Trouble viewing this email? Click here to view it in your browser.
College of Engineering Today
         
 
News
Faculty Recognitions
Staff Recognitions
Grants and Contracts
Publications
Student Accomplishments
 
COE Monthly Newsletter
COE Home COE Today Archive

News

ChallengeX 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.

The Texas Tech team consists of Neil McLemore, electrical and computer engineering graduate student and team leader, Stephen Barrett, electrical and computer engineering undergraduate student, Jeff David, mechanical engineering undergraduate student, Alan Falls, mechanical engineering graduate student, Matt Harrison, electrical and computer engineering graduate student, and Robert Parker, mechanical engineering undergraduate student. Dr. Tim Maxwell and Dr. Michael Parten are advisors.

ChallengeX is a student vehicle design competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy, General Motors Corporation, and other national sponsors.  The Texas Tech Equinox is powered by a 2.4 L engine which burns E85 and hydrogen. The engine is assisted by a 4 kW electric motor to allow hybrid stops and a 10 kW hydrogen fuel cell to provide electric power for the motor and vehicle accessories.

Texas Tech will compete in its 21st Department of Energy-sponsored event, EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, beginning in the fall of 2008. The other 16 schools that will compete in the EcoCAR challenge include:

  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
  • Georgia Tech
  • Howard University
  • Michigan Technological University
  • Mississippi State University
  • Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • North Carolina State University
  • The Ohio State University
  • Ontario Institute of Technology
  • Pennsylvania State University
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
  • University of Victoria
  • University of Waterloo
  • University of Wisconsin
  • Virginia Tech
  • West Virginia University

 

Eibeck Texas Diversity Magazine has named Dean Pamela Eibeck as one of 36 powerful and influential women in Texas.

The list, published in the April issue of Texas Diversity Magazine, includes CEOs and partners from major corporations, firms and organizations.

"The women in the Most Powerful and Influential list exude excellence and are prime examples of what a 'leader' should be," said Dennis Kennedy, founder and CEO of the Texas Diversity Council and publisher of Texas Diversity Magazine. "These are talented and committed individuals that bring incredible value to their organizations and their communities."

 

Eibeck Texas Tech University was one of 11 universities chosen to participate in a student engineering contest for innovation in analog and to compete for the $150,000 Engibous Prize. Texas Tech was selected because of the high-quality engineering designs submitted by its electrical engineering students.

Named in honor of Tom Engibous, the recently retired chairman of Texas Instruments (TI), the Engibous Prize will make first-, second-, and third-place cash awards to teams of engineering students who incorporate a variety of TI analog devices in their senior design projects. A panel of TI, industry and academic judges will determine the winning student engineering teams who demonstrate the highest level of engineering analysis, originality, quality and creativity in their designs. The 11 selected schools are currently participating in the TI Analog Design Contest that began in fall of 2007, and their engineering students have demonstrated multiple, high-quality senior design projects. These include:

  • Arizona State University
  • The University of Arizona
  • University of Arkansas
  • Ohio State University
  • Oregon State University
  • Prairie View A&M University
  • University of Puerto Rico
  • Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
  • Texas A&M University
  • Texas Tech University
  • University of Texas at Dallas

Faculty Recognition

McKenna Dr. Greg McKenna, professor of chemical engineering, was recently featured in a radio interview on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's public radio station, WMBR-FM, during the "In Vivo" program.



Mehta Dr. Kishor Mehta, professor of civil and environmental engineering, received the Walter P. Moore, Jr. Award from the Structural Engineering Institute. The award is in recognition of a structural engineer who has demonstrated technical expertise in, and dedication to, the development of structural codes and standards.


Dr. Ismael de Farias was hired as an associate professor in Industrial Engineering. Ismael will begin on July 1, 2008.

Dr. Tom Trost, professor of electrical and computer engineering, will retire on June 1.

Dr. Klaus Zieher, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, will retire on June 1.

Staff Recognition

Recent College of Engineering Hires

  • Tracy Bouffard was hired as an advisor in electrical and computer engineering.
  • Connie Coffin was hired as an administrative business assistant in the Wind Science and Engineering Center.
  • Thomas Heisey was hired as a unit manager in electrical and computer engineering.
  • Dr. Luke Nyakiti was hired as a post-doctoral research associate in mechanical engineering.
  • Holt Shad was hired as a research associate in electrical and computer engineering.
  • Glenda Shumate was hired as a senior office assistant in the dean's office.

Grants and Contracts

Center for Engineering Outreach

  • Dr. A. Dean Fontenot was awarded $3,846 by THECB/Technology Workforce Development. The title of the proposal was "Engineering Camps for Shake Hands with Your Future."

