We are deeply saddened to report that Professor Lung-Wen Tsai passed away on November 29, 2002. The faculty, staff, and students in Mechanical Engineering extend their condolences to his family.

Read Professor Tsai's Biography

Digital Angel Corporation, located in the University Research Park, has joined Bourns College of Engineering's Industrial Affiliates program. Industrial Affiliates was designed to create interactions between businesses and College of Engineering faculty and students, resulting in a competitive edge for member companies.

Digital Angel offers advanced wireless safety, location and condition systems with GPS (global positioning systems) and proprietary sensor technologies. The devices provide the exact location of people, pets and objects in real time. The company also has developed commercial and medical applications. For further information, click link below.

Digital Angel Web site

Representatives from numerous companies attended the College's fourth annual Industry Day on Wednesday, November 20 at Bourns Hall. They were welcomed and given a profile of the College by Dean Satish K. Tripathi, saw state-of-the-field presentations by seven faculty members, and heard a summary of educational and research activities by the chair of each of the College's four departments. An afternoon highlight was the poster session, where 39 graduate students and 7 undergraduates displayed poster presentations and answered visitors' questions about their work. The day closed with a reception, giving the industry visitors an opportunity to meet students and discuss areas of common interest. First, second and third prizes for graduate and undergraduate posters were announced at the reception (see poster winners page for details).

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poster winners

Computer Science & Engineering professor's paper recognized

A paper by Michalis Faloutsos, Assistant Professor of Computer Science & Engineering, has been ranked among the top five most referenced papers of 1999 in computer science and engineering by the Scientific Literature Digital Library. The paper, titled "On Power-Law Relationships of the Internet Topology", was published for the ACM SIGCOMM conference in 1999. Dr. Faloutsos' brothers, Christos and Petros, were co-authors of the paper.

Arturo Ramirez, an engineer at Goodrich Aerostructures Group, visited Bourns Hall on Wednesday, November 13 to speak to Bourns College of Engineering students. He shared his on-the-job experiences at the company, and answered students' questions. Goodrich, a worldwide supplier of aerospace components, systems and services, has been selected as one of Fortune magazine's Most Admired Aeorspace Companies, and included in Forbes magazine's 400 Best Big American Companies.

Jing Li, a graduate student in the Computer Science & Engineering Department, was awarded the second annual I/O Software Technology Innovation Scholarship on Friday, November 1. The check was presented by William Saito, CEO of I/O Software, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA – 43rd District) and UCR Chancellor France Córdova during an 11th year anniversary celebration at the company's new office location in downtown Riverside. Li does research with Professor Tao Jiang in the Algorithms and Computational Biology Lab.

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Three Bourns College of Engineering professors have been designated Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Lung-Wen Tsai and Kambiz Vafai of the Mechanical Engineering Department and Laxmi Bhuyan of the Computer Science & Engineering Department were recognized nationally by the scientific organization, which publishes the peer-reviewed journal Science. The appointments contributed to UC Riverside's record-breaking total of 13 new Fellows, more than any other U.S. institution for this year. The College now has 10 AAAS Fellows among its faculty members.

campus news release with photos

Mechanical Engineering Department Chair and Professor Shankar Mahalingam has been awarded the membership status of Associate Fellow of AIAA, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. Nominees must be AIAA Senior Members with at least 12 years of professional experience. A maximum of one Associate Fellow per every 150 voting members of the organization may be upgraded annually. With more than 31,000 members, AIAA is the world's largest professional society devoted to the progress of engineering and science in aviation, space, and defense.

Dr. Walter Stevens, Director of the Chemical Sciences, Geosciences and Biosciences Division of the Department of Energy in Washington, D.C. was the invited speaker at a workshop on homeland security held at Bourns College of Engineering on Friday, October 11. After welcoming remarks by Dean Satish Tripathi, Chancellor France Córdova addressed the gathering. Many College faculty members gave presentations on related research projects. The event was organized by Electrical Engineering Professor Jay Farrell and Chemical & Environmental Professor Ashok Mulchandani.

