FROM THE DEAN
Curiosity is integral to each step of the process engineers use to design, build, and test products that improve our well-being. I seek out curiosity at the Engineering Open House held at the end of each semester, where students present their senior design projects, junior aerospace wing concepts, and first-year customer discovery insights and product mockups developed during their first semester in the Shocker Design Experience. Talking to students gives me plenty of ideas on how we as an institution can help unleash their curiosity to lift them up and position them for a fruitful career wherever their path leads.
Three college initiatives are central to adding to the infrastructure needed to sustain the curiosity and creativity of our students, faculty, and staff. We are building a pilot-scale supercomputer due to be completed in the first quarter of 2025 which not only will allow us to further embed computation in all of our engineering programs but also learn how to harness artificial intelligence. Based on the success of a student team designing and manufacturing more than 400 handrails to improve safety in the Charles Koch Arena, we are transforming the Project Innovation Hub into a low-volume manufacturing space (see page 16). The supercomputer and low-volume manufacturing hub used in tandem will allow us to accept a variety of applied learning projects from companies and community partners. These projects are a proving ground where learning in the classroom meets the real world and skills such as listening, empathy, and leadership are on par with technical skills in delivering a product that satisfies a customer’s needs.
A little further in the future, we received approval to construct the Shocker Fly Lab on the Innovation Campus (see page 16). This facility will be built in two phases and when completed will provide an indoor space to fly a variety of small vehicles such as radio-controlled airplanes, drones, and other flying robots. Combined with the supercomputer and low-volume manufacturing hub, students, faculty, and staff will be able to build and test new wing designs or prototype vertical take-off and landing concepts and outfit the vehicles with a host of sensors to develop control systems by collecting and analyzing all of the data.
Whether you have visited campus recently or have not had the opportunity to see how the campus has been transformed, I hope you learn something new about the College of Engineering at Wichita State University in the following pages. Within, you will discover inspiring stories of our students and faculty, highlighting their activities and achievements driven by that spark of curiosity which is the lifeblood of the engineering process.
DR.
ANTHONY MUSCAT Dean of the College of Engineering
ABOUT
The College of Engineering at Wichita State University was established in 1928. Today, it includes seven departments, and during the 2023-2024 academic year, it comprised about 2,100 undergraduate students and about 1,200 graduate students. Since its inception nearly 100 years ago, the college has set itself apart through a commitment to applied learning, a spirit of innovation and a strong reputation for research and development (R&D).
BY THE NUMBERS
2023-2024 Graduates
Of students in the Class of 2028 (First-Time-in-College students enrolled for fall 2023) received Wichita State financial aid 90%
Of students in the Class of 2028 (First-Time-in-College students enrolled for fall 2023) received some sort of financial aid
$20,533
Average loan debt for students who had federal loans at any time and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in the 2024 academic year (compared to about $30,000 nationally)
$4,482,294 286 509 Donors Gifts RAISED FROM THROUGH *From the 2023 fiscal year
In the 2023-2024 academic year, gifts to the College of Engineering supported:
• Teaching lab equipment and software upgrades
• Travel assistance for faculty and students • Seminars
INDUSTRY ADVISORY BOARD
The following features the Industry Advisory Board for the College of Engineering from fall 2023 through fall 2024.
Julie-Ellen Acosta
‘80, ‘84, Retired, Vice President, Boeing Leadership Center, Associate Vice Chancellor for Learning, Leadership, Organization Development & ILE, Washington University (Current)
Dave Bass
Chief Technical Officer/Vice President of Engineering, Integra Technologies
Laura Bernstorf
Manager - Program Management Canada, Textron
Tom Bisges
Vice President, Bombardier Learjet
Todd Briscoe
Structures Engineering Director, Spirit AeroSystems
Robert Cahn
Director, Engineering and Quality, Bombardier
Kimberly Ernzen
Chief Operating Officer, StandardAero
Corey Ervay
Head of Engineering Resource and Competencies, Airbus
Kelly Harrison
‘81, ‘85, ‘94, Retired, Vice President, Westar Energy, Inc.
