Professor receives national award

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Junlan Wang received the M. Hetenyi Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) at their International Congress at Costa Mesa in June. Named for one of four founders of SEM, the award is given for the best research paper published in the international journal Experimental Mechanics. Dr. Wang’s paper was titled, "A parametric study of laser induced thin film spallation." Co-authors were Prof. Nancy Sottos and Prof. Richard Weaver of the University of Illinois. Dr. Wang (l.) is pictured on the left with Dr. Sottos (r.) at the awards luncheon. Dr. Wang's research is in the general areas of mechanics and materials with a special interest in experimental mechanics, nano and micromechanics of materials.

Administrative changes at the College

Several new appointments have been announced at the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering. Mark Matsumoto is serving as Interim Dean, following the departure of former Dean Satish Tripathi to become Provost at the University at Buffalo. Dr. Matsumoto (pictured at left) will serve in this position while the search for a new Dean is in progress. Professor Chinya Ravishankar is Acting Associate Dean for Student Affairs, the title previously held by Dean Matsumoto. Financial and Administrative Manager Lois Bell has retired after twenty years of service with University of California; her duties will be assumed by Patrick Hartney, who has been appointed Assistant Dean for Finance and Administration. Hartney held a similar position at CE-CERT (College of Engineering – Center for Environmental Research and Technology). Professor Marc Deshusses is the new Chair of the Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering.

High school students commend outreach program

Comments of high school students that participated in the “Frontiers in Nanotechnology and Engineering” were gratifying, said Linda O’Neill, director of the two-week outreach program that concluded on July 2. "The professors were enthusiastic about their work, which made me excited as well. The technology they are creating seems to be part of science fiction yet it will soon be science fact," one student wrote. "I learned a lot about what is being researched today. I also learned about the campus and what major I want in college," said another. This is the second year the College has presented the program, designed to introduce high-achieving students and their teachers to the field of nanotechnology through interaction with UCR professors.

Top graduates honored at ceremony

Sara Kelcher and James Robertson received the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns Award at the UC Riverside 2004 Commencement Awards Ceremony on Friday, June 11. Each of UCR’s colleges annually selects an outstanding male and female graduate. The College of Engineering named the award to honor Marlan and Rosemary Bourns for their outstanding contributions to the College, the inland Southern California region, and industry. Both students graduated Summa Cum Laude and participated in numerous extracurricular activities. Dean Satish K.Tripathi presented the awards and is pictured with Robertson (left) and Kelcher (right).

Commencement ceremonies celebrated

Family members and friends congregated at the Student Recreation Center on the UC Riverside campus for the Bourns College of Engineering Commencement for the Class of 2004. The ceremony, opened by a welcome from Dean Satish K. Tripathi, took place at 1 p.m. on June 12. Peter Staudhammer, Director and COO of the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering, delivered the keynote address. James Robertson, recipient of the College’s Outstanding Student award, was the student speaker. Chancellor France Córdova presented certificates to the new graduates, introduced by Associate Dean Mark Matsumoto. Sara Kelcher, representing the Associated Students of UCR, led the Class of 2004 in the traditional tassel turning.

Nanotechnology summer program begins

High school students joined teachers for the second week of “Frontiers in Nanotechnology and Engineering” program, which runs from June 21 to July 2. The program is designed to explore the nature of nanotechnology and its implications for the future. Teachers learn new ways to teach the subject, and prepare lesson plans to implement during the second week. Program director Linda O’Neill hopes that student participants will be inspired to pursue science and technology careers. Scheduled activities include building Buckyballs (photo at left) and robots, attending presentations by UCR faculty, and touring research labs.

Eight recognized at Faculty Awards Assembly

Bourns College of Engineering faculty members were recognized at a ceremony on June 9 at UC Riverside for receiving honors in academic year 2003-04. Guillermo Aguilar was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Lasers in Medicine and Surgery, and Bir Bhanu became a Fellow of the International Society of Optical Engineers. Laxmi Bhuyan was designated and ISI Most Highly Cited Researcher. Eamonn Keogh and Srikanth Krishnamurthy received NSF Career Awards. Ashok Mulchandani was elected a Fellow of AAAS. Mihri Ozkan received a Visionary Science Award from the International Society of BioMEMS and Biomedical Technology. Junlan Wang received the Hetenyi Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics. Pictured (l. to r.) are Eamonn Keogh, Guillermo Aguilar, Chancellor Córdova, Mihri Ozkan and Srikanth Krishnamurthy.

