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News |
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Allen |
Jayawickrama |
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Liu |
Senadheera |
TechMRT Part of Multi-Million Dollar Transportation Grant
Researchers from the Texas Tech Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation (TechMRT), are now part of a consortium to conduct cutting-edge research on transportation infrastructure in the region, with a specific focus on the impact of extreme climates on infrastructure.
The study is funded by a multi-million dollar University Transportation Center (UTC) grant provided by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA).
The TechMRT research team, made up of Dr. Sanjaya Senadheera, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and interim director of TechMRT; Dr. Priyantha Jayawickrama, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; Dr. Hongchao Liu, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering; and Cathy H. Allen, senior director of the Texas Tech T-STEM Center, joins seven other universities led by the University of Oklahoma. The Southern Plains Regional Transportation Center (SPTC) will represent Region 6 (Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and New Mexico). Texas Tech’s share of this $2.5 million grant is $222,500, with the possibility of a second tranche of $222,500 contingent upon the availability of federal funds.
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Student News |
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Li |
Banerjee |
Li and Banerjee Win Best Student Paper Awards at BioWireleSS
Two students under the direction of Dr. Changzhi Li, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, won best paper awards in the IEEE Radio Wireless Week in Newport Beach, Calif. in January. Both awards came in the Best Student Paper Award Contest at the 2014 IEEE Topical Conference on Biomedical Wireless Technologies, Networks, and Sensing Systems (BioWireleSS).
Yiran Li, a doctoral electrical engineering student, won first place for her paper titled "Movement-Immune Respiration Monitoring Using Automatic DC-Correction Algorithm for CW Doppler Radar System."
Sharmi Banerjee, an August 2013 graduate with a master of science in electrical engineering, won second place for her paper titled "PXI-based Non-Contact Vital Sign Detection System."
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Faculty News |
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Barhorst |
Barhorst Named ASME Fellow
Dr. Alan Barhorst, a professor of mechanical engineering, has been elected as a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).
There are more than 124,000 ASME members, and less than three percent of the total membership of the organization have been elevated to the level of fellow. Fellows have earned a membership grade of distinction and have been responsible for significant engineering achievements.
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Lin |
Lin Receives Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award
Dr. Jingyu Lin, Linda F. Whitacre Chair and professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been selected to receive the university's Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award.
Each year since 1976, the Texas Tech Parents Association has presented the Barnie E. Rushing Jr. Faculty Distinguished Research Award to recognize outstanding research and excellence in scholarship and creative activity by the faculty of the university. Ten faculty members of the Whitacre College of Engineering have previously received the award.
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Staff News |
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Ceja |
Ceja Named to Lubbock County General Assistance Board
Margie Ceja, staff advisor for the Department of Construction Engineering and Engineering Technology, has been appointed by the Lubbock County Commissioners' Court to serve on the Lubbock County General Assistance Board. She will serve as a board member for two years.
Lubbock County General Assistance is a public, tax-supported family agency established primarily to meet, on a temporary basis, the financial needs of the indigent families who are residents of Lubbock County. An advisory board assists the agency in recommending implementation of policies. The board is composed of seven Lubbock citizens appointed by the County Commissioners Court.
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Alumni News |
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Augsburger |
Augsburger Named To NAMM Board Of Directors
Blake Augsburger, a 1987 and 1989 graduate with a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science in electrical engineering, has been named to the board of directors of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM). The NAMM Board of Directors guides and leads NAMM and NAMM Foundation and offers counsel to the music product industry. NAMM's activities and programs are designed to promote music making to people of all ages. NAMM is comprised of approximately 9,000 Member companies located in more than 87 countries.
Augsburger is president of HARMAN Professional, a global manufacturer and marketer of professional audio, musician and lighting technologies. As executive vice president and country manager for the Americas at HARMAN International, he also plays a leading role in the company's consumer and automotive businesses. Blake was honored as a Distinguished Engineer by the Whitacre College of Engineering in 2009.
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Bourdon |
Enable Midstream Partners Names Bourdon President and CEO
Lynn L. Bourdon III, a 1984 Texas Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering, has been named president and CEO of Enable Midstream Partners, LP. He joins the company from Enterprise Products Partners, LP, where he most recently served as group senior vice president of NGL & Natural Gas Marketing, Petrochemical, Refined Products & Marine Services.
