Also In this Issue...Seniors Prove Their Design Mettle 20 Fuel Cell Center Hosts Visit 21 Leon Shaw Wins $2.0 Million DoE Award 21 Student Conferences Big Successes22 Generous Pledge

School of Engineering, University of Connecticut www.engr.uconn.edu Summer 2004

Also In this Issue:

Major General Doesburg Opens First InternationalConference on Fuel Cell

Development and Deploymentsee page 6

Engineering Wins $146 MillionRecord-Setting Grant

see page 10

Youthful Inventors Show Their Stuff

21ST Annual Connecticut Invention Convention Held in Storrssee page 9

INTHISISSUEProfessor Martin J. Blackburn 1936-2004 4

UConn Wins M&E EnvironmentalEngineering Design Competition 4

Mechanical Engineering Professor Elected to National Academy of Engineering 5

Major General Doesburg Opens First International Conference on Fuel Cell

Development and Deployment 6

Maru Awarded the Inaugural Bacon Medal in Fuel Cell Research 7

Engineering Grads Help Reshape Campus 8

Promotions and Tenure Decisions 8

Youthful Inventors Show Their Stuff 9

Engineering Wins $146 Million Record-Setting Grant 10

CTI Signs Pact with CONN-OSHA 11

Javidi Named Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor 11

You’re Invited to Homecoming ‘04 11

UConn Engineering Hosts Women in Engineering Leadership Summit 12

Homeland Security Conference in August 14

Eleven Distinguished Alumni and Friends Honored 15

Faculty Win Big Federal Awards 19

Seniors Prove Their Design Mettle 20

Fuel Cell Center Hosts Visit 21

Leon Shaw Wins $2.0 Million DoE Award 21

Student Conferences Big Successes 22

Generous Pledge Launches Dominick A. Pagano Scholarship 23

Cantor Establishes Endowed Scholarship in Engineering 23

Ewing Establishes Undergraduate Scholarship 23

Faculty News 24

School Welcomes New Administrators 25

Alumni News 26

Gifts Augment Engineering 27

Outreach Activities Inspire Middle School Students 27

DeanAmir Faghri

Associate DeansIan Greenshields, Academic Affairs

Theodore Bergman, Research & Outreach

Assistant DeanMarcelle Wood, Undergraduate Education

Writer/EditorNan R. Cooper

Graphic Designer/IllustratorChristopher LaRosa

Frontiers is published twice yearly by the Office of the Dean, School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut.

261 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2237Storrs, Connecticut 06269-2237Telephone: (860) 486-2221

Published for the alumni, faculty, students,corporate supporters, and friends of the School of Engineering at the University ofConnecticut. Suggestions are welcome. Send correspondence and address correctionsto the Editor at the above address or e-mail to [email protected]

2 FRONTIERS SUMMER 2004 www.engr.uconn.edu

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UNIVERSITY OFCONNECTICUTSCHOOL OF ENGINEERING

The UConn Huskies men and women certainly infused the campus with energyand unbridled enthusiasm with theirrecord-setting capture of twin NCAAnational championship basketball titles.This historic achievement took hard work,sacrifice and unparalleled team play. Of course, UConn’s terrific sports teamsaren’t the only ones winning accolades.

On April 8, the New York Timesarticle, “From Cow College to Campus of Champions,” extolled the virtues of the University of Connecticut’s superb academic programs. Included were signifi-cant quotes from John Cassidy, senior vice president for science and technology atUnited Technologies Corporation, whooffered generous praise of our graduates:

“‘In the past few years, we have hiredmore engineering graduates from UConn thanany other school,’ Dr. Cassidy said. ‘The bestUConn graduate is in the same ranks as agraduate from M.I.T. or Stanford or GeorgiaTech or pick-your-favorite top-notch engineer-ing school. UConn graduates are holding theirown in my view, and that was not the casefive or 10 years ago.’”

Readers of the New York Times also willhave seen the May 3 story entitled “U.S. Is Losing Its Dominance in the Sciences,”in which writer William Broad reports onthe nation’s decline as world technologyleader while scientists in Asia and Europeincreasingly advance. By many measures, he says, the nation is falling behind:

• The number of Nobel Prizes awarded to U.S. researchers has declined to 51% of total awards,

• U.S. patent awards to American inventors now total just 52% of total awards,

• The number of U.S.-authored research papers published internationally has slipped,

• The number of U.S. citizens receiving doctoral degrees in science and engineering is declining,

• Cutting-edge advances in astrophysics, particle physics and electronics are increasingly the purview of researchers in Europe and Asia.

A Message from the Dean

www.engr.uconn.edu SUMMER 2004 FRONTIERS 3

Worse yet, he asserts, this growingimbalance has occurred under our very owncomplacent noses: “Foreign advances inbasic science now often rival or even exceedAmerica's, apparently with little publicawareness of the trend or its implications forjobs, industry, national security or the vigorof the nation's intellectual and cultural life.”

There are many advantages to forging a world of greater technological parity—technological success drives quality of lifeimprovements and economic stability—yet the U.S. must act aggressively toenhance its standing in the world techno-logical community. We must redouble our efforts to enhance math and scienceeducation. Our state and federal govern-ments, communities and families mustinvest money, time and creative learningstrategies in our young people today if we hope to recover our technological preeminence tomorrow.

Those who read the article will under-stand our fever to enhance academic excel-lence even during the dog days of summer.During the last year, we continued to refineour outreach programs with this goal inmind. Since 2000, we have increased ourpercentage of African American students by 60%; our percentage of Hispanic andPuerto Rican students by 41.3%; andfemale students by 41.8%. In addition,freshman enrollment rose from 158 in 1997to 351 for the fall ’04 term—an increase of122%. For the fall term, we have admitted37 valedictorians and salutatorians, a 42%increase over last year, and our freshmanclass will include three Nutmeg Scholars (of 15 campus-wide) and five Day of PrideScholars (of 15). Despite these significantgains, we are keenly aware that we must do more.

We continue to invest heavily in cutting-edge research, such as fuel cells, biomedicaland environmental engineering, and home-land security. In early March, the School of Engineering sponsored the FirstInternational Conference on Fuel CellDevelopment & Deployment. In May, wehosted a three-day Women in EngineeringLeadership summit co-sponsored by NSF,

attended by 75 invited female engineeringleaders from academia, government and private industry seeking to plot strategies for increasing the role of women in theupper administrative echelons of engineer-ing. And based on the success of last year’s program, we are finalizing plans for a second International Conference on Advanced Technologies for HomelandSecurity (ICATHS’04) to be held in Storrs August 12-13.

Our faculty members continued to prosper with receipt of top governmentresearch awards. Dr. Leon Shaw landed aresearch award of $2 million from theDepartment of Energy to conduct cutting-edge research in the area of hydrogen stor-age. Dr. Lei Zhu was awarded a prestigiousNSF Early CAREER Award, and Dr. PeterLuh was awarded a large grant to pursueresearch on the electric power grid.

The increasingly global nature of tech-nological and scientific innovation demandsthat the U.S. build an effective infrastruc-ture that cultivates intellectual developmentin our young people, rewards scientificpacesetters and fosters long-term researchobjectives. It is a Herculean task, and onewe must address collaboratively with indus-try, government and individual citizens.

Amir Faghri, Dean

Ateam of Civil & Environmental Engineering (CEE) students from the University ofConnecticut won top laurels at the first ever M&E (Metcalf & Eddy) environmental

engineering design competition. Teammates Brian Canterbury, Dan Adanti, JocelynMichelini, Russell Ward, Haley Busch and Carlos Rexach presented the winning solutionto M&E’s environmental design challenge: develop a biological treatment process for costeffectively treating domestic wastewater treatment sludge digestion centrate.

Against stiff competition presented by teams from Rensselaer Polytechnic Instituteand Smith College’s first graduating class in engineering, the final contest pitted the winning UConn team and a second from the University of Connecticut (composed of Brin Thompson, Jason Lewandowski, Laura Radice, Allison Leonard, Tim Croce, JustinHicks). Both teams were mentored by CEE professor Barth F. Smets. According to M&EChief Engineer and Senior Vice President James Anderson (New York), the competitionwas designed to closely simulate the process used to select an engineering firm. Founded in 1907, Metcalf & Eddy first won national recognition when it pioneered whatwould become “environmental engineering” through its water and wastewater work.Today M&E is an international company providing environmental services from more than 20 offices around the globe.

“The winning UConn team did an excellent job of meeting the judging criteria. They successfully sold the review team on the features and benefits of their solution,”said Mr. Anderson. M&E’s senior reviewers included Director of Staffing ResourcesRussell Adams (Wakefield), Senior Vice President Tom Dickmann (Wakefield), and Senior Vice President Tom McMonagle (Wakefield). M&E Senior Process ManagerKartik Chandran (Ph.D. Civil & Environmental Engineering, ‘99), served as the chiefTechnical Liaison for the Design Contest.

M&E President John Somerville believes this competition is helping the future of the environmental engineering industry. “Our hope,” he said,” is that this experience will further motivate them to pursue a career in environmental engineering.”

It is with greatsadness that we

report the loss ofMartin Blackburn,research professorof Metallurgy & MaterialsEngineering, whodied March 12,2004. A native ofsouthern Wales,Dr. Blackburnobtained both his bachelor’s and doctoraldegrees from the University of Cambridge,England. He enjoyed a long and highlysuccessful industrial and government careerof over36 years in the U.S., working withthe Boeing Company, the U.S. Air Force,and Pratt & Whitney. During his 25 yearswith Pratt & Whitney, Dr. Blackburn roseto the position of Deputy Director of theMaterials & Process Laboratory. Upon hisretirement in 2000, he joined the Universityof Connecticut as a research professor in the Institute of Materials Science and theDepartment of Metallurgy & MaterialsEngineering.

Dr. Blackburn was widely acknowledged as an international authority in themetallurgy of titanium alloys, and he andhis research group were also responsible for the development of virtually all of thefirst-generation titanium aluminide alloys.He played a pivotal leadership role inprograms to develop a wide range ofcomponents such as hollow fan blades,superalloy shafts and welded compressor rotors, and materials includingnon-burning titanium alloys and advancedbearing systems. In 2002, Dr. Blackburnreceived the William Hunt Eisenman Awardfrom ASM International, for “contributionsto the science and engineering of materialsused in gas turbine engines, especially the introduction of advanced titanium and superalloys.”

Professor Martin J. Blackburn1936-2004

UConn Wins M&EEnvironmentalEngineering Design Competition


Dr. Kenneth Reifsnider, Pratt &Whitney Chair Professor of Design &

Reliability in the Mechanical EngineeringDepartment, was elected to the veneratedNational Academy of Engineering (NAE).Election to the NAE is among the mostcoveted and exclusive of professional honors bestowed upon any U.S. engineer.According to the Academy, membership is awarded to those who have made“important contributions to engineeringtheory and practice, including contribu-tions to the literature of engineering theory and practice, and those who havedemonstrated accomplishment in the pioneering of new fields of engineering,making major advances in traditionalfields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches toengineering education.”

Dr. Reifsnider, who joined the UConnengineering faculty in fall 2002, was citedfor his “development of strength-life relationships in composite materials and structures.” In receiving this honor,Dr. Reifsnider joins two other faculty members within the School ofEngineering who were NAE memberswhen they joined UConn: Dr. DavidCrow, distinguished professor-in-residenceof Mechanical Engineering, and Dr.Anthony DeMaria, professor-in-residenceof Electrical & Computer Engineering.

New members are elected to NAEyearly by current members, who are among the world’s leading engineers.Currently, NAE has approximately 2,000 active members, with 33 fromConnecticut whose careers reflect the private sector as well as academia andwhose expertise lies in the spectrum of allengineering and technological disciplines.Of the public departments of mechanical

engineering located at universities andcolleges throughout New England, NewYork, New Jersey, Delaware, Marylandand Pennsylvania, a grand total of fourNAE members are faculty members. Dr. Reifsnider’s election means half of the NAE members in the region, inmechanical engineering, are at UConn.The Academy was established in 1964 asa private, independent, non-profit institu-tion charged with advising the federalgovernment and with conducting independent research in engineering and technological subjects of importance to

the nation. NAE is a wing of the NationalAcademies, and its membership representsthe spectrum of engineering occupations,including private industry, governmentand academia.

Dr. Reifsnider received his Ph.D. fromThe Johns Hopkins University, where hestudied solid mechanics. He had a lengthycareer at Virginia Tech as an academic andadministrator before coming to UConn.Dr. Reifsnider held the Alexander GiaccoChair of Engineering Science &Mechanics at Virginia Tech and is the former Director of the Virginia Institutefor Material Systems, creator and princi-pal investigator of the VPI NavyIntegrated Information TechnologyInitiative, and past Deputy Director ofthe NSF Center for High PerformancePolymeric Adhesives and Composites. He is a leader in composites science andtechnology who also co-founded the Center for Composite Materials &Structures at Virginia Tech.

He is Editor-in-Chief of theInternational Journal of Fatigue,Associate Editor of the Journal of AppliedComposites, and founding Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Composites Technologyand Research. He is also a founding member of the editorial board of the ASME Journal of Fuel Cell Science and Technology established last year. His book, Damage, Tolerance andDurability of Composite Materials Systems, was published in 2002.

