Leading the Way

Female faculty members share their research, teaching and mentorship.

By Micaela Myers

Bringing diverse perspectives to the table means new ideas, different approaches, and innovative and inclusive solutions. That’s why there’s a push to encourage more women and other underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM—science, technology, engineering and mathematics—fields.

The Society of Women Engineers reports that, in 2017, only 9.5 percent of female freshmen intended to major in engineering, math/statistics or computer science. What’s more, more than 32 percent of women switch out of STEM degrees in college. In the workforce, only 13 percent of engineers are women.

The University of Wyoming employs female faculty in each of the College of Engineering and Applied Science departments. These hard-working professors not only run productive labs, but they also teach and mentor. Here, we spoke with just a handful of these top faculty members about their work.

Nga Nguyen, Assistant Professor,

Electrical and Computer Engineering Nguyen’s research focuses on the impacts of renewable energy resources on power system stability and reliability, as well as investigating advanced methods to increase the integration of renewable energy resources into the power grid.

“I am interested in research on the integration of renewable energy resources into the power grid, as renewable energy resources bring a lot of benefits to our society, including no fuel cost, no pollution and unlimited supply,” she says. “However, they bring some challenges to system stability and reliability due to their intermittent output and low inertia. Therefore, our research tries to model the impacts of renewable energy resources on the power grid and examines advanced methods to increase renewable energy resources penetration while maintaining system resilience.”

Nguyen also teaches several courses on power system operation and digital signal processing. She loves working with UW’s bright, creative and passionate students and says she learns a lot from them as well. “These young students will be our future,” Nguyen says. “I hope that my teaching can be a small contribution.”

She notices the far lower number of female students in engineering and believes a diverse student body—including more female students—brings more diverse ideas and a better working environment.

“I think we have to start from early education, K-12, giving girls more exposure to STEM, as well as encouraging them and having appropriate policies to support them when they pursue a career in STEM,” Nguyen says. “Education in the family is also very important. It can change the ways girls look at STEM.”

Jennifer Eisenhauer Tanner, Associate Professor,

Civil and Architectural Engineering and

Construction Management Not many people get to break things for a living. But as an experimentalist with a focus on innovations to enhance the durability of concrete and masonry, Tanner’s research includes constructive destruction.

“You predict something, then you test it,” she explains. “I enjoy solving problems and helping make life better for people.”

Part of her research includes working closely with the Wyoming Department of Transportation to help create longer-lasting concrete bridge decks. She also works with private companies and earns national research funding.

Tanner teaches first-year through graduate-level courses, including masonry and concrete design, and has written a textbook on the subject. She incorporates active and handson learning whenever possible.

“When I teach a senior design class, I have them use the design code they’ll be using in their first job, so they’re familiar with it and don’t need as much on-the-job training,” Tanner says. It’s one of the many ways she incorporates professional skills into her courses.

She also tries to make her female students feel welcome with networking events such as getting together for tea.

“Some female students have an imposter syndrome and need to build some confidence,” Tanner says. “It’s important to have a network. When I go to the American Concrete Institute conference, they have a women in engineering event. I’ve made a lot of lifelong friends through that group. Many of my students have gotten jobs from my regional network.”

Students need mentors and mirrors, so having female faculty is important. Tanner speaks to undergraduate students throughout the region to promote UW’s Women in Graduate

Nga Nguyen with a small-scale wind turbine she uses in K-12 Outreach presentations.

Jennifer Eisenhauer Tanner illustrates to Kim Lau how the strain is measured in a concrete shrinkage specimen.

Education scholarship. She also openly shares with her students how she balances motherhood and her career.

In addition to female students, Tanner mentors international students, utilizing her first-hand experiences from studying in Costa Rica. Together with Mary Katherine Scott in the Honors College, they also lead an educationabroad course to the Yucatan Peninsula to teach about Mayan culture and building.

She says: “Engineering is best when we have a diverse team. Diversity includes so many different things. The more differences we have, the better solutions we come to.”

Lamia Goual, A.J. Castagne Professor,

Petroleum Engineering Goual remembers her first undergraduate internship 30 years ago in the Sahara Desert, working in a cement and stimulation laboratory as the only female. “As a result, I was the center of attention and sometimes scrutiny,” she says. “Several years later, I traveled to the same location and was thrilled to find many female engineers working in the field. The company was able to change people’s mindsets and working experiences by closing the gender gap. More and more companies are doing the same nowadays, and it is having a tremendous impact on society.”