Researcher selected to receive award

Dimitrios Morikis, Associate Researcher with the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, has been selected to receive UC Riverside’s Non-Senate Distinguished Researcher Award for 2003-2004. Dr. Morikis follows a cross-disciplinary theoretical and experimental approach in his research, involving biophysics, structural biology, computational chemistry and structural bioinformatics.

Staudhammer to speak at commencement

Peter Staudhammer, Director and COO of the Alfred E. Mann Institute for Biomedical Engineering, will be the keynote speaker for the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering commencement ceremonies on June 12. Dr. Staudhammer is also an independent consultant in aerospace and automotive engineering with Northrop Grumman, General Motors and the U.S. Department of Energy as his major clients. In 2002 he retired as Vice President and Chief Technical Officer of TRW, Inc. where he oversaw a global force of 17,000 engineers and scientists. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

College of Engineering Commencement will take place in the Student Recreation Center on the UC Riverside campus, from 1-3 p.m. This is the first year the College has held a separate ceremony. Approximately 200 students are expected to participate in the event.

Students present Senior Design projects

Engineering seniors donned business attire to present to faculty, parents and peers the results of their work in Course 175, Senior Design. A requirement for graduation in Mechanical, Chemical, Environmental, Electrical and Computer Engineering, the course provides students with real-world experience: teamwork, cost estimation, fabrication and project presentation skills are practiced. Pictured left to right are Ken Pravitz and Doug Skiles of AMA Plastics (sponsor of several projects), and Mechanical Engineering seniors Paul Clark, Sai Hpa and Brian Graham explaining their project, “Automated Testing of Pump Housings”.

Engineering students honored for excellence

Two of the five graduate students honored at the Graduate Research Awards Colloquium on May 24 at UC Riverside are Bourns College of Engineering Ph.D. candidates. Shalini Prasad was introduced by her advisor, Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor Mihri Ozkan. Prasad gave a presentation on her research, titled “Towards Biomedical Micro-Total Analysis Systems”. Chemical Engineering Professor Wilfred Chen introduced his student Yu Lei, who spoke on “Biosensor and Bioremediation for Organophosphorous Nerve Agents”. Pictured left to right are Prasad, Ozkan, Chen and Lei.

Computer Science & Engineering's advisors meet

The Board of Advisors for the Department of Computer Science & Engineering gathered for their annual meeting on May 26 at Bourns Hall. They were welcomed by Department Chair Thomas Payne, and heard faculty presentations by Walid Najjar (for Guru Parulkar), Gianfranco Ciardo, Neal Young and Christian Shelton. Assistant Dean Dennis Rice presented an update on the College’s current activities and plans for the future. After discussions, the advisors presented their feedback on what they had heard. At the end of the day, they viewed research posters created by the Department’s students. Pictured is Paul DiLorenzo explaining his poster to Board of Advisors member John Harrell.

Matsumoto selected as Interim Dean

Mark Matsumoto, Bourns College of Engineering Associate Dean and Professor of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, has agreed to serve as Interim Dean while a search is conducted for position of Dean. The current Dean, Satish K. Tripathi, will assume the position of Provost at University at Buffalo, the State University of New York, on July 1. A graduate of UC Irvine and UC Davis, Matsumoto began his academic career at University at Buffalo in 1983. He joined the faculty of UC Riverside in 1994, serving as Chair of the Chemical & Environmental Engineering Department from 1994-2000. He has held the position of Associate Dean since 1999. His research interests are in environmental engineering treatment processes, especially for wastewater and groundwater remediation.

NSF funds professor’s NIRT proposal

Chemical & Environmental Engineering Professor Yushan Yan has received a $1.2 million grant from the National Science Foundation as the Principal Investigator for the Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team (NIRT) project, titled “Zeolite Nanoparticles: Energy, Environment and Microelectronics”. Yan uses zeolite nanoparticles in a thin film configuration for applications such as fuel cell membranes and in insulation for continually-shrinking computer chips. UC Riverside is the lead institution for the four-year project, in partnership with researchers from Caltech, Rice University and Los Alamos National Lab.

