Spring 2011 - The newsletter of Christian Brothers University's
School of Engineering
Featured Story
Freshman Helps Shine Light on Campus
School of Engineering enlists students for solar panel project
When Caleb Smith (ME'14) was accepted to Christian Brothers University, the decision to attend was an easy one. He knew CBU had a great School of Engineering, he liked the amount of scholarships he was offered, and he heard many fond stories from an alumnus he trusted – his father. Caleb expected the small class sizes, the sense of community, but he did not expect to begin working on a solar powered lighting system his very first semester.
Sharp Manufacturing Company of America donated the solar panel to the School of Engineering to further the University’s sustainability practices and allow infusion of green technologies into the curriculum. At an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) student chapter meeting, volunteers were recruited for a planned service project using the solar panel to illuminate parts of campus. Just a freshman, Smith jumped at the chance. “I thought it would be a great way to get my feet wet in the shop, learn how to do some new things, and I knew it would look good on my resume.”
CBU senior and project leader, Andrew Greenop (ME'11), reflected on how the construction of the solar lighting system will benefit students now and in the future. “This is a great opportunity to learn how to lead a group of engineers towards the completion of a project. It has made us work together overcoming obstacles similar to those that we may encounter as professional engineers.”
The lighting system was designed by the CBU chapter of the ASME, and with the support structure nearly completed, next steps include securing it in the ground and implementing a motorized sun tracking device to maximize the energy captured by the solar panel.
However, this is just the beginning. Dr. Paul Shiue, professor of Mechanical Engineering, and project coordinator for the solar powered lighting system said, “Through this project students will study efficiency of energy conversion, control systems and manufacturing.”
Pictured above are Caleb Smith (ME'14), Shawn Jenkins (ME'13), and Andrew Greenop (ME'11), three of the mechanical engineering students who are designing and constructing the project.
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School of Engineering enlists students for solar panel project
When Caleb Smith (ME'14) was accepted to Christian Brothers University, the decision to attend was an easy one. He knew CBU had a great School of Engineering, he liked the amount of scholarships he was offered, and he heard many fond stories from an alumnus he trusted – his father. Caleb expected the small class sizes, the sense of community, but he did not expect to begin working on a solar powered lighting system his very first semester.
Sharp Manufacturing Company of America donated the solar panel to the School of Engineering to further the University’s sustainability practices and allow infusion of green technologies into the curriculum. At an American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) student chapter meeting, volunteers were recruited for a planned service project using the solar panel to illuminate parts of campus. Just a freshman, Smith jumped at the chance. “I thought it would be a great way to get my feet wet in the shop, learn how to do some new things, and I knew it would look good on my resume.”
CBU senior and project leader, Andrew Greenop (ME'11), reflected on how the construction of the solar lighting system will benefit students now and in the future. “This is a great opportunity to learn how to lead a group of engineers towards the completion of a project. It has made us work together overcoming obstacles similar to those that we may encounter as professional engineers.”
The lighting system was designed by the CBU chapter of the ASME, and with the support structure nearly completed, next steps include securing it in the ground and implementing a motorized sun tracking device to maximize the energy captured by the solar panel.
However, this is just the beginning. Dr. Paul Shiue, professor of Mechanical Engineering, and project coordinator for the solar powered lighting system said, “Through this project students will study efficiency of energy conversion, control systems and manufacturing.”
Pictured above are Caleb Smith (ME'14), Shawn Jenkins (ME'13), and Andrew Greenop (ME'11), three of the mechanical engineering students who are designing and constructing the project.
Student News
IEEE SOUTHEASTCON 2011
The CBU student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (pictured above) attended the IEEE SoutheastCon 2011 conference in Nashville, TN on March 17-20. More than 50 electrical engineering schools attended the conference, and CBU competed in the website, software, robotics, and T-shirt competitions.
Also competing in the Software Competition were Patrick McGinnis, Adam Tekle, and Sean Dantis and in the T-shirt Competition were Steven Menezes and Shilpa Appurubugatha.
