- MME's Professor Lloyd Smith on National Public Radio
- Dr. Smith was a guest on the July 4th National Public Radio’s (NPR) Talk of the Nation; Science Friday. Dr. Smith talked about maple baseball bats.
- Talk of the Nation, a nationally distributed radio program from NPR, links the news headlines with what's on people's minds. On Friday's journalist and host Ira Flatow is joined by listeners and studio guests to explore science related topics.
- Science Friday's web site with audio of recent shows may be found at http://www.sciencefriday.com/.
- Thomas Barlow (WSU ME class 1957) Begins Term as ASME President
- NEW YORK, June 12, 2008 – Thomas M. Barlow, formerly of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, is the 127th president of ASME. Barlow will serve a one-year term, effective June 2008.
- The announcement was made during the proceedings of the 2008 ASME Annual Meeting, June 7-11, in Orlando, Fla.
- A longtime member of ASME, Barlow has participated on numerous technical, regional and Society-wide committees and boards and has demonstrated a strong record of support and leadership in student outreach, membership development, technology and engineering diversity. He is a fellow of ASME and former member of the ASME Board of Governors, serving from 2003 to 2006.
- Barlow is the recipient of the ASME Advanced Energy Systems Division Award and has co-authored several papers, including "Benefits of Energy Storage Technologies" published in 1984. Barlow served as the site manager of the Mechanical Energy Storage Technology Project of the U.S. Department of Energy from 1977 to 1981. He also served as a mechanical engineer, specializing in aircraft structures, while on active duty at the U.S. Air Force Research and Development Command at Wright-Patterson Air Base in Ohio, from 1957 to 1960.
- Barlow attended Washington State University and received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1957. He also earned an M.B.A. degree from Golden Gate University in 1985.
- Barlow has been a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and American Society for Engineering Management, and has served on the Engineering and Computer Science Research Advisory Council at California State University at Fresno. He is currently a member of the External Advisory Board of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department at Washington State University and also member of the Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies. Barlow is the recipient of the ASME Dedicated Service Award and the Society’s Membership Development Award.
- Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences. ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the global engineering and technology community. ASME has more than 127,000 members worldwide.
- Source: ASME press release: http://www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/PressReleases/Thomas_Barlow_Begins_Term.cfm
- Sarah Miller has been awarded a Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today Scholarship (FeMET)
- Sarah Miller, Materials Science and Engineering, Washington State University has won a Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today Scholarship (FeMET). The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology Foundation have joined together to create the Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today [FeMET] Initiative to increase the number of students studying metallurgy and materials science in North America, and to increase the number of such students electing to pursue careers in the iron and steel industry upon graduation. Ten [10] scholarships of $5000 each will be awarded to college juniors for the 2008-2009 school year. Each scholarship will include a paid internship at a North American steel company during the summer of 2009 and a second scholarship of $5000 in the student¹s senior year, based on satisfactory academic and internship performance. Congratulations Sarah!
- Professor W.H. Katie Zhong presented a short course at Boeing; Nanocomposites and their Functionalities for Aerospace
- Professor W.H. Katie Zhong of WSU MME presented a two-day class (16 hours) on June 2-3, 2008 to professional engineers from Boeing and selected Boeing partners on the subject of Nanocomposites and their Functionalities for Aerospace. The course was organized and funded by Boeing Ed Wells and the Boeing Learning, Training & Development organizations. It was in high demand as the class was full with a long waiting list. The benefits include the initiation of nanotechnology to another class of engineers who will bring that experience back and infuse it into their home organizations, as well as introducing Boeing engineers to the capabilities of WSU in this leading edge field of research. As evidenced by post-class emails, several Boeing engineers have already expressed interest in joining WSU grad school in nanotechnology and others have refocused their career objectives toward more emphasis on nanotechnology.
- Material Advantage Goes to Washington D.C.
