SPRING 2015College of Engineering

ENGINEERING EXCELLENCEIN DETROIT AND BEYOND

CONTENTS GREETINGS FROM THE DEAN...........................................1

FEATURE STORIES The Anderson Institute...............................................................2 Expanding Our Commitment to the Community .......................4 International Experiences ...........................................................6

COLLEGE NEWS Research Excellence ...................................................................8

Department Notes ........................................................................ 10

Alumni Updates ............................................................................. 14

Record Enrollment ...................................................................15

Facts and Figures .....................................................................16

Wayne State University Board of GovernorsGary S. Pollard, chairPaul E. Massaron, vice chairDiane L. DunaskissSandra Hughes O’BrienDana Thompson

Marilyn KellyDavid A. NicholsonKim TrentM. Roy Wilson, ex officio

Wayne State University PresidentM. Roy Wilson

College of Engineering DeanFarshad Fotouhi

Associate Dean for Research and Graduate StudiesSimon Ng

Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Student ServicesR. Darin Ellis

Associate Dean for Innovation and EntrepreneurshipSorin Draghici

Chair, Biomedical EngineeringJuri Gelovani

Chair, Chemical Engineering and Materials ScienceCharles Manke

Chair, Civil and Environmental EngineeringJoseph Hummer

Interim Chair, Computer ScienceLoren Schwiebert

Interim Chair, Electrical and Computer EngineeringMumtaz Usmen

Chair, Engineering TechnologyC.P. Yeh

Chair, Industrial and Systems EngineeringLeslie Monplaisir

Chair, Mechanical EngineeringNabil Chalhoub

Associate Director of Marketing and CommunicationsMelissa Ellison

Marketing and PR CoordinatorStephanie Wideman

Senior Director of Development and Alumni AffairsMark Roberts

Alumni and Donor Relations OfficerRebecca Dennis

EditorialChris Williams

DesignJoseph Bowles

PhotographyRick BielaczycMary Jane Murawka

Exemplar is published for alumni and friends of the College of Engineering.

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It’s a great time to learn, work and play in Detroit. This year, the Wayne State University College of Engineering had its largest enrollment of undergraduates in 24 years and its largest overall enrollment in 19 years. Thanks to the college’s strong international reputation, we welcomed students from as far away as Venezuela, Brazil, France, Italy, South Korea, China and Egypt.

Detroit is experiencing an unparalleled resurgence, and our college — located in the heart of the Motor City — is playing a vital role. We understand that, as new challenges arise, we need engineers who are well-versed across disciplines and who can contribute diverse perspectives to developing innovative solutions. As a college, we remain focused on our multidisciplinary approach to improving quality of life through innovation, education and entrepreneurship. We also continue to enhance our commitment to engaging the next generation in STEM education.

In this issue of Exemplar, you’ll read about college initiatives that are positively impacting Detroit and beyond. You may already have learned about the transformational gift by alumnus James Anderson and his wife, Patricia, to establish the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute at the College of Engineering. Thanks to their generosity and leadership, we will make significant progress toward our shared vision of the college serving as a beacon of Detroit’s entrepreneurial spirit by investing in ideas that yield marketable technologies. In the following pages, you’ll learn how our newly appointed institute leaders plan to make that vision a reality, as well as about new institute resources available to students, alumni, faculty members and our greater community.

You’ll also read about the launching of the college’s Office of Community Engagement, which is introducing more young minds to engineering and computer science, and our Global Engineering Experience program, which is teaching young engineers how to expand their thinking and understanding in cross-cultural contexts. Additionally, you’ll learn about current research projects that place us at the forefront of scientific discovery and emerging technologies, good news around the college, media highlights and more.

Excitement continues to build at the College of Engineering and in Detroit. Our community is growing, as is its impact — your impact — on the world. Please enjoy this edition of Exemplar, and if you haven’t been to campus in a while, please stop in to say hello and feel the excitement firsthand.

Sincerely,

Dean Farshad Fotouhi

GREETINGS FROM THE DEAN

1SPRING 2015

In the fall of 2014, James Anderson, founder, president and CEO of Urban Science and a Wayne State University College of Engineering alumnus, announced a gift of $25 million to the college to establish the James and Patricia Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute, which will serve as a beacon of the entrepreneurial spirit in Detroit.

