UIC Engineering Spring 2016

Engaging Students for Success

Spring 2016

Also Inside: SHPE: Empowering Students Inside and Outside UIC This Donor Wears Many Hats Welcome to Energy Central Engineering is the Family Business

Table of Contents 1 Message from the Dean

2 Engaging Undergraduates for Success

6 SHPE: Empowering Students Inside and Outside UIC

Philanthropy 8 This Donor Wears Many Hats

10 Welcome to Energy Central

Alumni 14 Engineering is the Family Business

16 New Hires

18 Around the College

21 Spring 2016 Commencement

Spring 2016

On the Cover: More than 1,400 job-seeking UIC students, along with representatives of 88 companies, attended the 2016 Engineering Career Fair in February at the UIC Forum. The annual event provides an opportunity for employers and engineering students to connect for internships and co-op positions as well as for full-time jobs.

The College of Engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago publishes UIC Engineering.

We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please direct questions about this issue to Joel Super (jsuper@uic.edu).

Associate Director of Communications: Joel Super Editorial Writer: Kirsten Gorton Photographers: Bart Harris Graphic Designer/Illustrator: Claudia Grosz Copyright Š 2016

Please direct address corrections or mailing requests to: Renata Szandra College of Engineering (MC 159) 851 South Morgan Street Chicago, Illinois 60607-7043 (312) 996-0520 or rszandra@uic.edu

Message from the Dean

Dear Dear Alumni and Friends: The photos inside this issue from the College’s May commencement ceremony capture some of the joy, excitement, and energy of our newest graduates as they look forward to rewarding and productive engineering careers. Our graduation numbers this spring include 380 undergraduate, 350 master’s, and 45 doctoral students. For these graduates, as well as for us, this was the culmination of engaging them for success while they attended UIC.

“Over the last two years, more than 500 companies and organizations have hired our graduates for full-time positions...”

And the happy news for these new alumni is that they are in high demand. Over the last two years, more than 500 companies and organizations have hired our graduates for full-time positions or our students for internships and co-ops, including companies like Baxter, Amazon, IBM Watson, Microsoft, Google, Boeing, Caterpillar, ITW, Exelon, GE, and Navistar.

Some of these firms have hired five, ten, or more of our students.

Given the many ways that advances in engineering contribute to human welfare, the fact that the College is sending into the world another group of well-trained, innovative, and dedicated graduates is great news for everyone—the new graduates, the organizations that will hire them, and for our society as a whole.

We’re proud to have played a part in their future success, look forward to productive engagement with our new alumni, and thankful for all that you, as an alumnus/alumna, friend, donor, corporate partner, or mentor, have done for the College.

Sincerely,

Pete Nelson, PhD Dean

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Engaging Undergraduates for Success “In promoting UIC’s mission of access to excellence and success, our goal for undergraduates is threefold,” says Ludwig Nitsche, PhD, associate dean for undergraduate affairs in the College of Engineering. “Number one is to offer students a relevant, exciting, high-quality education that makes them adaptable, flexible, and technically proficient and innovative engineers. Number two is to provide programs and academic support services that help them succeed. Number three is to position our graduates to land top industry, government agency, and university jobs

that will help them achieve their goals and enjoy satisfying careers.”

In this section of the magazine, we profile a few of the many ways the College of Engineering concretizes these goals with opportunities that enhance student’s rigorous course work and labs. To take the last first, the Engineering Career Center (ECC) focuses on achieving goal #3 through career advising, supporting job searches, and encouraging and facilitating internships. For instance, the Guaranteed Paid Internship Program (GPIP) — unique to UIC among major universities — assists first-year students who qualify to get internships in industry or UIC labs the summer following freshman year. The first internship, typically the hardest to land, makes the second or third easier to find, and that

accumulated professional experience helps position students competitively for jobs after graduation.

Among the ways the College is helping to achieve goal #2 are the Minority Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program (MERRP), which includes an extensive supplemental instruction program; the newly augmented Engineering 100 course for freshmen; and the Preparing to Major in Engineering (PREP-ME) summer program offered to all freshmen before their matriculation.

A key way the College supports goal #1 is through encouraging more than 20 student engineering organizations (see below) that offer hands-on, project-based learning and leadership development opportunities. Previous issues of UIC Engineering have highlighted the Society of Automotive Engineers and the Engineering Design Team, and future issues will highlight other student organizations. Here, we focus on the Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE).

Concentrating on their course work and professional development—and ultimately, their job search—is a full plate for anyone. Of course, many UIC students are working their way through school too. To assist them, the College continuously works to increase scholarship support to make a UIC education accessible. Here, we highlight one of these, the PESO Scholarship, an award established by the Philippine Engineers and Scientists Organization that has recently reached a new level through donor generosity.

Engaging undergraduates for success: at the College of Engineering, it’s happening on many fronts.

L-R Michael Ekwueme (BS ’17), David Pisanski (BS ’17), and Catherine Santis (BS ’14, MS ’16)

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Student Engineering Organizations Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AiChE) Linux Users Group (LUX) American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Pi Tau Sigma (honors society, mechanical engineers) Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES) Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE or UIC Motorsports) Engineering Council Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Engineering Design Team (EDT) Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Engineers Without Borders (EWB) Tau Beta Pi (honors society, all engineers) Engineering World Health (EWH) Veterans In Engineering (VIE) Eta Kappa Nu (honors society, electrical and computer engineers) Women in Computer Science (WICS)

Career Center Offers Students Tools to Succeed “I’m continuously impressed by the tenacity of UIC engineering students,” says Engineering Career Center (ECC) director Kate Kaplan. “They are juggling the demands of a rigorous engineering program while working in internships or part-time jobs, commuting, and getting involved in on-campus student groups and extracurricular activities. Needless to say, these students are motivated and working hard, which is one of the top reasons employers target UIC engineering students as interns and employees.”

