Capstone Engineer - Spring 2021 by University of Alabama College of Engineering

SPRING /// 2021

UA is increasing impactful activities that affect economic and societal development

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As we mitigate the coronavirus pandemic on campus, we are still looking forward to a time when we can be together as we once were. In our efforts, we are continuing to forge connections from a distance with industry across the state and beyond. Here at the Capstone, we are establishing Alabama IMaDE — the Alabama Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education. The program will feature a new manufacturing systems engineering bachelor’s degree in our mechanical engineering department. We are currently taking steps to get the curriculum and new lab ready for students. With industrial partners guiding us in the needs of the business landscape, we are confident in the success of this new program. An artificial intelligence company opened a location in Tuscaloosa just a couple years ago and is already expanding to a larger office across town for their research work with the University and the federal government. Partnerships like this are important for several reasons. Industry coming to town because of the proximity to the University brings jobs to the state and gives students the opportunity to experience work in the real world while faculty are able to connect with other professionals to work on funded research. In addition to what is taking place in our backyard today and what’s to come in the future, it’s also important to look at where we’ve been. One of our

alumni was a founding partner at Dynetics Inc. in Huntsville in 1974. Over the years, the defense contracting company has grown with locations across the nation, but its start in Huntsville has been pivotal to the growth of the area known as the Rocket City. We have more UA graduates and students working there now than ever before. We’re very proud of the work our faculty, students and alumni are doing everywhere, but especially at home in Alabama. These three stories are just a few of the examples of how UA has impacted engineering in the state of Alabama. We know we have noteworthy work going on in Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile and beyond as our footprint continues to extend. Please consider joining us as we work together to advance the state and University. Keep in touch! We’d love to hear from you.

Dr. Charles L. Karr Dean

CAPSTONE ENGINEERING SOCIETY 205-348-2452 Howard Allen Faulkner, Chair, Board of Directors • Charles L. Karr, Ph.D., Dean, College of Engineering • Liz Moore, Manager, Capstone Engineering Society and Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement • Alana Norris, Editor • Alana Norris, Adam Jones, Bryant Welbourne, Arayna Wooley, Melissa Parker, Writers • Issue No. 61 • Capstone Engineer is published in the spring and fall by the Capstone Engineering Society • Joshua Clayton, Designer • Alana Norris, Proofreader • Mary Kathryn Carpenter, Bryan Hester, Zach Riggins, Matthew Wood, Photography • Address correspondence to the editor: The University of Alabama, Capstone Engineering Society, College of Engineering, Box 870200, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200 • Visit the College of Engineering website at www.eng.ua.edu • The University of Alabama is an equal-opportunity educational institution/employer. MC9487

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ALABAMA IMADE MANUFACTURES WORKFORCE UA collaborates with industry to lead the way in creating a job-ready workforce

ESTABLISHED IN ALABAMA, SERVING THE NATION UA grad founds company, watches it grow with city

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Camgian and UA creating new AI technologies and jobs in Tuscaloosa

DEPARTMENTS 3 16 27 31 33

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of upkeep. It seeks to address the challenge of untreated raw sewage discharges from homes throughout counties in the Black Belt, an economically depressed region in the state named for its dark, rich soil. In the Black Belt, an area of 17 counties across mostly southwest Alabama, most residents do not have access to public sewers and the soil conditions cause septic systems to fail. Underneath the topsoil are clay and chalk, which prevent infiltration of wastewater into the ground. This can cause a backup of a septic system and risk sending untreated wastewater into the streams, lakes, rivers and groundwater nearby.

Parnab Das, left, and Aaron Blackwell, graduate students in Dr. Mark Elliott’s lab, collect water from Big Prairie Creek outside Newbern, Alabama, looking for traces of human-made wastewater.

UA Contributing Solutions to Wastewater Treatment in Rural Alabama Engineering researchers at The University of Alabama are part of a prestigious project to demonstrate effective solutions to raw sewage draining into the waterways of the state’s Black Belt region. UA is one of several universities partnered in a project supported and managed by Columbia World Projects to pilot an approach to wastewater treatment in Alabama’s Black Belt and demonstrate that clustered, decentralized wastewater treatment systems can yield health, economic and environmental benefits for rural communities. The project aims to provide equitable, technically feasible and financially sustainable methods for delivering wastewater treatment systems to underserved, low-income communities in the United States and around the world. The initial $710,000 funding for the five-year project can be leveraged to secure more grants. At select pilot sites, the project will install and test new wastewater treatment systems that are clustered and decentralized, connecting neighboring homes or businesses in a single system that collects, treats and re-uses water, reducing the cost

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Dr. Mark Elliott, left, talks with Parnab Das as they work with water samples in the lab.

Added to the soil challenge, the Black Belt is a poverty-stricken area of the country, especially outside its small towns. Many find it difficult to afford advanced septic systems needed for the soil, instead using a straight pipe running from the home to some other part of the property to drain untreated wastewater. A 2017 survey by Dr. Mark Elliott’s group in Wilcox County conservatively estimated that 60 percent of homes without sewer access discharge wastewater without treatment. Elliott, a UA associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, said it is possible more than 500,000 gallons of raw sewage enter the rivers and streams in Wilcox County each day. It’s estimated that 90 percent of septic systems in the Black Belt function poorly or are failing because of soil conditions.

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Elliott’s lab has worked in the region to show human fecal contamination is present in local waterways and led an effort to build a model to quantify the extent of untreated raw sewage discharges from homes throughout five counties in the Black Belt. Clustered, decentralized wastewater treatment – in which collection, treatment, and disposal or reuse take place near the wastewater source – offers a potential solution for many underserved communities. New technologies have the potential to address wastewater challenges at different spatial scales and population densities, and under different climate and water availability and quality levels, all of which could dramatically reduce the cost of wastewater infrastructure. This project aims to demonstrate the applicability and feasibility of this new, clustered, decentralized technology; to measure how such solutions can improve local water quality and the health of surrounding residents; and to offer a path for other communities facing similar challenges to improve wastewater treatment and the environmental, economic and health conditions in their communities.

UA-Led Study of Southeastern Groundwater Assists Water Management The University of Alabama is leading a 4-year, $6 million project to conduct groundwater research. The data and modeling tools developed will provide new scientific insights and make useful groundwater predictions for the Southeast. The information can be used to manage and allocate groundwater resources in critical areas such as drought management, drinking water, ecology, climate models and agriculture. “Water sustains life,” said Dr. Prabhakar Clement, principal investigator on the project and UA professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. “An adequate amount of freshwater is necessary to preserve human and ecological health, two critical aspects for sustaining a healthy economy. The management of groundwater systems is critical since aquifers store about 100 times more freshwater than lakes and rivers.”

UA researchers on the project include, from left, Dr. Mukesh Kumar, Dr. Prabhakar Clement and Dr. Leigh Terry.

UA is partnered with four other universities in the grant from the National Science Foundation. At UA, Clement, also director of the UA Center for Water Quality Research, is joined by his colleagues in civil, construction and environmental engineering, Dr. Leigh Terry, assistant professor, and Dr. Mukesh Kumar, associate professor, and Dr. Grey Nearing, assistant professor in geological sciences. Along with the research, the grant will support over 20 graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, visiting faculty, summer internship for high school teachers, and several undergraduate interns and lab assistants. In the United States, about 38 percent of the population depends on groundwater for drinking water, and in rural areas, groundwater can account for up to 90 percent of drinking water, according to the National Groundwater Association. It also is the primary source of water for more than half of the country’s irrigated land. However, not as much is known about groundwater as surface water. While mapping the availability of water in topsoil, reservoirs and rivers continue to receive attention, mapping of groundwater at fine spatiotemporal resolution over large areas is currently lacking. This causes issues in managing water resources, especially during droughts since groundwater is a strategic reserve for mitigating drought impacts. The effort supported by this grant will be the first major project to focus on groundwater depletion and management issues in Alabama,

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Louisiana and Mississippi. The project will harness the power of big hydrological datasets using machine learning tools and process models to develop groundwater recharge and storage maps for three Southeastern states. The team will also develop a first-of-its-kind, regional scale, high-resolution data of aquifer stratigraphy, information crucial for obtaining reliable groundwater predictions.