- This month, more than 60 students, faculty members, and industry professionals met in Washington, D.C., to support an issue that affects materials scientists and engineers in all sectors: better funding for science and engineering research in the United States. Members of this group visited the offices of Congressional leaders to encourage strong increases in funding for science agencies like the U.S. National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The visits were part of the annual Congressional Visits Day activities organized by the Federation of Materials Societies, which coordinates an orientation session for volunteer scientists and engineers. This year's event took place April 8–9 and included the participation of eight Material Advantage chapters: Drexel University, Iowa State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Johns Hopkins University, University of Tennessee, University of Washington, Virginia Tech, and Washington State University. Those who couldn't make the trip to the nation's capital showed their support by sending letters to members of Congress. If you couldn't attend Congressional Visits Day but would like to lend your support to materials science and engineering, visit the Materials Voice web site, run by the Materials Research Society, through the link below. Here you can personalize and send messages to members of Congress in support of the physical sciences. http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=MRS
- Rebecca Hiles is WSU Student Employee of the Year!
- Congratulations to Rebecca Hiles, the WSU Student Employee of the Year and Washington State Student Employee of the Year! Rebecca worked with Annette Cavalieri in the MME Undergraduate student office. Rebecca has moved on to new challenges.
- Material Advantage Awarded $800 Grant
- The Washington State University Material Advantage Chapter has been awarded a grant of $800 for their project, "Bringing Materials Science & Engineering to the Junior High Science Curriculum for the Washington state Assessment of Student Learning."
- Material Advantage Students Bring the Trophy Home
- The MSE students just competed in the annual WSU-UI paper night competition,where the Material Advantage chapter hosts the regional professional ASM Inland Empire Chapter from Spokane for a night of presentations by undergraduates from both schools. 3 students from each school presented their research activities and results, and we are pleased to announce that Kale Stephenson won first place, and Jameson Root won third place. Due to the performance of Kale, Jameson, and Casey Stratton, the total scores for the WSU team were high enough to bring the ASM Inland Empire paper night trophy back to the WSU campus. Awards were also given to students who submitted microscopy photos for a variety of categories. Whitney Patterson of Washington State University also won an award for the most artistic electron microscopy photo. The ASM Inland Empire chapter gave awards totaling over $2000 on April 8th to the 6 students in the speaking competition and students that competed in the microscopy competition.
- Ok Joon Kim (PhD) Named MME Outstanding Researcher Award
- Isaac Sprague (MS) Named MME Outstanding Researcher Award
- Alex Ockfen Named MME Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award
- Romit Dhar Wins Grand Prize in 2008 MRS Entrepreneurship Challenge
- Competition finals for the MRS Entrepreneurship Challenge gave attendees a look at what it takes to pitch an idea to practicing venture capitalists. Now in its third year, the MRS Entrepreneurship Challenge continues to help our members develop the entrepreneurial skills that get their ideas out of the lab and directly into the marketplace. After an introduction to the competition goals and format, the three finalist teams pitched their materials technology based business plans to a panel of six judges from the venture capital community. The questions from the judges were challenging, but were well addressed by the teams. The participants enjoyed a celebratory reception and dinner following the presentations where they were introduced to the creators of the competition, the venture capitalists that participated as judges and sponsors, and MRS officers and HQ executive staff. The grand prize award of $3000 was presented with a laser etched crystal award to Washington State University team Romit Dhar and Avimanyu Datta. Team mentor, Therus Kolff, was in attendance as well as the team accepted the award for their business plan entitled, "Cost Effective Single Crystal Piezoelectric Devices for Energy Harvesting and Transduction". Romit Dhar is a research assistant for the Materials Research Center at WSU.
- Dr. Jen-Yuan (James) Chang Chairs ASME ISPS’08 Conference
- Dr. Jen-Yuan (James) Chang, Assistant Professor of the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, is the Conference Chair for the 18th ASME Annual Conference on Information Storage and Processing Systems (ASME ISPS’08) to be held at Santa Clara University, California, USA from June 16 to June 17, 2008. The ISPS is the division of American Society of Mechanical Engineers focuses primary on Information Storage and Processing Systems. This annual international conference integrates world-wide research and development works contributed by universities and industries R&D. Relevant technologies in the annual ISPS conference include (a) magnetic and optical storage systems such as rigid disk, flexible disk, tape media, and optical storage systems, (b) information processing systems such as copiers, printers, digital cameras, scanners, and data servers, and (c) intelligent machines, biomedical equipment, nano/micro-electrical-mechanical systems, and wearable systems. Contributions are solicited to be presented in this conference. Dr. Chang has been participating in the division’s executive committee services since 2005 as the division’s program chair, conference publication chair, graduate student fellowship and scholarship chair, and the newly appointed conference chair. With support from WSU, Tri-Cities, and Dr. Chang and his technical staff, Mr. Peter Wicks has developed an on-line paper submission system for the conference. Interested individuals can find the conference program details in the ASME website at http://divisions.asme.org/isps/conf/ISPS08 and the paper submission process and publication details at http://engconf.tricity.wsu.edu.