Enable Midstream is a joint venture formed in May 2013 that includes CenterPoint Energy, Inc. interstate pipelines and field services businesses and the midstream business of Enogex LLC, a previous subsidiary of OGE Energy Corp. It is managed by a general partner whose governance is shared by CenterPoint Energy and OGE on a 50/50 basis.
Enable Midstream owns, operates and develops strategically located natural gas and crude oil infrastructure assets. Its assets include approximately 11,000 miles of gathering pipelines, 11 major processing plants with approximately 1.9 billion cubic feet per day of processing capacity, approximately 7,800 miles of interstate pipelines (including Southeast Supply Header, LLC), approximately 2,300 miles of intrastate pipelines and eight storage facilities comprising 86.5 billion cubic feet of storage capacity.
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Martin |
Martin Serving as Secretary of the New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department
F. David Martin, a 1960 graduate with a bachelor of science in chemical engineering, has been confirmed by the state of New Mexico Senate as cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Energy, Minerals & Natural Resources Department.
The department has six divisions: Administrative Services, Energy Conservation and Management, Mining and Minerals, Oil Conservation, State Forestry and State Parks. In addition, the secretary has administrative oversight of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant Transportation Safety Coordinator, the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, the Game Commission, and the Youth Conservation Corps.
Martin's career includes extensive experience in the field of energy as an engineer and as a policy coordinator between the state of New Mexico and the United States Department of Energy. Before his appointment as cabinet secretary at the New Mexico Environment Department, Martin served as an adjunct associate professor at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology.
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Grants and Contracts |
January 14 – February 16, 2014
Investigator(s) |
Agency |
Title |
Amount |
Chemical Engineering |
Dr. Raghunathan Rengasamy |
U.S. Dept of Energy |
Model-based Sensor Placement for Component Condition Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis in Fossil Energy Systems |
$135,678 |
Dr. Sindee L. Simon |
National Science Foundation |
Tg Changes, Surface Effects, and Dynamics in Nanoconfined Polymers |
$246,000 |
Computer Science |
Dr. Yong Chen |
National Science Foundation |
GRI: Planning Grant: I/UCRC for Center for Cloud and Autonomic Computing Site at Texas Tech University (CAC@TTU) |
$330 |
Center for Multidisciplinary Research in Transportation |
Dr. Priyantha W. Jayawickrama
and Dr. William D. Lawson |
TX Dept of Transportation |
GEO101 Geotechnical Training - FY13-15 |
$30,462 |
Dr. Moon-Cheol Won |
TX Dept of Transportation |
Houston IAC |
$8,000 |
Dr. Theodore G. Cleveland |
TX Dept of Transportation |
TxDOT DES 601, DES 602, and DES 606 Course Instruction: Hydrology, Urban Storm Drain, and Watershed Modeling |
$63,631 |
Industrial Engineering |
Dr. Jennifer A. Farris,
Dr. Patrick E. Patterson, and
Dr. Janice Tolk |
Pepsico, Inc. |
A Systems Response to Safety |
$48,858 |
Mechanical Engineering |
Dr. Jian Sheng |
Gulf of Mexico Rsrch Initiative/UT Austin |
Consortium: The Impact of Biological, Physical and Chemical Processes on the Fate of Oil Spills- Bridging Small Scale Processes with Meso-scale Modeling |
$223,333 |
Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya |
Office of Naval Research |
Metal-hydride Based Reactive Material Composites |
$32,000 |
Dr. Michelle L. Pantoya |
DOE/Battelle Energy Alliance, LLC |
Thermite Combustion in a Variety of Environments for Cutting and Welding Applications |
$20,000 |
Water Resources Center |
Dr. Danny Reible |
Anchor QEA, LLC |
Contaminant Sorption and Degradation in a Sediment Cap |
$151,079 |
Dr. Danny Reible |
DuPont Company |
Studies in Support of South River VA Remedial Planning |
$435,000 |
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Events |
See a full listing of the college's events on the Engineering Master Calendar.
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