Pierre Harter
Interim Associate Vice President for Research and Associate Vice
President of Research Operations for Industry and Defense Programs, Wichita State University
Chris Hearne
Senior Vice President, Textron
Brian Hershberger
Senior Manager, Lockheed Martin
Robin Huber
Vice President and General Manager, E-Series, NetApp
Brad Johnson Systems Engineer, BAE Systems
Thor Kissman Director, Mission Systems Payload Technologies at Boeing Research & Technology, Boeing
Dane Laughlin Product Manager, Squint
Keith Lopez President for North America Modig Machine Tool of Sweden, Modig Machines
John Lovitt ‘68, Retired, Vice President, Rational Software
Victor Lukic
President and CEO, Great Plains Ventures
Eddie Morrison
President, Aerospace Systems & Components
Ihssane Mounir ‘94, ‘96, Senior Vice President Sales & Marketing - Greater China & Korea, Boeing Commercial
Jeremy Patterson Dean, College of Innovation and Design, Wichita State University
Khalid Raza Founder and CEO, Graphiant
Doug Rice
Senior Technical Manager, Honeywell
John Tullis Director of Engineering, Ametek Inc.
John Tush ‘88, Co-Owner/Engineering Consultant, CertTech, LLC.
Enrique Villars Business Operations and Supply Chain Leader, Cargill
Joan Wagner Technical Fellow, Systems Engineer, Spirit AeroSystems
Keith Wilson Retired, Boeing
Chris Ying RTD Conductor Etch Area Manager, Intel Corporation
NEW LEADERSHIP, FACULTY & STAFF
The following features newly appointed deans and department chairs, as well as faculty and staff who joined the College of Engineering from fall 2023 through fall 2024. Deans
Dr. Anil Mahapatro
Associate Dean of Undergraduate and Graduate Programs, Spring 2024
Dr. Jacob Mendez
Assistant Dean for Student Success, Spring 2024
Faculty
Mohamed Anis Aguida Assistant Educator, School of Computing
Jennifer Akers Assistant Educator, School of Computing
Janelle Birkner
Assistant Educator, Applied Engineering
Dr. Jielong Cai Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Lokesh Das Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Thomas Ensz Assistant Educator, School of Computing
Dr. Ahmad Esmaeili Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Cody Farlow Assistant Educator, School of Computing
Dr. Yuanyuan Gao
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Nadia Kianvashrad
Assistant Professor, Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Shruti Kshirsagar
Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Dr. Kyoungnae Lee
Assistant Teaching Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Christin Manning
Assistant Teaching Professor, Applied Engineering
Alok Menon
Assistant Educator, Aerospace Engineering
Dr. Tamás Molnár
Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Chris Rees
Assistant Educator, Applied Engineering
Dr. Souvika Sarkar
Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Department Chairs
Dr. Deepak Gupta Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering, Fall 2024
Dr. Yongkuk Lee Biomedical Engineering, Spring 2024
Staff
Dr. Davi Soares
Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Dr. Wei Sun
Assistant Professor, School of Computing
Dr. Mehnaz Tabassum
Assistant Teaching Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Nathan Wells
Assistant Educator, Biomedical Engineering
Andrea Gartman Director of Advising
Roger Petrin Recruitment Coordinator
Thatcher Luginbill-Ruder Laboratory Coordinator
Margaret Rees Administrative Assistant, School of Computing
Katherine Brewster Academic Advisor, School of Computing
Lizzie Butler Director of Scholarships and Scholar Programs
Jake Frazee
Academic Advisor, Biomedical Engineering/ Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering
Nikki Ross Administrative Specialist, Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering
Adriana Fraga Cintra Soares
Academic Advisor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
ACADEMICS
The College of Engineering has seven academic departments, including aerospace engineering; applied engineering; biomedical engineering; electrical and computer engineering; industrial, systems and manufacturing engineering; mechanical engineering; and the School of Computing. There are 14 majors, 10 master’s degrees and six doctoral degrees available, as well as more than 25 undergraduate and graduate certificates.
NEW MASTER’S DEGREE IN DATA SCIENCE
The School of Computing within the College of Engineering began offering a Master of Science in Data Science in fall 2019. Its curriculum is designed to ensure that students can study a specific area of computer science known as data science, which revolves around machine learning and data mining, cleaning and visualization. As data science is an applied part of computer science, students are exposed to interdisciplinary courses such as relevant courses from mathematics and business.
SHOCKER DESIGN EXPERIENCE (SDX) PROGRAM & KOCH INNOVATION CHALLENGE
The Koch Innovation Challenge, sponsored by Koch Inc., is an annual competition integrated within the Shocker Design Experience (SDX) program at Wichita State. The SDX program, sponsored by Great Plains Industries and Aerospace Systems & Components, is a program for first-year students of any major. By fostering creativity, innovation and teamwork, the program and challenge help build skills in how to generate value and develop an entrepreneurial mindset for the real world.
As the first part of the SDX program, students take an introductory course. The course uses a human-centered design method for innovation that combines creative and analytical approaches and requires collaboration across disciplines and diverse backgrounds. Students construct a low-fidelity mock-up of a product by the end of the semester.