ASME STUDENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
The CBU ASME student chapter attended the ASME Student Professional Development Conference (SPDC) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC on March 24-26. Following is a list of awards received:
ASCE DEEP SOUTH Conference
Evan Boulanger (CE’12) placed 3rd in the Pacing Competition at the 2011 ASCE Deep South Conference at Mississippi State University on March 24-26.
the great Moonbuggy Race
The CBU Moonbuggy teams (pictured below), competed in NASA's 18th Great Moonbuggy Race at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL on April 1-2. Team 1 finished 26th and Team 2 finished 17th out of 34 colleges. There were 42 college teams registered, but only 34 teams made the pre-qualification (assembly, safety, weight, size, etc). Out of 34 qualified teams, there were only 24 teams that actually finished the race. Our team posted a 16-second and a 8-second assembly time.
SWE Region D conference
Sarah Kelly (ME'12), Casey King (BSEM'11), Morgan Harrell (CHE'12), and Mallory Harvey attended the SWE Region D conference in Knoxville, TN on March 4-6. Sarah Kelly won the Diva Diamond Award for helping reestablish the CBU SWE student section nationally. At the conference, SWE members learned about leadership skills and how to encourage new members. They also attended workshops on resume building and interviewing.
TAU BETA PI
American Society of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
The CBU student chapters of SWE & ASCE had a successful fundraising event titled "Grapes for Geeks" on February 5. The event was attended by more than 100 people and the proceeds will go toward developing free workshops for middle school and high school students.
Student-Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC)
The Student-Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC) was again a success! There were 100 attendees at the dinner held at the Center for Southern Folklore on February 18. A good share of the credit for this success goes to the planning committee:
Also thank you to the CBU School of Engineering, the University of Memphis, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital–Cure 4 Kits, IEEE USA, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, LSIE, and Tennessee Tech University for sponsoring the event. The event was promoted by the student branch of IEEE. The topics of discussion were: "Ethics" (1-PDH) by Patrick Crowley and "Contagious Networking for Students and Entry into the Workplace” (1-PDH) by Shali Atkinson.
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The CBU student branch of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (pictured above) attended the IEEE SoutheastCon 2011 conference in Nashville, TN on March 17-20. More than 50 electrical engineering schools attended the conference, and CBU competed in the website, software, robotics, and T-shirt competitions.
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Steven Menezes, Shilpa Appurubugatha, and Martin Tribo -
1st Place, Website Competition
This is the fourth year in a row we've placed 1st in this competition. - Martin Tribo, Steven Menezes, and Raymond Bedrossian - 3rd Place, Software Competition
- Max Karimnia - Top Ten, Paper and Presentation Competition (iPhone Application Development – “Tech2Exec” Dictionary)
- Lindsey Hodges, Nate Phillips, and Wani Hakim - Top Ten, Robotics Competition
Also competing in the Software Competition were Patrick McGinnis, Adam Tekle, and Sean Dantis and in the T-shirt Competition were Steven Menezes and Shilpa Appurubugatha.
ASME STUDENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
The CBU ASME student chapter attended the ASME Student Professional Development Conference (SPDC) at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, NC on March 24-26. Following is a list of awards received:
- Matthew McKnight (ME'11) – 2nd Place, Old Guard Oral Presentation (First Strike Paint Ball Adapter)
- Sam Noland (ME'12 & PHIL'12) – 3rd Place, Old Guard Oral Presentation (Mini Baja)
- Sambhav Gada (ME'11) – 1st Place, Old Guard Technical Web Page (Mini Baja)
- Adam Zysk (ME'11) – 2nd Place, Old Guard Technical Web Page (Pommel Horse/Mushroom Circle Trainer)
- Marcus Sims (ME'11) – 3rd Place, Old Guard Technical Poster (SFI Renovation)
- Gerald Paige (ME'11) – 4th Place, Old Guard Technical Poster (Moonbuggy)
- Marcus Sims (ME'11) – 1st Place, Impromptu Design Competition
- Austin Gooch (ME'12) & Caleb Smith (ME'14) – 2nd Place, Impromptu Design Competition
ASCE DEEP SOUTH Conference
Evan Boulanger (CE’12) placed 3rd in the Pacing Competition at the 2011 ASCE Deep South Conference at Mississippi State University on March 24-26.
the great Moonbuggy Race
The CBU Moonbuggy teams (pictured below), competed in NASA's 18th Great Moonbuggy Race at the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, AL on April 1-2. Team 1 finished 26th and Team 2 finished 17th out of 34 colleges. There were 42 college teams registered, but only 34 teams made the pre-qualification (assembly, safety, weight, size, etc). Out of 34 qualified teams, there were only 24 teams that actually finished the race. Our team posted a 16-second and a 8-second assembly time.
