February 2010

Faculty

• Hank Korth, the Wieseman professor of computer science and engineering, has accepted a three-year term on the Council of the Computing Community Consortium (CCC). The NSF-funded CCC fosters exciting new research visions in the computing community to attract broad based support and attention. Korth is also director of the Systems, Experimentation, and Analysis Laboratory for Databases (SEAL DB) at Lehigh, and is a Fellow of both the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
• Rick Vinci, associate professor of materials science and engineering, is helping to design and introduce a mechanical-testing capability to Lehigh's extensive scanning electron microscopy (SEM) arsenal. The cellphone-sized, modular unit allows researchers to manipulate materials and literally see the results of mechanical testing at the nano- and micro-scales, and can be easily inserted or removed from the microscope on a project-by-project basis. Vinci is collaborating with Hysitron, a leading innovator in nanomechanical test instruments for the scientific community, in the development of the technology. Lehigh will begin testing and usage when the unit arrives on campus from Hysitron in early February. According to Vinci, this extension of campus microscopy capabilities will help advance nano-based materials and device research in diverse application areas such as biomedicine, telecommunications, and energy.
• Computer science and engineering professor and chair Daniel Lopresti is collaborating with Stefan Maas, assistant professor of biological sciences, to help understand the complexity of mechanisms that drive human genetic coding. Specifically, the team is exploring phenomena known as RNA editing, which includes a variety of mechanisms by which gene sequences are altered after DNA is transcribed into RNA and before RNA is translated to the proteins that determine an organism's structural, enzymatic and regulatory functions.
• In December, Clay Naito, associate professor of structural engineering, successfuly completed research that will lead to new design documentation and engineering level predicative tools for blast resistant sandwich concrete walls. The project was sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) and supported by a dozen industry firms who hold membership in the Tilt-Up Concrete Association, a non-profit international organization that serves to expand and improve the use of site-cast tilt-up as the preferred construction method.

Students

• Currently in his fourth year of the 5-year dual-degree program, Andrew Maier '11 will soon earn degrees in both architecture and civil engineering with a concentration in structural design. He recently acquired a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accreditation, which qualifies him to rate and certify the sustainability of buildings. Maier's LEED certification offers him "a possible career opportunity" in the rapidly growing green industry, he explains. As a founding member of The Green Building Group at Lehigh, Maier has also been able to connect students with local Bethlehem companies involved in sustainable architecture.
• Graduate students Brian O'Boyle and Sean Gorman '09 are investigating the costs to power plants of switching from a cooling system known as "once through" to a less environmentally invasive, closed system that relies on towers to recirculate cooling water. O'Boyle, who earned a B.A. in physics Franklin & Marshall College in 2008, and Lehigh graduate Gorman are part of the inaugural class Lehigh's Energy Systems Engineering Institute. ESEI students take four core courses in pursuit of an M/ Eng degree -- Energy Generation, Energy Transmission and Distribution, Energy and the Environment, and Project Management -- along with technical electives and a three- or six-credit project, for a total of 30 credits. In the projects, which are supervised by faculty members and industry representatives, students work on real, current challenges facing the energy industry. O'Boyle's and Gorman's project is supervised by Maulbetsch Consulting, a California-based company, and by EPRI, which is attempting to determine precise retrofitting costs. Their project, and those of their peers in the program, will be on display for the assembled energy-industry representatives at the ESEI's 2010 Graduate Student Research Symposium, scheduled for April 30 in Iacocca Hall onLehigh's Mountaintop Campus.
• In late 2009, Patrick Robinson, doctoral student in the department of chemical engineering, was honored by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) as recipient of the organization's Process Development Division Student Paper Award. The award is presented annually to a full-time graduate or undergraduate student who prepares the best technical paper to describe the results of process development related studies within chemical engineering. Patrick is studying a hybrid electric power/chemical plant that can handle the large and inevitable swings in electric power demand from hour to hour -- a dynamic process that requires an effective control structure to accommodate such significant changes in flowrate. In his studies, Robinson is advised by William Luyben, professor of chemical engineering.
• Two teams of civil engineering students -- one comprised of undergraduates, the other of graduate students -- are submitting entries to the 2010 Big Beam Contest, sponsored annually by the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI). The competition gives students from across the nation a chance to challenge each other in precast concrete beam design and construction. Throughout the fall semester, the design teams worked to develop efficient beam designs that would meet the exacting requirements of the contest. PCI mandates that the beams span 15 ft. and support no less than 32,000 lbs. and no more than 39,000 lbs. Each team is also obliged to work with a PCI Producer Member and a faculty adviser to ensure that the designs are safely built and evaluated. The undergraduate team is comprised of civil engineering students Tim Brauning, Cassandra Schanck, Marc Silverman, and Devon D'Andrea, all of the Class of 2010.

