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College of engineering newsletter
President Obama joins Dean James M. Tien and members of the Industrial Assessment Center (l. to r. Mariah Szpunar, Dr. Shihab Asfour, Jason Grant and Hanzala Siddiq) during his visit to the College of Engineering.
President Barack Obama, visiting the University of Mi-
“We need more engineers” according to President Barack Obama
ami on February 23 to deliver a policy statement on energy, preceded his speech with a tour of the University of Miami Industrial Assessment Center in the College of Engineering. Dr. Shihab Asfour, Director of the Center since its initiation in 2000, and his students demonstrated for the President various assessment procedures geared to for touting the University of Miami College of Engineering’s energy efforts, and for reducing energy consumption and increasing efficiency at small to medium-sized declaring “We need more engineers. I could not be prouder of those of you (students) companies in South Florida and Puerto Rico. who are studying engineering.” Moreover Dean Tien notes that President Obama has According to President Obama the work done in the Center “couldn’t be more recognized the College for work in sustainable energy systems, one of the three thrust important. Figuring out how our buildings can waste less energy is one of the fastest, areas (ie. healthcare and technobiology, informatics and risk, and sustainable easiest way to reduce our dependence on oil and save a lot of money in the process.” systems). In fact, in his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama highlighted He praised the work done in the UM Industrial Assessment Center and the need for intensive research in these very same areas: “There is a critical need for mentioned that its research is “helping manufacturers save millions of dollars in energy bills by making their facilities more efficient.” A video has been produced highlighting both the visit and the research being conducted within the College in Sustainable Systems. It can be viewed at the College’s website, www.miami.edu/ coe/videos or on Facebook. The UM Industrial Assessment Center Dean Tien welcomes the President to the College of Engineering. The President listens intently to Dr. Asfour’s explanation of MIIAC’s (MIIAC) has conducted over 220 energy work. Both graduate and undergraduate students discussed their research with the President during his visit. assessments of small and medium sized businesses over the past 10 years and, according to Dr. Asfour, the savings to the company usually exceeds 25% of their biomedical research, information technology and especially clean energy technology.” energy expenses. MIIAC was established through a Department of Energy research The research activities highlighted by the President remain an integral part of the grant of $2, 200, 000 and has recently been refunded through 2020. College’s mission to produce tomorrow’s technology leaders and, at the same time, to Dean James M. Tien thanked President Obama for honoring CoE with his visit, offer practical answers to national problems.
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National Needs Reflect College of Engineering’s Priorities
“We need more engineers” asserted President Barack obama in a policy speech on February 23, 2012, at the university of miami. The College of engineering wholeheartedly agrees. When the President declared in his 2011 state of the union address the necessity for “biomedical research, information technology, and clean energy” he was, in fact, delineating the very same three research thrusts established three years before in the College of engineering’s strategic plan. indeed, in early 2008, based on the expertise of our faculty and the needs of our nation, we established three critical areas for research within the College: Healthcare and
E-Week Mardi Gras Style Mardi Gras was not just one day but all week for this year’s E Week, February 19-24. Celebrating 60 years of Engineering “Mardi Gras Style,” the event-filled week “reflected not only hard work but also leadership, innovations, and a creative spirit, all part of the educational journey students are embarked on at CoE,” commented Dean James M. Tien. Highlights of this year’s activities
Technobiology, informatics and Risk, and sustainable systems. The President’s validation of these research priorities underscores both their value and their alignment with national needs. Projects currently under way in the College in each of these areas also draw upon the critical mass of faculty and resources we have been assembling over the past five years. Recent grants in each of the areas include those funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on reverse engineering the brain, the office of Naval Research (oNR) on cyber security and the Department of energy (Doe) on energy assessment. in fact, the latter Doe grant on energy assessment is actually a continuation effort initiated by Dr. shihab Asfour in 2000; it was also the reason President obama visited the College of engineering, just before his February 23, 2012, policy speech. The President’s visit to our university of miami industrial Assessment Center (miiAC) once again highlighted the importance of our research in sustainable systems and the nation’s need for innovative solutions to our energy problems. As he stated later in his policy speech, the work being done
