Seattle University Reach Volume 2

VOLUME 1, ISSUE 2. WINTER 2014

REACH

POWERED UP As the first wind turbine tower was being raised into position, we realized this moment was the beginning of a significant evolution for the people of Muhuru Bay, Kenya. All because of a Seattle University team of electrical engineering students working in collaboration with faculty and industry advisors.

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I T TA K ES TO LIGHT

MAYBE SUB-HEAD HERE?

A year ago, the villagers of Muhuru Bay, Kenya, had no electrical power. What they did have was abundant sunshine and wind off the bay. They also had an industry-sponsored student design team from SU’s College of Science and Engineering.

The four seniors and their advisors on this yearlong capstone project started with one question: Can we harness existing resources and deliver electricity to the villagers — affordably, reliably and sustainably?

In order to design a practical working solution, the team successfully navigated the technical requirements, logistical constraints and physical challenges of the location. In addition to site and equipment assessments, they conducted community interviews to make sure the system they were designing would be wanted and accepted by the community.

Villagers and implementation team members worked side by side. The Muhuru Bay microgrid — completed in August — consists of two wind turbines and 12 solar panels connected to a threekilowatt community charging station.

The charging station recharges 65 portable battery boxes, distributed by lottery to families with children enrolled in the local school, Kristy’s Cape Academy.

The social enterprise business model designed by the team is a key to the microgrid’s sustainability. Families who receive battery boxes pay a small fee that covers maintenance and replacement parts, which are available in Kenya. The fee also pays the salaries of two employees — hired and trained by project team members — who manage the charging station.

Among the many project volunteers were Vincent Van Acker, representing project funder Alstom Foundation for the Environment (associated with Alstom Grid), and two Boeing engineers committed to humanitarian engineering: Kimberly Kroh, who handled team logistics, and Ayesha Pirbhai (’12 ECE), who worked with both the assessment and implementation teams.

“This is the largest project of its kind for SU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,” says Associate Professor Henry Louie, PhD.

“The knowledge that we gain from this project will live on and can be used by others elsewhere.” Already, SU math students are analyzing the real-time performance data sent via a remote monitoring system implemented by Daniel Nausner (’14 ECE).

As the students witnessed the arrival of electricity in Muhuru Bay, they saw firsthand how electrification brings new opportunities to a community.

One team member, Andrew Mewborn (’14 ECE), has committed his career to social entrepreneurship for the purpose of electrification in the developing world.

In Muhuru Bay, the power is on.

Something as simple as a charged mobile phone helps fishermen contact the markets paying the best price.

Families can now shop and bank with M-Pesa, Kenya’s mobile phone-based money transfer service. And for the first time, LED bulbs are shining in 65 homes, where the schoolchildren are studying at night.

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RAISING THE BAR When I meet with alumni, they almost always want to know, “Is the College of Science and Engineering still like it was when I was a student?” My answer is, YES, and then some!

Our student-faculty ratio is still 11:1 Our classes are still taught by faculty, not graduate students Our professors still know their students by name We still talk about ethics in our classes

ECE senior design project, “Microgrid System for a Wind and Solar Farm Located in Rural Kenya,” received the $25,000 grand prize in the 2014 NCEES Engineering Award for Connecting Professional Practice and

In so many ways, though, we’ve raised the bar, taking the education we provide our students to a much higher level. Today: A variety of educational innovations, such as flipped classrooms and active learning, enhance student achievement.

Great relationships with corporations and government agencies provide our students with industry-driven engineering and computer science capstone design experiences.

We’re providing opportunities for our science and math students to get involved in research projects.

Education. The team included ’14 ECE students Patrick Berg, Michael Koppi, Andrew Mewborn and Daniel Nausner, faculty advisor Steve Szablya and Henry Louie, PhD, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering.

We know we’re on the right track when we see: 23 students coauthoring research papers in a single year.

Design teams continuing to win regional and national awards, including the grand prize offered by the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying.

CSE enrollments rising 5-6% per year for five years running.

VALUES IN ACTION

On site with the implementation team, alumna Ayesha Pirbhai (‘12 ECE) purchased maize and distributed it to Muhuru Bay’s widows and orphans.“Giving to the less fortunate is an essential value and obligation in the faith I belong to: Islam,” she says. “The Jesuit mission of social justice coincides with the Islamic values, which is why I chose to attend Seattle University.”

