(l-r) Dr. Eric Welch (Dean of Engineering), Maria Teresa Lensing, and Dr. Gregory Sedrick (Director of Graduate Engineering)

Maria Teresa Lensing (’01, MEM ’07) was honored with the R. Craig Blackman Outstanding Graduate Engineering Alumna Award at the annual Graduate Engineering Award Dinner on March 22. Lensing is vice president of the Signature Client Group at AT&T, a member of CBU’s National Alumni Board, and was the recipient of the CBU Distinguished Young Alumna Award in 2011. The R. Craig Blackman Outstanding Graduate Engineering Alumni Award is named for the founder of the Graduate Engineering Program and recognizes individuals for their academic excellence, professional success, community service and continual support of CBU, the School of Engineering and the Graduate Engineering Programs.

Dr. Divya Choudhary (Electrical Engineering) and Morgan Harrell (Chemical Engineering ’12) at “Steel Toes to Stilettos”

The collegiate section of the Society of Women Engineers hosted “Steel Toes to Stilettos” on March 22 at Chickasaw Oaks Village. The wine-tasting and silent auction was a benefit for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) outreach to Memphis City School students. The STEM programs, aimed to inspire children to pursue a college education in these fields, are paid for by the monetary support gained from this fun event. MORE PHOTOS>>>

Dr. Lin gets “pied” by an engineering student.

The CBU Student Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers hosted an opportunity to “Pie A Professor” on March 14 in Buckman Quad. Students could purchase pies at different prices to either throw them from 5 feet away or pie them right up to their face. For a full gallery of pied professors, visit the School of Engineering’s Facebook album.

The International Safe Transit Association (ISTA) Global Board of Directors has created a new Global Education Committee. ISTA Chairman Matt Daum has appointed Erin Topper from the National Motor Freight Traffic Association as Committee Chair. Larry Rutledge, CBU’s ISTA Certified Packaging Lab Manager, has been selected to serve on this new global committee. Other committee members are from Lansmont Corporation, Sears Holdings, Packnomics, Packaging Corporation of America, Ongweoweh Corp, EMC Corporation, Michigan State University, RIT, and The Hershey Company. (A complete list can be found at www.ista.org/pages/about/officers-directors.php.)

Rutledge was packaging manager at FedEx for 18 years until his retirement a few years ago.  Since then he has served as CBU Certified Lab Manager. He was named the recipient of the 2010 ISTA prestigious “R. David LeButt Memorial” Award. During his FedEx career, he was instrumental in developing many innovative packaging solutions for FedEx and FedEx customers, including Pack and Ship services for then FedEx Kinko’s. His experience and knowledge helped FedEx customize the Packaging Lab to improve service for FedEx customers. His dedication to the lab enabled FedEx to move forward with practical applications of sophisticated package testing and engineering. He is past chairman of the IoPP Transport Packaging Committee, and served on the Board of Directors for ISTA and the Board of Directors for the Michigan State University Consortium on Distribution Packaging.

The 2013 American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Canoe Trip was a huge success. Although five boats flipped over, two cars broke down, and one boat actually sank (and later was abandoned), these Buccaneers had a blast! (photo courtesy of Chloe Chung)

The annual High School Engineering Competition has been moved to the fall 2013 semester. If you would like to be added to the contact list for this event, please email engineering@cbu.edu with your name, school, grade, and email.

Dr. Pong Malasri (Packaging) and Dr. Juan Carlos Olabe (Electrical & Computer Engineering) visited Universidad De La Salle Bajío in Leon, Mexico, March 2-7.  An agreement was made on research collaboration in packaging between the two universities. The collaboration will expand CBU’s packaging research capability to include logistics, mechatronics, industrial design, and communication/marketing. Universidad De La Salle (about 17,000 students) is one of the 15 Lasallian campuses in Mexico. The long-term goal is to establish the Global Lasallian Packaging Consortium/Alliance with involvement from other Lasallian universities/colleges around the world.Dr. Juan Carlos Olabe, Edel Espino Ledezma (Director of Information Technology, Universidad De La Salle Bajio), Brother Andres Govela Gutierrez (President of Universidad De La Salle Bajio), and Dr. Pong Malasri.

The engineering faculty at Christian Brothers University selected Dr. Chadwick M. Baker (pictured left) as the recipient of the 2013 Memphis-Area Joint Engineers Council (MJEC) Featured Engineer Award for his excellence in teaching and contributions to the university and community.

Dr. Baker joined the Electrical Engineering faculty at CBU in 1972. In 1992, he left teaching full-time to work in scheduling and data warehousing at FedEx. He continued to teach part-time at CBU until he retired from FedEx in 2008. He is currently teaching part-time at CBU as Professor Emeritus in Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, and Information Management areas.

In the 1980’s, Dr. Baker developed several tools used by faculty and students at CBU. He developed a graphics terminal emulator, based on the TEK4014, for the faculty desktops written in assembly language and C. He developed a discrete event simulator for random logic written in C. He developed a logic minimization program using genetic programming written in C. He also developed an expert system shell written in C.

Currently, Dr. Baker is recognized for his work in updating ECE 251 Microprocessor Architecture/Lab with the use of new microprocessor evaluation boards.  In place of a book, he requires students to buy a new microprocessor board at a cost of around $50 and he supplies the online course content.  CBU does not have to by any additional equipment or devices. In addition, students will own one of the most popular microprocessor boards.

Dr. Baker is a Life Member of the IEEE and is also a member of Sigma Xi and Tau Beta Pi. He is Vice-Chair of the Computer Society of the Memphis Section of IEEE. In addition, this past semester he proctored the IEEEXtreme Programming competition.

Dr. L. Yu Lin and Mr. Gene McGinnis (Civil and Environmental Engineering Department) took a group of Civil Engineering students on a field trip sponsored by EnSafe and the Department of Environment and Conservation, State of Tennessee. The site, located in Midtown Memphis, was contaminated by a leaking underground storage tank. The system they are using to clean-up the groundwater (40Hp CAS) can treat 6000 gal/day. It was estimated it would take 2-5 years of operation to complete the clean-up.

Congratulations to Adam Thornton, the recipient of the 2012-2013 Featured Engineering Student Award for Christian Brothers University. Adam was awarded at the Engineers Week Banquet on February 19, 2013.

Adam is a member of the 2012-13 SAE Mini-Baja Team, the ASME student chapter, and Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society. His academic achievements earned him a spot on the Dean’s List in Fall 2011, Spring 2012, and Fall 2012. He’s been a Calculus and Chemistry Tutor for the Living Learning Community since Fall 2011 and was on the CBU men’s soccer team from 2009-2012. Adam earned industry experience during his 3 month internship at the Entergy Nuclear Corporate Headquarters in Jackson, MS. Currently, he serves as a Resident Advisor in the Living Learning Community and interns at the new KROC Center across the street.