As the second part of the SDX program, students enroll in an optional applied project course where they design and build a technically feasible and potentially profitable prototype of their “big idea” utilizing the college’s Project Innovation Hub and GoCreate, a Koch Collaborative. Students are coached on product development, protecting intellectual property and giving an elevator pitch to share their new product or technology publicly.
Project teams create two-minute pre-recorded “big idea” elevator pitch videos, which is the first component of the Koch Innovation Challenge. Judges, which include
employees from Koch Inc. and its subsidiaries, local entrepreneurs and Wichita State faculty, evaluate the videos and select five teams to advance and compete in the Grand Champion round.
Finalists from the Angel Competition advance to the Grand Champion Competition at the end of the spring semester. A live elevator pitch presentation occurs during the annual Engineering Open House. One winning team is named the Grand Champion in May and awarded a travel grant to advance to the national Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization Global Pitch Competition the following fall.
The SDX program, which includes the Koch Innovation Challenge, is credited with increasing first-year retention within the college from 60% for non-program participants to 80% for program participants, which translates to 102 more engineering students persisting in their education. Additionally, the program engages students with more diverse backgrounds, helps students learn how to work effectively with others, and develops more professionally focused and work-ready students.
Thus, over the past few years, there has been a focus on increasing the number of students from 212 in the 2021-2022 academic year to about 450 students from the 2023-2024 academic year onward.
The 2023-2024 SDX Program
FEATURED STUDENT HIGHLIGHTS
455
PARTICIPANTS
More than 25% female
89 77%
TEAMS
Five to six students per team
RETENTION
Or 343 participants (of all majors) who re-enrolled for AY 2024-25
102
MORE STUDENTS
Persisting in their engineering education
Competition Outcome
In spring 2024, the BLND Solutions team, comprised of Maya Douglas, Georgia Bacher, Tanzeem Nabi and Elian Laguna, placed first out of 35 teams. Their solution is designed to improve safety and accessibility in public spaces. In fall 2024, the team was in the top 100 teams to attend the national CEO Global Pitch Competition in Tampa, Florida.
Program Costs
The total cost of the 2023-2024 SDX program and Koch Innovation Challenge was $296,558, which included faculty and staff salaries, peer mentor salaries, materials and supplies. Koch Inc., Great Plains Industries and Aerospace Systems and Components helped to cover expenses. Additionally, employees from Koch Inc. and its subsidiaries mentored students and served as judges in the challenge.
ALUMNA SPOTLIGHT
Shocker Graduate Soars With Aerospace Opportunities
From her freshman through senior year, Wichita State alumna and former Wallace Scholar, Amanda Mudra, was in the NASA Jump Start Program. Through the program, she helped rebuild the Wichita State water tunnel and also worked in the Projects and Prototyping Lab in the John Bardo Center, where she assisted senior aerospace engineering students in the modification and manufacture of prototype aircraft.
During her senior year, Mudra was in a senior capstone course that included competing in the Bronze Propeller Competition, sponsored by Boeing. The project included designing an aircraft, completing a timed aircraft build, wind tunnel testing, and then competing in a flight competition. Mudra’s team, comprised of three other Wallace Scholars and a McGregor Scholar, was affectionately named the McWallace Team. The team won first place in the 2023 competition!
Mudra graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering in spring 2023. After graduation, she was hired as a flight test engineer for Lockheed Martin in Georgia. Her role includes working on C-130 Hercules four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft, such as hands-on, in-flight testing.
FACILITIES
College of Engineering classes and labs are within four buildings on the main Wichita State campus, the Engineering Building, Beggs Hall, Wallace Hall or Jabara Hall, or in the John Bardo Center on the Innovation Campus. In addition to the John Bardo Center which features a project-based experiential learning environment for bringing engineering fundamentals to life, the Innovation Campus includes more than 20 on-site companies.
Wichita State is also home to the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR).
WATCH A VIDEO ON AMANDA
SHOCKER FLY LAB
In fall 2023, the idea of a drone flying facility on the Innovation Campus was discussed, and a potential lead donor was identified. Since then, the Kansas Board of Regents (KBOR) approved the Shocker Fly Lab initiative, and a two-phase plan was developed. The Shocker Fly Lab will be fully funded by private gifts, which presents an exciting opportunity for community and industry support. The initiative will be completed in two phases, with a total estimated cost of $12.75 million.