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Industry Day planned for Nov. 20

The fourth annual Industry Day will take place at Bourns Hall on November 20. Industry Day is designed to provide industry leaders with an update on the College's programs and research, and to stimulate their interaction with the College's faculty and students. For further information, click the Industry Day link on this page.

Professor Ashok Mulchandani was spotlighted in the Riverside Press-Enterprise on Monday, October 7, for his teamwork with the Corona division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center. Dr. Mulchandani's research on pesticide detection attracted the attention of the Navy, resulting in a $100,000 contribution, $75,000 of which will be used to fund the expansion of his program to include the development of chemical weapon detectors. Dr. Mulchandani is developing biosensors that could be used at an attack site by first-responders to sense compounds such as sarin nerve gas. Current technology requires samples to be transported to a lab for analysis.

As part of the Navy's donation, intended to fund one year of research, the Warfare Center has become a member of the College's Industrial Affiliates program, designed to facilitate interaction between the business sector and the College of Engineering.

Press-Enterprise article on Ashok Mulchandani

New Bourns College of Engineering brochure available

A new sixteen-page brochure describing recent accomplishments and current research at Bourns College of Engineering has been published, and is available online or by mail. Please visit (http://www.engr.ucr.edu/news_events/college_pub/BCoE_spreads.pdf) or call (951) 827-5190 to request a copy.

Chancellor France A. Córdova was welcomed to Bourns College of Engineering on Sept. 24 by Dean Satish K. Tripathi. Dean Tripathi provided an overview of the state of the college and plans for the future. The Department Chairs gave presentations focusing on the major research areas in each department. After a brief tour of the Engineering complex, Chancellor Córdova attend a reception where she was introduced to the College of Engineering faculty members.

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Groundbreaking ceremony held for Engineering II

Chancellor France A. Córdova and Dean Satish K. Tripathi unveiled a project construction sign at the conclusion of a groundbreaking ceremony for Engineering II, now under construction adjacent to Bourns Hall. The event, held on Sept. 25 at the Engineering precinct courtyard facing the building site, included remarks by Gordon Bourns, Chairman and CEO of Bourns, Inc. and William Saito, President and CEO of I/O Software, Inc. Bourns and Saito are co-chairs of the committee engaged in fundraising for the completion of the new building. The ceremony was attended by campus administrators, business leaders, representatives from the UCR Board of Trustees and members of the Engineering II fundraising committee.

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Chemical & Environmental Engineering Professor Ashok Mulchandani is featured in the September issue of Inland Empire Magazine in an article about the aftereffects of 9/11. The article concerns research to develop a portable device for determining the presence of certain chemical toxins. Professor Wilfred Chen and researchers from Oklahoma State University, New Mexico State University and the Naval Research Laboratory are the other members of the research team. The Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism has awarded a $2.6 million grant to fund their work.

Burton Yamada, site manager for TRW San Bernardino, presented a check for $15,000 to Dean Satish Tripathi and Electrical Engineering Chair Jie Chen on Friday, Sept. 6 at Bourns Hall. Also representing TRW were Hossny El Sherief, also a lecturer in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Daniel Reitz, who recently earned his master's degree in Electrical Engineering at UCR. The grant is the result of a collaborative effort between TRW and BCOE to create a program in the EE department that would allow students to research and develop dynamic modeling techniques.

"Many UCR graduates have come to work for TRW, and several TRW employees are teaching at UCR. These connections provide an excellent environment in which to sponsor research that provides value to both TRW and industry by fostering new technologies," said Yamada.

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Emissions breakthrough announced at CE-CERT symposium

Significant findings by researchers at Bourns College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) were announced on Wednesday, Sept. 4 at a Clean Mobility Symposium in Riverside. In presentations on the UC Riverside campus and at the CE-CERT facility, results of an ongoing study of new-generation gasoline vehicles were announced and interpreted by representatives from CE-CERT, Honda R&D, Chevron Texaco and the California Air Resources Board. The SELEV (Study of Extremely Low Emission Vehicles) researchers concluded that emerging internal combustion engine technology can reduce emissions of harmful air pollutants to levels that were considered impossible a few years ago. The report was one of the lead articles in USA Today as well as other publications including Science Daily, The Salt Lake City Tribune, The Press-Enterprise and the Associated Press Wire Service.