SWE Region D conference
Sarah Kelly (ME'12), Casey King (BSEM'11), Morgan Harrell (CHE'12), and Mallory Harvey attended the SWE Region D conference in Knoxville, TN on March 4-6. Sarah Kelly won the Diva Diamond Award for helping reestablish the CBU SWE student section nationally. At the conference, SWE members learned about leadership skills and how to encourage new members. They also attended workshops on resume building and interviewing.
TAU BETA PI
-
Congratulations
to Justin Davis (EE'12) (pictured right) for receiving a
Tau Beta Pi Scholarship for 2011-12, in the
amount of $2,000. - Austin Gooch (ME'12), Andrew Greenop (ME'12), Jacob Zimmerman (ME'11), Matthew McKnight (ME'11), and Bobby Alekos (EE'11) attended the Tau Beta Pi District 6 Conference at Vanderbilt University on February 5-6. The conference focused on leadership development for chapter officers.
- Tau Beta Pi hosted an Engineering Futures Session on February 26. Mr. Russ Pierce gave a talk on "Effective Presentation Skills."
-
Tau Beta Pi initiated 10 new members on
December 4. They are (pictured below, l-r) Richard Boyette (ChE'11),
Justin Davis (EE'12), Robert Alekos
(EE'11), Kalli Powers (ME '11), Garret Brooks
(ECE'12), Andrew Greenop (ME'11), Raquel Edwards
(ChE'12), Ethan Clapp (ChE'12), Matthew
McKnight (ME'11) and Steven Menezes (EE&CS'12).
American Society of Chemical Engineers (AIChE)
- To mark the end of the semester, several students from the AIChE student
chapter
joined a tour of the Ghost River Brewery on Saturday, December 18.
- On March 18, a group of students from the AIChE student chapter toured the Jack Daniel's Distillery
in Lynchburg, TN. They
received the general tour of the distillery that covered the basic process and
the company's history and then met with Kevin Smith, the distillery's
microbiologist. He gave an in-depth tour of the processes involved in producing
whiskey and of how they test for the quality of the product in the lab. They
also discussed possible tours with Jack Daniels in the future.
The CBU student chapters of SWE & ASCE had a successful fundraising event titled "Grapes for Geeks" on February 5. The event was attended by more than 100 people and the proceeds will go toward developing free workshops for middle school and high school students.
Student-Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC)
The Student-Professional Awareness Conference (S-PAC) was again a success! There were 100 attendees at the dinner held at the Center for Southern Folklore on February 18. A good share of the credit for this success goes to the planning committee:
- Steven Menezes (ECE’12) – Conference Co-Chair
- Shilpa Appurubugatha (ECE’13) – Conference Co-Chair
- Martin Tribo (ECE’13) – website and registration
- Khai Nguyen (ECE’13) – finance
- Brian King (ECE’02) – IEEE Memphis Chair
- Dr. John Ventura (EE’65) – Student Activities Chair
- Dr. Yuri Quintana – Computer Society Chair
- Daniel Kohn – IEEE Memphis Secretary
- Russel Saliendra (ECE’11) – IEEE Memphis Vice-Chair
- Renee Stoll – IEEE Memphis Treasure
Also thank you to the CBU School of Engineering, the University of Memphis, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital–Cure 4 Kits, IEEE USA, Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers, LSIE, and Tennessee Tech University for sponsoring the event. The event was promoted by the student branch of IEEE. The topics of discussion were: "Ethics" (1-PDH) by Patrick Crowley and "Contagious Networking for Students and Entry into the Workplace” (1-PDH) by Shali Atkinson.
School of Engineering News
National Engineers Week 2011 Recognitions
The week of February 21 was National Engineers Week 2011. Local engineering societies and schools recognized their outstanding members. The following CBU faculty, students, and alumni were recognized this year:
• Dr. L. Yu Lin, PE (CE Faculty) was recognized by the CBU School of Engineering as the CBU Featured Engineer.
• Dr. H. John Ventura, PE (ECE Faculty/EE'65) was recognized by the Memphis Section of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as the IEEE Featured Engineer.
• Alan Killen II (CE'11) was recognized by the CBU School of Engineering as the CBU Featured Engineering Student for Academic Excellence, Student Leadership, and Service to the University & Community.
