Volume 4, Number 4, January, 2008

Welcome to Ahoya! Engineers–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.

Be sure to visit the College Web site for complete information on your College.

“We are building the 21st century workforce in your College,” explains Stan Jaskolski, OPUS Dean of Engineering, “and Kevin Craig’s expertise in mechatronics – which integrates physical systems, electronics, controls and computers from the very beginning of the design process – and his ties to industry will bolster this effort.  Kevin will complement our existing core of dedicated faculty who have begun this critical groundwork.”

Dr. Craig will be responsible for significant changes in the engineering curricula by introducing new courses and modifying existing ones to bring together freshman students from all the engineering disciplines in a multidisciplinary setting.  The curricula will focus on basic engineering concepts, processes and tools that they will use throughout their time at Marquette and in their careers as engineers.  The focus on solving multidisciplinary engineering problems is a change that parallels what is happening in industry.

Aside from teaching, Dr. Craig will also be responsible for forging new relations with industry locally and nationally to give students more of an understanding and access to practical, relevant, hands-on experiences.  “To educate students for the 21st-century engineering practice, we must give them on-going opportunities, starting at the freshman year, to collaborate in multidisciplinary teams, to conduct research that solves real-world problems, and to work one-on-one with faculty and industry partners,” explains Kevin.  “Industrial collaboration will help shape our engineering curricula and with a strong foundation in science and mathematics fundamentals, Marquette engineering graduates will be well prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century.”

To begin this transformational process, Dr. Craig is planning a three-day event next June - for the incoming freshmen - to take them through an engineering experience during which time they’ll participate in an intense “design for the developing world” challenge to show them what it’s like to be an engineer.  That will be followed by two common engineering courses in the fall and the spring semesters of their freshman year in which the students will learn and use fundamental concepts, processes and tools that all engineers utilize to show them how these are useful for solving engineering problems in the different disciplines.  During their sophomore and junior years, the courses will get very specific to each curriculum – but still with multidisciplinary-type exercises - and then in the senior year they will get broad again in preparation for the practice of engineering.

Dr. Craig brings a wealth of academic, research and industrial experience to your College.  After completing his studies at Xavier, a Jesuit high school in New York City, he attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating with a B.S. degree and a commission as an officer in the U.S. Army.  He then received M.S., M.Phil., and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and worked in industry as an engineer in the mechanical-nuclear design department of a major engineering firm in New York City.  He also taught and received tenure at both the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and Hofstra University.

In 1989, Kevin joined the faculty at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he served as Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering, as Chair of the Engineering Science Interdisciplinary Program, and as Director of Core Engineering for the School of Engineering.  He developed the Mechatronics Program at RPI and during his 18 years there, graduated 36 M.S. and 20 Ph.D. students.  Author of over 30 refereed journal articles and over 50 refereed conference papers, emphasis in all of his research is on a balance between theory and practice, between analysis and hardware implementation.

In addition to his academic initiatives, Kevin and his family lead very active lives.  He and Bernadette, his wife of 25 years, have two daughters:  Heather, who has a passion for exercising race horses, will graduate from RPI next May and Shannon, who has won many championships in rowing, will graduate from high school next spring and enter college thereafter.  As a family, they participate in many outdoor activities; Kevin also has a passion for weight lifting and GOLF (he’s ready to tee it up at a moment’s notice).  

Welcome, Dr. Craig, to Marquette University and our (now, your) College of Engineering – we all look forward to working with you to truly transform our students’ engineering education!           

Lead picture:  Dr. Craig meets with your engineering students 

Marching To Their Future. On Sunday, December 16th, your engineering degree candidates participated in Marquette’s mid-year commencement ceremonies at the U.S. Cellular Arena.  Crossing the stage were 37 Bachelor of Science, 13 Master’s and 5 Ph.D. degree graduates.

Immediately following the university graduation, your College hosted the graduates, their family and friends and faculty and staff at an informal reception in the Triangle Lounge in Haggerty Engineering.

Congratulations to our newest engineering alumni – your College wishes you much success and happiness as you begin your careers!