As UW’s only female petroleum engineering professor, Goual continues to be a trailblazer. “Women in STEM should not be afraid to step into male-dominated fields,” she says. “There is a manifold of benefits to having females in the workplace, because they have a different way of looking at things and that could lead to more creativity and innovation. They are a source of inspiration to their children and community and should be provided with a supportive environment that allows them to strike a balance between their professional and personal lives without having to sacrifice one for the other.”

As a mother and a scholar, Goual believes an interest in STEM must be cultivated from a young age. Knowing this, she participates in many outreach activities targeting women, minorities and students from underrepresented groups. “I use multi-scale imaging and virtual reality to teach basic scientific concepts and explain my research to elementary and middle school kids across the state,” she says. “I provide tours and hands-on laboratory activities to Native Americans from Central Wyoming College. I also use my teaching grants to organize annual field trips with high school students attending the Engineering Summer Program. All these initiatives have provided my graduate students with rewarding opportunities to teach K-12 kids and foster their interest in STEM-related fields.”

Lamia Goual, A.J. Castagne Professor in Petroleum Engineering, and Bingjun Zhang, graduate student from China, use atomicscale imaging to gain a better understanding of how molecules of rock, oil and gas interact with one another.

At UW, Goual has supervised many successful graduate students, half of whom are females, and she mentors undergraduate and graduate students in her lab. One of her former students won first place in the 2018 Society of Petroleum Engineers international student paper contest and has started her own company in Wyoming.

Having access to world-class facilities at the Center of Innovation for Flow through Porous Media and the Engineering Education and Research Building provides Goual with a stimulating working environment to innovate and excel in her field. As a result, she is one of the very few petroleum engineering female faculty in the nation to receive the prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award. “My teaching philosophy is reflected in this award, which encourages translational work by taking the research out of the laboratory and into the classroom,” she says.

A dedicated and supportive instructor, she sets high standards for academic performance in courses such as introduction to petroleum fluids, rocks, interfacial phenomena, carbon engineering and laboratory characterization methods.

“My primary fields of research are in petroleum colloid and interface science, nanotechnology, molecular engineering, and flow and transport through porous media, with applications to hydrocarbon recovery, flow assurance, environmental remediation, and carbon utilization and storage,” Goual says. “I am particularly interested in intermolecular and surface interactions, wetting phenomena, functional nanomaterials, and their impact on self-assembly, adhesion and transport.”

She studies these phenomena within a multi-scale framework where nano- and micro-scale insights are used to provide physics-based predictions of macro-scale behaviors. “I use a combination of experimental and computational methods, such as high-resolution electron microscopy, digital rock physics and molecular dynamics simulations to establish structure-function relationships and predict the performance of chemical inhibitors, flow enhancers, subsurface remediation and improved oil recovery agents in various oil/ brine/rock systems.”

Her main motivation is to address long-lasting challenges faced by the petroleum industry in developing effective, safe and economically viable practices built upon a scientifically sound foundation.

Amy Banic’s research in the Interactive Realities Research Lab focuses on 3D user interfaces for immersive environments, such as virtual and mixed reality.

Amy Banic, Associate Professor,

Computer Science Banic believes diverse teams not only come up with new solutions, but also more inclusive solutions. “I think having a diverse set of people from different backgrounds is important for innovation,” she says. “We need to do more to recruit and retain not just women, but people of different races, ethnicities, gender identities and socioeconomic backgrounds.”

With this in mind, Banic works hard to mentor all of her students and create an inclusive environment in her classrooms and lab. She aims to expose her students to undergraduate research and the possibility of graduate school early on and helps retain her students by showing them how to integrate their passions into their academic work.

“Many students pursue careers based on their perception of what people in those careers are doing. I try to help lift the blinders on careers in computing,” says Banic, who is also codirector of the Center for Design Thinking. “It’s something you can pair with your passion. For example, I’ve paired my passion for art with computer science. When people are passionate about what they are working on, then they tend to be more creative and innovative.”