PROJECT INNOVATION HUB
The Project Innovation Hub is a hands-on laboratory located within the John Bardo Center on the Innovation Campus. The hub features rapid prototyping and small-scale manufacturing equipment that students use to turn their ideas into reality. Additionally, during the 2023-2024 academic year, there were numerous paid projects completed by students for community partners, makers and entrepreneurs in addition to Wichita State students, staff, faculty and campus partners.
EVENTS
The College of Engineering hosts numerous annual events, including Welcome Week and Engineers Week activities for students organized by the Engineering Student Success Center (ESSC), as well as Engineering Open Houses (EOHs) and the Engineering Research Symposium. During the 2023-2024 academic year, the college also had the honor of hosting an engineer in residence and welcoming nearly 150 high school students for a special outreach event.
ANNUAL EVENTS
Welcome Week
The College of Engineering kicked off the 2023-2024 academic year with Welcome Week, a week in August dedicated to welcoming new students to the college. Welcome Week events included the Engineering Launch, Dessert with the Deans, and the Engineering Block Party and Student Organization Fair. The week culminated in a university-wide event, Clash of the Colleges, which the college preceded with a pep rally. The College of Engineering won the Spirit Award and took third place in the Clash of the Colleges competition!
Engineering Research Symposium
Each fall, the College of Engineering hosts the Engineering Research Symposium. The poster competition is an exciting opportunity for students to showcase their research projects, develop their presentation skills and compete for one of three certificates with cash prizes. First-place winners from the fall 2023 competition included Saket Chand Mathur in the Novice category, Sarangan Rajendran in the Emerging category and Anoop Krishnan Upendran Nair in the Proficient category.
Engineering Open Houses
The College of Engineering hosted two Engineering Open Houses (EOHs) during the 2023-2024 academic year. The fall EOH was a smaller event in December, while the spring EOH was a large event in May. At both events, senior students presented prototype solutions to address identified needs. The spring EOH incorporated a celebration of the accomplishments of our students and faculty, including an awards ceremony following the EOH.
Engineers Week
Engineers Week, which occurs annually during a week in February, was founded in 1951 by the National Society of Professional Engineers. Each year, the College of Engineering celebrates the holiday with numerous activities and events! The 2024 week included a Dean Meet and Greet, a Vision Boards event with the college academic advisors, a Carnival and Student Organization Fair, a bowling night and an Engineering 5K run/walk. This past year, the 5K course was certified by USA Track & Field (USATF), drew more than 125 participants and raised money for the College of Engineering Needs-Based Fund.
2023 ENGINEER IN RESIDENCE LEANNE CARET
Leanne Caret, a Wichita State alumna and former president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS), served as the Sam Bloomfield Distinguished Engineer in Residence for the College of Engineering in 2023. In October 2023, she made a second visit to Wichita State to complete a recorded interview with public radio station KMUW 89.1, conduct a recorded interview with Wichita State President Rick Muma, have lunch with student organization members, and present on the topic “Getting Real About Leadership,” followed by an engaging question-and-answer session.
INVITE A GIRL TO ENGINEERING DAY (IGED)
Increasing Gender Equality and Supporting Diversity Within the STEM Fields
The College of Engineering sponsors and hosts Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day (IGED), a national event commonly known as Girl Day, each February during Engineers Week. The purpose of an annual Girl Day is to increase gender equality and support diversity within the STEM fields.
The February 22, 2024, event was the second annual Girl Day at Wichita State. In addition to the College of Engineering, the 2024 event was sponsored by Airbus, the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR) at Wichita State University and Spirit AeroSystems.
Students participated in hands-on STEM activities, listened to two speakers who graduated from the college, Melissa Rocha and Cindy Hoover, and met people from the engineering and computing industries, including professionals, Wichita State faculty and students. There was also an industry fair featuring companies from STEM fields.
In February 2024, the college received an award for the 2023 IGED event. The award was presented at the Collaborative Network for Engineering and Computing Diversity (CoNECD) conference that was sponsored by the Women in Engineering ProActive Network in Washington, D.C.
140
High School Students Attended
Ultimately Pursued Engineering at Wichita State 56%
109
Of Attending Seniors
Collegiate and Professional Mentors Assisted
FACULTY & STAFF
During the 2023-2024 academic year, the College of Engineering was comprised of 85 faculty members (57 tenure-track faculty members and 28 teaching faculty members) and 28 staff members. Wichita State was recently recognized by the National Science Foundation (NSF) for accessing and creating avenues for women and minority STEM faculty to achieve career goals.
FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS
UNIVERSITY FACULTY & STAFF AWARDS
AIAA Associate Fellow
Dr. Atri Dutta, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, was elected to the grade of Associate Fellow-Class of 2024 in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA). AIAA Associate Fellows are individuals of distinction who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.
Director of Kansas NASA EPSCoR Program
Dr. Linda Kliment, an associate professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, was named as the permanent director of the Kansas NASA Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program. Dr. Scott Miller, an emeritus professor of the Department of Aerospace Engineering, had previously held the position prior to his retirement in spring 2023.
Outstanding Young Engineering Award
In spring 2024, Dr. Arun-Kaarthick Manoharan (assistant teaching professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering) won the 2024
Outstanding Young Engineer Award, presented by the Wichita Council of Engineering Societies (WCES). The Wichita section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) nominated Dr. Manoharan for the award.
Effective Teaching Award, Academy of Effective Teaching (AET)
Winner Manira Rani, Associate Educator, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Finalist Dr. Sourabh Bose, Assistant Teaching Professor, School of Computing
Finalist Dr. Huabo Lu, Assistant Teaching Professor, School of Computing
Excellence in Research Award
Dr. Hyuck Kwon, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
Young Faculty Scholar Award
Dr. Eylem Asmatulu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Dwane and Velma Wallace Excellence Awards
FACULTY LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD
Dr. Steven Skinner, Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering
FACULTY EXCELLENCE IN RESEARCH AWARD
Dr. Yongkuk Lee, Associate Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering
Dr. Eylem Asmatulu, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering
FACULTY EXCELLENCE IN TEACHING AWARD
Dr. Cindi Mason, Associate Teaching Professor, Industrial, Systems and Manufacturing Engineering
John
A.
See Innovation Award
Richard Sack, Lab Manager, Project Innovation Hub
RESEARCH
Researchers within the College of Engineering and the National Institute of Aviation Research (NIAR) push the boundaries of technology and address the challenges of partners in aerospace and beyond. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently recognized the university’s significant expenditures in engineering research and development (R&D).
BY THE NUMBERS
2023 R&D Expenditures & Rankings
In Aerospace Engineering R&D at $327 M
2 In Industry-Funded Engineering R&D at $164 M
8 In Engineering R&D from All Funding Sources at $336 M
2023-2024 Sponsored Research
6 In Total Industry-Funded R&D at $171 M *Fiscal year 2023 rankings from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Higher Education Research and Development (R&D) Survey *From the 2023-2024 academic year In Sponsored Research
14 In Total DOD-Funded R&D at $112 M $6 Million
DR. SHUANG GU
Engineering Professor Leads $2 Million Grant Toward Curbing Nitrous Oxide Emissions
Article by Leah Lamunyon/WSU | Published August 8, 2023
Bolstered by a $2 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, a group of Wichita State University researchers is hoping to create a paradigm shift from the use of harmful nitrous oxide-based fertilizers to more eco-friendly nitrogen fertilizers that would reduce greenhouse gases.
The project to curb nitrous oxide is a collaboration between researchers at Wichita State and Iowa State University, led by Wichita State’s Dr. Shuang Gu, associate professor in the College of Engineering, and Dr. Wenzhen Li, a professor in the College of Engineering at Iowa State. The ISU researchers also received $2 million from the NSF Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).
The Wichita State team will work alongside the ISU team to explore fertilizers that have a lower environmental footprint by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, with the goal of enabling a shift toward more sustainable agriculture.
“Our research is important because nitrous oxide has 300 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide and contributed to 7% of United States GHG emissions in 2020,” said Gu. “A staggering 74% of nitrous oxide emissions come from agricultural fertilizer applications, a percentage driven largely by the ever-growing demand for food, fiber and energy.”
The project goal is to develop an electro-manufacturing system powered by renewable energy (wind and sunlight) to produce green nitrogen fertilizers that are fundamentally different from current thermomanufacturing processes that consume non-renewable fossil energy (coal, petroleum and natural gas). The use of renewable energy rather than non-renewable fossil energy could alleviate the agricultural impact of climate change while ensuring the sustainability of Midwest farming and ranching.
Green fertilizer technology holds great potential to create higher-wage jobs for local farming and ranching regions, especially for low-income minorities in rural areas, thus expanding capabilities and opportunities for agricultural communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change.
As such, they have partnered with Dodge City Community College (DC3) in mentoring minority students and training minority-teaching instructors in closely aligned areas, including agricultural science and farm and ranch management.
The project outcome should lead to a deep understanding of GHG nitrous oxide emission, nitrate upcycling, urea synthesis, carbon dioxide capture and conversion, and green nitrogen fertilizer utilization in agriculture. It should also open an avenue for new generations of technologies for nitrous oxide and nitrate sensing, anion-selective membrane and efficient chemical manufacturing.
