IMPACT 2024

IMPACT

The official magazine of the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

Dear faculty, staff, students, donors and friends,

The College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology at Oklahoma State University stands poised for a new era of achievement, sustained by the continued support of all stakeholders, especially our esteemed donors.

ENDEAVOR stands as a testament to your patronage, serving as a state-of-the-art undergraduate teaching laboratory along with Engineering North and Engineering South renovations. More importantly, CEAT has drawn talented faculty, dedicated staff and exceptional students. The great people of this college form a solid foundation for future successes across our campus.

Our gifted faculty have made great strides in impactful research. In the academic year 2024, our annual research awards grew to over $25 million.

The Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education LaunchPad received $18 million from the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. Great Plains Center of Excellence in CEAT — one of the five key regional hubs for the Industrial Assessment Center program of the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains of the U.S. Department of Energy — received $7 million to support industrial assessments. CEAT’s IAC has achieved a return-on-investment ratio of 11-to-1, saving local industry more than $130 million by spending about $12 million.

Our high-achieving students, supported by talented faculty and dedicated staff, have earned

national and international recognition. Two CEAT students were named Goldwater Scholars this past spring. CEAT’s overall retention rate has increased to 90%, while OSU’s rate has increased to 83%, compared with the national average of 77% for postsecondary institutions.

Building on this solid foundation, CEAT is set for further growth across six critical areas: academic programs, enrollment, faculty and staff, research enterprise, Extension activities, and reputation. This growth will yield profound societal impacts, such as broader access to top-tier education for Oklahoma students, enhanced leadership education, workforce development to bolster the Oklahoma economy, and strong collaborations with tech companies to attract new business to our state.

The driving force behind CEAT’s growth is its people. I look forward to working with you in advancing this great college.

GO POKES!

Dr. Hanchen Huang

Dean, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

PHOTO GARY LAWSON

Division

Retired

CIVE

Dr.

Chemical

On the

Dean Hanchen

(Photo by Gary Lawson)

Kristi Wheeler

LEAD WRITER

Desa James

WRITERS

Ashleigh Green, Tanner Holubar, Savannah McDaniel, Erin Portman, Shannon Rigsby and Kristi Wheeler

EDITOR

Jordan Bishop

ART DIRECTOR

Dave Malec

GRAPHIC DESIGN

Annie Buford, Cody Giles and Stephen Matthews

PHOTOGRAPHY

Annie Buford, Brandy DeVous, Desa James, Jordan Klein, Gary Lawson, Cody Maison, Josh New, Ritesh Sachan, Jeremiah Snell and Kristi Wheeler

IMPACT is a publication of the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and is designed to provide information on college activities and accomplishments while fostering communication among the CEAT family and friends. CEAT.OKSTATE.EDU

The office of publication for IMPACT is 307 Whitehurst, Stillwater, OK 74078-1024. © 2024, IMPACT. All rights reserved.

Oklahoma State University, as an equal opportunity employer, complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding non-discrimination and affirmative action. OSU is committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all individuals and does not discriminate based on race, religion, age, sex, color, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, disability, or veteran status with regard to employment, educational programs and activities, and/or admissions. For more information, the director of equal opportunity/Title IX coordinator is located at 401 General Academic Building and can be reached at 405744-1156 or by visiting EEO.OKSTATE.EDU.

This publication, issued by Oklahoma State University as authorized by the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, was printed by Modern Litho, at a cost of $10,454.69/4M August 2024/#Impact2024.

A Rare Opportunity

OSU researchers take advantage of solar eclipse to gather atmospheric data

Atotal solar eclipse happens somewhere on Earth about every one or two years.

However, this year was special in that it was the longest total eclipse over land anywhere on the planet in a decade. Another one like it will not be seen until 2044.

Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education used the 2024 total solar eclipse path as a rare opportunity to improve weather forecasting.

On April 8, 16 OSU students and faculty members were joined by NASA representatives at the Choctaw Nation Community Center in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, to conduct research as part of the NASA National Eclipse Balloon Program, which started at 12:25 p.m., with totality being from 1:45 -1:50 p.m., and ended at 3 p.m.

Dr. Jamey Jacob, regents professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and OAIRE executive director, likened the eclipse’s effect to a pebble in a pond.

“Just like a pebble causes waves in the water, the eclipse causes gravity waves in its wake as it moves across the Earth, and we want to measure those disturbances,” he said.

“These waves are essential for transporting energy in the atmosphere. They’re good at mixing the air and act as conveyor belts to help move moisture from one location to another, just like waves in the ocean.”

Jacob said the goal is to take the atmospheric readings from such a rare but known event and use them to provide general improvements to numerical weather prediction models.

“The atmosphere is so complex to model — it’s just a very complicated phenomena,” he said. “The eclipse provides a way to verify existing models using a known condition.”

OSU was one of 53 teams across the U.S. in the NASA program, with OSU serving as an atmospheric science pod lead.

OSU was responsible for organizing and supporting other teams leading up to the eclipse and bringing their data together after the event. Teams

STORY KRISTI WHEELER AND SHANNON RIGSBY | PHOTOS GARY LAWSON

were spread out between Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

The OSU team also had a distinction from others compiling data; Dr. Brian Elbing, a professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and renowned OSU tornado researcher, incorporated infrasonic arrays into the data collection arsenal to better understand how those systems work for tornado detection.

OAIRE also took drones to serve as a repeatable system taking the same measurements. Jacob said someday, the balloons that carry the instruments will be replaced by drone fleets.

Zach Yap, a research and development engineer with OAIRE, has conducted research with OSU for years, including his years as a mechanical and aerospace engineering undergraduate and graduate student.

“This was a wonderful opportunity to see what happens when you essentially turn off the sun and have a rapid onset of darkness,” he said. “An eclipse is an interesting and unique way of generating atmospheric gravity waves. They happen between different

layers in the atmosphere, and the waves are good movers of energy for storms and other things. If we can better understand how these waves propagate through the atmosphere, we can better — on a continental scale — forecast weather systems.”

outreach and engagement

In addition to OSU leading several other universities, OSU researchers had the opportunity to be a resource for students at Gordon Cooper Technology Center in Shawnee as well as Okmulgee High School.

“Through the Nationwide Eclipse Ballooning Project (NEBP) and OSU, we can give them the opportunity and resources to learn from these opportunities,” Yap said. “By doing this, we can share this knowledge and inspire them to pursue a STEM career.”

Jacob said the effort included the whole range of student involvement.

“On the science side, we had high school, undergraduate and graduate students working together, and while at the eclipse,

“This was a wonderful opportunity to see what happens when you essentially turn off the sun and have a rapid onset of darkness.”

Zach Yap

OAIRE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT ENGINEER

CEAT

students prepare a balloon launch during the 2024 total solar eclipse.

we used this opportunity for science outreach for younger kids and to our tribal partners,” he said. “The eclipse itself is a cosmic marvel that inspires awe in all who see it. What better way to reach the next generation of scientists and engineers?”

Ongoing research

Kate Spillman, a mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate student working for Elbing — along with three other team members — was tasked with redesigning the payload that attaches to a solar balloon to record atmospheric changes for the day of the eclipse.

Solar balloons use the sun’s radiation to float in the lower stratosphere. They are launched early in the morning and naturally descend when the sun sets because there is no longer enough radiation to support them.

The team’s main goal was to reduce the weight of the payload, which would let them use a smaller, more reliable balloon. It was also tasked with developing a design to attach a solar radiation sensor, which records the solar radiation and is located on top of the payload.

During the total eclipse, the team launched two solar balloons.

“We used large helium weather balloons to tow the solar balloons up to wherever the weather balloons burst at, which ended up being 70,000-80,000 feet,” Spillman said. “What the solar balloon is supposed to do, since it’s towed up there, is it should come down a little bit, inflate and then reach its float altitude, which is around 60,00070,000 feet.”

The first balloon launched at 1500 UTC and was able to reach float altitude after the helium balloon burst. However, the balloon ripped at 1846 UTC, just three minutes before eclipse totality. The second balloon launched at 1620 UTC and failed before the helium balloon burst, which they think was a result of the manufacturer changing the chemical compound of the tape that is used to construct the balloon.

Solar radiation decreases during a solar eclipse. One of the things that the research team was looking at during the solar eclipse was to see how much of a delay there was between the time the solar radiation started to decrease and the time when the balloon’s altitude began to decrease.

“When an eclipse happens, you would expect to see the balloon start to come down, but what’s interesting is we could almost perfectly see the balloon dropping in altitude as soon as part of the sun was blocked,” Elbing said. “We immediately saw a change in its performance.”

Before the team launches a balloon, they will utilize a Python script to enter the weight of the payload, where they are going to launch from, the altitude, and the time of day. The Python script can run trajectories about where the balloon is and where it’s expected to go, which benefits the team.

“This is very beneficial for us because these balloons can go very far distances,” Spillman said. “We’ve had some that run all the way into the Atlantic Ocean. The trajectories can tell us if we should launch that day or not and how far the balloon will go. Once the balloon passes a certain latitude or longitude, we can set up a geofence and, if needed, cut the payload down and we can still retrieve the data while the balloon will fly away.”

During the total eclipse, the research team wanted to see if their radiation model was accurate. Instead of seeing a gradual exponential curve,

A view of the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024.

they saw a sharp drop. Because of this, the team concluded that the model didn’t account for the length of time it would take for the air in the balloon to cool down. This preliminary analysis shows they may be able to modify the code, making it more accurate.

“If we design the balloon to fly at a certain altitude in the atmosphere, you need to know the percentage of the radiation that is actually absorbed in the balloon, so you have to know the temperature inside, which sets how much buoyancy lift you have,” Elbing said. “There are models that were estimated, but most of the time, radiation levels aren’t measured because they cannot be controlled. However, the total eclipse offered a unique opportunity to see the correlation between how the balloon reacts to increased and decreased solar radiation.”

Elbing will continue his research in infrasound using these balloons.

“One of the things Kate and I want to do is use these balloons to fly over storms because infrasound is very directionally dependent when you’re at the ground measuring it, but it’s a lot less sensitive at altitude,” Elbing said. “We’ve flown several of our sensors on balloons, we’ve overflown some storms, but we want to start to measure from above the storms instead of below the storm.”

Future research beyond Earth

“At some point, NASA wants to launch some type of balloon-based ariel platform on Venus to learn about its interior structure, and learning about that can tell us about our planet’s evolution as well,” Spillman said. “One of the avenues is to use a type of

zero-pressure balloon, and OSU has been an instrumental part in developing and continuing that research. I’m going to be looking at mitigating wind noise on the payloads.”

On Venus, the winds are very high. The goal is to launch in the middle atmosphere, where the weather conditions are much less severe and the winds are lower than the exterior, but either way, there will be wind noise on the payload. Reducing that wind noise by a physical setup rather than modifying the code will decrease the risk of losing their signals.

Still, there is much to learn about Venus and the research being done at OSU through balloon launches is a big part of what researchers worldwide are learning.

Crowds gather outside in Broken Bow, Oklahoma, to view the 2024 Total Solar Eclipse.

Innovation, Imagination and Inspiring Dreams

CEAT’s 2024 W.W. Allen Scholars have big plans

Eliza Bobzien, Ceyda Kara and Cooper Holley were selected as recipients of the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology’s top two prestigious scholarships.

Bobzien and Kara were named the 2024 W.W. Allen Scholarship award recipients.

The W.W. Allen scholarship is available to engineering students and it offers over $135,000 in scholarships and opportunities. It consists of $7,500 annually, industry networking, study abroad experiences and mentorship. Scholars also receive full tuition and housing to obtain a master’s degree at the University of Cambridge.

Eliza Bobzien is from Richardson, Texas, and graduated from Regina Caeli Academy. She is passionate about playing a vital role in creating more connected and safer communities, which led her to pursue a civil and environmental engineering degree.

“Civil engineering particularly appeals to me because of my longstanding fascination with historical architecture and enthusiasm for community enhancement,” Bobzien said.

“Growing up, my favorite books included David Macaulay’s history of the construction of the pyramids, Roman cities, cathedrals and more. His beautifully illustrated books showcase the architectural design of these

buildings and their practical function. I especially loved ‘City: A Story of Roman Planning and Construction’ because it explains practical designs in urban structures that improved hygiene and transportation. I was amazed by the profound and direct impact of these ancient engineers on urban life.”