UA Researchers Provide U.S. Drought Vulnerability Rankings If asked where in the United States is most vulnerable to drought, those states in the West currently suffering under hot and dry conditions and raging wildfires might come first to mind. However, according to research led by The University of Alabama, what makes a state vulnerable is driven by more than just a lack of rain.

The ability to adapt score ranks how well the state can cope with and recover from drought, which depends on whether the state has a drought plan, how equipped it is to irrigate its land, and whether it is financially strong overall. By this scoring system, the most vulnerable states are Oklahoma, Montana and Iowa, while Delaware, Massachusetts, Connecticut and California are least vulnerable to drought. Oklahoma gets its high vulnerability score from having an outdated drought plan and limited irrigation, a low ability to adapt, as well as extensive agricultural activities and cattle ranching, a high sensitivity. Despite facing recurring multi-year droughts, meaning relatively high exposure, California ranks low in drought vulnerability. Thanks to a strong economy and well-developed adaptation measures, it’s better prepared for an extreme drought when it occurs than most other states. On the east coast, the region is generally less vulnerable than other areas, given its wetter climate and lack of farming – except for New Jersey. As the most densely populated state in the

According to the new NOAA-funded assessment done by UA researchers, drought vulnerability comes from a combination of how susceptible a state is to drought and whether it’s prepared for impacts. The most and least vulnerable states could surprise. These maps show each state’s overall drought vulnerability in red and how it ranks in the three individual categories that make up the score: sensitivity in blue, exposure in yellow-orange and ability to adapt in purple. Darker colors show higher overall drought vulnerability and a greater degree of factors that increase the state’s vulnerability. Sensitivity is the likelihood of negative economic impacts, which is based on the percentage of agricultural land, number of cattle, how much the state relies on hydropower, and recreational lakes. The exposure score reflects how often a state experiences drought and what assets, like the number of people and freshwater ecosystems, are at risk when it occurs.

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The maps by UA researchers show vulnerability to drought, top, based on factors of sensitivity, exposure and ability to adapt to droughts.

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country, meaning very high exposure, it gets the region’s highest vulnerability score.

of their leaves, just as people release water vapor with every exhale.

By breaking down drought vulnerability into three components, this assessment can help decision makers identify what makes their state vulnerable for better planning. And, as the study shows, even states that receive lots of rain can still be vulnerable.

How much a plant drinks and the rate at which it releases water, or transpires, depends partly on moisture levels in the air and soil. Global warming will shift this process more than previously predicted, according to new research published in Nature Climate Change and involving The University of Alabama.

This research was led by Dr. Johanna Engström, former postdoctoral researcher at the UA Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research, Dr. Keighobad Jafarzadegan, postdoctoral researcher at the center, and Dr. Hamid Moradkhani, the Alton N. Scott Chair Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and director of the center. The work was funded in part by NOAA’s Climate Program Office through its Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projection program. The MAPP Program enhances understanding, predicting, and projecting variability and longterm changes in Earth’s climate system. This was adapted from an article by Alison Stevens with NOAA and posted on climate.gov.

In the paper, researchers show current climate models underestimate how severely plants ration their water use in response to dry air, and overestimate the effect of dry soil. The results suggest plants in many regions will lock away less water than expected during hot droughts in the future, leaving more water available to percolate into reservoirs, underground aquifers, rivers, lakes and streams. “Our results suggest that existing estimates of crop water use, productivity and vulnerability, which are often based on empirical evapotranspiration models, are likely to be incorrect during periods when the atmosphere is dry,” said Dr. Mukesh Kumar, co-author on the paper and UA associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. “The study also points to opportunities for improving predictions of plant vulnerability under hydroclimatic stress by incorporating plant hydraulics in ecosystem models.” The work was led by Kumar’s former doctoral student at Duke University, Dr. Yanlan Liu, now a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University. Kumar joined UA in fall 2018 to teach and research hydrology and water resources. Co-authors include Dr. Alexandra Konings, assistant professor of Earth system science at Stanford University and others from Duke and University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Dr. Mukesh Kumar

Predicting Plant Water Needs in a Warmer, Drier World Plants drink up much of the water that falls to Earth. They take what they need before releasing it through tiny holes on the underside

While water resources may be less diminished, plant growth and carbon uptake will likely suffer more than most models predict. “Whether plants will fare better in future droughts is a more complex question,” said Liu, who now works in Konings’ lab. “But now we know plants will use less water than expected.” In some hot spots around the globe, episodes of dangerously humid heat are striking with growing severity and frequency. But as temperatures rise, Konings said, most droughts

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will be accompanied by relatively dry air. Hotter air can simply hold more water vapor than cooler air, which means the atmosphere becomes less saturated if it heats up without additional water. As a result, while future changes in soil moisture are hard to predict and likely to vary by region, she said, “Atmospheric dryness is going to go through the roof.” They found the most widely used approaches for estimating evapotranspiration miss about 40 percent of the effect of dry air. This is like a weather forecast that fails to mention wind chill or stifling humidity. The effect is strongest — and current predictions are the most offbase — in places where plants are the least adapted to drought. This story was adapted from a version written by Josie Garthwaite of Stanford’s School of Earth, Energy & Environmental Resources (Stanford Earth).

Four Projects Receive Funding from UA CyberSeed Program Four promising research projects received funding from The University of Alabama CyberSeed program, part of the UA Office for Research and Economic Development. Engineering faculty are involved in three of the four projects. The pilot seed-funding program promotes research across disciplines on campus while ensuring a stimulating and wellmanaged environment for high-quality research. The funded projects come from four major thrusts of the UA Cyber Initiative that include cybersecurity, critical infrastructure protection, applied machine learning and artificial intelligence, and cyberinfrastructure. One project will study cybersecurity of drones and develop strategies to mitigate potential attacks. Led by Dr.

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Mithat Kisacikoglu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Travis Atkison, assistant professor of computer science, the research will produce a plan for the secure design of the power electronics in drones with potential for other applications. The CyberSeed program is also funding work planning to use machine learning to accelerate discovery of candidates within a new class of alloys that can be used in real world experiments. These new alloys, called high-entropy alloys or multi-principal component alloys, are thought to enhance mechanical performance. This project involves Drs. Lin Li and Feng Yan, assistant professors of metallurgical and materials engineering, and Dr. Jiaqi Gong, associate professor of computer science. A team of researchers are involved in a project to use state-of-the-art cyberinfrastructure technology and hardware to collect, visualize, analyze and disseminate hydrological information. The research aims to produce a proof-ofconcept system. The team includes Dr. Sagy Cohen, associate professor of geography; Dr. Brad Peter, a postdoctoral researcher of geography; Dr. Hamid Moradkhani, director of the UA Center for Complex Hydrosystems; Dr. Zhe Jiang, assistant professor of computer science; Dr. D. Jay Cervino, executive director of the UA Office of Information Technology; and Dr. Andrew Molthan with NASA.

