OUENGINEER THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GALLOGLY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
Pursuing Excellence Introducing the Gallogly College of Engineering SPRING 2016
OU ENGINEER THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GALLOGLY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DEAN Thomas L. Landers, Ph.D., P.E., AT&T Chair PHOTOGRAPHY Jawanza Bassue, Karen Kelly, Hugh Scott, Robert Taylor and Sarah Warren DESIGN AND LAYOUT University Printing Services, Sarah Warren and Karen Kelly COVER PHOTO: Jim Gallogly holds a photo of his family, who helped to lay a foundation of excellence that has guided him throughout his life and career. INSIDE COVER PHOTO: President David L. Boren points to the banners representing two new exciting developments in the Gallogly College of Engineering. OU ENGINEER is published annually by the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering Communications Office. For more information, contact: KAREN KELLY Director of Communications 202 W. Boyd St., Rm. 104 Norman OK, 73019-1021 Phone: (405) 325-9037 www.ou.edu/coe engineering@ou.edu This publication, printed by OU Printing Services, is issued by the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering. 5,000 copies have been prepared and distributed at no cost to the taxpayers of the State of Oklahoma. Š 2015 University of Oklahoma. The University of Oklahoma in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, genetic information, sex, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services. For questions regarding discrimination, sexual assault, sexual misconduct, or sexual harassment, please contact the Office(s) of Institutional Equity as may be applicable -Norman campus at (405) 325-3546/3549, the Health Sciences Center at (405) 271-2110 or the OU-Tulsa Title IX Office at (918) 660-3107. Please see www.ou.edu/eoo. For accommodations on the basis of disability, please contact the Gallogly College of Engineering at (405) 325-9037.
iii EVOLVE
CONTENTS OU Engineer Features
2 Pursuing Excellence
4 Oklahoma Pioneers
Inside every issue Updates
6 Welcome From the Dean
RESEARCH
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This has been an extraordinary year in our college. We received generous gifts from the Gallogly and Stephenson families, and introduced the Gallogly College of Engineering
ALUMNI
and the Peggy and Charles Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering. These gifts are
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transformational, not only for our college and university, but for Oklahoma as well. There is much for which to be thankful. As I look ahead to 2016, I am excited to break
COLLEGE NEWS
ground on Gallogly Hall, the new home of biomedical engineering and the GCoE
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Diversity and Inclusion Program. In remembrance of the university’s 125 anniversary, we launched the Jerry Holmes th
FACULTY
Engineering Leadership Program and Symposium. It was a special time in which we
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celebrated the enduring legacy of this beloved colleague. Jim Gallogly delivered an inspiring keynote address, and we had the privilege of meeting many of his family and friends.
STUDENTS
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We watched our students excel, including senior civil engineering and meteorology major, Ben Toms, who received the prestigious Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Scholarship and was named a Goldwater Scholar. We celebrated the 50th anniversary of
ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and launched the Data Science and Analytics Master’s program. Our faculty continue to make game-changing research advancements.
50 GIVING UPDATE
During Jim Gallogly's November keynote address, he challenged us to not only be among the best, but also to be the very best. Won't you join me, as together, we continue on this road of excellence?
52 IN MEMORIAM
Live On, Gallogly College of Engineering,
53 CLASS NOTES
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Thomas L. Landers Dean and AT&T Chair
SUMMER BRIDGE FALL 2015
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Pursuing Exc in the Midst of Challenges
By Becky Cavnar Jim Gallogly isn’t an engineer. So when the retired CEO with psychology and law degrees gifted millions of dollars to the renamed University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering, the gesture left many people puzzled. But after examining his extraordinary achievements in the oil and gas industry and his experiences standing shoulder to shoulder with some of the industry’s best engineers, the reason why quickly emerges. Gallogly’s pursuit of excellence in an energy-driven world is what drives him, and he wants to inspire the same for future engineers. Gallogly’s talent in the engineering and energy industry is clearly marked with awards and accolades, but his path to success wasn’t as clearly defined. Growing up, he had an affinity for math and science, and a high school aptitude test indicated he should consider becoming an engineer. But with a family tradition in farming and the military and no engineering role models, he studied psychology at the University of Colorado. Still unsure of a career path, he attended OU’s College of Law. His standout success in an oil and gas law course proved to be the catalyst for his entire career and life’s work. Gallogly began his career in a large, private Denver law firm practicing oil and gas law. In 1980, he moved to Bartlesville, Oklahoma, to join the legal department of Phillips Petroleum Co., where he served in various roles for 10 years. There, he learned quickly and became adept at the ins and outs of the energy business. He was offered a management position in operations, which led to roles in exploration and production, refining and chemicals. “Apparently, the aptitude tests were right,” Gallogly said. “I wasn’t an engineer by degree, but this is the industry where I really belonged. I ultimately ran every business within ConocoPhillips during my 29-year career there.”
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Over time, Gallogly developed a reputation as a “fix-it” person, helping businesses translate failure into success. He took a fresh look at departments with weak financial performances, poor safety records or reliability challenges and helped create solutions. “Helping businesses succeed was always a team effort,” Gallogly said. “I surrounded myself with smart, motivated people, focused on the challenges and created step-by-step action plans.” In 2009, while the leader of Worldwide Exploration and Production at ConocoPhillips, Gallogly was presented with one of the toughest choices he had ever faced. Global chemical company LyondellBasell was in the midst of one of the largest bankruptcies in history, and they wanted Gallogly to take the reins as CEO. Could Gallogly leave his dream job to help raise LyondellBasell from the ashes of financial ruin? To the surprise of family, friends and colleagues – and even himself – Gallogly accepted the challenge. “I understand why everyone thought I was crazy to take this on,” Gallogly said. “LyondellBasell was a failed merger, employees were streaming out the door, and this was happening during a worldwide recession. But I saw this as an opportunity to help take a company from worst to first.” And he did. In one year the company emerged from bankruptcy, and three years later it became one of the world’s leading petrochemical corporations. Share prices increased from $17 when Gallogly came on board to more than $115 in just a few years. A Deutsche Bank analyst called the company “the poster child for the renaissance of the U.S. chemical industry.” While Gallogly’s move to LyondellBasell was surprising, his success at the company wasn’t. He seems to gravitate toward difficult situations rather than avoiding them.
cellence Tom Landers, dean of the Gallogly College of Engineering, said Gallogly’s experience alone is enough to inspire young engineering students to address the world’s biggest challenges. But it is his commitment to teamwork, a shared vision and excellence that exemplifies leadership. “He recognizes he cannot overcome enormous obstacles and achieve extraordinary success on his own,” Landers said. “He collaborates with other innovators, problem-solvers and creators to achieve great things. Our engineering students can benefit greatly from his wisdom and experience.” As the keynote speaker at the Jerry Holmes Engineering Leadership Symposium on Nov. 5, Gallogly not only reached out to engineering students but also tasked faculty, staff and administration with cultivating a culture of leadership for the future engineers. Accepting the challenge at the Felgar Gala that evening, OU President David Boren also took the opportunity to thank Gallogly and his family for their major contribution to the university. “Jim has been a good friend to OU and our engineering program,” Boren said at the J.H. Felgar Gala. “The Gallogly family’s philanthropy and generosity will make a transformative difference for engineering students at OU and the future of engineering leadership.” Gallogly continues to inspire students to pursue excellence by using others’ examples of success to inspire their own path. His first and most important example was his father, who used to tell each of his 10 children to wisely choose a profession and then commit to being the very best at it. He cautioned his children to never measure success by the size of your paycheck but by the impact and good you do for others. Gallogly never forgot that lesson and uses it to guide his own path. “People like to be part of amazing stories of comeback and success,” Gallogly said. “I hope engineering students at OU can star in their own stories through hard work, creativity and inspiration.” Of all the people Gallogly hopes to inspire with his story and philosophy, one stands out. It’s his young granddaughter, Ella. “I want her to choose OU – hopefully, the Gallogly College of Engineering – because the university stands for excellence in every way,” Gallogly said. “The university continues to get better and better, and I am happy to contribute to its continuing success for all students.” Photos: Gallogly family of 10, Jim is in the second row, second from the right; Gallogly's father and mentor; Jim in high school; and President David L. Boren presenting Jim and Janet Gallogly with the Seed Sower statue.
FALL 2015
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Oklahoma Peggy and Charles Stephenson
By Lori Johnson The pioneering spirit that shaped this great state lives on in Peggy and Charles Stephenson. Like their ancestors before them, they continue to invest in their communities, enhancing and improving the quality of life for many Oklahomans. From the University of Oklahoma’s Stephenson Research and Technology Center to the development of the Peggy and Charles Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, the couple continues to blaze the trail of innovation for the benefit of all Oklahomans. A pioneer is defined by Merriam Webster as a person who helps create or develop new ideas, methods, etc.: someone who is one of the first people to move to and live in a new area. You can see two present-day pioneers in Peggy and Charles Stephenson. Charles Stephenson is co-founder of Premier Natural Resources, an independent oil and gas company and a partner of Regent Private Capital. His wife, Peggy, is the executive director of the Stephenson Family Foundation, which supports many community programs. They have two children, Steve and Cindy, and six grandchildren. For nearly six decades the couple has weathered the boom and bust of the oil industry and throughout their journey shared their success generously with others. A charitable path forged long before they were born. Beginnings As a fifth-generation Oklahoman, Charles’ roots run deep in the Oklahoma red soil. His great, great, great grandparents were Presbyterian missionaries who migrated with the Choctaw tribe to Indian Territory in southeastern Oklahoma in the 1830s as part of the infamous Trail of Tears. They began to reestablish a life, not only for themselves, but also for members of the community, as they built schools and churches. In 1907, just as Oklahoma was becoming a state, Charles’ paternal grandparents moved to Antlers and opened a grocery store that would be the family business throughout Charles’ childhood. Like his father and uncles before him, “Charlie” would learn about hard work
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and integrity at the family business, beginning at the age of 8 and continuing throughout high school. Peggy Stephenson also grew up in Antlers and comes from a long lineage of strong women. While her single mom worked hard to provide the essentials of food, clothing and shelter for her four children, her grandmother laid the foundation of a Christian education and taught Peggy how to master the art of cooking. The two met in high school and married in 1957, which also marked the beginning of an oil and gas career including more than 20 moves and several oil ventures. Choosing a career, not a job Graduating with his bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering in 1959, Charles served as an officer in the U.S. Army, before he worked in the oil and gas industry. He started at Amerada Petroleum Corp. where he focused on property exploration. He said that experience gave him the confidence and foundational knowledge to use as the basis for future business plans. After 11 years in the field, Charles joined Andover Oil Co., where he proved his proficiency in understanding and managing the many complexities that define the oil and gas industry. That knowledge helped him rise in rank from management positions to eventually becoming president of his own company. Charles has always enjoyed being in the oil and gas industry and never regretted his career path — except for one fateful day. “I have only had one very bad day in my career,” Charles recalls. One evening while standing on oil equipment 25 feet in the air with the winter North Dakota winds howling, Charles seriously wondered if he had chosen the right career. That night he asked Peggy if she would consider moving back to Oklahoma to run the family grocery store. Her answer, “You can go back, but I am staying,” was the lodestar that set Charles on a successful oil career of nearly six decades.
Pioneers It is fortunate for the Stephensons and the state that they did not give up on the oil industry. Charles’ company, Vintage Petroleum, sold for $4.5 billion to Occidental in 2006 which provided them with additional resources to give back to their community, their state and his alma mater. Pioneering a new legacy Just like Charles’ great grandparents did with the settlement in Oklahoma Territory, Peggy and Charles intentionally invest their time and resources for the betterment of their community. The couple serves on several boards in the Tulsa area, including the Philbrook Art Museum, the Salvation Army, Boy Scouts of America and the Tulsa Historical Society. They are members of the First Presbyterian Church of Tulsa, where Charles has served as a trustee and member of the capital campaign committee. The Stephensons have contributed greatly to OU to advance scientific research and knowledge, but it was a personal history that led Peggy and Charles to donate to the Peggy and Charles Stephenson Cancer Center. “When President Boren and First Lady Molly Boren asked to meet us at a construction site, we didn’t know what it was going to be,” Peggy recalls, “but we put our hard hats on and explored the building.” When the Borens announced that the structure would be OU’s new regional cancer center, Peggy burst into tears. They did not know that Peggy privately had battled breast cancer. “Right then, Charlie and I knew this might be one of our big projects,” Peggy said. “The center became a very personal project for me because I had been through that experience.” Peggy continues to be heavily involved with the center, keeping in touch with the doctors and staff. “I just love it for what it is giving to our community.” The couple’s most recent donation creates the Peggy and Charles Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, located on the Norman campus. Proving once again their philanthropic commitment to tranformational research, this gift will support a director, new faculty members and graduate students, all vital to establish the new school. “The satisfaction of our donations is not the giving,” Peggy said. “It is the knowledge that we are helping advance health and the quality of life for our fellow Oklahomans that gives us joy.” Charles and Peggy are leading by example through their community volunteering and generous donations across the state. Charitable actions that give honor to their commitment to their pioneer ancestors and blaze the trail for their grandchildren and future generations to follow.
Photos: From top: President David L. Boren applauds the new Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering; Peggy Stephenson waves to the audience at the dedication; and from left: Patti and Dean Tom Landers, Charles and Peggy Stephenson, and grandson Corry; and First Lady Molly Shi Boren and President David L. Boren.
FALL 2015
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RESEARCH
OU Professor, Inventor Reaches Milestone in the Development of Interband Cascade Lasers By Jana Smith A team led by the University of Oklahoma professor who invented the interband cascade laser has reached a major milestone in the development of interband cascade lasers by achieving the record-low threshold current density at room temperature near 4.6 μm — an important wavelength region for detection of molecules such as CO, OCS, N2O. This enabled the first demonstration of continuous wave operation of InAs-based interband cascade lasers and reached the critical milestone for building practical systems. Rui Q. Yang, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the OU Gallogly College of Engineering, proposed the concept for interband cascade lasers 20 years ago. He continues to perfect the technology for use in multiple applications, such as detecting pipeline leaks, finding new oil and gas wells and in the NASA Mars rover Curiosity.
“Like a waterfall that cascades from level to level, gaining energy with each step, interband cascade lasers are energy-efficient midinfrared semiconductor laser sources for sensing chemicals in a number of applications,” says Yang. “The latest continuous wave interband cascade laser operates at room temperature yielding a more efficient product.” Though small, the mid-infrared laser market is growing fourtimes faster than the laser market as a whole, according to market analyst Strategies Unlimited. Yang owns six patents on interband cascade lasers and related devices with interest in assisting the technology transfer and commercialization of these semiconductor device components.
Before joining the OU Gallogly College of Engineering in 2007, Yang worked for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology in At OU, Yang’s research Pasadena, California. He group collaborates with led the research and professors Matthew development of an From left: Hao Ye, a doctoral student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Johnson and Michael interband cascade laser and Li Lu, a postdoc from ECE, demonstrate the Molecular Beam Epitaxy system that was Santos and their used to support missions used for the growth of interband cascade lasers. research groups in to Mars. Yang continues the Homer L. Dodge to collaborate with NASA, Department of Physics and Astronomy in the OU College of Arts Sandia National Laboratory and others on his research. and Sciences. This latest development of room-temperature and The National Science Foundation Small Business Technology continuous wave InAs-based interband cascade lasers attracted Transfer Program supports OU research on interband cascade a wide range of attention and was featured in Nature Photonics lasers and related optoelectronic devices. For more information, and Semiconductor Today. Early this year, in collaboration with J. contact Rui Q. Yang at rui.q.yang@ou.edu or visit the Quantum Gupta and colleagues at the National Research Council in Canada, Device Laboratory at http://qdl.ou.edu/. his group also demonstrated continuous wave operation of room temperature type-I interband cascade lasers near 3.2 μm, opening a new approach to advancing mid-infrared semiconductor lasers.
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RESEARCH
OU Researcher Aims to Make 5G Networks More Intelligent By Lori Johnson The next generation of wireless networks will not only be faster, but also more intelligent and efficient because of research being conducted at the University of Oklahoma as part of a worldwide collaboration in telecommunications. Ali Imran, an assistant professor in the OU-Tulsa telecommunications engineering program, is leading the research to develop Self Organization Networks. The networks will use data to configure and organize themselves for peak efficiency, redistributing capacity throughout the day to where it’s needed for faster connection speeds and lower costs. “In daytime, most users are concentrated in commercial areas, offices and schools,” Imran said. “In the evening, users are concentrated in residential areas. There’s no reason we should have equal capacity in both areas all the time.” The efficiency of intelligent wireless networks could reduce the operational and capital costs of cellular infrastructure, making it less expensive for carriers to provide faster service. With increasing data volumes per subscriber, each generation of wireless technology is less profitable than the one before. According to Cisco System’s mobile data traffic forecast, “Mobile data traffic is expected to increase eightfold by 2018, with a compounded annual growth rate of 50 percent.” In other words, the demand is only going to increase the burden on a cellular network that is already stretched to capacity. Imran said while the 5G technology is still in the planning phase, now is the time to think about how to use the deluge of rich data to make the 5G network more efficient.