Since joining the University ofConnecticut, he has focused on expand-

ing his previous research, in which heseeks to understand the physical changesthat control the useful life of a functionalcomposite-based component. Compositematerials are in practical use in diverseapplications such as plastics, dental fillingsand biomaterials, as well as in industrialequipment such as gas turbines. Dr.Reifsnider’s particular interests lie inunderstanding how composites act andreact to extreme temperatures and stresses.He is involved in applying these conceptsto high and low-temperature fuel cell systems as a researcher and Director ofthe Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center.

Dr. Reifsnider grew up outsideFrederick, Maryland on a dairy farm that had been in his family for more than 160 years.

SoENews

Mechanical Engineering Professor Elected to National Academy of Engineering


Dr. Reifsnider, who joined the UConn engineering faculty in fall 2002, was cited for his development of strength-liferelationships in composite materials and structures.


In the field, individual soldiers—“the mostimportant weapon” the U.S. has deployed

around the globe—currently carry 11 differentbatteries, weighing “tens of pounds,” accordingto Major General John Doesburg, commandinggeneral of the U.S. Army Research,Development and Engineering Command(RDECOM) located at Aberdeen ProvingGround, MD. The need to reduce this heavyenergy burden, while enhancing mobility, lies atthe heart of the military’s interest in alternativeenergy technologies, said General Doesburg,speaking before an audience of 300 at the First International Conference on Fuel CellDevelopment and Deployment on Monday,March 8.

General Doesburg commands RDECOM,which he noted was “stood up,” military parl-ance for officially launched, on March 1st. Theunit boasts an operating budget of $3.5 billion,he said, of which about one-third is designatedfor research and development of novel powerand energy technologies. The RDECOM sloganis “technology to the warfighter quicker.”During his distinguished 34-year career with the Army, the highly decorated Major Generalhas received numerous awards, including theDefense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the DefenseMeritorious Service Medal, the ArmyMeritorious Service Medal with six oak leaf clusters and the Army Commendation Medalwith oak leaf cluster.

The three-day conference, co-sponsored by the Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center(CGFCC) and The Electrochemical Society,offered participants an up-to-date review ofworldwide developments in the technology and manufacture of all types of fuel cells. TheCGFCC is a unit of the School of Engineeringfounded in 2001 to conduct cutting-edge fuel cell research, education and commercialdevelopment. The Center has received $18 million in funding to date from industrial,state and federal, and private agencies.

Dean of Engineering Amir Faghri welcomedregistrants and opened the program with a briefoverview of the University and School ofEngineering as well as the genesis and uniqueresources of the Connecticut Global Fuel CellCenter that, he said, would help propel the

University into the research vanguard of fuel cell R&D.

Nigel Sammes, United Technologies ChairProfessor in Fuel Cell Technology, introducedGeneral Doesburg to a diverse audience fromindustry, academia and government assembled inthe auditorium of the Information TechnologiesEngineering (ITE) building. The conferencecomprised 100 presentations as well as 50posters, exhibits and workshops. A spectrum offuel cell subjects was covered, including technol-ogy aspects, fuel cell systems, fuel cell produc-tion and scale-up, demonstration activities, consumer and OEM issues, fuel cell infrastruc-ture, and government and policy issues.Complementing the program were site tours of working power plant systems located atMohegan Sun’s Mohegan Energy, Environment,and Economics Education Center and UTC Fuel Cells.

“Power and energy,” said General Doesburg,“underlie the other four transformational tech-nologies” identified by the Army as necessary tothe military of the future: nanotechnology,biotechnology, robotics, and advanced comput-ing. In discussing these key technologies,General Doesburg described his own conven-tional-looking, trim khaki and navy uniformthat, thanks to nanotechnology, is water repel-lent, allowing soldiers to remain dry at all times.Though the question of how to launder thehigh-tech uniform remains unsolved, he said, itis the multitude of potential applications involv-ing nanotechnology that excite the U.S. military.For example, using nanotechnology, a uniformcould be embedded with sensors so that the sol-dier can be easily tracked and his body tempera-ture, stress level and status monitored from acentral point. This technology will be feasibleonly when a reliable, light-weight source ofpower, such as fuel cells, is available. Similarly,advances in biotechnology, robotics andadvanced computing depend upon development of a sustainable, reliable andmobile energy source.

This underlying need lies at the heart of themilitary’s interest in funding alternative energysources such as fuel cells. Soldiers stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, currentlymust carry not only their own food, weaponry

Major General Doesburg Opens FirstInternational Conference on Fuel CellDevelopment and Deployment

Continued on page 14


Maru Awarded the Inaugural Bacon Medal in Fuel Cell Research

Fuel cell researchers today owe an enormousdebt of gratitude to a quiet, fastidious

Englishman named Francis Bacon, who dramati-cally advanced the practical applications of fuelcells during the global upheaval of the mid 20TH

century. His legacy, and important achievementsof modern fuel cell researchers, was celebrated inMarch with the inauguration of the F.T. BaconMedal. Daphne Vivian-Neal and Edward Bacon(pictured at right with Dr. Yanhai Du), the adultchildren of Francis Bacon—who developed thefuel cell used in the Apollo space programs—flew from England to present the inaugural “F.T.Bacon Medal” to Hans Maru, Executive VicePresident and Chief Technology Officer ofFuelCell Energy, Inc., Danbury. The ceremonytook place during evening festivities in conjunc-tion with the First International Conference onFuel Cell Development & Deployment heldMarch 7-10 at the Storrs campus.

Dr. Maru joined FuelCell Energy in 1977and has built a distinguished legacy aimed atimproving the commercial applications of fuelcells. Before assuming his current responsibili-ties, he served as senior vice-president with thecompany. Early in his career, he spent eight yearsat the Illinois-based Gas Technology Institute,conducting research in the fields of fuel cells,electrolyzers, thermal energy storage and hydro-gen energy. Dr. Maru received his Ph.D. inchemical engineering from the Illinois Instituteof Technology in 1975. He is a highly successfulinventor who has 13 U.S. patents and hasauthored over 140 publications, including chapters in two books.

Francis Thomas Bacon (1904-1992) was adirect descendent of Sir Nicholas Bacon, fatherof the famed English scientist and philosopher,Sir Francis Bacon. He was educated at EtonCollege and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he earned his B.A. and M.A. degrees in engineering.

His interest in fuel cells began in 1932, while he was working at the engineering firmC.A. Parsons & Co. Ltd. According to hisdaughter, Daphne, he read extensively about thework of Sir William Grove, the acknowledgedfather of the fuel cell, and other scientists, such as Mond and Langer. In addition to thesanctioned research his employer paid him to do,Mr. Bacon worked surreptitiously on developing

his concept for a hydrogen-oxygen fuel cell. Heinitially kept his work under wraps, according tohis son, Edward, for fear the company wouldnot approve of his research. When he finallyunveiled his ideas in 1940, the company refusedto fund the work, so Mr. Bacon left the compa-ny. He found funding at King’s College,London, where in the early 1940s he built a cellthat used nickel gauze electrodes and operated at temperatures of 200°C and at pressures up to600 psi. Mr. Bacon hoped fuel cells could bedeveloped for use in submarines but this goalwas infeasible during wartime conditions and the work was closed down. He was transferred toScotland to work on ASDIC, an underwatersubmarine detection system.

After World War II, in 1946 he recom-menced his fuel cell research at CambridgeUniversity with funding from the ElectricalResearch Association and subsequently at theengineering firm, Marshalls of Cambridge, funded by a government research organization.In 1959, he demonstrated his first 6 kW fuel cell unit to industry, using it to power a circularsaw, a forklift truck and some welding equip-ment. No one in the U.K. was prepared to investin fuel cells at this stage and in 1961, the workwas again suspended.

During this period, scientists and engineersinvolved in America’s emerging space programwere attracted to fuel cell technology because itused hydrogen and oxygen already carried on thespacecraft for the main rockets and it offered thepromise of compact size, light weight comparedwith energy sources such as batteries or solarpanels and was much safer than nuclear energy.Though expensive, Mr. Bacon’s alkaline fuel cellsproved reliable enough to attract the attention ofConnecticut’s Pratt & Whitney, and the compa-ny licensed his work for the Apollo spacecraft.The “Bacon Cells” provided in-flight power, heatand—because water is a byproduct of hydrogencells—clean drinking water for the Apollo crews.His fuel cells, based on a somewhat modifieddesign, were used in all subsequent mannedspacecraft flights, including the space shuttle.

Daphne said her father would visit the U.S.every few years to see how Pratt & Whitney’s engineers were progressing on the fuel cells.



Engineering alumni working at BVHIntegrated Services, Inc. in Bloomfield, CT

are truly building on what they learned at theUniversity of Connecticut to improve the cam-pus. The structural engineers who were instru-mental in the design of the new InformationTechnologies Engineering (ITE) Building are allgraduates of the School of Engineering.

“It’s rewarding,” says senior engineer,Mark Allyn, P.E. “You show your professorsthat you are using what they taught you andyou help reshape the campus.”

BVH also provides civil, mechanical andelectrical engineering for UConn constructionprojects, but it’s the structural department thathas a strong, personal connection to Storrs.The department is led by BVH Vice PresidentKarl F. Frey, P.E. (B.S. Civil Engineering ’83) andincludes Mr. Allyn (B.S., M.S. Civil Engineering’96, ‘98), Lance Aleksiewicz (B.S. CivilEngineering ’00), Cathleen Borden (B.S. CivilEngineering ’98), Rachelle Clark (B.S. CivilEngineering ’02), James Fox, P.E. (M.S. CivilEngineering ‘03), and Douglas McGough, P.E.(B.S. Civil Engineering ’94). BVH Vice PresidentTom St. Denis, P.E. (B.S. Civil Engineering ’83)heads the civil engineering department.

The team finds its work at UConn to berewarding and challenging. For example, theITE Building structure posed a unique chal-lenge requiring ingenuity to solve. The archi-tect, Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates,designed a 350-seat auditorium for the build-ing with a clear span of 76 feet that had to beburied underground, a structural feat. The newauditorium is beneath the courtyard formed bythe ITE building, Homer Babbidge Library, andthe new School of Business.

“The design preserves the courtyard viewfrom the library but also meets the capacity ofthe engineering program,” says Mr. Allyn.

The BVH team also keeps close ties to theSchool of Engineering by speaking in their former professors’ classes. Mr. Allyn draws onhis UConn experience for his speaking materi-al. “I try to talk about what I was curious

Engineering Grads HelpReshape Campus

SoEAlumni

Top Row from left to right: Jim Fox, Karl Frey,Rachelle Clark, Mark Allyn, Tom St. Denis.Bottom Row from left to right: Cathleen Borden,Lance Aleksiewicz, Doug McGough

about when I was a student,” he says. Duringa BVH visit to Dr. Gregory Frantz’s concreteclass, students saw how their class materialwould apply to their careers after graduation.“We talked about certain engineering parame-ters we use every day and Dr. Frantz had justgiven a lecture on one of the same topics,”says Mr. Allyn.

The alumni from BVH also take undergrad-uates on site tours of UConn construction projects and offer students the chance to visitBVH and experience the daily workings of anengineering firm. “It’s been great working withUConn Architecture and Engineering Services,the department that oversees all of these projects. They fully support the student sitetours,” says Mr. Frey.

BVH structural designer Lance Aleksiewiczhad internships with BVH during his junior andsenior years, and he is now pursuing his M.S.in engineering at UConn while working fulltime. “During my internships I got to work onseveral UConn projects in the early stages ofdesign. Since joining BVH full time I’ve partici-pated in the final design of several UConnprojects,” he says.

BVH’s other structural engineering projectsat UConn include the South Campus ParkingGarage, the current Student Union renovation,and Rentschler Field. The BVH team celebratedthe opening of the new stadium by going tothe Boston College game as a group inSeptember. For any structural engineer, a40,000-seat stadium is an accomplishment.These engineers, however, share a connectionto the home team that makes them even moreproud to see their efforts enjoyed by theUConn community.

Mr. Allyn agrees, “It’s great to give back to the University.”

By Gillian Hodgen and Lance Aleksiewicz

Winter 2004 Issue Correction

In our last issue (p. 25), it was erroneouslyreported that Sylvia S. Zajac, whoreceived the prestigious EisenhowerFellowship and will enjoy three years ofsupport during her Ph.D. studies in trans-portation engineering, is the daughter ofComputer Science & Engineering professorLester Lipsky. She is the daughter of Sue M. Lipsky (M.S. Computer Science ’89 and Gerald E. Zajac (B.S. and M.S. ElectricalEngineering ’68and ’70). Ms.Zajac was one ofjust 20 studentsselected nation-ally for receiptof the award.We applaudher and apologize forthe error.

Promotions andTenure Decisions

The University’s Board of Trustees hasapproved the following promotion andtenure recommendations for Engineeringfaculty. Congratulations to all!

Luke Achenie, associateprofessor of ChemicalEngineering, approved forpromotion to full professor.

Lisa Aultman-Hall,associate professor of Civil & EnvironmentalEngineering and Director,Connecticut Transportation

Institute, approved for award of tenure.

Bi Zhang, associate professor of MechanicalEngineering, approved forpromotion to full professor.