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Distinguished UA Engineering Professor Honored with Burnum Award

including alternative fuels derived from biomass, waste or other local resource. He invented the “noise sponge” concept that uses strong, porous structures to reduce noise generated from gas flow in jet engines, power generating gas turbines and industrial burners without compromising the combustion process. In addition, Agrawal developed an innovative fuel injector that drastically reduces harmful emissions and allows for clean combustion of fossil and alternative liquid fuels. A fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Agrawal has been the recipient of several research grants and is the world’s most published author on the topic of rainbow schlieren deflectometry, an optical flow diagnostics technique used to quantitatively measure properties of fluid flows. Agrawal has published nearly 250 articles or papers in technical journals and conferences.

Dr. Ajay Agrawal

Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal has devoted his career to offering innovative solutions through engines and combustion research while encouraging students to bring their own curiosity and perspective to tomorrow’s challenges. For his service to The University of Alabama’s mission, Agrawal, professor and Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering, is the 2020 recipient of the Burnum Distinguished Faculty Award. Awarded annually to recognize and promote excellence in research, scholarship and teaching, the Burnum Award recognizes distinguished careers at UA. The Burnum Award Committee, comprised of former winners, screens nominees and forwards two nominees to the president, who selects the winner. The goal of Agrawal’s research is reducing harmful effects of fuels for sustainable energy utilization, resulting in three research thrusts of clean combustion to reduce emissions of pollutants, combustion for efficiency to reduce fuel consumption, and fuel flexible combustion to diversify the portfolio of fuels

Since joining UA in 2005, Agrawal has been the lead on more than $12 million in competitively selected grants. At UA, Agrawal has worked to increase the number of doctoral students in mechanical engineering with the help of three U.S. Department of Education funded Graduate Education in Areas of Need Fellowship awards. As of November 2020, he has supervised 20 students in earning a doctorate and guided research for nearly scores of master’s and undergraduate students. Along with his ASME honor, Agrawal is a member of National Academy of Inventors Hall of Fame and an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. At UA, he was the recipient of the 2013 Blackmon-Moody Outstanding Professor Award. Agrawal earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee, India, in 1980, and his master’s degree at the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur, India, in 1983. He received his doctorate from the University of Miami in 1988. Before coming to UA, he was a professor at the University of Oklahoma.

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Two Engineering Professors Receive Early Career Research Awards

to train and motivate a new generation of scientists and engineers not only at UA through instruction and hands-on lab work, but also through outreach efforts to schools and community. The NSF Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Program is a Foundation-wide activity offering the most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty with the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization. Currently, 32 UA faculty from disciplines across campus received NSF CAREER Awards during their tenure. During the 2019-2020 academic year, seven professors received this award, the most awards in a single year at UA. An NSF CAREER Award will fund projects by Dr. Kasra Momeni, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and Dr. Feng Yan, assistant professor of metallurgical and materials engineering.

Dr. Kasra Momeni

Momeni’s award will assist in a project that seeks to better understand synthesis of two-dimensional solid materials consisting of a single atomic layer. These materials are critical in advancing the capabilities of several technologies, including electronic devices, water purification and solar power applications. Momeni plans to develop computer models that accurately simulate the growth of these materials not only to understand the process, but develop a database of knowledge on how they grow and apply artificial intelligence to discover optimal and novel synthesis processes.

Dr. Feng Yan

Over the summer, four professors at The University of Alabama received national recognition early in their careers for innovative research that will increase understanding of our world while boosting UA’s educational mission. Two of those professors are in the College of Engineering. The National Science Foundation selected the four professors for a CAREER Award, one of the nation’s most prestigious recognition of top-performing young scientists. The grants allow each researcher

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The award to Yan will develop an emerging solar cell technology through advanced materials and device engineering to efficiently convert solar energy to electricity, which uses a new class of earth-abundant and environmentally friendly materials, known as antimony chalcogenides. The project aims to unlock the fundamental mechanisms of the power conversion efficiency loss via a systematic materials science and device physics understanding. This work will pave the way to commercialize and scale up this newly developed solar cell technology to provide more affordable and sustainable solar electricity.

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UA Aerospace Engineering Professor Named ASC Fellow A University of Alabama aerospace engineering faculty member has been named a Fellow of the American Society of Composites for the first time in its history. Through his research and contribution to the work of composites, Dr. Samit Roy, William D. Jordan professor of aerospace engineering, has been promoted to an ASC Fellow in recognition of his contributions to the advancement of composites science and technology.

The overarching topic of Roy’s research is Multi-scale Modeling and Manufacturing of Composites and Nanocomposites for Aerospace Structures. In 2005, Roy was named the William D. Jordan Endowed Chair. The William D. Jordan Endowed Chair was established in 1997 by Thomas L. and Carolyn L. Patterson in honor of Dr. William Ditmer Jordan, professor emeritus of the College of Engineering. In this role, Roy focuses his research on multi-scale multi-physics modeling and performance prediction of composite materials and structures in hightemperature environments.

To be named a Fellow of ASC, a person must be an active member of the organization for at least 10 years. Members considered for the honor are those who have devoted their career to the practice, research, service and education of composites. Roy was nominated by Dr. Anthony Waas of the University of Michigan who is also an ASC Fellow. A panel of current Fellows review the nominations and vote on new members.

Dr. Hamed Moftakhari

Dr. Samit Roy

Roy has been a member of ASC since 2008. From 2017-2019, he was ASC’s Director of Emerging Composites Technology Division, and over the years, he has helped organize numerous technical sessions. In 2019, Roy received ASC’s Outstanding Research in Composites Award. He was honored virtually at the 35th Annual Technical Conference’s awards banquet on Sept. 15.

UA Engineering Faculty Member Awarded a 2020 Early-Career Research Fellowship National Academies’ Gulf Research Program has named a University of Alabama engineering faculty member one of the 20 recipients of their 2020 Early-Career Research Fellowship. Dr. Hamed Moftakhari, an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, was selected because of his strong scientific and technical background, participation in interdisciplinary collaborations, community and civic

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engagement, effective communication and interpersonal skills. “Getting among the top 20 awardees ensures me that here in Alabama we are working on the forefront of research, and our research products will be wellreceived and appreciated beyond our state or region,” Moftakhari said. The fellowship includes a $76,000 grant and a community of colleagues and researchers for support and mentorship. The two-year award began Sept. 1. Because the award is not tied to a single project, fellows have the leniency to conduct innovative and creative research. The fellowship is given to rising scientific leaders who work toward community and environmental development as well as safe energy systems on U.S. coastal regions and the Gulf of Mexico. Moftakhari’s research involves coastal hydrology and is mainly focused on extreme events, like hurricanes, and minor repetitive events, like nuisance floods, which pose threats to people and assets in low-lying coastal regions. The intensity and/or frequency of these hazardous events are expected to increase over time due to human activities and sea level rise, and his research explores sustainable measures to mitigate the impact of these events. “My plan is to develop a comprehensive resilience assessment framework that would help examining resilience of food-energy-water systems, built and natural, in the Gulf Coastal regions against projected threats,” Moftakhari said. Fellows are decided based on relevant research, merit, impact and mentor recommendations. Dr. Hamid Moradkhani, UA’s Alton N. Scott professor of engineering, will serve as a senior mentor during Moftakhari’s fellowship. To be eligible for the Early-Career Fellowship, researchers must have received their degree within the last 10 years and hold a scientific research position in the industry or academia.