- Dr. Jen-Yuan (James) Chang Develops Automated Agricultural Robotic System for Precise Pesticide Application
- Dr. Jen-Yuan (James) Chang, Assistant Professor of the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, is collaborating with Dr. F.J. Pierce, Director, and Dr. M. Kise, Research Engineer, of the Center for Precision Agricultural Systems at WSU Prosser, and Dr. D.B. Walsh, WSU, Department of Entomology to develop an automated robotic system to precisely apply pesticides at the base of the grapevines. With funding from the Washington State Agricultural Research Center, Dr. Chang is leading ME senior Mr. Eric Allwine, and EE senior Mr. Todd Lee from WSU, Tri-Cities to design and build a survey robot that will create a map of a vineyard, wirelessly transmit the data to form a navigation map and map for local precision control. The second robot that is built on top of the survey robot is equipped with a 6 degree-of-freedom manipulator to automatically wrap a ring around individual vines to prevent cutworms from infesting the trunk. Taken into account of localized robot car tilt together with vision system and laser sensor inputs, the manipulator will automatically adjust to the optimal orientation for wrapping. This will reduce labor cost in vineyard operation and will significantly reduce the amount of pesticides in the environment, as well as to improve the quality of the grapes to “organic” standard for higher price and opportunities for Washington State made wine into international market. WSU, Tri-Cities engineering majors Eric Allwine and Todd Lee have applied what they learned from ME 401 Mechatronics taught by Dr. Chang into this research project. Also, they obtain world-class, face to face research experience in their undergraduate education with WSU through this project.
- Dr. Firas AKasheh joined Tuskegee University as Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering
- Dr. Firas AKasheh joined Tuskegee University as Assistant Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Dr. Akasheh earned his MS and PhD degrees at WSU.
- Dr. Russell Westphal Develops Novel Approach to Icing Studies
- Dr. Russell V. Westphal of the WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, along with WSU staff Steve Jordan, Don Frame, and students Bryce Thompson and Jimmy Wanner, are applying unique, robust measurement systems developed in their WSU Tri-Cities laboratory during the last two years to help characterize the performance of an aircraft wing in icing conditions. The project involves a novel approach to icing studies, whereby the accretion of ice on a wing would be simulated by adding a simulated ice shape to a wind tunnel model and then measuring its influence. A more prevalent approach to icing studies involves the use of an "icing tunnel", but these tests are expensive and result in somewhat random-shaped ice accretions that can be difficult to quantify. The measurements made on a few simulated ice accretion shapes will then be compared to computational models. If the computational work proves sufficiently accurate, future icing characterization may bypass wind tunnel or icing tunnel studies entirely. This work is being done with the collaboration and financial support of Northrop Grumman Corp.
- Whitney Patterson, Material Science Student, Wins a $500 TMS Travel Scholarship
- Materials Science student, Whitney Patterson, has won a $500 TMS Travel Scholarship, one of only 10 in the country, for the TMS Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana!
- Thomas M. Barlow, 1957 ME graduate and MME Advisory board member named president-elect of ASME.
- NEW YORK, Nov. 12, 2007 – Thomas M. Barlow, formerly of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, has been named president-elect of ASME. Barlow will become the 127th president of ASME when he begins his one-year term in June 2008.
- A longtime member of ASME, Barlow has participated on numerous technical, regional and Society-wide committees and boards and has demonstrated a strong record of support and leadership in student outreach, membership development, technology and engineering diversity. He is a Fellow of ASME and former member of the ASME Board of Governors, serving from 2003 to 2006.
- During his association with ASME, Barlow has served within the local, regional and technical division structures, including participation on the Council on Engineering, the Public Information Operating Board, the Board of Governors’ Committee on Organization and Rules and the Editorial Advisory Board of Mechanical Engineering magazine. He is also a member of the ASME Auxiliary.
- In the area of student outreach, Barlow has served as a judge in student paper competitions and played a key role in developing ASME’s university-level Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge.
- Barlow enjoyed a 40-year career at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, serving in a number of management and leadership positions before retiring in 2000. His professional interests include instrumentation, energy storage systems and machine tool technology, as well as project and program management.