Corporation renews support for Yan’s research

Pacific Fuel Cell Corp. has renewed its research agreement with Chemical & Environmental Engineering Professor Yushan Yan to support his research on carbon nanotube fuel cells. Matching funds will be provided through a UC Discovery grant. Dr. Yan is a leading authority on proton conductive membranes and nanostructured electrodes. The corporation is also establishing a laboratory in UC Riverside’s University Research Park to complete the development of the commercial version of the carbon nanotube fuel cell.

Top students announced at Honors Convocation

Seven engineering students were recognized at the UCR Honors Convocation held on May 16. One top student is selected from each of the College’s programs, and one stellar student is chosen from each UCR college by the dean and associate dean. This year the Bourns College of Engineering’s Outstanding Student is James Robertson, (pictured) who was also selected as the top Computer Engineering student. James Fiorito was chosen as the top Chemical Engineering student. Steve Gebelin was the top Environmental Engineering student. Ben Fellows was the top Electrical Engineering student. Daniel Watson was the top Mechanical Engineering student. Mikiko Matsunaga was the top Computer Science student. Dandan Dong was the top Information Systems student.

Honor society initiates fifteen new members

UCR’s engineering honor society Epsilon Eta Sigma initiated 15 new members at a luncheon on May 5, the second initiation of this academic year. President San Thanh Nguyen announced that the society has increased its membership by 300 percent this year. Associate Dean Mark Matsumoto and Assistant Dean Dennis Rice, the society’s advisor, also spoke. Membership in Epsilon Eta Sigma requires juniors to be in the top eighth of their class, and seniors to be in the top fifth, and a minimum 3.0 grade point average. New members initiated as juniors are Eric Harris, Jonathon Heilman, Wai Chong (Linda) Leong, Scott Sirowy, Sampson Tang and Won Lee. New senior initiates are Bryan Cabalo, Eric Frohnhoefer, Brad Hettervik, Mark Hillebrandt, Zackary Ledbetter, Mark McGory, James Robertson, James Sturm and Moses Tataw. Dean Matsumoto (left) and Dean Rice (right) are pictured with the new initiates.

Advisor receives “Outstanding Staff” top award

On May 3, eleven UC Riverside employees were honored as “Staff Who Make a Difference”. A top honoree, the “Outstanding Staff” award winner for 2003-04, is selected from these. Aaron Bushong, academic advisor in the Bourns College of Engineering, and Stan Morrison, campus athletic director, tied for the distinction. The annual ceremony, held at the UCR Extension Center, recognizes staff members who not only excel at their jobs, but volunteer for campus programs and events and in their communities. Bushong, a UCR alum who graduated with highest honors, led the development of the Ambassadors, a group of top engineering students who volunteer to assist with College and campus events. He also serves on numerous campus committees and in his community. He is pictured at the ceremony with Dean Satish K. Tripathi.

JPL and astronomers participate in Girl Scout Day

Representatives from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and members of the Riverside Astronomical Society inspired around 150 Brownies and Girl Scouts to look to the stars at Girl Scout Day on May 1 at Bourns College of Engineering. Chancellor France Córdova and JPL engineer Emily Eelkema were among speakers who encouraged the girls to consider careers in space exploration, a topic reinforced by learning activities such as building bubble rockets and having a model of the Mars Rover climb over them. They also looked through telescopes with the assistance of the Astronomical Society, and watched as ice cream was made using liquid hydrogen (photo at left). The annual event was organized by the College’s Office of Special Programs and members of the campus chapter of Society of Women Engineers.