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IN BRIEF Dr. Jaber Abu-Qahouq, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, has been elected to the rank of senior member of The National Academy of Inventors. According to NAI president Paul R. Sanberg, NAI senior members are active faculty, scientists and administrators from NAI Member Institutions who have demonstrated remarkable innovation and produced technologies that have the potential for a significant impact on the welfare of society. Dr. Jason Bara, chemical and biological engineering professor, was named an Industrial and Engineering Chemistry Division Early Career Fellow in the Class of 2021. The award was established in 2017, and he is the fifth recipient. Dr. Bhupendra Khandelwal, associate professor of mechanical engineering, has been selected for a Bronze Award, along with his collaborators, for their paper titled “The effect of alternative fuels on gaseous and particulate matter emission performance in an APU,” published in The Aeronautical Journal in May 2019. The written paper award is given by the Royal Aeronautical Society. The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Journal awarded the George D. Nasser Award to Dr. Sriram Aaleti and his collaborators for their paper “Longspan hybrid precast concrete bridge girder using ultra-high-performance concrete and normalweight concrete” in the November–December 2019 issue of PCI Journal. Aaleti is an associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering. According to a press release, the award recognizes papers relating to the design, research, production or construction of precast concrete structures from authors who are 40 years of age or younger. Dr. Mizanur “Mizan” Rahman, civil, construction and environmental engineering assistant professor, and his collaborators have been selected to receive the George N. Saridis Best Transactions Paper Award for their paper “Review of Microscopic LaneChanging Models and Future Research Opportunities,” which was published in the journal IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems.

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inclusion of the LGBTQ+ community and all underrepresented genders in STEM. She recently founded the UA chapter of Out in STEM, or oSTEM, a national organization that works to bring more diversity to engineering. Academically, she’s made her mark, as well. Pan has been heavily involved in genetic engineering research for the past six years, working in multiple labs while at the University, and even founding a UA team for the International Genetically Engineered Machines, or iGEM, Competition.

Lauren Pan received one of the Society of Women Engineers’ top collegiate awards.

Student Receives Top Award from the Society of Women Engineers University of Alabama senior Lauren Pan received one of the Society of Women Engineers’ most prestigious collegiate awards this year. Pan was named Outstanding Collegiate Member for her “stellar academic and internship performance; for commitment to both ethics and social responsibility; and for championing diversity and inclusion in SWE, on campus and beyond.” The award was announced at SWE’s annual WE20 conference, held virtually in early November. SWE is a worldwide organization that advocates for women in engineering and technology with more than 40,000 members globally, about half of which are collegiate members. Pan, an Atlanta native majoring in chemical engineering, has served in numerous leadership positions within UA’s SWE section, as well as at the Society level, including positions as a global co-lead for the LGBTQ+ and allies affinity group. She was also elected as the only collegiate member for last year’s SWE Senate. Pan is a committed advocate for diversity and inclusion, with a specific focus on

Pan is in the STEM Path to the MBA program, which allows high-achieving undergraduate students majoring in STEM disciplines to earn an MBA only one year beyond completion of an undergraduate degree. She will earn a Bachelor of Science degree this May and MBA the following spring. During her sophomore and junior years, Pan completed two co-ops with a medical device company in Minneapolis, where she gained real-world experience in developing new technologies to help patients. Upon graduating from UA, she plans to pursue full-time employment in medical device engineering.

Drive to Succeed at Home and Abroad When Austin Pearson came to The University of Alabama, he didn’t speak a word of German. Three years later, he was sitting in conference rooms at Mercedes’ headquarters in Germany, participating in meetings spoken in German about the company’s newest car models. Pearson took part in a unique program at The University of Alabama, learning German alongside his engineering courses while working for Mercedes-Benz in Alabama and in Germany. Offered through the UA College of Engineering, Two Steps Ahead: International German Student Exchange Program is designed for a select group

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Esslingen, University of Applied Sciences, and work for Mercedes in Stuttgart in project management during the spring and summer of 2019.

Austin Pearson has already begun his graduate studies.

of students to gain experience with multi-national companies in automotive engineering while learning German. It is a huge reason why Pearson left the Chicago, Illinois, area to come to UA. Pearson graduated with his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and German in December 2020, and has already begun his graduate studies toward a doctorate. He came to UA in 2016 never studying German, but was quickly immersed in his German major while beginning his engineering studies. After his sophomore year, he worked the summer at MercedesBenz U.S. International, an automotive manufacturing facility near UA. He interned as a process engineer in the paint and body shop helping improve output and troubleshooting technical and automation issues that arose.

Pearson visited Nüremberg during his year in Germany.

For now, Pearson envisions a path in research, having worked in the lab of Dr. Kalyan Srinivasan, associate professor of mechanical engineering, on internal combustion engines. He will continue studying under Srinivasan as a graduate student. His undergraduate research work culminated with being selected as one of two undergraduate winners for his virtual presentation at the 2020 Fall Technical Conference of the Internal Combustion Engine Division of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Robotics Contest Awardee Returns to UA 9 Years Later as a Freshman

He continued his engineering studies, even taking an automotive engineering course taught in German by Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian, an engineering professor who was vice president of Daimler AG’s group research and advanced engineering before joining UA.

In 2011, during the University of Alabama’s first-ever robotics competition, third grader Mary Virginia McKinley and her team proudly accepted an award at the contest.

In fall 2018, Pearson moved to Germany to study for a semester at Hochschule

“It’s pretty crazy because when I came to that competition in elementary school, I

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Fast forward nine years, and McKinley is now a freshman at UA.

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“K-12 outreach activities help the UA campus community to establish relationships with students early in their formative years of education, and it often continues through their college experience,” said Gray. Gray founded the Alabama Robotics Competition at UA in 2011, in part to support students just like McKinley.

Mary Virginia McKinley and Dr. Jeff Gray met up at the College of Engineering, nine years after first meeting at UA’s robotics competition.

never thought I’d end up coming here to college,” said McKinley, a computer science major. Although McKinley grew up just an hour away in Hoover, she didn’t originally plan to attend UA. But once she visited campus last fall, her plans quickly changed. “I applied for five schools,” she said. “When I toured UA, it was by far the best tour. UA had so many resources in the engineering department. I just thought it was a really cool campus and program, and I loved it here, so I chose UA.” McKinley’s early interest in computer science was inspired by her family, many of whom are in the field, including her UA alumna mom, a technology coach with Alabama public schools. “My two older brothers were involved in STEM at a young age, so I was always around it and became interested in it because of them,” said McKinley, who was part of her brother’s team at the inaugural Alabama Robotics Competition at UA in 2011. “I would go to their STEM events and sometimes join in. I really look up to my brothers, and they’re one of the reasons I’m going into this field.” Another person who played a role in her decision to study computer science at UA is Dr. Jeff Gray, professor of computer science, who has a way of getting everyone excited about computer science, according to McKinley’s mom.

McKinley, her brother and their team accepted an award from Dr. Gray at the first UA robotics competition in 2011.

“Mary Virginia and I met several years ago at our first robotics contest, which is now in its 10th season. We continued to chat at cross country events and other occasions over the past decade. Knowing that she is now at UA and studying computer science in my department has helped me realize the importance of planting seeds of influence for young students at an early age, especially females.” An Honors College student, McKinley is attending UA on presidential, engineering and alumni scholarships. During her time at UA, she plans to be involved with the Society of Women Engineers and other STEM academic groups. McKinley wants to eventually follow in her family’s footsteps and work in computer science, particularly by becoming a teacher in the STEM field.

DRIVING INNOVATION

EVENTS FROM AROUND THE COLLEGE

Most Events Go Virtual for The Fall, Alumnus Visits During the fall 2020 semester, most all meetings and events happened virtually through video conferencing. All incoming students were invited to attend two introductory meetings hosted by Mentor UPP and Engineering Student Services at the end of August to set them up for success in their first semester at UA. In September, UA held its annual Bama Blitz crowdfunding campaign to raise money for each college’s selected passion project. The College of Engineering raised $8,224 for student leadership development during the event, which had been postponed from March. The Capstone Engineering Society held its semiannual networking reception virtually in October. Also in October, the UA Career Center hosted the Fall 2020 Technical and Engineering Career Fair and the Engineering Career Development Center held Co-op Interview Day online. Space Days at UA grew to a four-day virtual event in November. Several space industry partners held information sessions and workshops for current engineering students, and some students were able to present the work they’ve done in their collegiate organizations.