Together with electrical and computer engineering Associate Professor Domen Novak, they run a National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates site that recruits and groups underrepresented minority and women undergraduate students with mentors in a cohort for a 10-week research and professional development experience (humansmove.org).

Banic’s research in the Interactive Realities Research Lab focuses on 3D user interfaces for immersive environments, such as virtual and mixed reality. These applications may be used for training, education or scientific simulations. Her work aims to create better interaction and user experience. The technology is rapidly developing and still working toward its potential, which Banic finds exciting. She teaches related coursework in virtual reality systems, computer graphics and user interface/user experience design, and she currently co-teaches a course on innovation and entrepreneurship.

“All of those classes have a theme of how to make things more interactive and how to innovate,” Banic says.

With technologies that are rapidly developing, students must learn a skillset that will enable them to continue to learn and adapt throughout their careers.

“I try to inspire students to pursue a career they’re interested in,” Banic says. “I’m always asking students, ‘What are your hobbies, what do you find interesting, and how can you incorporate that into what you’re learning now?’ That makes it more fun, and they also learn more because they’re being proactive.”

Mechanical Engineering Ph.D. candidate Alexandra Howell and Associate Professor Erica Belmont examine biomass samples that they have designed and prepared for the study of wildfire fuels under controlled laboratory conditions.

Erica Belmont, Associate Professor,

Mechanical Engineering Belmont believes representation and mentorship can both go a long way toward recruitment and retention of women in STEM.

“Mentorship of students is extremely important to me because I know firsthand how life-changing good mentors can be,” she says. “My most impactful mentor has made a huge difference in my life by being a role model for me professionally and personally, and by always being available when I have needed her guidance in challenging situations. I strive to provide the same for all of my students. I think a mentor-mentee relationship can be especially effective when the participants can relate to each other’s experiences and challenges.”

Lose women in STEM, and you miss out on their contributions to society’s great challenges, such as sustainable energy provision, one of Belmont’s research and teaching interests.

Her research targets thermochemical conversion of solid fuels, which includes conversion processes such as pyrolysis, gasification and combustion. “My research focuses specifically on ways to convert waste resources to meet energy needs, and the products of these processes when uncontrolled conversion, such as wildfire, occurs,” Belmont says. “I’m passionate about my research because thermochemical conversion pathways and solid fuels, like biomass and waste, have potential to help us meet our energy needs while also meeting environmental targets. At the same time, the uncontrolled conversion of these fuels can lead to significant destruction and pollution. My research group strives for better understanding and control of the dynamics of these fuels under different conditions.”

Belmont teaches thermal fluids topics, such as thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and heat transfer at UW. Thermal fluids topics are critical in many engineered and natural systems in our world. She says, “I’m excited to share these topics with our students, inspire them to work in related fields and help prepare them to be impactful engineers.”

Society of Women Engineers at UW Offers Connection, Opportunities

By Missy Samp

When Alma Burwell began her studies in mechanical engineering at the University of Wyoming, she frequently felt alone in the traditionally male-dominated field.

“The guys I had classes with tended to always seem to know what they were doing, while I continually felt lost and confused,” says Burwell, from Carbondale, Ill. “For a while, I accepted it until my boyfriend convinced me to try SWE out. I never looked back.”

This past school year, Burwell served as the president of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) student chapter at UW.

SWE’s mission is to empower women to achieve full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life; and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.

The UW student chapter seeks to promote diversity within all engineering disciplines by providing a network for female engineering students, career enhancement opportunities and outreach events.

One of the primary benefits is the connection that students can make with other aspiring and inspiring women engineers, SWE members say.

“SWE gives me the opportunity to make friends outside my major who are women,” says Chaney Kennedy, a mechanical engineering major from Denver. “I’ve met some great engineers, and it is incredible to be around so many women in a maledominated field.”

Burwell notes the impact that SWE has had on her life.

“I have been able to participate in mentorship programs and meet with professionals throughout various timepoints in their careers, who offered extremely helpful insight into what I could do later in my career and be capable of doing,” Burwell says. “As a girl with no engineering background in her family, this was really a huge part of what drove me through engineering. SWE has given me women who I can reach out to and share my struggles and successes with.”

UW chapter members have the opportunity to attend the national conference, where they can network and learn from women engineers, and attend a job fair.