With a degree in civil engineering, Bobzien realizes that she can directly impact helping build public spaces such as the ones she has read about so communities can thrive.

In addition to obtaining her degree in civil engineering, Bobzien plans to pursue a minor or earn a certificate related to Geographic Information Systems. After taking a summer class

From Left: Ceyda Kara, Cooper Holley and Eliza Bobzien are the 2024 W.W. Allen Scholars.

in GIS at a local community college, she recognized the power of combining her creative design sense and interest in information analysis, along with being able to create information-rich visuals through GIS, would complement her career goals.

Bobzien is excited to engage in undergraduate research related to testing building materials that are both durable and environmentally friendly. Additionally, she is eager to enroll in some of CEAT’s study abroad programs and get involved in student organizations that will provide leadership and service opportunities.

Over the next 25 years, Bobzien aspires to help cities create safer, more

vibrant public spaces or facilitate better ways to access community spaces. She has a goal to advocate for investment in improvement projects for low-income areas, where funding is often scarce.

“I believe creating safe and inclusive infrastructure uplifts the entire community, providing people with a health-supportive environment and often a means to connect with others and the outdoors,” Bobzien said. “Living in safe and beautiful communities enriches the overall health of entire urban areas. Ultimately, I would like to be a part of creating a niche engineering firm as an expert consultant for cities striving to shape safer and more connected communities.”

Ceyda Kara is from Norfolk, Virginia, and graduated from Stillwater High School in Oklahoma. After interning at Stillwater Medical Center, Kara realized she wanted to pursue a degree in chemical engineering.

“In the summer of 2022, I interned at SMC, where I worked with doctors, nurses, therapists and more,” Kara said. “Experiencing life in the hospital, I saw tiny heart stents placed in cardiology. I saw people resuscitated after being removed from a ventilator in the ICU. In the operating room, I watched a patient receive a new knee in just two hours.”

There, she realized the depth that was behind each of these procedures. The stent she saw placed was not

Eliza Bobzien is a civil and environmental engineering major from Richardson, Texas.

just a stent; it was a device that had thousands of hours of research behind it. It was a procedure with lots of time and practice behind it. It was a life experience that the patient and their loved ones would spend their lives grateful for. Kara witnessed how these hundreds of inventions and innovations transformed people’s lives and wanted to be a part of that transformation.

“I aspire to be a precision psychiatrist who explores the unknown, learning and experiencing the unfamiliar complexities of life,” Kara said. “Instead of only operating machinery or prescribing medicines, I want to be the one to create and research the medications used. I want to work to develop new surgical methods and perfect treatments for different illnesses. My answer to these curiosities lies in chemical engineering.”

In medicine, chemical engineers are instrumental in developing drugs

and medical devices. Their expertise is crucial in psychiatry for developing effective psychopharmacological medications, optimizing drug delivery systems, enhancing efficacy and minimizing side effects. Additionally, chemical engineering is critical to groundbreaking advancements in neuro-engineering and brain-computer interfaces. These technologies revolutionize psychiatric care, offering more accurate diagnoses, personalized treatments and novel therapies.

While at OSU, Kara plans to engage in undergraduate research and hopes to work under Dr. Yu Feng, whose research focuses on pulmonary drug delivery optimization. She also plans to expand her global perspective by participating in CEAT’s study abroad programs.

“My objective is to embrace the journey of learning with curiosity,” Kara said. “To become more understanding of the world. To ask

more questions. With a heart full of ambition and a mind eager to explore, I step into this next chapter ready to transform my aspirations into reality, leaving a meaningful impact on my life and the broader community. OSU is my gateway to a world brimming with possibilities. It is here that I will not just learn, but lead, not just study, but innovate. I will not just push boundaries; I will redefine them.”

Cooper Holley is from Bartlesville, Oklahoma, and graduated from Wesleyan Christian School. Holley’s passion for numbers and technology inspired him to choose electrical engineering as his major.

Holley was named the 2024 W.W. Allen Boys and Girls Scholarship award recipient.

This scholarship program was designed to benefit someone who was an active member of a Boys & Girls

Ceyda Kara is a chemical engineering major from Stillwater.

Club while in high school and who wishes to pursue educational goals in engineering. The recipient is awarded $15,000 annually for up to four years of study toward a degree in engineering, enrichment activities, and domestic and international travel.

Holley’s involvement with the Boys & Girls Club played an immense role in his formation as a person and basketball player. There, he learned the essential values of hard work, dedication and accountability.

“Basketball has been a vital portion of my life for as long as I can remember,” Holley said. “With a father who played at the collegiate and semi-professional level, the expectations are high. The BGC basketball program enabled me to be the best player possible. I still use every skill I was taught in that program today. I would be nowhere near the player I am today without the BGC, and I have become a better person in general.”

Numbers have always fascinated Holley. Whether reciting memorized digits of pi, meeting with teachers to study mathematics, or winning various awards at school and state levels for excelling in competition and classes, he has augmented his gift to the best of his ability.

When Holley was considering his career path and what direction he wanted to go with pursuing his college degree, it occurred to him that he could incorporate his aptitude for numbers into his passion for technology with an engineering degree.

“Technology, along with its advancements, is a topic I frequently find myself yearning to learn more about,” he said. “I desire to know how varying devices work and why they are designed in a specific manner. Solely for consolidation, I took an extensive and expensive career aptitude and interest placement

test. In perfect affirmation, both my aptitude and interests were primarily for occupations requiring engineering degrees. More specifically, electrical and computer engineering degrees.”

During his academic career at OSU, Holley has goals to maintain a 4.0 GPA, pursue internships, enroll in CEAT’s study abroad programs and join educational clubs.

“I plan to be profusely intentional about jumping at every educational opportunity by stepping out of my comfort zone,” Holley said.

Cooper Holley is an electrical engineering major from Bartlesville, Oklahoma.

Bringing Home the Gold

Two CEAT students named 2024 Goldwater Scholars

This spring, two Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology students were awarded the prestigious Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship.

Trey Dorrell and Sam Glenn stood out from a competitive pool of 1,353 applicants representing 446 institutions nationwide, earning this esteemed scholarship that provides up to $7,500 annually for one to two years.

The Goldwater Foundation has a history of fostering the next generation of professionals in critical fields such as natural sciences, mathematics and engineering. For over three decades, the foundation has awarded scholarships to college sophomores and juniors dedicated to research careers. This initiative not only supports their academic pursuits but also contributes significantly to national progress by nurturing talented individuals ready to address key challenges, from national defense to medical breakthroughs.

The legacy of the Goldwater Scholarship extends beyond financial support, often leading recipients to further accolades such as the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Fellowship, Rhodes Scholarship, Churchill Scholarship, and the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship. This recognition highlights the caliber of Goldwater Scholars.

Dorrell and Glenn’s achievements mark a significant milestone for OSU, bringing the total number of Goldwater Scholars from the university to 34, with 16 of those accolades earned by CEAT students.

TREY DORRELL

Trey Dorrell, a senior majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering

with a minor in Spanish, came to OSU as a Freshman Research Scholar.

Dorrell found that his Spanish minor significantly enhanced his communication skills and cultural understanding, which was pivotal to his successful Goldwater application.

Dorrell’s dedication to research is evident in his work on optimizing 3D-printed hybrid rocket motors, which earned him a Wentz Research Scholarship. His role as an engineering technician at the Oklahoma Aerospace Institute for Research and Education, combined with his leadership as vice president of the OSU Space Cowboys, showcases his commitment to advancing aerospace technology.

On top of this, Dorrell is also nearing completing his Honors College degree. To earn this distinction, students complete honors coursework in a breadth of academic areas as well as a concentration of coursework in their major.

“Winning the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship represents a significant milestone in my academic journey,” he said. “It’s a validation of my commitment to research and an incredible boost to pursue my aspirations in aerospace engineering with even greater enthusiasm.

“Dr. [Kurt] Rouser, my research mentor, and Dr. [Jamey] Jacob and Professor [Carisa] Ramming, my other recommenders, have profoundly shaped my scholarly path. Their guidance and support have been invaluable. OSU’s dedicated faculty and educators consistently ensure students like me can achieve our fullest potential.”

Dorrell aims to contribute to groundbreaking advancements in aerospace technology, particularly propulsion systems and unmanned aerial vehicles.

“I hope to play a pivotal role in the future of space exploration, pushing the boundaries of human ingenuity,” Dorrell said.

SAM GLENN

Sam Glenn, a senior double majoring in mechanical engineering and mathematics, has been immersed in research since his freshman year.

His work in the Applied Fluid Mechanics Lab, examining the role of wing shape in the aerodynamic performance of tiny insects, has earned him recognition as both a Niblack Research Scholar and a Wentz Research Scholar. Glenn has presented his research at regional and national conferences, demonstrating his expertise and dedication.

Glenn’s passion for research is deeply rooted in his family’s academic legacy. His parents met in graduate school, and his grandfather earned a doctorate in chemical engineering from OSU. Glenn plans to follow in these footsteps, aiming to complete a doctorate in mechanical engineering focusing on hypersonic flows using computational fluid dynamics.

“Winning the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship is an incredible honor,” Glenn said. “It shows me that all the hours I’ve spent in the lab and classroom are paying off.”

He attributes much of his success to the mentorship he has received at OSU.

“Dr. [Arvind] Santhanakrishnan continually pushed me to be a better researcher, and Dr. [Chitrarth] Prasad helped me discover my passion for computational fluid dynamics,” he said.

STORY AND PHOTO DESA JAMES

Need for Speed A childhood dream comes to

reality thanks to CEAT

Kade Faith credits a pit stop at the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology with helping him achieve his dream of working in motorsports.

“OSU taught me how to learn. The hard work and influence of my professors helped grow my desire for engineering and pushed me to learn more,” he said. “I know there is nothing that I can’t pick up on eventually because of my experience here.”

A spring 2024 mechanical and aerospace engineering graduate, Faith landed his dream job as a race engineer at ThorSport Racing, a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series team in Sandusky, Ohio.

When asked what started his interest in motorsports, Faith responded, “Growing up, it was the movies, ‘Cars’ and ‘Herbie: Fully Loaded,’ that got me interested in NASCAR. I was around 4 at the time and fell in love pretty quickly.”

Growing up, math and science came naturally to Faith; between this and his love of motorsports, choosing engineering was an easy decision.

Faith’s new job entails many responsibilities, including anything from fuel mileage calculations, adjustments, or running simulations on a Ford truck to see how it will perform on the racetrack.

A typical race day starts with running the truck through a technical inspection, a five-stage process that NASCAR uses to help level the sport’s playing field. Once the truck passes inspections, it is on to practice, which lasts around 20 minutes. During this time, Faith and the team make any necessary adjustments to the car. Then, onto qualifying and a couple of hours later is the race.

“My experience at college gave me a great set of knowledge that will help me moving forward,” Faith said.

Some experiences that Faith attributes to helping prepare him include his time working on research projects with Dr. Brian Elbing, working as a structured learning assistant for Dr. Jennifer Glenn’s introduction to computer programming class, as well as his senior design capstone project — Aerospace Propulsion Outreach Program — with Dr. Kurt Rouser. This project was to design and manufacture a thrust reverser for a small JetCAT turbojet engine.

“This job gives me an opportunity to grow in so many ways and CEAT helped me tremendously to prepare for it,” Faith said. “I really can’t imagine myself going anywhere else the past four years.”

Kade Faith celebrates in Victory Lane after No. 98 Road Ranger Ford wins the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series TSport 200 at Indianapolis Raceway Park.

NASA Career Liftoff

CEAT graduate Manning receives GEM Fellowship

Although Dawson Manning recently graduated, his academic and career endeavors are just beginning.

Manning earned his Bachelor of Science in aerospace and mechanical engineering and a minor in physics at the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology in spring 2024.

He also received the GEM Fellowship provided by the National GEM Consortium. Through this fellowship, Manning accepted NASA’s offer to work with them, where he will spend two summers researching the advancement of aircraft design software at the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland.

Additionally, he is pursuing his Master of Science degree at Texas A&M University while conducting research in the National Aerothermochemistry and Hypersonic Flight Laboratory.