in miiAC is one of the “fastest, easiest ways to reduce (America’s) dependence on oil and make (our) economy stronger…we’ve got to develop new technology that helps us use less energy and use energy smarter…we’ve got to rely on American know-how and the young engineers right here at the u who are focused on energy.” According to President obama, the work done in miiAC “couldn’t be more important.” He praised the Center and mentioned that its research is “helping manufacturers save millions of dollars in energy bills by making their facilities more efficient.” miiAC has thus far conducted over 220 energy assessments of small and medium sized businesses in south Florida and Puerto Rico and, according to Dr. Asfour, the savings to each assessed company usually exceeds 25% of their total energy expenses. The activities of miiAC are clearly answering the President’s call for bold new energy strategies. Realizing that our efforts are consistent with national needs inspires us to push forward with the Center’s projects, as well as with other activities in sustainable systems, including Dr. James englehardt’s work on autonomous net-zero water systems (funded
by the National science Foundation) and the work of Dr. Helena solo-Gabriel and her group in water quality control. (This project is highlighted on the Momentum2 website ww6.miami.edu/ momentum2/feature cref_event.html). Recently, a New York Times article (Catherine Rampell, “some urge us to Focus on selling its skills overseas,” April 10, 2012) underscored the fact that the us has a “comparative advantage in high-skilled services such as engineering…as the developed world has gotten wealthier, global demand for skills and services—especially the higher-end ones— has risen.” This demand for engineers and their knowledge-based and leading edge skills are exactly what the College is striving to meet. All three research thrust areas are not only being responsive to President obama’s agenda for the nation but they constitute an integral part of the College’s mission to produce tomorrow’s technology leaders for career success. A video capturing the President’s visit and our efforts in sustainable systems is available at www.miami. edu/coe/videos.
Younis Memorial Dr. Akmal Younis, a university of miami College of engineering from his heart” to develop labs and programs. He praised Dr. Younis’ associate professor, died suddenly on saturday, December 3. He was 48 research efforts in conjunction with faculty on the medical campus, especially the Radiology Department, as well as his devoted guidance of years old. Dr. Younis, whose research included Biomedical imaging, medical both graduate and undergraduate students. Dr. mohamed Abdel-mottaleb, head of the electrical and Computer informatics, and Networks and information security, received both his engineering Department, fondly describes Dr. Younis “as an masters and Ph.D. in electrical and Computer engineering outstanding computer engineer who cared very much about the from the university of miami and had been a faculty quality of teaching and research.” He pointed out that Dr. Younis member of the electrical engineering Department since was Chair of the Computer engineering curriculum committee 2001. He was an Associate Professor with tenure. and was instrumental in developing the software engineering Dr. Younis’ association with um began as a Research option.“Akmal was not only a colleague but a dear friend and Associate in the industrial engineering Department in 1989, we will miss him tremendously.” coming to the united states from Ain shamis university in “We are saddened to have lost a gifted and promising Cairo, egypt. Dr. shihab Asfour, who was instrumental in Dr. Akmal Younis colleague; indeed, one of my first decisions as incoming Dean convincing Dr. Younis to join um’s College of engineering, remembers fondly Dr. Younis’ love for computing and his enthusiasm for of the College in 2007 was to strongly support him for tenure and medical informatics projects with the medical campus faculty. His most promotion,”says Dean James m. Tien. “our thoughts and prayers are with recent funded projects included being principal investigator on grants from his young family.“ iNFoTeCH and NiH as well as projects from iBm and Cisco. Dr. mansur Kabuka, who served as Dr. Younis’ doctoral advisor and Dr Younis is survived by his wife, Amal, and four children, omar, Dana, mazen, and mohamed. mentor, also acknowledged his drive and determination, working “110%
Prototyping Facility Dean Tien and Francis Halili signal the Bounce House is “U” friendly.
included the second annual family picnic, an Innovation Expo, a bounce house and a campout on the Green. The traditional Duct Tape competition, Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day and the concrete canoe race were also part of the week long festival. Perhaps the only distraction to these events would have been the visit of President Barack Obama to the CoE Industrial Assessment Center. But, perhaps the President merely wanted to acquire one of the colorful Mardi Gras inspired t-shirts !
The university of miami College of engineering is pleased to announce the establishment of a professionally staffed, state-of-the-art Prototyping Facility, available for use both within um and with outside customers. The 3000 square feet, air-conditioned facility is equipped to handle the most complex prototyping task (large or small). The facility offers: The latest in prototyping machinery is now available for any project needs.
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the latest in computer numerically controlled (CNC) machines, capable of 5-axis milling and turning;
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Master Cam and Solid Works software, G-codes and conversational programming;
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educate students through hands-on projects;
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a complete rapid prototyping cube for very small prototyping;
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modern wood working and sheet metal equipment;
facilitate faculty wishing to culminate their research efforts with functioning prototypes; and
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a complete welding department including the latest in MIG, TIG, and Gas welders;
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collaborate with enterprises and entrepreneurs to transform their ideas and concepts into physical realities.