Dean Tripathi named Provost for University at Buffalo

Satish K. Tripathi, Dean of Bourns College of Engineering, has been named Provost, the chief academic officer, at the University at Buffalo. He will begin the position effective July 1. Dr. Tripathi has held the positions of Dean and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at Bourns College of Engineering since 1997. Under his leadership, the College has grown from a single department and one research center to four departments and five interdisciplinary research centers. The University at Buffalo is New York’s largest public university, with 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Dean Tripathi to become Provost for University at Buffalo

Satish K. Tripathi, Dean of Bourns College of Engineering, has been named Provost, the chief academic officer, for the University at Buffalo. He will begin the position effective July 1. Dr. Tripathi has held the positions of Dean and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science & Engineering at Bourns College of Engineering since 1997. Under his leadership, the College has grown from a single department and one research center to four departments and five interdisciplinary research centers. The University at Buffalo is New York’s largest public university, with 27,000 undergraduate and graduate students.

Council of Advisors offers to assist

The College of Engineering’s Council of Advisors gathered at Bourns Hall for the annual meeting on Monday, April 19. After a welcome by Dean Tripathi, advisors watched presentations by Professors Jerome Schultz, Guru Parulkar and Guillermo Aguilar. Chancellor France Córdova gave a campus overview during lunch. The advisors then discussed College issues in a closed session, preparing their feedback and recommendations. A reception and poster session gave the visitors a chance to view student research posters. Pictured at left is Eden Haile explaining her research to Council of Advisors member Dr. Peter Staudhammer.

Regents visit Bourns Hall

Members of the University of California’s Board of Regents came to Bourns Hall to hear presentations by Bourns College of Engineering faculty titled “Development of Technology for Better and Safer Living”. Dean Satish K. Tripathi moderated a panel discussion that included Professors Robert Haddon, Jerome Schultz and Ashok Mulchandani, after each presented a brief view of their research areas. In photo at left, Dean Tripathi welcomes the visitors before the presentation.

BCOE Alumni return for Career Night

Several Bourns College alums returned to campus representing their companies at Career Night on April 14. Sponsored by the campus Career Center, the annual event offers an opportunity for UCR students to network with representatives from more than 100 companies who are hiring for full-time and part-time positions, internships and summer jobs. Pictured on the left are Chris Stier and Eric Irwin, computer Science & Engineering alumni who now work for Boeing, discussing careers with students.

Electrical Engineering Board reviews programs, progress

Members of the Electrical Engineering Department’s Board of Advisors met on Friday, April 16 in Bourns Hall to receive an overview of the Department’s recent activities and plans for the future from Chair Jie Chen. Several faculty members made presentations to the visitors. Alexander Balandin discussed undergraduate curriculum. Ertem Tuncel, Amit Roy Chowdhury, Ilya Lyubomirsky and Roger Lake did presentations on their research. Five graduate students displayed their research posters for the advisors: Khan Alim, Manu Shamsa, Valentin Turin, Vladimir Fobnoberov and Sumit Chaudhary. Winners were Chaudhary (first), Shamsa (second) and Alim (third). Pictured from left are Alim, Shamsa, Turin, Professor Chen and Bill Bingham, EE Department Manager.

Dr. Lei earns first Ph.D. from department

Yu Lei has become the first to obtain his doctorate in the Department of Chemical & Environmental Engineering, leading the way for 38 postgraduate students now working toward the same goal. His thesis, titled “Biosensors for Organophosphorus Nerve Agents”, concerns the development of tools to combat terrorist attacks. The research is supported by the Department of Homeland Securities.

Dr. Lei has spent three and a half years working to obtain his doctorate, during which time he has completed six projects. He has had three papers published, with three more being readied for publication. He says his co-advisors, Professors Ashok Mulchandani and Wilfred Chen, encouraged him to take the exam to become a professional engineer.

“The research atmosphere is good at UCR,” says Dr. Lei. “The work provides a lot of challenges, and my professors have helped me not only with my studies, but also with my professional growth.”

Postdoctoral researcher receives two awards

Dr. Vladimir Fonoberov has been awarded a NSF-NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Science and Engineering for Scientists from NATO Partner Countries for his research in condensed matter physics. Only one award is given nationally in each of 17 scientific disciplines. Dr. Fonoberov, a postdoctoral researcher from the southeastern European republic of Moldova, is a member of the Nano-Device Laboratory at Bourns College of Engineering. The award will allow him to carry out theoretical investigation of GaN quantum dots in the laboratory. Dr. Fonoberov also received a Young Scientist Award for the best paper presented at the 31st Conference on Physics and Chemistry of Semiconductor Interfaces conference in Hawaii in January.