At OU, Imran is building on his previous work on Self Organizing Networks in Qatar and the United Kingdom. He is the lead researcher for the consortium QSON: Quality of Service Aware Energy Efficient Self Organizing Future Cellular Networks (www. qson.org). Consortium partners include OU; the University of Surrey, United Kingdom; the Qatar Mobility Innovations Center, Qatar; and the Centre Tecnològic de Telecommunicacioins de Catalunya, Spain. The project is funded with a $1 million grant from the Qatar National Research Fund. Imran and his partners have already published one paper on the research, presenting a framework for applying big data analytics to 5G networks more intelligently. The group also has filed for one patent and is finalizing a deal with a national cellular company to acquire actual cellular data for research. Imran compared wireless networks to networks that supply other limited resources. “I drink eight glasses of water at particular intervals during the day; but I don’t need access to water all day long,” Imran said. “If the water supply network is intelligent and knows when I drink, then it can supply water to other users at other times at a higher rate without affecting my supply rate.” The same is true of data on wireless networks. A constant supply is not necessary when the demand is low. The 5G Self Organizing Networks can use big data-driven intelligence to configure and organize themselves to serve more users more efficiently. “For the business model to work, the 5G network has to be efficient by being intelligent and elastic,” he said. “While others are working on the 5G technology, I’m working on the efficiency of the 5G technology.”
Rollout of New Technology Benefits Volvo Construction Equipment Volvo Construction Equipment announced the rollout of a new Intelligent Compactor at the World of Asphalt show, held in Baltimore in March. Central to the Intelligent Compactor is a system called "Density Direct" that is used to estimate the density of asphalt roads during construction. Density Direct is based on the Intelligent Asphalt Compaction Analyzer that was developed and patented by OU researchers Sesh Commuri, associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and Musharraf Zaman, David Ross
Boyd Professor, Aaron Alexander Professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, and director of the Southern Plains Transportation Center. The Density Direct System is based on an artificial neural network that analyses the vibrations of the roller and estimates the density of the pavement layer continuously and in a non-destructive manner. Such continuous, real-time readout of the quality will enable the roller operator to construct consistent, high-quality roads that are long-lasting and requiring lower construction and maintenance costs.
FALL 2015
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RESEARCH Understanding and Preparedness for Future Flooding Events By Jana Smith A University of Oklahoma research team was completing a project to determine if visual animation of watersheds subject to increased flooding would be a preferable way to convey information to decision makers when record-breaking floods of May 2015 emphasized the significance of the project. Using Geographic Information Systems, hydrologic modeling, animated visual imagery and the Internet, the team effectively demonstrated how interactive engagement among key groups enhanced understanding and preparedness for future flooding events. “When designing effective strategies for local planners and managers, familiarity with local watershed hydrology is important. Equally as important, the expanded use of watershed modeling and visualization techniques can prove useful for adaptation planning and management,” said Mark Meo, principal investigator on the project and professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences in the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy. Meo and team members Scott Greene, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, and Yang Hong and Baxter Vieux, professors in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, Gallogly College of Engineering, adopted a stakeholder-based protocol that engaged local floodplain managers and watershed stakeholders in five cities in Oklahoma and Texas: Oklahoma City and Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Austin, Dallas and Houston, Texas. The urban floodplain manager in each city selected a watershed for study. The OU team analyzed the selected watersheds and presented the results to the floodplain managers and staff. Completion of the analysis of the watersheds was animated for the presentation. The floodplain managers
Both historic and projected flooding events were visualized as an animation using Google Earth as geographic template.
distributed a web-based survey to a small group of key stakeholders. The survey asked respondents to view the animations and judge their usefulness and credibility compared to more conventional approaches, such as charts and hydrographs. The survey results indicated over 80 percent of stakeholders agreed hydrologic models and images are effective in discussions about capital improvement projects. More than 75 percent agreed that hydrologic models enable the public to understand increases in flooding due to increases in precipitation. With only slight differences between Oklahoma and Texas stakeholders, respondents were very favorably inclined toward the use of animations in floodplain management. Over 70 percent of respondents indicated that animations were more effective than maps, with two-thirds indicating they would like to see more watershed animations. About half of the respondents indicated they preferred animations over maps and charts. The project was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sectoral Applications Research Program on Water. For more information about this study, visit the Urban Flooding project website at http://eos.ou.edu/hazards/ urbanflooding/.
ENGINEERING CLASSES AT OU’S NEW INTERACTIVE LEARNING COMMUNITY | JANUX.OU.EDU
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RESEARCH OU Engineering Professor Leads NSF Grant on Infrastructure Resilience By Lori Johnson Whether it is malicious or an act of Mother Nature, an infrastructure attack could cripple the nation as more people depend on the interconnected services such as water, electricity, communication, transportation and health care.
and four-year projects, each with funding up to $2.5 million, are part of a multi-year initiative on risk and resilience. The National Science Foundation’s fiscal year 2015 investment in CRISP is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the Directorates for Engineering, Computer and Information Science and Engineering and Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. As a result, Barker’s project is a multi-disciplinary approach to evaluating and planning for resilience. The systems engineering perspective analyzes how these networks behave together and can be optimized. Computer and data sciences are addressing how to turn large amounts of data into something meaningful to improve interdependent resilience, and the social sciences evaluate how the resilience of the society depends on the resilience of the physical infrastructure.
University of Oklahoma School of Industrial and Systems Engineering researcher Kash Barker is leading a team to evaluate how analytics from multiple sources can increase network resilience. The National Science Foundation project, titled “Resilience Analytics: A Data-Driven Approach for Enhanced Interdependent Network Resilience,” is a cooperative research effort between OU Gallogly College of Engineering colleague Charles Nicholson and researchers at the University of Virginia, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Stevens Institute of Technology, Penn State University, Virginia Tech Along with his research and teaching responsibilities, Kash Barker can be seen on Janux, and the University of OU's interactive learning community, where he teaches basic lessons about Fundamentals North Texas. of Engineering Statistical Analysis. “Resilience is broadly defined as the ability of a system to withstand the effects of a disruption and then recover rapidly and efficiently,” Barker said. “As disruptions become more frequent — even inevitable — designing resilience into our infrastructure systems, such as the transportation and electric power networks, is becoming more important.” For example, when a large-scale tornado hits, debris may be strewn across roads, power lines disabled and citizens injured. The related systems — transportation, power grid and emergency care — all rely on each other. Hospitals require electricity to serve an influx of patients, but roads free of debris to repair downed power lines also are required. Understanding how all such systems work together throughout a disruptive event helps decision-makers make better decisions regarding allocation and scheduling of resources. Barker’s project is part of the first round of funding for the National Science Foundation activity known as CRISP: Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes. These three-
“Analyzing data from a variety of sources is important,” Barker said. “We emphasize the role of the community in providing data about not only their experience, but what is happening in the underlying physical infrastructure to give us a better idea of the behavior of interdependent networks before, during and after a disruption.” Knowledge from the data will lead to innovations in critical infrastructure, strengthening community support functions and in delivering even a broader range of goods and services. Pramod Khargonekar, National Science Foundation assistant director for engineering, predicts the new understanding of infrastructure, combined with advances in modeling and smart technologies, will offer important, groundbreaking discoveries to improve resilience. “These research investments will help support national security, economy and people for decades to come,” Khargonekar said.
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RESEARCH Ruyle Works to Reshape Military Communications By Jana Smith Jessica Ruyle, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is improving communication abilities for soldiers in the field by literally reshaping how they transmit communications. With a nearly $500,000 grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Ruyle will design and develop a thin, flat antenna that can be placed conformably on anything from vehicles to uniforms – making the antennas both less conspicuous and more rugged for field use. “The design is similar to a sticker that is flexible and can conform to a variety of surfaces and shapes,” Ruyle explained. “What makes it radical is that it is a completely different antenna than what is currently being used in our nation’s defense.” Invented in the late 1800s, whip antennae have been a staple in military communications. Inexpensive production cost and easy installation has kept the metal antenna in military use for more than 80 years with few design updates. However, the antennae make identification of communications vehicles and soldiers obvious and are easily damaged in rough terrain; a simple bend of the antenna can significantly reduce performance. Ruyle’s new thin,
flat antenna design allows communications systems to operate uninterrupted in the field. While Ruyle’s technology is for military use, her design won’t be limited to military applications. Police forces, firefighting teams and commercial airplanes are some of the areas where the new design can improve efficiency. Police and firefighters can incorporate the antennas into their uniforms and vehicles to replace cumbersome, traditional whip antennae. Aircraft that hang large antennae can improve aerodynamics with the smooth, flat antenna sticker. “DARPA allows researchers like me to push the envelope with design and application,” Ruyle said. “I’m excited that my work also will help spur innovation for industrial and commercial uses.” As an educator as well as researcher, Ruyle looks forward to further educating the graduate students who will join her to develop the new antenna design. The grant funds a student team to assist Ruyle while they also use the project to support their thesis or dissertation.
OU Researcher Improves Cancer Detection With Image Analysis By Jana Smith Researchers at OU have developed an image-analysis technique that is designed to improve breast cancer detection and diagnosis. Bin Zheng, professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust Cancer Research Scholar, and his research team have developed image-processing algorithms to generate quantitative image markers by analyzing multiple digital X-ray images and building statistical data learning-based prediction models. The goal is to develop a new quantitative image analysis method that better predicts cancer risk or cancer prognosis, which ultimately leads to help establish more effective personalized cancer screening and treatment strategies. For example, to improve efficacy of breast cancer screening, a number of breast cancer risk factors, including age, breast density, family cancer history, lifestyle and test results on some common susceptible cancer gene mutations, are reviewed. Using these risk factors, several lifetime breast cancer risk assessment models have been developed and applied in epidemiology studies. “Our study is different. We do not intend to build another lifetime risk model to compete with the existing models. We focus on
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developing and testing a new risk model to predict whether a woman has high risk of developing breast cancer in a near-term after a negative screening mammography,” Zheng explained. If successful, the model will help establish a new optimal personalized cancer screening model. As a result, an adaptively adjusted screening frequency and method can be applied to each woman at different time periods. “The ultimate goal is to develop a personalized cancer screening,” Zheng explained. “Since cancer development is a progressive process, our new model focuses on detecting this dynamic process from the images and then improving the near-term breast cancer risk stratification among the women who participate in mammography-based breast cancer screening.” Zheng’s research is currently supported by research grants from the National Cancer Institute and the Stephenson Cancer Center at the OU Health Sciences Center. His research team actively collaborates with other clinical and bioengineering researchers from the OU Gallogly College of Engineering, OU Health Sciences Center, University of Pittsburgh and Mercy Women’s Center (see page 11) in Oklahoma City to develop and test new quantitative image analysis methods to improve efficacy of breast cancer screening using mammography and breast magnetic resonance imaging, prognosis prediction of early-stage lung cancer, and clinical benefit assessment of clinical trials for testing new chemotherapy drugs for treating ovarian cancer.
RESEARCH OU and Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City:
Developing New Screening Models for Improved Breast Cancer Detection By Jana Smith The University of Oklahoma and Mercy Hospital Oklahoma City are developing new short-term breast cancer risk prediction models that aim to help increase cancer detection of breast magnetic resonance imaging screening. With a $2.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute, OU and Mercy will develop and apply two new short-term breast cancer risk prediction approaches: a rule-in approach for identifying women who are excluded from current breast MRI screening guidelines but have a higher risk of developing or harboring mammography-occult (hidden) breast cancers, which can be detected by breast MRI; and a rule-out approach for women with an elevated lifetime cancer risk but no imminent risk.
by Hollingsworth at Mercy. Nearly 10,000 images will be studied over a five-year period, many of them requiring additional confirmation of normalcy, prompting review by breast radiologists at Mercy, Dr. Rebecca Stough and Dr. Melanie Pearce. The research team will develop and optimize new short-term models to predict the risk of a woman having mammography-occult early breast cancer after a negative mammography screening. OU researchers will use the rule-in method to identify women with high-risk mammography-occult cancer from the general mammography screening population. A prospective clinical study will be performed at the Mercy Breast Center that tracks a minimum of 4,000 negative screening mammography cases to validate performance of the new risk model by identifying women with mammography-occult breast cancer that can be found on MRI. Using the ruleout process, researchers aim to reduce the repeated negative MRI screenings among the currently identified women with elevated risk.
Collaborators are Bin Zheng and Hong Liu, professors in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Gallogly College of Engineering, and affiliates of the newly established Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering and the Stephenson Cancer Center on the OU Health The research team will compare the Sciences Center campus, and new image feature based risk models Dr. Alan Hollingsworth, medical with other existing breast cancer risk director of the Mercy Breast Muhammad Usman Ghani, a Ph.D. student under prediction models in assessing the Center. They will analyze image Hong Liu, explains their research to decrease radiation short-term breast cancer risk. The features related to bilateral in medical imaging. development of a new feature fusion asymmetry of mammographic model will improve risk prediction tissue density and/or MRI tissue enhancement signals of the left performance. Finally, OU researchers will analyze data from the and right breasts of the same woman, which is highly correlated entire case pool, including subgroups of cases based on different to the biological process of cancer development, to develop the classification criteria. rule-in and rule-out risk prediction models. “The synergy of our two programs is unique,” said Hollingsworth, a “The goal is to significantly increase cancer detection of breast nationally recognized expert in breast cancer risk assessment and MRI screenings by combining these two new risk assessment the epidemiology of screening with breast MRI. “Great discoveries approaches,” says Zheng. at the basic science level can languish without a clinical Although breast MRI is the most sensitive imaging modality counterpart to move the innovation into clinical trials. Professors in detecting breast cancer at an early stage when used for Zheng and Liu have developed an image-based approach that asymptomatic screening, it is currently approved only for a small could revolutionize breast cancer screening if this multi-pronged group of women with significantly higher risk of developing breast study is successful.” cancer in their lifetime as compared to the general population. “The leadership and support from the University of Oklahoma and Even in this high-risk population, the cancer detection yield of the Gallogly College of Engineering and their vision of building breast MRI screening is low, around 3 percent. a critical mass in medical imaging, the seamless collaboration OU researchers will assemble a large and diverse digital between OU’s Norman campus and the Stephenson Cancer mammogram and breast MRI image database with sequential Center on the OU Health Sciences Center campus was essential to screening examinations and verified diagnostic results provided our progress,” states Liu.
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Mind Over Matter A robotic "onesie" and a dedicated physical therapist are giving lessons in locomotion risk for cerebral palsy. By April Wilkerson Photos by Hugh Scott Reprinted with permission by Sooner Magazine
Although it may look like play, 7-month-old Olivia Rodriguez, daughter of Joey Rodriguez and Christina King-Rodriguez, is testing an elaborate wireless robotic system for an interdisciplinary team of OU physical therapists and engineers. The team can take what they learn from babies like Olivia, who are developing normally, and use it to help babies with cerebral palsy. One of the most delightful times of infants’ lives is when they begin deliberately kicking their legs and moving their arms – important movements that prepare them for crawling and walking. As babies become more mobile, it’s not only their motor skills that are developing, however. Such movements are closely linked to cognitive development – as infants move, their brains are sending signals and forming connections that will serve them their entire lives. Spatial cognition, depth perception and the basis for problem solving all start to form because children are able to move and experience the environment around them.
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RESEARCH develop cerebral palsy or severe developmental delays in 76 percent of the cases. Her discovery was significant because she was keenly aware of the precious window of time when babies’ brains develop in conjunction with their movements. Cerebral palsy is not clinically diagnosed by a physician until the baby is at least 12 months old, sometimes later. By that time, babies with cerebral palsy have already slipped far behind their typically developing peers and may not even begin crawling until 2 years of age, if at all.