CAPSTONE ENGINEER

Mid-semester, 1979 electrical engineering alumnus John Allen was able to visit campus. Allen, a 2018 UA Distinguished Engineering Fellow, races in the Pirelli World Challenge. He helps support several engineering student competition organizations like Formula SAE team Crimson Racing, SAE Baja team Bama Racing and UA EcoCAR. Some UA engineering students have been working as interns with Allen at his races across the country. This semester he was able to bring his newest UAthemed racing vehicle to campus and spoke to students about his job.

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DRIVING INNOVATION

UA collaborates with industry to lead the way in creating a job-ready workforce

Radley Scott, a research engineer, uses the control panel of the robotic cell equipment at the Alabama IMaDE manufacturing engineering lab in Paty Hall.

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anufacturing jobs have become a major staple in the state economy, and The University of Alabama is doing what it can to supply a pipeline of workers.

In an effort to promote and expand on this growing field, the College of Engineering is embarking on adding a manufacturing systems engineering degree to its repertoire and opening a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing research and education center to its campus. “This new manufacturing facility is part of an initiative oriented to develop a premier hub for multidisciplinary research and education in intelligent and advanced manufacturing systems and processes,” said Dr. Nader Jalili, mechanical engineering department head and director of Alabama IMaDE. The Alabama Initiative on Manufacturing Development and Education lab, called IMaDE, was created to mitigate industrial problems by educating future industry leaders through hands-on experiences in real world scenarios. UA’s manufacturing systems engineering bachelor’s degree program was voted

on by the University of Alabama System Board of Trustees in February 2021 and will next be audited by the Alabama Commission on Higher Education. The goal is for the program to debut in 2022, and it will have a distance learning option for people interested in earning the degree who work or are not local. Jalili said the program supports UA’s mission by advancing the city, state, nation and world socially and intellectually through education and research. Several new classes will be added to the UA catalog in the coming semesters including 15 one-hour modular, elective courses like basics of robotics, flexible manufacturing systems, industrial robotics, introduction to industrial management and more, which can lead to skill certification through industry partners. “The proposed manufacturing systems engineering B.S. program will provide graduates the skills and knowledge for successful careers in manufacturing systems and processes, which include practical applications ranging from manufacturing processes to cyberphysical systems,” Jalili said.

The Alabama IMaDE lab has more than five industrial-scale robotic cells to enable multiple students and technicians to work on different pieces of equipment simultaneously.

DRIVING INNOVATION

Alabama IMaDE is located on the first floor of Paty Hall. Paty, a residence hall across a parking lot from H.M. Comer Hall, is also set to become a freshman living-learning center for engineering and computer science students called EXCEL. Both the lab and the LLC will open in Fall 2021. “The educational facility at Paty Hall will enable hands-on, project-based learning in robotic manufacturing — taught using real-world industrial robotic manipulators and software — as well as programming, operating and implementing automation systems,” Jalili said. Over the past couple of years, Jalili has been working on four interconnected components within Alabama IMaDE in addition to student study spaces: a state-of-the-art advanced manufacturing facility, a modern robotics and smart manufacturing teaching lab, an advanced and intelligent manufacturing systems research lab, and an innovation incubator for students, entrepreneurs and industrial partners to drive increased readiness levels of new technologies. His hope is that the program will produce graduates who can address certain

industrial needs not currently being met by higher education. He also sees the benefit industry will receive from research that will be conducted at UA. The number of industrial facilities and high-tech businesses that have located to Alabama in recent years is a sign to Jalili that there is a need for this program at UA in order to sustain these companies with specialized employees. He said industry employees will have the opportunity to join the program as distance learners and potentially graduate and advance in their company. “The state must have an adequately trained engineering workforce that is knowledgeable in advanced manufacturing and materials scientific principles as well as in cutting-edge manufacturing processes and systems in order to ensure the manufacturing sector continues to be a driving force for economic development in Alabama,” Jalili said. Faculty and staff at UA have forged partnerships with Mercedes-Benz U.S. International, Inc., Honda Manufacturing of Alabama and several more companies

Dr. Nima Mahmoodi, Dr. Daniel Fonseca, Dr. Nader Jalili, Dr. Keith Williams and Dr. Christian Cousin, all mechanical engineering faculty working on a U.S. Department of Defense project, are preparing for the new manufacturing systems engineering undergraduate degree that will be offered at UA starting in fall 2022.

Roya Salehzadeh, a mechanical engineering doctoral student, is working on an integrative multimodal “Human-RobotHuman” communication research paradigm in the Alabama IMaDE lab.

to make this new endeavor successful. Theses industry partners offer their support through equipment donations, advising faculty on what students need to know before graduating, and employing graduates, co-ops and interns. “Alabama must have an engineering workforce of adequate size and training that is educated in advanced engineering platforms as well as STEM-related technologies needed to support the growing high-tech and manufacturing sectors,” Jalili said. Industrial partners are not the only support Jalili said the program needs. “We would like [the] UA engineering community to serve as an advocate for this initiative, [and] reach out to potential donors and support[er]s,” Jalili said. He is calling for experts to share their experience through guest lectures and research collaboration as well as donors who can help by funding equipment modernization and maintenance, naming facilities, and endowing professorships, fellowships and scholarships.

Soroush Korivand, a mechanical engineering doctoral student in the back center, Radley Scott, on the left, and Dr. Nader Jalili, right, use some of the new materials handling robotic equipment in Paty.

Learn more at eng.ua.edu/research/ Alabama-imade.

DRIVING INNOVATION

Huntsville, Alabama, is known as the Rocket City, but that wouldn’t be possible without all the engineers who have flocked to the area as the industry has exploded over the past 60 years. Science and technology jobs are continuing to expand to this day and The University of Alabama’s proximity to Huntsville is appealing to students looking to start their careers at a number of businesses located in the city. Founded in 1974, Dynetics' is just one company based in Huntsville that has hit exponential growth each year it’s been open. The defense contracting company has established locations across the country and currently employs 118 UA graduates as well as part-time student interns. “Huntsville has seen consistent growth over the past few years, and Dynetics is proud to be part of that growth,” said Dave King, Dynetics group president. “The rest of the country has finally started to see the goldmine we have in our own backyard, and it’s exciting to see the community we love so dearly expanding with brilliant, talented minds.” Herschel Matheny, one of Dynetics' two founders, is a 1957 UA industrial engineering graduate. He said UA’s rich history and advanced facilities attracted him to attend. While at UA, he chose to take elective classes in computers, which really helped prepare him for the future. “As it turned out, I was fortunate in that computers drive the industry today,” Matheny said. He moved to Huntsville a couple years after graduating to work with friends at Brown Engineering in the 1960s. The space race was at the forefront of all their minds. “President John F. Kennedy challenged us all to get to the moon by 1969, which we did. Kennedy rode in a convertible right by where we were standing in front of headquarters after issuing that challenge,” Matheny said. He credits former Brown president Milton Cummings with really growing the Huntsville area. At the end of the 1960s, Brown was sold to Teledyne.