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Bourns College of Engineering received a $100,000 check Monday, Aug. 26 at a dedication ceremony for the new Measurement Science & Technology Laboratory at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Corona. Dean Satish K. Tripathi accepted the check from Naval Surface Warfare Center Executive Director John Fishell, Head of Measurement Science Directorate Arman Hovakemian and Commanding Officer Captain Walter Wright. Congressman Ken Calvert (CA – 43rd District), whose efforts helped make the new facility possible, was also in attendance.

$25,000 of the check establishes the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC), Corona Division, as an Industrial Affiliate of the College of Engineering. The remaining $75,000 supports research by Professor Ashok Mulchandani, monitoring emerging technology and interpreting specific advancements in connection with biological and chemical detection sensor systems. As a member of the College's Industrial Affiliates, NSWC – Corona will continue its involvement through activities such as research collaboration, providing internships for students and hiring of BCOE graduates.

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Industrial Affiliates

Haddon awarded $4.3 million as part of UCR, UCSB and UCLA joint project

Dr. Robert Haddon, director of the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), will receive $4,382,334 over 18 months as UCR's share of an award from DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), DMEA (Defense Microelectronics Activity) and the Department of Defense, to be administered by ONR (Office for Naval Research). The Center for Nanoscale Innovation for Defense (CNID), a collaboration between UCR, UCSB and UCLA, will build on existing interactions and develop cooperative research in new directions.

Participating researchers and DARPA, DMEA and ONR representatives met Wednesday, Aug. 14 on the UC Santa Barbara campus. The CNID program will facilitate the rapid transition of research innovation in the nanosciences into applications for defense. Branches at the three UC campuses will be the hub of a national materials and device center. Each campus will share equally in the funding, effective June 28, 2002 to January 31, 2004.

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Dr. Henry Sheng, lecturer in the Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department, has been elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), a national professional association founded in 1908. The Grade of Fellow is reserved for those tenured Institute members who have displayed significant service to AIChE and the profession, and who have achieved significant accomplishments in Chemical Engineering. Dr. Sheng has authored many papers and holds nine chemical engineering patents. He has taught for more than 30 years, including the last six at UCR, mentored postgraduate students and given many hours of voluntary service, such as helping to establish and serving as advisor to UCR's student chapter of AIChE.

EurekAlert, an online publication of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has published an article by Electrical Engineering faculty member Alexander Balandin, outlining solutions to computer memory chip design problems encountered as the devices are miniaturized. Silicon's ability to conduct heat changes as its structural dimensions shrink to nanometers, and Dr. Balandin offers strategies to keep the nanochips cool and maintain their performance. He directs the Nano-Device Laboratory in the College's Electrical Engineering Department, whose research is supported by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Civilian Research and Development Foundation and the Office of Naval Research.

Click here for full text of Eurekalert article

Joseph Norbeck, Chemical & Environmental Engineering faculty member and Director of Bourns College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), has been quoted in The Economist, an international weekly news and business publication edited in London and printed in six countries. The story addresses concerns that the world will run out of resources, and that growing affluence of nations might lead to a global environmental disaster. Dr. Norbeck advocates the adaptation by other countries of technologies designed for the California market, including those developed at CE-CERT.

Click here for Economist article

Chemical & Environmental Engineering Associate Researcher Dimitrios Morikis has been awarded a Grant-in-Aid award from the American Heart Association. He will receive $119,999 over two years for his project, "Improved structure-based design of a Complement inhibitor using NMR and computational methods". It involves structure-based rational design of small molecules with the potential of becoming therapeutic agents, targeting heart disease and bioincompatibility of biomaterials during cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Professors tour USS Constellation

Bourns College of Engineering faculty and staff members were guests this weekend of Captain John Miller, Commanding Officer of the USS Constellation, an aircraft carrier that is home to more than 5,000 Navy personnel. The UCR group was flown from the San Diego Naval Air Station to the ship on a C-2 Greyhound, experiencing an arrested landing on arrival and a catapult launch on departure, and were given tours of many of the ship's 17 decks during the two-day visit.