Do you suffer frequent abdominal hits whenplaying soccer? Experience back pain

while shoveling snow? Notice that drivers following your bike-laden car have troubleanticipating your turns? Do your cats begin toresemble plump seals during the bitter wintermonths? Does your muffin become hopelesslyembedded in the toaster? Connecticut schoolchildren have solved these problems—andhundreds more—with admirable creativity andhumor demonstrated during the 21ST annualConnecticut Invention Convention in Storrs. To the rescue come the padded protection ofthe Stomach Saver, guaranteed to reduce thesting of soccer injuries; the Shoe Shovel, asnow boot sporting a nifty shovel embedded atthe toes; a novel light-mounted bar that fitsacross a rear bike rack to enhance the visibilityof turning and stop lights; the Cat-Chy, a remote-control mouse sure to entice cooped-up cats; and the Toaster Basket insert that prevents burned fingers and ensures ease infreeing toasted foods from clingy coils.

More than 540 Connecticut students in K-8 willingly relinquished the opportunity tospend a beautiful May Saturday outside, playing softball or chasing Frisbees, choosinginstead to fulfill the role of inventors that theybegan in the fall. The Connecticut InventionConvention came to Storrs once again on May1, bringing with it an estimated 2,500 familymembers, judges and industry sponsors aswell as the youthful inventors themselves,who demonstrated and discussed their novelinventions before teams of attentive judges.For the sixth consecutive year, the School ofEngineering hosted the annual statewideevent, which also featured opportunities forvisitors to tour the campus and enjoy variouschild-friendly demonstrations and exhibitsstaged by the School of Engineering.

Charlie Baumgartner, president of the not-for-profit CIC organization and Sourcing Process Leader for GE Consumer & Industrial,said “Students attending today’s conventionare tomorrow’s scientists, engineers, and busi-

ness leaders; from all the ‘Yankee’ ingenuity Isaw, Connecticut’s technological leadershiprole will remain unchallenged. The CIC isindebted to the entire School of Engineeringfor their support over the past several years.The CIC and School of Engineering seem to bea match engineered in heaven.”

Keynote speaker Valerie Lewis,Connecticut Commissioner of HigherEducation, reminded the audience that as thenation comes to terms with its deficiencies inmath and science, programs like the InventionConvention grow in importance as a means toinvolve young people in creative problem solving. In the 1800’s, she observed, theConnecticut River Valley was regarded in thesame way that Silicon Valley is today: as thesource of intellectual capital on a grand scalethat drew inventors to the region. Here beganthe journey, she said, for such important inventions as the bicycle, automobile, boiler,vulcanized rubber, sewing machine, gyroscope, hamburger, pay telephone and typewriter.Commissioner Lewis counseled students thatConnecticut is simply not producing enoughgraduates skilled in math, science and engineering to fill the needs of business and industry. And invoking the words of musicianFrank Zappa, she urged students, “never stopuntil your good becomes better, and your better becomes the best.”

The Invention Convention begins each fall when participating teachers use the CICcurriculum to guide their students in the problem solving process. Students identify a perceived problem, brainstorm possible solu-tions, select and develop one solution, build aworking model, test it and—if necessary—modify its design to make it work as intended.Schools stage competitions at the local level, and winners go on to compete at thestatewide convention, where they set up their displays, prototypes and log books, andanswer questions posed by teams of volunteer

judges. The judges include academicians, engineers and scientists form Connecticutcompanies, lawyers and other professionalswho assess the novelty, execution and documentation of the inventions.

The non-profit CIC is overseen by volunteers and underwritten by grants and in-kind support from community, educationalinstitutions, business and charitable organiza-tions. Sustaining sponsors included CL&P’sEnergy Efficiency Team, the Connecticut SpaceGrant College Consortium, GE Elfun Society,Phoenix Investment Partners, Ltd., SBC, the UConn School of Engineering, and UnitedTechnologies Corporation.

Ramesh B. Malla, an associate professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering and amember of the CIC Board of Directors andConvention Coordinator at UConn, comments“The enthusiasm and energy the studentinventors displayed was amazing. The ConnecticutInventionConvention encour-ages our youngergeneration to follow their dreamsand to solve real-life problems withinventions of theirown creation.Judging by thisyear’s show, it’sclear that the CICprogram has againsucceeded in chal-lenging Connecticutschool children toapply and demon-strate their criticalthinking and problem solvingskills. Personally, I feel fortunate andproud to be a partof this program.”

Youthful Inventors Show Their Stuff

For information about the Connecticut Invention Convention, visit the convention website at www.CTInventionConvention.org.



Engineering Wins $146 MillionRecord-Setting Grant

In November 2003, the School ofEngineering received an in-kind software

grant that will better prepare engineeringgraduates for the manufacturing and technology environment. The grant, commercially valued at $146 million, wasannounced by University of ConnecticutPresident Philip A. Austin during aNovember 12, 2003 press conference.

Under terms of the grant, software giantUGS Corp. of Plano, TX agreed to providethe School of Engineering with a suite of leading industry software tools that constitutes the largest grant in University of Connecticut history and pushed theUniversity’s Capital Campaign past its $350 million goal.

“This is a wonderful day for theUniversity and for the people ofConnecticut,” said President Philip E.Austin. “This grant signifies a unique andenormously valuable collaboration betweenone of the nation’s major public researchuniversities, and one of the nation’s mostinnovative and far-sighted companies. The nature and scope of the grant are

unparalleled in UConn’s history; the grantwill strengthen further a School ofEngineering that is already making greatstrides in research, instruction and service to the wider community. E-engineering and e-commerce are vital components ofConnecticut’s economic growth, and we are delighted to partner with UGS in thisgreat venture.”

Dean of Engineering Amir Faghriadded, “We are ecstatic about this generousgrant. It will position UConn engineeringstudents to transition more smoothly froman academic environment into careers inindustry. This grant will significantlyexpand our strengths in education, researchand outreach while ensuring our students

a competitive advantage in the career marketplace.” He added, “The grant alsoendows us with the tools to establish a long-planned Institute for EngineeringEducation, Design and Computing.”

UGS will provide the School with state-of-the-art software used by scientists andengineers in General Motors, Boeing,Toyota, AT&T, IBM, Hitachi, Lockheed

Martin, Pratt &Whitney and GeneralDynamics and manyother top U.S. companies. The grantcovers a suite ofproduct lifecyclemanagement (PLM) tools for computeraided design (CAD),computer aided manufacturing

(CAM) and computer aided engineering(CAE), finite element analysis and optimization programs, and advanced solid modeling. The School will integrate e-engineering into its curriculum at theundergraduate and graduate levels, wherestudents will design product models, simulate their operation, and quantitativelyevaluate their performance. There areapproximately 2.6 million licensed users of software incorporating UGS technologywith 41,000 commercial customers worldwide.

The tools will promote interdisciplinarywork between teams of engineers from different majors, and the leading role played by UGS software in industry guarantees that students will acquire skillsthat will be of value to them when theygraduate. The UGS software also will finddiverse applications within the School’smajor research centers, including theConnecticut Global Fuel Cell Center, providing enhanced opportunities for multidisciplinary collaboration amongresearchers.

The grant also permits the School toestablish a new Institute for EngineeringEducation, Design and Computing. As envisioned by Dean Faghri, the institutewill integrate multidisciplinary activities inengineering synthesis and analysis across alldisciplines in the School of Engineering,including the senior-year capstone designexperience, on-site master of engineeringdegree program for practicing engineers, K-12 outreach programs, and e-engineeringand e-educational programs of the School.In laying an integrated software foundationthroughout the engineering departmentsand research centers, the UGS softwaregrant sets the groundwork for creation ofthe institute.

The UGS software also will find diverseapplications within the school’s majorresearch centers, including the ConnecticutGlobal Fuel Cell Center and the Center for Optics, Sensing and Tracking inHomeland Security, as well as providingenhanced opportunities for multidiscipli-nary collaboration among researchers.

This grant will significantly expand our strengths in education, research and outreach while ensuring our students a competitive advantage in the career marketplace.“

”

Amir Faghri, dean of Engineering, speaks at a press conference announcing a gift valued at $146 million from UGS Corp. to the School of Engineering at the University of Connecticut. At left is Dave Werner, vice president of UGS Northeast Region. To the right of Dr. Faghri are UConn President Philip Austin and U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons.

SoEUpdate

The Connecticut Transportation Institute, a resource center associated with the

School of Engineering, signed an agreementin late March with the ConnecticutDepartment of Labor’s Occupational Safety &Health (CONN-OSHA) Division to providetraining and resources for clients of theInstitute’s Technology Transfer Center. Thecollaborative alliance will allow CONN-OSHAand CTI to share information, provide guid-ance and access training resources that willhelp them protect employees’ health andsafety. It is the first public sector allianceexecuted by CONN-OSHA.

CTI serves as an educational, researchand technology transfer resource for the Stateas well as businesses and individuals con-cerned with the nation’s transportation infra-structure. CTI operates several major units,the transportation Technology Transfer Centerand the Connecticut Advanced Pavement(CAP) Lab, and participates in the ConnecticutCooperative Highway Research Program andthe New England Transportation Consortium.

The alliance outlines specific goals thatthe two agencies agree to strive toward.Training and education goals include develop-ment and delivery of courses pertaining to on-the-job safety and OSHA regulations, aswell as other programs targeted to the publicworks industry. Outreach and communicationsgoals include development and disseminationof best practices and other informationthrough a variety of media, as well as livepresentations and exhibits at CTI events.

Technology Transfer Center DirectorDonna Shea commented, “The alliance formalizes a long-term relationship betweenthe two organizations and will help foster an even more effective collaborative relation-ship developing quality safety training in the future.”

CTI Signs Pact with CONN-OSHA

Javidi Named Board of TrusteesDistinguished Professor


Bahram Javidi, professor of Electrical & ComputerEngineering, was named one of just five Board of

Trustees Distinguished Professors for 2004. This lifetimetitle is the highest honor bestowed on faculty at theUniversity of Connecticut.

Dr. Javidi has won numerous laurels for his researchprogram in 3-D optical imaging, 3-D visualization anddisplay, 3-D image processing and image recognition,and optical security systems. In 2003, he was awardedthe University of Connecticut Alumni AssociationExcellence in Research Award; and in 2002, he received the School of EngineeringDistinguished Professor Award and the Chancellor’s Research Excellence Award. Dr. Javidi is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers (IEEE), theOptical Society of America, and the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE).In 1990, the National Science Foundation named him a Presidential Young Investigator.Dr. Javidi holds 11 U.S. patents.

Come and enjoy the fun! DuringHomecoming ‘04 at Rentschler Field, the School of Engineering will host a tableunder the Alumni Association tent in theFanFest area of the parking lot.

There will be an array of inflatables,fun photos with our football and cheer-leader cutouts, face painting and a live band!

When: Saturday, October 23, 2004Where: Rentschler Field,

East Hartford, CTTime: 10:00 am - 12 noonGame: UConn vs. Temple -

game starts at noon

We hope to see you there.

You’re Invited to Homecoming ‘04

In the last decade, opportunities forwomen in engineering occupations have

grown in step with the heightened aware-ness of the merit of a diverse engineeringworkforce. The challenge remains, however,for women engineers seeking to gain leadership roles in industry and academia asmanagers, executives, deans and departmentheads. With this ongoing challenge inmind, the School of Engineering hosted agroundbreaking event at the Storrs campusMay 3-5, 2004: the first “Women inEngineering Leadership Summit.” Co-spon-sored by the Women in EngineeringLeadership Institute (WELI) and the Civil& Environmental Engineering Department,the summit assembled 75 female leadersand several men from professional organiza-tions, government, academic institutionsand industry with the goal of developingcooperative strategies for building effectivejoint programs that promote women inengineering leadership at all levels.

Civil & Environmental Engineering faculty members Lisa Aultman-Hall, BrittHolmén and Allison MacKay were summitco-hosts. The event was funded by theNational Science Foundation ADVANCEprogram and coordinated through the

Women in Engineering Leadership Institutelocated at Iowa State University.

The summit was organized based on thebelief that greater integration of womeninto the higher echelons of academic engi-neering leadership, specifically in academia,will produce benefits for industry, a morefemale-friendly culture in undergraduateengineering programs, and greater successat the high school levels in encouraging andretaining female students in science andmath. Summit activities included a leader-ship/partnering workshop, panels, informaldiscussions of leadership attributes andneeds, small group strategy sessions andplanning sessions for future activities.

Alice Hogan, program director for theNational Science Foundation’s ADVANCEprogram, opened the summit with a discussion of objectives. ADVANCE, she explained, is the outgrowth of theFoundation’s recognition that women areunder-represented in academic science andengineering—an inequity the agency seeksto reverse. One of the conundrums, shesaid, is that although colleges and universi-ties are educating women engineers, theyare disappearing from every academic rank,leaving voids in the classroom. “Think of afund manager,” she said. “If the capitalinvestment is not being made use of…it’s a

bad portfolio.” WhenNSF reviewed theproblem, she said,the agency real-ized that institu-

tional factors often inhibit women’s pro-gression through the academic ranks. Thisrealization led to the creation of theADVANCE.