Allied Health College researcher, Dr. Kolobe, right, chats with Olivia Rodriguez and mom Christina before the infant dons the robotic onesie and special headgear needed to capture movement and brain activity while using the SIPPC. Kolobe’s research in early movement and cognition has earned her a grant from the National Science Foundation. But for infants who are at risk of developing cerebral palsy or other developmental disabilities, movement doesn’t come naturally or easily; consequently, they miss out on the experiences that spur their development. A physical therapist and researcher in the College of Allied Health at OU Health Sciences Center, Thubi Kolobe, Ph.D., has a passion for helping those babies, and her team’s novel approach has made significant strides toward her goal. They have created a high-tech device called the Self-Initiated Prone Progression Crawler (SIPPC, pronounced “sip-see”) that helps babies at risk for cerebral palsy or severe developmental delays achieve the movements so crucial to their development. “The most active part of the brain’s development is formation of synaptic connections that occur between 2 months and 8 months,” Kolobe said. “Typically developing babies are kicking and moving, and eventually they crawl because their brains have made those connections. But infants at risk for cerebral palsy often develop what we call ‘learned non-use/disuse’ – if they can’t do something, they stop trying. There is a ‘pruning off ’ that occurs in the brain and some pathways simply don’t develop.” The foundation for Kolobe’s current work was laid years ago when she was a faculty member and researcher at the University of Illinois in Chicago. There, she and a team developed a movement assessment for premature infants who were in the neonatal intensive care unit. Called the Test of Infant Motor Performance, the TIMP evaluated infants’ functional movements, with the goal of predicting earlier who would likely develop cerebral palsy or severe developmental delays. Her team gained funding from the National Institutes of Health for a study that followed babies from the time they were still in the NICU until they were 5 years old. Her findings were significant: In 92 percent of the cases, TIMP allowed her team to correctly identify at 3 months of age premature babies who would develop typically. It also allowed them to pinpoint 3-month-old babies who would likely
“Babies are not like adult patients who have a stroke and are trying to regain the movement they lost,” Kolobe said. “If babies don’t have success in moving, they stop. They don’t understand – they’ve never moved before." By the time she arrived at the OU Health Sciences Center in 2003, Kolobe had brainstormed a device to help these infants. With a colleague at Virginia Commonwealth University, she developed the first SIPPC, a motorized skateboard-like device. Babies lie on their stomachs and use the device to help them move across the floor and explore their environment. The initial version of the SIPPC only responded to the baby’s efforts. Since that time, Kolobe and her team have greatly refined the SIPPC to the cutting-edge device it is today, and they have obtained national funding to continue studying its effectiveness. Today’s SIPPC is an elaborate wireless robotic system that has been developed through an interdisciplinary collaboration with faculty members on the OU Norman campus, including Ph.Ds Andrew Fagg, David Miller and Lei Ding, all faculty in the Biomedical Engineering Center in the Gallogly College of Engineering. Babies still lie prone on the SIPPC, but they do so wearing a “high-tech onesie,” a kinematic capture suit with 12 sensors that gather information 50 times a second. The suit allows researchers to see, in real time, what movements the babies are making with their arms and legs. A three-dimensional skeletal representation provides a picture of the movements the baby is trying to make, such as pulling her hands forward or kicking her legs. Cameras mounted on the SIPPC capture the picture of the baby and what each of her limbs is doing at a given time.
Dr. Andrew Fagg, associate professor of computer science and bioengineering, explains the robotic “onesie” featuring 12 sensors that gather information 50 times a second from infants as they move.
The information gathered by the suit and the baby’s motions is important because, through a complex algorithm written for the SIPPC, it is used to help the babies to move.
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RESEARCH “We can recognize, for example, when babies are trying to reach their hands out to pull themselves forward,” Fagg said. “But it doesn’t require the infants to actually have their hands in contact with the ground – as they make the gesture, the robot recognizes it and responds by moving the infant forward. The idea is to reward the baby with movement. When infants are surprised in that way, they’re driven to try to figure out if they had something to do with the surprising event. We call it ‘motor babbling,’ not unlike vocal babbling, and this process gives way to more intentional movement. They try things out to see what the effects are. Over time, they start to develop an internal model of what will happen if they move their bodies a certain way. We want them to ultimately learn motor skills that will be useful when they’re not using the robot.” The SIPPC, in combination with the kinematic capture suit, has allowed the research team to study whether learning can be accelerated for children who are at risk of cerebral palsy, a disorder that is not officially diagnosed until 12 months of age when it’s too late for the SIPPC to do much good. It is a question that researchers had not been able to ask until the technology developed by Kolobe’s team made it possible. “We want to see if we can stop learned non-use/disuse and introduce success,” Kolobe said. “We believe that the babies need to be successful very early so that they can repeat the successes until such time the brain has formed enough connections to allow them to drive the SIPPC on their own.” Recently, Kolobe’s team has added another element to the research – a net worn on the babies’ heads with dozens of sensors that capture the electrical activity of the brain as the babies move on
THE IDEA IS TO REWARD THE BABY WITH MOVEMENT. the SIPPC. Research had been showing the value of the SIPPC and the suit, but Kolobe wanted to take the project a step further to capture what was happening in the brain when children were learning to move. The head net uses EEG to view signals in the baby’s brain and allows the team to study changes in those signals over time. This element of Kolobe’s study is groundbreaking in terms of the data it will generate. “We’ve always talked about the brain – does it show connections when the babies are learning?” Kolobe said. “I wanted to introduce brain imaging but there wasn’t anything you could use for infants, except the MRI, but that is used when they are stationary. We wanted to be able to see the electrical transmissions of the brain in real time.” The research is ongoing, but Kolobe is gratified by its progress and the potential for the SIPPC to help babies at risk for cerebral palsy. Her ultimate goal is to mass produce the SIPPC so they are available for parents to rent or purchase for use at home. The computer program would be developed for a smartphone app that would guide the device at home. During visits to a physical therapist, progress would be evaluated and the program would be customized according to the baby’s needs – continuing to reward with movement but challenging the baby to do more and more as time goes by. The team’s current grant from the National Science Foundation allows the team to tailor the robotic system to the baby’s ability and to reduce the amount of assistance as the baby becomes more competent. Kolobe’s project is an exciting component of the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences in the College of Allied Health. Department Chair Martha Ferretti, PT, MPH, said the department has a history of studying early movement and cognition; Kolobe’s work is one of several projects that speak to an exciting future for physical therapists and occupational therapists in that realm. Kolobe also has championed interdisciplinary collaboration, a growing movement in academic health profession settings.
Renee Thomas holds her son, Ryan, as Ran Xiao, a doctoral engineering student, checks Ryan’s EEG head gear in preparation for a turn on the SIPPC. Chuang Li, graduate research assistant, provides distraction with every modern infant’s favorite toy — a cell phone.
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“She’s a great role model for involving people from several disciplines, such as engineers and computer scientists,” Ferretti said. “Everyone speaks a different language and has a different understanding of the human system, but everyone has the same vision. None of us can do this alone, nor should we when working with humans because there are so many aspects of life that are important, and we all bring our unique perspectives to the work.”
RESEARCH OU Collaborating in NSF South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub By Jana Smith matters in five areas: health care, coastal hazards, industrial big data, materials and manufacturing, and habitat planning. The southern coasts are highly populated and impacted by climate change and by environmental conditions associated with severe storms, such as hurricanes. The study of coastal hazards involves the potential integration of large amounts of regional data and access to computational resources for modeling resilience to storms, storm surge, impacts from sea level rise and human responses to hazardous events. OU participates in developing the ADvanced CIRCulation coastal simulation software package, a key application for coastal hazard forecasting — an unstructured mesh shallow water, communitybased model. Included in these efforts are Randy Kolar, director and professor and Kendra Dresback, research assistant professor in the OU School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science. It was used after Hurricane Katrina by the Federal Emergency Management Agency for new flood maps for U.S. coastal areas. That led the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to use the application in flood studies for nuclear power plant operation following Japan’s Fukushima disaster. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Homeland Security, Corps of Engineers and others use the application for prediction of storm surge and flooding, and the state of Louisiana uses it for coastal restoration. OU’s Advance CIRCulation team leads a Parallel Computing Center focused on making the application able to process more data faster, to allow longer lead times and more accurate forecasts, both of which are crucial to saving lives and property. The University of Oklahoma will play an active role in the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub — a new National Science Foundation initiative to build innovative public-private partnerships that address regional challenges with big data analysis. The South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub, led by the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of North Carolina’s Renaissance Computing Institute, serves Oklahoma and 15 other states as well as the District of Columbia. “The collection and analysis of data, ranging from atmospheric observations to patterns in online shopping, are critically important to our everyday lives. OU’s participation in the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub will lead to new approaches for integrating data from disparate sources and synthesizing it for effective decision-making,” said Kelvin Droegemeier, vice president for Research on the OU Norman campus.
A national leader in weather prediction and weather radar research, OU has complementary capabilities in coastal hazards calculations and big data analysis. OU’s weather groups have archived over 750 TB of forecast and observational data — the capacity of 30,000 Blu-Ray discs, and these data sets continue to grow. OU’s Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms has led a spring real-time storm forecast experiment for many years as part of an ongoing collaboration with both NOAA and other academic researchers. The impact of tornadoes, high winds, snow, flash floods and other severe weather can be mitigated by timely, accurate prediction. Advanced weather radar, such as Atmospheric Imaging Radar developed at OU’s Radar Innovation Laboratory provides volumetric radar data sets in seconds, in support of improved prediction, to protect Americans from some of nature’s most dangerous severe weather events.
OU’s efforts in the South Big Data Regional Innovation Hub will be directed by OU professors of computer science, Le Gruenwald and Henry Neeman (assistant vice president for Information Technology and research strategy adviser), and many collaborators from the southern states face large-scale challenges that require collaboration and big data analysis. Among those challenges are scientific and social
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RESEARCH OU Research Team Developing More Advanced Imaging Radar for Rapid Updates and Improved Severe Weather Warnings By Jana Smith A team of engineers and meteorologists from the Advanced Radar Research Center located in the Radar Innovations Laboratory on the University of Oklahoma Research Campus will develop a faster, more advanced imaging radar with a five-year, $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation. The C-band, mobile, polarimetric, imaging radar will provide simultaneous snapshots of a storm with unprecedented resolution and flexibility. The faster, more advanced imaging radar will lead to a better understanding of storms and provide improved severe weather warnings. The Advanced Radar Research Center team, led by Tian-You Yu, includes Jorge L. Salazar and Caleb Fulton, professors in the Gallogly College of Engineering at OU, and Robert D. Palmer and Howard Bluestein, professors in the OU College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences, will collaborate on the new imaging radar. The team will build on lessons learned from the current Atmospheric Imaging Radar by adding polarimetric capabilities, real-time beamforming, electronic sensing, digital control and real-time displays. The new mobile radar will provide updates of polarimetric measurements every few seconds on tornadoes, lightning and hurricanes, leading to new understanding of these phenomena on incredible time and spatial scales.
The system represents the most advanced form of polarimetric phased array radar, which has yet to be applied to the field of radar meteorology. With the unique capabilities of this radar, the Polarimetric Advanced Imaging Radar will be a unique platform for enabling new research in rapidly evolving weather phenomena, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning and radar aeroecology, and for advancing new engineering technologies in polarimetric phased array waveform design and beamforming algorithms. The radar will provide an opportunity for scientists to push current limitations in numerical weather prediction and data assimilation. OU has developed an interdisciplinary educational program in weather radar, which brings together engineering and meteorology students to learn the important aspects of weather radar, from fundamental theory to advanced applications. More information about the Advanced Radar Research Center is available at http://arrc.ou.edu.
OU Researcher Better Identifies Autism, Treatments By Becky Cavnar Research conducted by a University of Oklahoma scientist may help improve the diagnosis of autism by pinpointing brain markers that better identify and categorize disorders on the autism spectrum. Lei Ding, OU associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, in collaboration with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, is using electroencephalogram to compare the brains of children diagnosed with autism to the brains of children who have not been diagnosed with the disorder to identify characteristics, or markers, of autism. For more than a decade, Ding has researched autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia and balance disorders thought to be related to the abnormal alterations of the brain’s networks. When President Barack Obama created the BRAIN Initiative in 2013, Ding and other neuroscientists were able to accelerate their research by combining their work to better map the brain’s complex connections and identify causes of various brain disorders. Similar to the Human Genome Project that helped sequence human genes, the BRAIN Initiative supports academic institutions, technology companies and scientists to work together to uncover the mysteries of the brain and find new ways to treat, prevent and cure brain disorders and traumatic brain injuries.
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His research has discovered pilot data that suggests brains affected by autism have less long-range connections, leading to an insufficient network of information and reduced functionality. “In the absence of the long-range connections, the brain makes short-range connections to act as a compensation mechanism,” Ding explained. “However, the shorter connections cause disruptions in the functional workings of the brain and may explain autism’s atypical social characteristics, including deficits in receptive and expressive language and mental flexibility.” “We are continually pushing the boundaries of what we know about how the brain responds to different treatments and stimulation,” Ding said. “Identifying the brain markers in disorders like autism and providing more effective treatment is just the start of cracking the code to better overall brain health.” Ding wants to bring understanding and answers to autism and give parents, patients and society hope. “One day we will look at brain disorders as something that can be easily managed, sufficiently treated and maybe even reversible,” Ding said.
RESEARCH
Engineering Research FY 2015 BY THE NUMBERS
$29.5M
125
New Research Awards
Grants and Contracts Awarded
200
121
Articles, Books and Book Chapters
Conference Papers
RESEARCH FUNDING SOURCES Industry: 14% Federal Government: 55% State Government: 31%
OU Engineering Professors to Play Key Role in NIST Community Resilience Center By Jana Smith OU Gallogly College of Engineering professors will participate as part of a multidisciplinary team from 10 universities on a $20 million cooperative agreement awarded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology to Colorado State University to establish the Community Resilience Center of Excellence in Fort Collins, Colorado. OU researchers will play key roles in the development of the center’s research program.
Center researchers will collaborate closely with National Institute of Standards and Technology researchers to achieve longterm goals of developing science-based tools and guidelines that individual communities can use to assess their resilience. These goals include evaluating the effectiveness of alternative measures intended to improve performance, minimizing post-disaster disruption and recovery time, and targeting public and private investments in resilience enhancement.
Naiyu Wang, assistant professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences, will be responsible for developing resilience metrics for buildings, building inventories and highway systems, examining the impact of climate change on natural hazard modeling, analysis and propagation of uncertainties in the analysis underlying the risk-informed decision framework and optimization of investments for risk mitigation, and community recovery for building inventories and transportation infrastructure networks.
Central to this effort will be NIST-CORE, the NIST Community Resilience Modeling Environment. NIST-CORE will provide the measurement technology for addition to its physics-based models of civil infrastructure systems; it will integrate models of social and economic systems vital to the functioning and recovery of communities — health care delivery, education, social services, financial institutions and others — and allow the synergies between essential systems to be examined rationally and quantitatively.
Charles Nicholson, assistant professor in the OU School of Industrial and Systems Engineering will conduct research related to network analysis, modeling interdependencies between infrastructure systems, and development of novel and efficient processes that support the decision framework by permitting efficient and intelligent searches for solutions in complex decision spaces involving hundreds or thousands of decision variables. Amy Cerato, associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will focus on geosystem integrity of transportation and utility systems and will conduct research related to development of underground pipeline behavior, foundation modeling and foundation system fragility analysis.
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Three Engineering Alumni Honored With Regents' Alumni Awards
Devin Pauley (back row, third from left); Michael Turner (front row, far right) and John Waller (back row, center), receive university recognition as Regents' Alumni Award recipients.
Presented by the OU Board of Regents and OU Alumni Association, the Regents’ Alumni Award honors the important roles of OU alumni and supporters to the life of the university. Devin Pauley OU’s advocate in Silicon Valley, mentor In his nomination letter, Devin Pauley of Mountain View, California, who earned a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering in 2004 from OU, was called "OU’s advocate in Silicon Valley." As a current Apple employee and former senior product design engineer for Amazon, Pauley regularly meets with engineering students and faculty on campus to share his stories on designing cell phones, e-readers and ecosystem products, and to offer advice and encouragement on career advancement. Pauley holds three patents and is a two-time recipient of the BRAVO! Award from Motorola, where he worked from 2004 to 2008 as a product design mechanical engineer. He also is the engineering program manager behind the development and launch of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus silicone cases. Since 2009, Pauley has served on the OU Gallogly College of Engineering Dean’s Advisory Board on Diversity, the purpose of which is to promote the vision, goals and objectives of diversity
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and inclusion in the college and to increase the number of underrepresented engineering graduates. While pursuing his studies at OU, Pauley was involved in several leadership roles with the Sooner Racing Team, a Formula SAE international student-engineering competition in which students develop and exercise their engineering, business and organizational skills by designing, manufacturing and racing a small formula-style car. His roles on the team ranged from managing its engine systems, driveline integration and brake system leader to president. Under his leadership, the team won multiple awards, including in his final year a first-place finish in the Continental Teves Brake Systems category. Continuing his involvement with the Sooner Racing Team, he often returns to campus to visit and share advice with current members. Also while at OU, Pauley was active in Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, the National Society of Black Engineers and the Society of Automotive Engineers. Michael S. Turner Consulting petroleum engineer, tireless student advocate After graduating from OU in 1961 with a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering, Michael S. Turner of Dallas has become a tireless supporter of OU. Often working behind
ALUMNI the scenes to ensure all students have access to a full range of offerings at the university, Turner is involved in a number of college- and university-wide initiatives and endeavors, including those targeting executive education students on the Norman and Health Sciences Center campuses.
