happenings And the Winner is … Keeping Diseases Grounded Illnesses and airplanes are a risky combination. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), last year in the United States, approximately 688 million passengers shared seats, tray tables and other contact points within aircraft cabins. With recent outbreaks of SARS, H1N1 and other communicable diseases, the transmission of pathogens in confined spaces is a growing concern for travelers and flight crews. A team of Auburn researchers is studying how various microorganisms survive in the air inside planes and on frequently touched surfaces, as well as the actual risk of contracting a communicable disease during air travel. Materials engineering faculty member Tony Overfelt and James Barbaree of biological sciences have received a $300,000 grant from the FAA to conduct this work. Administered by the Airliner Cabin Environment Research Program of the FAA’s National Air Transportation Center of Excellence for Research in the Intermodal Transport Environment (RITE), the project is geared toward better understanding how pathogens are transmitted within airline cabins and how developing technologies can more rapidly detect harmful microorganisms. Kirby Farrington, an Auburn microbiologist, is assisting with study methodology based on his experience with pharmaceutical clean rooms and risk-based approaches to contamination control. Auburn will also partner with the Harvard School of Public Health, Purdue University and Kansas State University to integrate research findings that enable industry leaders to ensure the safety of their crews and to calm public concerns related to disease transmission.
8 Auburn Engineering
Computer science and software engineering freshman Brian Agalsoff was recently awarded $10,000 by Muse Games for a computer game he developed called Dream Trip, originally named Ballin. With a focus on delivering unique 3D, multiplayer games right to your web browser, Muse created the Indie Development Challenge and invited contestants to enter their simple, no-art-necessary prototypes of unique games created with Unity software. The company liked the way Agalsoff combined familiar concepts in new and inventive ways, provided simple core mechanics for easy use and displayed graphics dramatically with striking effects, commenting that he “really personifies the indie developer ...” With the competition in the bag, Agalsoff will work with Muse developers to complete and release Dream Trip to the public. Be on the lookout for Agalsoff’s finished game coming soon and play the Dream Trip prototype at musegames.com/community/immunitychallenge.
Industry + Research A new partnership Auburn University is establishing a new presence in Huntsville through a research center that will partner with federal agencies and industry to advance national and homeland security, as well as space exploration. Rodney Robertson, a 1980 electrical engineering graduate and director of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command’s technical center, will lead the new center. Robertson has worked in federal science and engineering leadership positions for nearly 30 years, more than 20 of them in the Huntsville area. The new center, which opens July 1, will pair Auburn researchers in defense, aerospace, advanced manufacturing, life sciences, biotechnology and information technology with government agencies and industry in north Alabama that are seeking expertise in those areas. It will also allow Auburn to tap into the more than $5.8 billion in research funds that flow each year into the 52 government offices at Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal. Auburn will pursue research opportunities with the Space and Missile Defense Command, Missile Defense Agency, Missile and Space Intelligence Center, NASA and other federal agencies, according to John Mason, Auburn’s vice president for research.