All smiles, Michelle Bannick and John Biese
join their fellow Engineering grads at Commencement

Ticket Are Going Fast! . Your College of Engineering Alumni Association reminds you to make reservations for its annual  National Marquette Day Silent Auction & Basketball Game scheduled for March 1st  – auction proceeds will benefit the College of Engineering Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Tickets for this premier game are selling fast and are limited!  Call (800) 344-7544 to purchase tickets, or order online TODAY!

Introducing........... Dr. Philip Voglewede, Assistant Professor and newest faculty member in your Department of Mechanical Engineering.  Coming to Marquette from the University of South Carolina, Dr. Voglewede received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame, followed by a Master’s from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He also brings six years of industrial experience with him, having worked in various capacities as an engineer for Whirlpool Corporation.

Dr. Voglewede’s research interests include the broad area of dynamics and control.  He “truly loves theoretical kinematics and its application to robotics and prostheses” and developed with his students a powered lower limb prosthesis.  This prosthesis uses a small battery and motor in the prosthesis to aid those who have lost their foot and ankle.  This prosthesis provides more natural, and less challenging, movement in walking than the common spring-type prosthesis and he hopes to extend the design to stair climbing, walking uphill or walking on uneven terrain.  He is now working on a kinematic model of the human knee.  This type of model helps to show, simply and accurately, how the human knee works and is used in computer simulations for prosthetic design, injury repair and knee replacement.  Dr. Voglewede has also developed a novel industrial robotic “hand” that allows for manipulation without letting go of the part.  In addition, he “dabbles” in some control theory using advanced math known as Polynomial Chaos Theory because it is a more intelligent way to be able to account for uncertainty in feedback control.  Dr. Voglewede is the Principal Investigator on an NSF supported educational grant that incorporates tissue engineering into the undergraduate curriculum of several disciplines at the University of South Carolina; mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and biology.

Outside of academics, Phil’s hobbies are sports (specifically basketball) and exercise, but he explains that he doesn’t “get to do too much of that due to my obligations as a husband and father -I have been married for 7+ years to a beautiful woman and have three children ages 5, 3, and 1.”  He is an avid Notre Dame fan and is “not afraid to admit it even after they had a rough football season.”  However, he says that he will cheer for Marquette as long as they are not playing Notre Dame.

Welcome to Marquette and your new Engineering family, Dr. Voglewede!  

Dr. Phil Voglewede

New Master's Degree To Be Offered. Seeking to advance technical knowledge and skills important to medical device companies, your Department of Biomedical Engineering has announced that it will begin offering a new, non-thesis Master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering beginning in the fall of 2008.  The program, approved by the Marquette Board of Trustees last month, is specifically designed for engineers working full time for Wisconsin medical device companies.

The 30-credit curriculum will include five possible areas of study, including biocomputing, bioimaging, bioinstrumentation, biomechanics, and biorehabilitation.  In addition, three core courses will provide a common foundation in physiology, healthcare technology management, and the integration of life sciences and engineering.

Students will be able to complete their Master’s degree work in two years, taking nine credits during the academic year and six credits for two summers.  To enroll, applicants must have a bachelor’s degree in engineering and at least one year of post-baccalaureate industry experience.

Interested applicants can apply on-line. If you have questions about the new program, please contact Dr. Dean Jeutter, Professor, at dean.jeutter@marquette.edu .

Additional Good News From Biomedical Engineering. Dr. Jeffrey Toth, Adjunct Professor in your Department of Biomedical Engineering and its Orthopaedic and Rehabilitation Engineering Center, has been promoted to Full Professor in Orthopaedic Surgery at the Medical College of Wisconsin.

Also, Dave Wendell, Biomedical Engineering graduate student, has received two years of funding from the American Heart Association for his pre-doctoral grant “Incorporating the Aortic Valve into Patient-specific CFD Models using Phase Contrast MRI and Valvular Gating.”  Dave works in the research lab of Dr. John LaDisa, Assistant Professor.

2008 Green Mass. Save the Date for the 2008 Green Mass, which will take place on Saturday March 15th at 6 pm. Afterwards, sample a few fine brews and find out which team will capture The 2008 Big East Conference Championship with a unique beer tasting and game watching party.  Click here for further details as they become available.

Spring Semester To Begin. Semester/Christmas break certainly flew by quickly, as your students are scheduled to begin their spring semester classes on January 14th.  Students, enjoy your last few days of vacation, and have a safe journey back to campus.  We look forward to seeing you again!  

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