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Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Awards
The Dwight Look College of Engineering honored five students with its Craig C. Brown Outstanding Senior Engineer Award during a banquet at Miramont Country Club in Bryan. Seniors Colin Bailie, Mark Deimund, Alexandra (Sandra) Iacob, Rachel Oyler and Rodrigo Garza Urquiza received the annual award due to their academic achievement, character and leadership abilities. Dr. G. Kemble Bennett, vice chancellor and dean of engineering, presented the awards to the students. Colin Bailie and Rodrigo Garza Urquiza are MEEN students. From left: Rodrigo Garza Urquiza, Rachel Oyler, David Gent, Alexandra Iacob, Colin Bailie, Mark Deimund.
Prefessor Tim Jacobs -- The Montague-Center For Teaching Excellence Scholar 2009-2010
The Montague-Center For Teaching Excellence Scholarprogram has announced the 2009 - 2010 scholars. They are R. Karthi Karthikeyan, College of Agriculture & Life Sciences; Nancy Klein, College of Architecture; Dechun Wang, Mays Business School; John Singer, College of Education and Human Development; Timothy Jacobs, Dwight Look College of Engineering; Steven Quiring, College of Geosciences; Colleen Murphy, College of Liberal Arts; Alan R. Dabney, College of Science; and Ashley B. Saunders, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The Montague-CTE Scholar program, named for founding donor Kenneth Montague '37, honors early-career excellence in undergraduate teaching at Texas A&M. The intent of the program is to recognize one tenure-track assistant professor in each college who has already demonstrated a commitment to, and potential for, excellence in undergraduate teaching. This award includes a $6,500 grant for each recipient to encourage further development of undergraduate teaching excellence.
Former Student Dr. David Ong Liang Eng Appointed to Director Position
Dr Ong was appointed Chief Executive Officer of CNA China Co. Ltd in July 2005 and is responsible for growing the Group’s business in China as well as its financial and operational performance. He joined the Group in July 1995 and held many senior management appointments within the Group, including the post of Deputy Chief Operating Officer, before his current appointment.
Dr. Ong holds a Ph.D in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University.
Mechanical engineering’s Grunlan receives Dow Young Faculty Award
Texas A&M Engineering’s Dr. Jaime C. Grunlan has received the 2009 Young Faculty Award from the Dow Chemical Co. Grunlan is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, with a joint appointment in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering.
Grunlan was recognized and presented the award address, “Multifunctional Polymer Nanocomposites for Energy Conversion, Gas Barrier and Anti-Flammability,” July 23 in Spring House, Penn.
Dow's Dr. Andrea Greyson (left)
and Dr. Jaime Grunlan
The award was established by Rohm and Haas Co. (now a subsidiary of Dow) and “recognizes a non-tenured faculty member at an accredited university for his/her outstanding research achievement or potential in chemistry, polymers or materials science.”
Grunlan’s award plaque read, “Professor Grunlan’s research on polymer nanocomposites has inspired the imagination of the technologists of The Dow Chemical Company.”
Grunlan joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2004. He received a bachelor’s degree from North Dakota State University and a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. In 2007, he received the prestigious National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER award for his research into controlling the microstructure of high aspect ratio nanoparticles (e.g., carbon nanotubes) using stimuli-responsive polymers.
In addition to being on the mechanical engineering and chemical engineering faculties, Grunlan is also a faculty member in the Materials Science and Engineering Program and runs the Polymer NanoComposites Lab within the Texas Engineering Experiment Station, the engineering research agency of the State of Texas and a member of The Texas A&M University System. Grunlan’s Lab is currently developing thick and thin film polymer nanocomposites for a variety of applications that include EMI shielding, gas permeation control and sensors.
The Young Faculty Award is now sponsored by the Dow Chemical Technical Community Organization (TCO), which aims to encourage scientific excellence, provide opportunities for professional development, promote the exchange of new technology and fosteri the spirit of cooperation within the company’s technology community.
Mr. Jason Files and Mr. Hugo Rene Martinez Receives NCMR Scholarship
Mr. Jason Files, an undergraduate student in the department of mechanical engineering, received a $10,000 scholarship grant from the National Consortium for Measurement and Signature Intelligence Research (NCMR). Congratulations to Jason and Hugo.
Anastasia Muliana receives Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
President Obama today named 100 beginning researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers, the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on young professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers. The recipient scientists and engineers will receive their awards in the Fall at a White House ceremony.
The Presidential Early Career Awards embody the high priority the Administration places on producing outstanding scientists and engineers to advance the nation's goals and contribute to all sectors of the economy. Nine Federal departments and agencies join together annually to nominate the most meritorious young scientists and engineers—researchers whose early accomplishments show the greatest promise for strengthening America's leadership in science and technology and contributing to the awarding agencies' missions.
"These extraordinarily gifted young scientists and engineers represent the best in our country," President Obama said. "With their talent, creativity, and dedication, I am confident that they will lead their fields in new breakthroughs and discoveries and help us use science and technology to lift up our nation and our world."
The awards, established by President Clinton in February 1996, are coordinated by the Office of Science and Technology Policy within the Executive Office of the President. Awardees are selected on the basis of two criteria: Pursuit of innovative research at the frontiers of science and technology and a commitment to community service as demonstrated through scientific leadership, public education, or community outreach. Winning scientists and engineers receive up to a five-year research grant to further their study in support of critical government missions.