“During my junior year, I went to the SWE national conference in Anaheim, Calif., and I went to the job fair there,” Kennedy says. “I got two internship offers after the job fair, and I took one at Northrop Grumman. I got a job offer after I completed the internship. So, thanks to SWE, I have a job right out of college.”

Burwell also has a job waiting for her.

“Attending the national conference helped me to get the dream job I always wanted,” she says. “I will be a manufacturing engineer at General Motors, ideally in maintenance, but with rotating roles for my start.”

Another opportunity SWE offers to members is to participate in outreach events, such as the WomEngineering Conference. The event is designed to introduce middle and high school female students to various engineering disciplines. The young women attend workshops and participate in activities to learn more about engineering fields, discover possible career paths, and talk with women engineers about their experiences.

Jacy Busboom, a chemical engineering major from Douglas, organized the 2018 conference and helped plan the 2019 conference.

“When I was in high school, I knew I wanted to be an engineer, but it was only through summer engineering camps and events similar to this conference that I learned about chemical engineering,” she says.

Busboom says her involvement with the conference allowed her to witness a number of smart, creative solutions that the participants demonstrated during activities.

“It’s awesome to know that there are some great minds interested in becoming engineers and scientists,” Busboom adds.

Students who took part in the 2018 WomEngineering Conference at UW build a water filter with different sizes of activated carbon granules. The activity demonstrated how surface area and retention time can affect the removal of contaminants from water.

National Society of Black Engineers at UW Provides Opportunities to Grow Social, Professional Networks

By Missy Samp

For Zacchaeus Oni, the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) chapter at the University of Wyoming has provided him with a sense of community, starting with the first meeting he attended.

“I had tried a few other societies and didn’t really get that welcoming feeling from them,” says Oni, a mechanical engineering major from Lagos, Nigeria. “Then, I attended my first NSBE meeting, and I felt welcomed in terms of people coming over to me and asking me questions about my major, what I’m trying to achieve, and so on. I decided to stick with the group.”

Members of the National Society of Black Engineers at UW gather for a weekly meeting. PHOTO BY OLUMIDE KOLAWOLE

The decision to join NSBE has paid off for Oni. This past school year, he served as the UW chapter’s vice president. He also served as the Rocky Mountain Zone chair of the NSBE’s Region VI from 2018-2020. In this capacity, he helped coordinate networking events and workshops to benefit other student chapters.

Founded in 1975, NSBE supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology. Its mission is “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”

While the national organization has existed for more than 45 years, the UW chapter is still a fairly young group. It was established as a registered student organization in fall 2015.

NSBE at UW provides opportunities for students to grow their social networks and expand their professional ones.

“By God’s grace, I have met people who have influenced my life greatly professionally and as a person,” says Oreoluwa Babatunde, a computer engineering major, who served as the UW chapter’s president this past school year. “My job as an undergrad research intern with my department was made possible by someone I met from the group.”

By joining the local chapter, students can meet and interact with professionals in their field. Members also have the opportunity to participate in the national convention, where they can attend workshops, connect with other NSBE members, and attend a career fair.

Brayan Garcia, who just graduated with his Ph.D. in petroleum engineering, attended the convention, which took place virtually this spring.

“I decided to go to the convention to see what opportunities I could find regarding jobs and research positions,” says Garcia, from Bogotá, Colombia. “It was a great experience as I had a wide range of options among universities, companies and national labs. I could see what the offerings are like in my field right now.”

Membership in the UW chapter is open not only to Black students, but also to minority students studying engineering.

“Our chapter is populated with international students from various countries,” says Babatunde, from Aremo, Oyo state, Nigeria. “This helps ensure that our students from other countries don’t miss out on opportunities available here.”

Fortune Nwokejiobi, from Nkwerre, Imo state, Nigeria, is a recent member of the student group.

“Being involved with NSBE is a great way to learn about different programs the University of Wyoming offers for engineers in general, as well as those specific to Black or minority engineers,” says Nwokejiobi, who is studying computer engineering. “It also provides a platform for me to learn more about my major and how to navigate through it with knowledge from its members, who are well equipped in the engineering field.”

Nwokejiobi says the members she has met are friendly and supportive.

That describes the sense of community that drew Oni to NSBE several years ago, and he hopes others will feel that connection.