The GEM Fellowship Program offers M.S. and Ph.D. level students an opportunity and access to dozens of the top engineering and science firms and universities nationwide. It was designed to focus on promoting opportunities for individuals to enter industry at the graduate level in areas such as research and development, product development and other high-level technical careers.

It also offers exposure to several opportunities in academia. GEM Fellows are provided practical engineering summer work experiences through an employer sponsor, such as NASA, and a portable academic year fellowship of tuition, fees and a stipend, which may be used at any participating GEM Member University where the GEM Fellow is admitted.

Manning grew up in Alva, Oklahoma. When he was young, he was interested in becoming an astronaut and was confident he would do that. However,

coming from a family with medical backgrounds, he became increasingly fascinated with the medical field and the associated salaries.

When he originally enrolled at OSU, it was with the idea of attending medical school. After some thought and conversations with his family, he realized pursuing an education and a career in engineering would be more fulfilling, and quickly changed his major.

Through Manning’s undergraduate studies, he was a CEAT Scholar and studied under Dr. Kurt Rouser, an associate professor in the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Working for Rouser, Manning conducted research in the subsonic wind tunnel where his focus was adding thin slits, or “self-aspirated flow controls,” to a propeller.

These flow controls manipulate the pressure gradient of the propeller in such a way that it produces more thrust than a propeller without flow controls, when the propeller is operating at low Reynolds numbers (or relatively lower speeds). This is useful for highly versatile unmanned aircraft systems that typically operate at low Reynolds number conditions or experience low Reynolds number conditions during a versatile maneuver.

In essence, the propellers that contain self-aspirated flow control produce more thrust than the unmodified version of the propellers, which can prevent stalling of unmanned aircraft systems when they experience low Reynolds number conditions.

Manning was also an Oklahoma Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation Program Scholar. OK-LSAMP is an alliance-based program of 12 Oklahoma institutions of higher education working together to expand the nation’s STEM workforce

by increasing the number of STEM undergraduate and graduate degrees awarded to persons from LSAMP populations.

“Being both a CEAT and OK-LSAMP Scholar has largely contributed to my academic success and has been incredibly important to my academic career,” Manning said. “I take great pride that I was able to publish two first place and one second place conference papers through the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and I was able to publish a journal article through the Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (MDPI) in a special edition of the journal of applied sciences.

“This was with the help of Dr. Rouser and two other incredible mentors of mine, Dr. Ryan Paul and Brenda Morales. They all pushed me to get heavily involved in research and presenting my work at various symposiums.”

Manning is currently working on publishing another research paper with his undergraduate work through the MDPI in a special issue in the Journal of Applied Sciences, titled “The Advances in Fluid Mechanics: The 2nd Edition.”

Manning doesn’t have any concrete long-term goals just yet, but he’s ambitious to pursue his dream of working with NASA.

“I’m excited to see all the opportunities that come from my internships over the next two summers,” Manning said. “My graduate research is going to be over hypersonics, so my plan is that my experiences after graduate school will mold me into an asset for a position that I know I will enjoy.

“Wherever I end up, I plan to eventually pursue an MBA so that I can jump to the managerial side of engineering and aid in the success of multiple projects.”

Dawson Manning, an aerospace and mechanical engineering alumnus, graduated in spring 2024 and is working with NASA through the GEM Fellowship Program.

3,688 STUDENTS WERE ENROLLED IN CEAT

CEAT’S K-12 STEM PROGRAM HELD

2,100 ENROLLED IN 66 STEM CAMPS WITH OVER 14 DIFFERENT CITIES IN OKLAHOMA

12,711 STUDENTS & PARENTS IMPACTING OVER

77 COUNTIES IN OKLAHOMA 50 STATES IN THE U.S.

29,096

CREDIT HOURS WERE COMPLETED &

NSF CAREER AWARD RECIPIENT

CEAT’S ENGINEERING EXTENSION UNITS SERVED ALL ALL AND DR. JORGE GONZALEZ ESTRELLA

25 FOREIGN COUNTRIES

180 OKLAHOMA TEACHERS ATTENDED PROFESSIONAL TEACHER TRAININGS THIS YEAR

BY THE NUMBERS

IN AWARDS RECEIVED FOR RESEARCH OVER OVER

350 PROPOSALS WERE SUBMITTED

42 STATES + DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA & PUERTO RICO

1,944 TO IN SCHOLARSHIPS $3.7 MILLION & $25 MILLION

735 UNDERGRADUATE CEAT AWARDED

159 GRADUATE DEGREES &

CEAT ONLINE LEARNING HAD ENROLLMENT FROM STUDENTS REPRESENTING AWARDED OVER STUDENTS

FIREDRILL

DET professors strive for community safety through research projects

Whenever a scenario like a natural disaster or a fire occurs, many factors determine how people respond to the situation.

Three Oklahoma State University professors in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology are undertaking three related but separate research projects to identify what can help make people more resilient during a disaster.

Drs. Haejun Park, Xiangyu (Dale) Li and Chen Chen of the Division of Engineering Technology within CEAT received grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Standards and Technology totaling approximately $1.4 million.

All three were inspired to undertake these research projects to potentially aid people in need during a crisis. Their separate projects aim

to look at ways that make things safer for people in any community.

Dr. Chulho Yang, professor and interim department head of DET, said the endeavors are a great example of the effort to blaze new trails through research.

“In a remarkable demonstration of academic excellence, our faculty members have secured multiple research grants from the NSF,” Yang said. “Their outstanding achievements not only propel their individual research endeavors but also enhance the prestige of the engineering technology division at Oklahoma State University. This success resonates with our unwavering effort and commitment to pioneering research and service to the academic community.”

Li, an assistant professor in DET’s fire and emergency management program, is researching firefighters’ mental health and what coping strategies are used during times of stress.

One of the main areas of research will be how firefighters cope with such a stressful working environment. Even those on the administrative side, or who may not be responding to fires directly at times, are also dealing with tremendous stress. The goal is to help contribute to an improved understanding of stress and coping among first responders.

It will also focus on how the “fire service culture” can vary across different departments, stations and shifts.

“We’re doing a nationwide study to make sure that our model works and help us learn why these people are having these issues and what kind of coping strategies they may have,” Li said.

Li said those on the administrative side can be overly stressed by people being combative when firefighters respond. He said they may also be unappreciative or irritated at the firefighters, adding to the stressors of battling fires. Li said departments are also understaffed, which results in shifts being longer and can be a cause of things such as sleep deprivation.

Firefighters are subject to two primary sources of stress: operational stressors in the field, such as sleep disturbance, grotesque trauma calls and trauma calls involving children; and managerial stressors, such as poor leadership and staffing issues.

Li also said he believes there can be a “hypermasculine culture” in some fire departments that can result in somebody not seeking out help that may be needed. He said a collaboration with

Dr. Lindsey Greco — an associate professor in the Spears School of Business who has worked with first responders on mental stress — is an excellent opportunity to gauge firefighters’ stress levels.

He has also worked on this research with Dr. David Huntsman, a senior researcher and owner of Huntsman Consulting LLC., on gathering data.

Li and Greco were honored in October 2023 with OSU’s Public Impact Research Award for research on first responders and work-related stress.

He said some of the research has shown that some firefighters deal with withdrawal behavior, such as locking themselves away or avoiding people altogether, as well as some coping with alcohol or another intoxicant in response to the high-stress level.

“We don’t want that to happen, and we want to explain what can actually change them or get them out of that little box,” Li said.

The research will be part of a two-year plan. The goal is to gather nationwide data by collecting 3,000 responses from firefighters.

The vast amount of data collected during this project will be available to students, and Li feels it can benefit graduate students or Ph.D. students who are working on their dissertations, as they can save time by searching through the data.

Li said he is proud to be able to serve the public through his research, which is the reason he joined DET’s fire and emergency management program.

“Public impact, we are serving the public; that’s the reason why I joined this program when I was doing my Ph.D., which is in public administration,” Li said. “It’s because I care about this public value, and this project serves that goal pretty well.”

Chen, an assistant professor in CEAT’s fire and emergency management program, received a research grant to study how micromobility, such as scooters and bicycles, can deliver supplies to areas impassable by vehicles.

The research will look at promoting the persistence of a community and investigate the potential role of social networks and micromobility to study how they can enhance the planning and operation of resilience hubs.

Resilience hubs are facilities that support residents and help coordinate resource allocation before, during or after a natural disaster.

Chen said the project aims to understand and validate the pros and cons of using micromobility in disaster response and recovery efforts. He said micromobility to respond during disasters has been used for a

long time, but in a marginal capacity overall, and said it is most common on the West Coast.

“In 2017, when the Mexico City earthquake happened, it shut down the public transportation and roads were damaged or congested,” Chen said.

“Some parts of the city relied on using bicycles to send out supplies, especially medical, to people in need. This is when they don’t have supplies, electricity, or a cellphone signal, but when only bicycles can get around a city to deliver and communicate.”

Chen said the project will look at the positives and negatives of micromobility in both the response and recovery stages of any kind of disaster. He said another part of the study will also delve into how micromobility can help bring a community closer together.

“It increases people’s feeling of belonging to the community,” Chen

said. “When we feel a part of their community, we want to help other people. So, during an emergency, we can dedicate ourselves to helping other people.”

Chen said the research will also focus on people’s perspectives, such as first responders and emergency managers in cities. He said a bike drill will also be organized to test how supplies can be distributed during a disaster.

This grant provides funding to support students seeking their doctorates as it will be used to support students in presenting research at conferences and provide training opportunities, which Chen said will allow them to practice their research skills.

“All of our goals are to protect people in the public and increase community resiliency and public safety,” Chen said.

Park, an associate professor in the fire protection and safety engineering technology program, is researching how to improve fire resiliency during a situation where there is a fire burning in an area that includes both the urban environment, such as a house or business, and wildland, such as a forest or pasture, or the wildland-urban interface.

Park said the area being studied is essentially a fire on the boundary between the residential buildings and wildland vegetation where there is a possibility that a fire can spread from either side of the boundary.

A problem with fires in such an area is they are generally large, with firefighters tasked with extinguishing fires on multiple structures as well as vegetation, which Park said they aren’t commonly trained for. Therefore, the best risk reduction method is to take mitigation measures in advance.

He said a typical fire around residences or businesses includes multiple buildings, and the research

will focus on when a community gets damaged from such a fire.

“We have multiple efforts to reduce WUI fire risk, but the problem is we don’t know which one is more effective. In addition, each community has its own characteristics that influence WUI fire outcomes,” Park said. “For example, one community might have lots of people but equipped with nice roads and sufficient defensible space, and another community might have a similar number of houses, but they are sparsely located and secluded, with one way in and one way out, so it’s all different. Currently, there is no model to evaluate the community resilience level for WUI fires.”

The research will study where more effort or resources could be put into specific areas, and it is unknown if the effects of certain methods of fighting such fires are efficient.

He said the project would be a performance-based model for fire resilience during this type of fire and identify and develop solutions for

communities at risk of a fire within an urban and wildland boundary.

“It’s kind of a framework that will give you community-specific optimized solutions,” Park said. “For this project, we need to present our progress every year at NIST. Our students will be exposed to high-profile research activities conducted by other researchers as well.”

Park said his inspiration for this type of research comes from a desire to help make communities safer when a fire in the wildlife and urban boundary occurs. He also said he is proud multiple projects are happening simultaneously, which shows the passion DET researchers have for helping communities.

“I think it’s a good time to make this DET-wide effort more visible,” Park said. “Previously, we had a few grants here and there, but recently, with a firefighter mental health grant and two disaster resilience grants, we want to showcase our departmentwide efforts with our research.”

Two Grants; One Vision

Community paramedicine program to help relieve stress on local hospitals

Communities in rural Oklahoma are about to get some muchneeded help.

Delaware County will start a community paramedicine training program this fall thanks to two grants received by educational partners; the Oklahoma State University College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology and the Center for Rural Health.

A community paramedicine program allows those already trained as paramedics to add an additional certification to their toolbox. By having paramedics with this additional certification providing health care, communities will see a lessened demand on emergency rooms and reduced after-hour calls for issues that can be addressed in the home, said Associate Dean of Engineering Extension Ed Kirtley.