“This research project brings together a multidisciplinary team of scientists from Wichita State and ISU that could enable an important paradigm shift,” said Dr. Anthony Muscat, dean of the Wichita State College of Engineering. “Their work has the potential to set the foundation for fostering collaborations and associations in both GHG nitrous oxide reduction and green fertilizer promotion across academia, government, industries, agriculture and communities.”
The two $2 million grants will be awarded over a four-year period. The NSF EPSCoR is designed to establish partnerships with government, higher education and industry that are designed to affect sustainable improvements in a jurisdiction’s research infrastructure, research and development (R&D) capacity, and hence, its R&D competitiveness. NSF Research Infrastructure Improvement Track-2 Focused EPSCoR Collaboration (RII Track-2 FEC) awards provide opportunities to build inter-jurisdictional collaborative teams of EPSCoR investigators in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) focus areas consistent with the NSF 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
“As evident from EPSCoR’s impact, investing in research infrastructure is a powerful catalyst for strengthening our nation’s security, competitiveness and fostering groundbreaking scientific advancements,” said Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the NSF. “I’m thrilled to announce this year’s EPSCoR Track-2 awards, which will strengthen community and regional efforts to understand the impacts of a changing climate and enhance the resilience of disproportionately affected communities. By addressing these critical challenges, and engaging with communities impacted by climate change, we have the potential to advance innovation and promote economic stability and recovery in EPSCoR jurisdictions and beyond.”
Other group members include the following co-primary investigators: Dr. Mark Schneegurt, Wichita State biological sciences professor; Dr. Jan Twomey, Wichita State associate dean; Dr. Michael Castellano, IS professor; and Dr. Liang Dong, ISU professor. Dr. Ruowen Shen, an associate professor at Wichita State, and Dr. Fallys Masambuka-Kanchewa, an assistant professor at ISU, are senior people in the group. Dr. Clayton Tatro, vice president of education at DC3, is the education partner, and Mike Beam, secretary of the Kansas Department of Agriculture, is supportive of the project.
DR. WUJUN SI, DR. ATRI DUTTA, & ADRIAN ARUSTEI
Wichita State, NASA Lead Research for Improved In-Space Manufacturing Plans
Article by Paul Suellentrop/WSU
Published December 18, 2023
Wichita State University will lead a three-year project to assist NASA’s manufacturing paradigm shift from “factories on earth” to “factories in space.”
“This project will pioneer a new in-space manufacturing technology based on electrospinning,” said Dr. Wujun Si, assistant professor in Wichita State’s College of Engineering.
“It will significantly overcome some fundamental challenges faced by the current ISM technology based on additive manufacturing.”
“Physics-Informed-AI Enabled Smart Electrospinning of Nanofiber Membranes Towards In-Space Manufacturing” is funded by a NASA grant of $750,000.
Project success will enable Wichita and Kansas to develop a new research enterprise directed toward long-term, self-sustaining, nationally competitive aerospace research capabilities on ISM, which contributes to Kansas’ aerospace economy, and expand the nation’s base for aerospace research and development.
“Spirit AeroSystems will use its manufacturing expertise to support the development, characterization and enhancement of nanofiber electrospun membranes in collaboration with the project partners,” said Kim Caldwell, senior director, Spirit AeroSystems Global Research & Technology. “This research will make it more feasible to eventually fabricate parts on space factories enabling new scientific and economic missions.”
The proposed innovative system will facilitate a series of future complex and long-duration deep space missions that were previously impossible. NASA’s launch of Artemis I in 2022 and subsequent Artemis missions demonstrate that InSpace Manufacturing is of immediate need and essential to enable flexible on-demand manufacturing and mission sustainability.
The ISM technology is in an early stage and mostly rooted in additive manufacturing. It is well known that the layer-by-layer printing process in additive manufacturing is significantly impacted by the gravity. However, in-space environments (such as zero/ micro-gravity and vacuum) are quite different from the Earth’s conditions. This substantially limits the ISM capability of additive manufacturing.
The project proposes a new electrospinning-based ISM technique. Compared with additive manufacturing, this electrospinningbased manufacturing paradigm does
Dr. Wujun Si PRIMARY RESEARCHER
not rely on gravity and fabricates nanostructured thin parts like functional membranes in space, which complements additive manufacturing that prints macroscale solid parts.
The project consists of multiinstitutional partnerships among Wichita State University, Kansas State University and the University of Kansas.