Summit participants were engaged in anumber of team exercises and workshopsover the course of the 2-1/2 days. One earlyexercise involved attendees recording theirperceptions of what qualities define effec-tive leaders and what leadership styles arecommonly found in traditional engineeringprofessions. Dr. Roseanne Foti, an associateprofessor of psychology at Virginia Tech,whose experimental work explores leader-ship styles and perceptions, presented keyfindings from her research involving leader-ship traits and perceptions of men andwomen. She discussed traditional person-and/or task-oriented leadership styles aswell as the more contemporary transforma-tional and transactional styles. Dr. Fotiexplained that, based on her research andthe research of others, the most successfuland effective leadership style for mostwomen is the transformational leadershipstyle, which is characterized by effectivecommunication of values, purpose andimportance of the mission; optimism andexcitement about goals and the future; atendency to seek new perspectives to solveproblems and complete tasks; and a focuson development and mentoring of subordi-nates. However, she cautioned, the success

of this leadership stylerequires an organizational cul-ture that is notdominated by tradi-

UConn Engineering Hosts Women in Engineering Leadership Summit

SoEEvents


tional gender-based perceptions or the task-oriented leadership style. The environmentis key to successful integration of womeninto leadership positions, she summarized.

The summit included three major pan-els, each devoted to issues, cultural qualitiesand solutions commonly experienced bywomen engineering leaders in industry, academia and professional organizations.

The industry panel of five speakersincluded Deb Grubbe, Corporate Directorof Safety and Health for DuPont; MariaLehman, P.E., Commissioner of the ErieCounty Public Works, PA; Alma MartinezFallon, Manager of Planning andManufacturing Engineering for theStructural Fabrication and AssemblyDivision of Northrup Grumman and president of the Society of WomenEngineers; and Mary Andries, Director ofPropulsion Systems Analysis Integration forOperational Commercial Engines at Pratt& Whitney. Each, in turn, recounted herexperiences in gaining leadership positionsand offered insights into the qualities andfactors that contributed to their success.Among the themes discussed were the needfor women engineers to take risks—even inthe absence of a support net, to remaincommitted to their goals, to accept thenotion that good decisions must garnerrespect but may not foster friendship, to accept the advice of mentors, to getinvolved in public policy and take on newthings, to be adaptable, and to be passion-ate about their work. All of the speakersstressed that it ispossible to balancea successful

corporate career in leadership with ahealthy family life.

The challenges and avenues for attain-ing engineering leadership positions in academia were the focus of the secondpanel discussion. Panel members were Dr. Linda Katehi, Dean of Engineering atPurdue University; Dr. Priscilla Nelson,Senior Advisor to the Director ofEngineering at the National ScienceFoundation; and Dr. JoAnn Lighty,Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in theCollege of Engineering at the University ofUtah. In contrast with industrial cultures,which can appreciate the cost/benefit valueof female administrators, the speakersagreed that academic environments have noprofit motive to influence a commitment todiverse leadership. Instead, the speakersagreed, the commitment to female parity inengineering leadership must begin at thetop levels of the university. At the top, a shrewd administration can set diversitygoals in hiring and develop institutionalpractices that reduce the likelihood thatfemale faculty will leave the academic environment. Echoing a theme voiced during the industry panel, the speakersagreed that good mentors—male as well as female—can greatly improve a woman’ssuccess in gaining positions of administra-tive power. Dr. Lighty commented thatfemale engineering faculty can “empowermen who will find the religionof helping women.”

Keynote luncheonspeaker Dr. SheilaWidnall, InstituteProfessor ofAeronautics &

Astronautics and Engineering Systems atthe Massachusetts Institute of Technologyand former Secretary of the U.S. Air Force,presented a brief chronology of initiativesand results from MIT’s 30-year campaignto diversify its undergraduate engineeringpopulation. The Institute recognized, forexample, that female students perform better academically than would be predict-ed by their SAT scores, so MIT changed its acceptance formula to compensate forthis difference; the change produced a dramatic increase in the number of femaleengineering undergraduates, to 48% of the undergraduate population. She alsorecounted her experiences as a top-rankingleader within the highest echelons of thetraditionally male-dominated U.S. defenseadministration. She urged female facultyto become involved in committee leader-ship and remarked that sometimes a lateral growth move is key to entering the administrative realm.

The ultimate goal of the summit was to develop blueprints to pursue specificactions for effecting greater integration of women into leadership levels withinindustry, academia and government. When the summit concluded onWednesday, the participants had producednine blueprints that will be disseminatedthrough a white paper report, on the WELIwebsite (www.weli.eng.iastate.edu) andthrough conference presentations. Manyparticipants volunteered to actively work

with the blueprints or to bring them totheir organization’s attention in order

to further the overall summit goal. It is hoped that many groups andindividuals will benefit through use of the blueprints.



Flush from the success of its September2003 International Conference on Advanced

Technologies for Homeland Security (ICATHS),the School of Engineering will reprise it with a second meeting on August 12-13, 2004. As in 2003, ICATHS’04 is expected to drawapproximately 500 participants from industry,academia and government who are interestedin the deployment of advanced technologies in security and who wish to learn about thelatest advances in technology geared toenhance homeland security.

ICATHS’04 will encompass keynote presen-tations, workshops, poster sessions and panel

Homeland Security Conference in August: Plan to Attend

discussions over the course of two days in fourkey areas: Sensing and Information Technology;Energy and Transportation Infrastructures;Chemical, Biological and Nuclear Threats; and Policy and Education. Experts in each ofthese areas will present keynote addresses and workshops.

Register now to attend ICATHS’04. Visit our website at www.engr.uconn.edu/icaths.For more information about ICATHS’04, please contact Cheryl Lowe at (860) 486-5091or by e-mail at [email protected].

and water but also the batteries neededto power an assortment of equipment,including GPS, computers, sensors andother items. The desire to eliminateheavy batteries in lieu of reliable, light-weight power sources, makes fuel cells anattractive option for the Army.

Fuel cells represent an environmental-ly friendly technology involving electro-chemical oxidation of fuels to protonsand electrons, which—in conjunctionwith electrochemical oxygen reduction—produces water and electricity. Fuel cellsoffer potentially greater efficiencies thantraditional fossil fuel combustion technologies. Their ability to operatecontinuously eliminates the need forrecharging, which represents a significantadvantage over batteries. These uniquefeatures make fuel cell technology anattractive future proposition, with dis-parate applications in the transportation,stationary power, portable electronicsand military sectors being targeted bycurrent research and development activities in academia and industry.

Next-generation combat vehicles,portable electronics, robotics and the likeare targeted for near-term conversion tofuel cell power. Fuel cells could help themilitary extend mission lengths andavoid the logistical headaches of batteryrecharging and replacement in portablepower as well as in transportation and incritical stationary power sources.

The Army and other branches of theU.S. military are investing heavily inidentifying, developing and deployingalternative energy technologies that canbe brought to the individual soldier rap-idly. “Great ideas in energy come fromoutside my organization,” said GeneralDoesburg, so DOD is looking to acade-mia and industry, as well as the federallaboratories, for novel energy ideas.

The CGFCC, for example, hasreceived $6.5 million in federal earmarksfrom the U.S. Army to develop micro-miniature portable fuel cells for fieldapplications.

General Doesburg was one of fourkeynote speakers delivering remarks during the conference. Other keynotespeakers were Dr. Frank Preli, vice president of engineering for UTC FuelCells, Bruce Utz and Patrick Davis, both affiliated with the U.S. Departmentof Energy.

Fuel Cell Conference Continued

Conference Chairs

Honorary Conference Chair William A. Wulf, National Academy of Engineering President Honorary Co-Chair Christopher Shays, U.S. CongressmanHonorary Co-Chair Rob Simmons, U.S. CongressmanGeneral Chair Amir Faghri, Dean, School of Engineering

Executive Committee

Eugene Arthurs Executive Director, SPIE John Cassidy Senior Vice President, Science & Technology,

United Technologies CorporationChristopher Fuselier General Manager, Industrial Technology,

GE Industrial SystemsEsin Gulari Assistant Director for Engineering,

National Science Foundation Ralph James Associate Laboratory Director for Energy, Environment &

National Security Directorate, Brookhaven National LaboratoryRobert C. Olsen Rear Admiral and Superintendent, U.S. Coast Guard AcademyRobert Popp Special Assistant to the Director, DARPATheodore Saito Office of the Secretary of DefenseMichael Toner Executive Vice President and Group Executive–Marine Systems,

General DynamicsDennis Welch Director, President and COO, Yankee Energy System, Inc.Roger Werne Chief Engineer, Nonproliferation Arms Control & International

Security Directorate, Lawrence Livermore National LaboratoryVincent Wilczynski Commander, U.S. Coast Guard Academy


SoEEvents

Eleven Distinguished Alumni and Friends Honored


The School of Engineering honored 11exceptional alumni and friends before an

audience of 650 during its annual banquet andawards ceremony in the spring. The gala eventtook place in the South Campus Ballroom onthe evening of Monday, April 19th. Attendeesincluded top executives from many ofConnecticut’s leading industrial employers,School of Engineering alumni and faculty, student scholarship recipients and their parents, and University leaders. The Schoolpresented one Distinguished EngineeringService Award and inducted 10 new membersand two honorary members into the School of Engineering Academy of DistinguishedEngineers. In addition, during the evening theSchool awarded $500,000 in scholarships toapproximately 200 continuing undergraduatestudents and more than $770,000 in scholar-ships to 276 entering students admitted to theSchool of Engineering for the fall 2004 term.

Commissioner of Higher Education Valerie Lewis was fêted with receipt of the School’s Distinguished Service Award forher commitment to furthering technology education throughout the state. In her role as

Commissioner, she has been instrumental inhelping the School increase its baccalaureatedegree offerings from 6 to 12 in just five years.In receiving her award, Commissioner Lewisexpressed high regard for the University’s dramatic metamorphosis under UConn 2000 and spoke highly of the School ofEngineering’s impressive achievements since1997, making special note of the School’s success in increasing its undergraduate enrollments by more than 116%.

The 10 new inductees into the Academy of Distinguished Engineers were presented acommemorative plaque and medallion bearingthe Academy’s distinctive seal. Brief bios beginon page 16. The awardees included:

Samuel AltschulerStephen AltschulerCraig AshmoreChatschik BisdikianRobert C. DaigleAnthony J. DeMariaJanet M. (Callahan) Hampikian Robert F. Leheny Dominick A. Pagano Kumares C. Sinha

In addition, the School also inducted twohonorary members into the Academy ofDistinguished Engineers: Kenneth Reifsnider,Pratt & Whitney Chair Professor of Design &Reliability and David Crow, DistinguishedProfessor-in-Residence, both associated withthe Mechanical Engineering Department. Drs. Reifsnider and Crow are members of theprestigious National Academy of Engineering(see related story, page 5) and have built international reputations in their fields ofexpertise. Dr. Reifsnider is recognized for hiscontributions in composite materials and structures, which he is applying at UConntoward low-temperature fuel cell systems.

Dr. Crow established an international repu-tation during his 36 years with Pratt & Whitneythat included his five-year tenure as SeniorVice President of Engineering. In this role, heoversaw 6,600 engineers responsible for thedesign, development, validation and certifica-tion of all Pratt & Whitney large commercialengines, military engines and rocket products.He oversaw development of the F119 engineon the F-22 Raptor; was instrumental in the


company’s receipt of a $4 billion contract todevelop the F135, which will power theLockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter; and led the design and development of thePW4084 engine, the most powerful commer-cial engine in the world, that debuted in 1994 on the Boeing 777.

Corporate sponsors who have contributedtime and money toward the School ofEngineering were recognized, includingAccenture, Aetna Information Services, the American Screw Company, the BardenFoundation, Inc., Bayer Corporation, CanberraIndustries, Cantor Colburn LLP, the Connecticut Association of Street andHighway Officials, Connecticut Innovations,Crompton Corporation/Uniroyal Chemical,Dapco Industries, Demsey ManufacturingCompany, Dominion Nuclear Connecticut, DowChemical Company, Electric Boat Corporation,Ensign-Bickford Foundation, Fuss & O’Neill,the General Electric Fund, General ElectricIndustrial Systems, Hamilton Sundstrand, IBM,Lenard Engineering, The Moles, NortheastUtilities Corporation, Olin corporation, PitneyBowes, Pratt & Whitney, SBC, SikorskyAircraft, TRUMPF and United TechnologiesCorporation.

2004 Distinguished Engineering Service Award

VALERIE F. LEWIS

Valerie F. Lewis isCommissioner of HigherEducation for the State ofConnecticut, a position

she has held since 1999. She began her careerwith the 45-member Department of HigherEducation in 1987, starting as an intern in theagency’s budget division before serving in avariety of capacities, from Special Assistant tothe Commissioner, to Assistant Commissionerand then Deputy Commissioner in 1992. In herrole as Commissioner of Higher Education, Ms. Lewis has been instrumental to thegrowth in enrollments and degree options—aswell as the future direction—of the School ofEngineering. She has been an integral partner

in helping the School double its undergraduatedegree offerings from six baccalaureate programs to 12 since 1999, a process requiringapproval of the Department of HigherEducation for each new B.S. degree programproposed. Ms. Lewis has been an ardent advocate for technology education throughoutthe state of Connecticut. She is a member ofthe Advisory Board for the School ofEngineering and in this capacity Ms. Lewis has shared her recommendations and insightsrelative to the School’s academic direction,educational focus and performance measures.