Sooner Engineers Around the Globe
Through his position as a consulting petroleum engineer with Michael S. Turner LLC, he supports engineering and nursing students who are pursuing careers in entrepreneurship. This includes programs through the Entrepreneur Center that allow students to travel and meet CEOs, founders and Fortune 100 executives. When the Michael F. Price College of Business established its Energy Executive Education Program, Turner not only offered his expertise and counsel. To obtain a better, firsthand overview of the topics covered, he enrolled in the new courses. He also was instrumental in the development of the Gallogly College of Engineering’s Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, the plans for which were announced this spring. Turner is a member of the J.H. Felgar Society in the Gallogly College of Engineering and the Adams Society in the Price College of Business. He also is a member of the Seed Sower Society, which recognizes donors contributing in excess of $1 million to OU. John H. Waller Engineer, generous advocate for the arts
Kyle Hendon (ME '15 ) with his dad, Denn is Hendon (PE '86). Kyle is a fourth-gene ration Sooner grad and his dad is a thi generation Sooner rd grad. They celebrat ed Kyle’s graduation hiking for a month in the remote areas of Alaska!!
An engineer by profession, John H. Waller’s passion for the arts has played an instrumental role in enhancing fine arts programs at OU. A generous advocate for the Weitzenhoffer Family College of Fine Arts, Waller has supported the renovation of historic Holmberg Hall and the establishment of the Ballets Russes Archives in the School of Dance. Additionally, he and his wife, Lou, are founding members of Dance Partners, the School of Dance donor support group. Waller has served as member of the Pride Alumni Board and is a current member of the Musical Theatre/Opera Guild Board. He chaired the highly successful Pride of Oklahoma’s Centennial Reunion, where Pride alumni joined active members during a special reunion halftime show. He has served on the college’s Board of Visitors for more than 10 years, including one term as president. After earning a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from OU in 1961 and an MBA in 1971, Waller became owner of Toefco Engineering in Michigan. After spending most of his adult life in the upper Midwest, he returned to Norman in 1996. Outside of fine arts, Waller has lent his support to athletics and the Gallogly College of Engineering. A member of the Gallogly College of Engineering’s J.H. Felgar Society, he sponsored the establishment and, later, refurbishing of a student computer lounge. For 25 years, he has been active on the OKChE board — an organization chartered at OU in 1967 to advise the faculty of the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and the Gallogly College of Engineering dean to improve the academic quality and stature of the school. Waller also is a President’s Associate. He is a frequent visitor to campus, advising students about life at OU and after graduation; coaching students on job interview techniques; and speaking to student groups on topics ranging from teamwork to techniques for writing reports. Outside OU, Waller is involved in numerous community and civic organizations. He is a multi-term Norman Communities Foundation board member, past chairman of Food and Shelter for Friends, immediate past president of the Norman Reviewers Club, and a member of the Rotary Club of Norman.
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Do you bleed Crimson and Cream and travel the world? Send us your photos for inclusion in OU Engineer and GCoE social media! engineering@ou.edu!
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ALUMNI James Hawkes Inducted into the Distinguished Graduates Society In 1959, just two years after watching Sputnik I orbit the Earth, James “Red” Hawkes came to the University of Oklahoma from Decatur, Georgia, on a U.S. Navy ROTC scholarship. In 1964 he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. While at OU, Hawkes was involved in many Gallogly College of Engineering clubs and activities. He was a member of the Loyal Knights of Old Trusty and was named St. Pat his senior year. He has many fond memories of his campus activities, including attending OU football games and being a member of Delta Upsilon fraternity. Hawkes' career is as notable as it is diverse. He originally dreamed of becoming a naval aviator, but deteriorated vision derailed those dreams. Instead, he chose to fly under the sea. After graduation, he spent four years in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Service, serving aboard the USS Robert E. Lee, a nuclear-powered Polaris missile submarine based in Scotland. He left military life in 1968 and joined United Nuclear Corp. as a senior engineer. Then in 1970, Hawkes earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and joined mutual fund management firm Eaton Vance as an equity research analyst and vice president, where he would stay for the remainder of his 37-year career. From 1996 until his retirement in 2007, he was chairman and chief executive officer of Eaton Vance. During his leadership as CEO, the assets under Eaton Vance’s management grew from $17 billion to nearly $160 billion. He started several new business lines and began the company’s charitable giving initiatives. Hawkes currently serves as chairman emeritus of the company. Hawkes earned a Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is an active member of the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts and the Boston Security Analysts Society. He is a trustee of the USS Constitution Museum, Peabody Essex Museum, and Winterthur Museum. Notable among his many awards are Fund Action’s Marketer of the Year in 2003 and Fund Action’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2008. Hawkes and his wife, Mary Lou, live in Jupiter, Florida, and are fortunate to be close to their daughter and her family, including one grandson. Hawkes is an avid pilot who collects and flies antique aircraft. While a student at OU, he took his first flying lesson and soloed in 1963 at Westheimer Airport in Norman.
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(Left, Top) James "Red" Hawkes was named St. Pat when he was a student in 1963. (Bottom) Hawkes and his wife Mary Lou visited Felgar Hall, a place he spent many hours during his days as an aerospace engineering student.
An engineering education teaches one to think objectively and analytically and to make decisions that can have very meaningful consequences. - James "Red" Hawkes
In 1990, the Gallogly College of Engineering established the Distinguished Graduates Society to honor our most accomplished alumni. Selection is based upon prominent and distinguished professional or technical achievement, notable public service, outstanding contribution to and support of education, honors of election in organizations and other contributions to the engineering profession.
ALUMNI
Hawkes learns about the efforts of the college's many competition teams with Dean and AT&T Chair Tom Landers, Hawkes and Jon R. Stuart, a chairman members of Sooner Off-Road in the ExxonMobil Lawrence G. Rawl Engineering in the OU Board of Regents, prepare for Hawkes' official induction into the DGS members are inducted during the spring College of Engineering Convocation ceremony. Practice Facility. Distinguished Graduates Society.
COLLEGE NEWS Oklahoma Transportation Library
Oklahoma Transportation Library and Southern Plains Transportation Center Host Open House The Oklahoma Transportation Library, together with the Southern Plains Transportation Center, hosted an open house at their OU Norman research campus location in Five Partners Place on June 30. The open house showcased the relocation of the Oklahoma Transportation Library and included training on the usage of the OTL's online catalog. Basel H Kilani (top), software engineer, demonstrates the Intelligent Transportation System Console; Musharraf Zaman (bottom left), SPTC center director speaks with a graduate student and ODOT employee; and Nathan Wakefield (bottom right), software developer, working on oktraffic.org website.
SPTC researchers, students and administrators were present to discuss on-going transportation related projects including a demonstration by the Intelligent Transportation Systems Lab. More than 125 attended the come-and-go event.
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COLLEGE NEWS
Sam Wilson Lecture Series Features Dr. Kent Leach From UC Davis Leach's research is directed toward incorporating cues from the natural extracellular matrix into the design of cell culture platforms and musculoskeletal tissue engineered constructs. By applying fundamental principles in cell and molecular biology, biomaterials, and biotransport phenomena, his team is developing engineered materials-based strategies to enhance the local oxygen microenvironment and direct the behavior of transplanted or host cells within bone defects.
From left: GCoE Dean Tom Landers, Sam and Sonia Wilson with Kent Leach, the 2015 Sam Wilson Lecturer.
Kent Leach, associate professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department at the University of California, Davis, delivered the Sam Wilson Lecture on April 22 to an audience of engineering students, faculty, alumni and advisory board members. His lecture, "Can Someone Turn on the Heir? Engineering Principles for Bone Healing and Mentoring Young Scientists," focused on the advances in early detection of disease and increases in lifespan that motivate the need to engineer new systems to repair or replace damaged organs and tissues.
Leach received his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 2003. He went on to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship studying tissue engineering from Harvard University and the University of Michigan. Leach's research areas include formation and repair of human tissues and the development of pharmacologic formulations that can assist in the treatment of heart attack and stroke. This lecture series is sponsored by Sam Wilson, former president of Wilson Oxygen and Supply Co., and a 1953 chemical engineering honors graduate.
SWE-EK 2015 March 30 - April 3 This week of events, dedicated to celebrating women engineers on campus, is made possible by the generosity of our corporate sponsors.
Award recipients include: Outstanding Staff Members: Lisa Morales, Tiffany Smith
Outstanding Faculty Member: Maj. Gen. Jerry Holmes
Outstanding Senior: Brooke Sewell, Chemical Engineering Major
LADY IKE A ACT L
15 0 2 K E SWESS. E A BO K I L K WOR
Outstanding Underclassman: Celeste Clary, Mechanical Engineering Major Outstanding Professional in Industry Leslie Crissup, project engineer, Enable Midstream; president, Society of Women Engineers, Oklahoma City chapter
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COLLEGE NEWS OU Telecommunications Engineering Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary
E-Week Sponsored by Engineers’ Club in celebration of National Engineers Week Feb. 22-28, 2015 Each February, engineering students in the Gallogly College of Engineering and the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy, in conjunction with National Engineers Week, celebrate their rich history with a week of special events. The engineering campus celebrates its Irish connection and turns green, as evidenced by the display of shamrocks, shillelaghs and leprechauns. The tradition is based on the Irish legend of St. Patrick O’Reilly, known for his engineering prowess and credited with removing all snakes from Ireland.
Kashish Jaiswal, TCOM alumnus, with Reneee Wagenblatt, staff assistant to TCOM director, and Bhadyashri Darunkar, a doctoral TCOM student.
The OU Telecommunications Engineering Program in Tulsa marked its 15th anniversary March 6-7, 2015, at the OU-Tulsa Schusterman Center. Randall Stephenson, CEO and Chairman of AT&T and an OU alumnus, delivered the keynote address. More than 100 alumni, students and guests attended the event showcasing the research of current OU engineering students. 150 students have graduated from OU’s Tulsa Engineering graduate program since its inception. About TCOM There is a worldwide need for leaders who can apply advancements in computer and networking technology to the business of telecommunications. The TCOM program is structured to cover the core aspects of telecommunication from wireless communications, optical systems and networks to network design and management. Advanced course work in computer and communication security includes recent technological advances in the field of quantum cryptography. In addition to the course work, there are four fully equipped labs available for students to apply what they have learned in the classroom. Learn more at tcom.ou.edu.
2015-2016 ENGINEERING ROYALTY Engineering Queen – Hunter Conover, Chemical Engineering senior Engineering King – Jared Dopp, Chemical Engineering senior BRANDON H. GRIFFITH AWARD, OUTSTANDING FACULTY MEMBER – IN THE CLASSROOM Matthias Nollert, School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering CHERRY GRIFFITH AWARD, OUTSTANDING STAFF MEMBER Kim Wolfinbarger, Jerry Holmes Engineering Leadership Program KNIGHT OF ST. PAT AWARD, OUTSTANDING SENIOR Haley Head, School of Industrial and Systems Engineering JOHN E. FAGAN AWARD Chad Davis, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering The John E. Fagan Award was established in 2014 in honor of retiree John Fagan from the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Leprechaun graphic: There has been a long-standing rivalry between the Gallogly College of Engineering and the College of Law. This image celebrates that tradition, which has become friendlier in recent decades. CANNED FOOD DRIVE School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
From top left: Doctoral TCOM students Mohamad Omar Al Kalaa, Mayssaa El Rifai and Asaad Kaadan; Randall and Mrs. Stephenson visit with Dean Tom Landers and TCOM Director Pramode Verma; Randall Stephenson and Dean Tom Landers conduct a conversation about technology; and a gathering of current and former TCOM students.
J.R. Cruz (right), director of ECE, proudly displays the first place "Canned Food Drive" trophy.
FALL 2015 23
COLLEGE NEWS OU School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Recognized Nationally for Diversity and Inclusion By Becky Cavnar
Cengiz Altan
Zahed Siddique
The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering in the Gallogly College of Engineering at the University of Oklahoma recently was selected as one of only five universities in the nation to participate in a special Transforming Engineering Culture to Advance Inclusion and Diversity program, also known as TECAID. The diversity program selected the school to help support and continue its ongoing efforts to attract and retain women and underrepresented minority students and faculty. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the program seeks to close the gender and minority gap within mechanical engineering by helping universities create projects and curriculum to recruit and educate students, faculty and staff on diversity and inclusion. “Complex mechanical problems require creative solutions,” said Cengiz Altan, director of the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at OU, professor and TECAID team leader. “Finding those solutions means gathering a variety of diverse perspectives and expertise.”
Rebecca Norris
Altan said looking for those students needs to start early, even before the students enter college.
“We have programs at OU to reach underrepresented groups in high schools and help them prepare for engineering,” he said. Professor Zahed Siddique, associate director of the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering and TECAID team member, also is working to bridge that gap. He collaborates with other faculty members, campus organizations and businesses to incorporate more focused education and training into the school’s curriculum as well as in that of secondary school programs. “Making large, impactful changes does not happen overnight, and our team cannot do it alone,” Siddique said. “We are fortunate to have relationships with corporations and thriving organizations such as OU’s Multicultural Engineering Program so we can share ideas, learn from their successful efforts and share that with young potential engineers.”
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Students are not the only beneficiaries to the program, which will also impact faculty and staff. Rebecca Norris, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering office administrator and member of the TECAID group, said she looks forward to the additional education and awareness for staff, since many people don’t even recognize they are participating in and perpetuating prejudices. “Because aerospace and mechanical engineering faculty and staff don’t typically see overt racism or sexism, problems may not be readily apparent,” Norris said. “But there are many instances where we negatively point out differences in people and aren’t even aware we’re doing it.” Norris explains that the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering’s vision of a fully inclusive program includes students, faculty and staff from all backgrounds feeling comfortable and fully engaged in the educational process and having equal opportunities to be successful. “One of our goals is to improve recruitment and increase retention of the best and brightest minds regardless of gender, ethnic background or sexual orientation,” Norris said. “We hope that participating in TECAID will give us the tools to do that.” The School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering team completed its first workshop in Phoenix, Arizona, earlier this year. The five-person TECAID team will attend two more workshops and participate in monthly virtual meetings with the program’s administration and other participating universities. Altan said he anticipates the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering’s focus on diversity and inclusion will continue when the 18-month program is complete, and he looks forward to implementing diversity projects as models for other departments at OU. “Participating in TECAID and learning from other universities recognized for their own diversity and inclusion programs will expand our recruiting and teaching opportunities,” Altan said. “And when we can effectively reach and equip more talented, capable students, we respond to engineering challenges in ways that are more thoughtful, creative and ultimately, successful.”
Name:
SOONERS SC
ON
H OLA RS H
COLLEGE NEWS
Scholarship:
IPS
GA G LLO ERIN GLY C OLLEGE OF ENGINE
DONORS Honor
Engineering Advocates
These special donors are honoring someone, often a parent or a child, who attended or taught at GCoE and who has passed away.
GCoE Alumni They got help while they were students. They believe in you, and they’re back to return the favor.
Supporters of OU
They understand that engineers basically run the world. And they know the world needs running.
Industry
Legacy
They need to hire awesome engineers. Someday you will be one.
These donors are continuing to fund a scholarship set up years or even many decades ago by a parent, grandparent, family member or friend.
New Scholarship Stewardship Initiative Benefits Students and Donors They love OU. You go to OU. Enough said. These donors are easily identified by the OU flags in their car windows, their license plates and ring tones.
SCHOLARSHIPS
122 $1500 donors
average award
965 $1,300,000
scholarships
in scholarships this year
These numbers only include GCoE undergraduate scholarships and scholarship donors. Each of the schools and programs within the GCoE give out their own scholarships, too! Other donors sponsor our graduate students. That’s a lot of support for our incredible students!
The Gallogly College of Engineering and our donors place a high priority on the importance of scholarship offerings to our many qualified students. With 965 scholarships at the college RECIPIENTS level alone, the administration of connecting these dollars to the students has taken the lion's Some scholarships based on need. Others are basedor onstudent-to-donor merit. Even others on share of administrative effort,are often leaving the stewardship connection participation in certain programs, for instance the Diversity and Inclusion Program. underserved. Tricia Tramel, development officer and organizer for the new SOS program, reviews letter with a student thanking a scholarship donor.