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a vast array of manually operated manufacturing equipment.
With its certified professionals and experienced machinists, the Prototyping Facility is ready to:
The College of engineering’s Prototyping Facility can be your one stop for the realization of your prototype. Future projects will be highlighted in upcoming editions of the Newsletter. For further information, please contact mr. Paul Conover at p.conover@miami or 305-284-4115.
A Gathering of Deans “Welcome to the Neighborhood” was the theme of the recent Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) engineering gathering at um. This collaborative group of ACC engineering Deans welcomed two new collegial members, syracuse university and the university of Pittsburgh, emphasizing the opportunity this group provides its members to consider ACC engineering schools’ concerns and activities. The group was formed in 2009 and member schools include Clemson, Duke, Florida state/Florida A&m, Georgia Tech, maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and the university of miami. (Remaining ACC institutions without engineering schools are Boston College, North Carolina, and Wake Forest.) Traditionally the Deans’ group meets at one of the member schools in early January and again at the engineering Deans institute in the spring. At this most recent meeting at um, President shalala joined the group to briefly discuss um’s jump in national rankings and to emphasize the role the College of engineering has played in this meteoric rise within
just the last year alone—a nine-point rise from 47 to 38 in the US News & World Report‘s ”Best Colleges.” The stated purpose of the consortium is to review concerns and challenges facing the engineering schools, to build familiarity and collegiality, to share best practices, and to identify new and fruitful collaborations. in fact, one such collaboration is the ACC Clean energy Challenge funded by the Department of energy Clean energy Business Creation Competition. (see companion article on the ACC Challenge.) As Dean Richard Benson (of Virginia Tech) pointed out, approximately 10% of all new engineers in the nation are produced by these eleven engineering schools and there is definitely value in benchmarking individual efforts and combined goals. “By discussing mutual problems and best practices we learn individually and collectively what enriches our students and our faculty,” acknowledges James m. Tien, Distinguished Professor and Dean.
The ACC Engineering Deans (l to r) Richard Benson, Virginia Tech; Gary May, Georgia Tech; James Aylor, Virginia; John Collier, Florida State; James M. Tien, UM; Gerry Holder, University of Pittsburgh; Louis Martin-Vega, North Carolina State; Darryll Pines, Maryland. (Other members of the group include: Esin Gulari, Clemson; Tom Katsouleas, Duke University; Laura Steinberg ,Syracuse.)
ACC Challenge The Atlantic Coast Conference university partners, led by the university of maryland, have been selected by the u.s. Department of energy to host a Clean energy Business Plan Competition encouraging students in the conference and throughout the southeast to develop successful business plans for a new generation of American clean energy companies. The three-year, $360,000 grant aims to spur a new generation of Clean energy Ventures in the southeast. The university of miami, along with the other 10 ACC member schools, will send a team to the southeast Regional Finals April 24-25 at the university of maryland campus. each school’s team will present their business plan for creating a clean energy company developed by both undergraduate and graduate students, along with local industry mentors and faculty advisors. The first round, on April 25, will allow each qualified team 20 minutes to present their business plan. Two winners from each of three tracks will then proceed to the final round, from which one winner will be selected. The regional winner will then compete in the Doe National Clean energy Business Plan Finals in Washington DC in June, 2012. Two teams of students from the College of engineering and the school of Business have joined forces to develop plans for clean energy technologies; one will be chosen to be
the official university entry to the regional competition at the university of maryland. The Coe team (Biodomes inc.), consisting of Jacob Aaron, michael Page, and matthew Pollard, proposes a project that involves Biomass Fuel Generation on a university campus. Conversion of food waste to energy is a critical area of research and has had some preliminary commercialization success. This
team’s proposed system would take biowaste, such as food, fats, grease, and landscaping waste generated on campus and recycle it into biogas (methane) which could be used in turn for cooking, water heating, and energy generation. Dr. Kenneth Colwell, lecturer in the Department of management, is the advisor and Dr. Gang Wang (Assistant Professor, CAe) is assisting. other selected school teams in the elite eight (from ACC schools) vying for the $100K award include Am at (Clemson
university) who are developing thermoelectric technologies to improve vehicle fuel efficiency; Dynamo micropower (Duke university) is proposing a novel ultra-micro gas turbine architecture; and Green star (Virginia Tech) developing an affordable and fun solution for energy management and home automation. This competition is part of the obama Administration’s efforts to support and empower the next generation of American clean energy entrepreneurs; it strives to ensure that “America has the workforce needed to secure America’s energy future.” (Dept. of energy secretary steven Chu) ‘We often see the most determined efforts and most spectacular achievements in sports in conference rivalries. This ACC Clean energy Challenge harnesses that competitive but friendly spirit and directs its potential and power towards solving one of this nation’s toughest challenges,“ according to maryland Technology enterprise institute (mtech) Venture Director Dean Chang. “The Deans of the engineering schools in the ACC saw this as a perfect way to show pride in their individual schools while working together in a collegial and impactful way to unite the best and most promising faculty innovations in clean energy with entrepreneurial students across the ACC and southeast,” added Dean James. m. Tien.
