News

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's 2007 Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program awards have been announced, and the College of Engineering received $461,776 of the $735,276 given to Texas Tech University. Approximately $16.4 million is awarded to colleges and universities across the state.

Four of the seven accepted Texas Tech proposals were received by the College of Engineering and its associated research centers:

• Dr. Muhammad N. Karim, professor and chair of chemical engineering, was awarded $150,000. The title of his proposal was "One Step Cellulosic Ethanol Production."
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dr. Sindee L. Simon, professor of chemical engineering, was awarded $150,000. The title of her proposal was "Origin of Enhanced Reactivity and Depressed Tg for Network Polymers at the Nanoscale."
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Dr. Lenore L. Dai, associate professor of chemical engineering, was awarded $110,000. The title of her proposal was "One-Step Pickering Emulsion Polymerization: A Novel Way to Bridge Organics and Inorganics."
  
  
  
  
  
• Dr. Sukanta Basu, professor of geosciences and member of the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center faculty, was awarded $51,776. The title of his proposal was "Atmospheric Stability Considerations in the Design of Wind Turbines against Fatigue Failure"

The Texas Tech ChallengeX team of engineering students accompanied their 2005 Chevrolet Equinox to the final ChallengeX competition May 12 through May 21, 2008. The team won two awards, the Outstanding Long-Term Faculty Advisor Award and the National Instruments: Most Innovative Use of Graphical System Design Award. Dr. Tim Maxwell, professor of mechanical engineering, received the faculty advisor award, and Stephen Barrett, electrical and computer engineering undergraduate student, received the innovation award for the team.

Faculty Recognition

Dr. Lloyd Heinze, chair of the petroleum engineering department, was featured in the summer issue of Prism Magazine, the publication of the American Society for Engineering Education. Heinze was featured in "A Gusher in Jobs," an article focusing on the changing state of the oil and gas industry and its effect on petroleum engineering education.

Staff Recognition

Katarzyna Gabka was hired on June 1 as an administrative business assistant in the Wind Science and Engineering Research Center.

Carmen Hernandez is retiring from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the end of June.

Kristina Thompson was hired on June 1 as an advisor in the Department Chemical Engineering and the Dean�s Office.

Grants and Contracts

Chemical Engineering

• Dr. Gregory B. McKenna was awarded $20,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Collaborative Research: A Nanoparticle Embedment Method to Determine Surface and Interface Properties of Viscoelastic Liquids and Solids."
• Dr. Brandon L. Weeks was awarded $33,000 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories. The title of the proposal was "In-Situ Atomic Force Microscopy of PETN Crystal Growth and Coarsening."
• Dr. Muhammad N. Karim was awarded $150,000 by the THECB - ARP - 2007. The title of the proposal was "One Step Cellulosic Ethanol Production."
• Dr. Sindee L. Simon was awarded $150,000 by the THECB - ARP - 2007. The title of the proposal was "Origin of Enhanced Reactivity and Depressed Tg for Network Polymers at the Nanoscale."

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Dr. Douglas A. Smith was awarded $54,140 by Oncor Electric Delivery. The title of the proposal was "Transmission Line Failure and Retrofit Study."

Computer Science

• Dr. Susan D. Urban was awarded $328,331 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "SRS: A Decentralized and Rule-Based Approach to Data Dependency Analysis and Failure Recovery in a Service-Oriented Environment."

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Dr. Timothy C. Dallas was awarded $50,000 by the Robert A. Welch Foundation. The title of the proposal was "AFM on a Chip."
• Dr. Mary C. Baker was awarded $133,452.75 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "GK-12: Building Bridges: Integrating Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education on the South Plains."

Industrial Engineering

• Dr. James L. Smith was awarded $61,291 by the Centers for Disease Control/NIOSH. The title of the proposal was "NIOSH Training Grant."

Mechanical Engineering

• Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya was awarded $94,483 by the DOD/DTRA/University of Texas. The title of the proposal was "Impact Driven Reactions in Select Thermites and Reactive Materials."

Nano Tech Center

• Dr. Ayrton Bernussi, Dr. Luis Grave de Peralta, and Dr. Mark W. Holtz were awarded $200,000 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The title of the proposal was "Determination of Intrinsic Parameters Influencing Efficiencies in Single High-Power Laser Diodes." Dr. Ayrton Bernussi is the PI.
• Dr. Jordan M. Berg, Dr. Ayrton Bernussi, Dr. Luis Grave de Peralta, and Dr. Darryl L. James were awarded $199,995 by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The title of the proposal was "Finite-Element Simulation for Electrothermal Characterization of High-Power Diode Laser Bars."
• Dr. Ayrton Bernussi was awarded $20,000.00 by the RDECOM/Science Research Laboratory. The title of the proposal was "Research in Electrical Engineering - Thomasz Knapczyk."

Water Resources Center

• Dr. Andrew W. Jackson, Dr. Todd A. Anderson, and Dr. Kenneth A. Rainwater were awarded $79,300 by the BWXT/Pantex. The title of the proposal was "Laboratory Demonstration of In Situ Treatment Effectiveness for Reduction of Perchlorate, TCE, and Chromium at Pantex Plant." Dr. Jackson is the PI.

Publications

Dr. Javad Hashemi, associate academic dean in the College of Engineering, has an article that was published in the July issue of the Journal of Orthopaedic Research entitled, "The Human Anterior Cruciate Ligament: Sex Differences in Ultrastructure and Correlation with Biomechanical Properties." Dr. Hashemi collaborated with Dr. Naveen Chandrashekar, Dr. Hossein Mansouri, Dr. James R. Slauterbeck, and Dr. Daniel M. Hardy for this study.

Dr. Iris Rivero, assistant professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering, has an article that will be published in the September issue of NDT and E International entitled, �Determination of the Accuracy of Phase Analysis Measurements on Spherical Surfaces through X-Ray Diffraction,� Dr. Rivero completed the study with Dr. Clayton O. Ruud.

Student Accomplishments

Shayla Swain, Ph.D. student in the Department of Industrial Engineering, has been selected as a NASA/Texas Space Grant Consortium Fellow for the 2008-2009 academic year. The fellowship consists of a $5,000 supplemental stipend.

Alumni

Ola Adepoju, a 2006 M.S.P.E graduate, was recently contacted by the German publishing house, Vdm Verlag Dr. M�ller, to publish his master's thesis. The thesis, "Coefficient of Isothermal Oil Compressibility: A Study for Reservoir Fluids by Cubic Equation-of-State," can be read online from the Texas Tech library, or can be purchased as a book at Amazon.com.

Is your news listed here?

If not, submit it through your department's editor:

Chemical - Hudson, Jan
Civil and Environmental - Andrews, Glenna
Computer Science - Digby, Mysti
Electrical and Computer - Willingham, Sandi
Engineering Technology - Reigner, Mary
Industrial - Wilson, Terry
Mechanical - Hernandez, Carmen
Petroleum - Blackmon, Joan