Recipients come from everywhere within the GCoE! We have awards for current
Not this year.students Tricia Tramel, member of thefreshmen OU GCoE team, of every25-year classification, incoming anddevelopment transfer students! recommended a revision of the scholarship process that would connect students to their donor, and in some cases where the donor is deceased, to their families. YOU
"I was so eager for our students to know more about why their scholarship had been established — to know more than just the name on their check, but to better understand who their donor is and why they gave in the first place," said Tramel. When you say thank you to your scholarship donors, you remind them why
to Gallogly College of Engineering scholarships in the first The revised program tookthey on donated a new name — "Sooners on Scholarship" or "SOS." Four days in September were identified and GCoE place and why they should continue to give! staff volunteers were solicited. Research was conducted. One-pager summaries about the donor including biographical information were provided to the student. A process to capture photos, assist students with editing their personalized letters and printing and personalizing of letters, and writing birthday and holiday postcards was set in motion. Folders were made for each student that provided infographics to help the students understand the significance of the help they were receiving and to show the donor's motivation in a lifecycle that began with their affinity to engineering at OU and led to a gift in honor or in memory Name: of an alumnae/alumnus or family member.
OONERS S "It took hundreds of man hours, but it was worth every one," Tramel said. ON
Scholarship:
C HJohn Corinne Maag, assistant to associateSdean served IP S as Tramel's partner in the execution of the program. "SOS would not have OLAntonio, H S A R GA G L L been successful without the many volunteers across our GCoE schools and programs," Tramel affirmed. It just goes to show you how OGLY RIN COLLEGE OF ENGINEE much we all love serving our students and donors." DONORS Honor
Engineering Advocates
These special donors are honoring someone, often a parent or a child, who attended or taught at GCoE and who has passed away.
GCoE Alumni They got help while they were students. They believe in you, and they’re back to return the favor.
Supporters of OU They love OU. You go to OU. Enough said. These donors are easily identified by the OU flags in their car windows, their license plates and ring tones.
SCHOLARSHIPS
They understand that engineers basically run the world. And they know the world needs running.
Industry
Legacy
They need to hire awesome engineers. Someday you will be one.
These donors are continuing to fund a scholarship set up years or even many decades ago by a parent, grandparent, family member or friend.
FALL 2015 25
COLLEGE NEWS Leaning on Each Other Brings Italy to Norman Faculty, staff and students build Tower of Pisa replica as part of university anniversary By Becky Cavnar The Tower of Pisa didn’t appear in just a day. In fact, it took more than 800 years from the start of construction to its finished state. But with a capable team of faculty, staff and students from the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering, a model one-tenth of the original size was conceived, constructed and erected in only a year. And now it stands – or leans – in Bizzell Memorial Library as one of the showpieces of the Galileo’s World exhibition celebrating the university’s 125th anniversary.
Pisa. With a Pantone color wheel in hand, we studied the marble colors and photographed the design motifs while the others explored the tower, the degree of lean and the entire complex.
The team brought together multiple engineering disciplines to incorporate the landmark’s famous lean, its iconic architecture and paint colors, and an Archimedean screw to illustrate Galileo’s legendary experiments conducted from the original tower in Italy. Their work illustrates the complex and intricate nature of engineering while celebrating the university’s history of creativity and collaboration. For a glimpse into how the team recreated the iconic structure, several project leaders described their roles and collaborative efforts.
Robert Huck – Director of Applied Research and Unmanned Systems; Designed the tower’s façade material
OU Engineer: The model of the tower is not an exact replica but rather a studied adaptation of the original. What research did you conduct to make the replica appear as close to the original as possible?
We researched which material would work best Theresa Marks, GCoE assistant dean for Academic Student Services, to construct the tower. It congratulates Kerry Magruder, curator needed to be lightweight, of the History of Science Collections, on rigid and machinable. completion of the project. Using knowledge of digital machining and additive manufacturing, we chose Expanded Polystyrene or Styrofoam.
Theresa Marks – Assistant Dean for Academic Student Services; Tower of Pisa project point of contact and façade artist
OU Engineer: The replica is much more than a visual display. Describe the interactive nature of the exhibit.
We wanted to be certain that our model was instantly recognizable as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and that it exuded the true essence of Pisan Gothic design. Photographs were helpful during the planning phases, but visiting the tower in person was essential to bringing our replica to life. During a study abroad program in Italy, I traveled with 18 engineering majors to analyze the Tower of
John Dyer – Research Assistant Professor and electrical engineer; Designed the automated ball drop experiment One of the famous experiments attributed to Galileo involved dropping two balls of different masses from the Leaning Tower of Pisa to demonstrate that their time of descent was independent of their mass. Although the experiment is considered a legend, we wanted to replicate this experiment to demonstrate its importance in history and to engineering. So we investigated different ways to automatically raise and drop the balls, measuring their fall time. Although not the simplest mechanism to build, we chose an Archimedean screw lift for raising the balls to the top of the tower. Chris Ramseyer – Director of the Fears Structural Engineering Laboratory; Designed and built the tower’s steel frame, foundation, railing, monitor supports, marble tile floor, ball delivery and recovery system and Archimedean screw
KOKH Fox 25 news reporter Mitch English interviews a civil engineering student, Amanda Martinez, who assisted with the painting and installation of the Pisa tower.
26 OU ENGINEER
I remember thinking that the Archimedean screw was genius. But building one that was nearly 16 feet tall and vertical while lifting both balls at the same time? I thought you were crazy!
COLLEGE NEWS Dyer: I don’t think I’ll live that one down for a while. Using the ancient screw design was the necessary first step in replicating Galileo’s research but added a modern, technological twist (no pun intended) to the experiment. We programmed the electronics that engages the drop mechanism, detects the landing of each ball with accelerometers, measures the fall time and then engages the Archimedean screw to raise the balls back to the drop position and start the experiment all over again. OU Engineer: How can visitors participate in the experiment? Dyer: Visitors can push a large red button to start the experiment. A computer monitor displays the balls’ fall times, provides information about the experiment and displays the Archimedean screw via an internal camera during the lifting process. Marks: Besides the ball drop experiment, visitors are presented with a collective artistic and scientific expression of a structure that has been elegantly defying gravity for hundreds of years. The genius of the team to incorporate the equivalent of an Archimedean screw further illuminates Galileo, who was a fervent scholar of Archimedes’ mathematics, geometrical theorems, physics and astronomy. OU Engineer: Students were an integral part of the team that helped make the tower project a reality. Describe their contributions.
Marks: Two students who had travelled to Italy during one of the college’s study abroad programs – Amanda A. Martinez, Civil Engineering, and Dane A. Schoelen, Mechanical Engineering – contributed many hours of work as well as their enthusiasm and passion. They sanded parts of the tower, monitored the router and assembled pieces together. And they painted. They did lots and lots of painting! Dyer: Dr. Ramseyer and I had to put our heads together to figure out the drop mechanism for the ball experiments. Our students were a big help there. Graduate student Dominic Nzerem helped us design the ball detection electronics for measuring fall time. Incoming freshman engineering student Alex McMillen helped me wire the internal power to meet safety standards. My doctoral graduate student, Jacob Henderson, was also very involved in fine tuning and working out the system’s bugs. Marks: The tireless efforts of all of these students were invaluable. They were the dream team that would help transport the spirit of the structure from Pisa, Italy, to Norman, Oklahoma. OU Engineer: Bringing the Tower of Pisa to the OU campus is a major accomplishment for the Gallogly College of Engineering and an incredible contribution to the Galileo World exhibition. What part of the project are you most proud of?
Ramseyer: Graduate student Sam Sherry designed the internal frame that provides the Dyer: I am most proud of the effort our structural stability for the tower. Erik Reyes, Jacob team of faculty, staff, students and families Roswurm, Steve Roswurm, Raina Coleman and put into the project. It was given to us with Uriah Nichols, who work with me in the Fears a VERY aggressive timeline, and completing Structural Engineering Laboratory, cut steel for GCoE Dean Tom Landers and University Libraries Dean Richard Luce, form the letters it by the time the entire exhibition opened the tower structure. They also assembled the was a significant challenge. OU in front of the Pisa Tower. core of the leaning tower, which is made from a disposable concrete form, to serve as the inner Ramseyer: I would say the collaboration wall of the tower on which the Styrofoam pieces are attached. between students and faculty and staff was most amazing to me. Then another group of students from Fears Lab – Jonathan Drury, We visualized, designed and worked together on a project that Cameron Murray, Sam Sherry, Erik Reyes, Jacob Roswurm, Steve wasn’t required for a grade or a course. It’s that kind of dedication Roswurm, Raina Coleman, Mason Moore, Stephen Tanksley and that can bring about the most amazing results. Connor Casey – used their brains AND brawn to move the entire Huck: Aside from how the Tower of Pisa model represents the tower into Bizzell Memorial Library, clearing the door frame with Gallogly College of Engineering’s abilities, the team came together only about an inch to spare. Then they raised the roughly 1,500 as one and made it happen. pounds and assembled the structure inside the library’s entry. Marks: I am proud to be part of a college community that strives Huck: Keith R. Hurdelbrink II, an energetic graduate student in to integrate, create and be involved. We are an ambitious crew Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, helped create a 3D model with vastly different personalities and experiences who envisioned using specialized software. Then we converted the 3D model into the final exhibit and came together to get it produced. I am most code that the 3-Axis router could understand to cut the façade proud to be part of a university that continues to be visionary pieces from Styrofoam. The tower consists of more than 100 in its approach to education and encourages grand ideas and pieces of foam. possibilities. In this case, yet another grand idea was fostered into reality.
FALL 2015 27
November 5, A Day of Celebration
Jerry Holmes Engineering Leadership Symposium A Day of Learning and Leading The Gallogly College of Engineering in November 2014 announced the new Jerry Holmes Engineering Leadership Program. Under the guidance of the director, Kim Wolfinbarger, the inaugural Jerry Holmes Engineering Leadership Symposium was held on Nov. 5, 2015, as part of the university's 125th anniversary celebration. The symposium celebrated leadership in the engineering profession by hosting several expert panels. Topics included Leadership in the Energy Sector, International Engineering Leadership, the Rice Engineering Leadership Program, Leadership in Research and Design, and Leadership in Public Service. An afternoon keynote by Gina Hitz, vice president of the QuikTrip Corp., completed the day. Jim Gallogly, who along with his family, made the recent naming of the college a reality, was the symposium's keynote luncheon speaker. The symposium was attended by more than 450 students, alumni, faculty, staff and industry friends. Kennedy Engineering Leadership Scholars Award The Kennedy Engineering Leadership Scholars Award is made possible by Bill Kennedy, a 1955 mechanical engineering alumnus. The awards honor Kennedy's passion for excellence in leadership and his respect for retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Holmes. The Kennedy Engineering Leadership Scholars Award annually recognizes one outstanding male and female engineering student leader with a $5,000 cash award. The 2015 recipients were Emily Canaday and Spencer Davis, both senior chemical engineering majors. ConocoPhillips Leadership Scholarship ConocoPhillips invests in engineering leadership with annual $2,500 scholarships. The 2015 ConocoPhillips Leadership Scholars were awarded to Darius Aruho, a junior chemical engineering major; Jacki Bradshaw, a senior mechanical engineering major; Jeff Calhoun, a senior petroleum engineering major; and Katie Crowley, a junior chemical engineering major.
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Spencer Davis and Emily Canaday receive the Kennedy Engineering Leadership Scholars Awards from Bill Kennedy, retired Maj. Gen. Jerry Holmes and Dean Tom Landers.
Darius Aruho, Jacki Bradshaw, Jeff Calhoun and Katie Crowley receive the ConocoPhillips Leadership Scholarship Awards from Jim Gallogly and Dean Tom Landers.
2015 J.H. Felgar Gala Pursuing Excellence Every November since 2011, the Gallogly College of Engineering has celebrated the generosity of members of the J.H. Felgar Society by hosting an annual gala. This year, the celebration was unique as the Gallogly family was recognized for their historic naming of the college, announced in April. President David L. Boren and First Lady Molly Shi Boren presented Jim and Janet Gallogly with a Seed Sower statue, in honor of their significant gifts to OU and the GCoE. Student emcees Emily Canaday and Ben Toms eloquently hosted the more than 300 attendees. Members of the OU Pride completed the evening with a medley of Sooner favorites. The first-ever Gallogly College Pursuit of Excellence Awards were given to four honorees: a faculty and staff member and a graduate and undergraduate student. These individuals were recognized with a framed certificate and $2,000 cash award for their selfless service and dedication.
David Sabatini
Tricia Tramel
Cortes Williams
Claire Malaby
David Sabatini School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science; David Ross Boyd Professor; Sun Oil Company Chair; Director, WaTER Center; and Associate Director, Institute for Applied Surfactant Research Tricia Tramel Development; Director of the Annual Fund Cortes Williams Bridge to Doctorate student in Biomedical Engineering Claire Malaby Senior Computer Engineering student and National Merit Scholar Learn more about the J.H. Felgar Society: http://ou.edu/coe/felgar.
FALL 2015 29
COLLEGE NEWS OU International WaTER Conference Names Fourth Water Prize Winner Two days in September marked the OU International WaTER Conference and the presentation of the OU International Water Prize. Occurring every other year, attendees travel from 21 countries for the common purpose of solving one of the planet's most daunting challenges — providing sustainable water and sanitation solutions for impoverished regions of the world.
countries. For more information about Lochery and the conference, visit http://water.ou.edu.
The conference theme "Off the Grid: Sustainable Water and Sanitation in a Non-Networked World" was designed to bring together participants from multiple disciplines responding to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of bringing water and sanitation to developing countries. Attendees included water and sanitation experts from academia, industry, NGOs, government and foundations. At this year’s event, environmental engineer Peter Lochery, CARE director of Water, accepted the 2015 OU International Water Prize, followed by a plenary lecture to banquet guests at the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History. Lochery was selected by a panel of six water experts from around the world, and was chosen for his three decades of advocating for and supporting rural communities in the developing world that lack access to clean water, safe sanitation and basic hygiene. The prize is one of the Peter Lochery (left) accepts the 2015 OU International Water Prize from Provost Kyle Harper. first and largest awards solely dedicated to the field of water supply and sanitation in remote areas of emerging regions, and it honors an individual that has made significant contributions in these areas. In addition to the plenary lecture by Lochery, keynote speakers from the following fields gave timely addresses, all with an emphasis on applications in the developing world: • Kerstin Danert, RWSN; Switzerland (sustainable ground water in Africa) • Pawan Labhasetwar, NEERI; India (water and sanitation in rural India)
Peter Lochery delivers plenary lecture.
Native American dancers provide Oklahoma welcome.
• Christine Moe, Emory; (WASH in healthcare facilities in low-income countries) • Afreen Siddiqi, MIT/Harvard; USA (water-energy-climate nexus in Pakistan) • Ani Vallabhaneni, Sanergy; Kenya (sanitation and social entrepreneurship in Kenya) The two-day conference included poster and concurrent paper sessions devoted to all technical and not-technical topics and sectors (e.g., science, engineering, health, anthropology, sociology, business, meteorology, geography, education and cultural issues) relevant to water and sanitation in remote regions of developing
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Members of the WaTER Center with Peter Lochery (holding Water Prize) include (from left) Jim Chamberlain, Robert Knox, David Sabatini, Randy Kolar, Robert Dreibelbis, Yang Hong and Robert Nairn.
COLLEGE NEWS An Evening to Remember Snapshots from the Nov. 6 ISE 50th Anniversary Reception
School of Industrial Systems You are invitedand to celebrate Engineering The Celebrates 50 Anniversary th 50 Anniversary of the th
University of Oklahoma
The School of Industrial and Systems Engineering celebrated its School with of Industrial Systems 50th anniversary an afternoonand of events on Nov.Engineering 6 that concluded with a reception the terrace the Director Devon Energy Hall.Shehab Current Withon special guest,ofISE Randa students and faculty members, along with alumni who returned to July 23, 2015 reconnecting and campus for this significant milestone, enjoyed 7:00 in the evening reminiscing. The Home Mark Jaylyn and Welch Randa Shehab, director of the of School of &Industrial Systems Serenity Engineering, together with1104 Gallogly CollegeLane of Engineering development McKinney, Texas 75069 in Houston and officer, Stephanie Buettner, hosted three receptions Dallas, made possible by generous alumni and hosts Bill Liddell, Mark Please RSVP to Stephanie Buettner and Jaylyn Welch, and Lindsey Waddell. sbuettner@ou.edu or (405) 325-1957
"We all share a great passion for our ISE heritage," said Randa Shehab. "It's a connection that binds our past and our future." Live On, ISE An alumni challenge to raise $100,000 by the end of 2015 was issued as part of the ISE 50th Anniversary and the university's 125th anniversary. So far $40,000 has been raised, but there is still need for your help. The Live On, ISE funds provide important support in the areas of student scholarships, extracurricular programs such as the ISE Speaker Series and enhancement of educational labs for student hands-on learning. Thank you to all who have given so generously! With the combined efforts of ISE alumni, the goal will be reached. Every contribution makes a difference towards the education of future ISE students. Now is the time to show the next generation of ISE alumni what it means to be a member of the Sooner family! Thank You From Forest Wagner-Wilkins I know that many of you have generously given donations to our Live On, ISE fund. Those donations are going to make a significant impact on students in the form of scholarships, curriculum and classroom improvements. While these donations are greatly appreciated, we still have a way to go to reach our goal by the end of the year. I know that you share the passion of ISE like I do. I would challenge everyone to consider giving in order to help propel our program forward for another 50 years. I know that this program is setting me up for a long and successful career and I look forward to the years that I have left! Boomer Sooner, Forest Wagner-Wilkins For additional information about the Live On, ISE campaign, visit http://ou.edu/coe/ise/connect/live_on_ise or contact Stephanie Buettner, Development officer, at sbuettner@ou.edu or (405) 325-1957.