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Ronnie Chronister

Dave King

In 1974, Matheny said he started Dynetics with Steve Gilbert, $50,000 cash, a secretary and a lot of energy. They focused on building a technical base by hiring impressive college graduates, training them and paying for them to obtain advanced degrees. After 15 years, the duo decided to retire and sold the company to their employees. “I decided that we should let employees who helped in successful operation also share the gain. We developed an ESOP [employee stock ownership plan] and sold it to the plan. We must have made a good choice. Look at the result, $50,000 to $1.65 billion. Quite a return on investment,” Matheny said. Another UA alum at Dynetics is Ronnie Chronister, senior vice president of weapons technology and manufacturing. He earned a civil engineering bachelor’s degree in 1982. While at UA, he said he learned about the importance of teamwork and how to be flexible when circumstances change. “I found that the more I engaged with others, the more I learned, and that working as a team resulted in better solutions than doing so individually,” Chronister said. “I learned to adjust and to work my way through it.” While at UA, Chronister said he formed real bonds with peers and faculty like Dr. Don McLean. Chronister vividly remembers how the professor dressed, the pipe he smoked and the way McLean pushed him academically to do his best throughout his years at the Capstone.

“He saw something in me that I didn't see in myself and inspired me to be better,” Chronister said. Today, he is delighted to see young UA graduates accept jobs at Dynetics. Over the years, Chronister has seen the work Dean Chuck Karr has put into the College to graduate engineers who are prepared for the workforce, which he said has led to more UA graduates being offered jobs. “We have also developed long-lasting partnerships that utilize these graduates to work on some of our nation’s most critical programs. They are definitely making a difference and that is fun to watch,” Chronister said. King was chief executive officer of the company until January 2020 when it was sold to Leidos and he transitioned roles to group president. He is a friend of the College and is optimistic about the partnership between the two entities.

successful, but you’re going to learn a lot more from your failures than your successes. Just keep at it—find places to contribute, take on the hard things, look for opportunities to learn, and have fun doing it.” Like Chronister, King enjoys working with others. The challenges and rewards that come with conflict management and team building drive him to keep forging ahead. Some of his proudest moments have come from those projects he collaborated on with his colleagues. “More than anything, I think it’s those team accomplishments that make me proud — launching space shuttles and landing them safely, or building spacecraft that perform their mission well —we accomplished those as a team,” King said. Wanting to try something new, he joined Dynetics in 2009 after a career at NASA and was excited about the prospect of building things again and seeing its impact.

“We’re very grateful for the relationship we have with The University of Alabama, and we appreciate how they are preparing their students to be workforceready from day one,” King said. “Those young minds are the future of aerospace and defense, and when they graduate with their hearts set on working at Dynetics, they get the opportunity to do important, meaningful work.”

“One of the most exciting things in this field is being able to see the tangible results of what we do. You have a mission to accomplish — problems to solve, obstacles to overcome, and objectives to meet,” King said.

He wants current University students to know opportunities are abundant if they are bold enough to consistently attempt to solve complex problems. Persistence, inquisitiveness, courage and diligence are his keys to having a meaningful career.

“I am truly humbled to be recognized alongside such accomplished engineers from all different disciplines,” King said.

“The world is at your fingertips. As an Alabama graduate, you are well prepared. Don’t be afraid to take on the hard things, because that is how you grow,” King said. “You’re not always going to be

Both Matheny and King are members of the 2021 class of inductees into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame. Chronister was inducted in 2013.

Dynetics has given philanthropically to the College of Engineering through naming a space in H.M. Comer Hall and supporting student competition teams.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Herschel Matheny passed away January 23, 2021. He was 90.

In March 2018, UA alumni and Dynetics employees Kristina Hendrix, communications director on far left, and Chronister, far right, presented an $85,000 check to the College of Engineering that was split among student scholarships, renovations to H.M. Comer Hall and the Alabama Astrobotics team led by Dr. Ken Ricks, electrical and computer engineering associate professor in the center.

DRIVING INNOVATION

Camgian and UA Creating New AI Technologies and Jobs in Tuscaloosa By Alana Norris

Over the past 13 years, Tuscaloosa has grown exponentially with an increasing student population and new businesses locating within the city limits.

Our team loves the space, the location, and enjoys interacting with the various university and community groups they encounter at The EDGE,” Parisi said.

Camgian, a Starkville, Mississippi-based company, opened its Center for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Tuscaloosa in January 2019. Michelle Parisi, chief financial officer, said the company liked the proximity to The University of Alabama.

The company, which has outgrown its current footprint in The EDGE, is preparing to move its Tuscaloosa office into the Regions Bank building in downtown.

“We specifically wanted a location in a growing, vibrant community with a university close by. Our high technology jobs appeal to younger people looking to make a difference throughout their work careers. We found the community and University leaders very eager to retain talent and grow technology jobs locally,” Parisi said. Currently, the company is located in The EDGE, a UA facility in partnership with the West Alabama Chamber of Commerce and the city of Tuscaloosa that serves as an incubator supporting entrepreneurship and business startups. “Its modern, open workspaces are easily configurable for small or large groups, which makes collaboration easy. It’s a professional, comfortable and stimulating work environment.

CAPSTONE ENGINEER

“This expansion will provide about 3,500 square feet of office and laboratory space to continue growing our AI-based product offerings and knowledge economy jobs in Alabama,” Parisi said. “The space will comprise a high-tech look and feel and be something that we aim to make a point of pride for the community.” Camgian is a company that develops artificial intelligence-based platforms that process various sources of data to assist humans in making faster, more informed decisions. “We innovate in the areas of algorithms, sensors and software, which address fastgrowing and crucial needs in the financial and national security markets,” Parisi said. The company offers full time, cooperative education and internship positions to mainly computer science students and graduates. Camgian has 10 full-time and 15 part-time positions in Tuscaloosa.

SPRING 2021

Zach Weske is a computer science major from Wales, Wisconsin, who worked as a co-op student at Camgian. He met a representative from the company at a career fair and decided it seemed like a good fit for him. Working on a five-person team including a recent UA graduate, Weske said his three-semester co-op was an educational experience. “I did a lot of software engineering, and I learned a bit about artificial intelligence and machine learning,” he said. “I learned a lot about software engineering, geospatial coordinate systems and calculations, Python, government contracting, docker and containerization.” He will complete his bachelor’s degree with a cyber security concentration in 2022 and will continue working on his master’s degree through UA’s Accelerated Master’s Program, which allows students to work towards both degrees simultaneously. “I am passionate about cyber security because it requires a high level of knowledge, experience and deep understanding of computers and systems in order to excel. It combines the best aspects of problem solving and computer science. The artificial intelligence and machine learning work I did at Camgian is also very interesting to me because it revolves around data processing, understanding and leveraging data,” Weske said. The impact of companies like Camgian establishing in Tuscaloosa is felt at the university, city and state level connecting everything together, he said. “Camgian has opened doors for research on campus, provided jobs in Tuscaloosa, built community with other businesses at The EDGE, and brought business to the state,” Weske said. “They build relationships that allow for growth and innovation between companies, students, universities and the state.”

Zach Weske, a computer science major, recently worked with his UA peers as co-op students at Camgian, a company that develops artificial intelligence-based platforms that process various sources of data.

DRIVING INNOVATION

Camgian also works closely with UA faculty like Dr. Ken Ricks, electrical and computer engineering associate professor, and helps fund research projects. In a cyclical way, he said the work is mutually beneficial.

and data analysis, which is then periodically reviewed with Camgian so that the results may be consumed and incorporated into the larger program,” Parisi said.

“Anytime you get technical companies to establish local offices and work closely with UA, there will be tangible benefits. They are bringing research dollars to campus, which helps us to recruit top graduate students. Then, they also have employment opportunities to offer UA grads,” he said.

She said the partnership has been a positive experience for all involved. Parisi has been particularly impressed with student presentation skills. Being able to communicate their research in a professional manner will be beneficial to these students as they enter the job market, she said.

