2010 Auburn Engineering Annual Report

auburn engineering 2010

annual report

HowAUBURNengineers DRIVE COMFORT

At Auburn, how you get there is as important as where you’re going. Through a grant from the Hyundai America Technical Center Inc., industrial and systems engineering faculty member Woojin Park is developing automotive interiors for American drivers of all shapes and sizes.

Park’s “size-neutral” project drives comfortable seating posture, as well as steering wheel and gearshift ergonomics. So while you’re traveling from A to B, you can enjoy the ride.

Dr. Woojin Park •

Recipient of National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Education and Research Centers training grant

• Directing research at Auburn’s biomechanics laboratory

When the white, sandy coastline of Alabama became slick with oil following the Deepwater Horizon accident, Auburn engineers began addressing the health of an ecosystem close to their hearts and homes.

How AUBURN engineers KEEP IT CLEAN

Auburn civil engineering researchers Joel Hayworth, Prabhakar Clement and colleagues are studying the distribution of oil in beach systems along a 30-mile stretch of surf and sand near Gulf State Park and the Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge, through grants from the NSF, City of Orange Beach and the Marine Environmental Science Consortium.

Dr. Joel Hayworth • Awarded City of Orange Beach research grant • Recipient of Marine Environmental Science Consortium grants © BP p.l.c.

HowAUBURNengineers PLAY FETCH

We think of our dogs as family pets, but at Auburn, they’re hard at work keeping us out of harm’s way. Mechanical engineering faculty member David Bevly and his team are using GPS and a sensor-activated canine vest to autonomously guide search and rescue dogs to remotely detect hazardous substances and packages.

This integrated technology allows military and homeland security first-responders a real alternative in securing areas where man can’t fit – but his best friend can.

Dr. David Bevly • Recipient of Navy and Army young investigator awards • Faculty adviser to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency urban and grand challenge teams

Don’t hold your breath. At Auburn, researchers in materials engineering are taking a closer look at chemical contaminants and communicable diseases inside airplane cabins so you can breathe easy.

With grants from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), faculty member Tony Overfelt is leading an Auburn team to advance air quality that keeps contaminants and pathogens grounded, ensuring that you’re as healthy during landing as you were at takeoff.

Dr. Tony Overfelt •

Executive director of Auburn’s FAA National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for

Research in the Intermodal

Transport Environment

How AUBURN engineers KEEP DISEASE GROUNDED

academics Students by Major

Rankings1

National Rankings Among Public Institutions

Undergraduate: 36 Graduate: 41

Aerospace Biosystems

Student Enrollment Undergraduate: 3,890 Graduate: 810 Total Students: 4,700

Chemical Civil Computer Science and Software Electrical and Computer

ff Largest college at Auburn University

Industrial and Systems

Undergraduate Graduate

Materials Mechanical Polymer and Fiber Wireless

(19 percent of university enrollment)

ff 35th in engineering enrollment in nation2 ff 18 percent female ff 11 percent minority

(African American, Hispanic, American Indian) ff 53 Merit Scholars in freshman fall 2010 class ff More than $9 million in scholarships awarded to 2,732 engineering students

Freshman Class

Undeclared 0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900 1000

Faculty 142 Tenured/tenure track faculty 2 National Academy of Engineering members 59 Professorships 4 Eminent scholar chairs Faculty Diversity 4.3 Percent women 4.2 Percent minority (African American, Hispanic)

Year Total Undergrads Freshmen Freshman Average ACT Freshman National Merit Scholars

1999 3,031 652 25

2009 3,598 890 27.8

2010 3,890 1013 28.4

5

33

53

research Proposals Submitted/Dollar Value and Research Expenditures/Ranking2 Year 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Proposals Submitted/$M value 400/$112 427/$140 448/$147 371/$105 415/$156 390/$123 414/$133 379/$97.2

Research Expenditures $M $26.6 $30.5 $33.4 $36.3 $54.8 $47.1 $49.5 $55.5

Commercialization (2000-2010) Disclosures 273 Patents 38 Licenses/Options 34

Ranking 54 55 52 49 37 48 46 *

Research Focus Areas ff ff ff ff

*Ranking not available

ff Auburn’s Center for Automotive and Extreme Environment Electronics is one of the few in the nation recently recognized with a National Science Foundation (NSF) phase three grant for its success as an Industry/ University Cooperative Research Center ff Work is well under way on the fourth cycle of testing at the National Center for Aphalt (NCAT) Technology Test Track which will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2011 ff Auburn’s Huntsville Research Center opened in July 2010 and is headed

by Rodney Robertson, former director of the technical center of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command – the center matches Auburn’s research capacities with the needs of local agencies and industries