The institute began official operations in January 2015. Since then, Sorin Draghici, associate dean for innovation and entrepreneurship and director of the institute, reports, “The level of interest has been extraordinary. Many faculty, students and alumni have contacted us to see how the institute can assist them with further investigation and possible commercialization of their ideas.”

Gary Witus, the Anderson Institute’s associate director for student programs, said the goal is to help entrepreneurs

as they pursue innovations that have real-world demand and application. “The first step is to motivate faculty members and students to think in terms of commercially relevant research and innovations,” he explains. “We want them to choose engineering projects because they are socially relevant, not just because they read about them in a book.”

To get its message out, the institute is collaborating with other entrepreneurial entities throughout the university, including Blackstone LaunchPad, the Law School, the Warrior Fund and the School of Business. Witus says many entrepreneurial endeavors need the assistance of skilled engineers in order to move forward, and the institute is open to a wide range of collaboration that helps engage and advance students.

Embedded within the college, the institute works to foster a culture of entrepreneurship among the faculty — envisioning commercial applications for new technology, securing patents and establishing startups — while providing opportunities for students to learn best practices in applied research, technology commercialization and business creation. Currently, the institute is working with faculty members like Chaoyang Chen, associate professor of biomedical engineering, on his work on an exoskeleton that could help disabled people walk again, and Amar Basu, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, on his work creating a novel device for the continuous monitoring of cardiopulmonary functions.

Putting a transformational gift into action:

THE ANDERSON INSTITUTE

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The institute aims to make practical and applicable research relevant. Currently, it is working with a group of 16 faculty members and students in a hands-on training program modeled after the National Science Foundation Innovation Corps. Participants are organized into six teams, each focused on a specific novel technology. “The goal of the entire process is to train these faculty members and students to identify market opportunities and be able to pivot in the technology development process in order to obtain the best possible product-market fit that would allow their ventures to succeed,” says Draghici.

The institute has also revived Wayne State’s chapter of the Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization, which currently has 23 student members. In addition, plans are in the works to create a new Innovation and Entrepreneurship Student Learning Community by fall 2015.

Community involvement is essential to the institute’s impact and growth. On May 8, the institute hosted a

“Design Day,” showcasing a number of capstone engineering projects. The event involved local industry and government representatives, who served as judges. A number of awards and prizes were offered. “This was a great opportunity for the college to showcase the quality of the work undertaken by students and our faculty, as well as a great networking event that put students and faculty in touch with local industry and the community at large,” explained Draghici.

Jim Anderson says the institute will work with an eye on the future. “I think of the Anderson Institute as a bridge between current and future generations of entrepreneurs,” he says. “It will promote a lasting culture of entrepreneurship in Detroit and, ultimately, make our community a better place for generations to come.”

To learn more about the institute, visit engineering.wayne.edu/andersoninstitute/contact.

“An engineering degree is a degree that you can really work with. You can do something with your life. You can get a good job and make a real difference in the world.”

– Maha Fakherddine B.S. in biomedical engineering ’14 M.D. candidate, School of Medicine

College of Engineering

3SPRING 2015

The Wayne State University College of Engineering has maintained a commitment to the community for years, finding new ways to give back and help local students prepare for college and STEM-related careers. The newly established Office of Community Engagement (OCE) will help the college extend its reach and do even more throughout the metropolitan Detroit area.

The OCE coordinates with faculty members and 20 different student organizations to offer programs that promote STEM learning to local students who may not otherwise have access. Since its opening in fall 2014, OCE has coordinated with eight different

EXPANDING OUR COMMITMENT TO THE COMMUNITY4 EXEMPLAR

K-12 outreach programs, including the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP), C2 Pipeline, Michigan Gear Up, Downtown Youth Boxing Center, University Prep FIRST Robotics, Birmingham Public Schools, Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, and Girls in Engineering Robotics Initiative. The collaboration includes tutoring, Saturday seminars, college tours, faculty mentoring and summer programs. “Our college, which is located in the heart of Detroit, has been active in the community since its founding more than 80 years ago,” says Dean of the College of Engineering Farshad Fotouhi. “OCE is simply the next step in solidifying this important relationship.”