One major project UA has worked on with Camgian is a U.S. Department of Defense funded program to progress artificial intelligence technologies for the military, specifically in surveillance and reconnaissance. Additionally, the DOD contract with Camgian is supporting faculty research. In exchange for UA’s help with research, Camgian has worked to review and sponsor senior design projects on campus.

“During project status review updates, the students have taken an active role in the presentation of the research work being performed and have demonstrated the ability to communicate technical information to their audience,” Parisi said.

“The nature of the collaboration has been for UA to conduct research — including hardware assessment, AI algorithm and software development — field testing/data collection,

Camgian is also prioritizing community engagement within the company. Before COVID, employees volunteered in local schools by mentoring robotics clubs and judging competitions. Since COVID has paused many in-person events, Camgian engineers constructed an online course to teach teenagers about computer science and artificial intelligence, which they were able to share with more than 100 local students. “We believe strong partnerships with the community are vital to our success,” Parisi said. “Tuscaloosa has welcomed us at every level and are very proud to give back.”

Weske, electrical & computer engineering associate professor Dr. Ken Ricks and Camgian chief financial officer Michelle Parisi recently met at Camgian's Tuscaloosa office, which is currently located at The EDGE on 10th Avenue and will soon move to the Regions Bank building downtown.

JOBS. PROMOTIONS. AWARDS. RECOGNITION.

1987 DR. MARK S. WHORTON BSAE, MSAE ’89, joined the Georgia Tech Research Institute as chief technology officer on June 22 in Atlanta. GTRI is the applied research division of the Georgia Institute of Technology.

1999 TIMOTHY W. TINSLEY BSME, has been promoted to executive vice president for the defense sector at Radiance Technologies in Huntsville. He joined Radiance, an employee-owned small business prime contractor, in October 2004.

2009 LUCAS BRUNER BSChE, has joined Pfizer as a manager of process engineering, gene therapy in Sanford, North Carolina.

2011 DR. BRIAN S. FLOWERS BSChE, MSChE ’13, PhD ’16, has been named the Paula & Jim Henry Chair of Engineering at Midland College in Midland, Texas. He has been at Midland since August 2016. He is the department chair and an assistant professor.

2014 AUBREY B. COLEMAN II MSCE, is the 2020 Jefferson Fordham recipient of the Up & Comers Award given by the American Bar Association Section of State and Local Government Law. On Jan. 19, 2021, he joined Microsoft as the business program manager, Airband Initiative.

Something we missed?

Please send us your professional achievements and recognitions for inclusion in Alumni Notes by visiting eng.ua.edu/alumni/update

ITEMS OF INTEREST TO CAPSTONE ENGINEERS & COMPUTER SCIENTISTS

20th Annual CES Golf Tournament Raises More Than $40,000 The 20th Annual Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament was held Nov. 16, 2020, at Old Overton Country Club in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Thanks to the generous contributions from sponsors, supporters and teams, $41,190 was raised for the Capstone Engineering Society Scholarship Fund. Since 2001, the CES Golf Tournament has raised more than $694,000.

Paul Lammers was the tournament chair, and David Williams served as co-chair. Members of the CES golf committee were Tim Patton, Tony McLain, Al Faulkner, Gaston Large, Milton Davis, Drew Bullard and Greg Floyd.

“As we all know, this year has been challenging in many ways,” said Liz Moore, CES manager. “Facing two date changes and various obstacles, our sponsors and players demonstrated unwavering commitment to increasing the Capstone Engineering Society Endowed Scholarship Fund.” A total of 112 players on 29 teams participated in this year’s tournament, and 27 sponsors contributed to the drinks, putting contest, each hole and three tournament levels to make the event a success. A virtual silent auction and merchandise sale were added to the tournament this year. Both were a huge success bringing in $7,763 of the total raised.

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First Place Net: ICS Cyber

First Place Gross: Morell Engineering

Chad Sizemore, Carl Owen, Randy Rupp, Stan Adams

Blaine Morell, Luke Mathias, Joe Higginbotham, Armand Hunt

2nd Second Place Net: Vulcan Painters Johnny Dempsey, Nathan Reamey, Tommy Lee, Mike Hays

LONGEST DRIVE:

Owen Moore - Schoel Engineering

CLOSEST TO THE PIN:

Stan Adams - ICS Cyber

PUTTING CONTEST WINNER:

Mike Hays - Vulcan Painters DRIVING INNOVATION

PREMIER SPONSOR

EXECUTIVE SPONSOR

TOURNAMENT SPONSORS

PUTTING CONTEST SPONSOR

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| SPRING 2021

HOLE SPONSORS

BEVERAGE SPONSORS

DRIVING INNOVATION

DR. ROBERT F. "BOB" BARFIELD SR. Dr. Robert F. "Bob" Barfield Sr. died Oct. 19, 2020, in Tuscaloosa. He was 87. Barfield received his doctorate in engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He was the dean of The University of Alabama College of Engineering and also served in the Marine Corps. Barfield was a fan of UA football and the Astros and Braves Major League Baseball teams. He was a member of Covenant Presbyterian Church. The UA College of Engineering has an endowed professorship in mechanical engineering in his honor.

DR. SAMUEL C. GAMBRELL JR. Dr. Samuel C. Gambrell Jr. died Oct. 31, 2020, in Tuscaloosa. He was 85. Born in Owings, South Carolina, Gambrell graduated from Clemson University with an engineering bachelor’s degree in 1957 and master’s degree in 1961. He was a pitcher on the baseball team and a member of several honor societies. Gambrell was also commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army and served on active duty in the Air Defense Artillery Branch from 1957-1959. After 30 years of service in the South Carolina Army National Guard and the U.S. Army Reserves, he retired as a colonel and was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. Gambrell earned a doctorate in theoretical and applied mechanics from West Virginia University in 1965. At The University of Alabama, he served as assistant dean of engineering for research and graduate studies and director of the Engineering Placement Bureau. Gambrell retired in 1996 as professor emeritus of engineering mechanics and was later named an Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Distinguished Fellow. He completed research contracts with NASA for six years and spent two summers working at Marshall Space Flight Center. The Society for Experimental Mechanics gave him the F. Zandman Award in 1994 and 1997 because of his research on stress analysis of shuttle components. The Alabama Society of Professional Engineers named him Professional Engineer of the Year in 1990 and ASPE Professional Engineer of the Year in Education in 1991. Gambrell served as vice president of the ASPE Central region for one term, and he was president of the Southeastern section of the American Society for Engineering Education in 1982-83. Gambrell was registered as a professional engineer in Alabama. He was active in his church and community serving on several committees, clubs and societies.

HARRY H. HOLLIMAN Harry Hill Holliman died July 7, 2020, in Kingsport, Tennessee. He was 78. He studied chemical engineering at The University of Alabama and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1963 and a master’s degree in 1966. From 1963-1965, he served in the U.S. Army as a chemical officer. Holliman took a job as a chemical engineer at Eastman Chemical Company in 1966 and worked in several positions before retiring in 1999 as president of the Tennessee Eastman Division. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow of the UA College of Engineering in 1988. In 1999, Holliman was inducted into the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

SANJEEV LAHOTI Sanjeev Lahoti died Oct. 26, 2020, in Yamhill, Oregon. He was 56. Born in Mumbai, India, he graduated from Amravati University in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Lahoti later graduated with a master’s degree in chemical engineering from The University of Alabama, and he earned an MBA in marketing from the University of Houston-Clear Lake. In 2002, he started the company Virasa Technologies in Houston, and five years later, he and his wife Angela Summers, Ph.D. '93, established Saffron Fields Vineyards in Oregon. Also in 2007, the couple created the Irvin A. Jefcoat Endowed Scholarship to support UA chemical and biological engineering students.