“We want to help those that come in after us and give them the best guidance so they feel at ease in the community, and they are given the best advice and opportunity that there is to offer,” Oni says.

UW CHAPTER OF ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS GIVES STUDENTS HANDS-ON EXPERIENCE

By Missy Samp

Whether working on water supply projects to benefit Guatemalan villages or combating food insecurity at the University of Wyoming, members of the UW student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) can gain hands-on experience with real-world issues.

The UW student chapter’s mission is to help disadvantaged communities improve their quality of life through implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects. EWB at UW impacts communities abroad and locally.

One of EWB’s international Donovan Whitehead, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, from Longmont, Colo., stocks the food cabinet in the Engineering projects is the Natividad de Building. Whitehead and other members of Engineers Without Maria water supply project in Borders built the cabinet to help address food insecurity among San Marcos, Guatemala. The goal UW students. PHOTO BY MEGHAN HIGGINS of the project is to provide safe drinking water to the community while teaching students the engineering process.

Jessa Gegax, who is majoring in computer science and minoring in environment and natural resources, is the project manager.

“I decided to join the project because I have an interest in working internationally and thought this would be the perfect opportunity,” says Gegax, who is from Las Cruces, N.M. “From my experience as a project manager, I hope to gain leadership skills and better technical communication skills.”

The UW team is working with numerous engineers from EWB-USA, EWB-Guatemala and volunteers from Wyoming. The team plans to travel to Guatemala in January 2022 to help build the water distribution system.

Another water supply project in Guatemala—Comunidad Maya Nueve de Enero—is wrapping up this year.

The student group’s current domestic project addresses the issue of food insecurity among UW students. Members of the domestic project team built a food cabinet that is located in the Engineering Building. Team members will oversee any maintenance, host food drives and ensure that there are resources available in the cabinet. “Having another food cabinet location on campus will hopefully increase awareness and availability of this resource for students and community members facing food insecurity,” says Project Manager Jake Hays, who is majoring in mechanical engineering and minoring in management, from Broomfield, Colo. Meghan Higgins, a project manager and director of outreach, helped lead the food cabinet project and worked on a past project that benefited The Cottage, a nonprofit thrift store in downtown Laramie. Higgins, a civil engineering major from Cheyenne, notes she has gained numerous practical skills.

“EWB has exposed me to the engineering project process, helped refine my leadership skills, taught me how to use power tools, and helped me acquire valuable experience in areas such as public speaking, marketing and event planning,” Higgins says.

Although “engineers” is part of the group’s name, one doesn’t need to be an engineering major to get involved, says Jonathan Katchmar, EWB president.

“EWB is more than just an engineering organization. It’s really an organization for all students, regardless of their majors,” explains Katchmar, an energy systems engineering major from Cheyenne. “EWB isn’t exclusively engineering projects. We do other activities such as fundraising, community outreach and bonding events.”

Hays says EWB’s success comes from the commitment and involvement from fellow students.

“The great part of our organization is that we have a diverse and enthusiastic team that is able to put projects together—both internationally and locally—that truly make an impact on a community,” Hays says.

Below left: An air compressor fires a linear ram tester, approximately 10 to 20 mph, to determine the impact performance of a helmet. Below: Impressio Tech utilizes finite element analysis (FEA), a computer modeling approach used to simulate forces. FEA is also taught to UW Department of Mechanical Engineering seniors, as it is used by industries ranging from aerospace to biomedical to power transmission.

PHOTOS AND GRAPHICS BY IMPRESSIO TECH

Changing the Game

TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPED BY A UW PROFESSOR MAY SHAPE FOOTBALL AND MORE FOR YEARS TO COME.

By Andy Chapman

The young men who heard their names called in April’s annual National Football League draft will have to stay on top of their game to find success as a professional football player.

The research and innovation of UW Department of Mechanical and Energy Systems Engineering Department Head Carl Frick just might allow those players to have longer, safer careers than they thought possible.

Frick co-founded Impressio Tech in 2017 to harness the versatility of liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs). LCEs have remarkable performance properties, including the ability to actuate like artificial muscles, dissipate high levels of energy, respond to heat stimulus and enable 4D printing. The company’s mission is to materially transform the most important products in the world.