Chemical Engineering

  • Dr. Lenore L. Dai was awarded $110,000 by THECB - ARP - 2007. The title of the proposal was "One-Step Pickering Emulsion Polymerization: A Novel Way to Bridge Organics and Inorganics."
  • Dr. Gregory B. McKenna was awarded $472,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Ultrathin Polymer Films: Viscoelasticity, Physical Aging, and Failure."
  • Dr. Gregory B. McKenna was awarded $10,750 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. The title of the proposal was "JPS - Physics."
  • Dr. Brandon Weeks was awarded $6,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "REU/CAREER: Understanding Nanoscale Properties of Energetic Materials."

College of Engineering

  • Dr. Richard O. Gale was awarded $3,846 by THECB/Technology Workforce Development. The title of the proposal was "Engineering Camps for Shake Hands with Your Future."

Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics

  • Drs. James C. Dickens, Magne Kristiansen, and Andreas Neuber were awarded $3,453,000 by the US Army Space & Missile Defense Command. The title of the proposal was "Compact Pulsed Power for Defense Applications."
  • Drs. James C. Dickens and John J. Mankowski were awarded $239,249 by the Office of Naval Research. The title of the proposal was "Counter IED Diagnostics (Mastroianni/ONR)." James Dickens and John Mankowski are Co-PIs.
  • Drs. James C. Dickens and Andreas A. Neuber were awarded $100,000 by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The title of the proposal was "VUV Radiation and Breakdown (Barker/NE)." James Dickens and Andreas Neuber are Co-PIs.
  • Dr. Michael G. Giesselmann was awarded $89,578 by TECO Westinghouse. The title of the proposal was "Development of a Smart Controller and Auxiliary Power Supply for MW-Level Motor Drives."

Electrical and Computer Engineering

  • 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."
  • Dr. Tanya N. Karp was awarded $3,846 by THECB/Technology Workforce Development. The title of the proposal was "Engineering Camps for Shake Hands with Your Future."

Industrial Engineering

  • Dr. Hong Chao Zhang was awarded $31,925 by ATC Logistics & Electronics Inc. The title of the proposal was "Life Cycle Analysis for End-of-Life Set Top Boxes Refurbishing and Recycling."

Mechanical Engineering

  • Dr. Sukalyan Bhattacharya was awarded $22,905 by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The title of the proposal was "Analysis of Flow Around and Inside Solid Surfaces using Generic Exact Solutions."
  • Dr. Valery I. Levitas and Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya were awarded $100,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Melt-Dispersion Mechanism for Energetic Reactions of Aluminum Nanoparticles."
  • Dr. Derrick E. Tate was awarded $1,700 by the Texas Space Grant Consortium. The title of the proposal was "Texas Space Grant Consortium Design Challenge."

Nano Tech Center

  • Dr. Jordan M. Berg, Dr. Ayrton Bernussi, Dr. Mark W. Holtz, Dr. Sergey A. Nikishin, and Dr. Henryk Temkin were awarded $280,222 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "NIRT: Nano-Engineering Efficient Optoelectronic Devices."

Water Resources Center

  • Dr. Audra N. Morse was awarded $16,484.82 by the Environmental Protection Agency. The title of the proposal was "Center for Water Law and Policy - - EPA Funding."

Publications

Timothy Wood, research aide in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, presented a paper that he wrote with Dr. Charles Newhouse entitled "The Effect of Temperature on the Effective Prestressing Force at Release for PCBT Girders" at the 2008 SEI/ASCE Structures Congress in Vancouver, Canada.

Student Accomplishments

Adrian Escudero and Didiana Rojas, undergraduate researchers with the McNair Scholars Program, attended the West Texas A&M research conference in Canyon on April 11 and placed second for undergraduate research in "Cartilage Segmentation of the Human Arthritic Knee." Adrian and Didiana are mentored by Dr. Javad Hashemi.

Timothy Sansone, a student in civil and environmental engineering, won first place at the Texas Section of ASCE Spring Meeting Student Paper Contest. His paper was entitled, "The Solution to a More Efficient Infrastructure: An Ethical Response to Privatization."

Muneem Shahriar, a student in electrical and computer engineering, is one of the recipients of the AT&T Chancellor's Endowed Fellowship award for the pursuit a doctoral degree. Muneem will study under Dr. Hamed Sari-Sarraf.

The Texas Tech student chapter of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers was awarded the "Most Outstanding Student Chapter" at the Regional Leadership Development Conference conference in El Paso, Texas on April 4-6.

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

  College of Engineering Today  
         

2008 Texas Tech University | All Rights Reserved | Unsubscribe

Nov 20, 2014Apr 30, 2020