You can help us meet the rising demand for an exceptional education in the STEM fields.

Read on, to find out how.

MUHURU BAY MICROGRID Funded by Alstom Foundation for the Environment Co-sponsored by IEEE PES Community Solutions Initiative Vendor/Supplier: PowerGen Kenya

MICHAEL J. QUINN, PhD Dean, College of Science and Engineering

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GOOD SCIENCE

“The students have the heart when they get here. We ask ourselves how to “The trajectory is long,” says Assistant Professor Ian Suydam, PhD, referring to scientific research. “But the potential payoff is big.” The same might be best capture that said of the hard but rewarding work he and his colleagues, Drs. PJ Alaimo energy and provide and Joseph Langenhan, are doing as they train our next generation of scientists. In everything they do, these three chemists focus on teaching their the environment students to do good science. where they will learn the skills needed To become good scientists, say the three professors, students must acquire to do real science— the necessary theoretical underpinnings in the classroom. They must also become proficient in three areas the SU Chemistry Department is very good good science.” at teaching.

Technical competencies. Students must become technically competent on professional-level equipment and instrumentation. Our chemistry students use instruments and equipment that are at the cutting edge. Although the CSE does not always have the fully-loaded Cadillac version, the students are gaining experience on equipment similar to that which is used in graduate labs at top universities like Harvard or Stanford.

Proficiency in scientific thinking. During the school year and on summer research projects, chemistry and biochemistry majors do laboratory work that stretches their minds and hones their skills. These are not “cookbook labs,” where the result is already known. Our students practice scientific inquiry in the context of investigations where the answer is unknown.

Skill in scientific writing. A major learning objective at SU, scientific writing is an area the professors believe is extremely thin at many universities. This curricular thread is embedded in the yearlong organic chemistry lab that enables downstream practice. “They learn as sophomores, practice as juniors, and by the time they are seniors they know how to write a real scientific paper,” says Dr. Langenhan. “Upon graduation, they no longer sound like college students.”

Thanks to Drs. Alaimo, Langenhan and Suydam and their colleagues, SU graduates in chemistry and biochemistry are accepted to top PhD programs such as the University of California, Berkeley, and the California Institute of Technology. They arrive fully prepared. They’re ready to embark on real scientific inquiry. They’re well trained on professional-level equipment.

And they write like real scientists. They know how to do all these things, because that’s what they have been doing here.

“Our work here may not always yield the next big breakthrough,” says Dr. Suydam. “But if the students are studying hard, doing science that matters, and thinking hard about it, we are doing our job.” Their students are learning that good science has a long trajectory. And the rewards can be great.

PJ ALAIMO, PhD Associate Professor of Chemistry

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READY ON DAY ONE It takes approximately $18,700 to fund a thorough summer research experience for two students. In addition to the immediate educational value, this investment gives our students an important edge as graduate students.

Many students from other universities arrive at graduate school lacking the skills necessary to do the work, and spend the first year acquiring them. The graduate student’s stipend and other fees for a single year of graduate school — paid for with taxpayer dollars — can cost from $50,000 to $80,000.

On the other hand, an SU graduate in chemistry or biochemistry enters a PhD program fully prepared to design and conduct experiments and write up the results.

That student is easily a year ahead. YOUR GIFT FOR UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH IS MONEY WELL SPENT! SEE PAGE 11.

SUMMER RESEARCH TEAM

“In our field, caring about the world means confronting highly technical challenges and doesn’t always lend itself to immediate gratification. To become leaders in the chemical sciences, our students must take part in a rigorous educational paradigm. Our job is to help our students succeed at the highest possible level so they are prepared to make a deep, lasting impact on the world.”

IAN SUYDAM, PhD Assistant Professor of Chemistry

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HYPOTHESIS DRIVEN FIELD TESTED To be an environmental scientist, you must be intellectually curious and enjoy exploring the world around you. You’ll be able to choose from a wide range of careers that make a difference. And, one more thing – on the best days, you might get a little dirty.