Wayne State alumna Jasmine Roberson was recently named the OCE’s director of community engagement. “I am excited to be a part of the mission to promote STEM education and represent Wayne State in the community,” she says. “As a Detroiter, alumna and former DAPCEP student, I know how this type of engagement can change a child’s life.”

The goal of the OCE is to build and nurture mutually beneficial relationships between WSU faculty members, students and community partners. The OCE is currently housed in the engineering library and is focused on gearing up for this year’s summer camps.

Camp offerings are available for a wide range of ages. For the youngest camps, ages 8-11, campers participate in such activities as creating phone applications and animation challenges. For ages 12-17, campers have the opportunity to experiment with technical toys and robotic Lego Mindstorms. Last summer, a camp was offered that focused on biomedical engineering for middle- and high school-age campers; however, the most popular activity by far remains the opportunity to create computer games. Whatever students choose to participate

in, the goal is to get them excited about engineering and computer science and the possibilities an engineering education may provide. “For many students, this type of experience opens up a whole new world. Their faces light up and their eyes become wide when they see a real-life laboratory or meet an engineer for the first time,” Roberson explains.

These programs involve the entire WSU community. Faculty members and students have the opportunity to connect their academic skills to positively impact the community. Student organizations provide volunteers to conduct camps, tours and various outreach-related tasks. Several student volunteers have opted to participate in engineering service-learning to earn course credit. So far, prospective student tours have brought hundreds of students through the College of Engineering through opportunities like the “Day in the Life of a Warrior” tour series that launched in fall 2014 in coordination with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. The program provides prospective students with campus tours, lunch in the dorms and the opportunity to sit in on classes like Robotic Lego Design. The next phase, which will be held in winter 2015, will include an overnight experience.

For members of the OCE, their work is a labor of love for both their university and their community. “Community partners are open to engineering innovation to solve an issue that will positively shape the future,” explains Roberson. “I am proud that Dean Fotouhi has the vision to strengthen the college’s community engagement, and I appreciate that I can be a part of his vision.”

The college plans to engage more alumni and community partners in these programs. For more information, contact Rebecca Dennis, alumni and donor relations officer, at rebecca.dennis@wayne.edu.

5SPRING 2015

One of Wayne State’s most effective tools for transforming students into effective global citizens is the use of study abroad experiences. With research and classroom opportunities available on five continents, Wayne State students have the chance to develop new problem-solving methods and learn how to work alongside people from diverse cultures.

The College of Engineering also recognizes the value of these global experiences, and is committed to making them accessible to every student.

“When we talk about preparing our students for a global economy and changes in technology, we mean it, and we are building a portfolio of distinct opportunities available to them,” says Dean Farshad Fotouhi.

Last summer, the college offered a new five-week, four-credit course titled, “Cross-Cultural Engineering Problem Solving,” at Zhejiang University of Technology (ZJUT) in Hangzhou, China. Facilitated by Chin An Tan, professor of mechanical engineering, and Heather Lai, lecturer in biomedical engineering, the course brought 13 WSU and 21 ZJUT students together to explore solutions to the challenges of implementing sustainable transportation systems around the globe.

The students — representing the United States, China, Canada and France and spanning a wide range of engineering majors — were split into cross-disciplinary and

cross-cultural teams tasked with developing a product or program that addressed a specific problem related to sustainable transportation, from distracted driving to high-speed rail systems. At the end of the course, the students presented their solutions to faculty members, administrators and corporate representatives, who Tan says walked away impressed.

The engineering course took place in the morning, and students spent afternoons learning about Chinese language and culture. During weekend excursions, students visited Hangzhou, one of China’s largest cities, and popular destinations such as Beijing and the Great Wall of China. Guest lectures and trips to a variety of Chinese engineering firms such as TRW Automotive Technologies, rounded out the experience. Before and after assessments taken by the WSU students participating in the program showed improvement in all areas, particularly in their levels of cultural sensitivity and effectiveness in multicultural contexts.

The Chinese students also adapted well. “During the first week of class, very few Chinese students asked questions during the lecture, in contrast to their American counterparts,” states Lai. “I learned that this is a sign of respect to the teacher; by the second week, these students were raising their hands frequently and engaging in class discussion right alongside the WSU students.”