“A community paramedicine program extends the health care system to the home and reduces the load on other parts of the health care system,” Kirtley said.

THE PURPOSE

The idea for this program came from discussions about the difficulty in finding physicians and keeping hospitals open in rural Oklahoma.

Those discussions were held with many people, including Jeremiah Snell, EMS manager of Fire Service Training, an extension unit in CEAT. Snell is a retired firefighter paramedic from Delaware County and a member of the Cherokee Nation. Snell has called Delaware County home his whole life and knows the community well.

“The community paramedicine model has been established in many states across the nation for several years, but in Oklahoma, it’s still a relatively new concept,” Snell said. “Through my extensive travels across the state, engaging with EMS and fire organizations, I often encounter

discussions about the community paramedicine program. Many departments are curious about how these programs can benefit their agencies but are unsure where to begin or who to consult.

“With Oklahoma State University’s own training program, we are uniquely positioned to lead these discussions. Our goal is to assist various departments in establishing their own local programs, thereby enhancing community paramedicine in Oklahoma.”

TWO GRANTS

Community paramedics visit community members in their homes to conduct preventative care and mental well-being checks for those who can’t leave their homes, reducing the demand on emergency rooms and after-hour calls.

receive a grant to launch the training program in Delaware County.

The research team received a Rural Renewal Initiative Grant through the OSU Ferguson College of Agriculture.

This grant provides funding for a feasibility study in Delaware County. The research team will analyze whether this type of training will be well received in Delaware County and what best practices need to be considered for the communities implementing community paramedicine programs.

“Our role is to build an organization in the community with strategic capacity to assist to make this program sustainable,” Kirtley said.

While the research team was applying for the Rural Renewal Initiative Grant, another grant opportunity came along. Through connections with the OSU Foundation and Dr. Jean Van Delinder, who served as the OSU Graduate College interim dean until July, the research team presented the community paramedicine program to the Oklahoma Masonic Foundation to

This grant gives CEAT the opportunity to collaborate with multiple departments across the university, use extension services in place across Oklahoma and provide training.

TEAMWORK

The program is a true collaboration within OSU.

Inside CEAT, Kirtley, Snell, Industrial Engineering and Management Professor Dr. Tieming Liu, IEM Assistant Professor Dr. Pratima Saravanan, and IEM graduate student Elmira Ahmadinedamani are involved in the research and implementation of the program.

Outside of CEAT, Center for Rural Health Executive Director Dr. Denna Wheeler has connections to the medical school for virtual training and the physician advisors for the training program. Delaware County community leaders support the program, including fire chiefs, EMS directors, county commissioners and mayors.

“My role is to build connections in the health care community with

health care providers and the continuing education for the paramedics,” Kirtley said. “Extension’s role is helping us market in the rural population and creating introductions with community leaders. We will also be educating community members through programs already in place, like 4-H, about the community medicine program.

“This is truly a ‘We are OSU’ initiative, and I think that’s one of the reasons it’s working so well. There were no silos here — no walls. With all the programs involved, our only desire is to improve access to health care.”

The community paramedicine program will still encounter community barriers that must be overcome to ensure the program reaches its full potential.

“Some of the biggest barriers for a local community paramedicine program are securing adequate funding for initial setup and ongoing operations, which is crucial,” Snell said. “This includes costs for training, equipment and personnel. Public education campaigns and community engagement are necessary to ensure residents understand the benefits and availability of these services. Effective integration with local health care providers, hospitals and social services is necessary for a seamless approach to patient care.”

IMPACT

Training will be a hybrid model where students will attend online class sessions, have bookwork, complete tests online and clinical rotations. The course includes 200 hours of coursework.

“Community paramedicine programs reduce the strain on emergency services and hospitals by addressing non-emergency health issues directly in the community, leading to better resource allocation and more efficient emergency response,” Snell said.

“By focusing on preventive care and chronic disease management, community paramedicine programs help reduce health care costs and improve the quality of life for individuals, especially those in underserved areas. These programs also foster stronger relationships between health care providers and community members, which leads to improving health outcomes.”

The lessons learned from Delaware County will allow for the implementation of community paramedicine programs statewide and will make each community feel more connected to OSU and the land-grant mission.

Other Communities

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Partnership

IEM professor leaves a lasting legacy

On May 2, 2024, Mayor Will Joyce declared “Kenneth E. Case Day” for Stillwater, Oklahoma.

The announcement was made during a special event hosted by the School of Industrial Engineering and Management at Oklahoma State University to honor and recognize Dr. Case for the time, energy and passion he invested in the discipline of industrial engineering, specifically at OSU.

Attendees included college leadership and guests whom Case had

taught, mentored, collaborated and worked with.

The event announced the establishment of the Kenneth E. Case Society and recognized his sustaining support and gifts to IEM, OSU and the industrial engineering discipline. The society will serve as a foundation for alumni and friends to enhance their support for IEM scholarships, research and faculty excellence; foster philanthropic activities to support IEM academic and research programs; and to fulfill OSU’s land-grant mission.

“I look at the accomplishments of our students and see what all they have accomplished and where they have risen to and think, I must have done something right, and I was just a part of it.”

− Kenneth E. Case

“The School of Industrial Engineering and Management wanted to establish a giving society and name it after someone who has made significant contributions to OSU, Oklahoma, the nation and their people,” said Dr. Guiping Hu, IEM department head. “The decision quickly boiled down to Ken. He has given so much to our school. He has been active in IEM and industry — locally, nationally and internationally. He has impacted so many people, students and colleagues, and we decided naming the society after him was the right thing to do.”

Case, a regent’s professor emeritus, is widely regarded as one of the top industrial engineers in the world. He received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, his master’s and doctoral degrees in IEM — all from OSU.

After completing his Ph.D., Case and his wife, Lynn, moved to Blacksburg, Virginia, where he taught at Virginia Tech for five years. In 1975, they returned to Stillwater, where Case joined the IEM faculty as an associate professor and was asked to become the school department head in 1980. He quickly learned that teaching and mentoring students was his passion and returned to the faculty after serving as the head for three years.

His crowning achievement is his visionary leadership in developing OSU’s Master of Science in engineering and technology management degree program, a new and first-of-its-kind fully online program geared for working engineers. The program was packed with eager students ready to learn in its opening semester.

In addition to teaching and research, Case consulted extensively. He is a fellow and served as president of both the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers and the American Society for Quality, receiving the highest recognition from each. He is a National Academy of Engineering member, one of only three from OSU and 21 from Oklahoma.

He was also an active Academician Emeritus in the International Academy for Quality, a worldwide group limited to 100 quality experts. He served on

the panel of judges for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.

Case was named the Outstanding Engineer in Oklahoma in 1987. He holds five ASQ certifications and is a Six Sigma Black Belt. He received the Quality Oklahoma Award from Gov. Brad Henry in 2003 and the Oklahoma Medal for Excellence in College/ University Teaching from the Oklahoma Foundation for Excellence in 2005. He received the Melvin R. Lohmann Medal from CEAT in 2013 and was inducted into the CEAT Hall of Fame in 2015. Case has received over 25 recognitions for teaching, including multiple from the National Technological University’s Outstanding (Satellite) Teacher Award.

Case retired from OSU in 2005 but continued consulting and stayed actively engaged with the OSU community and industry. In August 2024, Case retired from the Board of Directors for Webco Industries after serving for over 29 years.

Ken and Lynn have strongly supported OSU over the years, impacting hundreds of IEM alumni and colleagues worldwide. In 2022, they established the Ken and Lynn Case Scholarship for $25,000 (for graduate and undergraduate students) and the Ken and Lynn Case Endowed Chair in IEM was established at a value of $1 million.

“You can clearly see with anyone he interacts with, whether you are a colleague, a student or staff member, that he is a genuine person,” Hu said. “He is passionate about the discipline of Industrial Engineering, IEM and OSU.”

Reflecting on his career, Case has no regrets.

“There are a lot of universities out there, and I have to say, I got so much out of Oklahoma State and its people,” he said. “I look at the accomplishments of our students and see what all they have accomplished and where they have risen to and think, I must have done something right, and I was just a part of it.

“So many teachers and mentors here at this university, in the college, such as Sunderesh Heragu, Joe Mize, both giants in the field, and so many more, have made huge impacts on generations of students.”

Dr. Ken Case and his wife, Lynn, were honored at a special event to recognize the establishment of the Kenneth E. Case Society.

One Lasting Impression

Luinstra’s career makes a mark in an essential industry

Floyd Luinstra turned off the lights in the lab for the last time in August.

For over 26 years, Luinstra, an instructor in the fire protection industry, has worked in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. CEAT has a global influence, educating college students and others from around the world.

CEAT Professional Development stands out as one of the college’s notable initiatives. This unit, one of seven extension units within CEAT, has been privileged to include Luinstra, an instructor in the fire protection industry.

When Luinstra retired, he left behind a legacy of impacting countless lives through his dedication and expertise. His departure marked the end of an era for many who benefited from his extensive knowledge and passion. Luinstra came to Stillwater in the 1970s from Woodward, Oklahoma, and

never left. Not only has Luinstra taught students, but he is also an active Society of Fire Protection Engineers member. He has served on numerous committees for the National Fire Protection Association, including Standards 13 and 20.

“Floyd has taught hundreds of students — both in professional development courses as well as assisting in undergraduate lab activities,” said Dr. Virginia Charter, associate professor and program coordinator for the Fire Protection and Safety Engineering Technology program in the Division of Engineering Technology. “His impact is far-reaching to those who work in our industry, and he is a known entity when it comes to professional development and continuing education.”

After graduating college in 1981 with his bachelor’s degree in FPSET, Luinstra worked for local engineering consulting firms. During this time, Luinstra traveled the

Midwest performing fire and life safety inspections, many of which were in federal buildings. This was also when Luinstra became a licensed professional engineer.

Luinstra was instrumental in setting up the FPSET Laboratory on the OSU campus in 2003. In 2005, he was hired as the full-time lab manager for the facility, where he assisted with many student labs. Luinstra also taught fire protection classes for professional development. He maintained the lab equipment to keep it functional for students and aided in research for manufacturers through the New Product Development Center, another extension unit in CEAT.

“Most of the people who come through the professional development courses come for continuing education,” Luinstra said. “This program encourages professional development students to consider expanding their horizons. The students take an exam

Floyd Luinstra teaches industry professionals about different types of pumping systems.

on six of our PD classes and they get another certificate, which shows their employer that they’re willing to expand their horizons and focus on self-improvement. This can help them move up the ranks faster and have more marketability with a nationally recognized certification.”

Luinstra has left his mark on OSU and the students he taught. The fire protection and loss control program through CEAT Professional Development has grown considerably in the last several years. In 2023 alone, the program provided professional development and training to more than 113 companies from 22 states.

“Floyd’s impact on the profession has been to help bridge the gap between the rules and regulations that are adopted and the implementation of them in the profession,” said Dr. Bryan Hoskins, associate professor of FPSET. “Companies all across the country, and, in some instances, the world, will send people to OSU to learn from him.”

Luinstra has seen many changes during his 40 years in the fire protection industry.

“We used to have a half a dozen varieties of sprinklers,” Luinstra said. “Now we have thousands of varieties of sprinklers. We have also moved from electrical to digital electronic fire alarm systems.”

With the influence he had on his students, it’s not hard to believe he is still receiving calls asking for help solving problems and setting up fire protection systems.

“Floyd is literally an industry icon who has touched and encouraged the lives of every fire and safety student who has passed through the halls at OSU,” said Bob Caputo, American Fire Sprinkler Association president. “His working knowledge of fire alarm and water-based fire safety systems is second to none, and everyone knows whose house you’re in when in the lab. Floyd is a lot more than just a fire protection guy, he lives and breathes fire and life safety.”

“His influence on (Cowboy) fire and safety professionals will live on for generations to come.”

Floyd Luinstra enjoyed educating students for over 26 years before his retirement this fall.

When wildfires spread, nothing stands a chance in their path.

The devastation left above ground is evident after a fire burns through an area, but what about below ground?

That is what Dr. Jaime Schussler of Oklahoma State University’s School of Civil and Environmental Engineering is working with undergraduate students from the University of Central Oklahoma and OSU to find out.

Their research evaluates wildfires’ impacts on soil characteristics and the subsequent consequences.

