Volume 4, Number 7, April, 2008
Welcome to Ahoya! Engineers - Marquette University's College of Engineering e-Newsletter for alumae, alumni, students and their families, faculty, staff, and MU friends. We want you to know what’s happening in your College of Engineering. This newsletter will be published periodically to share our accomplishments, milestones and activities.
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Dr. Federle joined Marquette on April 1, from The Weitz Company, a national construction company based in Iowa, where he has worked since 1999. In his most recent role at The Weitz Company, he served as chief information officer and vice president.
By joining the COE, Mark returns to his academic roots. From 1990 to 1999 he was a professor in civil construction and environmental engineering at Iowa State University. For the last two years of his tenure at Iowa State, he led the university’s construction engineering program, which is the largest program of its kind in the country. He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. in construction engineering and management at the University of Michigan.
“Mark’s experience from both the academic and industry sides of construction engineering and management will fast-track our goal of preparing our students for the 21st century workforce,” said Dr. Stan Jaskolski, OPUS Dean of the College of Engineering. “His eagerness to engage industry partners will help grow this program and establish it as one of the best in the country.”
Dr. Federle will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the construction engineering and management program; including shaping the curriculum, teaching courses, advising students, conducting research and working with industry to keep the curriculum current with industry practices and to provide Cooperative Education opportunities for students. The new undergraduate program will complement Marquette’s well-established master’s and doctorate degrees in construction management and will educate students as professional engineers with the necessary skills in business, communication and law to be become leaders in the construction engineering and management field.
“I am looking forward to working with faculty at Marquette and building the curriculum to offer a world-class program that will be considered to be among the best in the United States,” states Federle. “Providing highly qualified graduates to one of the larger industries in the country, combined with the service and ethical orientation developed at Marquette, will certainly help elevate the profession of construction engineering and management.”
Lead picture: Dr. Federle reviews construction plans with students
Alumni volunteers Needed for Community Clean-up. The countdown is on for Marquette University’s Alumni for Others Project!
Engineering alumni, family and friends will meet on campus in front of the Alumni Memorial Union at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, April 19, 2008 for bagels and juice with Dean Jaskolski. We’ll then participate in the campus kick off with hundreds of other Marquette students, faculty, staff and alumni who will be participating in this amazing day! We will depart from campus by 9:15 a.m. so we can be at our site by 9:30 a.m. If you have room in your car for students please let us know!
This year’s project is in conjunction with the 2008 National Great American Cleanup, facilitated by Keep Greater Milwaukee Beautiful. Our site is the Mitchell Park at the Domes and runs from 9:30 a.m. - Noon. We will meet at a picnic table near the rear parking lot; blue and gold balloons and a College of Engineering flag will help identify our spot behind the Mitchell Domes. You will be provided with all of the needed clean-up supplies and water.
Following our park clean up, stay and enjoy some ice cream!
Please spread the word to fellow alums, students, family and friends. Last year’s service day project was a HUGE success! We hope to have an even greater turnout this year. Please let us know if you are able to participate. Thanks in advance for your support of this worthwhile activity. Together WE ARE THE DIFFERENCE!
Let us know if you can lend a hand; click here to RSVP.
Unprecedented Use of the DLC. This spring semester your Discovery Learning Center is being utilized more than ever. Juniors and seniors in the Manufacturing Engineering class, taught by Dr. Joseph Domblesky, Associate Professor, have just completed building 20 air motors and are now moving on to a laser cutting and fabrication project.
First year students in the class being taught by Dr. Joseph Schimmels, Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, are building their "Mars Landers,” modified VEX Robots. Design groups in this class will compete against each other later this month, collecting rock and gravel specimens with the rovers they fabricated.
Senior Design groups are using the DLC with greater frequency and graduate students from the Biomedical, Civil, and Mechanical Engineering departments have been utilizing the shop to fabricate research apparatus. The SAE Formula Car team is also progressing very well with their new racer.
The DLC shop staff has been supporting student training, lab sessions, and research projects for all of your engineering departments and by the end of this school year, they will have provided training for close to 300 students – who have been putting their training to good use!
Misha McCambly cuts a brass motor flywheel on an engine lathe with the close cooperation of her team mates.
Improving Movement After a Stroke. Dr. Robert Scheidt, Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, recently received a 5-year $1.5 Million National Institute of Health (NIH) R01 grant to explore limitations on arm movements following a stroke.
An R01 is the NIH funding mechanism for investigator-initiated research projects and Dr. Scheidt’s project analyzes disordered control of posture and movement during reaching movements of patients who suffered strokes resulting from middle cerebral artery occlusions.
Dr. Scheidt expects his results will ultimately lead to new approaches for rehabilitating arm function post-stroke and anticipates that improvement in arm function will be promoted by applying robotic and biofeedback methods first to train coactivation, posture and movement control separately, then in combination.
EWB Update. Some of your Marquette student chapter members of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) recently returned from both the EWB National Conference in Seattle and a spring break service trip to Kiln, Mississippi to assist with Hurricane Katrina recovery work. They report that the conference was extremely successful, helping to gain contacts with other EWB chapters, as well as introducing the group to new ideas. In Kiln, the group worked hard painting new homes, cleaning up neighborhoods and assisting construction crews.
EWB – Marquette is excited to send two project teams to Guatemala this May. The La Providencia project will involve the construction and installation of a hydroelectric power source and grid for the small village. A second team will be traveling to the Casa Nueva Vida Rehabilitation Center to complete a solar powered pumping and water filtration system.