- Barlow is the recipient of the ASME Advanced Energy Systems Division Award and has co-authored several papers, including “Benefits of Energy Storage Technologies” published in 1984. Barlow served as the site manager of the Mechanical Energy Storage Technology Project of the U.S. Department of Energy from 1977 to 1981. He also served as a mechanical engineer, specializing in aircraft structures, while on active duty at the U.S. Air Force Research and Development Command at Wright-Patterson Air Base in Ohio, from 1957 to 1960.
- Barlow attended Washington State University and received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 1957. He also earned an M.B.A. degree from Golden Gate University in 1985.
- Barlow has been a member of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, American Society for Engineering Management, and has served on the Engineering and Computer Science Research Advisory Council at the California State University at Fresno. He is currently a member of the External Advisory Board of the Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department at Washington State University, a member of the Tau Beta Pi, Sigma Tau and Phi Eta Sigma honor societies, and is the recipient of the ASME Dedicated Service Award and the Society’s Membership Development Award.
- Founded in 1880 as the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, ASME is a not-for-profit professional organization promoting the art, science and practice of mechanical and multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences. ASME develops codes and standards that enhance public safety, and provides lifelong learning and technical exchange opportunities benefiting the engineering and technology community.
- Source: ASME press release: http://www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/PressReleases/Thomas_Barlow_Named.cfm
- Lecture Examines Global Steel Industry
- Professor Yasutaka Iguchi, the president of Hachinohe National College of Technology and former dean of graduate studies in Tohoku University in Japan, spoke on the long-term impact of the steel industry at a lecture last week on the WSU campus. Iguchi, winner of the 2007 Association for Iron and Steel Technology John F. Elliot Lectureship, selected WSU as one of three institutions in the U.S. to present his seminar, entitled, “Far-Reaching Impact of Today’s Steel Industry Relative to metals, Ceramics, and Bio-Materials.’’ At the seminar Iguchi discussed the state of the steel industry in Japan and in the world including the merger and cooperation among steel industries all over the world and the increase in Chinese steel production because of the rapid economic growth there. He presented new and advanced developments to make steel-production less energy-intensive and more environmentally friendly. Some of these innovations include using low grade iron ore and more efficient coke ovens that produce carbon for the steel. The interest in steel as an innovative material continues to grow in automotive and biomedical applications, he said. For instance, advanced stainless steel wire is in competition with titanium wire for use in functional electrical stimulation (FES) devices for the human body. Faculty and student groups, including the Materials Advantage and Materials Research Society student clubs, met with Iguchi to discuss his research, perspectives on materials engineering, and management of intellectual property during his stay at WSU. Dr. Iguchi received his MS and PhD from the Department of Metallurgy at the Tohoku University in Japan. He was a Professor at the Tohoku University from 1974 until 2006, serving as dean of the Graduate School of Engineering in 2006. He is currently professor emeritus there. He is president of the Hachinohe National College of Technology and of the Japan Institute of Metals. He is also a board member to a number of organizations, including Iron and Steel Institute of Japan, The Engineering Academy of Japan, and the Society of Intellectual Property Rights. Dr. Iguchi is also a Special Adviser of Intellectual Property to the Superior Court in Japan.
- Federal Appropriation Would Aid WSU Research
- Research programs in WSU's College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences and Center for Materials Research would each receive $1 million in funding through the 2008 Defense Appropriations Bill, which passed the US Senate this week.
The appropriations would support research in microwave sterilization technology and on harnessing the power created by positron energy conversion.
The positron research is being done in the Center for Materials Research, led by Dr. Kelvin Lynn, Boeing Chair of Advanced Materials.
Positrons, particles that are like electrons but with the opposite electrical charge, could well be the fuel of choice for space propulsion in extremely remote locations where transporting the weight of other fuels is impractical and solar energy is unavailable. WSU researchers are exploring this idea in conjunction with the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
"This funding will allow for the beginning of pioneering research into energy storage of positrons," Lynn said.
"This research is valuable for the future not only of space travel but also for enhancing current uses in human, animal, and plant medical science, reducing and eliminating pathological biological agents, reducing defects in metals and materials and enhancing national defense. The defense appropriations bill was passed in the Senate by a voice vote.