Kaplan and the Engineering Career Center’s staff work to provide engineering students with career development resources to meet their long-term goals, including services to help them gain practical work experience while pursuing their degrees and, ultimately,

L-R Engineering Career Center Staff Kathy Corcos, Kate Kaplan, Tom Cicero, and Rose Coppola-Conroy

to land a full-time position.

The ECC strives to promote student success in two major ways: by developing resources for students and by nurturing relationships with alumni and employers to expand opportunities for students. ECC does not function as a placement agency; instead, staff members focus on empowering the nearly 4,000 students they serve by offering services and events that include: H osting the annual Engineering Career Fair and Engineering Career Prep Day ● I ndividual résumé reviews ● J ob and internship postings and search strategy planning ● M ock interview sessions ● P romoting online networking tools ● A dvice on interview strategy and juggling multiple offers ● P lacement in the Guaranteed Paid Internship Program for qualified freshman students ● C areer-related workshops, classroom presentations, and company recruiter information sessions ●

The Engineering Career Fair attracted more than 1,400 career-focused undergraduates, graduate students, and some alumni again this year, but saw an increase in employer participation with

88 companies attending, an increase from 78 companies in 2015 and 70 in 2014. They are among the more than 500 different companies that have hired students and graduates for internships, co-ops, and full-time employment over the last two years.

Two “Industry Days,” one focusing on bioengineering and one on chemical engineering, were new events sponsored by the Engineering Career Center this year. The events consisted of a “speed networking” series of roundtable discussions to engage students and company representatives.

“Our goal with these events is to raise awareness among companies about how great UIC students are and to introduce students to companies who hire in their fields,” said Rose Coppola-Conroy, ECC assistant director.

Tom Cicero, ECC assistant director, added, “With these events, we’re trying to broaden students’ perspectives about the places they can put their education to work and the wide range of opportunities available to them.”

Companies ranging from Abbott, Baxter, and Pfizer to Honeywell UOP, Nalco, and Sargent & Lundy came to campus for the first iteration of these events. Their success suggests that “Industry Days” will be added to the roster of empowering services the ECC will continue to offer.

Kathy Corcos, ECC assistant director, said of her work, “I love hearing students’ and employers’ success stories—especially if we’ve facilitated the connection: an employer thrilled with a new hire’s work, a student who has found that dream job.” She isn’t alone in her perspective: each of her three colleagues expressed the same sentiment about the satisfaction they derive from the job they do every day.

To learn more about any of the Engineering Career Center’s initiatives, visit ecc.engr.uic.edu

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Helping New Students Connect the Abstract and the Concrete

Minority Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program

Calculus I, II, and III; Differential Equations; Physics I and II: these courses are the typical focus for engineering students in their first few semesters, the critical prerequisites where they learn core skills that set them up to begin classes in their majors.

“What sets MERRP apart,” says electrical engineering major Carol Diaz (BS ’18) “is that it’s a place for all student engineers—it brings fields together. People from different majors and the graduate students offer a network of experience and advice.”

To also emphasize early on the sort of problem-solving, team-based work central to the practice of engineering— the practical application of the basic math and science they’re learning—UIC’s College of Engineering has recently augmented its required Engineering Orientation (ENGR 100) course with two team-based projects.

“Adding team-based projects to the first-year curriculum gives students an introduction to their chosen major and helps connect them with faculty and students in their department early on,” said Miiri Kotche, PhD, clinical associate professor of bioengineering and key proponent of the new requirements.

The newly added ENGR 100 requirements, a curriculum analysis report and an engineering design project, also foster students thinking of themselves as engineers from the start and help them build communication skills.

For the curriculum analysis, student teams research one of the College’s six departments, interview upperclassmen, and write a report about their required courses, prerequisites, and advice from other students that helps them understand how their intended program of study fits into the College and the profession.

The design project is also assigned according to each student’s proposed discipline. It requires teams of four students to determine which problems to analyze and solve while offering the chance to interact with engineering faculty and undergraduate teaching assistants. Project topics include refrigeration cycle design, robotics, programming concepts, constructing an ECG simulator, musical instrument design and analysis, and audio signal processing using Matlab, among others. Each student team concludes the semester by presenting their design to the class and submitting a written report.

The new enhancements help students connect to their discipline from the start of their time in the College. They also cultivate student’s ability to design a simple system, component, or process by applying math, science, and engineering knowledge; help teach effective communication; and foster working in teams and creatively solving problems. Engaging students to think like engineers from the start engages them for success in the long run.

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Preparing Underrepresented Students for Success

Diaz is one in a long line of students who have valued the Minority Engineering Recruitment and Retention Program (MERRP) in the College. Part of a UIC response to American industry’s push to build a more diverse workforce, MERRP has, for more than 30 years, existed to support student success. Since 2010, Gerry Smith, a former IBM executive, has served as Gerry Smith, Director of Minority Affairs MERRP’s director.

For 17 years prior to assuming this role, Smith served on the MERRP advisory board. “Our goal is to add access and equity to opportunity,” Smith says.

Working out of an office centrally located in the Engineering Research Facility, Smith and his staff of one assistant, 6–7 graduate students, and 20–23 undergraduate student tutors promote success in a number of ways: ●

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T he Supplemental Instruction Program offers group study sessions led by junior, senior, or graduate students plus oneto-one tutoring in math, engineering, physics, chemistry, and computer science courses during the academic year.

T he five-week Preparation for Majoring in Engineering (PrepME) program helps to make math in engineering come alive for incoming freshman and previews the panorama of mathematics problems and core engineering concepts through the three or four classes they attend every day during the summer while getting acquainted with campus life and university resources.

“The students we target have the talent and potential to do well,” said Smith, “but these students are typically coming in with three, rather than four, years of high school math. PREP-ME prepares them for success by helping them stay on track with the College’s demanding sequence of core courses.”

P rovides a communal study space, including a computer lab, which facilitates informal peer advising and social networking opportunities.

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O ffers one-on-one supplemental academic, career, and college-life advising.

