 10 hours of professional development for service in their laboratory classes. "There are several opportunities for involvement," Gale said. "I think the most valuable for our undergraduates is the opportunity for leadership development. They work with the high school student participants in the programs directly. They coach them in programming, design, the entire engineering design process and critical thinking."

Ivenso

Ivenso Receives Biophysical Society Travel Award

Ikenna Ivenso, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been selected as a recipient of a 2015 Education Committee Travel Award from the Biophysical Society. He will present his abstract at the Biophysical Society's 59th Annual Meeting, to be held in February 2015 in Baltimore, Maryland.

More than 6,000 scientists are expected to attend the Biophysical Society Annual Meeting and will include presentations, symposia, workshops, platform sessions, and poster sessions. The meeting provides an opportunity for biophysicists and scientists in related disciplines to share their research, collaborate, and receive feedback on their research.

Marston

Marston Wins Gallery of Fluid Motion Award

Dr. Jeremy Marston, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, along with coauthors from King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia and Brigham Young University, won first place in the 2014 Gallery of Fluid Motion Award video competition sponsored by the Division of Fluid Dynamics of the American Physical Society. The video, which can be viewed online, was also highlighted in the BBC report, The Weird World of Everyday Liquids.

The video highlights the group's observations of a splash phenomenon that happens when spherical projectiles enter liquid pools. Occurring just before the splash closes at the surface of the liquid, the group calls the phenomenon the "buckling instability," whereby discrete ridges form along the splash wall in a similar fashion to the wrapping of hard candies.

Vanapalli

Vanapalli Receives BMES Rising Star Award

Dr. Siva A. Vanapalli, associate professor of chemical engineering, will receive a Rising Star Award from the Cellular & Molecular Bioengineering (CMBE) Special Interest Group of the Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) at the CMBE Conference in January 2015. Rising Star Awards are given to a select group of young faculty who then give their talks in a special session at the BMES-CMBE meeting.

November 18 – December 10, 2014

* Primary Investigator

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

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