It will now be reconciled with the House version of the bill before being sent to the president.
Taken from WSU News, October 4, 2007 - Dr. Russell Westphal Deploys a Unique New Flow Sensor for Aircraft
- The WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering is collaborating with Northrop Grumman Corporation to develop small, lightweight, robust, low-power, entirely self- contained instruments that attach non-intrusively to the skin of an aircraft for in-flight flow measurements. The collaboration began in 2005 and has produced two different types of instruments that have successfully provided in-flight measurements of skin friction and boundary layer properites on over a dozen flights of two different aircraft at altitudes up to 35,000 ft. The project is led by WSU Tri-Cities Mechanical Engineering Professor Russell Westphal, working with WSU TC technical staff Donald Frame and Steven Jordan. A number of WSU students have been involved, including alumni Mark Bleazard (MSME 2006, now working for Boeing) and Seth Thompson (BSME 2007, now working for Energy Northwest). Current WSU undergraduates Bryce Thompson, Evan Comben, Lindsay Wiseman, Scott Hertzel and Derek Dixon have also contributed to the work. The ongoing project will deploy a unique new flow sensor in upcoming flights and extend the effectiveness of these instruments for testing aimed at improving the aerodynamics of high altitude, long endurance aircraft. Additional proposals are pending to extend the applications of these instruments to higher flight speeds and other applications where their attributes are also attractive.
- Materials Science and Engineering Students Win National Awards
- Washington State University's student chapter of Material Advantage has received two prestigious national awards. They were named the winners of the 2007 World Materials Day competition, based on their outreach efforts in the field of materials science towards K-12 students. Out of nearly 100 student chapters nationwide, they have also been named one of five student Chapters of Excellence for 2007.
The WSU group, which includes about 25 students, has received many national awards in recent years and has been named one of the top five chapters each of the last seven years, making it one of the most nationally recognized student chapters in the country.
"In our increasingly globally competitive marketplace, it's more important than ever that high school and junior high school students know about the great career possibilities and really cool stuff that material scientists and engineers do," said David Bahr, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and advisor to the WSU Chapter of Materials Advantage.
"Our MSE students do a great job of bringing this fascinating world of engineering to younger students and the public in a way that's just a lot of fun."
Taken from WSU Today, Thursday, September 13, 2007 - Robert and Cecilia Richards Driven to Sustainability
- WSU's School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering professors Robert and Cecilia Richards recently purchased their pink electric car, called the Xebra, in an effort to reduce emissions and do their part for the environment.
The four-door, three-wheeled Zap Xebra is the first of its kind in Pullman. The surprisingly-spacious 1,800 pound Chinese import, roughly the size of a Geo Metro, has a top speed of 40 miles per hour with a maximum travel distance of 25 miles per charge.
At a cost of about two cents per mile for electricity, the Zapcar, as it's also called, gets a gold star for economic efficiency. In the world of gas guzzlers, which usually average at least 10 to 12 cents per mile for fuel, that's the equivalent of getting 160 to 180 miles per gallon.
But saving money wasn't the primary motive behind Richards' purchase. "The real advantage from our point of view, as engineers, is that when you deal with electricity you don't have all the emissions," Cecilia said. "Electric cars use electricity produced from power plants which have more thoroughly regulated emissions standards than automobiles." "It's a practical way of getting away from oil and gas," Robert said.
Electricity isn't the only sustainable alternative fuel source that Robert is testing. He, along with a number of WSU engineering students, are developing a biodiesel processing system that could use processed cooking grease to fuel garbage trucks from the facility motor pool.
The current system would use leftover frying oils from the Hillside Cafe.
If sucessful, the project could expand to provide fuel for the entire WSU Facilities Operations motor pool.
Taken from WSU Today, September 27, 2007 - Sudip Dasgupta, Material Science Graduate Student, Wins in International Poster Competition
- Materials Science graduate student,Sudip Dasgupta, won third place for his poster, "Hydroxyapatite Grain Size Effect on Bone Cell Materials Interaction" in the CEC Graduate Student Poster Competition held at the International Materials Science and Technology 2007 Conference and Exhibition in Detroit, Michigan September 16-20, 2007.
