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July 2014
U e t a t S o d a r o l o C @
July 2014, Volume 1, Issue 9
Special Advertising Section created by Coloradoan Media Group Custom Publishing
Engineering enrollment by the numbers
In 2007, the typical student enrolled in the CSU engineering program was a white male who grew up in Colorado. Over the past six years, CSU has made a concerted effort to attract more females, minorities and out-of-state students to study engineering.
Today’s CSU’s Undergraduate Engineering Program: Number of female students enrolled
Number of minority students enrolled
Engineering Exploration Day
Number of non-resident students enrolled 2013
teams during laboratory demonstrations. • Take a tour of the Engineering Academic Village, a living and learning community designed specifically for engineering freshman, as well as other engineering facilities. Registration for this year’s Engineering Exploration Day opens on Aug. 5, at www.engr. colorast.edu/explore. If you are unable to visit on this date, the College of Engineering offers student-guided tours Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Just email explore@engr.colostate.edu
2007
The College of Engineering invites students of all ages to explore engineering on Oct. 11. This full-day event is designed for high school students to explore all that the CSU College of Engineering has to offer: • Sit in on department presentations to learn about different courses of study and the types of careers our alumni enjoy. • Ask questions of our faculty, staff, and students to find out more about academic programs, research opportunities, and campus life. • See student research projects and meet design
2013
2007
Anna Jones, Thierry Dossou, Kevin Sisto, Ryan Johnson, Ryan Murphy and Scott Krueger created the Mercury Vertical Takeoff and Landing Unmanned Aerial System as their senior design project in April.
2013
2007
213 474 122.5% 151 267 76.8% 324 549 69.4%
Source: CSU Institutional Research
ENGINEERING STUDENTS WEIGH IN Caley Follmer Castle Rock, Colo. Mechanical Engineering Graduation date: May 2015 Why did you choose engineering?
I’ve always been good at math and science and knew I wanted to do something in that area. My dad is a civil engineer and it seemed like a career that fit my interests. I went into mechanical engineering Caley Follmer haphazardly. I knew I didn’t want to be a civil engineer because the projects my dad works on didn’t interest me. I don’t like chemistry so I ruled out chemical engineering and with electrical engineering, the components are too small. I decided to try mechanical engineering to see if I liked it. I ended up loving it.
Are people surprised that as a female, you are majoring in engineering?
A lot of people are. They think it’s more unusual than I do. I work at Lockheed Martin in a space division designing satellites and almost all of the leaders in my department are women. Why CSU?
I was mostly focused on in-state schools. When I visited CSU, the student ambassadors (in the College of Engineering) took me by the hand and showed me what opportunities there are here. CSU offers a lot of hands-on courses and activities that a lot of bigger schools don’t. They are just focused on lectures. At CSU, we get the opportunity to work on projects.
Why should students consider a career in engineering?
When I tell people I am majoring in mechanical engineering, they always comment on how hard the classes must be. They are hard but most people don’t realize that what engineers really do is tackle problems and solve them. Engineers make a real difference in the world and I love helping people understand what engineers do. DISNEY INSTITUTE AT CSU AUG. 6-7 The renowned Disney Institute will present two workshops at Morgan Library on the CSU campus next month, and there are still a few seats left for members of the Fort Collins community. Wednesday, Aug. 6, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Disney’s Approach to Leadership Excellence Thursday, Aug. 7, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.: Disney’s Approach to Selection, Training and Engagement For more information and registration, go to the CSU Libraries webpage: lib.colostate.edu/about/news and click on the Event Registration link. Last year’s Disney workshop on customer service sold out fast, so register today.
Lucas Wadman Corvallis, Oregon Electrical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering minor Graduation date: May 2014 Why did you choose engineering?
I have always loved technology and problem solving, and engineering is a blend of both. I loved the challenge of my math and physics courses in high school so I picked engineering as a Lucas Wadman general focus area. After I got to CSU and saw the range of areas you can focus on as an engineer, I was hooked.
What are your future plans?