Diaz and bioengineering major Nazir Hussain (BS ’16) agree that MERRP has contributed to their collegiate success, noting especially that the advisors are a great resource.

Although an early fan of physicist Brian Greene’s The Fabric of the Cosmos, Diaz recalls that “I didn’t know what engineering was when first applying to college.” Once enrolled, however, she found that electrical engineering intrigued her. Now, she is aiming for a research-focused career with an eye toward a corporate research job or a position at a national research institution like Fermi Lab or Argonne National Laboratory.

Returning to school for a BS in physics or MS in nanoelectronics is also in her viewfinder.

Hussain, who always liked biology, found his calling at UIC in bioengineering, where he could combine that interest with a longtime desire to assist people needing prosthetic limbs. Hussain has found MERRP central to his academic life. “The dynamic was good: social life and studying was at the same place,” he says. He is on track to graduate in the spring and looking forward to his next step.

To date, MERRP is unique on the UIC campus, and Smith is proud that the program has grown the services it provides.

Other campus units are considering similar programs that engage students like Hussain and Diaz to promote individual success.

For more information, see merrp.engr.uic.edu/

PESO Scholarship Promotes Access to Education First awarded in 2009, the Philippine Engineers and Scientists Organization (PESO) Scholarship was endowed to encourage UIC students of Philippine descent to pursue engineering careers. Facilitating career success for others is central to the PESO ethos because members feel strongly that they should “pay it forward” in return for the personal and professional opportunities they have enjoyed in the United States.

In 2015, two generous PESO members, Mr. Robert Kiamco, a retired vice president of Rockwell International, and Dr. Benita Kiamco, a pediatrician, stepped forward and pledged $5,000 in the form of a challenge that promised to match gifts from alumni and friends dollar for dollar up to a total of $5,000.

The Kiamco’s deep commitment to creating new engineers who can benefit society inspired them to set a goal of raising as much as $10,000 for the UIC PESO Scholarship fund in the calendar year, and they realized this goal.

“It’s gratifying to see the Kiamcos’ dedication to engineering education and to see how they’ve inspired others to give,” says Janet Kashuba, director of advancement. “We’re grateful for their leadership.”

Current recipient Joshua Castor, a freshman computer science student, attended the PESO Gala in November to accept his award.

Before matriculating at UIC, Joshua graduated summa cum laude from Warren Township High School and received the Illinois State Scholar Award and President’s Award for Educational Excellence. Joshua also received the UIC President’s Award, and he is a member of UIC’s chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery. In addition to focusing on his course work, he is dedicated to gaining internship experience that will help him pursue a career in programming and software engineering following his graduation.

L-R Nazir Hussain (BS ’16) and Carol Diaz (BS ’18)

For more information on supporting the PESO scholarship or to learn more about student scholarships in the College of Engineering, contact Janet Kashuba at jkashuba@uic.edu or (312) 996-2168. : 5

SHPE: Empowering Students Inside and Outside UIC by Kirsten Gorton

Whether it’s helping fifth graders build a marshmallow catapult using a mouse trap, popsicle sticks, and a plastic spoon or sitting on a panel discussing STEM initiatives in grade schools, Cristian Vargas (BS ’16) is highly motivated to build a world where Hispanic students pursue engineering careers. “There are a lot of Latinos in this city but not enough

of them know about engineering as a career,” he says. “I see it as my duty to give back.” Vargas, president of UIC’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), believes that’s best accomplished by being a presence in the community at events like these.

Fellow SHPE member Edgar Barron (BS ’19) does the same.

As the SHPE junior representative, he visits Chicago’s Benito Juarez High School twice a month, where he mentors students interested in engineering. Two years ago, Barron was himself a student there, and Genisses Ortega (BS ’16) did the same for him when she served in the position. Dedicated members like these make SHPE a thriving campus community focused on peer leadership, professional development, undergraduate academic support, and community outreach.

L-R Diego Lamas (BS ’16), Michael Godoy (BS ’17), and Alexis Salgado (BS ’18)

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“The SHPE Junior program is a perfect example of what SHPE can do,” says Vargas, who oversees the 16-person SHPE board. SHPE Junior, which was established at UIC to motivate Hispanic high school students to pursue engineering, aligns with SHPE’s mission to empower the Hispanic community to make an impact in the world through STEM awareness, access, support, and development.

Raising awareness through outreach, like the kind that makes a lasting impact in SHPE Junior, is one of SHPE’s pillars and a top priority for Vargas. Last fall, he proposed a challenge for the team to reach 1,000 students over the course of two semesters. By mid-March, they surpassed their goal with the help of two events, one at the Brookfield Zoo and one at UIC—Noche de Ciencias, (Science Night)—which brought in 200 children and their caregivers and featured hands-on activities for kids and a college prep workshop for the adults.

Boasting more than 140 members, SHPE’s mission is accomplished with many people working together. It is the largest student organization at UIC (aside from Greek organizations) and the largest chapter of the 38 Midwestern schools that make up SHPE’s Region Six conference. “Our goal, along with promoting engineering, is to promote higher education,” says Ortega, the team’s vice president.

SHPE provides mentoring, tutoring, and workshops on professional and personal development skills. The group has biweekly study sessions for UIC engineering students and meets twice a month for general body meetings that feature a presentation from a company representative.

Taking advantage of these resources is key. Last semester, Ortega started a leadership committee for freshman and transfer students to help get them involved after getting inspired at her first national conference, where SHPE’s national president challenged the audience to leverage the SHPE community to help retain Hispanic students in higher education. During

Cristian Vargas (BS ’16) helps students make marshmallow catapults at Noche de Ciencias (Science Night). Photo by STARS Project Engineering Academy.

the fall semester, the inaugural committee organized a concha (Mexican sweet bread) fundraiser and an outreach event with Chicago’s John A. Walsh Elementary School—where the group has pen pals. “I think when you take a leadership role in a student organization, you’re more likely to stay in school and actually see it through,” she says.