- Megan Reynolds, Material Science Student, Wins in Material Advantage Speaking Contest
- Materials Science student, Megan Reynolds, won second runner up (third place) in the Material Advantage Speaking Contest and received $350 for winning the award. Megan's talk, "Microstructural Analysis and Growth Mechanisms of Silicon Beads Using Fluidized Bed Methods", was presented Sunday at the student speaking contest for the Materials Science and Technology (MS&T) Meeting in Detroit, where students from nine universities competed in presentations to over 100 audience members and a panel of judges from the MS&T member societies (ACerS, ASM International, TMS and AIST). She later gave a longer version of the presentation to the Special Session hosted by the Journal of Undergraduate Materials Research. All speaking contestants had to do an internal competition at their university to participate, Megan participated in the paper night competition in April with ASM from Spokane. Megan's work is part of her senior thesis project, and has been supported by REC Silicon in Moses Lake, WA. REC is a major manufacturer of silicon for solar cells. Her advisors are Dr. David Bahr and Dr. M. Grant Norton.
- Dr. Jeongmin Ahn's Innovation Could Replace Batteries
- A prototype plastic 'Swiss Roll' developed by Assistant Professor Dr. Jeongmin Ahn in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, and a group of undergraduate and graduate students may some day allow cell phones and other portable electronics to be powered for hundreds of hours instead of just a few. Dr. Ahn and his team of students will take their 'Swiss Roll' as one of ten teams invited to participate as finalists in the national Innovation Showcase competition sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The winning team will receive seed funding for their project. The event will take place November 9 in Seattle, before the 2007 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition. Students on the team include undergraduates Lindsay Sanford and James Huang, and graduate students ChienShung Lin and Jungmin Lee.
- Introducing New Faculty Member, Weihong (Katie) Zhong
- The School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering welcomes new faculty member, Associate Professor Dr. Katie Zhong. Dr. Zhong received her PhD from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics (BUAA) in 1994. Her research interests include nanocomposites and multifunctional materials, aerospace materials and composites, composite manufacturing technology, biomaterials and processing, renewable energy materials, and electronic materials.
- Undergraduates Tap into WSU Research
- Kale Stephenson's friends are doing manual labor or construction work at their summer jobs. The 20-year-old WSU junior spent his summer implanting ions on titanium samples. Stephenson has been working at WSU since the summer before his senior year at Pullman High School. "I've been doing serious research on complicated equipment," he said.
"I like to call it 'Grad School 101.'" Stephenson is part of a growing number of undergraduate students at WSU who are participating in research projects earlier in their college career. Stephenson plans to major in bioengineering in material sciences, a major he didn't know about before getting involved in research at WSU.
Taken from Moscow Pullman Daily News, August 3, 2007 - Summer 2007 REU
- Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) Poster Session was held on Thursday, August 2nd 2007 in the Facilities Communication Addition (CADD). This was the 9th summer of the ongoing REU program at WSU-MME. This year these undergraduate students were from schools such as the University of Montana, Cal-Poly San Luis Obispo, University of Texas - Pan American, SUNY-Buffalo, Walla Walla Community College, Boise State, Lousiana State, University of Puerto Rico - Humacao, South Florida, WSU and several others.
- Washington State University Material Advantage chapter hosts ASM International Vice President
- Dr. Dianne Chong, ASM International Vice President, recently visited the Washington State University chapter of Material Advantage on the WSU campus. Dr. Chong visited with faculty and administrators in WSU’s College of Engineering and the School Mechanical and Materials Engineering, as well as with Material Advantage advisor Dr. David Bahr and the club officers. In the evening, Dr. Chong spoke to an audience of about 50 students. She told them about the integral role that material scientists play at Boeing and the relationship between materials engineering and other programs within the large company. After the talk, she answered questions from students about the company, mentoring, career opportunities in materials science, and the Materials Advantage program. The visit was truly a great opportunity for the chapter to learn about Boeing and ASM.
- Finding a degree of satisfaction
- Nick Maximovich, a Richland resident, graduated this May from Washington State University Tri-Cities with a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering
and the beaming smile on his face while talking about achieving his life-long dream. The first time Nick Maximovich went to college, he only stayed one quarter, the second time he stayed nearly 40 years, chipping away at his degree class by class until he finally finished at age 70. His career as a student outlasted his career as an engineering draftsman. He retired from Fluor in 1997 at age 59.