I work for Agilent Technologies - soon to be Keysight Technologies - as a staff engineer. I am in a rotational training program so I can become familiar with Agilent’s products and sales processes. I will work with applications engineers, online sales representatives and others for several months and then will move to northern California to be a field engineer. I will serve as the interface between customers and our electronic test and measurement products.
Why CSU?
Where to start? From the sunshine, to the wonderful access to the outdoors, to the amazing culture of Fort Collins, CSU will always have a special place in my heart. But most of all, I think the people make CSU what it is. From the friends I made in the residence halls, to the professors and staff in the College of Engineering, to the alumni, the people associated with CSU give it a vibe unlike any other educational institution I’ve known.
Why should students consider engineering?
With an engineering degree, you have so many wide and varied opportunities. It is an investment worth making. It is an example of how a degree can be a stepping stone to doing whatever you want in life because engineering teaches you how to think and persevere.
Lucas Suazo Fort Collins, Colo. Biomedical and Chemical and Biological Engineering Graduation date: May 2016 Why did you choose engineering?
Lucas Suazo
profession for me.
What are your plans for the future?
I want to go to medical school and become a gastroenterologist. The summer after my freshman year I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease (it inflames the lining of the digestive tract) and barely made it through the class I was taking – I finished my last assignment while in the hospital. It’s a very debilitating disease and my sophomore year was hard. I have a great doctor who got me on the right medication. I want to help people with Crohn’s disease like I was helped. Will engineering help you in medical school?
I think it will. I was already in the engineering program when I made my decision to go to medical school so I decided to stick with it. A lot of the classes I need I have to take with my dual major in biomedical and chemical and biological engineering. With my engineering background, I will be able to dissect research and analyze systems. Many students avoid engineering because they think it is too hard. What’s your response?
I hear that a lot – especially from incoming freshmen. If you like math and science then engineering is a great field for you. There are a lot of career opportunities. The classes can be difficult but it’s not about being the smartest, it’s about how hard you work. If you can master how to learn and are willing to work hard every day, you can master engineering.
Colorado State University is proud to host
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Wednesday Nights 6:30 - 8:30 Starting June 18
June 18 Tumbling Dice
July 16 Mark Sloniker
June 25 The Blues DoGS
July 23 The Wendy Woo Band
July 2 Kizumba July 9 Danielle Ate the Sandwich
July 30 Colorado Big Swing Band
Bring your picnic basket, lawn chairs and blankets to the Lagoon at CSU
My mom got her degree in chemical engineering from Kansas State University so I was familiar with it. Math and chemistry were my two favorite subjects in high school and I thought it sounded like the
August 6 Mama Lenny & The Remedy August 13 Post Paradise
CSU Ice Cream Social and Open House 4-6 PM
MAKING A DIFFERENCE School Is Cool, a community outreach effort managed and organized by CSU employees, provides essential school supplies to less fortunate students in the Poudre School District. Its goal is to make sure students have the tools they need to start the year off right. Since 1992 the program has assisted more than 32,000 students and plans to deliver more than 2,500 backpacks to PSD K-12 schools in August. For more information or to donate, go to schooliscool.colostate.edu
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July 2014
Things to know about the Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building
The Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building was dedicated on Sept. 12, 2013, the second Engineering building on the CSU campus.
Building creates one-stop shop for students, faculty • The $75-million, 122,000-square-foot building occupies the southeast corner of Laurel Street and Meridian Avenue. • It contains classroom and high-tech interdisciplinary research pods for about 40 faculty members in the disciplines of biomedical engineering; bioanalytic devices – sensors to detect a host of organic agents; synthetic biology, which works to solve problems related to the environment, health and energy; and environmental engineering. • It is home to the Don and Susie Law Engineering Success Center, which enabled the College of Engineering to consolidate all of its student services in one area. The center houses student-focused retention programs, career development, and the Women and Minorities in Engineering Program. • The building also includes teaching labs, Lockheed Martin Design Studios where student teams work collaboratively on projects, classrooms, and a 24-hour study space.