Getting to know SHPE

Braulino (BS ’16), an industrial engineering student who is interested in optimizing operations, serves as board treasurer and built a new SHPE website from scratch in an effort to streamline fundraising and membership sign-up.

He’s also managed the logistics for a 48-person trip to Baltimore for the last SHPE national conference. “It’s a lot of Achievements ●

History

UIC’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) was founded by 10 students in 1980. This year, the group reached its largest membership with more than 140 members.

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Upcoming Events

The National SHPE Conference November 2–6, 2016 Seattle, WA

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S HPE earned the 2012 Region VI Outstanding Chapter of the Year award.

I n 2015 and 2016, they won the Regional Blue Chip Award for the best National Report Program submission. The award honors chapters who have achieved distinct participation growth and success in accomplishing goals.

T he group’s Robotics Engineering Design (RED) team placed seventh overall in 2016 at the Midwestern Robotics Design Competition.

For freshman student Marvin Ambrocio (BS ’19), SHPE’s leadership opportunities were exactly what he was looking for. “Even though I’m new to UIC, I’ve already had many chances to get involved,” says Ambrocio, who currently serves as SHPE’s Engineering Council representative and is running for next year’s SHPE Junior position.

“It’s fantastic being around positive people who are actively pursuing careers in engineering. SHPE has helped me in so many ways.”

responsibility, but it’s experience that I wouldn’t get anywhere else.”

In addition to gaining leadership skills, SHPE gives students a way to use the skills they learn in class. Renan

To learn more about SHPE or to get involved, visit www.shpeuic.org :

Many members have found that gaining experience in SHPE often leads to other opportunities outside of UIC. Braulino and Vargas, who will graduate soon, already have full-time positions lined up, and Ortega has a second internship starting in the summer—all three attribute this to SHPE. “Our motto is ‘SHPE changes lives,’” says Vargas, “and it definitely changed mine.”

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Philanthropy

This Donor Wears Many Hats by Joel Super

Donor, volunteer, mentor, advisor, instructor, friend: for more than a decade Christopher Burke has embodied all these roles at UIC’s College of Engineering, generously sharing his time, resources, and business acumen.

Recently, he endowed a professorship in the Department of Civil & Materials Engineering.

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he Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Professorship will be the first endowed professorship in the Department of Civil & Materials Engineering. “We are profoundly grateful for this latest example of Chris’s generosity. His leadership and support have advanced the department’s educational and research impact over the years, and his vision with this gift will strengthen it far into the future,” says Peter Nelson, dean of the College.

A graduate of Purdue University, Burke earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in civil engineering there. Soon after finishing his PhD, Burke returned to work in his native Chicagoland, later founding Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., with himself as principal (and sole) engineer. Today, Burke is himself an award-winning engineer and his company is a full-service civil engineering design and construction firm based in Rosemont, Illinois, that includes three additional offices in the state and employs some 400 people. 2016 marks the firm’s 30th anniversary.

Burke, who considered a university career early on, accepts no salary for the three UIC courses he teaches every year: Hydraulic Design, Engineering Hydrology, and Senior Design II. He occasionally teaches additional undergraduate courses. With his feet in both the classroom and the boardroom, Burke might be said to exemplify the adage “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”: his mother, Rosemary, was a math teacher and his father, Edmund, was a civil engineer who also founded his own firm. In fact, Burke got his first taste of engineering there, doing surveying work and liking every aspect of it. “I’d told my parents

a dozen times I wanted to be a civil engineer, and I’m very happy I pursued it. There’s not a day I don’t like it—the problem solving, being able to provide things that improve lives,” he said.

Three of his four children have, in turn, joined the profession: one son and a daughter are civil engineers, another son is a construction manager.

Avid Mentor and Advisor The gift to endow a professorship is the latest in Burke’s broad support of the College, where, over the years, he has provided funding for lab upgrades, student organizations, graduate student awards, and scholarship support to undergraduate students.

Burke forgoes his salary for the courses he teaches in order to support undergraduate scholarships awarded in his mother’s name. In addition to financial support, he has dedicated himself to promoting undergraduate professional and academic success in a variety of ways—sharing his expertise with students at Engineering Career Prep Day; acting as a judge for EXPO, the College’s annual senior design project exhibition; encouraging his employees to advise student teams on their EXPO projects; and mentoring and providing funding and equipment for UIC’s student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Finally, Burke brings his extensive experience to his service on the Civil Engineering Professional Advisory Council (CEPAC) and on the College of Engineering’s Advisory Board.

Dedicated Volunteer Instructor Burke derives great satisfaction from teaching at UIC—he likes the interaction of the classroom, appreciates the diverse student body, and admires the students’ excellent work ethic and commitment to education. He also values the chance

to emphasize to them the critical connections between civil engineering and many contemporary issues. “I often ask ‘How can you as an engineer benefit society 100 years from now?’”

His answer: well-considered solutions. “I make them aware of as many waterrelated news items as I can,” he said, “and tell them not to attend what I call UWT — the University of Wishful Thinking.” He is a strong promoter of graduate-level work as well, and encourages anyone who’s interested to do advanced degree work.

Farhad Ansari, PhD, for 15 years department head, civil and materials engineering, says of Burke, “He’s a gem for the profession; his enthusiasm and charismatic personality drive the students. I believe these words come to their minds when they interact with Chris: ‘dedicated,’ ‘a great engineer,’ ‘successful,’ ‘enthusiastic,’ ‘high energy,’ ‘sincere,’ ‘humble,’ and definitely, ‘a very cool guy.’”

Burke’s multifaceted UIC connection grew out of his first professional job in Chicago at Harza Engineering Company, where he met Robert Bryant, PhD, a Navy Pier alumnus and UIC engineering faculty member. It was Bryant who encouraged Burke to join CEPAC, and he has felt connected to UIC ever since. Burke gave the College of Engineering 2014 commencement address and was recognized for exemplary philanthropy in April 2016 at UIC’s annual donor recognition event, Legacies and Leaders.