International experiences prepare engineers for

global economy

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Students spoke positively of the experience. “I grew very close with my group, which consisted of two WSU and four ZJUT students. Our bond extended beyond the classroom and helped us produce an excellent final project on road safety in large cities,” says senior mechanical engineering student Colin Weir.

“We worked hard, but we also played hard. Our hosts were wonderful and helped us really experience China,” adds junior biomedical engineering major Maryssa Mercer. “The full cultural immersion, living and studying among the Chinese students, was the biggest benefit for me.”

Both students cited affordability as a major factor in their participation. Qualified students received scholarship funds to help offset the cost. A portion of the funds were made possible by a generous donation from alumna Nancy Philippart, who strongly believes in the mission of the program.

Tan and Lai are already recruiting sponsors and students for this summer’s program, and hope to continue the momentum from last year. “We are confident that we are creating a model for cross-cultural and global engineering education. There really isn’t anything else like this around,” states Tan.

For more information, contact Professor Chin An Tan at tan@wayne.edu.

WSU students enjoy exploring and studying in China, Summer 2014.

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Ratna Babu Chinnam

Professor of Industrial Engineering Ratna Babu Chinnam’s research seeks to design statistical models and methods that can identify effective recommendations for individual clinics in order to improve levels of patient access.

The clinic access index (CAI) portal supplies real-time information to the Access and Clinic Administration Program (ACA-P) in order to continually monitor thousands of medical clinics for the early warning signs of trouble with patient access.

Jerry Ku

EcoCAR 3 is the latest U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Vehicle Technology Competition series and is North America’s premier collegiate automotive engineering competition. Under the direction of Jerry Ku, associate professor of mechanical engineering, Wayne State competed in EcoCAR 2 and has been invited to compete in EcoCAR 3 as the only university representing Michigan. In EcoCAR 3, the students are tasked with re-engineering a hybrid GM Chevy Camaro to increase performance while reducing its environmental impact.

Since 1933, the Wayne State University College of Engineering has been home to exceptional scholars and teachers. From its pioneering research in areas such as bioengineering and automotive safety to recent advances in nanoengineering and big data, the college is an educational powerhouse in Michigan. Our vision is to be a premier engineering college known for improving quality of life through education, innovation and entrepreneurship. “Our research leads to opportunities for our current and future students, from idea to discovery, commercialization and beyond,” says Dean Farshad Fotouhi.

Improving quality of life through

RESEARCH EXCELLENCE

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Guangzhao Mao

A spinal cord injury interrupts the cell relationship necessary to connect the nerve cells in a brainstem center to the phrenic (nerve) motor neurons. Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Guangzhao

Mao and her team have demonstrated a breakthrough technology that delivers the drug to only specific phrenic nerve cells to induce recovery. Their research has observed 90 percent breathing recovery 14 days after injection. Mao’s lab is the only one in the world using targeted nanotechnology to achieve motor recovery after spinal cord injury.

Howard W.T. Matthew

How can we engineer transplantable tissue that reproduces the natural functionality of the liver and other organs? Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science Howard W.T. Matthew’s

approach explores a new, bottom-up approach to tissue engineering — creating tiny modular tissue prototypes that can more effectively recreate native tissue architecture. Research like this gives us hope that we can provide drastically improved treatments and solutions to individuals needing organ transplants.

Sorin Draghici

Genetic analysis can be used to identify genetic or inherited disorders and make a differential diagnosis of certain diseases such as cancer. Professor of Computer Science Sorin Draghici and his company, Advaita Bioinformatics,

focus on personalized medicine by leveraging Internet cloud infrastructure to deliver genetic analysis results in minutes instead of weeks or months. The software is currently used by over 500 scientists in the research and pharmaceutical communities.

Carol Miller

Research shows that people want to positively affect the environment through more responsible energy usage — and they want this to be easy. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering Carol Miller is working with Locational Electricity Emissions Methodology (LEEM) to do just that. The data from the LEEM system provides users with location-specific, real-time and forecasted energy pricing and pollution emissions information that enables consumers to make informed decisions about when to use electricity in order to reduce cost and environmental impacts.