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COLLEGE NEWS For OU’s Lisa Morales, Inclusion Is Not a Buzzword; It’s a Way of Life By Debra Levy Martinelli Reprinted with permission by Sooner Magazine Getting Lisa Morales to talk about herself is no easy feat. Getting her to talk about diversity and inclusion initiatives and her job as executive director of the Diversity and Inclusion Program at the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering – that’s easy. A Norman native, Morales earned a bachelor of arts degree in education from OU, joined the Peace Corps and spent two years in Paraguay. Upon her return, she taught public school on the south side of Oklahoma City, where most of her students were Hispanic. Then came an opportunity to return to OU to work in Recruitment Services. A position in Diversity Enrichment Programs followed, where she connected with the Gallogly College of Engineering’s Multicultural Engineering Program. As program director since 2010, her job is to facilitate the college’s efforts in the outreach, recruitment, retention and overall success of underrepresented populations, including African American, Native American, Hispanic, female, first-generation college students and students with disabilities. The diversity programs, now called diversity and inclusion, also support lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer students. During the academic year, Morales and assistant director Tafara Cameron serve as mentors to the 180 students who receive MEP scholarships. “We’re not academic or financial aid advisers and we’re not counselors, but these are all topics that we touch on with our students. We make sure they have everything they need,” Morales explains. “Our office offers a family away from their families, so we really know our students well. We meet many of them and their families prior to freshman year, and we’re with them until they graduate.” On the last Monday of every month, Morales’ students and staff gather for food and fellowship.
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“There are a lot of majors in engineering, so the monthly event gives us all a chance to get together,” says Morales. “We invite industry representatives or recruiters to come talk about their companies and share their own stories.” Morales also organizes a spring break trip for freshmen and sophomores to visit corporate supporters in Dallas and
We want all of our students to be inspired and know that they can succeed if they work hard and make the right connections. Houston and oversees a mentoring program through which upperclassmen are matched with incoming freshmen and transfer students. “We want all of our students to be inspired and know that they can succeed if they work hard and make the right connections,” she says. Chemical engineering junior Ramiro Brigueda is a perfect example of MEP’s success. "With the help of MEP, I started my engineering academic career with an on-campus family,” he says. “The sense of community that MEP has provided for me since day one is the reason I am still at OU pursuing an engineering degree." Morales rarely slows down, even during the summer, when the AT&T Summer Bridge program is in full swing. The four-week program for admitted incoming engineering freshmen immerses students in the rigors of the engineering curriculum to ensure they are prepared to hit the ground running when they begin classes the following fall. Forty-four students comprised the 2015 class. “Math is the foundation of the AT&T Summer Bridge program. We want to ensure that students have the knowledge and
COLLEGE NEWS A Community of Belonging Snapshots from the April 2015 MEP Banquet
Morales works to bring OU alumni, now industry professionals, to campus to meet with her students and keeps up with Summer Bridge alumni long after graduation.
confidence to go into calculus,” Morales explains. “We work closely with the College of Arts and Sciences to provide for-credit math courses every weekday morning.” Summer Bridge students wrap up Monday through Thursdays with a two-hour, post-dinner study hall led by counselors who are current MEP engineering students living with their younger counterparts in the residence halls for the entire four weeks. Many are former campers. “They are the teaching assistants, the resident advisers, the ‘everything,’ ” Morales says. Summer Bridge weekend activities range from movies, scavenger hunts and baseball games to professional development seminars on time management, resume writing, interviewing and career fairs.
Morales and director of diversity and MEP, Tafara Cameron.
Brigueda, an MEP camper who became a counselor, concurs. “Summer Bridge played a pivotal role in my transition from a small rural high school to the top university in Oklahoma and showed me the whole spectrum of what college can be," he adds.
Morales stresses that while the Summer Bridge is rigorous and academically focused, there are many other benefits that prepare students for their “official” fall arrival at OU. “I think the retention is so high for these cohorts because of the strong friendships and bonds they make,” she muses. “From day one of the fall semester, they already have study groups, they have friends in classes of 200 or 300 students. These are friends they make for life.” Morales, too, makes friends for life. “When former students come by, call or text, I’m reassured that I’m in the right place,” Morales adds. “MEP can’t take all of the credit for why they got through, but when they say thank you and that they’re going to give back to MEP, I know we’ve had a positive impact on their lives.”
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FACULTY Sabatini Receives 2015 David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement David Sabatini, David Ross Boyd Professor and Sun Oil Company Endowed Chair of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, and director of the WaTER Center, has received the 2015 David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement. The award includes a $1,000 cash prize and up to $1,500 in support of international travel related to teaching, research or service activities. The award recognizes Sabatini's outstanding commitment to and support of the university's international mission. OU-Tulsa Telecommunications Professor Honored With National Award The Information and Telecommunications Education and Research Association honored Pramode Verma, Ph.D., director of Telecommunications Engineering at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa, with its 2015 Distinguished Service Award for lifetime contributions to education and research. Verma received the award at ITERA’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., on March 28. ITERA is a nonprofit academic association representing colleges and universities with degree programs focused on telecommunications, networking, information and computer science. “ITERA is excited to recognize Dr. Verma,” said Michael Bowman, Ph.D., chairman of the ITERA Board of Directors. “For more than 40 years, he’s made significant contributions to the telecommunications industry and the education of young women and men in the U.S. and Canada. We’re especially happy to acknowledge and commemorate his service with this award.” “I’m deeply honored to be recognized by colleagues whose work I respect so much,” Verma said. “I’m proud of the work ITERA does to advance research and study in the telecommunications field. My association with students and colleagues in this organization is enriching from a personal as well as a professional perspective. The award means a great deal to me.” Verma also holds the Williams Chair in Telecommunications Networking. Prior to joining the University of Oklahoma in 1999, he held a variety of professional and leadership positions in the telecommunications industry at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Lucent Technologies. He is the author/co-author of more than 150 journal articles and conference papers, and several books in telecommunications engineering. He is also the co-inventor on eight patents. He has been a keynote speaker at several international conferences and has lectured in several countries.
Ding Selected to Serve IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society Lei Ding, associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, has been selected as an AdCom member in the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society to represent young professionals in the community of biomedical engineering at IEEE. Ding has also been nominated and appointed as the program chair of IEEE EMBS International Conference on Neural Engineering in 2017. He has made significant original contributions to research in functional neuroimaging, noninvasive neuromodulation, brain-computer interface and imaging biomarkers for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Chang Publishes E-Book Academic Press in April published "e-Design: Computer-Aided Engineering Design" by Kuang-Hua Chang, David Ross Boyd Professor and Williams Companies Foundation Presidential Professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. CBME Professor, Roger Harrison Publishes New Edition Bioseparations Book The demand for highly purified biological products for commercial and consumer use has increased significantly over the past decade, leaving a widening gap between the application and engineers trained in the process. To respond to the growing need to separate and purify these bioproducts, Roger Harrison, University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering professor in the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering and also in the Biomedical Engineering Center, has released a revised edition of the book “Biosepartions Science and Engineering” along with co-authors Paul Todd, Scott Rudge and Demetri Petrides. New to the second edition are updated descriptions of the important chromatography separation method, which is required for the purification of bioproducts that must be injected into the bloodstream. As in the first edition, the various operations in bioseparation processes are explained by first developing the applications of the theory in engineering practice with an emphasis on design and scale-up. Aimed at students and industry practitioners, the book also includes updated cost information and expansion of the chapter on bioprocess design for the integration of various bioseparation operations to develop economically optimal processes. More than 60 universities worldwide teach courses using the “Bioseparations Science and Engineering” textbook, a powerful
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FACULTY testament to the growing necessity of biotechnology development and implementation throughout the world. “As the world relies more on the development of new biotechnology products in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and specialty chemical industries, science and engineering will depend on efficient bioseparation processes to meet the demand,” Harrison said. “This revised edition addresses today’s growing need to educate a new generation of scientists and engineers requiring up-to-date capabilities for developing new bioseparations processes.” Nairn Appointed to Editorial Board Robert Nairn, professor in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, and director of the Center for Restoration of Ecosystems and Watersheds was appointed to the editorial board of Ecological Engineering: The Journal of Ecosystem Restoration. The journal serves as a bridge between ecologists and engineers. Shehab Appointed to Leadership Position in Institute of Industrial Engineers Randa Shehab, professor and director of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, was recently elected to the position of senior vice president — academics for the board of trustees of the Institute of Industrial Engineers.
Yang Hong One of Four Selected to NASA Global Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team Yang Hong, professor in the OU School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, director of the Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Lab, and assistant director of the WaTER Center, has been named a member of the NASA Precipitation Measurement Mission Science Team.
cause natural hazards and disasters, and extend current capabilities in using accurate and timely information of precipitation to directly benefit society. The GPM Core was launched in February. OU Engineering Professors Among Nation's Best "Young Investigators" Two University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering professors in the Advanced Radar Research Center are recipients of the prestigious Young Investigator award from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Jessica Ruyle, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Young Investigator Award from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and a $500,000 grant to improve military communications by designing and developing a thin, antenna that conforms easily when placed on anything from vehicles to uniforms. Ruyle’s innovative new antenna design will allow communications systems to operate uninterrupted in the field. See more on page 10. Hjalti Sigmarsson, assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the Air Force Young Investigator Research Program Award for his research on new, innovative, electronically-tunable substrate materials to improve future generations of communications and radar systems. Sigmarsson submitted one of 57 winning research proposals and was awarded a grant in the amount of $360,000 for a three-year period. For more information about OU’s newest ‘Young Investigators’ Jessica Ruyle and Hjalti Sigmarsson, visit the Advanced Radar Research Center website at http://arrc.ou.edu.
Global Precipitation Measurement is an international network of satellites that provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. The GPM concept centers on the deployment of a “Core” satellite carrying an advanced radar/radiometer system to measure precipitation from space and serve as a reference standard to unify precipitation measurements from a constellation of research and operational satellites. Through improved measurements of precipitation globally, the GPM mission will help to advance our understanding of Earth’s water and energy cycle, improve forecasting of extreme events that
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A Tribute to the GCoE Faculty The University of Oklahoma, April 9, 2015
From left: Yan "Rockee" Zhang, Lei Ding, President David L. Boren in grey suit, and far right, Deborah Trytten.
Good Teaching Award School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Keith Strevett
David L. Boren Award for Outstanding Global Engagement School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science David Sabatini
Patent Awards Engineering Physics Program Michael Santos School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Kianoosh Hatami School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering Brian Grady Roger Harrison Daniel Resasco School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Sesh Commuri Patrick McCann Rui Yang Robert Palmer* Pramode Verma (TCOM Program) James Sluss Guifu Zhang* Monte Tull Dusan Zrnic* * Adjunct; primary appointment resides in another college
Inventors Award School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering Daniel Resasco
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Regents' Award for Superior Professional and University Service and Public Outreach School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Robert Knox
Presidential Professorships School of Computer Science Deborah Trytten, President's Associates Presidential Professorship School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Lei Ding, Lloyd and Joyce Austin Presidential Professorship Yan "Rockee" Zhang, President's Associates Presidential Professor School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science Robert Nairn, Sam K. Vierson Family Presidential Professorship School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Ramkumar Parthasarathy
ASEE Diversity Committee's Best Diversity Paper Competition Results in Third Place Award for OU Team The paper titled "Leadership, Management and Diversity: Missed Opportunities within Student Design Competition Teams," was presented at the June ASEE's 122nd Annual Conference and Exposition in Seattle, Wash. A collaborative effort, contributors included Susan Walden, founding director of the Research Institute for STEM Education (RISE) and associate research professor; Cindy Foor, associate director, RISE at OU; Rui Pan, postdoctoral research associate, RISE; Randa Shehab, professor and director of the School of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Deborah Trytten, associate professor, School of Computer Science.
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Students Shine in University and College Awards 2015-2016 Outstanding Seniors
Quang (Q.) Nguyen
Jennifer Carmichael
Outstanding Senior of the Year Gallogly College of Engineering
Outstanding Senior Woman of the Year The University of Oklahoma
2014-2015 Outstanding Seniors
Andrew Lambeth Outstanding Senior Engineering Student of the Year
Nathan Ferraro Architectural Engineering
Ethan Murphy Mechanical Engineering
Jessica Johnston Environmental Engineering
John Moon Computer Engineering
Thomas Fritz Electrical Engineering
Seyed Ali Hajimirza Computer Science
Austin Messerli Civil Engineering
Corbin Graham Aerospace Engineering
Not pictured: Aaron Simmons, Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering; Daniel Grimmer, Engineering Physics; Adam Dachowicz, Mechanical Engineering and Mathew McCarter, Industrial and Systems Engineering.
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Ben Toms: Engineer, Meteorologist, Scholar Q&A With One of Gallogly College of Engineering's Talented Students How has receiving the Astronaut Scholarship and being named a Goldwater scholar changed your last year at OU? BT: I had to work so hard on research that I never really had an opportunity to become involved on campus, but the Gallogly College of Engineering has been great for getting me those chances. I met Astronaut Kathy Thornton for the ASF award and gained invaluable insight from Jim Gallogly. I had a blast being a student emcee at the Felgar Gala. How do civil engineering and meteorology complement each other? BT: There is a common joke in the atmospheric sciences that as soon as precipitation touches the Earth’s surface, we are no longer liable for estimating its trajectory or impacts. While that may be funny to weather nerds, it’s a significant issue. The atmosphere doesn’t only influence what happens on the Earth’s surface – the Earth’s surface also has an impact on atmospheric phenomena. While civil engineers have commonly had to face atmospheric influences of engineering designs, the atmospheric sciences are just realizing the importance of correctly modeling surface phenomena. For Benjamin Toms, a double major in civil engineering and meteorology from Aurora, Colorado, his final year at the Gallogly College of Engineering has been one for the record books. Along with the lessons learned in his difficult course load, Toms discovered a lot can change when you receive two of the most prestigious undergraduate STEM student awards in the nation. Astronaut Scholarship Foundation Scholarship In June, Toms was awarded an Astronaut Scholarship Foundation scholarship. Nominated by CEES director Randall Kolar and CEES professor Yang Hong, Toms became the 10th recipient from the University of Oklahoma since the program’s inception in 1979. Founded by the Mercury 7 astronauts and chaired by astronauts from the Apollo and Gemini missions, the prestigious ASF scholarship is currently the largest merit-based undergraduate scholarship competition for all STEM majors in the United States. Thirty-eight students nationwide were recognized this year for their ingenuity in research and excellence in coursework. Goldwater Scholar Earlier this year, Toms was among a select group of STEM students in the country to be named Goldwater Scholars. On par with distinctions such as the Fulbright or Rhodes Scholarships, the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program is considered by many to be the highest honor an undergraduate STEM student can receive.
If more engineers and scientists became interdisciplinary in both civil engineering and the atmospheric sciences, we could design our world to be more resilient to the challenges the atmosphere presents our society. How have your diverse majors helped you be a better student and engineer? BT: Different fields approach problems in different ways, and having experience with these different methods has been helpful in tackling some of the more challenging problems I’ve faced. The great thing about engineering is there usually isn’t one singular method to solving a problem – but there is a best solution. I’ve found the best solution typically requires using a wide range of problem-solving skills. The workload has also made me be more efficient with my time, and prioritize what’s important to my future and what isn’t. What are your plans after graduation? BT: I’m going to pursue a direct-track Ph.D. in terrestrial hydrometeorology, which studies how the variability in the Earth’s surface influences how, why, where, and in what significance precipitation forms in the atmosphere. It also relates to studies on how precipitation influences atmospheric phenomena once it has reached the Earth’s surface. There’s this complex feedback cycle that is really intriguing to me. I’m hoping to be able to take that interest into a career as a professor.