Momentum2 Campaign
“This vision is grand, it’s fearless, and it’s comprehensive.” This is the description of Momentum2 by President Donna shalala at the kick off celebration on February 16, 2012. The announced goal of this latest fundraising initiative is $1.6 billion in donations by 2016. As is typical with such fundraising campaigns, um has been quietly soliciting donors for almost four years to get the ball rolling and has already raised $905
million toward the announced goal. This newest target amount is not the highest in the nation (stanford university’s latest five-year drive just topped a record 6.2 billion) but is taking aim at um’s chief Florida rival , the university of Florida, whose uF Florida Tomorrow’s campaign is nearing its $1.5 billion goal. According to sergio m. Gonzalez, senior Vice President for university Advancement and external
Affairs, “supporting academic resources, learning opportunities, and strategic initiatives through the Momentum2 will firmly establish the university as one of the nation’s most renowned centers of higher education, research, and innovation: a place where breakthroughs and beginnings continually replenish each other in a dynamic cycle that nurtures tomorrow’s leaders, expands knowledge, and enhances quality of life for our community and our world.” Key campaign goals are scholarship and student support, $210m; Faculty support and Research, $580m, Programs and General support, $470m and New Buildings and Facility improvements, $340m. The Campaign Chairs leonard and Jayne Abess cited the university’s
commitment to excellence as the inspiration for their own family’s 85 year-old tradition of service to the university and noted” this campaign promises to build the university’s beneficial impact in countless ways.” The College of engineering’s campaign chairman, Ana Veigamilton, specifically mentioned the need for new and larger engineering facilities, more faculty and more scholarships and fellowships if the College is to thrive. “The students lend us their lives for four years and we need to make their experience as rewarding and worthwhile as possible.” in concert with the launch of Momentum2, the College of engineering will be formally soliciting its friends and alumni. For more information please contact Rafael Robles, Advancement Director at rrobles@miami.edu.
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Achieving Diversity in Engineering
12 December Graduation The College of engineering held graduation ceremonies at the Bankunited Center on December 15, 2011 and hosted a reception for all graduates and their families shortly thereafter at the mcArthur engineering Complex. There were 35 undergraduates, 11 masters and 2 Ph.D. degree recipients. Congratulations to all.
Save the Date: spring Coe Commencement ceremonies will be held may 11, 2012. Roger Koch (center) discusses his $1M gift with Dean James M. Tien and Rafael Robles, CoE Advancement Director
A math and science whiz who earned an engineering degree and once worked on the Space Shuttle, Roger Koch rarely encountered a problem in his field that he couldn’t solve. One dilemma, however, had always puzzled him: why so few African-Americans were engineers. “When I got involved in the aviation industry after college and began attending different conferences and shows, I would see only one or two black engineers, sometimes out of a group of attendees numbering in the thousands,” recalled Koch, a former president and owner of a Miami-based engineering firm that specialized in seats, cabinetry, and interiors for aircraft. Always a strong believer in diversity, Koch knew that somehow “we needed to get more African-American college students to major in engineering” and then excel in the profession. Now, a $1 million gift from the Miami entrepreneur to the University of Miami’s College of Engineering will help fulfill that goal. Half of Koch’s generous endowment will fund transfer scholarships for African-American engineering students from community colleges in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe, and Collier counties. The other half, given to support current needs as decided by James M. Tien, Dean of the College of Engineering, will be used to help students gain experience in solving real-world engineering problems, support their senior capstone projects through input from professional engineers, and recruit design engineers who will interact with students, faculty members, and the college’s industry partners. “This gift supports two critical needs,” Dean Tien said. “It is one more stepping stone that will help achieve an infusion of African-American students into engineering, and it will help ensure the success of our student engineers, who will have careers in a century that demands innovation and a new proficiency
Lianne’s Corner
in inter- and multidisciplinary collaborations.” Koch’s gift to UM is part of his ongoing endeavor to increase the number of minorities in engineering, a field in which he blossomed as a college student and businessman. Koch first established ties with the University of Miami in the early 1990s, hiring some of the school’s engineering students to work at AMP (Aircraft Modular Products). He noticed that many of them were unfamiliar with computer-aided design (CAD), which was quickly becoming a popular technological tool among engineers. So Koch convinced two of his company’s suppliers to donate computer software and other equipment to UM’s College of Engineering to help students learn CAD. And he persuaded then Dean M. Lewis Temares to push for the creation of a technical writing course geared toward engineers and scientists. The philanthropist’s latest gift not only benefits UM but also addresses a national concern. He said that while there are more African-American engineers today than when he started in the field, more efforts are needed to increase their numbers, and funding scholarships for minority students is one way to accomplish that goal. Today, Koch is not totally retired. He spends some of his time working with a few former AMP engineers in developing LED lighting products in partnership with Fort Lauderdalebased Silescent Technologies. He is happy in knowing that his giving helps others. “I have more than I need, and you don’t take anything with you,” he said. “I just enjoy doing little things like this to, hopefully, make life a little bit better for people who can use a little help.”