Speaking of endowing the professorship, Burke said, “I think this gift is a way to raise the department’s profile and emphasize the significant impact UIC-trained civil engineers have in the state—and especially in Chicago.” :

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Welcome to Energy Central by Kirsten Gorton

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IC’s Energy Resources Center (ERC)—staffed by professional engineers, economists, architects, computer scientists, educators, and public policy analysts—is a onestop shop for everything related to energy. This uniquely diverse and highly experienced group tackles everything from researching emerging technologies in biofuels and distributed energy generation to providing technical assistance for achieving better energy efficiency in the institutional, industrial, and commercial sectors. The unit supports itself by generating, on average, $3–5 million in grants and contracts yearly. Their mission: make progress in energy conservation globally, regionally, and statewide.

Promoting Biofuels and Bioenergy around the World In recent years, the ERC has increased their focus on promoting biofuel use to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

“When the center first started in 1973, it focused primarily on energy policy,” says Cliff Haefke (BS ’99, MS ’06), ERC’s director. “Because the energy sector keeps evolving, we have to evolve with it to stay relevant. Over the years we have expanded our

Cliff Haefke (BS ’99, MS ’06), Director

staff expertise to support a variety of technical research opportunities.”

One example of ERC’s evolution is developing patent-pending technologies that diversify and improve sustainability practices. Stephen Mueller, PhD, the principal economist directing the ERC’s biofuels and bioenergy research, along with colleague Ken Copenhaver, developed the UIC LandViewer tool. “It’s a geospatial platform that helps assess land at a large-view scale,” says Mueller. “We use satellite and visible imagery to track land use and land use change in sensitive regions across the United States.” The tool is useful in a variety of ways: for seed companies to assess biofuels feedstocks (corn, soybeans, etc.), for grain buyers to manage risk, and for agricultural certification agen­ cies to explore land use applications.

Stephen Mueller, PhD, Principal Economist

LandViewer demonstrates that U.S. grown biofuels, if sustainably produced, can play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions in both the United States and foreign markets.

“Right now, the ERC is working closely with organizations like the United States Grains Council to demonstrate the sustainability of U.S. produced biofuels for export to the European Union and several countries in Asia,” says Mueller, which have strict life cycle greenhouse gas reduction requirements for blended biofuels.

The Advantages of Biofuels Biofuels such as corn ethanol, biodiesel, and cellulosic ethanol have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions relative to gasoline because the carbon in the corn or soybeans grown to produce the fuel is biogenic carbon, which is absorbed during the growing season and rereleased during fuel combustion. But carbon emissions

used to grow the feedstock plants that create the fuels (such as emissions produced in the production of fertilizer or from petroleum used to transport or dry crops) offset biogenic carbon savings. To examine this life cycle of overall biofuels emissions relative to gasoline, the ERC uses Argonne National Laboratory’s gold-standard

analysis called GREET (the Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Transportation Model).

Depending on the production practices, the GREET model shows that biofuels provide greenhouse gas reductions over gasoline even taking into account the emissions from feedstock production and conversion.

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Distributed Generation: Energy Options for the Midwest

grid security, and using abundant clean domestic energy sources. The Combined Heat Power (CHP) is ERC has promoted a form of distributed energy that these technologies and generates electricity and useable concepts since 2001 thermal energy (for heating and/or through its management cooling) from a single fuel source—as of the U.S. Department of opposed to the traditional method Energy’s CHP Technical of getting electricity and thermal Assistance Partnership energy separately (see Figure 1).

(TAP) program for the The Energy Resources Center is home to the U.S. Clean and cost-effective CHP Midwest—one of seven Department of Energy Midwest Combined Heat and systems support many national CHP TAPs in the country. Power (CHP) Technical Assistance Partnership. This technical outreach program focuses on providing energy priorities, including improving Its key services include market opportunity analysis; education and outreach; United States manufacturing performing market and technical assistance on conventional CHP, Waste competitiveness, offering lowopportunity analyses, Heat-to-Power, and District Energy CHP technologies in the twelve-state Midwest region. cost approaches to new electricity conducting education generation capacity, providing and outreach, and solutions to lower greenhouse providing technical assistance for “One benefit of CHP systems is that emissions through increases in energy organizations interested in utilizing a they can help facilities become energy efficiency, lessening the need for CHP system in their facility by helping independent,” says Haefke. For example, new transmission and distribution to develop projects from initial CHP in 2010, the ERC helped develop a infrastructure, enhancing power screening to final installation. new landfill-gas fueled CHP system for Gundersen Health System in Onalaska, Wisconsin.

Using methane gas released by a landfill less than two miles away to provide electricity and thermal energy to the hospital, Gundersen’s CHP system now completely offsets its electrical energy usage and saves approximately $100,000 annually in space heating and domestic hot water costs while generating $500,000 in annual revenue from selling the excess electricity to a utility holding company.

[Figure 1] Combined Heat Power (CHP), a form of distributed energy, generates electricity Gunderson pays the county and thermal energy (heating and/or cooling) from a single fuel source. Compared to the $200,000 per year to use traditional method of separately generating electricity and thermal energy, CHP is 50 its landfill. percent more energy efficient.

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Supporting Utility Management and Energy Efficiency in Illinois In addition to its global and regional impacts, the ERC provides service in the Chicago metropolitan area and throughout the state through its utility billing data management program. “We serve more than 1,700 institutional and other sites through the State Utility Database and Demand Management Consulting Services agreement,” says Jennifer Klemundt, the ERC’s assistant director of research services. “In the ERC’s data analysis process, we analyze pricing and billing data from the utility suppliers so we can offer our customers a comparison to their actual bill. That way they can identify any discrepancies,” she says. Providing bill verification, management, and history for deregulated accounts allows utility customers to assure themselves of savings on energy bills.