NSF and SRC sponsoring Prof. Balandin’s research

Electrical Engineering Professor Alexander Balandin has received funding of $60,000 a year for two years for a new project, “Novel Phonon Engineering Concepts for Nanoscale Devices and 3D Integrated Circuits”. The research is being sponsored by the National Science Foundation in cooperation with the Semiconductor Research Corporation. Dr. Balandin heads the Nano-Device Laboratory, a research group engaged in theoretical and experimental investigation of properties of inorganic/organic/hybrid nanostructures and development of novel electronic/optical devices and circuits based on these nanostructures.

Industries assist with professors’ research

Three Computer Science & Engineering professors have recently received funding from large corporations. Chinya Ravishankar (left) was awarded a grant from Unisys, a worldwide information and technology services and solutions company, for his project “Evaluation of Systems Performance using Data Mining”. Frank Vahid (center) received funding from Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC), a university research management consortium of member companies, for his work, “Self-improving configurable Integrated Circuit Platforms”. Vassilis Tsotras’ (right) research is being supported by Lotus Interworks Inc., a developer of technology, software solutions and intellectual property. His project is called "Efficient Processing of Path-Expression Queries in XML".

Engineering students visit Unisys, Qualcomm, Guidant

More than 50 Engineering students made good use of Spring Break by traveling to Unisys in Mission Viejo on March 22, Qualcomm in San Diego on March 24, and Guidant in Temecula on March 25. Each group of students was welcomed by company representatives, who provided information about their corporation, the possibilities of internships during college, and full-time jobs after graduation. At Unisys, members of UCR’s student chapter of ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) presented Paul Salce, Unisys University Relations and Recruiting, Western Region, with a plaque in appreciation for the company’s contributions to the club. In the Unisys photo, l. to r., are Ryan Rusich (ACM Chair), Paul Salce (Unisys), Nicholas Barton (ACM Vice Chair), Benjamin Arai (ACM Programs Director), and Conley Read (ACM Treasurer).

Engineering profs part of winning team

Electrical Engineering Professor Yingbo Hua (right) and Computer Science & Engineering Assistant Professor Srikanth Krishnamurthy (left) are part of a team awarded $5.25 million by the Department of Defense. The MURI (Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative) grant is for a project titled "Space-Time Processing for Tactical Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks". Principal investigator is Prof. James Zeidler of UC San Diego. The UCR participants will study ways to improve high-capacity, mobile, over-the-horizon communications capability for fast-moving combat units engaged in tactical operations in a hostile environment.

K-JIST delegation visits campus

A delegation from K-JIST, a Korean university comparable to MIT, visited UC Riverside on Wednesday, March 3 to explore expanding the existing relationship between the Departments of Chemical & Environmental Engineering and Environmental Sciences at UCR, and Environmental Science and Engineering at K-JIST to include other departments. Representing K-JIST were Prof. Junng-Woong Ra, President, Prof. Man Bock Gu, Chair of Environmental Science and Engineering, Prof. Kyoungwoong Kim from Environmental Science and Engineering and Prof. Youngjoo Chung of Information and Communications. They met with Dean Satish K. Tripathi, Vice Chancellor Jack Azzaretto, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Bill Jury, and Bourns College of Engineering faculty members Jie Chen, Shankar Mahalingham and Mart Molle. They also visited two of their students, So Young Kang and Jin Hyung Lee, who have come to the CEE department to work in the laboratories of Mihri Ozkan and Wilfred Chen.

K-JIST delegation visits campus

A delegation from K-JIST, a Korean university comparable to MIT, visited UC Riverside on Wednesday, March 3 to explore expanding the existing relationship between the Departments of Chemical & Environmental Engineering and Environmental Sciences at UCR, and Environmental Science and Engineering at K-JIST to include other departments. Representing K-JIST were Prof. Junng-Woong Ra, President, Prof. Man Bock Gu, Chair of Environmental Science and Engineering, Prof. Kyoungwoong Kim from Environmental Science and Engineering and Prof. Youngjoo Chung of Information and Communications. They met with Dean Satish K. Tripathi, Vice Chancellor Jack Azzaretto, Interim Executive Vice Chancellor Bill Jury, and Bourns College of Engineering faculty members Jie Chen, Shankar Mahalingham and Mart Molle. They also visited two of their students, So Young Kang and Jin Hyung Lee, who have come to the CEE department to work in the laboratories of Mihri Ozkan and Wilfred Chen.