Please see, http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/8860333p-8760898c.html Published Sunday, May 6th, 2007 for more of the story. - Russell Teeter and Mohammad Al-Khedher successful at Wiley Exposition
- Graduate students Russell Teeter and Mohammad Al-Khedher won awards in the Wiley Research Exposition 2007 in the Engineering and Architecture Division. Russell Teeter explained his research as: “Physical Phenomena governing projectile instabilities during penetration of granular media (e.g. sand) are not well understood. To gain insight into projectile – granular media interactions, 2-D mesoscale simulations were performed to examine projectile penetration into sand targets with explicit representation of sand grains and representative porosities.” Mohammad Al-Khedher said his research “…aims to develop a new technology to estimate and control nanomaterial behavior using advanced in-situ instruments and Artificial Intelligence. The proposed methodology in this research utilizes Artificial Neural Networks and image processing techniques to study the structural and mechanical properties of carbon nanotubes and to develop a quality control approach for the production of these nanostructures. This scalable process will dramatically improve nanotubes design, the use of carbon nanotubes in Nanotechnology and MEMS, and it will facilitate full scale production.”
- Prashanta Dutta developes novel microfluidic sensor
- Assistant Professor Prashanta Dutta and his colleagues at University of Akron have developed a novel microsensor to detect harmful pathogens in the environment.
The existing technique, which uses micro- or nano-pores to detect and separate particles, can only detect tiny volumes of material at a time in a single channel, limiting its effectiveness for detecting particles rapidly in large volumes. The improved design uses multiple microchannels for parallel processing of large volume of sample without any cross-contamination. The channels on the tiny microchip are less than 10 microns in size and can detect particles, ranging from a single molecule to a single cell, within a large sample (up to five milliliters of liquid, for instance). This integrated microdevice has been fabricated on polymeric materials at the Clean room facilities of Washington State University.
This microfluidic sensor shows great sensitivity in discriminating different nanoparticles and cells based on their sizes and charges. The researchers hope that the new system could someday allow detection of dangerous pathogens in food or the air, ranging from e-coli to anthrax, in minutes with a portable device.
- Nichole Schatz wins EPD Scholarship
- Nichole Schatz was awarded the Extraction and Processing Division Scholar award at the TMS 2007 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Orlando, Florida, in February 2007. This scholarship is a $2,000 cash award to undergraduate students majoring in the extraction and processing of minerals, metals and materials. She was also given the opportunity to select up to five Extraction & Processing Division-sponsored conference proceedings or textbooks to be donated in the recipient's name to her college or university library. Up to $500 for travel expenses was awarded in order to accept the award. This scholarship was open to full-time undergraduate applicants in their sophomore or junior years. Scholarship recipients are known as EPD Scholars.
- Dr. Matveev co-authors new book
- Dr. Konstantin Matveev, assistant professor in Mechanical Engineering co-authored a book on “Small Waterplane Area Ships”, published by Backbone Publishing in January 2007. His contributions to the book include a scale effect in model testing, wave resistance calculation, hydrofoil hydrodynamics, drag reduction by artificial cavitation, and concept design of future Small Waterplane Area Ships. These vessels have excellent seaworthiness and large deck area, which make them a superior ship type for many oceanic applications.
- Dr. Chang joins MME at Tri-Cities
- Dr. Jen-Yuan (James) Chang, an assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering at WSU Tri-Cities campus joined the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering in spring 2007. Dr. Chang is transforming his six-year Hard Disk Drive research, development, and manufacturing experience into teaching and research areas of mechanical dynamics, vibrations, controls, and mechatronics. Dr. Chang has been elected to serve as Program Chair on Executive Committee of ASME Information Storage and Processing Systems Division. Dr. Chang also served as publication chair in Micromechatronics for Information and Precision Equipment 2006 Conference.
- David Bahr awarded by TMS
- David Bahr is the 2007 recipient of the Robert Lansing Hardy Award from the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS). The national award each year recognizes a metallurgist under age 35 with “outstanding promise for a successful career" in the field of metallurgy. He will receive the award at the group’s annual meeting Februay 27, 2007 in Orlando, Florida.
- Lisa Anne Deibler wins at MS&T
- Lisa Anne Deibler a WSU MSE senior, won the National American Ceramic Society Student Speaking Contest at MS&T 06. Her presentation was on Ultrasonic Testing of High Attenuation Materials Using Pulse Compression Techniques. Material Advantage chapters were invited to send one student who had won a local speaking competition to the national competition to represent their club.