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STUDENTS What was it like learning you were named a Goldwater scholar? BT: It was honestly the most rewarding moment of my life. I cried a lot that morning. It had been an incredibly strenuous — but rewarding — four years of always pushing for excellence no matter the situation. There were lots of days I thought I couldn’t keep going. Knowing that I had accomplished something my parents could be incredibly proud of meant the world to me. It's been something I've been pushing for every second of every day for the past four years. Being able to tell my advisors, professors, and colleagues about the award was an incredibly communal experience. Being able to tell these people "The confidence and mentorship you’ve offered, and risks you’ve taken on me have paid off,” meant a lot. What does the Goldwater Scholarship entail? BT: The award offers $7,500 per academic year toward tuition and fees, which is beneficial because I came to college with zero scholarships. The true benefits arise from opportunities the recognition offers. I was the only student selected from the fields of civil engineering and meteorology to win this award. This sets my accomplishments apart from other students in both fields. Receiving both awards in a single year is an amazing feat. What does it mean for your future? BT: This offers me incredible opportunities to find research projects for graduate school. This recognition will hopefully give advisers confidence in my research capabilities, and will allow me to immediately become involved in top-tier research projects. I’m really excited to take this opportunity to find projects that will have an impact on the world.
How did your parents impact you and your decision to pursue such a unique and challenging educational path? BT: My parents’ support in me gave me the confidence I needed to explore my passion in engineering and science. They actually let me travel as far as southern Texas, eastern Montana, and southern Minnesota when I was only 16 years old to chase tornadoes. My dad is a civil engineer. When I was a kid, I would build dams with him in the gutters when it rained or snowed in Colorado. He won awards for designing dams, and it’s always been really cool being able to see his work have an impact like that. He is one reason that combining atmospheric sciences with civil engineering seemed so natural. What was it like meeting Jim Gallogly? BT: Hearing Jim Gallogly speak was a life-changing experience. He emphasized the importance of OU’s triumphant history, how this university has been built on unique individuals seeing challenges and conquering them. I’ve seen that here on a daily basis. We really do have a “go getter” mentality, and it’s inspiring to be surrounded by so many people who want to take their opportunities and turn them into something great. Our next challenge is to make the GCoE one of the best in the nation – a feat that is entirely feasible! Who are the GCoE faculty members who have been instrumental in your success? BT: My main research advisors Dr. Yang Hong and Dr. Pierre Kirstetter are both faculty within the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Sciences. They’ve offered me more than I could have ever imagined and gave me the resources I needed to succeed. It was the freedom they gave me by confidently handing me a project and letting me figure out my own way through it that has defined my research experiences here at OU. Dr. Randall Kolar, the director of CEES, offers me advice and assistance whenever I need it. There’s no way I would have accomplished what I did without the help of these three GCoE faculty members and the many others that indirectly influenced my applications for the awards. What advice would you give to an engineering student who wants to pursue a second major outside of engineering?
(Above) Ben and his parents, Ed and Robin Toms, cheering on the OU Sooners. (Right) As an emcee at the 2015 Felgar Gala, Ben welcomed VIPs including the Gallogly Family to the annual donor event.
BT: Do it. Not only does it offer you opportunities within research, internships, and scholarships unavailable to students pursuing one major, but it also gives you additional time to narrow down what you want to do with your career. It’s a very challenging journey, but the sacrifices you have to make pay off tenfold. What is the greatest lesson you will take from your time as a student at OU? BT: You can work as hard as you want. You can push yourself as hard as you want, but ultimately it is the people you surround yourself with, the people who mentor you and guide you through the learning process who have the most significant influence on your life. Form a really good team. They will carry you far.
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Heroes Among Us: Computer Science Students Are Super Heroes. And You Can Be One, Too. Computer Science Education Week, hosted by the School of Computer Science, unveiled the often-mysterious world of computer programming. The week’s theme was It’s Cool to Code. Through fun and enlightening programming, the week reminded us all that we are surrounded by everyday superheroes, who like all engineers, make our world work. The annual program, part of a weeklong, nation-wide focus on computer science, is dedicated to introducing people to computer science and inspiring them to take interest in the field. “We think it’s important because it’s going to affect all aspects of life,” said the school’s business manager and academic programs coordinator, Virginie Perez Woods, “Every single company has at least a website.” The student organizers found creative ways to teach everyone that computer science can be both exciting and attainable.
Events like Hug a Scientist and Speed Friending allowed people to interact with computer scientists and learn more about this exciting degree and the students who are passionate about computer coding. Videogame stations helped students destress before finals and gave computer science majors an opportunity to talk about some of the practical and popular applications of computer science. Participants played both popular commercial video games and new games developed by CS students. At the South Oval, students hosted a robot demonstration with a robot similar to BB-8 from the new Star Wars movie, flew unmanned vehicles and hosted a trivia session. Throughout the week, OU celebrities dropped by Devon Energy Hall for coding lessons. GCoE Dean Tom Landers and Associate Dean Jim Sluss, Williams Student Services Center adviser Brandon Crow, Provost Kyle Harper, and College of International Studies director Robyn Rojas learned that it is cool to code. CS director Sridhar Radhakrishnan summed up the week: “Computing should be for everyone!”
(Far Left) Robert Huck, director of Applied Research and Unmanned Systems demonstrates UAVs on the South Oval. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman. (Above) OU Provost Kyle Harper gets his first introduction to coding from Stephen Smart, as part of the OU Celebrety Coder event. (Left) BB-8, the robot toy from the latest Star Wars release, visits the South Oval. Photo by Steve Sisney, The Oklahoman.
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STUDENTS Keaton Zahorsky: Life on the Fast Track
Keaton Zahorsky is on the fast track — literally. Zahorsky, an Electrical and Computer Engineering senior from Alva, Oklahoma, was selected as one of 12 finalists from more than 1,100 applicants for a student position with the Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy on the Infiniti Red Bull Formula One team. Infiniti created the IPEA as part of a unique program, now in its second year, as a one-of-a-kind global search for the world's best up-and-coming engineers. The Academy selected one winner to join four other international winners in England to work across a variety of roles spanning vehicle dynamics, vehicle design, aerodynamics and electronics. They will spend eight months at the Infiniti Red Bull Racing factory and four months at Infiniti’s European Technical Center. As part of his application into the prestigious program, he explained how participation in OU's Sooner Racing Team helped him become a better engineer. “Being a part of the Formula SAE Team at the University of Oklahoma has made an enormous impact on my technical abilities and problem-solving skills,” said Zahorsky. “I started off by doing any and every job available. Soon I was building and testing circuits. I was wiring critical components, and I was trouble shooting onboard software issues — the things that I truly enjoy. This is where the late nights, the passion for excellence, and the relentless determination I possess to solve these challenging problems really set me apart.”
This June Zahorsky and his fellow finalists flew to Nashville, to complete a series of psychometric tests, group challenges, technical exams, and individual interviews with top executives for Red Bull Racing and Infiniti International. “We were also given a surprise visit from Randy Parker, vice president of Nissan North America, who later sat down to eat lunch with us,” said Zahorsky. Along with the application and testing days, Zahorsky joined a select group of four Infiniti Performance Engineering Academy finalists to star in promotional videos about the Infinity Red Bull Formula One Team program. Zahorsky’s road to engineering began when he attended his first National Hot Rod Association drag race at 9 years old. Watching dragsters speed down the drag strip at more than 300 milesper-hour ignited a spark of interest. When his parents developed a children’s ministry for racers’ children, Zahorsky had the rare opportunity to travel the racing circuit where he took every opportunity to talk to drivers and crew members. “The racetrack was where my passion in engineering was born. The University of Oklahoma is where I knew this passion would become my lifelong career,” said Zahorsky. The experience of beating out more than 1,100 deserving students and meeting executives in the automotive world was a once-ina-lifetime experience. Zahorsky is completing his senior year and hopes to get a job in the robotics field upon graduation.
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STUDENTS Engineering Graduate Student Community Hosts Poster Fair The GCoE Engineering Graduate Student Community held a poster fair in the Devon Energy Hall atrium on Nov. 13. Twenty-eight graduate students participated. First — second — and two third — place certificates and monetary prizes were awarded — $250, $150 and $50, consecutively. Brandon Holzbauer-Schweitzer, a master's student in the School of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science was awarded third place for his poster, "Urban Stormwater Runoff Quality and Quantity Abatement: A Paired Watershed Approach." Shivani Rani, a doctoral student in CEES, also received a third — place award for her poster, "The performance of asphalt binders modified with Polyphosphoric Acid." Felipe Anaya, a doctorate student in the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering received a second — place award for his poster, "Tuning the acid-metal balance in Pd/ and Pt/ Zeolite catalysts for the hydroalkylation of m-Cresol." Nathan Ferraro, a master's student in CEES, placed first for his poster, "Field Employed X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) as a Viable Option for Construction Quality Control and Geotechnical Forensic Investigations on Stabilized Subgrade Projects."
Jared Dopp; A'An Parra; Steven Crossley,Ph.D.; Halle Smith; Jeff Calhoun; Ashleigh McIntosh; Sarah Wauahdooah; Octavio Rodriguez; Sheridan Evans; Zannon Stands and Bree Cooper proudly display their two AISES awards.
OU American Indian Science and Engineering Society Awarded Chapter of the Year at Annual Conference Students representing the University of Oklahoma, including those from the Gallogly College of Engineering, attended the November 2015 AISES National Conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The OU AISES Chapter was awarded the Stelvio J. Zanin Distinguished Chapter of the Year. Additionally, the OU AISES students were recognized with the Fundraising and Marketing Chapter Award, based on their written report and multimedia presentation that demonstrated their exceptional efforts on behalf of their chapter. McDorman Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
From left: Senior Associate Dean Jim Sluss with student poster fair award — winners Brandon Holzbauer-Schweitzer, Shivani Rani, Felipe Anaya and Nathan Ferraro.
Diaz Wins First Place in Poster Competition Jose Diaz, doctoral student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, won first place in the student poster competition at the 2015 American Meteorological Annual Meeting. Diaz presented his research titled, “Multilayer Radome Design and Experimental Characterization of Scattering and Propagation Properties for Atmospheric Radar Applications.” The research was presented at the National Center for Atmospheric Research under the supervision of ECE Assistant Professor Jorge Salazar. Diaz joined Salazar’s research group as a graduate student and also is affiliated with the Advanced Radar Research Center, working in dual-pol phased array radars for atmospheric research.
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Senior computer science student, Braden McDorman, was awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship in the field of Computer and Information Science and Engineering — Robotics and Computer Vision. McDorman graduated in May and currently is attending graduate school at the University of Southern California, working under Professor Maja J. Matarić. Amber Kapoor (Ph.D. candidate, Mechanical Engineering, School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering) received a 2015 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Fellowship.
STUDENTS Two Students Win Big With Environmental Sustainability ... and Oatmeal Q&A With the Team That Brought Home the Prize When Sezin Kadioglu, a lecturer in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, and OU Society of Women Engineers adviser learned about the PepsiCo SWE Student Engineering Challenge, she knew just the students to encourage to apply. She encouraged Katie Crowley, a chemical engineering junior from Tomball, Texas, and Jacki Bradshaw, a mechanical engineering senior from Jenks, Oklahoma, to compete in the PepsiCo SWE Student Engineering Challenge. The Challenge Last May, PepsiCo and SWE offered a student engineering challenge to identify innovations that impact PepsiCo's commitment to environmental sustainability. The challenge included: 1. Identify a resource or challenge 2. Present your technical solution 3. Provide details of the projected outcome 4. Submit your challenge solution in one of the following areas: packaging, equipment design, product and ingredient processing. Crowley and Bradshaw formed a team and came up with a solution to create biodegradable packaging for Quaker Oats. They presented their idea at the SWE National Conference and won first place. Crowley and Bradshaw will be flown to the PepsiCo headquarters in New York spring of 2016 to present their concept to senior leadership.
Can you describe the process? JB: By using a process being utilized in Poland, we would take the oat excess created when making Quaker Oats Pictured with their winning products to make the packaging. The certificates: Jacki Bradshaw excess would be formed into the canister and Katie Crowley using steam and pressure, which creates a 100 percent biodegradable and chemical free packaging. What was it like to present at a national conference? KC: I think we were both trying to keep the nerves low so we didn't psych each other out, but I was definitely a little nervous. Everyone — the judges, other contestants, facilitator, etc. — were all so nice and really made the experience a great one. The best part about it was that we were doing it for us and because it was something we are passionate about, not for a grade or our degree. JB: Exhilarating with a touch of nerve — wracking. What made this easy is there was nothing on the line, no GPA being hindered or job being lost. We just did this for fun and getting far enough in the competition to even present was amazing.
Katie Crowley, left, and Jacki Bradshaw, right, practice making their presentation to the Introduction to Engineering class prior to the conference.
Q&A How did you two form a team? JB: Katie is the SWE president and I am the SWE vice president, so we were already used to working together. We thought this challenge would be fun. How did you decide on a topic? KC: After reading the challenge description, Jacki and I knew we wanted to focus on packaging. We walked through the CVS on Campus Corner for inspiration. It wasn't until Jacki saw a Vine video about a manufacturing process in Poland, that we came up with our idea to change the packaging of Quaker Oats into something biodegradable.
What did this experience add to your engineering education?
JB: We were doing something that had the capability to impact the world and we felt like real engineers. I feel like doing and winning this challenge gave us both validation that this is the field we need to pursue, that going through the challenge of getting an engineering degree is worth it. KC: This challenge kept me motivated to finish my degree. So often engineering students get bogged down by the stress of homework and tests and challenging material. Doing something outside of school, but still engineering related, and then excelling at it gives you validation that this is the degree you should be pursuing and that you can be an engineer who impacts the world.
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Engineering Days Shake Up GCoE Summer Camps Last summer the Gallogly College of Engineering re-imagined and reworked its popular high school summer camp program. Sponsored by BP, Engineering Days is a new summer series of seven oneday engineering experiences for high school juniors and seniors. The inaugural year was a huge success. Each Engineering Day focuses on one school or program within the Gallogly College of Engineering, allowing students to explore that specific engineering concentration through in-depth, hands-on learning activities. Participants signed up for any number of Engineering Days to attend, ranging from just one to all seven. This format reached high school students who are seriously considering engineering as their major in college and those who are deciding from among the different disciplines. It also attracted students seeking a fun and interactive introduction to engineering.
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"Engineering Days are unique and special opportunities because they allow students to really focus in on their interests,” said John Antonio, associate dean for Academic Affairs. “We expected this new format to be successful, but were astonished at just how large the demand was and how quickly each of the sessions filled up,” said Jackie Foos, director of Recruitment and Outreach. Indeed, the success of Engineering Days can be measured both in terms of attendance and distance. Several of the days were repeated to accommodate additional students. While the program is mainly targeted to high school students throughout the state, the Biomedical Engineering Day attracted students from across the country. Each day costs $25, and is capped at $100 for students who participate in four or more days. Gallogly College of Engineering faculty and staff are already planning exciting activities for this year’s Engineering Days. To learn more, visit www.ou.edu/coe/engineeringdays.
STUDENTS #EngineeringAtOU: Snapshots from GCoE Social Media
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ALUMNI & FRIENDS
Beau Utley, Jennifer Gavia, Shirley Luz-Enombo and Ben Lopez
Felix Pinto and Wilmer Hoffman
Julian O'Rear (center), his wife, Holly Ketchel and Jill Hughes
Lisa Morris and Stephanie Buettner
Neil Heeney, Paul Massad, Charles and Jean Smith, Jill Hughes and Tom Landers
Donna Shirley and Gene Phillips
Jill Hughes and Michael Turner
Stephanie Buettner and Gloria Burrus
Madelaine Pfau and Charles Jones, Stephanie Pritchett and Kate Brandon
Jill Hughes and Chuck and Linda Holliman
Jeff Calhoun, Nic Watson, Lucas Rice, Andy Bartosovsky, Nancy Wallace and Traci Hartmann Smith Cassandra Auzenne Bandy, Julio Cabrera and Lynn Ghose Cabrera
Kyle Smoot, Tanner Blair, Susy Calonkey and Rudi Ngnepi - National Instruments, Austin
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Tom Love, John Francis and Davis Egle at faculty emeritus reception
Zack McGill and Ryan Posey from HSI Sensing, Chickasha
ALUMNI & FRIENDS
Jill Hughes and Ceara Parks Front: Monica Maez, Carly Young; Back: Mark Welch, Ceara Parks, Lisa Morris, Kendrick Mewborn, Tamika Tutt, Jeffrey Underwood and Julian Harris
Susy Calonkey, Carolyn Maples, Jill Hughes and Mike Maples Noomair Zuberi and Tricia Tramel
OU Deans from left: Kelly Damphouse, Gregg Garn, Tom Landers, Joe Harroz, Lee Williams, Daniel Pullin, Berrien Moore and Nicole Campbell
Jill Hughes and Worth Edwards
Ray Hefner and Gabriella Berrios
Stephanie Buettner, Susy Calonkey, Melissa and Gene Phillips, Tricia Tramel and Sarah Warren
Sonia Wilson, Tejashri Kyle and Stephanie Buettner
Carolyn Arens, Myron Stout, Madeline Bull, Will Nichols and Teni Ogunsola
Jawanza Bassue and John Brock
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GIVING UPDATE Your Development Team Is Here to Help Jill Hughes Executive Director of Development (405) 325-5217 jillq@ou.edu
Tricia Tramel Director of Annual Giving (405) 325-4211 tramel@ou.edu From left: Karen Kelly, Susy Calonkey, Tricia Tramel, Stephanie Buettner, Jill Hughes and Sarah Warren.