Ms. Lewis earned her bachelor’s degree in English from Mount Holyoke College and her master’s degree in Student AffairsAdministration from the University ofConnecticut.

2004 Academy of DistinguishedEngineers and Hall of Fame

SAMUEL ALTSCHULER,JR. (B.S. ElectricalEngineering ’50)

Mr. Samuel Altschulerwas the founder,Chairman and President

(1970-1998) of Altron Inc. of Boston, MA, aleading contract manufacturer of interconnectproducts used in advanced electronic equip-ment. In 1998, Altron merged with Sanmina, a West Coast-based electronic manufacturingcompany. Following the merger, Mr. Altschulerbecame an Executive Vice President ofSanmina and a member of the Board ofDirectors. In 1999, Mr. Altschuler retired after50 years in the electronics industry. From 1992to 1994, he was President of the IPC, the inter-national trade association for the printed circuit and contract manufacturing industries,and in 1994, he received the association’sDistinguished Service Award. Mr. Altschulerholds an MBA degree from NortheasternUniversity, where he is a member of the corpo-ration and serves on the Board of Visitors ofthe Business School. He was formerly aDirector of Massbank Corp., a bank holdingcompany. He served on the Advisory Board of

the University of Connecticut School ofEngineering from 1993 to 1995 and previouslyreceived the Distinguished Engineering AlumniAward (1992). With his brother, Stephen, Mr. Altschuler established the AltschulerFamily Scholarship in Engineering in 1993.

STEPHEN ALTSCHULER(B.S. ElectricalEngineering ’54)

Mr. Stephen Altschuler is founder and Presidentof Altek Company,

Torrington, CT. Begun in 1972, Altek has twodivisions, Altek Electronics, a full-service man-ufacturer of electronic printed circuit boardassemblies, and Tech® Products, which devel-ops and manufactures can testing equipmentfor the food and beverage industry, includingcustomers such as Anheuser Busch and CocaCola. Earlier in his career, Mr. Altschuler wasVice President of Computer Dynamics (1963-72) and Manager of Quality Assurance forAdage Inc. (1959-63). He served on the Boardof Trustees for the University of Connecticutfrom 1986-93 and is the former Director and Vice President of the NorthwesternConnecticut Chamber of Commerce. With hisbrother, Samuel, Mr. Altschuler established the Altschuler Family Scholarship inEngineering in 1993.

CRAIG W. ASHMORE(B.S. MechanicalEngineering and CivilEngineering ’85)

Mr. Craig Ashmore isGroup Vice President,

Telecommunications Products, of EmersonElectric Company (EMR), St. Louis, a $14 billioncompany with more than 100,000 employeesworldwide. His divisions supply solutions forthe telecommunications, information technolo-gy, medical, industrial and contract manufac-turing end markets. Mr. Ashmore assumed thisposition in 2003 following three years’ serviceas Vice President Profit Planning, where hewas responsible for determining and



implementing Emerson’s operational directionworldwide. He commenced employment withEmerson in 1991 as a Corporate StrategicPlanner and served in various administrativecapacities of increasing responsibility, including Assistant to the President ofEmerson; Director, Investor Relations andAssistant to the Chairman and CEO; andPresident of the Emerson companies Fusiteand Fisher Regulators of Fisher ControlsInternational. He was employed as a managerfor Andersen Consulting in Hartford, CT priorto pursuing his MBA, which he received fromHarvard University.

CHATSCHIKBISDIKIAN(M.S. ElectricalEngineering ’85, Ph.D.Electrical & SystemsEngineering ’88)

Dr. Chatschik Bisdikian is a Research StaffMember with IBM’s T.J. Watson ResearchCenter, Hawthorne, NY, which he joined in1989. He has been responsible for developingand analyzing communication protocols andleading efforts in developing standards forCaTV and wireless personal area networks.Dr. Bisdikian has worked in various researchareas with IBM, including pervasive computingand personal area networking, broadbandservices and protocols, and modeling andanalysis of local and metropolitan area networks. During his career, he has writtenmore than 90 scholarly papers appearing inprestigious archival publications, served asEditor-in-Chief for IEEE Network magazine, co-authored the first and second editions ofBluetooth Revealed: the Insider’s Guide to anOpen Specification for Global WirelessCommunications, and co-invented seven U.S.patents as well as nine pending patents. He was elected a Fellow of IEEE in 2004 and in 1995 he was named one of only threefinalists for the Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society’sOutstanding Young Electrical Engineer Award Program.

ROBERT C. DAIGLE(B.S. ChemicalEngineering and Materials Engineering ’86)

Mr. Robert Daigle is VicePresident of Research & Development andChief Technology Officer for RogersCorporation, Rogers, CT. Rogers develops andmanufactures high-performance specialtymaterials focusing on the wireless communica-tions and computer markets. Mr. Daigle joinedRogers in 1988 as a Development Engineer andremained in research and development until1994, when he transferred to CorporateMarketing. He joined the Microwave MaterialsDivision (now Advanced Circuit MaterialsDivision or ACMD) in 1996, was promoted toDivision Manager the following year and laterassumed the role of Vice President of ACMD.

ANTHONY J. DEMARIA(B.S. ElectricalEngineering ’56, Ph.D.Electrical Engineering ‘65)

Dr. Anthony DeMaria isChief Scientist with

Coherent-DEOS, LLC, Bloomfield, CT, whichmanufactures lasers for remote sensing andinfrared counter-measures and employsapproximately 170 staff members. He is also aProfessor-in-Residence in the University ofConnecticut’s Electrical & ComputerEngineering Department. Dr. DeMaria foundedDeMaria Electro-Optics Systems, Inc. (DEOS) in1994 after purchasing intellectual property ofthe CO2 laser unit of Hamilton Standard. Hewas chairman and CEO of DEOS, polishing thecompany into the world’s leading manufacturerof sealed-off, RF excited waveguide CO2 lasersfor industrial and governmental applications.The company was purchased in 2001 by

Coherent, Inc. Before founding DEOS, Dr. DeMaria devoted 37 years of his career to the Hamilton Standard (now HamiltonSundstrand) division of United TechnologiesCorporation and to the United TechnologiesResearch Center. He is a member of both theNational Academy of Engineering (1976) and the National Academy of Sciences (1997),the Connecticut Academy of Science &Engineering, the Connecticut Academy of Artsand Sciences, and the recipient of manynamed awards. He received the DistinguishedEngineering Alumni Award in 1983. Dr. DeMaria has served as an inventor on 45 U.S. patents.

JANET M. (CALLAHAN)HAMPIKIAN(B.S. ChemicalEngineering ’83, M.S.Metallurgy ’86, Ph.D.Materials Science ’90)

Dr. Janet M. Hampikian is presently anAssociate Professor of Materials Science atthe Georgia Institute of Technology. She beganher career with the university in 1992 afterspending two years as a Visiting Scientist withthe Commonwealth Scientific and IndustrialResearch Organization in Melbourne, Australia,as part of a National Science Foundation post-doctoral fellowship. In 1996, Dr. Hampikianwas awarded a prestigious National ScienceFoundation Early Career (CAREER) award forher work in high temperature coatings. She isa member of numerous materials and educa-tional societies, including TMS, ASEE, ASMand ABET. Her areas of research specializationinclude biomaterials, nanomaterials, thermalbarrier coatings, ion implantation, oxidationand brachytherapy, and she is co-inventor ontwo U.S. patents. While on leave from GeorgiaTech, she co-founded RadioVascular Systems,Inc. (now doing business as MedluminalSystems, Inc., CA) a medical device company,where she served as Director of Research from 1998 to 2001.


ROBERT F. LEHENY(B.S. ElectricalEngineering ‘60)

Dr. Robert Lehenypresently is DeputyDirector of DARPA,

the Defense Advanced Research ProjectsAgency, VA. He first joined DARPA in 1993 asa program manager of optoelectronics andlater served as Director of the MicrosystemsTechnology Office before assuming his currentposition. His program interests at DARPA havefocused on application of photonics, micro-electronics and MEMS technologies to communication and RF systems and relatedmaterials and device technologies for informa-tion systems processing. Prior to joiningDARPA, he worked more than 25 years withBell Communications Research (Bellcore, now known as Telcordia Technologies), in positions ranging from technical staff workto Executive Director for Network TechnologyResearch in the Applied Research Laboratory.He was named a Bell Labs DistinguishedMember of the Technical Staff in 1992 andawarded the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award in 1991.

Dr. Leheny received his doctoral degreefrom Columbia University.

DOMINICK A. PAGANO(B.S. ElectricalEngineering ’68)

Mr. Dominick Pagano isPresident and CEO ofDapco Industries, Inc.,

Ridgefield, CT, a company he founded in 1972.Dapco designs and manufactures computer-based ultrasonic inspection equipment for non-destructive testing applications and hasinstallations worldwide. Under his leadership,Dapco has achieved important technologicalfirsts, including development of high speedultrasonic inspection systems for railroad rails,U.S. military ordnance inspection, monitoringof nuclear reactors, pattern recognition anddefect classification, and systems for othermilitary, aerospace, medical and industrial

applications. Early in his career, Mr. Paganoheld engineering positions with CunninghamIndustries and Harisonic Labs. He holds 14U.S. and international patents. Mr. Paganoserves on the Board of Directors and asPresident and CEO of EDAC Technologies, Inc.,Farmington, CT; founded and served on theBoard of Directors of the Brookfield Bank,Brookfield, CT; and founded and chaired theBoard of Directors of AET, Inc., Bethel, CT. In 1988 he received the DistinguishedEngineering Alumni Award. Mr. Pagano hasgiven generously to the School of Engineeringand recently established an undergraduatescholarship in Engineering.

KUMARES C. SINHA(M.S., Ph.D. CivilEngineering ’66, ’68)

Dr. Kumares Sinha is theEdgar B. & Hedwig M.Olson Distinguished

Professor of Civil Engineering and Director ofthe Joint Transportation Research Program atPurdue University, IN. He has published widelyon transportation planning and engineeringand mentored numerous students (41 Ph.D.,167 M.S., and 21 post-doctoral fellows) world-wide. He advises governments at all levels andconsults for the World Bank. He is a registeredProfessional Engineer and he serves as thePresident of the Transportation & DevelopmentInstitute of the American Society of CivilEngineers (ASCE), and as a member of theFederal Advisory Council on TransportationStatistics. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Transportation Engineering.Dr. Sinha has received numerous honors,including the ITE Wilbur S. SmithDistinguished Transportation Educator Award(2002), the ASCE Francis C. Turner LectureAward (2001), the ASCE Harland BartholomewAward (1996), the ARTBA Steinberg Award(2000), the ASCE Arthur Wellington Prize(1992), the ASCE Frank M. Masters Award(1986), the Fred Burggraf Award of theTransportation Research Board (1974) and the Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award,University of Connecticut (1995).

CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

DistinguishedEngineering AwardsEach year, the School of Engineeringhonors exceptional alumni and friends.Top nominees are honored during ourannual awards banquet in the spring. At this time, we invite you to nominatethe candidates of your choice for theDistinguished Engineering AlumniAward, Distinguished EngineeringService Award or Academy ofDistinguished Engineers. Please:

1. Contact Cheryl Lowe for the nomina-tion material, at (860) 486-5091 or by e-mail at [email protected]; or

2. Visit our web site atwww.engr.uconn.edu/SoE/pdf/NOMINATIONForms, complete theforms and mail, fax or e-mail them to the School of Engineering at theaddress provided.

261 Glenbrook Rd. Unit 2237School of EngineeringUniversity of ConnecticutStorrs, CT 06269-2237

Please note that all nominations mustbe received no later than Wednesday, February 23, 2005.


He developed an excellent relationship withthe company and was immensely impressedby their research. This relationship providedthe entrée for one of Mr. Bacon’s mostmemorable experiences. In the early 70’s, he attended the launch of Apollo 17 as aguest of Pratt & Whitney. Edward recalledthat during the launch, his father was intro-duced to President Nixon, who reportedlydraped an arm over his shoulder andquipped “Without you, Tom, we wouldn’thave gotten to the Moon.”

Throughout his career, Mr. Bacon stroveto find sponsors for his fuel cell research. It was difficult for him to pursue this cutting-edge technology, which had noobvious commercial applications and wasexpensive. He never made much money,even on the technology licenses to Pratt &Whitney and—in fact—he personally subsidized much of his research. He wasconvinced the technology would pave anew energy future for the world, and heremained interested throughout his lifetime in devising ways to make fuel cells cost effective and versatile in diverseapplications. One of his most importantcontributions was in the use of an alkalineelectrolyte fuel cell, which needs much lessplatinum catalyst than comparable fuelcells. This innovation kept down the cost of alkaline fuel cells, making them moreattractive for commercial applications.Throughout his life, he was absorbed bynew fuel cell developments and their potential practical application. His contri-butions were recognized by many academicorganizations: he was elected a Fellow ofthe Royal Society in 1973, received an honorary D.Sc. from Newcastle Universityin 1980 and was awarded the first GroveMedal in 1991.

Daphne and Edward said that theirfather was a quiet, studious and gentleman. He kept meticulous and clearly writ-ten notes. Before World War II, he enjoyeddriving his green 3-liter Bentley, and heloved climbing and hiking in the LakeDistrict, Scotland and Switzerland. He tookgreat pleasure in reading to his children andgrandchildren from classics such as TheWind in the Willows and the Kipling stories.