Student clubs celebrate national Engineers Week

National Engineers Week was celebrated at UC Riverside February 17-20 with activities organized by student engineering clubs. The event, founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers and open to all on campus, is dedicated to increasing public awareness and appreciation of engineering and to promoting pre-college interest in math, science, and engineering as a career option. Highlights of this year’s celebration included MESA High School Day, serving five high schools and approximately 100 students, a Distinguished Faculty and Industry panel, ice cream making, an egg drop contest, a robot maze demonstration, a panel presentation by female engineering faculty members and a Dean’s reception honoring student leaders.

Xerox Corporation awards scholarships

Seven engineering students have received scholarships from Dan Nunez, regional director of Xerox Corp. Scholarships are awarded to underrepresented students on the basis of their leadership, personal commitment, resourcefulness, involvement in their community and engineering club chapter, financial need and grade point average. Modesto Tojin received the top leadership award of $1,500. Joshua Aguilar, Julie Barajas, Nelson Cabrera, Jose Medina, Mario Olmedo and Sebastian Roeder all received $1,000 scholarships.

New faculty introduced at reception

Dean Satish K. Tripathi introduced thirteen new Bourns College of Engineering faculty members at a reception in their honor on Friday, February 20 in Bourns Hall. Divided among the College’s four departments, they join us from industry as well as from other institutions, to accommodate the rapid growth of our student body and to participate in the diverse research intiatives taking place here. Chemical & Environmental Engineering welcomes Kenneth Kauffman, Nosang Myung and Jerome Schultz. Computer Science & Engineering welcomes Gianfranco Ciardo, Gurudatta Parulkar, Christian Shelton and Neal Young. Electrical Engineering welcomes Ilya Lyubomirsky, Amit Roy Chowdhury and Ertem Tuncel. Mechanical Engineering welcomes Guillermo Aguilar, Thomas Stahovich and Junlan Wang.

Alumni advise students on careers

A panel of Bourns College of Engineering alumni returned to campus on Thursday, February 12 to take part in a panel discussion on applying for jobs after college. The event was sponsored by the Career Center and Bourns College of Engineering. Alumnus David Cocker, Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering, served as moderator. Panelists were Scott Geye of Unisys, Nawid Yakuby of Boeing, Lex Treepaisan of Verizon, Mark Abushabky of Guidant, Katherine Pensader of Northrup Grumman, Heath Deuel of International Recitifier, Nicole Anderson of the US Navy, Dawn Moore of Qualcomm and William Schroeder of iMedRIS Data Corp. A networking session followed where reporesentatives from these companies and ViaSat, Goodrich and the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Corona Division displayed literature and answered students’ questions. Alumni who attended the event are pictured at left.

UCR team receives $1.5 million for MARCO project

Electrical Engineering Professor Roger Lake is leading a team of UCR researchers working within UCLA’s Focus Center on Functional Engineered Nano Architectonics (FENA) to develop a chemical and biological based fabrication technology for future electron devices. The other team members are Alex Balandin, Mihri Ozkan and Cengiz Ozkan. Jianlin Liu and David Bocian, a UCR chemistry professor, are also independently members of the Center, researching, respectively, nano-structured materials and molecular memory integrated with Silicon nanostructures. The estimated three-year UCR budget of $1,547,016 is provided by MARCO (Microelectronics Advanced Research Corporation), a not-for-profit research management organization, a subsidiary of the Semiconductor Research Corporation. FENA seeks to create a new generation of nanoscale materials, structures and devices to extend semiconductor technology. The UCR team is the largest outside group working with the UCLA center. Pictured from left are Alexander Balandin, Jianiln Liu, Cengiz Ozkan, Roger Lake and Mihri Ozkan.