Peterson named president of Georgia Institute of Technology
Dr. G. P. “Bud” Peterson, a Ph.D. graduate of the department and former department head, was named the eleventh president of the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Peterson’s academic career has been spent at three institutions, not counting a one-year assignment with the National Science Foundation in 1993-94. He worked for 19 years at Texas A&M University, where he served as head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering for three years (1993-96) and executive associate dean of engineering for four years (1996-2000). Peterson also had the title of associate vice chancellor for the Texas A&M University System from 1996-2000.
He was recruited to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, as provost in July 2000. Peterson served in this position until 2006 when he accepted the position of chancellor at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Eric Petersen Receives a ASME Combustion & Fuels Best Paper Award
Eric Petersen, associate professor, has received a ASME Combustion & Fuels Best Paper award for his paper, "Ignition and Flame Speed Kinetics of Two Natural Gas Blends with High Levels of Heavier Hydrocarbons." Petersen will receive his award at the 2009 ASME Turbo Expo in Orlando, Florida.
Three ME grad students receive awards at TRS and MRS international conferences
Mr. Nan Li and Mr. Osman Anderoglu, graduate students in mechanical engineering, were honored with prestigious awards at the The Metals, Minerals and Materials Society annual meeting in February 2009.
Li received first prize in the Graduate Student Paper Contest for his paper, “He Ion Irradiation Damage in Fe/W Nanolayer Films.” He received the award, along with a $1,000 monetary prize, from TMS president, Dr. Diran Apelian.
Anderoglu received the best poster award for his work on, “Plastic Flow Stability of Nanotwinned Polycrystalline Cu Foils,” at the same meeting. Fu also received the best poster award at the 2008 MRS fall meeting for his poster presentation on the, “Impact of He Ion Irradiation on the Microstructure and Hardness of Sputtered Cu/V Nanolayers.” The research from this presentation will be published in the Journal of Materials Research as an outstanding symposium paper. Mr. Engang Fu was awarded the best poster award at the Materials Research Society fall 2008 meeting.
All three students are Ph.D. candidates in Materials Science and Engineering under the supervision of Dr. Xinghang Zhang, a professor in mechanical engineering. Zhang is very proud of his students’ outstanding achievement and said, “these prestigious awards not only recognize the high quality of graduate students we have in the department, but also demonstrates the quality of research conducted at TAMU.” Mr. Nan Li and Mr. Osman Anderoglu, graduate students in mechanical engineering, were honored with prestigious awards at the TMS (The Metals, Minerals and Materials Society) annual meeting in February 2009.
Professor Avram (“Avi”) Bar-Cohen, M.E. Chair at the University of Maryland
Professor Avram (“Avi”) Bar-Cohen visited our department and presented a seminar on “Thermally-Enhanced Polymer Heat Exchangers for Seawater Applications” in March 2009. During his visit, he also led a discussion at a lunch meeting with our faculty on “The Future of Engineering Education.” In addition, he toured our Turbomachinery Laboratories and heat transfer laboratories, and met with several faculty members in our department.
Professor Bar-Cohen is also a Distinguished University Professor. Before he joined the University of Maryland, he was a Professor and Sweatt Chair at the University of Minnesota and a faculty member at Ben Gurion University of the Negev (Israel), Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Naval Postgraduate School. Professor Bar-Cohen also held research and management positions at Raytheon and Control Data Corporation.
Professor Bar-Cohen has served on the Advisory Board of Nanotechnology Institute of ASME and the Board of Research and Technology Development of ASME, and as the ASME Vice President for Research. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies. Professor Bar-Cohen received the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award and the ASME Curriculum Innovation Award in 1999. He received his Ph.D. degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1971.
Professor Albert (“Al”) P. Pisano, M.E. Chair, University of California at Berkeley
Professor Albert (“Al”) P. Pisano presented a seminar entitled: “Harsh Environment Wireless Sensors for Energy & Power toward the Dream of Closed-Loop Combustion” in December 2008 during his visit to our department. He also toured several of our research laboratories and had individual meetings with a number of our faculty.
Professor Pisano has been the Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley since 2004. He holds the FANUC Chair of Mechanical Systems in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has a joint appointment in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and is also the Director of the Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center. Professor Pisano was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2001. His research interests and activities focus on micro electromechanical systems (MEMS) for a wide variety of applications, including RF components, power generation, drug delivery, strain sensors, biosensors, and disk-drive actuators.
Professor Pisano received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. (1981) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Columbia University. Prior to joining the University of California at Berkeley in 1983, he held research positions with Xerox, Singer, and General Motors. From 1997 to 1999, he served as Manager of the MEMS program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
Professor Uwe Kortshagen, M.E. Head, University of Minnesota
Professor Uwe Kortshagen visited our Department of Mechanical Engineering in February 2009. He gave a seminar on “Plasma Synthesis of Nanomaterials for Renewable Energy Applications,” which was attended by over 100 faculty and graduate students. During his visit, Professor Kortshagen also met individually with a number of our faculty members, and toured our Turbomachinery Laboratories and several of our materials and heat transfer laboratories.
Professor Kortshagen is the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota. He is also a Distinguished McKnight University Professor and a member of the graduate faculties of Physics, Chemical Engineering, and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota.
Professor Kortshagen received his Diploma degree in Physics in 1988 and his Ph.D. degree in Physics in 1991 from the University of Bochum, Germany. He joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Minnesota in 1996. He was promoted to Full Professor in 2003, named Distinguished McKnight University Professor in 2007, and was appointed the Head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in 2008. His research expertise is in the plasma synthesis and functionalization of nanomaterials, in particular, group IV nanocrystals, and their utilization in renewable energy technology.
Former Students Newsletter Summer 2009
Former Students Newsletter Spring 2007