The ERC also promotes sensible energy use by managing the Illinois Public Sector and Low Income Energy Efficiency Potential Study (mandated by the Illinois legislation). This helps the state and utility companies make informed decisions about energy efficiency investments for the next threeyear cycle of their Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard (EEPS). The study provides a market baseline characterization and an energy efficiency potential analysis for the Illinois public sector and the Illinois low-income residential sector. “It’s the equivalent of a cross-sectional snapshot into the energy end-use technologies,” says Stefano Galiasso (MS ’09), an ERC research engineer who manages the portfolio.

L-R Jennifer Klemundt, Assistant Director of Research Services and Stefano Galiasso (MS ’09), Research Engineer

The market baseline characterization is step one, a bottom-up approach that adds up all of the data from individual energy consuming devices —collected through site visits, selfreported questionnaires, customer interviews, census data, and more—to make up a statistically significant proportion of the population. Step two of the analysis looks at both primary and secondary data to estimate the potential for state energy reduction over the next three years.

“We estimate potential on many levels: technical aspects, economic feasibility and efficiency, real-world market barriers, and budgetary constraints,” says Galiasso. In 2013, after collecting primary data from over 1,000 customers in Illinois, the study concluded that a best case scenario could save 12,777,324,014 kWh—or 150,000 trips to the Moon.

Looking into the Future While the ERC’s focus on energy efficiency, data management, distributed generation, and biofuels/ bioenergy are well established, Haefke says if a need arises that could be

met by branching into another arena supporting energy and environmental research, the ERC would explore the opportunity. For instance, “We hope to collaborate with the College’s Department of Computer Science to work on emerging concepts and technologies related to the electric utility of the future—smart grids, smart meters, energy resiliency, and micro grids,” he says. A new ERC expertise may be on the horizon, but that is no surprise — evolution is the name of the game. :

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Alumni

Engineering Business by Joel Super

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is the Family S “

ports bring people together.” You hear it all the time. For Genaro Ayala, Jr. (BS ’12) and Erika Sandoval Ayala (BS ’11, MS ’13), sports did that in spades: the future spouses first met playing on a co-ed soccer team for the College’s Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.

Today, these alumni are the proud parents of a toddler and have relocated from Chicago to Peoria, where both are pursuing careers at Caterpillar.

Neither Erika nor Genaro grew up thinking life’s path would lead to a career as an engineer, let alone to living outside Chicago. At fifteen, Erika had moved with her parents and sister from Mexico to Chicago’s north side. Genaro, on the other hand, was born and grew up on Chicago’s far southeast side to parents who had emigrated from Mexico.

Life in the Not-So-Big City Peoria, they acknowledge, is a world away from Chicago, with nowhere near the traffic and many more trees.

Genaro says that “everyone is a huge soccer fan. There’s always someone getting a game together.” Since both Erika and Genaro, perhaps predictably, had always been interested in (and good at) mathematics, it may not surprise others that they are where they are.

At Caterpillar, Erika does research to reduce costs and increase sales and profits by improving the efficiency of L-R Erika Sandoval Ayala (BS ’11, MS ’13) and Genaro Ayala (BS ’12)

aftermarket distribution for the heavy machinery parts made all over the world for CAT vehicles. Genaro works in CAT’s sensor division, which does product development for the entire company, where he’s in charge of taking into production new sensors for all types of CAT engines. Both have found their fluency in Spanish an asset at work, whether dealing with suppliers in Mexico or heading up Spanish classes for CAT employees.

On the Path to Engineering While Erika had for a long time considered herself college-bound and began her life at UIC as a French major, a UIC counselor suggested that she consider engineering after hearing she loved math and science.

“I looked at the possible career paths and job opportunities were good, so I started out in computer science but decided to pursue a mechanical engineering degree after talking to several professors,” she says. “My parents were very supportive of my choice.” A member of the Honors College as an undergraduate, Erika earned her BS and MS in industrial engineering back to back.

For Genaro, college wasn’t really on the radar as a kid. He always wanted to work with his hands and planned to be an electrician like his elder brother. It was tough, he says, growing up between rival gang territories, but the right friends and dedicated teachers made the difference for him. Convinced by those high school teachers to pursue an engineering degree, he applied to UIC. “I was an electrical engineering major from

the start. I assumed there were a lot of things that I could do with that background,” he says. “My first semester was a little bumpy, but my old teachers, friends, and parents encouraged me.”

Outside the classroom, both Erika and Genaro made sure to get professional experience. Even before he started at UIC, Genaro had completed an internship at James McHugh Construction Co. in Chicago. Following his junior year, Continental Automotive offered him a summer internship, which morphed into a part-time position for the year. Despite a fifty mile commute, he stuck with it, then did an internship at WS Gaming the summer before his final semester.

Erika, too, completed an internship at Continental Automotive Systems as well as a co-op at Caterpillar and an internship at Federal Mogul during her master’s degree work.

These two are fully convinced that getting an engineering degree was well worth the effort and would do it all over again. Erika is even trying to convince her elder sister to take advantage of the opportunities for career growth in engineering by returning to UIC and earning a second college degree—a BS in engineering.

She also says she would love for their son, Iker, to become an engineer, but Genaro hedges his bets. “I’d love for him to be an engineer too, although I’ll be happy with whatever he chooses,” he says. There may or may not be another engineer in the family, but no matter his career choice, soccer is likely to be Iker’s sport of choice. :

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Mengqi Hu, PhD

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

PhD: mechanical engineering from University of Cincinnati MS: thermal, energy, and environmental engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur) BS: mechanical engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Kharagpur)

PhD: industrial engineering from Arizona State University MS: material sciences and engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China); industrial engineering from Arizona State University BS: material sciences and engineering from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (China)

Research interests: fluid-solid and fluidfluid interactions in single or multiphase systems, specifically phase-change processes, complex fluids, and porous media transport for applications in water harvesting, energy-efficient thermal systems, anti-icing, HVAC and refrigeration, oil recovery, carbon capture, and drug delivery

Research interests: complex system design and optimization, distributed decision support and analysis, swarm intelligence and evolutionary computation, and metalearning and metamodeling for applications in sustainable and resilient building/microgrid clusters, UAV swarms, smart manufacturing facilities, and energy-water nexus