Impressio Tech has recruited engineers, material scientists and business leaders to combine material, design, and manufacturing knowledge all in one shop. The company has been engaged by several organizations to solve complex issues, including the NFL and U.S. military for protective equipment and the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Health to develop biomedical devices.

One of the company’s first projects was to use LCEs for football helmet liners to disperse energy from highspeed collisions. Frick says one of the company’s primary goals is to preserve the health of NFL, college, and youth players.

“Theoretically, we can orient these LCE crystals in such a way that they dissipate energy better than any other material available,” Frick says. “We can design the materials on the molecular level, enabling us to tailor it to different applications, including rethinking the way helmets can be designed.”

The company experienced early success and has since grown to 14 employees. Its big break came when Frick and co-founder Chris Yackacki successfully pitched an early helmet design idea using LCEs in a 2018 competition hosted by the NFL called “1st & Future.” That netted the company $50,000 to further study the use of LCEs in football helmets.

Fast forward to today, and they’ve improved the concept into a latticepatterned LCE football helmet liner. Rajib Shaha, who previously was a Ph.D. student under Frick at UW and now is employed by Impressio, focused

entirely on this research during his time in Laramie.

“We do a lot of the research at UW, including the use of a drop tester and in-house helmet tester,” Frick says. “Mechanical testing is crucial for us to measure LCE performance when combined with custom lattice designs for helmets.”

Frick has been a UW faculty member since 2008, and his areas of research include materials science, bioengineering and mechanical engineering to characterize new materials for use in emerging technologies. He’s interested in bringing innovation into the engineering mix, so on two occasions he has participated in the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps program. It uses experiential education to help researchers gain valuable insight into entrepreneurship or starting a business. It has paid off, as Frick and Impressio Tech’s team have secured nearly $2.9 million in grant funding.

Last year, the NFL provided an additional $491,999 to help Impressio Tech prepare for another design challenge. Partnered with helmet manufacturer Schutt, the company will battle three other finalists in the NFL Helmet Challenge in July 2021. The top helmet submission will outperform, based on specified laboratory testing, all helmets currently worn by NFL players.

All the research, including the competition, could lead to what Frick calls “the safest helmet ever made.”

Above: A 3D helmet liner created for the U.S. Army illustrates the different lattice structures that are position-specific based on the hits it may typically receive, allowing for optimal safety and comfort. Right: University of Wyoming College of Engineering Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Department Head Carl Frick.

The National Science Foundation/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NSF/NCAR) C-130 aircraft measures biomass burning smoke during the WE-CAN (Western Wildfire Experiment for Cloud Chemistry, Aerosol Absorption and Nitrogen) field campaign in 2018.

PHOTO BY SHANE MURPHY PHOTO

U W Re s ea r c her s F i nd Wi ld fi r e Smoke i s Mor e C o ol i n g on C l i mat e T ha n C ompu t er Mo d el s A s su me Shane Murphy, a UW associate professor of atmospheric science, was a contributing author of a paper, titled “Biomass Burning Aerosols in Most Climate Models Are Too Absorbing,” that addresses the impact of wildfires on global climate.

Hunter Brown, who graduated from UW in fall 2020 with a Ph.D. in atmospheric science, was the paper’s lead author. Other contributors to the paper included researchers from Texas A&M University; North Carolina A&T State University; the University of Georgia; the Finnish Meteorological Institute; the Center for International Climate and Environmental Science, and Norwegian Meteorological Institute, both in Oslo, Norway; the University of Reading in the United Kingdom; North-West University in South Africa; the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei, China; and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.

The composition, size and mixing state of biomass burning aerosols determine the optical properties of smoke plumes in the atmosphere which, in turn, are a major factor in dictating how these aerosols perturb the energy balance in the atmosphere.

“We found that many of the most advanced climate models simulate biomass burning aerosols or smoke that is darker, or more light absorbing, than what we see in observations,” says Brown. “This has implications for the climate predictions made by these models.” “When we compare global observations of wildfire smoke to simulated wildfire smoke from a collection of climate models, the vast majority of the models have smoke that is more light absorbing than the observations,” Brown explains. “This means that more energy from the sun is going toward warming the atmosphere in these models, as opposed to what we see in these field campaigns and laboratory studies, which report less absorbing smoke that has more of a cooling effect by scattering light away from the Earth and back to space.” How absorbing these aerosols are in the atmosphere depends on the type of fuel that is burning, as well as the climate of the fire region. Generally, hot, dry grassland fires in Africa and Australia tend to have much darker smoke, which is more absorbing, while cooler, wetter boreal forest fires in North America and Northern Asia tend to have much brighter smoke, which is less absorbing.

