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News

PE Groundbreaking
PE Groundbreaking

Petroleum Engineering Groundbreaking

On October 5, 2012, Texas Tech broke ground on a new facility to house the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, welcoming a new era in petroleum engineering production and operations education.

The $20 million project will house 40,000 square feet of formal teaching environments with hands-on applications and modern research facilities. Funding was provided entirely through generous donor support during the Texas Tech University System's $1 billion campaign, Vision and Tradition: The Campaign for Texas Tech.

Construction is expected to be completed in time to offer courses and instruction in fall 2013. For more information on the building, visit www.depts.ttu.edu/pe/building/.


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Joseph Urban Susan Urban Vittal Rao
Joseph Urban Susan Urban Rao

Engineering, Law School Awarded Cybersecurity Grant

Collaboration between the Texas Tech School of Law and the Whitacre College of Engineering has resulted in a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for cybersecurity education. The grant involves the development of joint educational activities between the two schools and is designed to provide opportunities for law and engineering students to prepare them for the cybersecurity challenges ahead in their careers after graduation.

The nearly $300,000 grant runs for two years.

Dr. Victoria Sutton, Horn Professor at the School of Law, who spearheaded efforts to secure the grant with the assistance of Dean Emeritus Walter B. Huffman, chairs the project. The NSF grant was awarded in part due to the value of the unique partnership with the engineering college, with principal investigator Dr. Joseph Urban, professor of industrial engineering; and co-PIs, Dr. Susan D. Urban, professor of industrial engineering; and Dr. Vittal Rao, professor of electrical and computer engineering.


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Student News

Stanley Selected for IEEE/PES Scholarship

Justin Stanley, a junior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected for an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Power & Energy Society (PES) Scholarship. Under this program, recipients can graduate with recognition as being a PES Scholar, receive up to $7,000 in scholarship funds, and gain industrial experience through internships or co-ops.

The PES Scholar recipients are selected by industry and academic representatives based primarily upon: academic preparation; extra-curricular activities and leadership; interest in engineering in general, and power and energy engineering in particular; and overall assessment of student's potential for a successful power and energy engineering career.


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Lee
Lee

Lee Places in ASME/STLE Poster Presentation Competition

Sungae Lee, a doctoral student in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, won second place in the Student Poster Presentation competition at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers (STLE) International Joint Tribology Conference 2012 in Denver, Colo.

Her paper was titled "Effects of mechanical contact stress on magnetic properties of ferromagnetic film." Lee's advisor is Dr. Chang-Dong Yeo, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.


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Faculty News

Green Saed
Green Saed

Engineering Professors Quantify Carbon Nanotubes

A group of Texas Tech researchers, including Dr. Micah Green, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, and Dr. Mohammad Saed, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, have successfully built a testing apparatus that can quantify the presence of carbon nanotubes in a given sample. The researchers, through microwave-based heating, have been able to quantify carbon nanotube loading inside a plant sample.

Carbon nanotubes could pave the way for remarkable technology, from improved computer chips, flexible computer screens, or body armor, to health applications such as bone healing and cancer treatments. “What makes nanotubes even more remarkable is the fact that so many of their properties are off the charts,” said Green. “They are both electrically and thermally conductive, plus they are mechanically strong. It is rare that a substance would combine all three.”

The findings of the research, completed with the new apparatus, were recently published in a paper titled “Detection of carbon nanotubes in biological samples through microwave-induced heating” by Irin et al. in the journal Carbon.


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Alumni News

Walker
Walker

Walker Named Young Civil Engineer of the Year

Dr. Shane Walker, a 2004 graduate with a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering, was awarded the Young Civil Engineer of the Year award by the El Paso Branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

Shane is an assistant professor of civil engineering at The University of Texas at El Paso where he teaches and researches water treatment and desalination.


 



Grants and Contracts

September 18, 2012 – October 24, 2012

Chemical Engineering

  • Dr. Sindee L. Simon was awarded $206,801 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Nanoconfinement and its Influence on Polymerization."
  • Dr. Harvinder S. Gill was awarded $2,205,000 by the National Institutes of Health. The title of the proposal was "Pollen Grains as Trojan Horses for Oral Vaccination."
  • Drs. Karlene A. Hoo, Muhammad N. Karim, and Raghunathan Rengasamy were awarded $13,939 by Various Sponsors - Industrial. The title of the proposal was "Process Control Consortium."
  • Dr. Rajesh S. Khare was awarded $60,287 by the U.S. Army and Battelle Memorial Inst. The title of the proposal was "Simulation Tools for Calculating Local Mechanical Properties of Polymer Nanocomposites using Nanorheology."

Civil and Environmental Engineering

  • Dr. Kishor C. Mehta was awarded $168,018 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "IPA Hazard Mitigation and Structural Engineering."

Computer Science

  • Dr. Yong Chen was awarded $3,300 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Center for Cloud and Autonomic Computing Site at Texas Tech University (CAC@TTU)."

Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation

  • Drs. Alon Kvashny, Hongchao Liu, Cynthia B. McKenney, Moon-Cheol Won, and Richard E. Zartman were awarded $53,251 by the TX Dept of Transportation. The title of the proposal was "Lubbock TxDOT IAC 05-1XXIA001." Liu is the PI.
  • Drs. Priyantha W. Jayawickrama, William D. Lawson, James G. Surles, and Timothy A. Wood were awarded $270,132 by the TX Dept of Transportation. The title of the proposal was "TxDOT 0-6788 Reliability Based Deep Foundation Design using Texas Cone Penetrometer (TCP) Test."

Center for Nanophotonics

  • Drs. Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin were awarded $386,198 by the U.S. Dept of Homeland Security. The title of the proposal was "ARI-MA: Collaborative Research: Hexagonal Boron Nitride Based Neutron Detectors (Homeland Security)."
  • Drs. Hongxing Jiang and Jingyu Lin were awarded $390,000 by the National Science Foundation. The title of the proposal was "Erbium Doped III-Nitrides for Optical Communications and Silicon Photonics."

Center for Pulsed Power and Power Electronics

  • Drs. Stephen B. Bayne and Michael G. Giesselmann were awarded $50,000 by the U.S. Army Research Office. The title of the proposal was "Semiconductor Evaluation for EM Gun Applications."
  • Drs. Stephen B. Bayne and Michael G. Giesselmann were awarded $300,945 by the Ctr for Commercialization of Electric Technologies. The title of the proposal was "Technology Solution for Wind Integration."

Mechanical Engineering

  • Dr. Chang Dong Yeo was awarded $84,857 by Seagate Technology. The title of the proposal was "Microwear Mechanism of Head/Disk Carbon Film in Hard Disk Drive."
  • Dr. Yanzhang Ma was awarded $43,000 by ARO/Iowa State Univ. The title of the proposal was "Strain-induced Phase Transformations in Ceramics under High Pressure."
  • Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya was awarded $20,000 by DOE/Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC. The title of the proposal was "Thermite Combustion in a Variety of Environments for Cutting and Welding Applications."
  • Drs. Juan G. Araya and Luciano Castillo were awarded $25,372 by NSF/Univ of TX - San Antonio. The title of the proposal was "Understanding Stratification and Wake Evolution Due to Thermal Fields for Wind-turbine Array over a Rough-terrain."

Smart Grid Energy Center

  • Dr. Vittal S. Rao was awarded $19,220 by the Northrop Grumman Corporation. The title of the proposal was "Cyber Security SCADA Protocol Unique Digital Signature Tool."
Events

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



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