Albert King

The biomedical engineering department has a long history of research on injury biomechanics dating back to 1939. Significant contributions include the Wayne State Head Injury Tolerance Curve, advancements in FEM human modeling, lower back pain research and the WSU Brain Injury Model. Current research includes using film and concussion data provided by the NFL to obtain tolerance values for concussion. Based on these findings, they are now working on an anti-concussion helmet.

Yong Xu

Neural probes have played critical roles in neuroscience research and treatment of various neural disorders. Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Yong Xu’s lab has proposed a novel method of developing 3D neural probes based on a silicon island structure and a simple folding procedure. Prototypes have already been successfully developed and chronic implantation in rats for more than 10 weeks has been demonstrated.

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DEPARTMENT NOTES

BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

A research team focusing on helmet safety was featured in Technology Century, a publication of the Engineering Society of Detroit. The team includes Liying Zhang, associate professor of biomedical engineering; King Hay Yang, professor of biomedical engineering and director of Wayne State’s Bioengineering Center; and Albert King, Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering.

The department welcomed Mohammad R. N. Avanaki and Mohammad Mehrmohammadi in fall 2014. The assistant professors bring expertise in photoacoustic imaging, optical coherence tomography and medical imaging. Their arrival allows the department to operate as a full medical imaging program.

The department received a generous in-kind donation of sensors from alumnus York Huang, president of Sunrise Instruments. The sensors will be used by biomedical engineering students to assist with research related to safety in the automobile industry.

Associate Professor Liying Zhang has finalized a contract with the Global Human Body Models Consortium to research head collisions.

Professor and Associate Chair John Cavanaugh and his team are working on a Department of Defense subcontract with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory to study human body injury assessment in order to develop a dummy for the U.S. Army that measures the effects of accelerative loading from blasts.

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COMPUTER SCIENCE

Computer science student Evan Leedy was featured in national and international media for his efforts to raise more than $350,000 for a local man in need of transportation.

Associate Professor Daniel Grosu and students Mahyar Movahednejad and Lena Mashayekhy were awarded the 2014 INFORMS Service Science Best Paper runner-up award at the 2014 INFORMS Service Center. The students were also awarded the 2014 INFORMS ENRE Best Student Paper award. The Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) is the world’s largest society for professionals in the fields of operations research, management science and analytics.

Associate Professors Hongwei Zhang and Jing Hua won the Best Demo award at the National Science Foundation’s GENI Engineering Contest. GENI (Global Environment for Network Innovations) provides a virtual laboratory for networking and distributed systems research and education. It is well-suited for exploring networks at scale, thereby promoting innovation in network science, security, services and applications.

Professor Weisong Shi was tapped to serve on the editorial board of IEEE Transactions on Computers and as the general co-chair of IEEE HotWeb 2015 Conference, the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology.

Graduate Research Assistant Itauma Itauma was awarded the Leader’s Choice Award, first place among tutors in the Academic Success Center and second place in Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leaders from Wayne State for fall 2014.

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE

Professor Guangzhao Mao was spotlighted by various news outlets for her $330,000 award from the National Science Foundation for the project, “Nanoparticle-directed Synthesis of Organic Nanorods.”

Professor Susil Putatunda spoke to Xconomy.com about his recent chemical process discovery, which may lead to the reinvention of steel in Detroit and around the world.

Assistant Professor Eranda Nikolla was featured in an article on chemicals-technology.com about a project supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF) program.

The department welcomed new faculty member Korosh Torabi. His research focuses primarily on molecular thermodynamics and statistical mechanics.

Associate Professor Sandro da Rocha recently attained a patent and has another pending related to his work on inhaler particles.

Assistant Professor Eranda Nikolla received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award, the agency’s most prestigious award for up-and-coming researchers in science and engineering.

A major barrier to treating autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes is the lack of methods to deliver the therapeutics to specific sites such as the lymph nodes. Assistant Professor Haipeng Liu is working to address this issue with a recently awarded $475,752 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

The department welcomed new faculty members Pai-Yen Chen and Chung-Tse Wu. Chen’s research interests include electromagnetics, nanophotonics and nano-optics, plasmonics, and nanomaterials. Wu’s research interests include microwave and milliliter components and circuits, passive and active antennas and arrays, and electromagnetic metamaterials.