• Alan Killen II (CE'11) was recognized by the CBU CEE Department as the Featured Civil & Environmental Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the University & Community.
• Nate Phillips (EE&CS’11) was recognized by the CBU ECE Department as the Featured Electrical and Computer Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the University.
• Jeremy Hopkins (ME’11) was recognized by the CBU ME Department as the Featured Mechanical Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the ME Department.
• James K. Fleck, PE ('96) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers as the ASHRAE Featured Engineer.
• Michael G. Fulton, PMP (MEM'09) was recognized by the Engineering Management Honor Society as the EMHS Featured Engineer.
• Jittapong Malasri, PE (CE'06) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers as the TSPE Young Engineer of the Year.
• Thomas N. Needham, PE (EE'67) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers with TSPE Distinguished Service Award.
To celebrate National Engineers Week (February 20-26), the CBU student chapter of AIChE painted "The Rock."
Precollege news
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) CBU student chapter hosted two pre-college workshops this year for young women interested in engineering:
The CBU School of Engineering hosted three pre-college workshops this semester:
The 9th Annual High School Engineering Competition will be held on April 14 from 3:30-5:30pm. For more information, please visit: http://www.cbu.edu/precollege/competition.html
PACKAGING SEMINARS
The Healthcare Packaging Consortium hosted two seminars this semester. These seminars were free to CBU faculty, students, and staff. For more information, please visit the Consortium website.
• March 25 – "Sterilization in Medical Device Industry” Speakers included Dr. Asit Ray (ChE Faculty) and Mr. David Vogel (Director of Validation and Microbiological Control at Smith & Nephew).
• February 4 – “Medical Device Packaging for Non-Packaging Professionals"
LUNCH & LEARN SERIES
There were several engineering Lunch & Learns held on campus this semester:
• January 27 – Barnhart Crane & Rigging gave a talk on “Job Search & Interviewing Strategies.”
• February 17 – Jim Gavigan, Sales and Marketing Manager for Logical Systems, LLC, gave a talk on “Industry Applications of Control Systems.”
• March 1 – Gwin Scott, President of EmergeMemphis, gave a talk on “Entrepreneurship.”
• March 17 – Keith McKnight, Manager of FedEx Aircraft Project Engineering, gave a talk on “Aircraft Engineering.”
MAESC 2011
CBU will host MAESC 2011 on Tuesday, May 3. The first track consists of four 1.5-hr "Sustainability" seminars. Four additional tracks consist of 58 technical presentations in water resources, dams, wireless technologies, electrical engineering, green engineering, geotechnical engineering, and more. There will also be a special session on "Engineering Ethics," three other "Sponsors" sessions, and a "Poster" session. For more information, please visit the conference website at www.maesc.org.
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The week of February 21 was National Engineers Week 2011. Local engineering societies and schools recognized their outstanding members. The following CBU faculty, students, and alumni were recognized this year:
• Dr. L. Yu Lin, PE (CE Faculty) was recognized by the CBU School of Engineering as the CBU Featured Engineer.
• Dr. H. John Ventura, PE (ECE Faculty/EE'65) was recognized by the Memphis Section of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers as the IEEE Featured Engineer.
• Alan Killen II (CE'11) was recognized by the CBU School of Engineering as the CBU Featured Engineering Student for Academic Excellence, Student Leadership, and Service to the University & Community.
• Alan Killen II (CE'11) was recognized by the CBU CEE Department as the Featured Civil & Environmental Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the University & Community.
• Nate Phillips (EE&CS’11) was recognized by the CBU ECE Department as the Featured Electrical and Computer Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the University.
• Jeremy Hopkins (ME’11) was recognized by the CBU ME Department as the Featured Mechanical Engineering Student for Outstanding Academic Achievement and Service to the ME Department.
• James K. Fleck, PE ('96) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers as the ASHRAE Featured Engineer.
• Michael G. Fulton, PMP (MEM'09) was recognized by the Engineering Management Honor Society as the EMHS Featured Engineer.
• Jittapong Malasri, PE (CE'06) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers as the TSPE Young Engineer of the Year.
• Thomas N. Needham, PE (EE'67) was recognized by the Memphis Chapter of Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers with TSPE Distinguished Service Award.
To celebrate National Engineers Week (February 20-26), the CBU student chapter of AIChE painted "The Rock."