While the undergraduate researchers receive primary advisement from Schussler, they collaborate and conduct laboratory work with Dr. Haejun Park of Fire Protection and Safety Engineering.

This undergraduate research opportunity started with a mentorship that Schussler and Dr. Mary Foltz led in the spring semester of 2024, funded by Oklahoma NSF EPSCoR. The two created a statewide mentorship program around water research — a broad topic that many students and researchers could connect with.

This mentorship program created trios comprised of a faculty member familiar with water research, a

The science behind post-wildfire soil behavior

graduate student from OSU and an undergraduate student from an Oklahoma college or university.

At the end of the mentorship program, Schussler garnered funding from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education for Research Experiences for Undergraduates to continue the momentum.

The two students taking part in this REU are Aria Hansen, a UCO environmental chemistry student who was Schussler’s mentee, and Jordan Erne, an OSU civil and environmental engineering student who first connected with Schussler in their hydrology course.

“It’s been a beautiful, rewarding experience for all involved,” Schussler said. “The UCO student has been able to experience the labs and facilities an R1 like OSU offers, which helps contextualize the type of research that is possible. Jordan has been able to peer-mentor and show her around campus — inside and out of research. The shared experience provides early exposure to collaborative, interdisciplinary research and has made the process less intimidating for these students who are experiencing it for the first time.”

Schussler notes that the trio mentorship program builds a sense

of accountability for the students while giving them the confidence to ask the right questions and be more exploratory.

“I love watching them work together and empower each other — they work well as a team,” Schussler said.

The students are looking at the effects of compounding events, specifically the interface between wildfires and floods.

After a fire, several environmental changes take place, especially within the soil. One phenomenon that often takes place is hydrophobicity. This is where the soil will repel water.

Some research shows that the hydrophobic layer results from a waxy substance derived from burned organic material.

Another less investigated occurrence that can happen with a wildfire is the creation of a “crust” on the topmost soil layer. When fire interfaces with the land, vegetation and soil moisture are rapidly lost from top horizon. The magnitude of this effect is mainly dependent on the soil type.

Schussler likened this event to clay forming pottery. As the available soil moisture is removed from the soil pore space, the soil becomes dry, hard and compact. Vegetation is no longer

“A lot of us have lived through the impact of a situation where there is too much or too little water, or poor water quality. I get to provide students the tools and empower them to solve these very real challenges.”

− Dr. Jaime Schussler

present to capture, or uptake moisture and the root pathways may be blocked or diminished.

When a rainfall event comes shortly after a fire event, the stormwater cannot move through the resulting crust and penetrates the soil much slower than in pre-burn conditions.

“After a fire, you start to see some crusting on open soils,” Schussler said. “Then, when the rainfall comes in, it actually can’t go through or infiltrate through that soil.”

The same thing can happen after a prolonged drought. When muchneeded rainfall arrives after an intense burn or drought, the water might not be able to infiltrate the soil at the normal rate. This can increase runoff rates, compounding further issues like erosion and debris flows.

“Once the sediment and debris reach our conveyance or surface water systems, we have to further deal with repercussions like reduced conveyance capacities and water quality impairments, such as turbidity,” Schussler said.

Turbidity is when fine soil particles become suspended in the water

column, creating darker, murky water that can cause significant issues for aquatic ecosystems and recreation.

The research primarily investigates the crusting effect to estimate hydraulic conductivity rates or how fast water can move through the soil after burning. Hydrophobicity is also being considered. The research intends to update parameters used in hydrological models to better estimate flood extent after wildfire.

Currently, there is a lack of scientifically backed data to modify the hydraulic conductivity values of soil after a fire happens. This means that when modeling the areas impacted by fire, there is often no distinction, making model calibration and accuracy challenging.

Schussler and the undergraduate students are conducting experimental work with Park to see exactly how the soil is changed, how it affects hydraulic conductivity and how to implement that into hydrological models.

To gather this data, soil samples are placed in cylinders and then placed within a cone heater that simulates wildfire under varying intensities.

Then, column studies are conducted to compare how water moves through the burned soil versus the control sample. In total, they are considering the 12 soil groups included on the soil texture triangle.

One issue the students ran into was the type of cylinder to use. In the cone heater, the plastic cylinders with protected tops would still melt. Metal cylinders could not be used due to the conductive properties affecting deeper soil layers, leading to skewed data.

The students reached out to Prairie Arts Center and worked with them to outsource ceramic cylinders from local artists, making this project even more collaborative.

“These are the sort of projects that get undergrads involved,” Schussler said. “They are visual and very tangible for them. It helps develop some of that confidence and excitement for research.”

The project has hopes to continue later into the year and extend to include the expertise of Park and Dr. Chen Chen. Schussler has a hydrology background, Park has fire simulation techniques and Chen will bring his emergency management

Jordan Erne prepares soil samples while Aria Hansen places them into the cone heater to collect data.

and planning knowledge. With such a collaborative effort, the team would be able to collect a significant amount of preliminary data and work toward a bigger proposal.

The research from that project could help predict the impact of a fire-flood compound event — resulting in better emergency management planning and distribution of appropriate resources.

Future plans include adding different fuel sources on top of the soil samples, such as different grasses or leaves, to see the impact, as well as rainfall simulations to test the response of the burned soils under varying rainfall intensity and frequency.

Teaching undergraduates is a role that Schussler sees as a great responsibility. She said she enjoys sharing a passion for water resources work with her graduate students.

“I get so pumped up and excited when an undergraduate comes to me, and they’ve never been exposed to water resources!” Schussler said. “A lot of times, I am their first experience when it comes to water resources engineering and their first exposure to research. I take that as a huge

responsibility, but also, a really cool opportunity.”

Schussler notes that students will often gravitate toward water resources engineering once they learn of it because it is something that affects everyone daily.

“Everybody experiences rainfall at some point and can picture a storm drain, often in the neighborhood they grew up in,” she said. “And a lot of us have lived through the impact of a situation where there is too much or too little water, or poor water quality. I get to provide students the tools and empower them to solve these very real challenges.”

Growing up in a small town of about 2,000 people, Schussler experienced several boil advisories for water quality and missed school because of an industrial chemical spill that affected the local drinking water supply.

Seeing instances like these and how they affected the environment and people’s recreational use of water led Schussler to a career in civil and environmental engineering.

As a first-generation college student, she participated in an exchange

program that provided her first undergraduate research exposure in France. Schussler was taught various water quality assessment techniques by a Ph.D. student who was monitoring waterbodies under the European Water Framework Directive.

Schussler quickly realized she enjoyed the research process and the people she was surrounded with. Her graduate advisor explained that graduate school would provide her with a similar experience — to be around people of all backgrounds and assured her she’d keep getting her toes wet and hands dirty.

It’s still her favorite part of research today.

The Prairie Arts Center collaborated with Storm Water Lab to create these ceramic cylinders for research.

Tackling Toxic Waste

Gonzalez Estrella awarded in fight against microplastics

Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Estrella, assistant professor of environmental engineering, is working to make an impact with his prestigious National Science Foundation CAREER Award.

The award celebrates Gonzalez Estrella’s research on the environmental impact of micro- and nanoplastics from open burning of solid waste in underserved communities.

Gonzalez Estrella’s research dives into three critical areas: the release of organic carbon and additives from partially burned microplastics, the movement of these microplastics through sediments, and the contaminants’ effects on the soil biochemical cycle.

His goal is to deepen the understanding of the reactivity and mobility of microplastics and to spread this knowledge to communities lacking proper waste management facilities.

A significant component of Gonzalez Estrella’s project is community

outreach. He plans to host summer workshops for high school students, focusing on designing affordable devices for detecting microplastics. In collaboration with OSU’s solid waste extension cohort, he also aims to educate farmers on reducing open burning practices.

“The open dumping issue affects about 2 billion people around the world,” Gonzalez Estrella said. “In the United States, this issue primarily affects remote and underserved communities, including farmers, Native American communities, and those in rural areas. It’s also a common practice in parts of Latin America, some regions in Europe, Africa, Oceania and Asia.”

Witnessing the environmental devastation caused by open dumping and burning in Mexico from a young age, Gonzalez Estrella’s love for nature fueled his passion to pursue a career dedicated to solving this pressing issue.

Despite plastics’ dual nature as both a commercial boon and an

environmental bane, Gonzalez Estrella is determined to mitigate their adverse effects.

“We have left a mark on Earth through plastics. They are an indicator that humans were here. It is important that we improve upon the use of plastics to change our legacy,” Gonzalez Estrella said.

Receiving this award is a testament to Gonzalez Estrella’s dedication and the collective effort of his students, collaborators, friends and family. He credits Oklahoma State University’s support and state-of-the-art facilities for his success.

With only 12 awards granted this year in his program area and coming from an underrepresented background in science, Gonzalez Estrella feels both fortunate and motivated to pave the way for more career awards at OSU.

His work is not just about scientific discovery; it’s about forging a cleaner, healthier future for communities worldwide.

Micrography of microplastics used by Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Estrella’s research group.

Dr. Jorge Gonzalez Estrella was awarded the prestigious NSF CAREER award for his research on reactivity and mobility of micro- and nanoplastics from open burning of solid waste in underserved communities.

Dr. Hanchen Huang has a vision for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology.

It’s all about growth.

Aligning with the university’s strategic plan to become the premier land-grant university, the new CEAT dean plans to foster growth in six different areas: educational programs, enrollment, faculty, research, extension and reputation — creating a proposed 6G vision for discussions with stakeholders.

Path to Stillwater

Huang’s journey to Oklahoma State University is marked by impressive academic and leadership roles, making him a perfect fit for the enormous task at hand.

Huang earned a doctoral degree in nuclear engineering from the University of California-Los Angeles, a master’s degree in theoretical nuclear physics from China Institute of Atomic Energy (formerly the Institute of Atomic Energy/Chinese Academy of Sciences) in Beijing and a Bachelor of Science degree in physics from Hebei Normal University.

As a leader, he served as provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth from July 2022 to June 2023. Other previous roles include dean of the College of Engineering at the University of North Texas from January 2019 to July 2022, department chair of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Northeastern University from July 2013 to December 2018 and program director of mechanical engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute from August 2007 to July 2009.

In terms of society recognition, Huang is an elected fellow of four professional societies: the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, American Society for Materials International, American Society of Mechanical Engineers International and Society of Engineering Sciences as well as an elected Member of Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Society for Materials International.

Provost and Senior Vice President Jeanette Mendez expressed her confidence in Huang’s appointment.

“President Shrum and I are confident we have identified the right individual to lead CEAT, and we are excited about Dr. Huang joining the OSU leadership team,” she said.

When asked what drew him to OSU, Huang said the “excellent faculty, dedicated staff, outstanding students and loyal alumni.” He also

praised the college’s strong alumni engagement and state-of-the-art facilities.

The need for change drove Huang’s path to academic administration.

“Early on, I planned to be a scholar for life,” Huang said. “However, dysfunction of an administration–faculty relation made me ask the question: What can I do to minimize the dysfunction to positively impact the university? Instead of sitting back and complaining, I decided to step forward and serve as an academic administrator to advance an institution with functional administration-faculty relations. Looking back, I have no regret.”

Goals for CEAT

Huang is ready and equipped with intentional goals for the college, including long-term and short-term.

In the immediate future, he plans to focus on OSU’s Polytech initiative and innovating in OSU key focus areas of energy, aerospace and One Health.

OSU Polytech is a statewide coordination of the OSU System’s workforce-driven technical academic programs geared toward the state’s most in-demand occupations in an accessible and flexible format. With an innovative STEMbased curriculum, industry-aligned academic programs, flexible learning opportunities and realworld learning experiences, Polytech will elevate and expand access to workforce development education for all Oklahomans.

In the long term, he aims to elevate CEAT to be within the top 100 colleges nationally, featuring in-demand and forward-looking educational programs and impactful research. By focusing on growth, impacts will be made to Oklahoma’s society, the tech industry and beyond through research and Extension.

Currently, OSU is ranked No. 111 overall for its engineering graduate programs in the U.S. With a ranking of No. 10 in online graduate programs, CEAT has remarkable success in several programs but still has room to grow in prestige.

Huang’s leadership achievements include growing not only a large department by about 50% and elevating its national ranking by double digits but also having the same success at the college level.