In fall 2014, the department received a generous donation of a da Vinci® Standard Surgical System from the Henry

11SPRING 2015

Ford Health System. The donation was orchestrated by Abhilash Pandya, who will be the primary faculty member in charge of the unit, which will be housed in the Computer-Assisted Robot-Enhanced Systems (CARES) Lab. The da Vinci system features a 3D HD vision system for a clear and magnified view inside a patient’s body.

Professor Yong Xu teamed with Jinsheng Zhang, professor and research director of otolaryngology in the School of Medicine, to explore a new design for cochlear implants typically used to restore hearing loss. Their project will introduce a novel thin-film-based cochlear implant that may be more effective for optimizing tinnitus suppression.

Undergraduate student Yasmeen Bazzi attended the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) fall conference in Sterling Heights, Michigan, and was recognized for her work as student branch leader at WSU, as well as her outstanding involvement and contribution to the IEEE section activities.

ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY

In February, Professor Ece Yaprak joined the National Science Foundation as a program director for the Advanced Technological Education Program in the Division of Undergraduate Education, a one-year appointment. Yaprak was appointed as the director of assessment and accreditation in the College of Engineering in fall 2014.

Professor Gene Liao and division chair and professor Chih-Ping Yeh, in collaboration with Macomb Community College, received a NSF grant of $2 million to establish an Advanced Technology Education Center in Advanced Automotive Technology.

Professor Mukasa Ssemakula, together with professors Gene Liao and Distinguished Faculty Fellow Shlomo Sawilowsky, received a two-year, $230,000 grant from the NSF to evaluate the effectiveness of their curricular innovation in closing the industry-

perceived competency gap of lack of hands-on experience in engineering education. The team, led by Ssemakula, involves six other institutions.

Professor Gene Liao and division chair Chih-Ping Yeh, partnered with the State Work Force Development Board, were awarded a $230,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advanced Energy Storage Systems Initiative (AESSI) to develop and deliver seven graduate short courses in vehicle electrification and advanced energy storage systems.

Students Luke Deptula and Filippo Caro won the “24 Hours of Fever at the EV Fest Windsor 2014” race, which challenged competitors to develop and test a lightweight electric vehicle that could drive 24 hours without recharging. The students were able to power a scooter (with trailer for the batteries — a total of 600 lbs) for more than 23 hours.

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING

Associate Professor Shawn McElmurry was featured on the Weather Channel’s Secrets of the Earth, which focused on nature and abandoned houses in Detroit.

Professor Tapan Datta was interviewed by the Detroit Free Press to discuss the clearance of a collapsed bridge in Southfield, Michigan.

Associate Professor Timothy Gates spoke to the Chicago Tribune about the city’s mix of short yellow-light times and red-light cameras.

Chair and Professor Joseph Hummer was interviewed by the New York Times about the use of traffic cameras in Chicago. Hummer was also featured along with Professor Carol Miller on Detroit’s WJBK television news to discuss flooding on Detroit roads.

The department welcomed new faculty member Yongli Zhang. Some of Zhang’s specific research areas include water treatment and quality, renewable bioenergy, integrated bioenergy, and evaluating economic and environmental sustainability.

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Department Chair Joseph Hummer was honored with a Best Paper award at the Transportation Research Board’s 94th Annual Meeting, held in January in Washington.

Professor Tapan Datta represented Wayne State’s Transportation Research Group in a national focus group meeting at the Transportation Research Board’s 94th Annual Meeting. Datta conducted and moderated discussions and gave a 30-minute presentation at the Federal Highway Administration’s Work Zone Safety Program strategic meeting.

The International Joint Commission appointed professor Carol Miller to serve as the American chair for the Great Lakes Water Quality and Science advisory boards.

INDUSTRIAL AND SYSTEMS ENGINEERING

Professor and Graduate Chair Ratna Babu Chinnam was featured in the Detroit Free Press, along with international student Gabriel Da Silva Gravital, in a story featuring students studying at Wayne State University through a partnership with the Brazilian government.

Kai Yang, chair of research, professor of industrial and systems engineering, and director of the Healthcare Systems Engineering group, was highlighted in the September issue of Specchio Economico, an Italian publication. Yang delivered the keynote address at the 2014 international Leanprove forum, R-Innova!, in Italy.