Hamed Hatami Marbini, PhD

Reza Shahbazian-Yassar, PhD

Associate Professor

Associate Professor

PhD: mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute MS: structural engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran); applied mathematics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute BS: civil engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran)

PhD: materials science from Washington State University MS: materials science from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran) BS: materials science from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran)

Research interests: multiscale computational mechanics and biomechanics focused on using analytical, numerical, and experimental techniques to investigate the complex mechanics of biological and nonbiological composite structures ranging from the cytoskeleton and the extracellular matrix to structural nanocomposite materials

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Research interests: electrical energy storage and conversion in Li-ion, Na-ion, and Li-Sulfur batteries, in-situ transmission electron microscopy, and nanomaterials for electronics and biomaterials

Richard and Loan Hill

Sushant Anand, PhD

Department of Bioengineering

Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering

New Hires Salman Khetani, PhD Associate Professor PhD: bioengineering from the University of California,

San Diego MS: bioengineering from the University of California, San Diego BS: electrical engineering and biomedical engineering from Marquette University Research interests: utilizing microfabrication, biomaterials, and quantitative modeling; biological techniques, such as cell culture, molecular biology; and various cell sources, such as primary human cells and stem cells to build physiologically relevant liver culture systems for preclinical drug screening to eliminate toxic compounds earlier in the drug development pipeline prior to patient exposure; mimicking global diseases, such as hepatitis B/C infections and liver fibrosis, to discover new molecular targets for novel therapeutics; and developing design criteria for engineered liver tissues that can be implanted in patients to keep them alive while they await whole organ transplant

Tolou Shokuhfar, PhD Associate Professor PhD: mechanical engineering from Michigan Technological University MS: materials science from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran) BS: materials science from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran) Research interests: in-situ liquid electron microscopy of biomolecules and biomaterials and their biochemical activities in wet/hydrated environment and nanotextured surfaces for biomedical materials, such as dental and bone materials

Assistant Professor

PhD: computer science from the University of California, San Diego MS: computer science from the University of California, San Diego BS: computer science and mathematics from the University of Washington Research interests: embedded and cyberphysical systems security, technology policy, modern algebra, category theory, cryptography, programming languages, compilers

Balajee Vamanan, PhD Assistant Professor PhD: networks and computer systems from Purdue University BS: electrical and electronics engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science, India Research interests: emerging networking paradigms, such as software-defined networking and function virtualization and network optimizations for interactive online services (e.g. Web search, social networks), and the architecture of power management and memory systems

Besma Smida

Zhao Zhang, PhD

Associate Professor

Associate Professor

PhD: telecommunications from the University of Quebec MS: telecommunications from the University of Quebec BS: telecommunications from the Ecole Superieure des Communications de Tunis

PhD: computer science from the University of Chicago MS: computer science from the University of Chicago BS: software engineering from Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications (China)

Research interests: solving fundamental problems in wireless communications, information theory, and signal processing and creating spectrum-efficient two-way wireless networks to meet the increasing demand for high-speed data services

Mojtaba Soltanalian, PhD Assistant Professor PhD: electrical engineering from Uppsala University (Sweden) BS: electrical engineering from Sharif University of Technology (Tehran) Research interests: using signal processing and optimization theory to facilitate a better processing and design of signals for collecting information and forming a more profound understanding of data in everyday applications and in large-scale, complex scenarios

Xinhua Zhang, PhD

Amit Trivedi, PhD

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor

PhD: computer science from Australian National University MS: computer science from National University of Singapore BS: computer science and engineering from Shanghai Jiao Tong University (China)

PhD: computer engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology MS: computer engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur) BS: computer engineering from Indian Institute of Technology (Kanpur)

Research interests: machine learning in convex models for learning predictive representation with applications in pattern recognition, document analysis, and image processing

Research interests: distributed computing, high-performance computing, cloud computing, energy-aware computing, and big data with focuses on enabling concise, fast, and scalable execution of parallel scripting applications on large-scale computers through proper design and implementations of programming models, runtime systems, and file systems

Department of Chemical Engineering

Stephen Checkoway, PhD

Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Department of Computer Science

Sangil Kim, PhD Assistant Professor

PhD: chemical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University MS: chemical engineering from the University of Cincinnati; polymer science from Chungnam National University (South Korea) BS: polymer science and engineering from Chungnam National University (South Korea) Research interests: developing new membrane materials, understanding functioning mechanisms of the nanostructured device, and exploring a wide application space ranging from energy-efficient water purification and gas separation through biomedical engineering to clean-energy production :

Research interests: ultralow power circuits and systems, circuit design with emerging technologies, hardware security, energyefficient neuromorphic computing, and tunneling field-effect transistors

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Around the College Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day More than 30 high school students attended the College of Engineering’s first Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day in February. Sponsored by Illinois Tool Works and organized by UIC’s Women in Engineering Programs and the UIC chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, the event featured a luncheon, discussion panel, and a hands-on activity related to Newtonian mechanics.

Students design convertible shoes (i.e. heels to flats) using primarily cloth and duct tape.

Researchers Develop “Psychic Robot”

Two Professors Receive CAREER Awards

A team of researchers have developed a robot to help braininjured patients move better. By analyzing a research subject’s movements while reaching for a cup on a virtual desk, they created an advanced mathematical algorithm that can predict the way a person wants to move—even if the action is interrupted. The team includes James Patton, PhD, professor, Richard and Loan Hill Department of Bioengineering, and bioengineering graduate research assistant Justin Horowitz.

Sybil Derrible, PhD, and Didem Ozevin, PhD, assistant professors, Department of Civil & Materials Engineering, are the College’s newest recipients of the National Science Foundation CAREER Award, which makes 32 engineering faculty members who have received the $500,000 grant to date. The prestigious award helps professors pursue research in innovative areas, sustain research programs and build a professional reputation; and promote undergraduate education and community outreach.