“Environmental Science is an applied science that’s perfect for students who want to understand the way natural systems relate to each other,” says Wes Lauer, PhD, PE, Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Environmental Science Program. “It’s a flexible major that combines foundational work in the basic sciences with fieldwork and hypothesisdriven inquiry. Because the major cuts across disciplines, it’s fairly easy to minor in complementary areas such as Environmental Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, or Environmental Economics.”

“Environmental scientists can work either as researchers or consultants,” Dr. Lauer says. “Many careers focus on habitat restoration and pollution management. For example, environmental

WANTED: NEXT GEN TECH Using our existing resources, Abi and her mentors are slowly obtaining genomic data for their research. But with additional funds, they could access next generation technologies and move the DNA sequencing process forward faster – at a lower overall cost. For approximately $5,000, the team potentially could have obtained full-length viral genomes for every water sample – resulting in a much larger data set at a cost of about $10 per sequence.

FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN HELP. SEE PAGE 11.

DNA SEQUENCING

scientists help determine if current cleanup methods are working and how to make modifications if they’re not.”

The field requires skillful data collection and analysis. In fact, the curriculum now includes an expanded field data collection course for majors.

And 2014 – 2015 marks the beginning of yearlong industry-sponsored capstone projects for Environmental Science seniors, with each team guided by a faculty sponsor and a liaison from the sponsoring agency.

Students on a project sponsored by Seattle City Light will work with faculty sponsor Lyn Gualtieri, PhD, to study the spread of nonnative trees originally planted in the North Cascades town of Newhalem. Part of this project involves developing and recommending a management plan.

A second student team, sponsored by King County and working with faculty sponsor Josephine Archibald, PhD, will monitor a Chinook

THE NATURE OF RESEARCH Professional formation is a stated mission of SU. For biology students, the way to this goal is through summer research. Drs. Lindsay Whitlow, Carolyn Stenbak and Michael Zanis — faculty members in biology — say the fusion of research and education is what drew them to work in an academic environment.

The three professors share an interest in what affects patterns in biodiversity, each with different expertise. “Lakes present a good system where the three of us can collaborate on a question about how water quality affects certain viruses present in the lake algae,” says Dr. Zanis. In June, Abigail Wells (’16 BIOL) joined their project as a student researcher.

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Research conferences increasingly encourage student participation through student competitions. To participate, students must show they have sufficient funds for conference registration and travel, yet research grants don’t always include this type of funding. YOUR GIFT CAN HELP. SEE PAGE 11.

salmon habitat restoration program in the Cedar/ Sammammish watershed, which encompasses the area draining to Lake Washington. The team is evaluating a range of data sources that can be used to monitor watershed-wide changes in habitat quality.

PROFESSIONAL CONFERENCE

In addition to their capstone projects, Environmental Science majors have opportunities for fascinating internships and summer jobs. Students have worked with organizations including The Nature Conservancy and the Engineering Research Center for Re-inventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure at New Mexico State University.

Students may go on to graduate school or work for federal agencies such as the Forest Service or Geological Survey, state or local government agencies or private consulting firms. For students who want to roll up their sleeves and make change happen, there’s no better place to hone their skills than SU, in the heart of a region with a strong environmental ethic.

“With the quality of our students, we can “Abi already had the necessary critical thinking skills,” says Dr. Stenbak. “She pored over dozens of do top-notch science. journal articles and made valuable contributions to our discussions of how we could use our labs The students are not and equipment to replicate and expand on what had already been done.” our limiting factor.

After collecting water samples from 10 different lakes across the region, Abi began working to isolate Our limitations are the DNA of the viruses. “Because this project was a new collaboration, there was not a defined question based on the availfor the research to investigate,” Abi says. “The opportunity for a rising junior not only to participate ability of funds.” in the research but also to help drive the direction it headed, is one of incalculable value.”

“As mentors, we encourage student researchers to take the lead, and we are here to help if they get stuck,” says Dr. Stenbak. Students benefit from seeing the failures, successes and troubleshooting involved in obtaining results and begin to see themselves as contributing members of the scientific community.

Dr. Whitlow says, “The work we do does not align neatly with the nine-month academic year, because the organisms and the systems being studied are seasonally dependent and require dedicated periods of time in the lab that are not available during a quarter.” The benefit to young biologists is unquestionable. Therefore, funding for summer research teams is crucial.