Click here for photos of USS Constellation visit

Shruti Kasetty and Carlos Hangarter were named Bourns College of Engineering's outstanding students at the Commencement Awards & Honors Banquet on Friday, June 14. The graduating seniors received the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns award because of their academic excellence and recommendations from faculty. Both students are not only top scholars, but have been active in student engineering clubs and volunteer activities.

Click here for photos from awards banquet

Professor Xu receives NSF Career Award

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Guanshi (Alex) Xu has obtained a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for his proposal, "Dislocation Mechanics in Strained Heteroepitaxial Layer Structures". The amount of funding is $375,000 for duration of 60 months. One of NSF's most prestigious awards for new faculty members, the CAREER program recognizes and supports the early career-development activities of teacher/scholars most likely to become the academic leaders of the 21st century.

Members of the Board of Advisors to the Chemical & Environmental Engineering department held a daylong meeting on June 3 in Bourns Hall. Department Chair Ashok Mulchandani gave an overview of recent developments. Presentations were made by CEE faculty members Marc Deshusses, Wilfred Chen and Eric Hoek. Acting Dean Mark Matsumoto profiled the College's recent accomplishments and plans for the future. Graduate students arranged a poster session for the advisors to view.

Six transfer students awarded scholarships

Six students transferring to the Bourns College of Engineering have received scholarships of $1,500 each. Northrop Grumman has provided scholarships to Mikiko Matsunaga, Van Le-Pham, Daniel Schueller and Huy Nguyen. Transfer in Engineering scholarships funded by the College's founding Dean Susan Hackwood have been awarded to Thomas Clayton and Tian Shi.

UCR team's work recognized in UK publication

Bourns College of Engineering's Professor Robert Haddon has been quoted in Electronic Engineering Times UK regarding his team's discovery of an organic material with bi-stable properties reported recently in Science magazine. The team is researching a molecule that exhibits bi-stability in three physical channels: optical, electronic and magnetic. The project is a collaborative effort involving the Center for Nanoscale Science & Engineering and the Departments of Chemical & Environmental Engineering and Chemistry at UCR.

Acting Dean Mark Matsumoto announced at the Year End Banquet that Marisa Garcia, a senior in Mechanical Engineering, is the 1000th graduate from Bourns College of Engineering. She was presented with a framed certificate of recognition at the event, held on Friday, May 31 in the meadow across from Bourns Hall. Linda O'Neill, director of special programs, introduced a parade of outstanding students, volunteers and organizations supporting student clubs at the College. The UCR chapter of NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) was chosen for the Outstanding Club of the Year Award.

Click here for photos from the Year End Banquet

Kevin Carpenter wins SAE second place award

First-year Mechanical Engineering undergraduate Kevin Carpenter was awarded second place in the Society of Automotive Engineers Mac Short Engineering Paper Competition, sponsored annually by the Southern California section of the national organization. Carpenter did an oral presentation as well as a written paper, and received $400 for his second place finish. He worked under the direction of Jim Heffel, principal engineer at College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT).

Leadership Council hears presentation by Dr. Norbeck

Joseph Norbeck, director of CE-CERT, made a presentation to the College of Engineering Leadership Council, a group comprised of officers from student engineering clubs. Dr. Norbeck described characteristics of leadership, and gave examples of great leaders throughout history and the qualities they had in common. He emphasized leader-constituent interaction and encouraged the audience to motivate all members of their various groups through their guidance as officers.

Click here for photos of Dr. Norbeck's presentation

Research of Bourns College of Engineering's Distinguished Professor Robert C. Haddon is reported in the May 24, 2002 issue of the journal Science. The paper, co-authored by Dr. Haddon, reports on a new bistable material which should prove to be of great interest to the electronics industry and the computer storage industry. A bistable material can exist in either one of two different states, often changing dramatically when it switches.