Susy Calonkey Development Officer (405) 325-6971 scalonkey@ou.edu
Thank You!
Stephanie Buettner Development Officer (405) 325-1957 sbuettner@ou.edu
Whether you attended one of our events in your home city or made your way back to campus, it has been wonderful to see so many engineering alumni and friends throughout the year.
Karen Kelly Director of Communications (405) 325-9037 kkelly@ou.edu
Sarah Warren Marketing and Public Relations Specialist (405) 325-9037 sarah.warren@ou.edu
Wow! What a difference a year makes. Thanks to you, we have reason to celebrate! Thank you for your generous support. Each and every investment, large and small, is helping us pursue excellence in our Live On, University campaign.
It is not too late to invest in our students! Please consider supporting our annual fund, becoming a member of the J.H. Felgar Society or including OU engineering in your estate. Any investment you make will count as participation in our Live On, University campaign. 2015 marked the launch and naming of our Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering and our new college name — the Gallogly College of Engineering. What an honor it was to celebrate these important investments with members of the Stephenson and Gallogly families. Now it is your turn. How will you make a lasting mark on your alma mater? How will you ensure each student has the resources they need to pursue excellence? Every gift matters. We are here to help! Live On, Engineering!
Jill Hughes Executive Director of Development
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GIVING UPDATE You are Invited to Sooners in the Desert Proceeds benefit the Jimmie Austin OU Golf Club, golf course and OU men and women golf teams. You are invited to participate in the 16th annual Sooners in the Desert Classic, Feb. 24-27, 2016. The host facilities at the JW Marriott Desert Springs and Desert Willow Golf Resort in Palm Desert, California, provide a scenic getaway for a memorable weekend. The event, hosted by Extex Cos., provides a weekend of golf with OU alumni, coaches and friends. More importantly, the funds raised help continue the excellence in facilities and team support at the Jimmie Austin Golf Club. Visit http://soonersinthedesert.com to learn more.
Top Donors Recognized for Commitment to OU and the Gallogly College of Engineering 2015 Seed Sower Society inductees include Charles and Jean Smith, Charles and Peggy Stephenson, and Jim and Janet Gallogly. “Members of the Seed Sower Society, a distinguished group of donors whose gifts to the university each total $1 million or more, demonstrate a commitment and passion for supporting OU in all areas,” President David L. Boren said. “Much like OU’s first president, David Ross Boyd, who planted the seeds of excellence for future generations of Sooners, these special donors play a leadership role in enhancing the university’s academic mission.”
Jim and Janet Gallogly Houston, Texas
Charles and Peggy Stephenson Tulsa, Oklahoma
Charles and Jean Smith Sugarland, Texas
To make a gift, visit www.ou.edu/liveon or
bit.ly/GiveGCoE or contact one of our development team members. FALL 2015 51
IN MEMORIAM Lloyd Gene Austin, 88, died April 30, 2015. He attended high school in Potwin, Kansas, and was inducted into the U.S. Navy shortly after his 18th birthday. Austin served as a radioman during WWII. He graduated from El Dorado Junior College, Kansas, in 1948. He earned a bachelor's degree in petroleum engineering from the University of Oklahoma in 1951. Austin worked for Texaco in Oklahoma, Kansas and Illinois before transferring in 1968 to Caltex Pacific Indonesia in Sumatra, Indonesia, where he became managing director. In 1978, he was promoted to Texaco corporate headquarters in White Plains, New York. The next year, he transferred to Texaco Trinidad, Inc. as president and general manager of operations in Trinidad and Tobago. In 1985, after Texaco purchased Getty Oil Co., he transferred to Kuwait as president and CEO of operations in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. Austin retired in 1991. He was inducted into the OU Gallogly College of Engineering's Distinguished Graduate Society in 2008. After retirement, he held several directorships and advisory positions with nonprofit organizations. Austin is survived by his wife of 66 years, Joyce; four children, nine grandchildren and 17 great-grandchildren.
Charles Wesley Bert, III, 85, died Feb. 3, 2015. Bert graduated from Greencastle High School in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, in 1947. He received two mechanical engineering degrees: a bachelor of science degree in 1951 and a master of science degree in 1956 from Pennsylvania State University. Bert was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Reserve, proudly served on active duty during the Korean War from 1952-54 and retired as captain in 1963. Bert received his doctoral degree in engineering mechanics at Ohio State in 1961 and in 1963 began a 41-year career as a professor in the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. He served as director of the school from 1972-78 and 1990-95. He was named a George Lynn Cross Research Professor in 1981 and held the Benjamin H. Perkinson Chair. His work in composite materials earned him an international reputation in the field; he authored or co-authored 205 papers in refereed journals, published one monograph, edited three books, produced 13 book chapters and 158 other papers. In connection with his research, he mentored 26 doctoral students and more than 40 master’s students. He was a registered Professional Engineer, and was elected a Fellow to seven technical organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society for Composites. He was inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Hall of Fame in 2011. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Charlotte, a sister, two sons, four grandchildren and one great granddaughter.
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G. Manning Close, 83, passed away June 20, 2015. Manning attended Taft Senior High and Old Classen High School in Oklahoma City. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma with a degree in electrical engineering. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, serving as president and pledge trainer and was voted Big Man on Campus. Manning founded and served as chairman of GMC Oil and Gas in Oklahoma City. He is survived by his wife, Jane, three sons, three grandsons and five great-grandchildren.
Joakim George Laguros , 91, died July 25, 2015. Laguros graduated from Robert College in Instanbul in 1946 with a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. He then served mandatory military duty, becoming the first person of Greek descent to be commissioned an officer in the Turkish Navy. He left Turkey for the United States in 1955, received an master of science degree in highway engineering from Iowa State University in 1957 and a doctorate degree in geotechnical engineering in 1962. After a one-year appointment at Ohio University, he started his long and distinguished career as a civil engineering professor at the University of Oklahoma in 1963. He was honored with the distinction as a David Ross Boyd Professor in 1983. He officially retired in 1994, but continued teaching the occasional class and conducting research until moving to Houston in 2010. He was a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a past member and chairman of the Transportation Research Board, and the lead or co-author of over 120 technical papers. He is survived by his wife, Vivian, one son and two grandsons.
Preston Moore, 90, died Feb. 3, 2015. He was a World War II veteran, world-renowned petroleum engineer, professor, published author, world traveler, amazing storyteller and a dedicated family man. After the war, he attended the University of Oklahoma on the GI Bill, earning a petroleum engineering degree. He went on to earn his master's and doctoral degrees while working fulltime and attending night school. Moore taught petroleum engineering at OU for 14 years. He published six books and more than 120 technical articles. He was named the world's outstanding drilling engineer by the Society of Petroleum Engineers in 1998. In 2005, the OU Gallogly College of Engineering recognized his exemplary career by inducting him into the Distinguished Graduate Society. Moore is survived by his wife of 65 years, Mary Jo, one daughter, one son, five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
CLASS NOTES Bob L. Rhea, 87, died Dec. 4, 2014. He served in the Navy during WW II, an expert in sonar. He married Tomme Lou Heatley of Mangum, Okla. in 1949. They were married 57 years, until her death in 2007. Rhea earned a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering from OU in 1950. He worked for Southwestern Bell Phone Company from 1950 to 1986 with a distinguished career, including nearly two years at Bell Labs in New York City. Rhea was ultimately promoted to district plant engineer for Eastern Oklahoma. Rhea was a prominent member of the Oklahoma Society of Professional Engineers. He enjoyed RC modeling, and was a member of Tulsoar model airplane club. He is survived by his son, Rick Rhea. James M. Robertson , 82, died Oct. 9, 2015, in Oklahoma City. He attended Peaster and Weatherford high schools. He received an associate of arts degreeat Weatherford Junior College. Robertson served two years in the U.S. Air Force and completed his undergraduate studies in science at the University of North Texas. He obtained his master’s and doctoral degrees at Oregon State University in environmental science and microbiology. Known to his friends as “Jim,” “Jimmy” or “Robo,” he was a Haliburton Professor Emeritus at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. Robertson served as a microbiologist and taught environmental science at OU for 29 years. He also worked with the World Environmental Health Organization to improve the standard of living in developing countries. Throughout his career, Robertson was recognized with numerous awards. Most notable in 1988 he received the prestigious Tim G. Green Award for exemplary service in the field of health. He served as an adviser for more than 260 graduate students during his career and attracted more than $2.5 million in funding for research. He is survived by his wife of 58 years, Rose Elaine, one sister, one daughter, two sons, six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Robert (Bob) Allen Shapiro, 84, died Aug. 12, 2015. In 1964, Shapiro accepted a position of assistant professor in the newly named School of Industrial Engineering, previously known as the Department of Industrial Management Engineering. He rose to the rank of department head of the school from 1966-1972 before serving as the associate vice president for administration and finance, both at OU. Shapiro is survived by his wife, Ramona, five children, eight grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
Jon Withrow, 82, died Oct. 19, 2015. Withrow became an Eagle Scout at the age of 13, and went on to play tennis, golf and to run marathons all over the world. He also was a pilot and certified flight instructor. Over the years, Withrow traveled extensively in Europe, primarily in France. He studied British history at the University of Oxford and established a study program at the Institute of French Petroleum outside of Paris, France. Winthrow earned a bachelor of science degree in petroleum engineering and a master's degree in geological engineering from the University of Oklahoma. He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity and was voted Big Man on Campus. After working for Humble Oil Co. and Montgomery Oil Co., he founded Sundance Oil Co. in 1968. Since selling his operating company, Esson Inc., Withrow made a career in investing in the oil and gas industry. Withrow was honored with many awards including the OU Board of Regents Award, the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Service Award and the Price College Distinguished Alumni Award along with his wife, Cathryn. He served on the board of visitors for the colleges of Arts and Science and Engineering, was a lifetime member of AAC in the School of Geology and Geophysics in the Mewbourne College of Earth and Energy. He served as chairman of the alumni advisory council from 2004-05, was a member of the President's Associates at the University of Oklahoma, the Oklahoma City Rotary Club and the Petroleum Club. Withrow is survived by his wife, Cathryn, two daughters and five grandchildren.
Hiba Baroud Class of 2015, Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering Hiba Baroud is an assistant professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at Vanderbilit University. An OU Gallogly College of Engineering Hughes Centennial Fellow, her research explores Bayesian methods to study the likelihood of disruptive events in infrastructure networks, as well as to address the resilience to and interdependent impacts of disruptions to infrastructure networks. Baroud earned her master's of mathematics degree in actuarial science from the University of Waterloo, Canada, where she focused her research on the application of statistics, particularly time series models, to analyze financial data. Prior to that, she obtained her bachelor of science degree in actuarial scscience from Notre Dame University, Lebanon.
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CLASS NOTES Scott Dennis Class of 1993, B.S. in Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Scott Dennis, CEO and co-founder of D&K Engineering, was named one of the exclusive class of 2015 San Diego Top Influentials by the San Diego Daily Transcript. Dennis has been with the company he co-founded since 2000, dedicating his efforts to providing beginning-to-end research and development and prototyping and manufacturing for clients with high-tech or innovative content and hardware-based products. Read more: http://bit.ly/scott_dennis.
Patrice Tompkins-Everidge Class of 2013 - B.S. in Chemical Engineering Patrice Tompkins-Everidge was named the vice president of environmental safety and health at Texas Instruments in Dallas, where she has been for 19 years, holding many positions in ESH. She is originally from Chouteau, Oklahoma, and was the only one in her class to pursue a degree in engineering from OU. She originally came to OU in hopes of earning a degree in zoology with a focus on pre-med. She credits her Honors College advisers Dr. Sutherland and Lisa Vaughn for guiding her to study chemical engineering. While a student at OU, Tompkins-Everidge was a member of the President’s Leadership Class and the Honors College. Some of her favorite memories include working hard into the night in the computer labs with friends on projects, with the goal of finishing in time to attend the home football game the next day. She loved her time at OU and feels that the community enabled it to feel small, but have the resources of a big university.
national and international scientific or engineering communities, and their ability to rapidly and accurately understand scientific advancements outside their discipline area in order to effectively integrate this knowledge into U.S. Department of State/USAID policy discussions. McCauley will be involved in technology assessment and policy at the national and international level researching the globally critical topic of Ergonomics of Ebola and Other Infectious Diseases for Health care Workers. Fellows spend one year on assignment at the U.S. Department of State or USAID as science advisers on foreign policy issues. "The global healthcare community has become reluctant to jump into disease outbreak disaster zones for multiple reasons, including dangerous working conditions, lack of consistent policies regarding health care worker protection, lack of scientific confidence in protection protocols, and little assurance of a contaminant-free experience for medical professionals," McCauley states. "We must address these issues in the global community, before healthcare workers fear and ultimately avoid caring for patients. By approaching these issues from a human factors and ergonomic point of view, we can produce scientifically valid outcomes to help impact worker safety guidelines, worker confidence and public policy on national and international levels. This is about scientists working together to make a significant impact on thousands, if not millions, of lives across the globe," says McCauley.
Devin Pauley Class of 2004, B.S. in Mechanical Engineering OU alumnus and engineering program manager at Apple, Devin Pauley was honored as a member of “40 under 40: Tech Diversity – Silicon Valley” in September in San Francisco. The inaugural event celebrates the achievements of 40 leaders from diverse backgrounds, under the age of 40 in the innovation economy. Visit http://bit.ly/pauley40under40 to learn more. Pauley also was named a Regents' Alumni Award recipient (see page 18).
Pamela McCauley Class of 1988, '91, '93 - B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. in Industria Engineering Pamela McCauley, professor in the Department of Industrial Engineering and Management Systems at the University of Central Florida, has been awarded a Jefferson Science Fellowship with the U.S. State Department for the 2015-2016 term. The Jefferson Science Fellowship program serves as an innovative model for engaging the American academic science and engineering communities in U.S. foreign policy. Jefferson Science Fellowships are prestigious appointments to senior academics based on their stature, recognition, and experience in the
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Watch the new Sixty Second Sooner video
bit.ly/PauleyDevin
SUMMER BRIDGE
A Bridge to Success Participants of AT&T Summer Bridge Get Ready to Start College Right This summer, 44 incoming students spent a month on campus preparing to succeed as engineering students. AT&T Summer Bridge at the University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering is a four-week program for freshman students who have been accepted to OU and who are planning to major in an engineering discipline. Participants take a math class for credit, a pre-chemistry class and work on a team project to design and build a Rube Goldberg Machine. They live in student housing and do everything together, including exercising every morning as a group to build healthy habits for college. They learn to navigate the OU campus, transition to life as students and go into their freshman year with a support network of friends. Including this year’s class of 44 students, there are 254 alumni of the AT&T Summer Bridge Program since its inception in 2007. Summer Bridge alumni are more likely to stick with their difficult engineering majors and graduate from college. The success of the program has attracted attention from many, including Gov. Mary Fallin, who visited the program this summer and viewed their completed Rube Goldberg projects. "The most important thing you can do is get a college education," Fallin said.
The University of Oklahoma AT&T Summer Bridge Program is a four-week-long, residential camp for incoming freshman students who have been accepted to the University of Oklahoma and are planning to major in engineering. This program is geared toward students who are African American/Black, Hispanic/Latino, Alaskan Native/Pacific Islander, American Indian or first-generation
students; however, the program considers all applicants regardless of background. Beginning eight years ago, this annual program is intended to encourage diversity within the Gallogly College of Engineering, helping students connect with engineering students, faculty and staff, acclimate to the college and prepare academically for engineering and math coursework.
Watch the new AT&T Summer Bridge video
bit.ly/ATTBridge
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CONNECT WITH US! THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GALLOGLY COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
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The University of Oklahoma Gallogly College of Engineering 202 W. Boyd St. Carson Engineering Center, Room 107 Norman, OK 73019-1021
Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage
PAID
University of Oklahoma
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
COMING FALL 2016
Learn more. http://ou.edu/coe/sptc.