Today, as fuel cells are being touted asthe next revolution in energy, Mr. Bacon’scontributions are emerging from manyyears of obscurity and are now receiving the recognition they long deserved.

Bacon Medal Continued

Engineering faculty members won several large federal awards from the NationalScience Foundation to conduct cutting-edge research.

Dr. Peter LuhDr. Peter Luh, SNET Professor of Communications & InformationTechnologies in the Electrical & Computer EngineeringDepartment, was awarded $350,000 to conduct research enti-tled “Robustness, Efficiency, and Security of Electric PowerGrids in a Market Environment.” Dr. Luh shares this grant withco-principal investigator David Pepyne, a research associate atHarvard University. Dr. Vicki Knoblauch, professor of Economics

at UConn, is a senior researcher on the project. Dr. Luh and his colleagues contend thatderegulation of the power industry and the possibility of terrorism put the power infrastructure at serious risk.

Working in conjunction with Southern California Edison (SCE), Drs. Luh and Pepynebelieve that almost all the pay-as-offer auctions used in wholesale electricity markets areimproperly designed, resulting in higher than necessary costs for consumers. The researchteam and partner engineers at SCE are developing a new formulation and a novel solutionmethodology that generate lower costs than those obtained by current mechanisms. A patent application has been filed based on their “pay-at-marginal clearing price” auction formulation. As an economist, Dr. Knoblauch is interested is in using game theory to analyze the costs consumers would pay under this new pay-at-MCP formulation.Preliminary results show that the new mechanism generates procurement costs that areless than or equal to those generated by the current pay-as-offer mechanism, even whengeneration companies behave strategically.

Dr. Luh points out that the U.S. electric power infrastructure typifies the characteristicsshared by many critical networked infrastructures (transportation, finance, banking, emergency services, government, communications, media, manufacturing, social, etc.).Thus, the research is believed to have broader impacts on other infrastructures.

Dr. Lei ZhuDr. Lei Zhu, assistant professor of Chemical Engineering,received a coveted NSF Early Career Development (CAREER)Award in the amount of $430,000. The five-year award, which commenced January 1, 2004, focuses on “Tailoring the Nanostructure and Morphology of Hydrogen-BondedSupramolecular Liquid Crystals Using Immiscible Polymer Side Chains.”

Research at the nano level involves analyzing materials and processes on a minutescale: one nanometer is one billionth of a meter in size, or equivalent to about 3-5 atoms.Scientists and engineers have quickly embraced nanotechnology as a means to understandand exploit processes and structural characteristics at the most fundamental level. The aim of his research, says Dr. Zhu, is to understand phase behaviors of “smart” columnar liquid crystals and to use them as nanosize actuators. “These special liquid crystals,” he explains, “can form coiled nanofibers, which can be used in nanorobots fordrug delivery and sensors.”

Medical researchers envision a future in which nanorobots may be used, for example,to deliver medicine to a specific location in the body. They could be used to transportchemical toxins to a tumor, to stimulate organ regeneration, improve the body’s acceptanceof prosthetic organs, and alert doctors to potential health risks. The shape of nanorobotswill influence the potential applications.

Faculty Win Big Federal Awards


Seniors ProveTheir DesignMettle

With graduation just days away, on April 30th senior engineering

students participated in one of the most visible, defining demonstrations of theirundergraduate experience: the annual designdemonstrations. The Mechanical EngineeringDepartment held its Senior Design Expo inthe Engineering II building, where 19 teamsof students—including several interdiscipli-nary teams involving seniors in MechanicalEngineering, Electrical & ComputerEngineering, Computer Engineering, and Environmental Engineering—unveileddesign projects they developed over thecourse of a two-semester capstone majordesign course.

In parallel, the Electrical & ComputerEngineering (ECE) Department held its Senior Design Day demonstrations in the ITE Building, with demonstrations and oral presentations involving 18 projects, some interdisciplinary in nature. Among theECE design projects demonstrated were a robotic hand, real-time GPS, bipedal robot, wireless sensor networks, software for automatic switchgear elevation, and message board.

In addition, students in Computer Science& Engineering completed senior design projects during the year. Sixty-seven studentsparticipated in 17 design projects involving: a F100 Engine control simulator (sponsoredby Pratt & Whitney), collaborative MIDImusic over the web, a microprocessor-basedcontrol to combine and dispense liquids, an online computer parts shopping web site,a web-based role-playing game, a web-based system to control campus bus sched-ules, a wireless web-based robotic controllerwith video, an autonomous robot to seek andexhaust fires (3 teams), a secure open onlinevoting system, a three-dimensional isometricgame, a web-based security system withvideo monitors, a three-dimensional anima-tion game system, online multi-player

checkers game with artificial intelligence, videoconferencing over the web, a three-dimensionalChinese chess game, and a two-dimensionalweb-based combat game.

The April 30 event drew large numbers ofvisitors from industry and the university, as wellas parents eager to see the output of their children’s senior projects. Each year, students in several engineering departments engage intwo-semester capstone major design coursesthat provide hands-on learning trials and exposethem to the challenges and satisfactions ofsolving real-world dilemmas from the problemdefinition stage to prototype development. The major design experience usually begins inthe fall, when seniors are given an array ofpotential design projects from which to choose.The design experience involves teamwork andcooperation among team members, a participat-ing corporate consultant, and faculty advisors,affording students a unique learning opportunityto thoroughly examine and solve genuine manu-facturing problems or ergonomic challenges.

In the case of sponsored projects, teamswork closely with the company, which providesthe financial support and the design challenge.In exchange, students research the problem,conceive alternate solutions, design and refineone device or method, construct a working prototype, and provide the sponsoring companyregular reports as well as a working prototype.Throughout the process, students apply the coreconcepts they learned in the classroom to anactual design project.

The Mechanical Engineering Departmentcompetition culminated in presentation of threeawards to project teams identified for specialrecognition by external judges. First place laurels of $1,500 went to “Design of Low Loss Internal Flow Ducts for Turbine Airfoils,”developed by Daeseong Jo and Alexander

Stepanoff under the sponsorship of Pratt &Whitney. The project aimed to reduce pressurelosses in the internal cooling ducts of high-pressure turbine airfoils, which lessen engine efficiency. The team’s solution targeted thepoint at which airflow makes an 180-degreeturn and involves development of a converg-ing-diverging duct on the aft side of the bendand a forward-facing step in the middle of the bend.

The second place award of $1,000 was presented to the team of Dennis Ljubicic, Adam Roina and Ryan Tutolo whose“Tablesource Manufacturing Method” wasdeveloped under the sponsorship of TheWiremold Company. School of Engineeringalumnus Brian Takiff (B.S., ME 2000) was thecorporate advisor. The team developed anergonomic, self-contained work cell thatallows a line employee to quickly assemblevarious sizes of TableSource power strip unitswith greater ease and efficiency. Featuresinclude an overhead light, vise-like tool balancers and a honeycomb of piece binsarrayed on a six-foot adjustable table.

The team of Andrew Huang, Sarah Schruppand Michael Tammaro took the $500 thirdplace prize for their “Rapid Thaw Accumulator(RTA) Design,” sponsored by UTC Fuel Cells.The team developed a unit to contain and melt (from a frozen state) process water of the cooling loop associated with a protonexchange membrane or PEM fuel cell intendedfor use in automotive applications.

Sponsoring organizations for the 2004 senior design projects in the ME and ECEdepartments included Pratt & Whitney, Pitney Bowes, Rogers Corporation, HamiltonSundstrand, Sikorsky Aircraft, GerberTechnology, CATO Rocketry, Pfizer, ElectricBoat, The Wiremold Company, Timken, General Electric Industrial Systems, SiemonCompany, Carlyle & Johnson, Westinghouse,Jacobs Vehicle Systems, and UTC Fuel Cells.


Leon Shaw Wins $2.0 Million DoE Award

The federal government’s focus on reduc-ing the nation’s dependence of foreign

energy has produced dividends for theUniversity of Connecticut. In April, Dr. LeonShaw, associate professor and InterimDepartment Head of Metallurgy &Materials Engineering, learned he andresearch colleagues will receive a com-bined (with endowment matching funds) $2 million under President Bush’s new ini-tiative aimed at overcoming obstacles to ahydrogen economy. On April 27, Secretaryof Energy Spencer Abraham announced theAdministration’s $350 million initiative tosupport research and science projects tar-geting development of commercially-viablehydrogen and fuel cell technology.

Dr. Shaw is principal investigator onthe four-year research project, entitled“Effects and Mechanisms of MechanicalActivation on Hydrogen Sorption/Desorption of Nanoscale Lithium Nitrides.”Thirty-two projects were targeted for funding over the next five years. Joining Dr. Shaw on the project are Drs. MarcelUtz, assistant professor of Physics atUConn, and Z. Gary Yang at PacificNorthwest National Laboratory.

Dr. Shaw and his colleagues will investigate effects and mechanisms ofmechanical activation on hydrogen storagecapacity and sorption/desorption kineticsof nanoscale lithium nitride-based materi-als. He explains that conventional lithiumnitride compounds are a promising hydro-

gen storage material with an ability tostore hydrogen up to 11.4 weight percent.The problem is that the temperaturerequired to release the hydrogen at theusable pressure is too high for practicalapplications. Furthermore, the reversiblehydrogen is only about 6 weight percent.

The research team seeks to establish ascientific foundation for developingmechanically activated nanoscale lithiumnitride-based materials that can meet theDepartment of Energy’s FreedomCARrequirements. FreedomCar (CooperativeAutomotive Research) is an industry/gov-ernment research initiative focused on collaborative, potentially high-risk researchto develop the component technologiesnecessary to provide a full range of afford-able cars and light trucks that rely on non-petroleum based fuel. The team willemploy a systems approach that integratescomprehensive experiments and quantum-chemical modeling. The research will culminate with development of a prototypehydrogen delivery system with lithiumnitride-based materials possessing approxi-mately 10 weight percent reversible hydrogen and capable of delivering 1 kg of hydrogen at room temperature and near ambient pressure. If successful, said Dr. Shaw, this program will lead to novel hydrogen storage materials needed to make hydrogen vehicles a commercial reality.

High School StudentsExcited by Fuel Cells

Fuel Cell CenterHosts Visit

On February 4th, theConnecticut Global

Fuel Cell Center hosted avisit by 60 students fromJoseph A. Foran HighSchool in Milford, CTwho arrived excited toexplore this evolvingtechnology and its impli-cations for the 21st cen-tury world. Scienceteacher and alumnusGeorge Benedetti (B.S. ’74, M.S. ’76, CivilEngineering) arrangedthe visit by his 9th gradeclass as the culminatingexperience of a class-room section on energy.Mr. Benedetti is alicensed professional engineer who has taughtat Foran High School for four years.

While fuel cells are not yet found in consumer goods, the nation has focused itssights on fuel cell development as an environ-mentally-friendly energy alternative to depend-ence on costly nonrenewable fossil fuels. Fuel cells remain elusive in commercial appli-cations, but young people are well acquaintedwith devices that are powered by batteries,such as handheld games, cell phones, laptopcomputers and other electronic units. So thenotion that fuel cells can be used to powersuch units in the future makes them attractivefor study and development by scientists andhigh school students alike.

In an effort to make the classroom unit inenergy more relevant and memorable, Mr. Benedetti thought of the ConnecticutGlobal Fuel Cell Center. He felt that he couldintroduce his class to fuel cells, which involvea chemical reaction between hydrogen andoxygen that produces water and energy, toteach his students about exothermic chemicalreactions. The Fuel Cell Center’s multi-facetedmission encompasses not only research butalso educational outreach to students of all



Student Visit Continued

ages, so the staff of the Center was excited bythe opportunity to engage 9th graders in learn-ing about a revolutionary technology.

“This was an extraordinary opportunity formy students to see real world science that hasthe potential to have a profound impact on ourenergy needs and the environment,” said Mr. Benedetti. “I integrated this trip with myenergy unit where we studied hydrogen-basedexothermic reactions.”

The students first were treated to anoverview of fuel cells, including a discussionabout electrolysis and electrolyzers, presentedby Trent Molter, the Center’s BusinessDevelopment Officer and co-founder of ProtonEnergy Systems. As one of the world’s premierexperts in the area of proton exchange mem-brane (PEM) fuel cells, Mr. Molter offered thestudents a unique perspective on the begin-nings and evolution of the fuel cell—fromenergy source powering the Apollo space pro-gram to clean alternative energy source forapplications ranging from industrial buildingsto hand-held computers. His presentationincluded a challenge to student teams to calculate how many how many miles a fuel cell-powered car could travel on one literof water. The students then proceeded to different stations within the Fuel Cell Centerbuilding for instruction on different aspects offuel cell science and technology.

In the PEM Small Stack High Bay area,Program Manager Ray England demonstrated a prototype developed with funding from theU.S. Army. A television set and sign, poweredby another fuel cell unit, allowed students tounderstand the size-to-output ratio currentlyavailable. Students gained a deeper under-standing of system configurations, and how a proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cellstack looks.