As part of their broader goal to contribute to Detroit’s overall health and economic well-being, the Big Data and Analytics group hosted its second annual Big Data and Business Analytics Symposium in March at Wayne State’s McGregor Memorial Conference Center.

Industrial engineering students competed in the Great Lakes Regional IIE Conference hosted by Purdue University in February. The students were awarded first place in the prestigious paper competition.

The Wayne State University Chapter of the Institute of Industrial Engineers has achieved and retained gold status for four out of the last five years. In order to qualify for this

status, a student chapter must satisfy or exceed 10 criteria in four categories, ranging from planning and administration; programs, activities and outreach; communication and membership recruitment; and regional/institutional participation.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Distinguished Professor Sean Wu recently published a textbook, The Helmholtz Equation Least Squares Method for Reconstructing and Predicting Acoustic Radiation. The book was included in the Modern Acoustics and Signal Processing book series and includes a preface written by the series editor in chief. Book details: 2015, XIII, 233 pages, 82 illustrations, 61 illustrations, ISBN 978-1-4939-1640-5.

Professor Raouf Ibrahim gave a keynote presentation entitled “Panorama of Liquid Sloshing Dynamics” at the Von Karman Institute (VKI) Special Lecture Series on “Physics of Sloshing” during the eighth European Symposium on Aerothermodynamics for Space Vehicles at the IST Congress Center in Lisbon, Portugal, in March.

Assistant Professor Leela Arava, postdoctoral fellow Ganguli Babu, graduate student Khalid Abatain and Simon Ng, associate dean for research and graduate studies, recently published a paper titled “Electrocatalysis of Lithium Polysulfides: Current Collectors as Electrodes in Li/S Battery Configuration” in Scientific Reports. The paper outlines the need, innovation and design of their version of the Li/S battery that solves current issues such as the production of waste due to its use of carbon and its low connectivity rate.

An articulation agreement has been generated between the mechanical engineering department and Macomb Community College to provide a smooth and seamless curriculum transition for Macomb students that transfer to Wayne State to earn a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AND TEAMS

Glamour magazine interviewed mechanical engineering student and member of the EcoCAR 3 team Alyse Ariel Waldhorn about her role on Wayne State’s women-led team.

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A Note from WSU Engineering Alumni Association President Dear Fellow Warriors and Friends,

I am honored to serve as the 2014-15 president of the Wayne State University College of Engineering Alumni Association. It’s a great privilege, and I am grateful to our outstanding alumni leaders, faculty, administrators and staff members for their advice and support as I strive to support the college’s five pillars of student success and connect alumni back to the college.

One pillar of the college is hands-on learning, and the Alumni Association has a long history of supporting student design competition teams. Last October, we held

the first student team interaction night at the College of Engineering. The goal of the event was to bring alumni closer to the students and their projects to get a firsthand look at the challenges that lie ahead. Eight student teams participated by showcasing their approach and design concepts to alumni during a strolling dinner in the Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center. Stay tuned for details on next year’s event as we continue to connect our alumni with students and promote hands-on learning.

Another focus for the Alumni Association this year is connecting alumni with each other. Relationships and networking are essential in today’s connected society, and the College of Engineering offers a common thread for thousands of engineers to get in touch. Last year, we held a successful networking event focused on connecting younger alumni together and back to the college. We will continue to host these events to bring our alumni together with each other and the College of Engineering family.

We are excited to be actively engaged with the college in offering many ways for alumni to connect with their alma mater. I encourage you to visit the Wayne State College of Engineering LinkedIn group (more than 2,300 members and counting) and look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming events in the near future.

Go Warriors!

Paul NahraPresident, Engineering Alumni Association

Welcome our new alumni officer! The College of Engineering is pleased to welcome Becky Dennis as its new alumni and donor relations officer. Dennis, who formally started her new position Dec. 8, has served as a part-time development associate in the college’s development office since October 2013. She has been a key player in planning and executing the college’s goals to engage its more than 25,000 engineering and computer science alumni.

After receiving a B.A. from Kalamazoo College, Becky worked in various cities on the East Coast as a theatre administrator, producer and stage manager. She has worked with many actors of the stage and screen, including Steve Martin, Linda Lavin (Alice), John Gallagher Jr. (The Newsroom), Kate Burton (Scandal) and Daniel Franzese (Mean Girls, HBO’s Looking). She moved back in the fall 2013 to enroll in the master’s in public administration program at Wayne State University.

