News

Texas Tech Engineering Grad Programs Among Best

Engineering

The Texas Tech University Edward E. Whitacre Jr. College of Engineering overall graduate engineering program and six individual degree programs are ranked in the 2012 edition of Best Graduate Schools by U.S. News Media Group.

• The overall graduate engineering program moved up to a ranking of 95th among 198 programs nationwide.
• The Department of Chemical Engineering ranked 68th in the Chemical category.
• The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering ranked 73rd in the Civil category.
• The Department of Computer Science ranked 121st in the Computer Science category.
• The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering ranked 66th in the Electrical/Electronic/Communications category and 72nd in the Computer Engineering category.
• The Department of Industrial Engineering ranked 29th in the Industrial/Manufacturing category.
• The Department of Mechanical Engineering ranked 93rd in the Mechanical category.

“I am not surprised that our faculty and staff in the Whitacre College of Engineering are among the best in the nation,” said Al Sacco Jr., dean of the Whitacre College of Engineering. “Further, it is indeed gratifying to see our rankings continue to improve as we move toward Tier One status.”

Jiang Named Recipient of Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Award

Jiang

Dr. Hongxing Jiang, Edward E. Whitacre Jr. Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been named the recipient of the 2011 Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award.

Each year, the Texas Tech Parents Association presents the award, which provides a $3,000 honorarium, to recognize outstanding research by a member of the Texas Tech faculty and to recognize excellence in scholarship and creative activity by the faculty of the university.

Jiang will be recognized and presented an honorarium at the Texas Tech Parents Association spring scholarship breakfast.

Texas Tech to Host Prestigious Summer Science Camp

ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp

While many middle school students are looking for a way to spend their summer break, others will embark on a two-week, all-expenses-paid adventure in math and science.

Texas Tech accepted an $80,000 grant from the ExxonMobil Foundation to become one of 25 universities in the nation offering the ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Science Camp for a second straight year.

The prestigious program offers underserved middle school students opportunities to engage in learning about sciences, technology, engineering and mathematics. Activities include classroom study, experiments, individual and team projects, field excursions and guest speakers.

Texas Tech's T-STEM Center will host the camp for 48 students living within a 50-mile radius of Lubbock.

Engineers Week 2011

Trebuchet Contest

Texas Tech hosted several Engineers Week events during the week of February 20. Events included a special presentation by Dean Al Sacco Jr., Pink Engineering Day, departmental lab tours for middle school students, a trebuchet contest and cookout, and the Order of the Engineer Induction Ceremony.

Lubbock Area High School, Middle School, and College Students Help Build NASA Spacecraft Simulator

NASA Project Kickoff

NASA engineers visited Lubbock in February to kick off NASA's "Students Shaping America's Next Spacecraft" project.

The project, to conclude in May, involves Texas Tech, Frenship High School, New Deal High School, New Deal Middle School, and Estacado High School students designing mock-up modules for the Orion Spacecraft. NASA will provide the specifications for the modules and students will design different packages that will be included in the Orion Spacecraft simulator.

Texas Tech engineering students will design the more complex packages such as the chairs and the struts, and high school and middle school students will design simpler packages such as switch and electrical boxes for NASA astronauts to determine placement within the spacecraft.

Lockheed Martin Corporation is sponsoring this project as part of its nationwide program of support for educational excellence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), as well as its promotion of space exploration and technical career opportunities for America's next generation of explorers.

Engineering Hosts Regional Alumni Events

Midland Alumni Event

The college hosted regional alumni events in February and March. Events were held in Lubbock, Midland, Houston, and Dallas and provided an opportunity for alumni to meet Dean Sacco and learn about the college's students, research, and progress toward Tier One. In total, hundreds of alumni were able to meet the dean or reconnect with the college.

Faculty Recognitions

Heinze Named ABET Commissioner

Heinze

Dr. Lloyd Heinze, professor of petroleum engineering, will serve as one of two ABET, Inc., Society of Petroleum Engineers Commissioners in July 2011.

ABET is an accreditor for college and university programs in applied science, computing, engineering, and technology. ABET accredits more than 3,100 programs at more than 600 colleges and universities worldwide.

Student Accomplishments

CEET Students Compete in ASC Region V Student Competition

Students in three teams from the Department of Construction Engineering and Engineering Technology participated in the Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Region V Student Competition competition in Dallas. The Texas Tech Design Build team took second place. CEET senior Colt Crumrine received third place in the "best individual speaker category" for the Heavy-Civil completion.

Alumni

DFW Area Alums Win Young Engineer of the Year Awards

Individual chapters of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) recognize outstanding young engineers each spring with the Young Engineer of the Year award. Four Red Raiders in the metroplex have received Young Engineer of the Year awards.

Josh Logan, P.E., was named the Young Engineer of the Year by the TSPE Fort Worth Chapter. He received a bachelor of science in civil engineering in 2001 and is currently employed by Halff Associates, Inc. in Fort Worth.

Daniel Martinez, P.E., was named the Young Engineer of the Year by the TSPE DFW Mid-Cities Chapter. He received a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Texas Tech.

Jack Young, E.I.T., C.F.M., was named the Young Engineer of the Year by the TSPE Dallas Chapter. He received a bachelor of science in civil engineering from Texas Tech and is currently employed by Halff Associates, Inc.

Sam Hinojosa was named the Edmund Friedman Young Engineer of the Year for the ASCE Fort Worth Branch. He received a bachelor of science in civil engineering in 2003 and is currently employed by Halff Associates, Inc. in Fort Worth. as a Project Engineer.

Grants and Contracts

2-8-2011 - 3-10-2011

Chemical Engineering

• Drs. Ronald C. Hedden and Muhammad N. Karim were awarded $329,881 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Design of a Packed-bed, Continuous-flow Fermentation Process Tailored for Cellulosic Ethanol Production." Hedden is the PI.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Drs. H. Scott Norville and Stephen M. Morse were awarded $13,989 by Solutia, Inc. The title of the proposal was "Elevated Temperature Tests for Laminated Glass Fabricated with AII and DN Interlayers." Norville is the PI.

Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics

• Drs. Stephen B. Bayne and Michael G. Giesselmann were awarded $200,380 by the U.S. Army Research Office. The title of the proposal was "Semiconductor Evaluation for EM Gun Applications."

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• Dr. Hamed Sari-Sarraf was awarded $31,733 by Cotton Incorporated. The title of the proposal was "Moisture Management Measurement via Thermal Infrared Imaging."
• Dr. Hamed Sari-Sarraf was awarded $50,706 by Cotton Incorporated. The title of the proposal was "Real-time Cotton Fiber Characterization."

Industrial Engineering

• Dr. Shiren Wang was awarded $12,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "REU Supplement: CAREER: Exploring Novel Organic Thermoelectric Composites with Hierarchical Architecture and High Figure of Merit."

Mechanical Engineering

• Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya was awarded $153,797 by NSF/Iowa State University. The title of the proposal was "Melt-dispersion Mechanism for Energetic Reactions of Aluminum Nanoparticles."
• Dr. Zhaoming He was awarded $216,694 by the National Institutes of Health. The title of the proposal was "Mitral Valve Coaptation Plate for Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation."

Whitacre College of Engineering Dean's Office

• Drs. John R. Chandler, Andrea D. Fontenot, and William M. Marcy were awarded $80,000 by The Harris Foundation. The title of the proposal was "ExxonMobil Bernard Harris Summer Camp." Fontenot is the PI.

Events of Interest

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