Contact EWB for additional information and/or to find out how you can help and support these projects.
EWB-Marquette student members in Kiln, Missisippi:
Chris Drake, Nick Busa, Matt Allie,
Hannah Swanson, Amanda Baker,
Phil Busch, Jackie Gast, Sophie Doroba, Sherry Goserud and Julie Sterner
Making it a "Marquette Affair". Some of your faculty members in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering have been busy planning the next annual IASTED (International Conference on Circuits and Systems) meeting, an international forum for researchers and specialists to exchange new ideas and practical experience in the above areas.
Dr. Edwin Yaz, Professor and Department Chair is the Conference Chair and Drs. Michael Johnson and Susan Schneider, Associate Professors (and Associate Chair respectively), serve on the International Program Committee. Dr. Tony Michel, one of your alumni and Professor Emeritus at the University of Notre Dame, will be the keynote speaker at the August conference.
And the location won’t be bad either. Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, anyone?
Promoting STEM Education. Your college and Office of Enrollment Management have been actively involved in numerous outreach programs to interest young people in pursuing an education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).
On Saturday, March 15th, over 100 of Wisconsin’s finest young scientists brought their research projects for judging to the 7th Annual Badger State Science & Engineering Fair, hosted by Marquette. Students were welcomed and given a pep talk by Stephen Steiner, past fair winner and now a Ph.D. student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He encouraged the students to “Try something. Do it wrong. Do it better. Repeat.” Participants showcased quality projects ranging from facial validation software and electrolysis to water research.
That same day, at the Cellular Arena in downtown Milwaukee, 60 teams from nine states participated in the 2008 regional FIRST Robotics competition. This year’s challenge was to race a robot around a track while maneuvering large balls that were placed on an overhang (see below photo). Your college sponsored the MORE Robotics team from Thomas More High School - Milwaukee, which won the Regional Chairman’s Award – the most coveted award of the entire regional event. COE was also a sponsor for a number of other winning teams as listed below:
- Regional Winner #2 and Industrial Safety Awards – Waukesha
- Xerox Creativity Award – Oconomowoc
- Rookie All Star Award – Sacred Heart Academy (Honolulu, HI)
- Judges’ Award – Kettle Moraine
Adding to the March Madness activities, families participated in “Engineering is a Family Affair” on the 29th in the COE. This new outreach program paired a child and parent (or a 16 year old babysitter!) to participate in fun filled challenging STEM activities. Participants raced LEGO rubber band cars and designed and built LEGO Mindstorm robots. The pairs also learned about the building of a “virtual” bridge using West Point Bridge software and then constructed spaghetti bridges to test their strength. What a great way to spend a gloomy Saturday in March!
Competing at FIRST Robotics in Milwaukee
A family pair building a spaghetti bridge
Research Garners National Award. Piyush Khullar, Graduate Research Assistant in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded 2nd place in the technical poster competition at the annual National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) Conference and Exhibition, which was held in New Orleans, LA, in March. His efforts and fine work were officially acknowledged at an awards banquet, and included a cash award along with a commemorative plaque.
NACE International is a professional organization for the corrosion control industry and has more than 17,000 members in over 100 countries. Their annual event “CORROSION” is the world’s largest gathering dedicated to research in this area. More than 65 posters were presented at the conference, (75% US, 25% International) and the peer-review process is taken seriously by NACE. Mr. Khullar’s poster is the outcome of industry-sponsored research (Monti-Werkzeuge, Bonn, Germany) at Marquette University that has culminated in a revolutionary mechanical process for corrosion removal, termed “bristle blasting”. This environmentally-friendly process is receiving global attention, and is used for supporting the infrastructure/repair of bridges, petroleum pipelines, and marine vessels.
Congratulations on your well deserved award, Piyush!
Student Leadership Awards Announced. Each year, Marquette’s Division of Student Affairs recognizes a select group of students for their active involvement and participation in the enhancement of campus life and building community on campus. Congratulations to the following engineering students who will be honored at the 39th Annual Student Leadership Recognition Program on April 20th to recognize their significant contributions of service and leadership:
| Natalie Bruders | Outstanding Contributions to Social & Arts Programming |
| Joseph Capacete | Outstanding Contributions to Social & Arts Programming |
| Colin Devitt | Outstanding Contributions to Community Service |
| Christopher Estes | Outstanding Contributions to Peer Education |
| Bradley Kwaterski | Outstanding Contributions to Spiritual Development & Justice Education |
| Quentin Menal | Outstanding Contributions to Student Governance & Org. Leadership |
| Kevin Mulligan | Outstanding Contributions to Student Governance & Org. Leadership |
| David Quam | Outstanding Contributions to Peer Education |
The Tradition Continues. "Microwave Seminar," initiated in the early 1960’s by Dr. Thomas Ishii, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, is the longest standing active discussion group in your college. Dr. James Richie, Associate Professor and current coordinator of “Seminar” reports that they meet regularly on Fridays at 4:00 PM with typically10 undergraduate and graduate students and industrial representatives in attendance.
Although Dr. Richie often assigns extra credit to participating undergraduates in his Fields II, Antenna Theory and Wireless Communication courses, many of them continue to attend – even when credit isn’t offered. He is also quick to point out that “Seminar” is not limited to him and his students. At any given seminar two to three attendees are from industry, with regulars coming from Brady Corporation, LS Research and an independent consulting firm.
If you’re interested in attending and viewing the schedule of presenters at “Seminar,” please visit Dr. Richie’s Web site. And yes, you’ll most likely find Dr. Ishii there!
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