A third station allowed students to viewthe processes involved in membrane electrodeassembly as a staff member composed a single cell with bipolar plates to help the students better visualize how a membrane isbuilt and functions within a fuel cell unit. Thesession included a screen printing demonstra-tion. Another station featured construction ofan integral part of the solid oxide fuel cell(SOFC), the extruded tube through which gasesflow to produce power. In the final lab, JesseHayes, a research assistant with the Center,entertained the students with a remote con-trolled car and a stereo powered by a fuel cell.

During the spring 2004 term, students in ChemicalEngineering and Electrical & Computer Engineeringorganized and hosted two successful conferences.

The student chapter of the American Institute ofChemical Engineers (AIChE), organized and hosted acareer fair for students interested in careers in chemicalengineering, biomedical engineering, polymers andmaterials engineering. The Thursday, March 4 fair tookplace in the South Campus ballroom and attracted 14major employers, including Pfizer, Unilever, Rogers, and the Connecticut Department of EnvironmentalProtection. More than 125 students submitted their resumes for inclusion on a CD.

Associate professor Pat Mather, faculty advisor for the student chapter, worked closelywith students in planning and executing the fair. The idea took root during meetings with theChemical Engineering Industrial Advisory Board, a select group of corporate VIPs who advisethe Chemical Engineering department. During one meeting, the career fair idea was present-ed, and the Board members expressed strong support for it as an ideal way to meet studentsinterested in full-time employment, summer internships and the like.

The student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) held its CareerFair February 17TH in the Rome Commons Ballroom on the Storrs campus. Members of thechapter, led by student president Justin Giampaolo, planned and organized the event, whichattracted 20 companies from around the region, including an array of contractors, engineeringconsultancies, construction firms, geotechnical andenvironmental specialists and government agencies thatrecruit and employ civil and environmental engineers.During the fair, the Connecticut Society of CivilEngineers presented Justin the Outstanding StudentAward. Approximately 40-50 students attended theevent. The ASCE student chapter is advised by associ-ate professor Fred Ogden.

The UConn branch of the Institute of Electricaland Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sponsored the 2004Student Professional Awareness Conference on January24, 2004 in the new Information TechnologiesEngineering (ITE) Building. John Ayers, Associate Professor and Associate Head of Electrical &Computer Engineering, is faculty advisor of the IEEE UConn Chapter. Conference organizersincluded Vishnu Pandey, Region 1 S-PAC Coordinator; Satnam Singh, a doctoral student whochairs the IEEE student branch; graduate student Wayne Blanding, who also served as masterof ceremonies; and undergraduate ECE students Tim Shrimplin, Madhukar Jalota, MohammadNoman and Michael Diaz.

Guest speaker Jim Watson, a national representative for IEEE, spoke on the subject of “InSearch of Diamonds.” He advised the student audience to volunteer and get involved, and toplan and control their careers in order to reach their highest level of success. He also stressedthe importance of the “first job” following college, explained different career options for engi-neers, including such diverse avenues as academia, energy and space exploration, andreminded students of the value of networking. Engineering consultants Mike Conroy and JimUssailis offered insights into the consulting profession, including how one’s educational level(B.S., M.S. or Ph.D.) influences the technical side of the field, and discussed the pros and consof focusing on specific areas within electrical engineering, such as radio frequency (RF) engi-neering. Speaking on the subject of communications, Alfred C. Thompson II imparted to stu-dents the importance of effective communication and presented anecdotal stories gleanedfrom his experience as a Microsoft employee and former teacher.

The 90 attendees, who braved sub-zero temperatures to participate in the program,enjoyed not only an informative program but also the opportunity to win $400 in door prizes,including DVDs, a DVD player, video games and a gift certificate.

Student Conferences Big Successes


Alumnus Dominick Pagano has committed to establish a generous endowment of$100,000 that will be used to fund an

undergraduate schol-arship in Engineering.The scholarship, to be known as theDominick A. PaganoEndowed Scholarship in Computer Science

& Engineering, will target economically dis-advantaged continuing students enrolled inComputer Science or Electrical Engineeringwho demonstrate consistently high academicachievement. The endowment will be builtover the course of four years and be fullyfunded in 2007.

Marty Wood, Assistant Dean forUndergraduate Education, commented “It is so pleasing to see the sense of allegiance our alumni have for the School ofEngineering. This generous contribution willprovide at least two academic merit scholar-ships annually for continuing students.”

Mr. Pagano earned his B.S. degree inElectrical Engineering in 1968. He isPresident and CEO of Dapco Industries, Inc.,Ridgefield, CT. Mr. Pagano was inducted intothe University of Connecticut Academy ofDistinguished Engineers in April (see page18), and he is a previous recipient of theDistinguished Engineering Alumni Award.

In addition to his generous support ofundergraduate education, Mr. Pagano hasbeen and continues to be an active supporterof research initiatives within the School.In his capacity at the helm of a high-techcompany with a significant interest in non-destructive testing using ultrasound, Mr. Pagano has supported an ongoingresearch project involving several faculty in the Department of Computer Science &Engineering (currently including Drs. RedaAmmar, Ian Greenshields and Howard Sholl)in the area of real-time ultrasound systems.

ScholarshipNews

Generous Pledge Launches Dominick A. PaganoScholarship

Mr. Samuel D. Ewing,Jr., President of EwingCapital, Inc., made agenerous $25,000 giftto the School ofEngineering to estab-lish an undergraduatescholarship, to be called the “EwingScholars Scholarship Fund.” The scholarshipwill target academically gifted studentswho demonstrate outstanding scholasticperformance, who contribute toward to thediversity of the School of Engineering andwho attended a public high school in anurban district.

Mr. Ewing, who earned his M.S. inElectrical Engineering from the University of Connecticut in 1964, founded the invest-ment firm of Ewing Capital, Inc. in 1981.The company has grown to become one ofthe largest and most prestigious minority-owned brokerage and research firms in thenation. He has more than 30 years’ profes-sional experience in investment and finan-cial management, security analysis, invest-ment banking, venture capital and comput-erized investment techniques. In addition toEwing Capital, Mr. Ewing is the foundingprincipal of two other successful organiza-tions, Broadcast Capital Fund Inc. andBankers Trust Company Private PlacementDepartment. He earned his MBA at HarvardUniversity. Mr. Ewing serves on theEngineering Dean’s Advisory Board. In 2001, he received the DistinguishedEngineering Alumni Award, and in 2003, he was inducted as a Founding Fellow ofthe University of Connecticut Academy ofDistinguished Engineers.

Ewing Establishes UndergraduateScholarship

School of Engineering alumnus MichaelCantor, a partner in the law firm CantorColburn LLP, a leading national firm specializ-ing in intellectual property law, recently

donated $25,000 toestablish an under-graduate scholarshipin engineering. TheCantor Colburn LLPEndowed Scholarshipwill target students

who are members of traditionally under-rep-resented populations, including minority andfemale students.

Mr. Cantor earned his B.S. in ChemicalEngineering/Materials Engineering in 1980and completed his J.D. at the University ofConnecticut Law School in 1983. He is amember of the Connecticut Bar Association,Connecticut Patent Law Association,American Bar Association, AmericanIntellectual Property Law Association,International Trademark Association, and TauBeta Pi. He is registered to practice beforethe U.S. Patent & Trademark Office. He alsoteaches patent law and procedure as anAdjunct Professor in Patent Law at theUniversity of Connecticut School of Law.

Mr. Cantor has been actively involved ineducational outreach geared to introduceschool-age children to engineering and theworld of invention. In 2003, he was inductedas a Founding Fellow of the University ofConnecticut Academy of DistinguishedEngineers.

Cantor EstablishesEndowedScholarship inEngineering

The project has supported a number of M.S. and Ph.D. students and producednumerous theses and scholarly papers.

This new contribution by Mr. Pagano is the latest in a long list of contributions he has made to the University and theSchool, in particular.

Amvrossios C. Bagtzoglou,associate professor of Civil &Environmental Engineering, wasappointed Editor for the journal

Water, Air, and Soil Pollution: Advances inRemediation Technology. He also was electeda standing member of the Science & TechnicalAdvisory Committee of the U.S. EPA LongIsland Sound Study.

Rajeev Bansal, professor of Electrical & ComputerEngineering, has been named to the Editorial Board of the

International Journal of RF & MicrowaveComputer-Aided Engineering, published byWiley InterScience.

Douglas Cooper, UniversityTeaching Fellow and professor ofChemical Engineering; JohnDeWolf, professor of Civil &Environmental Engineering;Joseph Helble, professor andDepartment Head of ChemicalEngineering and Bahram Javidi,Board of Trustees professor ofElectrical & ComputerEngineering, were elected tomembership in the ConnecticutAcademy of Science &Engineering (CASE). CASE is a private, nonprofit, public-serviceinstitution patterned after theNational Academy of Sciences

that comprises 200 distinguished scientistsand engineers from Connecticut’s academic,industrial, and institutional communities. As agroup, members identify and study issues and technological advances of importance toConnecticut’s citizenry and economy, and theyprovide objective, expert advice on science-and technology-related issues to state govern-ment and other Connecticut institutions.

Professor of Computer Science &Engineering Steve Demurjianwas quoted in a January 17, 2004Hartford Courant article entitled

“Screening System Stirs Concerns of Misuse.”It described federal plans to develop a contro-versial nationwide airline passenger trackingsystem, known as Computer AssistedPassenger Prescreening System (CAPPS II) to

enhance air safety and national security. Dr. Demurjian stated that—short of the gov-ernment’s amassing a database containingsocial security numbers, bank account num-bers, names and birthdates—the risk of abreach of personal and identity security can be controlled.

John Enderle, professor ofElectrical & Computer Engineeringand director of the BiomedicalEngineering Program, was

recently named a member of the EngineeringAccreditation Commission of ABET(Accreditation Board for Engineering & Technology).

One of Dr. Enderle’s M.S. students in biomedical engineering, Umair Siddiqui,was awarded the American College of ClinicalEngineering Best Student Paper CompetitionAward for 2004 for his thesis paper on thedesign of the “Universal Remote Alarm Systemby using Virtual Instrumentation and LabViewGraphical Programming.”

Gerald Engel, professor ofComputer Science & Engineeringat the UConn Stamford campus,was elected 2005 president of the

IEEE Computer Society. IEEE is the oldest andlargest association for computing profession-als. He will serve as president-elect during2004. Dr. Engel also was presented theMeritorious Achievement Award inAccreditation Activities by the IEEEEducational Activities Board.

Associate professor of Civil &Environmental EngineeringNorman Garrick was awarded aFulbright Scholarship to teach and

conduct research in urban planning at theUniversity of the West Indies in Jamaica. Hisscope of interest will include subjects relatedto public transportation in Kingston, successfulstrategies for sustainable and environmentallyfriendly transportation, and land use planning.

A paper entitled “Real-time Three-dimensional Display ofMicro-objects” authored byBahram Javidi, Board of

Trustees professor of Electrical & ComputerEngineering, and Ju-Seog Jang appears in the

Frontiers of Engineering newsletter, volume 5,Issue 1. Frontiers of Engineering is a meetingseries sponsored by the National Academy ofEngineering (NAE) and provides a forum forscientists (aged 30-45) deemed by NAE to beworking at the leading edge of technology andpossessed of the qualities the define a futureengineering leader at the national level.

Peter Luh, SNET Professor ofCommunications & InformationTechnologies in the ComputerScience & Engineering

Department, was awarded the 2003Distinguished Service Award, presented by the IEEE Robotics and Automation Society, andthe Kayamori Best Automation Paper Award(2003), presented by the IEEE InternationalConference on Robotics and Automation.

In January 2004, RobertMagnusson, professor andDepartment Head of Electrical &Computer Engineering, was named

Associate Editor and member of the Board ofEditors for Optical Engineering, a publicationof SPIE, the International Society for OpticalEngineering.

Associate professor of Civil &Environmental EngineeringRamesh Malla received an official citation from the State of

Connecticut General Assembly for his volun-teer support to the Connecticut InventionConvention. Dr. Malla also served as theConference General Chair of the highly successful 9th ASCE Aerospace DivisionInternational Conference on Engineering,Construction and Operations in ChallengingEnvironments (Earth & Space 2004) held inHouston, TX in March.

Associate professor of Civil &Environmental Engineering Fred Ogden and two graduatestudents, doctoral candidate

Justin Niedzialek and master’s student Jon Zahner, traveled to Panama in April toinstall field instrumentation to observe stream-flow in the upper Rio Chagres watershed. The team is studying tropical hydrology in the basin with the objective of better under-standing why standard hydrology models

FacultyNews



perform poorly in the basin. They installed stream water level data recorders, surveyedchannel cross-sections, and performed soilinfiltration tests.

Dani Or, Northeast UtilitiesFoundation Chair Professor ofEnvironmental Engineering, has been elected a Fellow of

the Soil Science Society of America.

UTC Chair Professor of Fuel CellTechnology Nigel Sammes hasbeen elected a Fellow of theInstitute of Materials, Minerals

and Mining, UK (IOM3). Dr. Sammes also was recently named to the Editorial Board ofFuel Cells—From Fundamentals to Systems,published by Elsevier, and is Editor-in-Chiefand Founding Editor of the Journal of Fuel CellScience and Technology, published by ASME.