Graduates and their families join the College’s faculty and staff for a reception throughout all of the departments.
Graduate Nathan Gholston (BSME) celebrates with his extended family.
The Dean welcomes proud graduates to the reception.
Lianne Dookie asks Coe stuDents:
What was your favourite part of E-Week? There was added excitement in the air at this year’s National Engineers Week with the highly-anticipated visit of President Obama to the College of Engineering. Students were very appreciative of his interest and his encouragement. The students also got to have fun and let off some steam, enjoying a barbecue, a smores camp-out, the friendly rivalry of the Duct Tape Stick-Up, the fundraising UMOC competiton, and the Peanut Butter and Jelly competition. With such a wide variety of activities taking place we asked some students to tell us what they liked best.
Amanda Adams and Bianca Akunna - industrial engineering
Daniel Castillo - electrical and Computer engineering
Bianca: “I liked that Engineering got a lot of attention, particularly from President Obama. He gave us credit.”Amanda: “The Bounce House, of course!”
“It’s fun to see what people in other disciplines are doing so I really like when the different Engineering clubs show the projects that they are working on.”
Zhi Ko - Civil, Architectural, and environmental engineering “The U.M.O.C (Unique Member of the College) competition. Everyone in the College of Engineering was so enthusiastic and supportive about raising money for students.”
Daniel Coward - Biomedical engineering “I liked seeing the different organizations coming together at the same time so it was great for BMES, FWEA and IIE to have the Bounce House, the camp-out and the Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich contest. And it was really cool that President Obama’s visit coincided with E-week and he gave a shout out to stick with Engineering.”
Nicolas Rongione - mechanical and Aerospace engineering “The Air Force officers in their mock jet and the Bounce House. People who do not usually come to the Engineering Building were curious and stopped by and they got to see all the different activities put on by the Engineering students.”
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MARLO WYANT Marlo (BSME) capped off her UM career being named Vestas Mechanical Engineering Student of the Year. This award allowed Margo to travel to Denmark to visit Vestas global headquarters, attend the annual gala in New York City and receive mention in the Universam Top 100 in the New York Times. Marlo was both surprised and humbled by this designation, citing the opportunity to “meet the leading research and development engineers at Vestas and visit both Denmark and Norway.” Marlo‘s UM career has been chock full of wonderful and exceptional opportunities.
In addition to this award, she had also garnered four summer internships including one with BMW Manufacturing, one at the Naval Reserve Research Lab, one studying new product design at Solar Turbines and one with GE Energy. She was also a finalist, along with her fellow researcher, Daniel Castillo, in the Go Green in the City International Business Case Competition. They were selected as one of 25 top teams globally and were flown to Paris to present their project to a panel of Schneider Electric executives. Margo mentions that this competition was
“a fantastic learning experience from both an engineering and a business standpoint… we were able to network with fellow engineering students from all over the world and learn about the growing need for smart energy technology.” Marlo has accepted an Associate Mechanical Engineer position with Solar Turbines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar and cites all of her amazing engineering internships as one of the essential reasons she landed such a challenging first job.