Click here for link to Science magazine article on Dr. Haddon's work

Electrical Engineering Advisory Board meets

Industry executives visited Bourns Hall on Friday, May 24 for an Electrical Engineering Advisory Board meeting. The Board members were welcomed by Department Chair Jie Chen, and updated on progress and plans for the College of Engineering by Acting Dean Mark Matsumoto. Director of Development David Iyall and faculty members Roger Lake, Mihri Ozkan and Alex Balandin also made presentations. Electronics Technician Dan Giles led the group on a tour of EE laboratories. The advisors shared their impressions of progress since their last meeting and suggestions for curriculum with College representatives.

Click here for photos of Electrical Engineering Advisory Board meeting

Risha Bera's project wins third place at State Science Fair

Risha Bera, a 13-year-old middle school student who enlisted the assistance of College of Engineering-Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT), has placed third in the California State Science Fair. Her project asked, "Can the directed traffic patterns of a vehicle reduce atmospheric pollution in a parking lot?" She plans to maintain her collaboration with CE-CERT for future projects.

Computer Science undergraduate Shruti Kasetty was recognized as Bourns College of Engineering's outstanding student at the UCR Honors Convocation on Tuesday, May 14. Ms. Kasetty was also chosen as the outstanding student from the Computer Science department. Outstanding students chosen by other departments were Cori Demmelmaier from Chemical Engineering, Monica Sawkar from Environmental Engineering and Adam Young from Electrical Engineering. Electrical Engineering's Travis Feenstra, Environmental Engineering's Steven Gebelin and Computer Engineering's James Robertson were recognized for their academic scholarship. The ceremony recognizes students with a grade point average of 3.9 or higher.

Sony Pictures Imageworks team presents career information

UCR alumna Seema Desar and colleague Amit Agrawal, executive director of the software engineering department at Sony Pictures Imageworks, visited Bourns Hall on Wednesday, May 15 to speak to College of Engineering students. The presentation covered careers at Sony, what employers look for in interviews, and Ms. Desar's personal experiences including employment at Sony and AOL after she graduated from UCR and pursued her Masters degree.

Click here for photos of Sony presentation

The Santa Ana District Office of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has named William Saito, a member of the Bourns College of Engineering Council of Advisors and CEO of I/O Software Inc., as a finalist for the 2002 Small Business Person of the Year. Saito, who will be honored May 16 at the SBA's Small Business Award luncheon in Irvine, began his company while a student at UCR. I/O Software is a leading application and system security software provider supporting user authentication including biometrics, Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), and smart cards. The company signed agreements in 2000 with Microsoft Corp. and Intel to integrate I/O's user authentication technology into their future systems. See link below for further company information.

Click here for more information about I/O Softawre, Inc.

A team of Bourns College of Engineering students has won awards in two events at a human-powered vehicle (HPV) competition in Nevada sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The team's entry, similar to a recumbent bicycle, took third place in both the endurance and sprint competitions. This is the first year that the UCR student chapter of ASME has participated, competing against teams from 22 other colleges. Team members, all Mechanical Engineering undergraduates, are Aaron Carlsson, David Valdez, Oliver Wu, Andy Rodger, Ami Rogers, Quoc Pham, Gus Dominguez and David Lammering. Cycletek provided substantial assistance with the fabrication, and faculty lecturer James Sawyer acted as the team's advisor.

Governor signs bond legislation accelerating Engineering II building construction

Governor Gray Davis and the California Legislature have approved bond legislation that will partially fund seven UC projects, including Engineering Building Unit II at UC Riverside. As a result of its inclusion in the governor's economic stimulus package, plans for construction on Engineering II have been moved forward, with groundbreaking planned for early July, 2002. For further information, see Engineering II link below.

Epsilon Eta Sigma, an honor society for UCR engineering students, held a luncheon on Wednesday, April 24 to honor 20 new members, 15 of who were able to attend. Following an address by Acting President Michael Stenger, membership certificates were presented by Acting Dean Mark Matsumoto. The society is open to junior- and senior-year engineering majors who have achieved a grade point average of 3.5 or above. Epsilon Eta Sigma, now in its third year, is anticipating becoming a student chapter of the national engineering honor society Tau Beta Pi. Assistant Dean Dennis Rice is the group's advisor. (See link to event photos below.)