UIC in Princeton Review’s Top 25 UIC made Princeton Review’s list of top 25 graduate schools for game design. The Princeton Review looked at 150 schools and based its rankings on criteria including academic offerings, lab facilities, graduate starting salaries, and career achievements.

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consumption as determined by location and lifestyle) to develop effective sustainability policies and smarter infrastructure systems. ● Professor

Ozevin is developing new ways to design bridges and other structures that will incorporate integrated damage-detection capability. Her research aims to transform structural engineering by detecting damage at the earliest stage.

● Professor

Derrible’s research focuses on urban metabolism (a term for energy and resource

L-R Didem Ozevin, PhD, and Sybil Derriblen, PhD

is part of Mateevitsi’s doctoral work in human augmentics, an interdisciplinary field of study aimed at developing technologies to expand human capabilities.

$1.55M in New Federal Cybersecurity Funding

Rachel Harsley (PhD ’16) won first place at the UIC Startup Challenge.

Student’s App Wins First Place Computer science PhD student Rachel Harsley won first place and a $3,000 prize in UIC’s Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies Start Up Challenge for her messaging app, Clean Slate, which creates messages in real time that can be erased with a single swipe, allowing users to take control of their digital presence.

Her first-place win also entered her into the RECESS Pitch competition.

Harsley was recently honored with a Leading Woman in Tech Award from the Chicago Urban League. She has been featured on Chicago Innovation website ChicagoInno.com, in the Chicago Tribune, and was interviewed on WGN Radio’s Wintrust Business Lunch segment.

Professor Brings Computer Science to Chicago Public Schools Dale Reed, PhD, clinical professor, Department of Computer Science, has been a driving force in creating a first: the Chicago Board of Education voted in February to adopt computer science as a graduation requirement for all Chicago Public Schools (CPS) students, the first U.S. city to do so.

Reed and the Chicago Computer Science Teachers Association, which he helped found, have been tireless advocates for computer science in CPS, which has witnessed a 50 percent increase in students taking computer science courses and a 25 percent increase in schools offering courses. Reed is a national professional development leader, training high school instructors to help make computer science accessible to all students.

Two new grants will support cybersecurity research for Venkat Venkatakrishnan, PhD, professor, Department of Computer Science.

The first—a $1 million subcontract from IBM—will create a suite of technologies to improve detection of sophisticated cyber threats through automation; the second is a $550,000 NSF grant that will focus on understanding malware delivery mechanisms. These two bring his total current grants to $7.3 million and brings to $12.4 million the current security, privacy, and fraud detection grants led by UIC computer science principal investigators.

Student Competes on All-American Makers Computer science PhD student Victor Mateevitsi was featured on Discovery Science channel’s AllAmerican Makers for his SpiderSense 2.0 invention, a jacket containing 12 sensors that translate ultrasound into signals that stimulate the skin, allowing the wearer (firefighters, the visually impaired) to avoid obstacles. The wearable technology Victor Mateevitsi (PhD ’16) wearing SpiderSense 2.0.

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Apple Executive Gives Midyear Commencement Address Kevin Lynch, vice president of technology at Apple and former UIC College of Engineering student, returned to campus to deliver the keynote address at a midyear commencement for 2015 summer and fall graduates in December.

Lynch, an Illinois native, currently leads software development for the Apple Watch. He is one of the world’s preeminent software developers and technology innovators, having held leadership roles at Apple, Adobe, and Macromedia (creator of Flash and Dreamweaver software), General Magic, and Frame Technology, and has been a key player in driving the development of multimedia on the web. In his address, he encouraged students to step into the future with bravery, imagination, and kindness.

UIC Motorsports Wins 1st Place UIC Motorsports won first place and fastest lap against 38 teams, including UIUC and University of Michigan, at the Blizzard Baja event held at Michigan State University in February. The event is a precursor to the Baja SAE Rochester competition in June, where UIC will compete against 102 teams.

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Kevin Lynch, Vice President of Technology at Apple

Professor Designs SelfCleaning Landfill Krishna Reddy, PhD, professor, Department of Civil & Materials Engineering, has been awarded a three-year $280,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to develop a model to transform landfills into efficient waste treatment systems.

He and his research team aim to find the best way to capture and recycle moisture in a landfill in order to engineer ones that can perform their own in-ground treatment, produce gas to recapture energy, allow the recovery of usable materials, and restabilize their own site for eventual use.

Breakthrough Battery Research Lithium batteries have the potential to significantly outperform today’s lithium-ion batteries. Amin SalehiKhojin, PhD, professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, along with postdoctoral research associate Mohammad Asadi, devised a specially modified differential electrochemical mass spectrometry instrument to measure the electrochemical reaction produced during battery charging

or discharging. Their instrument has helped prove that a new lithium-air battery prototype developed by the United States Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory may be viable and was reported in Nature.

Online Master’s Program Ranks High U.S. News & World Report ranked the UIC Master of Engineering Online Program 21st in the country for best graduate online engineering programs, up from 29th in 2014.

The program offers certificates in bioinformatics, disaster management, engineering law and management, electromagnetic technology, and wireless communications. :

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Spring 2016 Commencement at the UIC Pavilion

John J. Tracy, Chief Technology Officer of The Boeing Company

Engineering graduates received their degrees May 7 from Peter Nelson, PhD, dean of the college, and Jonathan Art, PhD, associate dean of the Graduate College. John J. Tracy, chief technology officer of The Boeing Company, gave the commencement address, and industrial engineering major Hereford Johnson (BS ’16) gave the class speech. Two faculty members were honored for their excellence in teaching: Yeow Siow, PhD, clinical assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, recipient of UIC’s Silver Circle Award, and Lin Li, PhD, assistant professor of mechanical and industrial engineering, recipient of the Harold A. Simon Award.

Hereford Johnson (BS ’16)

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College of Engineering 851 South Morgan Street Chicago, Illinois 60607-7043

More commencement coverage inside‌