Energy and the environment Security and commerce Health Infrastructure and transportation

Facilities Modernization Year

Project

2000

NCAT Research Lab and Track

2002

Wilmore Labs

2006

Ross Hall

2007 2010 2012

Shelby Center for Engineering Technology, Phase I MRI Research Center Shelby Center for Engineering Technology, Phase II

Square Footage Renovated/New 22,400 and 1.7 mile track new 46,000 renovated 28,000 renovated plus 10,000 new 185,000 new 45,000 new 146,000 new

outreach Continuing Education ff 95 live seminars and conferences serving 3,374 students ff 97 distance continuing education courses delivered by DVD or streaming video, serving 1,650 students in 50 states and international locations

Distance Master’s Degrees Enrollment Spring 2010 Summer 2010 Fall 2010 Active Students New Students Graduates States

518 278 579 305 65 85 36

Science-Technology-Engineering-Mathematics (STEM) Activities ff BEST Inc. – the nation’s 3rd largest K-12 robotics program, serving 12,500 students in 850 schools in 15 states ff E-Day – engineering open house providing thousands of middle- and high-school students with a window into careers in engineering ff TIGER Camps – residential summer programs, one for 8th and 9th graders, the other for 10th and 11th graders, giving students hands-on engineering experience ff Robo and Comp Camps – day camps targeted at increasing computer literacy in students in grades 5-12 ff Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE) – develops programs to retain college-level engineering students ff NSF collaborative grant – develops studio-based learning programs to improve student retention in university computer science and software engineering programs

philanthropy 2001 Samuel Ginn College of Engineering outlines a vision and strategic plan for the next decade, including a fundraising vision goal of $153.5 million to be raised by 2011

2008 “It Begins at Auburn” campaign concludes – engineering has raised $116.7 million

2003 Auburn University launches the

2010 Engineering exceeds its

“It Begins at Auburn” campaign and sets an engineering fundraising goal of $105 million

vision goal by raising a total of $160 million

Eagles Members

Gifts-in-Kind

Auburn Engineering received two significant software gifts-in-kind in 2010.

number of members

1000 800

Siemens PLM Software (Global Opportunities in Product Lifecycle Management Program)

600

ff Largest in-kind gift ever made to Auburn University, valued at $195.5 million with $169.7 million going to engineering

400 200 0 2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

Annual giving is critical to the college’s ability to respond quickly to new challenges and opportunities. Engineering Eagles Society members are loyal supporters who make gifts of $1,000 or more each year to Auburn Engineering or its academic units.

ff Product design, development and manufacturing process technology software used by multinational companies around the globe AGRI, Inc. BMD Trades Software ff Made by 1963 aerospace engineering graduate Wendell Mead, valued at $5 million ff Ballistic Missile Defense Technical Requirements Assessment & Design Evaluation Simulation (BMD Trades) software will help students understand missile-to-missile defense

2010 accomplishments ff Freshman class size in excess of 1,000 students ff Increased freshman National Merit Scholars from less than 10 to more than 50 in three years ff Improved first-year retention ff Established a minor in Nuclear Power Generation Systems ff Launched Engineers Without Borders chapter ff Created three Engineering living/learning communities – co-ed, female and African American ff 18 percent increase in graduate students over five years ff Established MRI Research Center, housing 3T and 7T MRI scanners ff Top 50 in research expenditures for the past four years ff Met and exceeded vision fundraising goal of $153.5 million ff Successfully completed 10-year, $154 million facility enhancement program

2011 goals ff Recruit lead faculty in cybersecurity, MRI and coil design, alternative energy technology, nuclear power, biomedical engineering and highway pavement design, with the goal of enhancing and expanding research in these areas ff Continue to enhance international academic experiences for undergraduate students ff Increase extramural research funding 10 percent per year for the next five years ff Enhance Huntsville research activities in support of homeland security ff Expand research activities to address public health issues ff Establish a medical imaging research institute

www.eng.auburn.edu Information in this report is from Auburn University except as otherwise noted.

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U.S.News & World Report American Society of Engineering Education

Auburn University is an equal opportunity educational institution/employer.

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