Click here for photos of honor society event

Rational Software donates software programs to College

Rational Software Corporation, one of the world's largest Internet software companies, has renewed a donation first made last year to the Bourns College of Engineering. The company's Software Engineering for Educational Development (SEED) program has donated licensing for software programs that, if purchased for business purposes, would have a value of more than $1 million. Assistant Professor Scott Tilley arranged for the original SEED program donation, for use in his course Computer Science 180, Introduction to Software Engineering.

Click here for photos of Baja Buggy

Baja Buggy receives participation award in Utah

UCR's Team "Wage Racing" earned a plaque for participating in the annual Mini-Baja West Collegiate Design Contest held April 25-27. The team includes four Mechanical Engineering students –Dean Schligmann, Joe Reinbold, Nick Voss and Matt Hekman -- and a physics and applied mathematics student, Sharon Shin. Professor Lung-Wen Tsai acted as the team's advisor.

Click here for photos of Baja Buggy

Joseph Gamell, physicist and inventor, spoke to the UCR student chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) on April 17. The presentation was co-sponsored by NSBE and the African Student Programs department. Mr. Gamell holds 16 patents on energy-related technology and propulsion systems. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Speech Pathology, a Masters Degree in Education and did postgraduate studies in engineering, business and physics at Western Michigan University. (See link to event photos below.)

Click here for photos of NSBE presentation

Baja Buggy heads to competition in Utah

UCR's Team "Wage Racing" is taking its Senior Design project to Utah to compete in the annual Mini-Baja West Collegiate Design Contest held April 25-27. The team includes four Mechanical Engineering students –Dean Schligmann, Joe Reinbold, Nick Voss and Matt Hekman -- and a physics and applied mathematics student, Sharon Shin. The buggy was designed to withstand the contest's 2- to 3.5-mile-long course punctuated with jumps and logs. The students designed and built the buggy from scratch on weekends. Professor Lung-Wen Tsai acted as the team's advisor.

Click here for photos of Baja Buggy

The research of Chemical & Environmental Engineering Professor Ashok Mulchandani has been cited in two recent publications in the United Kingdom and in the US. London's Nature science magazine published an article about bacteria that could digest chemical-weapons stockpiles. Chemical & Engineering News, a publication of the American Chemical Society, cited Mulchandani's work in an article about methods for detecting terrorist weapons. (See links to articles below.)

Click here for article in Nature

Click here for article in Chemical & Engineering News

Students visit companies on Spring Break field trips

More than 150 students from Bourns College of Engineering used their spring break to prepare for future jobs, attending field trips to various companies including JPL, Disney Imagineering and Unisys. The Unisys trip drew 40 students, who were greeted by Richard Ulmer, Vice President of the company's Pacific Development Laboratories. He told them their job applications would be welcome, and said he looked forward to partnerships in the future. Unisys' Paul Salce, Consultant for University Relations & Recruiting, worked with the BCOE's Office of Special Programs to arrange the visit.

Students offered admission to UCR visited the campus on Tuesday and Friday last week, April 2 and 5. Some parents and siblings also attended. The program included tours of the campus, presentations by UCR's three Colleges, exhibits on the Commons Mall by departments and student organizations and entertainment by local bands whose members include UCR students. Associate Dean Tom Payne hosted a presentation on Bourns College of Engineering, with the College's department chairs, undergraduate faculty advisors and a student panel on hand to answer questions. A final session of Discover UCR will be held on April 17.

Click here for photo of Discover UCR tour

Industry leaders are continuing their commitment to strengthen programs at Bourns College of Engineering through donations for scholarships, support for student clubs, and programs such as the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program (see related story below). Equilon Pipeline Co. LLC has donated $14,500 over the past four years for programs that promote engineering and science education for African-American and Mexican-American students. The Xerox Foundation has awarded $3,500 in scholarships for Hispanic students in the MESA Engineering Program (MEP) and $2,500 to provide Saturday junior high and high school workshops. Pacific Bell donated $3,000 to send three officers from UCR's National Society for Black Engineers (NSBE) student chapter to the national convention.

More than 400 middle- and high-school students visited UCR on Saturday, March 30 to take part in UCR's third annual MESA Day, part of the statewide Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement program. Activities included an egg drop contest, crystal growing, straw tower building and a balsa wood glider competition. See link below for longer story.