The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center directly leads the national ISM program. The NASA Ames Research Center, and NASA Glenn Research Center) and two government agencies (Argonne National Laboratory, Applied Physics Laboratory) are involved, as are business/industry partners Spirit AeroSystems and HCI Energy.
Wichita has earned a reputation as the “Air Capital of the World” since 1928 and has bases of multiple leading aircraft/aerospace industries.
A broad class of research-integrated educational initiatives with a wide range of dissemination and outreach activities will attract students to pursue data science and advanced manufacturing studies, research and careers, especially female and underrepresented minority groups.
STUDENTS
During the 2023-2024 academic year, the College of Engineering had about 3,400 students, including 2,186 undergraduate students and 1,223 graduate students. At 13%, a significant portion of students identified as Hispanic, and undergraduate students represented 45 different countries.
INNOVATION & RESEARCH AWARDS
$40,000 Award in Student Practical Architecting Challenge
Through the inaugural Student Practical Architecting Challenge (SPARC) in fall 2023, FirePoint Innovations Center at Wichita State awarded nearly $40,000 to two College of Engineering student-based teams for their novel innovations in devising future-ready, modular and adaptable software systems to support the Department of Defense’s (DOD) Modular Open Systems Architecture (MOSA) initiative. Murphy Ownbey (spring 2023 graduate) and Greg Heiman (senior in fall 2023) won first place, while Aiden McGillivray (junior in fall 2023) won second place. • Learn more: wsu.news/sparc
Best Technical Paper in the North American Power Symposium
In fall 2023, a technical paper written by a group of students, Mary Peterson and Olivia O’Reilly from the College of Engineering and Esther Liu (then from East High School), with the mentorship of two doctoral students, a faculty advisor and two industry advisors, was recognized as the best paper in the 55th North American Power Symposium. The paper was titled “Economic and Reliability Impacts of Combined Solar and Battery Energy Storage as a Non-Wire Alternative.”
First Place in the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers Poster Competition
Saurabh Sanjay Singh, a doctoral student in the College of Engineering, won first place in the poster competition at the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE) South Central Conference. The conference was held from February 29 through March 2, 2024, at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, and his research was entitled, “Blood Supply Chain Simulation - An Investigatory Analysis.”
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Awards
In spring 2024, three Wichita State students secured the prestigious Graduate Research Fellowship from the National Science Foundation (NSF), an award worth $159,000 over three years. Two of the three students were College of Engineering students, including Anthony Ciletti and Reilly Jensen. Ciletti’s research focuses on developing a method to predict the acoustic performance of non-periodic porous materials using 3D representations, aiming to streamline the design process for specific applications. Jensen’s research aims to develop a rapid, easy-to-use microwave sensor for stroke detection, potentially improving patient outcomes by expediting diagnosis and treatment.
STUDENT ORGANIZATION HIGHLIGHTS
SHPE: Leading Hispanics in STEM
In fall 2023, the SHPE: Leading Hispanics in STEM (formerly known as the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) student chapter at Wichita State won the “Region 3 Chapter of the Year” award from the national organization and also received the “WSU Large Chapter of the Year” award from the university. In November 2023, 36 students from the chapter attended the national convention in Salt Lake City. In fall 2024, student awards were announced for the 2023-2024 academic year, and two College of Engineering students won awards, including the “Outstanding Student Leader of the Year” award for Diego Vargas and the “Lift As You Climb” award for Ashley Pena.
National Society of Black Engineers
In March 2024, 20 students from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) student chapter at Wichita State attended the 50th annual NSBE Convention in Atlanta, Georgia. The convention had about 15,000 attendees and provided Black engineering students with a dynamic and empowering experience.
Society of Women Engineers
In addition to numerous events for members, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) student chapter at Wichita State held a public event, Mother Daughter Day, in April 2024. Local students in third through eighth grade were invited to attend with their adult role models, and attendees had the opportunity to participate in four STEM activities designed to introduce different types of engineering. In fall 2024, a student from the chapter, Grace Peterson, won the “Outstanding Collegiate Member” award for her previous involvement.
Reilly Jensen Anthony Ciletti
SUMMER 2024 INTERNSHIP SPOTLIGHTS
SPACEX
Delaney Pepin
Delaney Pepin, a mechanical engineering student in the College of Engineering, spent the summer interning at the SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California. Her internship on the supply chain engineering team for Falcon propulsions provided handson experience solving supply chain challenges to continue delivering mission-critical components.