In this newly created role, Dennis will be responsible for connecting and engaging engineering and computer science alumni for involvement in the college’s many events, programs and initiatives. “With so much growth happening at the college, from student organizations to cutting edge research in alternative energy technology and the Anderson Engineering Ventures Institute, there are

endless opportunities for alumni to become involved and share their knowledge with our students,” says Dennis.

Dennis can be reached by email at rebecca.dennis@wayne.edu, or by telephone at 313-577-4707. She welcomes all alumni to reach out to her with any questions, comments or ideas that would benefit our community.

New alumni officer Becky Dennis (right) with alumna Elizabeth K. Krear, ’88, ’90, at the North American International Auto Show in January.

ALUMNI UPDATES

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The College of Engineering is pleased to report record enrollment numbers, reflecting a continued growing interest in studying engineering in Detroit.

Undergraduate student enrollment is at its highest level in 24 years, with numbers surpassing 1,900. Graduate student enrollment is at its highest number (more than 1,200) in a decade. Additionally, overall enrollment is at its highest level in 19 years, with more than 3,000 students enrolled in the college.

Included in these figures are more than 600 women, which represents a 20 percent increase from the year before and the largest group of women to be enrolled in the college in at least a decade. Nearly 170 first-time,

degree-seeking graduate students were registered for the winter semester — the largest number since 2007, and a nearly 18 percent increase over winter 2014.

The college continues to have great international appeal, as students have come from as far away as Venezuela, South Korea, Brazil and Egypt to study. Dean Farshad Fotouhi states, “These numbers are a clear indication of Wayne State’s position as a leader in engineering education in Michigan and across the globe. Our location in Detroit provides our students with many opportunities for experiential learning like internships and co-ops, which are very attractive to employers.”

College of Engineering reports

RECORD ENROLLMENT

1,900+UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT:

1,200+GRADUATE STUDENT ENROLLMENT:

19HIGHEST ENROLLMENT IN

YEARS

15SPRING 2015

1,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

2,0001,864

2,148

Full-/part-time

2,4372,653

3,1153,000

4,000

Numb

er of

stude

nts en

rolled

Year

TOTAL YEARLY ENROLLMENT

FACTS AND3,115 STUDENTSTOTAL

ENROLLMENT

Level

UNDERGRADUATE1,912 students (61%)

GRADUATE 1,203 students (39%)

FULL-TIME2,194 students (70%)

PART-TIME921 students (30%)

16 EXEMPLAR

FIGURESGender

Class level

Faculty and staff

Top 10 employers of 2014 graduates

Research expenditures

Living alumni

Student organizations and teams

Residency and level

* All figures represent fall 2014 unless otherwise indicated

OUT-OF-STATE GRADUATE809 students (26%)

IN-STATE GRADUATE394 students (12%)

OUT-OF-STATE UNDERGRADUATE

205 students (7%)

IN-STATE UNDERGRADUATE

1,707 students (55%)

Freshman: 402Sophomore: 262Junior: 427Senior: 704Undergraduate non-degree: 117

Master’s: 891Doctorate: 305Graduate non-degree: 7

FEMALE 636 students (20%)

FULL-TIME STAFF

582014 fiscal year

$21,524,000

25,99725

MALE 2,479 students (80%)

FULL-TIME FACULTY

131

1. Ford Motor Company2. Wayne State University3. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles4. General Motors5. DTE Energy

6. Yazaki North America7. Bosch8. BASF9. Faurecia10. Henry Ford Health System

17SPRING 2015

COLLEGE of ENGINEERING5050 Anthony Wayne Drive Detroit, MI 48202

Submit your College of Engineering throwback photo to alumni@eng.wayne.edu and be entered to win a college T-shirt. Photos will appear on our social media pages or in a future Exemplar. Please include a caption with description and names, if possible.

1980s — Great minds, great hair

Back Row (Left to Right): Derek LeRoy, James Anderson, Anthony Will, Dan Kirk, Rich Moskal

Front Row (Left to Right): Dr. James Facen (Advisor), Tarek Kazzi, Mark C. Kehoe, Greg Gruber, Daniel Rios, Sam Salem