Mechanical Engineering holds annual bridge contest

Basswood bridges sagged under the stress of increasing weights in a contest to determine how much they could hold before breaking. Held annually, the competition is a required term project for Mechanical Engineering (ME) 009, Engineering Graphics and Design. First place winners were Paul Carcamo and Reed Peterson, for a maximum load of 29.18 kg, and 1482 efficiency score. Second place went to Anthony Willer and Brian Johnson, with 32.27 kg and an efficiency of 1201. Michael Lewis' bridge won third place, for 21.18 kg and 968 efficiency rating.

Click here for photos of bridge contest

Satish K. Tripathi, Dean of the Bourns College of Engineering, has been asked by UCR's Acting Chancellor David H. Warren to serve as Acting Executive Vice Chancellor while a search for a permanent successor to former Chancellor Ray Orbach is taking place. Orbach resigned to become director of the Office of Science in the U.S. Department of Energy. The Acting Executive Vice Chancellor is responsible for leading and overseeing the educational mission of the campus.

Click here for story on Prof. Ashok Mulchandani's anti-terrorism grant

The Southern California Gas Company has joined the ranks of the Bourns College of Engineering's Industrial Affiliates program. The program was designed to create meaningful interactions with faculty and students that result in a competitive edge for member companies.

The nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, The Southern California Gas Company serves 18 million people through 5 million gas meters in more than 530 communities. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it is a subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE), a Fortune 500 company based in San Diego. Their service area encompasses 23,000 square miles throughout much of Central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border.

A team headed by Professor Ashok Mulchandani, Chair of the Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department, has been awarded a $2.6 million grant by the Oklahoma City National Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism. Dr. Mulchandani and Prof. Joseph Wang of New Mexico State University will act as co-principal investigators. Other members of the team are UCR's Prof. Wilfred Chen, Prof. James Harmon from Oklahoma State University and Dr. Greg Collins from the Naval Research Laboratory. The funding is for the development of a device to detect agents of terrorism, chemical warfare and explosives.

Click here for news release on anti-terrorism grant

The Southern California Gas Company has joined the ranks of the Bourns College of Engineering's Industrial Affiliate program. The program aims to create meaningful interactions with faculty and students that result in a competitive edge for member companies.

Marlan and Rosemary Bourns, Founders of Bourns, Inc., toured Bourns Hall and Computer Science & Engineering Department offices in the new Surge Building on Friday, March 8. The couple also reviewed plans for Engineering II, the third building in the complex, expected to begin construction in July of this year. The College was named for Marlan and Rosemary Bourns in recognition of a $6 million gift from the Bourns Foundation in 1994.

Click here for photos of visit by Marlan and Rosemary Bourns

Electrical Engineering Associate Professor Alexander Balandin has received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award for his proposal "Performance Enhancement of GaN-Based Devices via Optimization of Thermal Design". The award is for $330,000 funding over three years, with the possibility of additional support for equipment. The two other awards in the electronics division went to investigators at Stanford and UC Irvine.

A 4.0 grade point average has earned Chemical Engineering undergraduate Gary Eagleson the Donald F. Othmer Sophomore Academic Excellence Award. Gary received Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook and a certificate recognizing his achievement from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE). Professor Yushan Yan, advisor to the UCR student chapter of AIChE, presented the book, and Acting Dean Mark Matsumoto presented the certificate.

Click here for AIChE award ceremony photos

Bourns College of Engineering's student clubs organized a campus-wide celebration of National Engineers Week, Feb. 19-22. Dean Satish K. Tripathi welcomed participants at an opening reception Tuesday afternoon. Other events included a faculty/staff/student basketball tournament, a presentation on engineering careers by BCOE alumni and a trivia contest. The MESA High School program brought students from four high schools to campus on Thursday to see presentations and participate in the day's events. Contests and games sponsored by student clubs were held at noontime each day at the center of the UCR campus.

