Volume 4, Number 5, February, 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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The new gift will come from a combination of personal donations from family members and donations from the family’s foundations. Proceeds will go toward construction of a Discovery Learning Complex (DLC) that will house the College of Engineering, a scholarship fund for engineering students and other uses in the college, including an energy workshop.
Rev. Robert Wild, S.J., president of your university, announced the gift to Marquette faculty and staff at his annual president's address on January 29th. "There's a sense of excitement, a sense of momentum going forward. . . . Like our law school, this brings our dream for the College (of Engineering) closer to reality," Wild said. "Most importantly, we have the vision and the plan to transform engineering education at Marquette."
Marquette recently purchased the properties it needs to build the DLC on the south side of Wisconsin Avenue between 16th and 17th streets. OPUS Dean Stan Jaskolski explains that the preliminary design for the complex will change the way engineering students learn and includes a series of so-called houses; which place classrooms, research labs, faculty offices and student study areas close together.
Multidisciplinary labs will focus on materials and structural testing, complex systems, mechatronics, energy, visualization, neuromechanics, biomedical imaging and global workplace literacy. One of those labs, an energy workshop, will get $5 million from this gift. The idea is for students to focus specifically on alternative energy sources, learning to demonstrate different energy principles by working with solar panels, a wind panel and a waterfall that it is hoped will be part of the new building.
“We are shaping a new breed of engineers,” explains Jaskolski. “They will be firmly grounded in theory, trained to be inventive problem solvers and entrepreneurs at the forefront of modern engineering, and anchored in the Jesuit tradition of making a difference in the world.”
In addition to the $50 million from this family, your College has received a number of other gifts to support our initiatives: $15 million from Robert Kern, founder of Generac, Inc. and his wife Patricia, toward the new engineering facility; $5 million from Robert C. Greenheck, Chairman Emeritus of the board and co-founder of Greenheck Fan Corporation endowing a faculty chair in engineering design; and $5 million from Jim and Kelly McShane of the McShane Companies, endowing a faculty chair in construction engineering and management.
"Our generous donors are well aware of and enthusiastic about our plans,” says a very appreciative Jaskolski. “They recognize the important role engineering education plays in the future of our community and our country.”
March Events For Alumni and College Friends. Your College of Engineering Alumni Association reminds you to make reservations for its annual National Marquette Day Brunch, Silent Auction & Basketball Game scheduled for March 1st. Game tickets to the Georgetown game to follow the event are sold out, but you can still attend the Brunch & Silent Auction beginning at 9:30 am at the Hyatt Regency Milwaukee with over 500 other COE alumni and friends. The price is $40/person. Auction proceeds will benefit the College of Engineering Endowed Scholarship Fund.
Call (800) 344-7544 to purchase the Brunch & Auction package, or order online TODAY!
Once you’re online, also make your reservations for the 2008 Green Mass, in honor of St. Patrick – patron saint of engineers - on Saturday, March 15th at 6 pm in the Alumni Memorial Union. This is a Vigil Mass for Palm Sunday. Afterwards, stay for a unique beer tasting and game watching party to sample a few fine brews and spirits from Sprecher Brewery and Great Lakes Distillery and find out which team will capture the 2008 Big East Conference Championship.
Service Recognized. For a second year in a row, your Beta Omicron Chapter of the Eta Kappa Nu Honor Society (for Electrical and Computer Engineering) is a recipient of an Outstanding Chapter Award for 2006-07. This coveted international award is conferred upon only a handful of student chapters each year and is a mark of great distinction for your college.
Judged on their activities of service to others, Marquette’s members have been tutoring Circuits and Electronics classes as well as lab courses. They have also been helping with the Digital Electronics course, allowing the professors more time for grading tests. Other activities have included participation in the Fall Open House and First Lego League judging.
On behalf of Eta Kappa Nu (HKN), Dr. Edwin Yaz, Department Chair, will be formally presented the award at the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department Heads Association’s annual banquet in San Diego next month.
Congratulations to the members of Eta Kappa Nu and its officers and advisor: President Greg Novak, Vice president Laura Tuszynski, Treasurer Michael Richardson, Recording and Corresponding Secretary Lyle Butler and Faculty Advisor Dr. Mike Johnson, Associate Professor.