Alumni

• W. Clark Dean '63 was awarded his 30th patent on December 29, 2009. U.S. patent #7,637,988 protects Dean's efforts toward a CO₂ removal system intended for use on the Orion project, the next generation U.S. spaceship. Dean, a graduate of the department of mechanical engineering, earned his first patent in 1963 as a design engineer for the Saginaw Steering Gear division of GM in Saginaw, MI, supporting the company's efforts in the development of front-wheel drive. His first space engineering project followed shortly thereafter, when he joined the Space Systems group within the Hamilton Standard division of United Aircraft to support its work in the design of the Apollo Lunar Excursion Module.
• Lehigh alumnus Richard T. Roca '66 is stepping down as director of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory. In 2000, he became the seventh director of the Applied Physics Laboratory in January 2000. At APL he led a not-for-profit University Affiliated Research Center that performs research and development work on behalf of the Department of Defense, primarily the US Navy, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. JHU/APL technically contributes in various warfare areas and in space science and exploration. The organization has 3400 employees, over two-thirds of whom are engineers and scientists. Roca previously spent his entire professional career with AT&T Corp. He joined Bell Labs straight out of college to design communications networks and equipment and rose over three decades to major corporate leadership roles there. Immediately before his move to APL, Roca was vice president for Internet Protocol services planning and development. In this role, he led a 2,000-member technical staff in the development of AT&T's Internet-based services. Prior to that assignment, he was chief technical officer of AT&T Solutions, the professional services business unit of AT&T.
• Ken Kaminski '83 has been appointed vice president of Advanced Development at Sensis Corporation, a global provider of air defense, air traffic control, airline and airport operations management, and data integration and distribution. The company serves a global client base and is actively involved in industry organizations and working groups worldwide, helping to address critical issues and develop innovative, real-world solutions. In his new role, Ken is focused on advanced technology and product concept developments related to the air traffic management and defense technology divisions of Sensis. Since joining Sensis in 2003, Mr. Kaminski has led a range of successful R&D and product development initiatives for the firm. Mr. Kaminski holds a 1983 B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University and a M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University.
• INRange Systems, Inc., the developer and supplier of the only FDA cleared remote medication management system (known as EMMA^®), was named as a winner of the Red Herring Global 100 Award for 2010. Established in 2002, the Altoona-based company provides medication management systems for health-care professionals and patients, to provide hospital-style medication management in the patient's home. The firm is led by president and CEO Christopher E. Bossi '78, who earned a B.S. from Lehigh in industrial engineering. The Red Herring Global 100 list has become a mark of distinction for identifying promising new companies and entrepreneurs. Red Herring editors select nominees from the winners of their Top 100 North American, Top 100 Europe, and Top 100 Asia competitions for its Global 100 Award. The editorial judges review each nomination and assess nominees on both quantitative and qualitative criteria such as financial performance, technology innovation, quality of management, execution of strategy, and integration into their ecosystem.

     

P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science
Lehigh University • Packard Laboratory, 19 Memorial Drive West, Bethlehem, PA 18015 • (610) 758-4025