The Don and Susie Law Engineering Success Center is the heart of the Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building. The center contains dedicated interview rooms in which industry representatives regularly meet with and interview students. The Success Center also houses the College of Engineering’s long-standing internship and industry cooperative programs as well as other career development services and the Women and Minorities in Engineering Program. The new center consolidates student services in one area on the first floor so the College of Engineering can better serve its undergraduate and graduate students.
Internships a time for real-world experience, hands-on education Nicole Puissant, dual major in Biomedical and Chemical and Biological Engineering, Albuquerque, New Mexico
Nicole Puissant
“This summer I am working at Terumo BCT, a biomedical engineering company whose focus is on blood component technologies. My main project is working with the Optia machine, a blood apheresis system used to perform operations such as therapeutic plasma exchange and red blood cell exchange for sick patients. I am writing verification protocols and I develop tests to make sure that the machine performs the way that it is expected to. It has been really nice to take my classroom experience and put it to use in the industry setting. It is
awesome to go to work every day and know that you are helping to save lives at the end of the day.” Zach Kugler, dual major in Biomedical and Electrical Engineering, Littleton, Colo.
“This summer I am interning for Grass Valley, the largest broadcast media technology and systems company in the world. I have been immersed in the company’s iTX automation system, which is used by television networks like Fox, DirecTV, Starz, Comcast to coordinate live events (like the evening news) and commercial breaks, control closed captioning and whole lot of other cool things. I test run a lot of media schedules through the iTX system in order to identify, replicate and diagnose bugs as to prevent errors from occurring on-air. In addition to learning the iTX system, I have been introduced to the vast infrastructure of computer networking and databases. Understanding servers and computer networking is a very important skill to have in this day and age.”
Olivia Ferrell, Civil Engineering, Henderson, Nevada
“I co-oped with the Federal Highway Administration for two rotations. While at first I was hesitant of taking time off school, it has been the best learning experience I have ever
Olivia Ferrell
had. I grew as an engineer by learning about construction, road design, and management. I was able to see two projects from the beginning of construction to the end (a rarity for summer internships). I did design work as well. My only regret is that I did not start sooner in my college career so that I could have time for more rotations!” Olivia just graduated and is a Traffic Engineer at Atkins.
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July 2014
With the addition of the new Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building, CSU’s College of Engineering gained more than 27,000 square feet of laboratory space. The cutting-edge laboratories are arranged into “pods” based on research focus so multiple professors share the space. This arrangement, which is a new concept for CSU, is designed to promote collaboration between researchers in different fields.
Seeds get special non-stick coating Fuel cells convert waste to energy Colorado State University professor Arun Kota is teaming with a Colorado company to develop a non-stick coating for the seed-drying equipment it sells. Oliver Manufacturing, a La Junta-based company, sells drying equipment and systems and also dries and processes products – including seeds – for customers. The seeds are dressed with different colors to deter birds from eating them as they are planted in the field. However, these dressings or coatings can cause the seeds to stick to equipment, complicating the drying process. “We are providing them a non-stick coating that keeps the seeds from adhering to the drying equipment,” said Kota, a professor of mechanical engineering. The project is funded through Colorado’s Advanced Industries Accelerator Programs, which were created to spur growth in high-tech industries and promote public-private partnerships. Kota recently won a second Advanced Industries grant through CSU Ventures, the technology transfer and commercialization agent for the University. For that project, he is working with Symbios Technologies, a Fort Collins-based company, to develop a filter that better separates butanol — a biofuel made from fermentation broth — from water.
Microbial fuel cells are a promising technology for turning some of the billions of gallons of wastewater flowing into the nation’s treatment facilities each day into electricity. Unlike anaerobic digesters which generate biogas that is used to power a turbine and produce electricity, microbial fuel cells convert waste directly into electricity. The device contains microbes that oxidize organic matter, producing an electric current. Colorado State University researchers are studying different bacteria, how they interact with each other and the mish-mash of organic matter in these waste streams. With this information, they can develop combinations of bacteria so the microbial fuel cells work better. They test their work on small-scale microbial fuel cells they assemble in the Fermentation Lab in the Suzanne and Walter Scott, Jr. Bioengineering Building. “One of the challenges with the waste at these treatment facilities is that it is not consistent,” said Jeremy Chignell, who is earning his doctorate in chemical engineering and working with CSU Professor Ken Reardon. “The waste is not the same organic matter every day so you need a combination of bacteria so the fuel cell can do its job.” The project is supported by the Sustainable Bioenergy Development Center at CSU.