Click here for Engineers Week photos

More than 200 high school students came to UCR on Wednesday, Feb. 20 for the 15th Bourns Science & Engineering Day. Dean Tripathi introduced Chancellor Orbach, who welcomed the students and introduced the keynote speaker, Distinguished Professor of Genetics Michael Clegg. The students participated in hands-on presentations, tours and contests. The purpose of the event is to provide a window on careers in various technical fields.

The science magazine Information Week has published an article on Mechanical Engineering Professor Qing Jiang's nanotube research, previously cited in Scientific American and Physical Review Focus and Technology Research News. New Scientist, a British magazine, is also preparing an article. Dr. Jiang's research, in collaboration with Quanshui Zheng of Tsinghua University, Beijing, involves the sliding action of telescoping nanotubes.

To read about Dr. Jiang's study of nanotubes in
Information Week – Click here
Physical Review Focus – Click here

Professor Lung-Wen Tsai, Presidential Chair and Mechanical Engineering faculty member, has been elected as an Honorary Professor at National Chiao-Tung University, one of the top five universities in Taiwan. This honor is reserved for those who have achieved a high standard of excellence and have been recognized as an international figure in their field. Taiwan's National Science Council, equivalent to our National Science Foundation, has invited Professor Tsai to visit as their guest. He plans to give lectures at the university, and expects some collaborative research in the future.

Mechanical Engineering Professor Qing Jiang's nanotube research has been reported in Scientific American and Physical Review Focus. Technology Research News and New Scientist, a British magazine, are also preparing articles. Dr. Jiang's research, in collaboration with Quanshui Zheng of Tsinghua University, Beijing, involves the sliding action of telescoping nanotubes.

Click here for paper about Dr. Jiang's study of nanotubes in Physical Review Focus

Governor Davis proposes early start for Engineering II construction

Construction for the College of Engineering's new facility, Engineering Building II, may begin several months earlier than planned. The project was one of seven UC buildings included in Governor Davis' economic stimulus package. Click link below for an article from the Highlander, the UCR student newspaper.

Click here for Highlander newspaper article about Engineering II building

Bourns College of Engineering spotlighted in UCR alumni magazine

The current issue of Fiat Lux, UC Riverside's alumni/campus magazine, features the College of Engineering in several articles on the College's rapid growth and its research into wireless technology, improving air quality, nanotechnology, intelligent systems and biodegradable pollutants. Click on link below, then on "Cover Stories" to read the articles, and on "Close Up" for a profile of Dean Tripathi.

Click here for Fiat Lux articles about Bourns College of Engineering

Executive and academic leaders gather for annual Council of Advisors meeting

The College of Engineering's Council of Advisors held a daylong annual meeting at Bourns Hall on January 14. Academic and industry senior executives were welcomed by Dean Satish K. Tripathi, and heard presentations by new faculty members, department chairs and research center directors. At lunch, Executive Vice Chancellor David Warren spoke of UCR's vision for the future, citing the College as by far the fastest growing college at the University.

In the afternoon, Dean Tripathi briefed the group on plans for the future. They then broke into workshop sessions to discuss issues important to the direction of the College, and reassembled to share thoughts and recommendations. Assistant Dean Dennis Rice thanked the advisors for their valuable feedback, which will be incorporated into a five-year plan now being finalized.

Click here for photos from Council of Advisors meeting

Bourns College of Engineering spotlighted in UCR alumni magazine

Both the front and back cover of the current issue of Fiat Lux, UC Riverside's alumni/campus magazine, feature the College of Engineering. Several articles inside detail the College's rapid growth and its research into wireless technology, improving air quality, nanotechnology, intelligent systems and biodegradable pollutants. Click on "Cover Stories" to read the articles, and on "Close Up" for a profile of Dean Tripathi.

Click here for Fiat Lux articles about Bourns College of Engineering

Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department welcomes new faculty member

Eric Hoek has joined the Chemical & Environmental Engineering faculty as an assistant professor. He received his Ph.D. in Chemical & Environmental Engineering from Yale University in 2001.

Dr. Hoek's research interests include physical and chemical processes in engineered and natural systems. He is specifically focused on membrane separations such as reverse osmosis and microfiltration for water quality control.

Click here for photo of Dr. Eric Hoek