Marlo Wyant
JUAN PABLO RUIZ Juan (BSBE) is a 2012 Barry M Goldwater Scholarship winner, double majoring in Biomedical Engineering and English. His career goal is to conduct stem cell and tissue engineering research
for regenerative medicine but he would also like to teach at the university level. Just recently he learned that his first authored paper will be published: “The effect of nicotine on the mechanical properties of mesenchymal stem cells” will be
in the next issue of Cell Health and Cytoskeleton. He has also worked in the Dr. Jeffrey Karp Tissue Engineering Laboratory at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and is a recipient of an Isaac B. Singer Scholarship; he is a member of the Foote
Fellows Program and a member of the UM, Tau Beta Pi, and Alpha Eta Mu Honor Societies. In addition to his academic accomplishments, Juan has also found time to write three, full -length novels and serve as an instructor in Salsa Craze at UM.
Juan Ruiz
KATHRYN HAEFNER Kathryn (BSME) demonstrates the diverse backgrounds and interests of the student body, capturing the Voltair Adult Amateur Hunter 18-35 Division at the
Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington Florida. For Kathryn, the balance between school and competition is a challenge but she cites strict time management and a
supportive family as contributing to her success on the circuit as well as with her studies.
Kathryn Haefner (on Aro)
o t h e r e n g i n e e r i n g S t u d e n t S w h o h a v e d i S t i n g u i S h e d t h e m S e lv e S i n n a t i o n a l ly c o m p e t i t i v e S c h o l a r S h i p S i n c l u d e : p a t r i c i a B a r r e i r o — pBSJ minority engineering Scholar ship a l l i S o n K o r t h - research i nternship in Science and engineering (riS e) program in germany a l e x i B o r d e S - national Science foundation’s graduate research fellowship program
Homecoming Innovation was the predominant theme at the 2011 College of Engineering Alumni are the ones creating jobs and companies.” The inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award was presented to John Pittuluga for his Homecoming Breakfast at the Newman Alumni House on November 4, 2011, organized contributions to both engineering and the College. The by Rick De La Guardia (BSAE ’95), President of the College Dean also pointed to the far ranging contributions of Dr. of Engineering Alumni Association. Both the remarks of Leonard Pinchuk and the 95 patents he currently holds President Donna Shalala and the keynote speaker, First as testimony to how engineering continually “ brings Vice President of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Carlos ideas to reality.” (Dr. Pinchuk, a Research Professor E. Lowell (BSME, ‘94) stressed the immense potential in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, has and notable contributions Engineering has made to the recently been elected to the National Academy of University’s success and to the general public. Engineers.) Over 150 alumni joined faculty from all five Rick De La Guardia’s efforts to organize this event departments to acknowledge the success of the College were noteworthy as well. Both the attendance and over the past years as well as to herald the University’s enthusiasm were remarkable. This event also marked latest efforts in establishing UM as the “next best research the debut of the film “Homes” which highlighted both university.” the extensive history of the College of Engineering and President Shalala stressed the amazing rise in UM’s the far-reaching future endeavors envisioned for it. This ranking among The Best Colleges in the US poll conducted COE Alumni President Rick De La Guardia presents the inaugural video and one featuring the visit of President Obama to by US News & World Report and suggested that Engineering Alumni of Distinction Award to John Pittuluga as Dean James M. CoE can be viewed at the College of Engineering website has played a significant role in this improvement, citing Tien congratulates him. the above average SAT scores of the Engineering students (www.miami.edu/coe/videos) and on Facebook. as well as the College’s increased research funding. Dean Tien also pointed out the critical importance of engineers, who “daily work on SAVE THE DATE: The 2012 Alumni Weekend Breakfast will be October 19, innovation and invention … bringing ideas to fruition…making ideas physical. Engineers 2012 at the Newman Alumni House.
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Dr. Pham and Dr. Andreopoulos
Dr. Cheri Stabler ‘s (Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering)
Dr. Si Mai Pham (Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering, Chief, Artificial Heart/Lung Transplant team) and Dr. Fotios Andreopoulos (Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Chief Biomedical Engineer) received the HealthGrades Heart Transplant Excellence Award for the UM/Jackson Health System Heart Transplant Program. This team was one of the three recipients selected out of 116 nominations. According to Dr. Pham this award recognizes the UM center’s excellent survival rate (96% at 1 year and 94% at 3 years) and shorter length of stay ( 9.5 days vs.14 for the nation). He points out “This is a team effort and we are a winning team!”
revolutionary research at the Diabetes Research Institute (DRI) was recently published in the prestigious Proceedings of the national academy of Dr. Cheri Stabler Science. The results of her study represent a major step toward the goal of developing an alternative site to house insulin-producing cells. According to Dr. Camillo Ricordi, DRI Scientific Director, “This novel approach for sustained oxygen delivery… could be critically important to improve the survival of transplanted cellular products.”