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DR. ODIS P. MCDUFF Dr. Odis Pelham McDuff died Feb. 7, 2020, in Tuscaloosa. He was 88. Born in Pickens County, he graduated top of his class in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from The University of Alabama. McDuff later graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master’s degree in electrical engineering and Stanford University with a doctorate. His research was on lasers. McDuff worked as the department head of UA’s electrical engineering department and received UA’s Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award twice. He also served as a first lieutenant in the Army Signal Corps Engineering Laboratories at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey.

DR. THOMAS “WAYNE” MERRITT JR. Dr. Thomas “Wayne” Merritt Jr. died Oct. 5, 2020, in Auburn. He was 77. Born in Columbus, Georgia, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1966 and a master’s degree in zoology in 1968 from Auburn University. After graduating, he joined Officer Candidate School and began pilot training in the U.S. Air Force. Merritt was assigned to the Strategic Air Command flying B-52 Stratofortresses after completing pilot training in 1970 in Valdosta, Georgia. He spent time in California and Michigan and flew combat missions over North Vietnam, Thailand and Guam. Merritt was promoted to captain and later aircraft commander. He was bestowed many awards and medals during his military career. In 1973, Merritt was assigned to the ROTC program at Auburn. He resigned his commission in 1977. Merritt then earned a doctorate in industrial engineering with a focus on ergonomics in 1987. In 1988, he was hired at The University of Alabama as a professor of industrial engineering and statistical methods. While working at UA, Merritt was also an independent consultant. He helped businesses examine workflow and redesign workspaces to diminish injuries from strain and stress. Merritt retired in 2007 and eventually returned to the Auburn area.

James A. Aufman, BSMtE ’62, MSMtE ’63

Col. Robert C. Hyde, BSEE ’57

Kent S. Sellers, BSME ’69

Max L. Bailey, BSIE ’54

Ronald L. Jobe, BSIE ’72

Hubert E. Smith, BSEE ’58

Maxwell L. Barnett, BSMtE ’91

Wolsey V. Jones, BSIE ’48

James T. Stephens, BSEE ’66

Gary M. Boyd, BSME ’82

George Kardasen Jr., BSEE ’44

James E. Summerville Jr., BSChE ’48

James H. Brazil, BSME ’58

Frank H. Kendall Jr., BSChE ’62

Robert M. Towry, BSMinE ’69

Judson E. Davis Jr., BSAE ’58

William H. Kennedy, BSME ’60

James S. Traudt, BSCE ’66

Felix F. Delgado, BSChE ’62

Michael Kroeger, BSEE ’70

James C. Traywick Sr., BSME ’57

Robert G. Dodd, BSAE ’71

Daniel C. McFee, BSMinE(Min.) ’88

Garland F. Ward, BSEE ’70

John. W Donnelly, BSME ’61

Dr. John R. Neergaard, BSChE ’67

Raymond C. Watson Jr., MSE ’58

Steve H. Finch, BSMinE(Min.) ’53

Uldis Plate, MSE ’66

Edward W. Whaley, BSEE ’52

Jeffrey A. Fisher, BSME ’78

Randolph W. Priddy, BSEE ’64

Horace H. Williams, BSEE ’51

Bertram Fleischer, BSMtE ’56

Travis N. Pruitt Sr., BSCE ’63

Lt. Col. Robert M. Wilson, BSME ’60

Thomas H. Friday, BSME ’61

Joe J. Santoro, BSAE ’70

Jon A. Zachman, MSE ’69

Ronald C. Garrett, MSMtE ’65

Neil G. Segars, BSIE ’61

Doyal H. Good, BSME ’50

Jerry D. Sellers, BSCE ’65, MSCE ’66

DRIVING INNOVATION

THE ENGINE THAT KEEPS THE COLLEGE MOVING

Lisa Nicole Smith joined the College of Engineering in January 2021 as the new Multicultural Engineering Program director and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion manager. The MEP director collaborates with students, faculty and staff across the College and University to design, implement and assess a comprehensive program with focused recruitment, retention and completion strategies for diverse students. Learn more about Smith and her position in this Q&A. CE: What are your first priorities as MEP director? Smith: As I begin this awesome journey as the director of the Multicultural Engineering Program, one of my main priorities is building relationships. There are a number of entities that could assist the College of Engineering as we begin to build the foundation to recruit, retain and graduate new diverse students; a large part of my job is to help build and manage those relationships as they would cause UA to benefit from those opportunities.

CE: Why is having an MEP director important for the College? Smith: I believe that this position is important for the College of Engineering for many reasons; namely, the deliberate and intentional effort to recruit and retain diverse students and assist in the diversification of the profession of engineering. Unfortunately, in higher education, diversity is not yet an organic occurrence. Leaders must be diligent to create paths for inclusion and access so that students, particularly diverse students, know that even at a place that is as well-known and respected as the College of Engineering at The University of Alabama, they, too, are welcome.

CE: How will the work of this program benefit the College? Smith: A major part about understanding the significance of diversity and the importance of there being multicultural student experiences within our historic educational system is knowing that this

CAPSTONE ENGINEER

service benefits everyone. The student body is better having the opportunities to learn from and live among people with different backgrounds and cultures. The faculty and staff are enlightened as they interact with diverse students and learn different methods of connecting with students.

CE: How can you make a difference in the College through this position? Smith: I intend to make a difference by reminding our community of the many opportunities that are available and accessible for all. The position of director for the MEP is not a new position for the College of Engineering, but it is one where the focus of targeted populations became slightly out of focus. My aim is to bring those targeted populations back into view while serving as a liaison, advocate and recruiter for them.

CE: Why did you apply for this position? Smith: I applied for this position because it is an excellent opportunity to use my background of recruiting highly desired, academically strong college-bound diverse students. The College of Engineering at The University of Alabama has a tradition of graduating the best of the best diverse students. I am just here to serve and help further that tradition.

CE: What kind of support will you need from the UA engineering community? Smith: I would say that it would help that our community understand that we are in the process of building. This would require all of us to understand that things are changing, developing and growing. There are new ideas for creating new things and there will be many things that leadership might allow us to try. I ask for patience as we create the formula that works for who we are and what we would like to ultimately do.

CE: What are you looking forward to most working in this position at UA? Smith: I am looking forward to creating new programming and opportunities for students.

| SPRING 2021

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DEAR

ALUMNI & FRIENDS, The Capstone Engineering Society is approaching 50 years of service to the College of Engineering at The University of Alabama. Much has changed in the world and across our campus, but one thing remains, the College of Engineering continues to educate, develop and graduate some of the finest engineers in the country. The CES plays an active role in funding our students with scholarships generated through our dues and fundraising events. Currently, there is over $2 million in the endowment. Beyond the financial investment, the CES actively supports Mentor UPP. The professional program matches alumni in mentoring relationships with juniors and seniors while the peer program lets upperclassmen mentor underclassmen. The investment of time and energy in the program showcases the quality of students while maintaining a connection between alumni and the College. We have witnessed the commitment the University and our donors have made to our College through the investments in new and remodeled classroom and research facilities. In my opinion, these facilities are unrivaled and make me envious of the campus experiences available to our students. This, in part, has generated a powerful tool to recruit the most talented faculty and graduate students who have yielded multifold increases in research grant funding that is fueling the engine of ingenuity vital for any engineering program. The next 10 years will be exciting as we continue to enhance our facilities and grow our programs. Thank you for your continued support of the Capstone Engineering Society and The University of Alabama College of Engineering!

Al Faulkner BS, Chemical Engineering, 1988 Chair, Capstone Engineering Society Board of Directors

DRIVING INNOVATION

Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID The University of Alabama

Capstone Engineering Society College of Engineering Box 870200 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200

@bamaengineering