Engineering Open House 2008. Once again, your college is gearing up for our annual event to showcase our students, faculty, programs and laboratories, so consider this your personal invitation to come back to campus and enjoy Marquette’s Engineering Open House 2008!
Doors open promptly at 10:00 am on Saturday, February 23rd when you’ll have an opportunity to learn about and observe microcontrollers for medical instrumentation, musculoskeletal modeling, highway planning and design, structural engineering, evolution of digital dice, computer game design, mechatronics, wind tunnel experiments, natural gas forecasting, the Discover Learning Center, and much more.
Students and faculty will be on hand to informally explain our degree programs and answer any and all questions you may have about Marquette, campus life, and of course, the study of engineering. So bring your children, grandchildren, nephews, nieces, friends and neighbors and join us for a fun and enlightening experience. Plan on getting here early to take everything in (Open House ends at 12:30 pm) and have lunch on us!
Testing For Scholarships . Prior to the Open House, accepted Engineering freshman students for the 2008-09 academic year have been invited to take your college’s annual test in math and science to compete for scholarship dollars for their Marquette education. After participating in the Engineering Student Council sponsored Casino Night on Friday evening, they will wake up early on Saturday for the 8:30 am start of the Scholarship Competition and then conclude their campus visit with the Open House event.
If you know of an accepted applicant who hasn’t received information about this important scholarship test, please contact Dr. Jon Jensen, Associate Dean for Enrollment Management at jon.jensen@marquette.edu.
Celebrating Success. Your Department of Biomedical Engineering in conjunction with the Medical College of Wisconsin offers the Healthcare Technologies Management Program. It is the first graduate program in the United States to combine business, technology and healthcare. Beginning in 1999 with five students, it currently has over twenty students and has conferred Master of Science degrees to 51 graduates.
Dr. Jay Goldberg, Associate Professor and Director of the program, reports that the graduates have a 100% placement rate and are working for medical device companies, hospitals and consulting firms. Since they graduated, approximately 1/3 of the graduates have moved into management positions with feedback indicating that the program is doing an excellent job of preparing graduates for career advancement.
Student Chapter Takes First. Marquette’s student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers placed first in the Region 4 IEEE Student Ethics Competition at Northern Illinois University last November, 2007. Sponsored by the IEEE Ethics and Member Conduct Committee, the regional student competition was developed to encourage the study and awareness of professional ethics. The contest includes a presentation and defense of a case analysis by teams of students to foster familiarity with the IEEE Code of Ethics, to promote a model for discussing and analyzing ethical questions, and to provide experience in applying ethical concepts to typical professional situations.
Congratulations to your first place team: Diane Dechene, Kieran Maltz, Matt Ucci and Amy Wilke!
Left to right: NIU chapter advisor, IEEE Region 4 Student Activities Advisor,
Amy Wilke, Matt Ucci, Kieran Maltz and Diane Dechene
MU Engineers Can Do Everything! Although busy balancing coursework in Biomechanics Engineering, serving as a Resident Assistant in O’Donnell Residence Hall and working part time at Real Chili, Kyle Campbell flew out to New York to appear on the “Late Show with David Letterman” on January 31st. With the help of his high school friend from Iowa, the six-foot-three sophomore performed on the Stupid Human Tricks segment of the show. Kyle contorted his body to fit himself into a small duffel bag, his friend zipped the duffel bag – and then carried it, with Kyle still inside, off the stage.
Your college has always said its students and alums can do anything and everything and Kyle definitely proved our point. Congrats on your two minutes of fame, Kyle - make sure you add this to your resume!
Join Us At The Fair. In our continuing efforts to get K-12 students interested in engineering, your college is again sponsoring the annual Badger State Science & Engineering Fair on Saturday, March 15th at the Alumni Memorial Union. At the fair, Wisconsin high school students will have an opportunity to showcase their research in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) to judges and the general public.
Please plan to attend and meet outstanding students from the state as they present their research projects. Judges (adults trained in STEM), mentors and financial sponsors are also needed. If you would like to volunteer for any of these needs, please visit the Fair Web site.
Engineering Outreach Programs. Your college is also offering a variety of weekend activities for elementary, middle and high school students, parents and teachers to increase interest in STEM. Each session features hands-on activities designed to show participants how creative thinking, combined with basic knowledge, can lead to innovation. For additional information, please call Dr. Jon Jensen, Associate Dean for Enrollment Management at 414/288-6720 or visit the Web site .
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