Braden Webb
With a lifelong fascination for public transportation, Braden Webb took his passion to new heights last summer through an internship with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) in Washington, D.C. Webb is a computer science student in the College of Engineering. • Learn more: wichita.edu/Braden
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
Lauren Coffman
Lauren Coffman, a biomedical engineering student in the College of Engineering, spent the summer completing her first National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (O-STEM) internship at the Translational Research Institute for Space Health (TRISH) in Houston, Texas. During her time there, she developed procedures for biomedical equipment used in commercial spaceflight, tested these procedures, managed biosample collections from astronauts and organized biomedical hardware. • Learn more: wichita.edu/Lauren
PILATUS AIRCRAFT
Evan Van Ryder
Evan Van Ryder, an aerospace engineering student in the College of Engineering, spent the summer interning at Pilatus Aircraft in Switzerland. He worked as a flight test engineer in the Experimental Aircraft department, which included working on prototype systems, as well as new parts and certifications.
TEXTRON e AVIATION
Mary Peterson
Mary Peterson, an electrical and computer engineering student, spent the summer interning at Textron eAviation in Wichita, Kansas. She worked in avionics and electrical systems, which included gaining experience in programming and testing.
CYBERCORPS
SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE
In November 2023, Ivan Macias, Jacob Smith and Elizabeth Wilson were named the 2023 CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) recipients. CyberCorps Scholars are outstanding cybersecurity students who have impressive grades, internships, student group leadership experience and good rankings in cybersecurity competitions. There was an event to honor them, and other attendees
HARRY
GORE MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP
In February 2024, the three recipients of the Harry Gore Memorial Scholarship were named. Each student received a $64,000 scholarship to attend Wichita State starting in August 2024. Among the recipients was Karaline Scott, a senior from Goddard High School near Wichita, who went on to major in applied engineering with a focus on the sustainability and environmental concentration within the College of Engineering.
WALLACE INVITATIONAL FOR SCHOLARSHIPS IN ENGINEERING (WISE)
An Enduring Legacy That Continues To Benefit Students
3.93 27 & 15 STATES COMPETITORS CAME FROM WITH AN AVERAGE GPA ACT
The Dwane and Velma Wallace Endowment was established at Wichita State in 1976. The fund supports scholarships for engineering students and provides funds for educational, programmatic and infrastructure needs in the College of Engineering. The Wallace Scholar program began with the awarding of 15 scholarships at $400 each. Since then, the number of Wallace Scholar alumni has grown to more than 350, and the scholarship package has increased to $30,500.
The Wallace Invitational for Scholarships in Engineering (WISE) was hosted on November 17, 2023. WISE drew participants from 15 states. This high-quality pool of participants included students with a 4.0 GPA and 27 students with an ACT composite score of 32 or greater. Through intentional efforts to increase the diversity of WISE participants, the percentage of women competitors was 22.8%, and the percentage of underrepresented students (American Indian, Black and Hispanic) was 18.7%.
The event included a welcome session, a student panel for the competing students, a parent and guest information session, a closing luncheon, and of course, the group design activity. Optional activities following the closing luncheon included tours of the John Bardo Center and a meet-and-greet event with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES), and Out in STEM.
Julie-Elisa (Acosta) Dunham was the Wallace alumna featured speaker at the closing luncheon. She is an engineering manager at Spirit AeroSystems and has been at the company for more than nine years.
Winners of the Fall 2023 Wallace Invitational
Eleven students were named Wallace Scholars for their exceptional performance in the fall 2023 competition. In addition to scoring well on the group design activity and written essay, they bring stellar academic credentials from high school. The cohort’s average high school GPA was 3.98 at the time of the competition.
54%
17%
3.79
Elijah Allen Aerospace Engineering Wichita, KS
Evelyn Hrencher Aerospace Engineering Edmond, OK
Jocelynn Palacio Aerospace Engineering Andover, KS
Benjamin Aquino Aerospace Engineering Edmond, OK
Cameron Klug Mechanical Engineering Gardner, KS
Karaline Scott Applied Engineering Goddard, KS
Angel Yanez Undecided Engineering Wichita, KS
Isabelle Christensen Biomedical Engineering Salina, KS
Blake Lobdell Aerospace Engineering Circle, MT
T Goode Electrical Engineering Wichita, KS
TJ Morrison Applied Engineering Olathe, KS
of Wallace Scholars Are in the Honors College
Average Wallace Scholar GPA of Wallace Scholars Are First-Generation College Students
Women Wallace Scholars
Wallace Scholar Home States: Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Nebraska
PROGRAM BY THE NUMBERS AND WALLACE SCHOLAR SUCCESS