Tiny chip monitors big reactions Imagine a 2-centimeter-by-2-centimeter chip packed with 8,192 electrodes each one-fiftieth the size of a human hair and designed to be implanted in the human body. CSU researchers have designed this tiny biosensor device they believe will help scientists decipher chemical signals and understand how cells respond. Why? Cells in the human body communicate with one another by sending and receiving a barrage of chemical signals. Cells interpret these messages and “decide” to grow, split, move or even die.
These chemical signals play a key role in the development and spread of disease. Cells can become cancerous when they receive signals that cause them to grow uncontrollably or when a mutation occurs and they ignore signals to keep growth in check. “If we can identify what is normal physiology and what is abnormal, we can detect diseases and other health problems much, much earlier,” said Tom Chen, an electrical and computer engineering professor and member of CSU’s School of Biomedical Engineering.
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CSU-led research team helps NASA A Colorado State University-led research team is designing and building a new instrument to help NASA measure ice particles in clouds and water vapor in the upper troposphere. NASA recently awarded Steven Reising, CSU electrical and computer engineering professor, $4.5 million to construct the Tropospheric Water and Cloud ICE - or TWICE – over the next three years. Reising and his students will design TWICE to fit in nanosatellites known as CubeSats, Steven Reising which NASA launches with larger satellites (such as the Global Precipitation Measurement mission sent up on Feb. 27) to reduce costs. TWICE weighs just 17.6 pounds and is installed in a CubeSat approximately the size of two loaves of bread placed next to each other. “It’s a very exciting project and is a great opportunity for engineering students to build instruments that fit on these smaller satellites,” Reising said. Once launched, TWICE scans the atmosphere at multiple frequencies and measures the size of ice particles in clouds at different times of day. It also observes water vapor across most of the troposphere in nearly all weather conditions.
Information collected by the instrument will be used to improve global climate models and provide a steady stream of data about ice particles in the upper atmosphere. “None of the instruments on larger satellites are dedicated specifically to measuring these ice crystals, in particular along with water vapor at different times of day,” Reising said. “This will provide critical information about an area in which more observations are certainly needed.” The size of ice particles in clouds is influenced by several factors, including dust from deserts, smoke from fires and air pollution caused by human activity. TWICE will measure cloud ice particle size in both pristine and polluted environments, to help researchers determine the effect of human-produced air pollution on cloud properties and climate. When large amounts of pollutants are present, clouds tend to grow deeper, contain smaller particles, rain less frequently, and appear brighter from above, affecting Earth’s climate. “There is a lot of uncertainty about the effects of air pollution on clouds and climate,” Reising said. “Our goal is to reduce this uncertainty to help improve climate predictions.” Reising’s team involved not only Colorado State students but also researchers from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Northrop Grumman to develop the TWICE instrument.