While serving as the department chair of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University, Huang helped increase graduate enrollment from 500 to 1,700 and grew full-time faculty from 60 to 90. He continued this impressive success at the college level as well. As the dean of engineering at North Texas, Huang led the college to increase graduate enrollment from

500 to 2,500, faculty from 100 to 150 and annual research awards from $10 million to $19 million.

“I have led departments and colleges to significant growth in enrollment and reputation, and I am committed to doing the same at CEAT,” Huang said.

After Dr. Paul Tikalsky stepped down following more than a decade at the helm of CEAT, Dr. John Veenstra served as interim dean since August 2023.

“Hanchen brings a wealth of academic administrative experience to his new role at OSU to lead CEAT,” Veenstra said. “I am sure he will continue the momentum CEAT has across all its missions and strategically help to propel the college on its upward trajectory.”

Being a first-generation college graduate — in fact, a first-generation elementary school graduate — in his family, Huang is committed to expanding access to quality education to students from all walks of life.

Both undergraduate and graduate students have acknowledged this dedication. At Northeastern University, four undergraduate student groups presented Huang with the Award of Recognition “for many contributions, support and inspiration.” Graduate students at the University of Connecticut’s School of Engineering nominated and selected him for the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award.

Beyond the focus on students, Huang was a competitive badminton player at a younger age and now walks more than 10,000 steps a day. He and his wife, Yanping, are the proud parents of two adult sons. Dan is a lawyer and Joe is a software engineer.

Importance of Alumni, Faculty and Staff

Huang views faculty as the soul of a college and believes that a college is only as great as its people.

“At Northeastern University, my department maintained a record of zero attrition of tenuretrack faculty while growing by about 50% in five years,” he said.

With a goal of faculty recruitment and retention, Huang would like to promote a stronger sense of belonging through faculty and staff engagement. He also wants to promote proactive recruiting to form clusters of well-established faculties.

Additionally, he recognizes the critical role of alumni in providing feedback, financial support and a network for students. Staff, he notes, are the enablers of quality education, research and Extension, keeping the institution running smoothly.

With a solid foundation and ambitious plans, Huang is poised to lead CEAT into a new era of growth and excellence.

“With about 3,000 job openings and 1,500 graduates in engineering and technology each year in Oklahoma, OSU, as a land-grant university, has an obligation, as well as an opportunity, to graduate more engineers and technologists. Being the M in OSU A&M, engineering (as well as architecture and technology) is in the DNA of OSU.

“The education of students and professionals through CEAT at OSU, a top-tier (R1) university, is forward-looking and meets society’s needs now and in the future.”

Message to the CEAT Community

Huang advises current students, “Take full advantage of what a top-tier research (R1) university has to offer in research and innovation.”

To prospective students, he highlights that “CEAT provides in-demand and forward-looking educational programs in a preeminent research environment.”

“In particular, CEAT is a leader in aerospace innovation and applications and has the technical expertise to lead energy research and education for a sustainable world,” Huang said. “Further, with expertise in bioengineering and engineering analytics, CEAT is in a great position to collaborate with health sciences to enhance human and animal health. Overall, our strategy is to raise the standing of engineering, architecture and technology to elevate OSU.”

Huang notes that CEAT is well positioned to serve Oklahomans and society as a whole within the areas of:

Innovating to Nourish the World

Leading in Aerospace Innovation and Application

Enhancing Human and Animal Health (One Health)

Powering a Growing World Population Sustainably and Responsibly

“Our strategy is to raise the standing of engineering, architecture and technology to elevate OSU.”

—Dean Huang

A True Engineering Pioneer

Singh garners national recognition for groundbreaking career

ARegents Professor at Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology, Dr. Raj Singh’s continued dedication and advancements to the field of Materials Science Engineering were greatly acknowledged this year.

Singh received the American Ceramic Society’s 2023 Rishi Raj Medal for Innovation and Commercialization in Ceramics. He was elected to the rank of American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow and became a member of the National Academy of Engineering.

Singh’s groundbreaking invention and his incredible talent for inventing new materials and their innovative

processing led to his election as a member of the NAE.

“It is most exciting and professionally satisfying to be elected as a member of the NAE,” Singh said. “It is the highest distinction and recognition that an engineer can achieve and is recognized as such worldwide.”

The NAE is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation and is comprised of over 2,000 members who are among the world’s most accomplished engineers. Members are peer-elected and include international, senior professionals in business, academic and government officials. The NAE provides leadership and expertise

for numerous projects focused on the relationships between engineering, technology and quality of life.

Singh, a world expert on ceramic matrix composites (CMCs), has demonstrated an innate ability to invent new materials and their novel processing. He has made seminal and transformative scientific and technological contributions to the field of CMCs and their applications in jet engines — a true pioneer.

Advancing Science and Industry

His trailblazing work on meltinfiltration (MI) process technology for making fully dense, net-shape and

STORY DESA JAMES

Dr. Raj Singh and graduate student Ranjan Singhal work on a setup to make nanomaterials in his lab at Helmerich Research Center at OSU-Tulsa.

“I want to encourage students in the engineering field to be curious, persevering, creative, inventive and passionate about their field.”

DR. RAJ SINGH

damage-tolerant silicon carbide fiberreinforced CMCs has been an industry game-changer.

This unique and inherently simple MI process has led to its widespread use and commercialization by GE-Aviation since 2016. It has accumulated over 20 million flight hours in Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion engines for Airbus, Boeing 737 and 777, and COMAC aircraft.

Singh’s inventions have not only helped reduce weight and enhance engine efficiency but also offer societal benefits through reduced CO2 /NOx emissions, creating multibillion-dollar businesses in the process.

“His technologies, wrought from a creative and meticulous research, have been adopted in commercial products that are used in vehicles from NASA, Boeing, Airbus, and the Japanese and U.S. governments,” said Dr. Jim Smay, professor and head for the School of Materials Science and Engineering.

“His depth and breadth of impact is unparalleled on the OSU-Tulsa campus.”

Dr. John Veenstra, associate dean of faculty affairs in CEAT, said Singh’s election to NAE is among the highest recognitions an engineer can receive.

“It is a clear recognition by his peers of his significant contributions to the profession,” Veenstra said. “He is a tremendous asset to CEAT and reflects the quality of CEAT faculty by having such a preeminent scholar in its ranks. A career of demonstrated sustained excellence is the hallmark of NAE members, and Dr. Singh’s academic record is unmistakable evidence of this trait.”

Dr. Raj Singh

Lasting IMPACT

Singh said the best part of his job is to help educate the best possible engineers and impart his knowledge of the discipline of materials science and engineering.

“I want to encourage students in the engineering field to be curious, persevering, creative, inventive and passionate about their field,” he said. “Ultimately, use your knowledge and skills to create new materials and products to benefit society, the nation and the world. Never forget to be curious and inventive. It should be a lifelong pursuit.”

Singh has made tremendous scientific and technological contributions through his 350 research articles, 27 granted patents and books in the fields of CMCs, diamond films, boron nitride nanotubes, electrolyte retainer for molten carbonate fuel cell,

electrolyte for Na-S batteries, selfhealing glass seals and electrolyte and electrodes for solid oxide fuel cell and ferroelectric ceramics displaying large (0.8%) strain.

Smay notes that it is difficult to count all of the impacts that Singh’s research has had but said that his work in the field puts him at the top of both the academic/basic science wing of materials science through the significant contributions they have made to commercial applications.

“Singh was the founding department head of MSE at OSU-Tulsa and built the department to the point where it now performs over $1 million per year in research at the Helmerich Research Center,” Smay said. “He has collaborators all over the world, and his graduates have carried his legacy throughout academia and industry.”

Feng’s AI-powered inhaler is aiding lung disease treatment

In the heart of Oklahoma, a breath of fresh air is transforming the field of pulmonary health care.

School of Chemical Engineering in the College innovative project funded by the University of

User-Centered Smart Inhaler for Targeted Drug Lung Disease Treatment,” this project promises to transform how people combat debilitating lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary lung sites. During his senior year, Feng also witnessed a close friend struggle with managing both COPD and cystic fibrosis. Tragically, this friend lost most of their pulmonary function and was deeply affected mentally, which ultimately premature death in

This profound experience motivated Feng to develop solutions like the smart inhaler, aiming to improve the quality of life for patients facing similar challenges.

“Since my undergraduate years in China, where I majored in fluid dynamics, I’ve been deeply interested in exploring how classical fluid dynamics theories can extend beyond traditional applications like rocket science and turbines to health care,” Feng said. “During my further studies, I discovered that inhalation therapy for chronic lung diseases such as COPD suffers from inefficient delivery — less than 25% of aerosolized medication reaches the targeted small airways.”

Motivated by this challenge, Feng began his Ph.D. studies at North Carolina State University to leverage technology aimed at improving medication delivery efficiency.

Specifically, Feng studied engineering mechanics and specialized in fluid dynamics at Zhejiang University in China from 2003-07. His focus diverged from the traditional fields of turbines and aerospace science, which typically employ computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Instead, he took an early and distinct interest in using fundamental fluid dynamics to tackle health care challenges, specifically pulmonary health care.

Starting in 2007, Feng conducted CFD simulations to trace air movement within the lungs. He expanded on this research while pursuing his master’s and doctoral degrees in mechanical engineering at NCSU, concentrating on lung aerosol dynamics.

Feng then took his current faculty position where he led the development of physiologically accurate digital twins of respiratory systems. This work aimed to deepen the understanding of respiratory processes and enhance pulmonary health outcomes.

Feng’s interaction with the pharmaceutical industry began in 2020 through industry-funded projects on inhaler innovation, where he learned about the significant needs in inhalation therapy and recognized the value of integrating AI with CFD to innovate smart inhalers for more effective pulmonary drug delivery.

His work in lung aerosol dynamics led to his election as the academic co-chair of the Pharmaceutical Strategy Task Force of the Avicenna Alliance. This global nonprofit organization advocates for using computer modeling and simulation to accelerate the delivery of safer, more affordable health care.

“I aim to enhance the effectiveness of pulmonary drug delivery of treatments — make it precise for each patient,” Feng said.

HOW IT WORKS

The project aims to develop a groundbreaking smart inhaler that uses artificial intelligence.

With such technology, the inhaler can change the way lung diseases, like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, will be treated. By using computational fluidparticle dynamics and machine learning/ deep learning (ML/DL), the inhaler calculates the exact amount of medication needed and can deliver it to the small airways where it is needed most.

“The ML algorithm processes inputs like breathing profiles, disease status and drug particle sizes to determine the optimal nozzle settings for drug release,” Feng said.

These settings are then used by the inhaler’s hardware system to adjust the nozzle, ensuring targeted drug delivery

to specific lung sites while minimizing deposition on healthy tissues.

The pivotal role played by OSU doctorate student Mohammad Rashed Islam is central to the project’s success. His research focuses on using AI for precise drug delivery across various lung diseases beyond COPD. Feng emphasized the significance of Islam’s work, stating, “It establishes a targeted delivery strategy that not only ensures efficiency but also minimizes potential side effects, a significant advancement over traditional inhalation therapies.”

This isn’t just any inhaler: It’s a smart device designed to make treatments more effective and reduce the amount of medicine wasted. The idea is simple yet powerful: to provide personalized and efficient treatment for everyone.

CREATING THE PROTOTYPE

The initial planning process for developing the smart inhaler involved extensive market research.

Feng and his team set out to understand the needs and challenges patients and health care workers face.

Later, the planning process included feasibility studies, defining technical specifications and ensuring regulatory compliance. Feasibility studies help assess whether the product concept can be practically and economically created. Defining technical specifications ensures that the product will meet the intended performance requirements, and regulatory compliance is vital for legal market entry and to ensure patient safety.

“We then utilized the established collaborations with pulmonologists, aerosol scientists and regulatory scientists to design this smart inhaler prototype,” Feng said.

What sets this project apart is its focus on accessibility. Feng emphasizes the profound impact on individuals in rural and underserved areas, where access to regular health care is limited.

“It’s about bringing state-of-theart technology to everyday health care, making a real difference in people’s lives,” Feng said.

Imagine a future where inhalers are not just devices but intelligent companions in the fight against lung diseases.