Dr. Antonio Nanni (Professor and Department Chair Civil Engineering) accepted the 2012 Opal Henry l. Michel Award for Industry Advancement in Research at the Opal Gala, March 22 in Arlington VA. The Opal (Outstanding Projects and Leaders) Awards are the American Society of Civil Engineers’ recognition of outstanding civil engineers in four distinct categories. Dr Nanni’s award was for his influence in construction research.
Dr. Antonio Nanni
Dr. Carol Hays (Sirkin Associate Professor in the Practice of Civil Engineering) has been awarded the 2012 Chi Epsilon Excellence in Teaching Award for the Southern District in recognition of her “enthusiasm and high standards in teaching.”
Class Notes Hamad al-GHanim, BSaE and BSCE ’93, joined the Corp. of Engineers in the Qatari army and will be promoted to Colonel. He is married, has two sons and two daughters and lives in Doha in a home which he designed himself.
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at the annual Faculty and staff recognition dinner held in december, the following College of Engineering awards were presented: Alexander Orr Jr. Excellence in Teaching Award Dr. Nina Miville, Assistant Professor in the Practice of Industrial Engineering Johnson A. Edosomwan Outstanding Publication Award Drs. Fotios Andreopoulos (Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering), Chun Yuh Huang (Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering, and Herman Cheung (Professor, Biomedical Engineering) Johnson A. Edosomwan Researcher of the Year Dr. Cherie Stabler, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering Eliahu I Jury Early Career Research Award Dr. Justin Sanchez, Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering Eliahu I Jury Excellence in Service Innovation Award Ms. Angie Del-Llano, Secretary, Electrical and Computing Engineering
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VOLUME 4, ISSUE 1
JEan-Paul BErmudEz, BSEE ’08, has been working at Turkey Point Nuclear Plant since 2008 as an Instrumentation & Controls Design Engineer. He is a football and mens’ basketball season ticket holder and still tries to visit “the Rat” occasionally. armando CuEllo, BSBE ’04, mSiE/mBa ’07, started at Cordis Corporation in Miami Lakes and is now a Quality Manager for MENTOR WWLLC, responsible for end to end quality testing of products sold to the aesthetic market. He plans to stay in the medical device industry. BEnJamin daniElS, BSmE ’11, working at Caterpillar in Peoria, IL and started working on his M.S. degree at Georgia Tech in the fall of 2011. riCk dE la Guardia, BSaE ’95, his firm DLG Engineering, Inc. was nominated by the Latin Builders Association for the LBA’s Architectural/Engineering Firm of 2011 and was also selected as one of South Florida’s Top 100 Minority Business of 2012 by the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce. Rick continues to support CoE events and is serving his second term as President of the UM College of Engineering Alumni Association (CoEAA). moataz EltoukHy, PH.d. ’10, Industrial Engineering is currently a Post-Doctoral Associate at the University of Miami conducting research in Artificial Neural Networks, Biomechanics, and Motion Capturing. He has published in national and international journals and is the recipient of a number of awards. miCHaEl FErrantE, BSEE ’75, moved to Orlando where he has worked for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division for the past 37 years. He is a Lead Systems Engineer and has worked on Navy and Army simulation projects and also a Reserve Captain with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office and a certified FDLE instructor. He is the father of Matthew, John, Deanna, and Aimee. Curt ForSt, BSmE ’08, completed his M.S.M.E. at Johns Hopkins University and currently resides in Baltimore, MD. He is a Mechanical Engineer (Band II) at Northrop Grumman Company, and has his EIT certification. EC FulCHEr, BSEE ’54, employed by NASA for 4 years and Lockheed Missiles and Space Co. for 35 years. His wife of 42 years, Maggie, passed away recently. He retired in 1992 and is living near Lake Murray, a short distance NW of Columbia, SC. JoHn r. Hall, BSCE ’74, served as the Team Leader for Student Goals on the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Strategic Plan Task Force to improve K-12 and postsecondary STEM education in Florida. Also served with a much smaller group to update the Plan to reflect legislative and educational system changes CorEy HiPPS, BSBE ’10, currently a 2nd year law student at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, studying intellectual property law. Last summer he worked for Liu Shen & Associates in Beijing, China, and will spend this summer working for the U.S. PTO (Patent and Trade Office) in Alexandria, VA. larry kaGEmann, mSBE ’89, finishing his Ph.D this semester, is a Research Assistant Professor and Co-Director at the OVSR Center Imaging Module, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine: Eye and Ear Institute. alEkS kamBEr, BSit ’05, working at Citi for the Operations and Technology Department, has attained the following certifications: CISSP, CEH, GCIC. A team
