College of Engineering Engineering and Technology Building 1910 University Drive Boise, Idaho 83725-2100
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College of Engineering
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Newsletter Spring 2010
College of Engineering Dean: CHERYL B. SCHRADER (208) 426-1153 Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: JANET CALLAHAN (208) 426-1153 janetcallahan@boisestate.edu
Summer Programs
Assistant Dean for Research & Infrastructure: REX OXFORD (208) 426-5744 roxford@boisestate.edu
Civil Engineering Chair: ROBERT HAMILTON (208) 426-3764 rhamilton@boisestate.edu
Computer Science Chair: MURALI MEDIDI (208) 426-2283 mmedidi@boisestate.edu
Construction Management Chair: TONY SONGER (208) 426-3716 tonysonger@boisestate.edu
Electrical & Computer Engineering Chair: THAD WELCH (208) 426-2283 thadwelch@boisestate.edu
Instructional & Performance Technology Chair: DON STEPICH (208) 426-1312 dstepich@boisestate.edu
Materials Science & Engineering Chair: DARRYL BUTT (208) 426-2283 darrylbutt@boisestate.edu
Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering Chair: JAMES FERGUSON (208) 426-4078 jferguson@boisestate.edu
e-Camp – Grades 8-9 June 6-8, 2010 Students who are currently in 8th or 9th grade can use hands-on activities and projects involving self discovery, cooperative learning, critical thinking, and problem solving while living on campus in a college dormitory. All food, housing and recreational activities are provided. Cost - $200 (scholarships available).
e-Girls – Grades 9-10 June 11-12, 2010 e-Girls is a free overnight program for girls currently in 9th and 10th grade. Enrollment is limited to 50 girls. Workshops led by Society of Women Engineers professionals and college students may include: Biomechanics of Footwear, Packaging and the Environment, Virtual Worlds with Alice, Solving Forensic Mysteries, Physics of Rock Climbing/Rope Walking, A World of Career Choices, and more!
On Saturday, March 13, Jim Froula, executive director of Tau Beta Pi, the national engineering honor society, traveled to Boise State University to conduct one of the largest installations into Tau Beta Pi to date. Froula and other national representatives inducted 47 undergraduate engineering students and 17 alumni into Idaho Gamma, the nation’s newest chapter at #243. The induction ceremony was the culmination of a six year effort by Boise State’s Engineering Honor Society to become a recognized Tau Beta Pi chapter. Starting with 13 inaugural members, the group has grown to more than 100 students and alumni whose ongoing goal is to promote integrity and excellence in engineering. Nearly 140 initiates, alumni and friends celebrated the inauguration at a dinner in the Boise State Student Union Building. Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Janet Callahan served as Master of Ceremonies for the event. Speakers included Vice President for Student Affairs Michael Laliberte, College of Engineering Dean Cheryl Schrader, Tau Beta Pi Executive Director Jim Froula, Tau Beta Pi Executive Councillor Norman Pih, and Tau Beta Pi District 12 Director Tricia Schwaller.
See 2010 Idaho Gamma Initiates on page 2
When Ingenuity Meets Opportunity by Margaret Scott Sometimes two projects intersect in surprising ways. That’s the case with professor Joe Guarino’s (Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering) cloud computing initiative, funded last fall by a Hewlett-Packard grant, which is able to provide real-time design experience for high school students across the state. This spring, a group of 50 Caldwell High School students are using the technology to help Boise State engineering students design two experiments for NASA’s Microgravity University 2010. The lunar gravity project collaboration would not be possible without the computer software available to the high school – right in their own science classroom – courtesy of the Engineering Learning Community for Idaho (ELCI), an interactive network created by Guarino. Based on a
Hewlett-Packard cloud computing infrastructure, the ELCI provides multiple users at different locations the ability to collaborate in real-time. Microgravity University, also known as the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, challenges undergraduate students to design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a reduced gravity experiment that ultimately contributes to NASA’s mission to “advance human exploration, use and development of space.” Boise State has two engineering research teams participating this year with help from the Caldwell High students. Their common task is working on the two NASA systems engineering projects focused on lunar rover traction and the dielectric properties of lunar soil. The two groups of students met for the first time in February and continue to work together both in person and remotely. The high school students are also participating in the Microgravity University blog on the College of Engineering website.
Continued on Page 5