- Students work on FeMET Curriculum
- Whitney Patterson, a WSU freshman, and Nick Gosseen, a senior MME student are continuing work on the FeMET Curriculum Development Program. The program is funded by the Association for Iron and Steel Technology Foundation and the American Iron and Steel Institute and its objectives are to utilize undergraduate researchers to help improve metallurgy course content and resources for WSU students. Their work will aid the development of an educational WSU Ferrous Metallurgy website (femet.wsu.edu).
- Susmita Bose invited to Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium
- Susmita Bose, an associate professor of the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, was invited to participate at the "Kavli Frontiers of Science" symposium organized by the National Academy of Sciences (www.nasonline.org/kfos). Every year only 80-100 scientists in US under the age of 45 gets this invitation from the NAS to attend this highly prestigious meeting in which attendees are picked up by a committee of NAS members based on their scientific achievements.
This year the symposium took place at the Arnold Mabel Beckman Center, Irvine, CA from October 25 to 28, 2006 and it was jointly organized by the US National Academy of Sciences and Chinese Academy of Sciences. Only 35 scientists from US and 35 scientists from China were invited this time to attend this meeting. This symposium was of its own kind where it brought together professionals from many different disciplines such as chemistry, biology, physics, mathematics as well as electrical engineering, bioengineering, materials science and engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering, geophysics, astronomy.
Prof. Bose has also been invited by the US National Academy of Sciences to serve in a seven member organizing committee to lead the 2007 Kavli Frontiers of Science symposium which will be held in Beijing, China. As a part of the organizing committee member, she will develop and select topic/s for the next years' symposium and lead session on a selected topic. - Solar Splash and Dr. Matveev at Boats Afloat in Seattle
- Students from the Solar Splash club and their faculty advisor Assistant Professor Matveev from MME presented the solar-driven boat and ongoing research work at Boats Afloat Show in Seattle on September 15-17, 2006. Advanced energy-conserving and environmentally friendly marine technologies raised strong interest in the boating community. Efficient implementation of hydrodynamic and aerodynamic lift for high-speed boats is currently on the agenda of the Solar Splash team and a research group of Assistant Professor Matveev.
- Dr. Matveev receives grant
- Assistant Professor Matveev received a starting $15K grant from Art Anderson Associates to build a radio-controlled demonstrator of Power Augmented Ram (PAR) platform and to promote advanced marine technologies at Navy conferences. PAR platform on the full scale is expected to achieve speeds up to 150 mph. This craft can serve as a landing transport and operate in arctic, tundra, and shallow-water areas.
- Two MSE students win FeMET Scholarships from AIST
- The American Iron and Steel Institute and the Association for Iron and Steel Technology Foundation have joined together to create the Ferrous Metallurgy Education Today [FeMET] Initiative to increase the number of students studying metallurgy and materials science in North America, and to increase the number of such students electing to pursue careers in the iron and steel industry upon graduation. WSU MSE students, Jason W. Drexler and Nicole R. Schatz win FeMET Scholarships from AIST this year. Ten scholarships of $5000 each will be awarded to college juniors for the 2006-2007 school year. Each scholarship will include a paid internship at a North American steel company during the summer of 2007 and a second scholarship of $5000 in the student’s senior year, based on satisfactory academic and internship performance.
- Nicole Schatz awarded $6,000 ASM scholarship
- WSU Materials Science and Engineering senior, Nicole R. Schatz is one of the Undergraduate Scholarship Recipients, who wins a $6000 ASM scholarship this year. See the link below for the announcement. Nicole won the George A. Roberts Scholarships which was established in 1995 through a generous contribution by Dr. George A. Roberts, the past President of ASM and Retired CEO of Teledyne, as an expression of his commitment to education and the materials science and engineering community.
These scholarship awards were presented at the ASM Leadership Awards Luncheon, Monday, October 16, during the Materials Science & Technology Conference and Exhibition (MS&T '06) in Cincinnati, OH, October 15-19.
http://www.asminternational.org/images2/undergraduate_scholarships_2006.pdf - WSU students continue to win big scholarships in the Materials Advantage Club
- Nicole Schatz (MSE senior) won a $6000 ASM scholarship. Last year Jon Winterstein won the same award.
ASM Undergraduate Scholarship Program