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leader for his unit he is confident that he will be achieving more in the future thanks to the skills and discipline that he learned at UM. Frank kEiStEr, BSmE, BSES ’52, received his law degree in 1975 from the University of West Los Angeles. A member of the California Bar since 1976, he received his Amateur Extra Radio License in 2010. r. kEnt koEHlEr, BSEE ’69, received his M.S. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins in’82. Recently awarded his 30 years service pin from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory where he was appointed a Program Manager in July, 2000. Hopes to retire in a couple of years and play more golf. andrES lavin, BSEE ’06, is an officer in the Air Force, commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant, stationed in San Antonio, Texas where he works in Cyber Warfare. lorEn latta, PE, PH.d. ’79, Mechanical Engineering just completed the annual meeting of Orthopedic Research Society / American Academy of Orthopedic surgeons, a 9 day marathon, where 12 scientific posters, 2 scientific papers and one scientific exhibit were presented. Working on a variety of projects involving faculty and surgeons from the Orthopaedic Department and twelve UM Engineering students and faculty. rEEm madkour, BSCE ’11, working at Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger in Boston in their Building Technology department, just received her EIT. Reem extends her warmest greetings to her friends in CAE and the student chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. matt maSCio, BSEE ’01, and Amanda Friedman, also a UM alumna, welcomed their daughter, Eva Rose, on
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November 1st, 2011.
professors and classmates.
JamES “kimo” PaSCual, BSEE ’03, BSmE ’04, received his M.D. at the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Maryland in 2008 and is now a board-certified pediatrician and an active duty U.S. Army Medical Officer. currently the Flight Surgeon for the 1-229 Aviation Regiment and stationed at Fort Hood, TX.
timotHy SEaGravES, BSaSE ’08, is an Application Sales Engineer - PMA Program Manager at ITT Aerospace Controls in Valencia, CA.
William F. rEulEin, PE, BSCE ’60, received his M.S.C.E. in 1970 from Catholic University of America. He had his P.E. license for Arizona and Virginia and is now retired. JoSé a. rodriGuEz, BSmE ’93, mSBE ’96, m.d. ’03, received his board certification in both Diagnostic Radiology Residence and Nuclear Medicine at UM/JMH, currently an attending physician doing Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at an HCA hospital on the west coast of Florida. JamES roHal, BSit ’10, is a technical consultant for Microsoft in Charlotte, NC. His focus is on Client Deployment, Infrastructure and Virtualization technologies. Exploring new parts of the country and taken up skiing. randy SCHWartz, BSmE ’10, mSmE ’10, has received his Engineer in Training (EIT) Certification and works with Bechtel Power in Knoxville, TN. He has been working on the TVA Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant Project, creating the engineering schedule, budgets, and estimates to complete the design of auxiliary power plant systems. ElmEr SCHWinGEn, BSaE ’64 retired from the Corps of Engineers in Charleston, SC. after 40 years of service. He served in Cape Canaveral, Huntsville, Atlanta, Charleston, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. He still thinks often of his UM
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William SJoGrEn, BSCE ’54, started his career in 1955 as a geodetic surveyor with the US army. Received a Master’s degree in Applied Math from Northwestern University in 1962, worked on missions to the moon, and on Apollo 12-17 missions as well as collaborating with colleagues on Jupiter and Saturn mission. Retired in 1999 and lives in California. milan vranES, mSiE ’08, is based in Rome, Italy as the Marketing Manager of Cementir Italia/Cementir Holding/ Caltagirone Group. artHur “roB” WEavEr, BSmE ’08, also graduated cum laude in 2011 from UM with his J.D. He is a registered Patent Attorney currently practicing intellectual property law in the Miami office of Fleit Gibbons Gutman Bongini & Bianco P.L. CHriS zaJda, BSaE, BSCE ’87, received his M.S. in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1988. Partner in his firm of Perrone & Zajda Engineers, LLC in Connecticut. Serves in the Engineering Division of Homeland Security’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force 1. He and his wife, Ania, have a son Alexander, and a daughter, Victoria.
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