Precollege news
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) CBU student chapter hosted two pre-college workshops this year for young women interested in engineering:
- Dr. Divya Choudhary
-
Sam Noland
The CBU School of Engineering hosted three pre-college workshops this semester:
- January 27 – Corrugated Packaging Workshop
- February 15 – Solids Modeling
- March 23 – Geographic Information Systems
The 9th Annual High School Engineering Competition will be held on April 14 from 3:30-5:30pm. For more information, please visit: http://www.cbu.edu/precollege/competition.html
PACKAGING SEMINARS
The Healthcare Packaging Consortium hosted two seminars this semester. These seminars were free to CBU faculty, students, and staff. For more information, please visit the Consortium website.
• March 25 – "Sterilization in Medical Device Industry” Speakers included Dr. Asit Ray (ChE Faculty) and Mr. David Vogel (Director of Validation and Microbiological Control at Smith & Nephew).
• February 4 – “Medical Device Packaging for Non-Packaging Professionals"
LUNCH & LEARN SERIES
There were several engineering Lunch & Learns held on campus this semester:
• January 27 – Barnhart Crane & Rigging gave a talk on “Job Search & Interviewing Strategies.”
• February 17 – Jim Gavigan, Sales and Marketing Manager for Logical Systems, LLC, gave a talk on “Industry Applications of Control Systems.”
• March 1 – Gwin Scott, President of EmergeMemphis, gave a talk on “Entrepreneurship.”
• March 17 – Keith McKnight, Manager of FedEx Aircraft Project Engineering, gave a talk on “Aircraft Engineering.”
MAESC 2011
CBU will host MAESC 2011 on Tuesday, May 3. The first track consists of four 1.5-hr "Sustainability" seminars. Four additional tracks consist of 58 technical presentations in water resources, dams, wireless technologies, electrical engineering, green engineering, geotechnical engineering, and more. There will also be a special session on "Engineering Ethics," three other "Sponsors" sessions, and a "Poster" session. For more information, please visit the conference website at www.maesc.org.
Graduate Engineering News
On March 4 seven students were inducted into Epsilon Mu Eta, The
Engineering Management Honor Society. They were (pictured l-r) Jonathan Allen (EE'05, MEM),
Derek Bossert (MEM),
Nicholas Brown (EE'09, MEM), Heather Davis
(MSEM) (not pictured), Crystal
Farmer (MSEM), J. Garrett House (ME'05, MSEM), Boris Kort-Packard (MEM).Alumni News
Freeman Gates (EE'72) received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from Ford Motor
Company for obtaining 45 US and foreign patents in areas such as automotive EGR
systems, Air Charge Estimation, Pressure Sensing Technology and Powertrain
Control Systems. This is the first time this award has been issued in the 100+
year history of Ford Motor Company.
Freeman has worked as an Engine Engineering for Ford Motor Company in Dearborn,
Michigan for the past 33 years. On top of a multitude of assignments, he has
held the position of Senior EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) Systems Technical
Specialist since 1996.
Pictured above, l-r: Robert Fascetti (Director - Large Gas and Diesel Engine Engineering), Freeman Gates (EE'72), and Barbara Samardzich (Vice President - Worldwide Powertrain Operations)
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Joshua Holtgrewe, PE (EE’05) was named the Tennessee 2010 Young Engineer of the Year by the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE). You can read more about this national award at http://www.nspe.org/PEmagazine/10/pe_1210_YE.html. In the last 10 years, three CBU graduates have won the Memphis Chapter of TSPE Young Engineer Award: Joshua Holtgrewe, PE (EE’05), Jeff Old, PE (CE’94), and Michael LaMountain, PE (EE’00).
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Tequilla Hurt (EE’04) was featured in an article on "Systems Engineers" in the December 2010 edition of Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology. The article profiles a dozen engineering professionals who are using their abilities in new and challenging systems venues. To read more, please visit http://www.diversitycareers.com/articles/pro/10-decjan/chg_tech_systems_engineers.htm
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Bill Shappley (EE’82) was featured in the February 4 edition of TMC NET. Shappley is an electrical engineer for the U.S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center.