A smart inhaler prototype on top of the calculations/formulas used to develop the innovative product.

THE COWBOY WAY

This project epitomizes OSU’s commitment to innovation aligned with societal needs.

The university’s strategic plan focuses on areas like enhancing human health and nurturing interdisciplinary intersections. The smart inhaler ticks the box for both.

Feng’s dedication extends beyond research; he actively engages in STEM education and outreach, speaks at public forums to promote the public understanding of pulmonary health care and creates the ideal learning space for his students.

In the classroom, Feng has been recognized for integrating his expertise in computational engineering into several of his courses. His Computational Fluid-Particle Dynamics: Basic Theory and Selected Biomedical Applications course received the Ansys Curriculum Award for empowering his students with the ability to learn in an interactive visualization that bridges the gap between theoretical knowledge and real-world applications.

Feng’s vision is ready to breathe new life into pulmonary care on the cusp of a transformative era in health

WHAT COMES NEXT

The journey doesn’t end here.

The team plans to further enhance the inhaler’s capabilities by incorporating disease-specific airway motion and advancing the algorithm to encompass a broader range of particle-particle interaction mechanisms.

Feng envisions a future where their smart inhaler becomes even more effective across diverse patient profiles, enhancing its precision and reliability in real-world clinical scenarios.

care. His relentless pursuit of excellence not only promises to improve the quality of life for Oklahomans but also holds implications for global health outcomes.

With each breath, the world inches closer to a future where lung diseases are no longer a debilitating burden but a conquerable challenge, thanks to the ingenuity of Feng and his team at OSU.

Mohammad Rashed Islam works on an AI system that establishes a targeted delivery.

Exploring the Final Frontier

OSU faculty lead cutting-edge NASA research

Being a leader in aerospace innovation and application is key for Oklahoma State University to maintain its standing as the preeminent land-grant institution.

In the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, three faculty members are set to accomplish just that.

In a testament to their academic expertise and dedication to advancing aerospace engineering, Drs. Wei Zhao, Ritesh Sachan and Alyssa Avery have been selected for NASA research initiation grants.

The NASA grants, awarded as part of the Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Initiation Grants

(RIG), serve as a launching pad for faculty research, facilitating eight-week residencies at various NASA centers.

This immersive experience not only allows the professors to forge invaluable relationships with NASA colleagues but also empowers them to delve deep into their research projects, enriching their understanding and bringing back invaluable experience and knowledge to their students.

Of the five coveted NASA EPSCoR RIG awards, three have gone to MAE faculty members, highlighting the department’s distinction in the field. Sachan and Avery will conduct their research at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Ohio. At the same time, Zhao

will work on his project at Langley and Ames Research Centers in Virginia and California, respectively.

“MAE has a rich history of working closely with NASA on various research and educational endeavors,” said Dr. Sandip Harimkar, MAE department head. “These research implementation awards to our three outstanding young professors will further strengthen our research capabilities and facilitate collaborations in key areas aligned with NASA’s priorities, such as advanced aerospace structures, materials for harsh environments, and autonomous systems.

“These opportunities will actively engage students in research while allowing faculty to bring findings into

A pulsed laser deposition system is used to vaporize a small section of a solid target material in a vacuum chamber.

classrooms, thereby preparing students for potential career opportunities in critical areas.”

Zhao’s visionary project, titled “Graphics Processing Unit Computation and Reduced Order Models for Nonlinear Analysis of Advanced Aerospace Structures,” aims to support the United States’ ambitious goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from aviation by 2050.

By focusing on the design of lightweight civil transport aircraft with extended wings, Zhao seeks to address safety challenges posed by wing flexibility during flight. His research promises to foster environmental sustainability as well as enhance aircraft safety and fuel efficiency, laying the groundwork for the next generation of aerospace innovations.

“To do this, we’re focusing on designing future civil transport aircraft that use lightweight materials and have long wings,” Zhao said. “These long wings, however, can be quite flexible and bend significantly during flight, which presents safety challenges. Our research primarily seeks to understand the structural behavior of lightweight and long aircraft wings under various flight conditions.

“The findings from our research will help design aircraft that are not only environmentally friendly but also safe and fuel-efficient. Additionally, our work supports the ongoing development of the X-66 truss-braced wing, representing the latest advancements in aircraft design.”

In the classroom, Zhao’s students stand to benefit immensely from his firsthand insights into cutting-edge aerospace research as he seamlessly integrates real-world applications into the curriculum, fostering a dynamic and inspiring learning environment.

Zhao states that the grant is of significant importance to his research endeavors. It provides the essential resources to generate preliminary research data and establish crucial computational infrastructure, including GPU-based accelerated parallel processing.

“This infrastructure not only enhances my current work but also helps me get prepared for pursuing future competitive grants, such as the NASA Transformative Technologies Transfer program and others,” Zhao said.

Meanwhile, Sachan’s pioneering project, “Ionization Radiation Studies in High Entropy Silicides for Space Missions,” is set to develop

A sensor prototype in a wind tunnel in Dr. Alyssa Avery’s lab.

Dr. Alyssa Avery

Dr. Wei Zhao

Dr. Ritesh Sachan

novel material coatings capable of withstanding the harsh space environments, including hightemperature radiation. By exploring the properties of high-entropy silicides, a recently discovered class of ceramics, Sachan and his team will equip students with invaluable experimental skills while broadening their understanding of materials science beyond conventional boundaries.

“Since the high-entropy silicide materials are unconventional and don’t follow the traditionally known fundamental materials science, the learnings of this project will help in broadening the knowledge of students and bring awareness to leading scientific discoveries,” Sachan said. “By including the discussions on these materials in my undergraduate materials science class, I’m planning to show the students the journey of materials from conceptual to advanced fronts.”

Through interdisciplinary discussions in materials science classes, Sachan will ignite students’ curiosity and appreciation for the forefront of scientific discovery.

“The students involved in this project will learn several new experimental techniques such as fabrication, characterization and property measurements that will create skills helpful in a broad range of technical areas,” Sachan said.

Sachan states that he is honored to receive the grant as it is a reputed grant that will lead to initiating new collaborations with NASA research labs and lead to developing new science.

On another edge of aerospace innovation, Avery’s project, “Ice Accretion at Low Altitude for Autonomous Systems,” holds promise for enhancing our understanding of low-velocity icing behavior and developing cost-effective sensors capable of detecting ice accretion on low-altitude systems. Collaborating with experts at NASA, Avery’s research not only contributes to the advancement of aerospace technology but also enriches her teaching, enabling her to offer students invaluable insights into the intricate interplay between aerodynamics, fluid dynamics, sensor development and atmospheric science.

“Aircraft icing uses a blend of aerodynamics, droplet fluid behavior, sensor development and atmospheric science,” Avery said. “Considering these subjects together help students make logical and engineering connections with their courses and projects.

“I am incredibly excited to work on this project and with the experts at NASA Glenn. I have been reading papers from the facility for the last 10 years. It is a great opportunity for my own research to contribute to the work being done.”

As these forward-thinking faculty members delve into their research, their dedication to innovation and teamwork promises to drive progress in aerospace.

With steadfast determination to push the limits of aerospace engineering, they serve as catalysts for inspiring the next wave of innovators, positioning OSU as a leader in aerospace research and education.

The X-66 truss-braced wing aircraft studied in Dr. Wei Zhao’s project.

High Praise

Industrial engineering organization honors Heragu, Hu

Founded in 1948, The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineering is the leading professional association recognized worldwide for its dedication to advancing industrial engineering.

IISE is a global nonprofit institution striving to empower its members and industrial engineering professionals through opportunities for skill enhancement, nurturing excellence and professional advancement. It’s the largest professional society devoted to expanding industrial engineering education.

given a chance in the field of industrial engineering and stated, “[It] completely changed my career trajectory.”

Heragu said he is honored to be the first IISE member ever to receive all three highest distinguishments.

This year, IISE honored two College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology professors — Dr. Sunderesh Heragu and Dr. Guiping Hu — with high distinctions and awards.

IISE has continuously spotlighted Heragu’s successes in the industry. In 2010, Heragu received the David F. Baker Distinguished Research Award. This honor celebrates a lifetime of success to a nominee who has paved the way for fellow researchers. In 2022, he received a second award recognizing his dedication to service: the Fred C. Crain Distinguished Service Award. Heragu was also selected as the 2024 IISE Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award winner. This award recognizes Heragu’s considerable contributions through his research, teachings, innovation and administrative leadership. Most recently, he was selected as IISE’s president, beginning in 2025.

Heragu grew up in a small village on the eastern coast of India. As a young man, he was unsure what his future career would be, but he was

“Over the past 76 years, IISE has given many awards, in many categories, to giants in the field,” Heragu said. “To be recognized amongst these giants itself is a huge honor. To be the first to receive the pinnacle awards in education, research and service is something I had never imagined, but I will forever be grateful.”

Heragu said he credits his success to his former students and colleagues.

During his presidency, he will work to continue advancing education and research for industrial and systems engineering students and professionals.

IISE is the reason Heragu learned many vital leadership skills.

“I hope my work and the honors IISE has bestowed upon me inspires my students to become the leaders of tomorrow who will change the world and make it better for humankind by making the systems around us diverse, efficient and sustainable,” Heragu said.

the department head for the School of Industrial Engineering and Management, attaining the esteemed titles of Regents Professor and holder of the John Hendrix Chair and serving as the associate dean of academic affairs for the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology. This collection of accomplishments positions him well for his role as IISE president.

Hu, head of Industrial Engineering and Management, was selected for the 2024 IISE Fellow Award.

This award is limited to 20 senior members each year who have contributed remarkable achievements in their professional careers and the industrial and systems engineering field. She has been an active member of IISE since 2006.

“Getting nominated and selected as an IISE Fellow means a tremendous amount to me personally and professionally,” Hu said. “Being a first-generation, minority college graduate, I hope this achievement can provide inspiration for future leaders in the field.”

Over the past 10 years, Heragu has contributed significantly to OSU, sharpening the minds of CEAT students, fostering global cultural awareness, assuming leadership as

Hu said she contributes her success to the research and educational innovations that lie in the trans- and inter-disciplinary boundary.

She has focused her research on operations and data analytics, concentrating on supply chain design, bioinformatics and health care, renewable energy systems, and sustainable agriculture.

Hu also acknowledges the mentors who have been with her along the way. She expresses extreme gratitude to her family and friends who “provide unconditional love and support me during the high and low points.”

Dr. Guiping Hu

Dr. Sunderesh Heragu

Scoping Out a Partnership

Agreement between OSU, OU brings unique microscopic capabilities to Oklahoma

Oklahoma researchers are about to get a closer look at their work thanks to new technology.

A partnership between Oklahoma State University and the University of Oklahoma has resulted in the first aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope (AC-STEM) to be available to researchers in the state.

Through a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation for a Major Research Instrumentation project, the AC-STEM microscope will be available for researchers at OSU and OU.

Dr. Ritesh Sachan, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture

and Technology, is a co-principal investigator on the project and an expert on aberrationcorrected microscopy.

Sachan’s expertise was a significant factor in the submission to NSF being accepted, as Sachan and the other PIs aimed to increase the microscopic capabilities in Oklahoma.

“One of my areas of expertise is in aberration-corrected microscopy and understanding the material properties at the atomic level,” Sachan said. “This expertise was actually unique and led to Dr. Ritesh Sachan

this unique arrangement happening between OSU and OU as they needed somebody who could provide such knowledge.”

Sachan received an NSF Faculty Early Career Development Program Award in 2023 to research high-entropy alloy nanoparticles. Through the CAREER project, he is fabricating high-entropy materials. He said the microscope will help obtain atomic-resolution data of those materials, which is critical to understanding the properties of the materials being studied.

An atomic-scale image of a CeO₂ (cerium oxide) nanocube captured with an atomic resolution microscope is shown. The atoms of Cerium in the lattice structure are shown without any defect.

The NSF CAREER award means Sachan will receive more than $500,000 over the next five years for his research proposal “Leading to Accelerated Discoveries in High-Throughput Ultrafast Laser-Driven Processing of High Entropy Alloy Nanoparticles.”

Through this research, he studies the arrangement of the atoms and compositions of materials, such as multi-elemental alloys. This type of research could result in developing new materials to be used in industry that are equally effective but consist of cheaper and more plentiful elements.