LINDSAY WHITLOW, PhD Associate Professor of Biology

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PEOPLE. VIEWPOINTS. INNOVATION. LEADERSHIP.

Women are underrepresented in the engineering professions, but the chair and professors in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering are working hard to change that. As enrollment in the department has increased, the percentage of female ECE majors has climbed, due at least in part to the efforts of ECE chair, Agnieszka Miguel, PhD.

This depth of engagement extends even to curriculum planning. Last year’s curriculum review involved the ECE faculty, advisory board and alumni – and students. “Our students told us they want to do challenging projects before their senior year,” she says.

“So we designed a junior lab sequence that prepares them for their yearlong senior design projects.”

“Engineering impacts so many areas of our life,” says Dr. Miguel. “If you’re designing a product to be used by both men and women, it seems unwise not to include women as designers. Diversity of people means diversity of thought.”

ECE majors can meet local industry leaders at Tuesday Seminars. And female students can network with role models at the quarterly ECE Women lunch.

Because of the students’ demanding class schedule, Dr. Miguel makes sure food is available, so the students don’t have to choose between networking and eating lunch.

When she visits community colleges, Dr. Miguel makes a point of speaking to young women about career opportunities. “They can contribute to amazing projects that better people’s lives,” she says. “And they can focus on research that creates new knowledge in the field.”

Dr. Miguel now has extra help with her recruiting efforts, thanks to the new ECE Ambassadors. As the “face of the department,” seven student volunteers from diverse backgrounds and class years will share their experiences on student panels and during open houses.

Prospective students will certainly hear about rigorous courses and complex projects. But they’ll hear just as much about mentoring and faculty support.

“We do everything we can to help students succeed,” Dr. Miguel says.

“They know their professors are always available to provide personal attention.”

NETWORKING EVENT

“I would like to do more outreach and hold events for young women interested in attending SU. Imagine a gathering of women mentoring women across generations: prospective students from high schools and community colleges, current students, faculty and professionals,” says Dr. Miguel. “Even more, I would love to have an endowed scholarship that would allow more underrepresented students from all backgrounds to study engineering at SU.”

“ Technological innovation results from the integration of not only diverse disciplines — natural and physical sciences, math, engineering, policy — but also from the engagement of diverse viewpoints. Women and other underrepresented groups need to be involved in this work for several reasons: Solutions are likely to be better designed and representative of all users when diverse viewpoints are represented.

The immense global challenges that we face today and in the future require participation from all of us. Excluding the voices of women and other groups in these solutions doesn’t make sense.

The wage gap between men and women will narrow as more women enter the STEM professions, which pay more.”

JEAN JACOBY, PhD Associate Dean & Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering

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STATISTICAL SIGNIFICANCE MATH LAB COMPUTER

44% OF THE FULL-TIME CSE FACULTY ARE WOMEN

A math major at SU may focus equally on statistics, social justice and sustainability. If that doesn’t seem to compute, a conversation with assistant professors Brian Fischer, DSc, and J. McLean Sloughter, PhD, will help. Drs. Fischer and Sloughter and their students are working on mathematical models that may help break barriers and contribute to the health of the planet.

Dr. Fischer’s work in computational neuroscience uses statistical models to study how sounds are processed in the brain. “Understanding how neurons and groups of neurons process these signals is critical to developing therapies for people with hearing disorders,” he says.

“As we move to higher level problems, we increase our understanding of how the brain decodes information. This may help other researchers develop technologies to help people with paralysis, for example.”

Statistical models developed by Dr. Sloughter are used by the U.S. Forest Service to target destructive epidemics of bark beetles, by describing and predicting the conditions that contribute to the outbreaks. His work also contributes to the field of renewable energy. “Our energy grid requires both predictability and reliability,” says Dr. Sloughter. “We are developing models that will help determine where to locate

wind farms for the most consistent and reliable performance.”