After researchers made aerosol improvements to the model, African wildfire smoke still tended to be more absorbing than observations. This might be explained by simplifications in how aerosols evolve over time in the model, or it may be due to a lack of observations from this part of the world biasing the results toward the boreal fire regime, Brown explains.

“We were able to trace the disagreement between the model and observations to how the models represented the individual smoke particles, or aerosols, in the model,” Brown says. “This came down to how the model characterized their makeup, their size and the mixtures of different types of biomass burning aerosol. When we changed these variables in one of the models, we saw considerable improvement in the simulated smoke.”

This comparison of computer models and global observations is valuable for model development groups and may help reduce uncertainty in biomass burning aerosol climate impacts in models, Brown says.

UW Pays Tribute to Distinguished Engineering Alumni

By Sunnie Lew

The College of Engineering and Applied Science is paying tribute to four distinguished engineering alumni who passed away this last year. Kenneth “Ken” Kennedy, Albert L. “Boots” Nelson, Wayman Wing, and Calvin “Cal” Vaudrey were loyal supporters of the University of Wyoming. Each of these men were known for their remarkable generosity.

Kenneth “Ken” Kennedy was born in Wheatland, Wyoming, to early homesteaders of the Chugwater Flats. In addition to wheat farming, he served his community and state in many capacities. He served as Wheatland’s city engineer and Platte County’s county engineer before starting his own company, Kennedy Engineering, in 1965. He was a long-time member of the Wyoming Engineering Society and served as president. He was the recipient of Tau Beta Pi Society’s Eminent Wyoming Engineer Award and UW’s Distinguished Alumni Award.

Ken and his wife, Pat, established the J. Kenneth Kennedy and Patricia Powers Trelease Kennedy ESP Endowment, which supports the UW Engineering Summer Program—an extraordinary program that offers high school students hands-on experiences in various engineering fields.

Albert L. “Boots” Nelson was born of ranching parents in Jackson, Wyoming. In 1951, he served as a ski and outdoor survival instructor in the Army Mountain Training Command. Boots founded Nelson Engineering, with offices in Jackson and Buffalo, Wyoming. Nelson Engineering would grow to one of the top engineering firms in the state of Wyoming. He also served as president of both ACEC Wyoming and of the Wyoming Engineering Society.

Boots generously supported the Cowboy Joe Club and the Civil and Architectural Engineering department and was an original founder of the H.T. Person Endowment—an endowment that was established to honor Professor, Dean, and President of UW, H.T. Person.

Wayman C. Wing was a World War II veteran, a scholar, and an athlete. A first-generation Chinese American, he was born in Evanston, Wyoming. In 1960, he formed the New York firm of Wayman C. Wing Consulting Engineers. A pioneer in seismic design, he received prestigious national awards and led many international construction projects. He authored definitive technical articles on structural design and was a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Wayman received the New York Engineer of the Year Award and was also chosen to be archived in the American Heritage Center. In 1999, he was inducted into the College of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame. In 2020, he was nominated to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for his service in WWII.

In 1997, Wayman and Eugenia Wing established the Roger G. Wing Memorial Scholarship, in honor of their beloved son. They also made significant contributions to the College of Engineering Technology Fund, the Susan McCormack Scholarship, the American Heritage Center, and the UW Foundation and gave generously to the college’s general fund.

Calvin “Cal” Vaudrey was born in Glendo, Wyoming. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II and then went on to earn a bachelor’s in civil engineering. Additionally, he earned a master’s and a professional degree in engineering. Upon graduation, Cal taught civil engineering for nine years before joining Banner Associates, Inc. He would later serve as president and CEO of their board for 20 years. Cal was a member of numerous professional associations, including the American Consulting Engineers Council. He was inducted into the College of Engineering and Applied Science Hall of Fame in 2006.

Cal Vaudrey was a consistent and loyal donor to the college throughout his lifetime. His annual support provided engineering students with a vast number of learning opportunities and helped shaped the trajectory of the engineering college.