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Brian Thompson (CE'97) was named a "Power Player for Information Technology" by the Memphis Business Quarterly in the January/February edition.Return to top
Pictured above, l-r: Robert Fascetti (Director - Large Gas and Diesel Engine Engineering), Freeman Gates (EE'72), and Barbara Samardzich (Vice President - Worldwide Powertrain Operations)
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Joshua Holtgrewe, PE (EE’05) was named the Tennessee 2010 Young Engineer of the Year by the Tennessee Society of Professional Engineers (TSPE). You can read more about this national award at http://www.nspe.org/PEmagazine/10/pe_1210_YE.html. In the last 10 years, three CBU graduates have won the Memphis Chapter of TSPE Young Engineer Award: Joshua Holtgrewe, PE (EE’05), Jeff Old, PE (CE’94), and Michael LaMountain, PE (EE’00).
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Tequilla Hurt (EE’04) was featured in an article on "Systems Engineers" in the December 2010 edition of Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology. The article profiles a dozen engineering professionals who are using their abilities in new and challenging systems venues. To read more, please visit http://www.diversitycareers.com/articles/pro/10-decjan/chg_tech_systems_engineers.htm
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Bill Shappley (EE’82) was featured in the February 4 edition of TMC NET. Shappley is an electrical engineer for the U.S. Air Force Arnold Engineering Development Center.
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Brian Thompson (CE'97) was named a "Power Player for Information Technology" by the Memphis Business Quarterly in the January/February edition.
Faculty News
Dr. Juan Carlos Olabe-Basogain (ECE Faculty)Dr. Juan Carlos Olabe-Basogain (pictured above, front row right) conducted two week-long workshops in collaboration with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) Foundation and the Mexican government as part of an international project for the integration of computers in K-12 education. This educational project is accompanied by a comprehensive infrastructure development, including electrification of remote schools, often with solar technology, as well as satellite internet access, computer networking, and interactive smartboards in every classroom. The first workshop was in Tepic, Mexico, February 14-18. The second workshop was at the Ministry of Education of Peru. A team of 10 researchers (engineers and educators) of the University of the Basque Country led by Dr. Olabe has developed a multi-year curriculum for the use of technology throughout K-12 education. Representatives of all provinces of Peru were trained to impart training workshops on the integration of this curriculum in their regions. According to the Ministry of Education, a total of seven million Peruvian students will participate in the project. Teams of OLPC countries participating in similar projects are scheduled to be trained in the coming months.
L. Yu Lin (CEE Faculty)
- Dr. Lin presented "Civil Engineering in U.S. vs China" to the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) at its monthly meeting on January 19. Dr. Lin used several cases studies and projects that he worked on in China to demonstrate the differences in engineering practices between the U.S. and China.
- Dr. Lin presented the results of geo-reference interface video technology to the Project Management Council of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineering on January 5 and also demonstrated the results to the Corps' E-Action Conference on January 26. The project was to apply newly developed geo-reference interface video technology with a 360-degree real-time clip to the riverine and levee system. The Corps will apply this technique to flood control, levee protection, and various environmental projects.
- The Tennessean published an article about Gaylord Opryland’s proposed new flood levee and the response from local residents. In the article, it mentions that Dr. L. Yu Lin was an engineering consultant on the project.
Dr. Divya Choudhary (ECE Faculty)
- Dr. Choudhary
Dr. Asit Ray (che faculty)
Dr. Ray ventured again to the Himalayas in Nepal last summer in his
trekking (mountain hiking) quest. He teamed up with his hiking friend Barry
Godwin from Memphis this time to trek Gokyo Everest which is an alternate trek
to the base region of Mt Everest similar to Everest base camp, Kala Pathar, but
definitely more challenging. The trip started with a daring flight from
Kathmandu to Lukla where the trek began. It was a 15 day round-trip which went
past beautiful mountainous regions flanked by majestic mountain peaks. The views
were better than the Everest trek. The trek went past two smaller lakes and
ended up at Gokyo lake with a tea house type room and board facilities. The next
morning, a 3000 ft. climb to the top of Gokyo Ri (~ 18,000ft) lead to the close
and breathtaking views of Everest (#1), Lhotse (#4), Makalu (#5), Cho Yu (#6),
four of the top six mountain peaks on earth, missing K2 (Pakistan) and
K3(India). Dr. Ray is planning to trek the K2 in Pakistan this June with a
British trekking group and trek Makalu in Nepal next May with partners to
complete the trekking of the five highest mountains on earth.