Drs. Fischer and Sloughter strive to provide their students with research opportunities. Student participation — especially during “Innumeracy is now the summer — is often contingent often the chief barrier on the availability to employment and economic mobility, much of funds. “Proas illiteracy has been in viding stipends the past. By providing for summer research students pathways to better math is a social justice skills, especially for question,” Dr. populations who have Fischer says. historically had access Dr. Sloughter to fewer educational agrees: “Funded resources, our graduates summer research can help to create more positions ensure economic opportunities.” that these opportunities are J. MCLEAN SLOUGHTER, PhD Assistant Professor of available to all Mathematics students, rather than only those in a financial position to work without pay for the summer.”

In the labs and classrooms throughout the Department of Mathematics, SU math majors are honing the skills that will make them competitive in fields as diverse as cryptography, tsunami prediction, health science, education and engineering – and, of course, statistics.

WOMEN RISING

22%

% of Female ECE Majors at SU

15.5% 11.5% 8.6% 2011

2012

2013

2014

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THE KEY TO EVERYTHING “I got involved with Humanitarian Engineering projects in my junior year at SU. I believe it’s my responsibility as a global citizen to give back to the community, locally and globally.

Humanitarian engineering merges my skills as an engineer with a cause I’m passionate about: giving back.”

AYESHA PIRBHAI ‘12 ECE, Boeing 787 Electrical Subsystems Engineer

“When I am covering fundamentals in earlier coursework, I try to take what I have experienced in the field, share rich stories and connect this learning to “People ask why we “The core curriculum work on theories that experiences the offers students a might seem as if their students may have breadth of perspective. in the future.” discoveries have no Recent graduates HENRY LOUIE, PhD application except often say they didn’t Associate Professor of solely for the realize how important Engineering scientific gain of those core courses knowledge. This were until they got is a question a lot out there in the world of physicists face, and started working.” especially theoretical WES LAUER, PhD, PE Associate Professor of physicists. My answer Civil & Environmental is to quote David Engineering Kaplan, a theoretical physicist, responding “The students on the Muhuru Bay project to a similar question: taught me about the data technology they The search could put in place to transmit measurements from yield nothing other the microgrid to a public website. I am than understanding excited about all the research areas everything.” that will benefit from this captured GARRETT BUDNICK data.” VINCENT VAN ACKER ’15 PHYS

Principal Power Systems Engineer, Alstom Grid

“Dr. Louie is a great mentor. When I was interviewing for internships, he helped me prepare, looked over my resume and gave me pointers.

I got three offers.”

ADAM CARTER ‘15 ECE

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WHAT YOUR GIFT CAN DO $300 Networking events for students

“SU excels in student research. It’s an opportunity to get your hands on real data, to see how data isn’t always cooperative and to problem-solve. That in itself is something many undergrads don’t get to experience.”

ABI WELLS ‘16 BIOL

$500 Student travel expenses for conference

$750 Up-to-date software

$1,000 Conference registration fees $2,000 Cutting-edge computer

$2,500 3-D printer

$4,000 Lab supplies & reagents

$18,700 Summer research team

“ Studying engineering at SU opened my eyes to what’s out there. The professors are easily available, within reach. You’re studying different technologies and what they could be used for. You see the different use cases.

The work is real.”

ANDREW MEWBORN ’14 ECE

GIVE TO THE CSE DEAN’S FUND. Your year-end gift in any amount helps provide unparalleled educational opportunities for our students.

Four ways to give: ONLINE Visit seattleu.edu/giving & choose the

College of Science and Engineering MAIL Use the enclosed envelope PHONE Call 206-296-2846 EMAIL finetm@seattleu.edu

To endow a program or scholarship: Please contact CSE Director of Development Michelle Finet: 206-296-2846 or finetm@seattleu.edu

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Seattle, WA Permit No. 2783

901 12th Ave PO Box 222000 Seattle, WA 98122

Variable data: Dr. & Mrs. Jonathan Winters 489 West Pine Street Seattle, WA 98122

Leading edge research.

Industry-driven projects.

Innovative teaching methods.

Career opportunities.

YOUR YEAR-END GIFT makes it happen.

Read on, to find out more!

Michael J. Quinn, PhD Dean, College of Science and Engineering

www.seattleu.edu/scieng Printed on 100% post-consumer recycled paper free of chlorine chemistry. Printed with bio-renewable inks.

Award-winning project in Kenya.

Read about it on page 02.