The joint student chapter of The AmericanSociety for Materials/The Minerals,Metals & Materials Society (ASM/TMS)at UConn—which has an exceptionally activeoutreach program with area schools and participates in all of the School of Engineeringoutreach events—won two national awardsduring the year. The group won a Chapters ofExcellence award for Promotion of the Field in2003; this award confers a $500 cash gift andsignificant recognition. In September, thechapter learned it captured first place in thehighly competitive 2003 TMS World MaterialsOutreach Contest, an honor that conferred a $1,000 award. The chapter is advised by professor and Interim Department Head of Metallurgy & Materials Engineering, Leon Shaw.

Swetha Sridharan, a graduate student in the Department of Metallurgy & MaterialsEngineering, was awarded first prize in an International Graduate Student PaperContest sponsored by Bodycote Corporation. Ms. Sridharan is advised by MechanicalEngineering professor Eric Jordan and pro-fessor-in-residence of Metallurgy & MaterialsEngineering, Maury Gell. Her paper was entitled “The Potential of PhotoluminescencePiezospectroscopy as a Non-Destructive Inspection Technique for Electron Beam

Physical Vapor Deposition Thermal Barrier Coatings.”

Assistant professor of ChemicalEngineering, Ranjan Srivastava,was presented the coveted RogersTeaching Award for excellence in

teaching. The award recipient is selected by a vote of the senior class. In presenting the award, the students commended Dr. Srivastava on his enthusiasm, concern for students, creative instructional methodsand professionalism.

Emeritus professor T.C. Ting(formerly Computer Science &Engineering) delivered keynoteaddresses during the Annual

Conference of Association for TaiwaneseEngineers in North America, Taipei; and theInformation Security South Africa Annual information and Computer SecurityConference, Johannesburg.

Celal Tufekci, assistant depart-ment head for the MechanicalEngineering Department, and GaryJacobson were awarded a U.S.

Patent for their novel process entitled“Transport Method and System for ControllingTiming of Mail Pieces Being Processed by aMailing System.” The patent (# 6,685,184) was awarded February 3, 2004.

Assistant professor of Metallurgy& Materials Engineering Mei Weiwas awarded the K.C. WongFellowship by the Chinese

Academy of Sciences for the year 2004.

Thomas Wood, professor ofChemical Engineering andMolecular & Cell Biology, filed apatent disclosure for an anthrax

vaccine in April 2004. The work—which Dr. Wood conducted with his former student,Dr. Dacheng Ren, and professor Martin Blaserand Marcus Jones at New York University—involves the use of furanone to inhibit thegrowth of B. anthracis and the bacteria’s toxin production, and to prevent or treat B. anthracis infection. The invention also provides methods to enhance an immuneresponse to B. anthracis infection.

School WelcomesNew Administrators

In the spring, the School of Engineering hailedfive new leaders in administrative roles as theprevious incumbents completed their termsand returned to regular faculty duties.

Dr. Theodore Bergman,Department Head ofMechanical Engineering from1998-04, donned a new hat on July 1, when he was

named Associate Dean for Research &Outreach. Dr. Bergman is responsible for planning and executing a range of activitiesintended to leverage and enhance the School’s success in terms of research produc-tivity, fundraising and alumni activities.

Dr. Kenneth Reifsnider,Pratt & Whitney ChairProfessor of Design &Reliability in the MechanicalEngineering Department,

was chosen to direct the School’s three-year-old Connecticut Global Fuel Cell Center. Dr. Reifsnider assumed his new role in earlyMay. Please see a related story on page 5.

Dr. Doug Cooper, UniversityTeaching Fellow and professorof Chemical Engineering, wasappointed to a three-year termas Department Head effective

July 15. Dr. Cooper assumed the reins fromformer Head Joseph Helble, who is serving a one-year Revelle Fellowship in Washington,DC and will resume his regular faculty dutiesupon his return.

Dr. Ranga Pitchumani,Distinguished Professor ofEngineering, assumed theDepartment Head position inMechanical Engineering for

a three-year term effective July 1, taking thereins from former Head Dr. Bergman.

The Metallurgy & MaterialsEngineering Department has a new interim leader in Dr. Leon Shaw. He takes the baton from Dr. Nitin

Padture, who completed his term as InterimHead in May.


AlumniNewsStephen Austin (Ph.D. MechanicalEngineering, ‘95) was recently promoted toHardware Research and DevelopmentManager at Gerber Technology in Tolland, CT.

Barry Altman (B.S. Mechanical Engineering,‘67) is Director of Operations at GermaneSystems, Chantilly, VA. Prior to joiningGermane, he served as President and ChiefOperating Officer of a contract manufacturingdivision of Tru-Circle Corporation building high-end servers, medical device components, andtelecommunication equipment.

Richard Ballantyne (B.S. MechanicalEngineering, ’65) is Vice President-GeneralCounsel of Harris Corporation. He previouslywas Vice President-General Counsel andCorporate Secretary of Prime Computer, Inc.

Kenneth Berg, P.E. (B.S. Civil Engineering,‘73) is vice president, engineering and projectsales, for American Grating, LLC in City ofIndustry, CA. A registered P.E. in 22 states andBritish Columbia, Canada, he is a member ofthe board of directors of the AmericanComposites Manufacturers Assn.

M. David Burghardt (M.S., Ph.D. MechanicalEngineering, ’68, ‘71) is Chair of ComputerSciences at Hofstra University, former Chair ofEngineering, and the author of 10 texts in ther-modynamics, diesel engines and engineeringfundamentals.

David Caldeira (B.S. Mechanical Engineering,‘79) is Vice President and General Manager ofFilenet, Inc. and resides in Irvine, CA.

John Connolly (M.S. MechanicalEngineering, ‘82) is Vice President of ABB Energy Capital.

Robert Cotton (B.S. Electrical Engineering,‘79) was promoted to director of applicationengineering for Honeywell’s aerospace electronics business in Phioenix, AZ.

Kevin Doyle, J.D. (B.S. MechanicalEngineering and Materials Engineering, ‘76)was appointed Vice President, EnvironmentalHealth & Safety (EHS) for Pratt & Whitney,East Hartford, CT. In this position, he is respon-sible for all aspects of EHS at the company.

Salvatore Fazzino (B.S., M.S. CivilEngineering, ‘62, ‘70) retired after serving asdirector of public works in Middletown, CT for 22 years.

Forrest Fleming (B.S. MechanicalEngineering, ‘64) retired after more than 38years of federal service in the Department ofDefense and Central Intelligence Agency.

Anthony Gazikas (B.S. MechanicalEngineering, ‘81) is Executive Director andWorld Wide Head of Development Informaticsfor Pfizer Global Research & Development,New London. He is responsible for globaldelivery of clinical and regulatory applicationsand oversees an annual budget of $100 million.

Edward Hill, Jr. (B.S., M.S. Civil Engineering,‘92, ‘94) is a post-doctoral fellow in MIT’sMITgcm project, which is designed to simulateflow and transport phenomena in the atmos-phere and oceans.

William Hover (B.S. Civil Engineering, ‘79) isdistrict office manager of the flagship office ofGZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc., Norwood, MA.The company is among the largest environ-mental and geotechnical consulting firms in New England.

Juthamas Jitcharoen (Ph.D. Metallurgy &Materials Engineering, ‘00) is a faculty member in the Department of Chemistry, Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand.

Young-Won Kim (Ph.D. Metallurgy &Materials Engineering ’76) was honored by the Metallurgy & Materials EngineeringDepartment with receive do the 2003Outstanding Alumnus Award in recognition of his pioneering contributions to intermetallicalloys. He is a senior scientist with UES Inc. of Dayton, OH.

Andrew Kuether (B.S. Civil & EnvironmentalEngineering, ‘01) received his M.S. in civil andenvironmental engineering from the Universityof Wisconsin – Madison. He is employed byOpus Architects and Engineers, Minneapolis.

Kevin Kulak (B.S. Mechanical Engineering,’85) is Vice President of JPMorgan Chase and resides in Darien, CT.

Glen Larnerd (B.S. Chemical Engineering, ‘68)joined Hitachi, San Jose, CA in August 2003after retiring from IBM in 2001.

David Marnicki (B.S. Civil Engineering, ‘73)was elected to the Vestal, NY town council.He has an engineering and land surveyingbusiness located in Vestal.

Raymond Nuzzo (B.S. Electrical Engineering,‘83) founded his own law firm specializing inpatent, trademark and copyright law.

Sam Pierre-Louis (B.S. MechanicalEngineering, ‘97) is a data security officer for University of Alabama at BirminghamHealth System.

Robert Pohlmann (B.S. ElectricalEngineering, ‘92) joined Raytheon Intelligenceand Information Systems, Falls Church, VA, as a systems engineer.

David Schuler (B.S. Mechanical Engineering,’92) is an attorney at Fish & Richardson inBoston. He also serves as Associate Editor ofthe Connecticut Law Review.

Paul Yost (M.S. MechanicalEngineering, ’59) is President ofthe James Madison Foundation.This position is by appointmentof the President of the United

States. From 1986 to 1990, Admiral Yost wasthe 18th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.He has received two Distinguished ServiceMedals, the Silver Star, the Legion of MeritMedal, the United Nations Service Medal, and many other awards.

Larry Brown (‘57)


Under the guidance of Director KevinMcLaughlin, the Engineering

Diversity Program carried out a variety of outreach activities throughout thespring intended to introduce engineeringto a diverse pool of students.

Mr. McLaughlin, (B.S. ChemicalEngineering, ‘83) a former scienceteacher at E.O. Smith High School inStorrs, accompanied by 11 undergraduateand graduate students from under-repre-sented populations, taught seven after-noon sessions throughout the spring atHartford’s Maria Sanchez ElementarySchool. Students in the fifth and sixthgrades participated in hands-on exercisesin which they constructed a solar/alternative energy house from a kit andcompleted related experiments. The funafternoons also allowed children from aninner-city community to meet and spendtime with college-age role models,including three who grew up in Hartford.

In January, fourth and fifth gradersfrom Plainfield Middle School enjoyedtwo special classes in engineering taughtby Mr. McLaughlin, in which they builtsmall electric motors and saw electricityand magnetism demonstrations thathelped them understand the basic principles of motor design.

The Pre-Engineering Program (PEP),now in its 16th year, brought students ingrades seven through nine to campuseach of seven Saturdays, where theywere instructed and mentored by 17undergraduate and graduate engineering students from underrepresented populations.Working in teams, the participating eighth graders built and programmed robots incorporating Lego’s Mind Storm bricks. In April, the EDP staff also hosted the School of Engineering’s ninth Multiply Your Options convention, during which more than 200 8th grade girls participated in roughly 44 workshops held in the UConn Student Union.

In addition, Mr. McLaughlin invited 15 top seventh grade science and math studentsfrom New Britain’s Roosevelt Middle School to visit Storrs for a unique hands-on learningexperience involving pennies. They chemically removed oxide films from the surface ofpennies using salt (sodium chloride) and vinegar (acetic acid); mechanically polished pennies using sodium bicarbonate; and chemically deposited zinc onto the surface of a “shiny” penny after which one of the “silver” pennies was warmed on a hot plate until it turns gold (brass) from the thermal diffusion of the zinc into the copper layer below. Mr. McLaughlin remarked, “The kids really like making ‘gold’ and ‘silver’ pennies evenafter you have explained what really happened.”

Outreach Activities Inspire Middle School Students

The School of Engineering is deeply gratefulto our generous friends and alumni, whose

support during the year has allowed us tostrengthen our recruitment and retention ofoutstanding undergraduate and graduate students and to expand our educational outreach. In addition to the gifts (page 23)from Michael Cantor, Samuel Ewing, Jr., andDominick Pagano, the School was honored to receive:

A donation of ExxonMobil stock valued at $20,000 from Robert and BeatriceMastracchio. The gift will augment the Robert and Beatrice Mastracchio EndowedScholarship for academically gifted graduatestudents. Mr. Mastracchio is a School ofEngineering alumnus (B.S.E. ‘64 and M.S. ‘66,Chemical Engineering) and a Founding Fellow of the University of ConnecticutAcademy of Distinguished Engineers (2003).Mr. Mastracchio was profiled in the 2003issue of the Chemical Engineering magazine,Principles. This profile (page 15), may be foundon the Chemical Engineering Department website at www.engr.uconn.edu/cheg/pdf/principles2003.pdf.

A donation of IBM stock valued at $26,000from Walter Rose, which was used to enrichthe Walter M. Rose Endowed Scholarship. Mr. Rose is a 1949 graduate who earned hisbachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering.He is a Founding Fellow of the University ofConnecticut Academy of DistinguishedEngineers (2003). A brief profile for Mr. Roseappeared in our last issue of Frontiers and also appears on our website atwww.engr.uconn.edu/SoE/soe_adehof.htm.

A donation of $5,079 from Isabelle Farrington to augment the Harold P. FarringtonEngineering Scholarship for deserving undergraduate students.

Gifts AugmentEngineering

Non-Profit Org.US Postage Paid

Permit 3Storrs, CT 06269

261 Glenbrook Road, Unit 2237Storrs, CT 06269-2237

See page 14 for further details

Documents

Also In this Issue...Seniors Prove Their Design Mettle 20 Fuel Cell Center Hosts Visit 21 Leon Shaw Wins $2.0 Million DoE Award 21 Student Conferences Big Successes22 Generous Pledge