CSU researchers analyzing water samples in Weld County for methane BY KORTNY ROLSTON
Few issues in the natural gas arena are as controversial as whether hydraulic fracturing - or fracking – causes methane to enter drinking water supplies. The controversy certainly exists in Weld County, home to Colorado’s largest concentration of gas wells. The Wattenberg field in northeast Colorado has more than 19,000 operating wells and is currently seeing rapid development of shale oil and gas resources. “It’s always a question in areas with a lot of natural gas development,” said Ken Carlson, a Colorado State University professor and director of the Center for Energy Water Sustainability at Colorado State University. “People worry that methane is leaking into their water and they will be able to light it on fire like they’ve seen in video footage.” Carlson’s research group has spent the past several months analyzing water sampling data to try to answer a few critical questions: Is there methane in Weld County’s groundwater? If so, is it caused by the natural gas wells in the area? Mixed results The results, which were recently published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, are mixed. Carlson’s research indicates there is methane in the water in Weld County; in some areas, results are above the 10 mg/liter the state’s Oil and Gas Conservation Commission deems safe. But 98 percent of that is of a biogenic origin; it forms underground when naturally occurring bacteria convert organic matter to methane. In contrast, the natural gas that energy companies extract is thermogenic, created under the high
temperature and pressure conditions that exist more than a mile underground. The data Carlson’s team analyzed indicated that less than 2 percent of the methane detected in water wells was thermogenic in origin. What’s less clear is whether the biogenic methane is seeping into the water supply after numerous wells are drilled in a small area. To get to the thermogenic gas located in deep formations, drills punch through the biogenic methane zones located closer to the surface and fresh water aquifers. Some have argued the concentrated drilling leads to pathways for biogenic methane to seep into water. No correlation Based on a spatial analysis of well drilling density and concentrations of biogenic methane, the study’s results do not show a correlation between oil and gas activity and the occurrence of methane in water. “Our study does not indicate a systemic problem with oil and gas activity polluting water wells with methane in the Denver-Julesburg Basin,” Carlson said. “As with any industrial activity, there does appear to be a low-level risk of impact to the surrounding environment. Regulations aimed at well drilling, casing and surface activity have changed significantly over the past five years, driving these risks to even lower levels.” The next phase of the study will examine other components of water quality and a potential relationship to oil and gas activity in the region. The study is funded by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. — Carlson’s full study is “Distribution and Origin of Groundwater Methane in the Wattenberg Oil and Gas Field of Northeast Colorado.”
July 2014
Engineering faculty sweep University Distinguished Professorships
The latest recipients of Colorado State University’s prized University Distinguished Professor award have one thing in common – all are from the College of Engineering. CSU recently awarded V. “Chandra” Chandrasekar, Sonia Kreidenweis and Carmen Menoni the title of University Distinguished Professor – its highest academic recognition.
The title is bestowed upon a very small number of professors on the basis of outstanding scholarship and achievement. Professors receiving this title hold the distinction for the duration of their association with Colorado State University. “University Distinguished Professor is the highest V. “Chandra” honor accorded to our faculty at Colorado State, and Chandrasekar it is reserved for those who have had a truly transformational impact within their fields of study,” said Colorado State President Tony Frank. Chandra, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has made pioneering contributions in the area of polarimetric radar observations of the atmosphere and urban observation networks. He has extensive experience in radar system design, radar network development, digital signal processing design, as well as radio frequency communication systems. Sonia Kreidenweis Chandra earned his master’s and doctorate degrees from CSU and has achieved an international reputation of high distinction through his research, educational and outreach contributions. Chandra is the CSU principal investigator and research director of the National Science Foundation Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere – or CASA – which is developing a network of radar systems that detect and report tornados and other severe weather earlier than other systems. Kreidenweis, a professor in the Department of Carmen Menoni Atmospheric Science, has made pioneering contributions to the understanding of properties and effects of atmospheric aerosol particles, including their impacts on visibility and climate and their influence on the formation and properties of both warm (liquid) and cold (ice) clouds. She and her research group have developed new approaches to carefully measure and describe the properties of atmospheric aerosol particles, considered the key to improving climate predictions and calculating the effects of pollution on global precipitation. Kreidenweis is widely recognized as an international leader in the fields of aerosol science, atmospheric chemistry, and cloud physics. She has received several national awards and was named a Fellow in two prestigious societies in her field. Menoni, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is an internationally recognized researcher in optics, a leader in the engineering profession and a role model for women in engineering and science. She has established strong research programs in semiconductor physics, optical materials science and engineering, and nanoscale imaging. She has led the use of bright beams of extreme ultraviolet laser light that are used to demonstrate novel, nanoscale table-top microscopies. Her innovative research has received national and international recognition, including an R&D 100 Award, widely recognized as the “Oscars of Innovation,” for leading a team that developed a compact extreme ultraviolet light-based microscope. Menoni also was the first woman to reach the rank of tenured professor in the 100+ years of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CSU.
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