Two scholarships awarded by Krieger & Stewart

Desirea Quam and Sunny Wang (left and right), both Chemical and Environmental Engineering graduate students, received Krieger & Stewart Inc. Scholarships on Friday, February 6, from company representative Chuck Krieger (center). The scholarships of $1,500 each provide financial assistance to students in the Environmental Engineering program at Bourns College of Engineering. Preference in awarding the scholarships is given to students interested in water resources engineering.

CEE faculty member Sheng presents two scholarships, announces gift

Dr. Henry Sheng, lecturer in Chemical Engineering at Bourns College of Engineering, presented Vena Yin Sheng scholarships of $1,500 each to Chemical Engineering undergraduates Corinne Valkenburg and Marisol Torres last Friday, February 6. (Valkenburg, Sheng and Torres are pictured left to right.) The scholarships are given in memory of Dr. Sheng’s mother. At the ceremony, Dr. Sheng announced that he also plans to establish a fund to support the members and activities of the UCR chapter of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) in memory of Lora Salandanan. Lora, a former student of Dr. Sheng's, was active in establishing the chapter and served as its first vice president.

Standing room only at industry panel presentation

Seats filled quickly for a presentation by a distinguished industry panel on Thursday evening, January 29 at Bourns Hall. Students without seats stood at the back of the room to hear the program. Assistant Dean Dennis Rice moderated a panel that included Matt Chludzinski from Guidant Corp., Jean Easum from the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Jon Slater of Optivus Technology and Mike Kelly of Northrop Grumman Corp. The industry leaders spoke about preparation for careers including what companies look for in job applicants, resume preparation, and other components that are suggested in the College’s Career Path Milestones program. Career Placement Officer Loreta Dalton gave an overview of the program, and spoke of job trends and the importance of internships in preparing for a job. Her remarks were reinforced by the panel members, who fielded questions from the audience and stayed afterwards to speak to individual students.

Alums return to campus for tour, dinner

A group of Engineering alumni and their families gathered at 4 PM on Saturday, January 24 at Bourns Hall to participate in the second annual engineering Homecoming celebration. After welcoming remarks and a reception, UCR alum William Saito, CEO of I/O Software and co-chair of the College of Engineering's campaign committee, led the guests on a walk to view construction progress on the new Engineering II building (see photo at left). Chancellor France Cordova, Dean Satish K. Tripathi, Director of Undergraduate Research Chris Foster, and Professors Tom Payne and Jay Farrell were among those who attended. Three winners of the recent Industry Day research poster competition displayed their work and answered alumni questions. The family-friendly event included special activities provided for children, a dinner, and presentation of gifts to members of the 10th year honor class of 1994 who attended.

Fulbright Scholars at College of Engineering

Two visiting Fulbright scholars are doing research at Bourns College of Engineering for a period of six months. Fulbright scholars are part of an international educational exchange program, emphasizing academic and professional excellence, with awards based on open competition. Marek Trojanowicz (pictured at left) is teaming with Professor Ashok Mulchandani on the enhancement of electrochemical detection using carbon nanotubes. He is a Professor of Chemistry at University of Warsaw, and at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology, also in Warsaw, Poland. Edlira Mulla (pictured at right) is from Tirana, Albania, where she is a member of the Chemistry faculty at Polytechnic University of Tirana. She is working with Professor Joseph Norbeck at CE-CERT (College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research and Technology) on a project titled "Urban Air Quality Improvement; Contemporary Methods used for Determination of the Concentration of Air Pollutants and Management Techniques".

CE-CERT's Mobile Emissions Lab returning on-road results

Researchers at CE-CERT are using a one-of-a-kind laboratory to test on- and off- road diesel engines. For the first time, it is possible to make on-road measurements of regulated and non-regulated emissions at the quality level specified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The laboratory is contained in a 53-foot trailer that can be attached to any diesel truck and driven on the highway. Recent breakthroughs include the effect of roadway congestion on the rate and potential toxicity of heavy-duty diesel vehicle emissions, and the variation of gaseous emission rates due to engine programming. Future investigations will include the effects of driving in congested traffic, real-time particulate size measurements, and emissions testing of other large engines such as those found in trains, jet aircraft and military vehicles.