This is not Sachan’s first involvement in an award for an MRI project from the NSF, as he was also a co-PI with other OSU engineering professors for a $580,000 grant to acquire a physical property measurement system.

The system characterizes new materials being investigated for possible applications in food science, biomaterials and electronics. Various experimental techniques and the automation of the PPMS help researchers interpret the data needed to understand new classes of materials.

The aberration-corrected aspect of this microscope means that aberrations — anomalies that cause an image to become blurred or distorted — are corrected, resulting in a clear picture.

The microscope uses electrons, which appear on all materials, and those electrons can be photographed. Sachan said if the electron beam is aberrated, the image of the material will be obscured.

The microscope, an atomic resolution microscope produced by JEOL USA, can view a material at the atomic level, where a researcher can see all atoms that make up a material and find its defects.

Sachan said microscopy is critical for understanding the properties of materials, and there is a connection between processing and manufacturing and understanding the property of what’s being manufactured.

“If you are manufacturing something, if you don’t know why you’re getting

An image of the type of aberrationcorrected scanning transmission electron microscope purchased through a $2.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation.

certain types of properties, how can you improve them? It’s very critical how microscopy works and how to use that in manufacturing,” Sachan said.

Dr. Sandip Harimkar, department head of the School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Albert H. Nelson Jr. Chair, said the aberrationcorrected scanning transmission electron microscopy facility is a “gamechanging imaging capability for our state.”

“This microscope provides unprecedented resolution to image and identify atoms, enabling new understandings of materials and discoveries across the disciplines,” Harimkar said. “I am particularly excited about Dr. Sachan’s participation as one of the co-principal investigators

on this project. I anticipate broader usage of this facility by our faculty, creating opportunities for exploring new directions and collaborations.”

Dr. Chuck Bunting, associate dean of research and Bellmon Chair, said this microscope will be invaluable to researchers in the pursuit of new discoveries.

“The aberration-corrected scanning transmission electron microscope allows for atomic-level investigation of materials, proving invaluable to OSU engineering faculty and students across various fields of expertise,” Bunting said. “This advanced tool will facilitate the development of new microelectronics, catalysts and alloys, and support machine learning for materials discoveries. Unique in Oklahoma, this microscope can visualize individual atoms, identify elements and perform cuttingedge data-driven analysis.”

Despite being in Norman, Oklahoma, the microscope will be available for OSU researchers. Sachan studied at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee after receiving his doctorate and would travel to Tennessee to research with an AC-STEM microscope. Having this type of microscope in Norman will mean a shorter trip to use it and more opportunities to do so. Sachan said the initial plan will be to train graduate students on how to use the microscope and allow them to perform research.

“Then the idea is to arrange some tours for undergraduate students to see the facility,” Sachan said. “And if they are interested, we will provide them with training there. One of the things that we were promoting was the student training, whether they are from OU or OSU.”

Although the microscope is more geared toward research, Sachan said it can still spark an interest in K-12 students to pursue state-of-the-art research, especially when somebody sees an image of something taken at the atomic resolution level.

“When I show people the images of atoms, it becomes a very curious case, and seeing them is an amazing experience,” Sachan said. “It can make students want to pursue science.”

Class Matters

Lamkin’s inspiring journey to preparing paths in STEM

Dr. Darron Lamkin, or DJ

as he is known by many at Oklahoma State University, has made significant strides in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics community.

This has led to him being one of four from The Boeing OKC to be selected for a prestigious national Black Engineer of the Year Award, Modern Day Technology Leader Award and the NASA Educator of the Year Award.

These honors celebrate individuals who have made remarkable contributions in STEM fields, influencing aviation and aerospace industry, and the broader community.

Lamkin’s venture is a testament to his relentless pursuit of knowledge and excellence. He began his academic career at OSU, earning a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering technology in 2010. His love for learning led him to obtain a master’s degree in industrial engineering and management in 2012, followed by another master’s in entrepreneurship in 2014.

He culminated his educational endeavors with a doctoral degree in learning, design and technology,

focusing on engineering and aviation education and digital STEM career exploration in 2023.

Early inspirations and mentorship

Mentorship played an influential role in Lamkin’s career path.

Through actively seeking guidance, starting with a job shadow initiative at Tinker Air Force Base and then later in leadership roles within the National Society of Black Engineers, the trajectory of his career was drastically changed.

In 2010, alongside Dr. Wayne Jones and Kelan Berry, Lamkin co-founded Class Matters, an ideal way for Lamkin to now become the mentor. This organization was born out of a shared vision to create opportunities for underrepresented groups in STEM, guiding students from pre-college through post-secondary education and into STEM careers.

“Since inception, Class Matters has conducted STEM engagement with 1,769 under-represented youth from Title 1 middle and high schools

without after-school STEM programs. Considering that, 1 out of 7 participants have been transitioning into STEM college students or working STEM professionals annually since 2010,” Lamkin said.

“Approximately 14.3% of the 1,769 participants have pursued STEM careers at companies like Google, Dell, The Boeing Company, Paycom, Tinker Air Force Base, and John Deere, just to name a few companies. Such data could be useful for forecasting future trends, designing targeted educational programs, or addressing the demand for STEM professionals in the workforce.”

Professional achievements

Currently, Lamkin is a product data management engineer at Boeing, focusing on the B-52 aircraft.

He maintains the software baseline, ensuring engineers can continuously build upon existing programs.

Lamkin’s dual degrees in mechanical engineering technology and industrial engineering management are crucial in his daily interactions with engineers, business and quality

Previous and current students representing 12 years of Class Matters history.

teams. He excels in troubleshooting and configuring software while balancing his career, family and passion to provide STEM opportunities for students.

Lamkin’s contributions have not gone unnoticed. He has received numerous academic, community and professional awards.

“I attribute my success to community partners, university and community colleges collaboration, and Kirkpatrick and OG&E foundation donations, along with shared visions with parents and guardians, which have helped guide my decisions along the way,” Lamkin said.

Mentoring the next generation

Mary Tran, STEM teaching manager for CEAT K-12 STEM, praises Lamkin for his dedication to empowering students.

“He wants students to know there are choices beyond what they have been conditioned to know,” she said.

His nonprofit, Class Matters, offers weekly meetings where students can enhance their engineering and life skills through collaboration and problem-solving.

“He uses his own story to encourage the students to create their own goals and construct processes to help achieve their goals. He is an amazing human being with a heart for students,” Tran said.

Dr. Jovette Dew, director of K-12 STEM programs at CEAT, recalls Lamkin’s helpful nature during his student days.

“Now, to see this translated into Class Matters is truly remarkable,” Dew said. “Again, he is helping people reach their full potential. He is kind and giving. He knows how to reach a community of learners that we may not have had access to. He is a great alum who also draws other alums to give back to OSU.”

One of Class Matters’ notable initiatives is the “STEM Like Me” event, which provides students in the OKC area with opportunities to meet STEM professionals, learn about career paths and engage in hands-on activities like drone building.

Dew emphasizes the program’s impact: “It shows STEM is for everybody and that there are engineers who look like them.”

A lasting legacy

Lamkin’s contributions to the CEAT K-12 STEM program have been an asset to their success with a Department of Defense grant.

From a curious student to an influential leader in STEM, Lamkin exemplifies the power of education, mentorship and community involvement.

“It is because of Dr. Lamkin that we get to come together as engineering alumni and help the next generation of engineers,” Dew said.

Dr. Darron Lamkin and students at a recent Class Matters banquet.

STORY TANNER HOLUBAR | PHOTOS KRISTI WHEELER AND DR. DEB MISHRA

OSU leading the creation of National Center for Sustainable Construction Materials

“[We] will be working together throughout the project’s duration to ensure the center functions as expected and we accomplish all the project objectives, establishing OSU as a national leader in this field.”

Dr. Deb Mishra

The carbon footprint of human activities has received a tremendous amount of attention recently.

Global environmental issues have resulted in increased efforts to mitigate the amount of greenhouse gases being produced daily.

The U.S. government has prioritized reducing the embodied carbon of construction materials. Through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Bill, $160 million has been made available by the Environmental Protection Agency for national grants for efforts to reduce climate pollution.

Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology is embarking on a fiveyear project to lead the creation of the National Center for Sustainable Construction Materials.

OSU was selected for a $10 million grant from the EPA to partner with 10 other universities and the National Asphalt Pavement Association in promoting the use of low-carbon construction materials.

It is the largest grant that the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering has received in over a decade.

Dr. Deb Mishra, associate professor in CIVE, is the principal investigator and will serve as the center’s director. Mishra will oversee all administrative tasks of the center and will lead technical aspects of the project, focusing on asphalt materials.

The center aims to encourage construction material producers to generate Environmental Product Declarations, quantifying the materials’ environmental impacts. An EPD is a standardized document that details the environmental impact of a declared unit of a material. It is usually the output of a Life Cycle Assessment study that has been carried out on the material and currently focuses on the environmental impacts associated with raw material acquisition, transportation and production phases of a material.

“The objective behind this initiative is to ultimately establish a practice where the environmental impact of products is considered during procurement processes,” Mishra said. “However, if EPDs are to be considered as criteria during the procurement process, it is imperative that they are created using consistent methods that are transparent and are based on robust/reliable data.”

Interdisciplinary collaboration

The National Center for Sustainable Construction Materials will be a team effort between multiple departments in CEAT.

Dr. Tyler Ley, regents professor in CIVE, will be the deputy director and assist with administrative tasks and lead technical aspects related to concrete materials.

Dr. Mohamed Soliman, associate professor and Decker Dawson Chair in CIVE and director of the Bert Cooper Civil Engineering Laboratory, will oversee technical aspects related to structural steel.

Dr. Scott Frazier, associate professor in the School of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, will coordinate all outreach and training activities undertaken in the region by OSU for this project.

“The four of us worked very closely to develop this proposal and will be working together throughout the project’s duration to ensure the center functions as expected and we accomplish all the project objectives, establishing OSU as a national leader in this field,” Mishra said.

A postdoctoral research associate with a sustainability and life cycle analysis background will be recruited for day-to-day center management. There will be a dedicated space within CEAT where center staff will be located.

A national standard

The consortium for the center’s creation is made up of experts in construction materials, namely asphalt, concrete and structural steel.

The center’s objective is to encourage construction material producers to generate EPDs, and for state and local agencies to incorporate EPDs into their material selection and procurement processes.

Partners include the University of New Hampshire; University of North Carolina-Charlotte; Auburn University; University of Illinois UrbanaChampaign; Langston University; University of Nevada-Reno; Oregon State University; University of Washington; University of Puerto Rico; and the University of Hawaii.

The partner universities’ locations give the project coverage over the entire country, with each university having strong ties to departments of transportation in their respective states and regions.

It will be impactful having each university work within its region to promote LCCMs, as each institution has strong connections to regional and state departments of transportation.

“In today’s day and age, a lot can be done through Teams and Zoom calls,” Mishra said. “However, a ‘boots on the ground’ approach is

significantly more advantageous when we are trying to focus on something that requires a cultural change.”

The encouragement of EPDs for these types of construction materials will be done through education, creation of design tools, conversations with stakeholders and providing incentives to lower costs and risks in the industry to foster the necessary change for the EPDs to be adopted.

“The objective is to generate tools and educational materials that can be disseminated to stakeholders in each state for the different materials,” Mishra said.

There are no researchers currently involved with the project focusing on glass. The team may connect with glass researchers during the project to include them in the center’s scope.

“Our objective is to establish our center as a one-stop-shop for stakeholders in the construction materials industry and provide them with the necessary help so that they can take sustainability into consideration in their respective production practices,” Mishra said.

Dr. Tyler Ley

Dr. Scott Frazier

Dr. Mohamed Soliman

Providing training

Each university will serve as a Center of Excellence for EPDs, working with material producers, contractors, DOTs and other stakeholders to promote the use of EPDs.

All center activities will be headquartered at OSU, and educational materials and design tools will be created by all partnering universities. Eight universities will do so for asphalt, four universities will focus on concrete and OSU will focus on all three materials (asphalt, concrete and structural steel).

All universities will promote LCCMs in their respective regions, even if an individual university may focus on only technical aspects related to one material.

“What we are trying to accomplish through these projects and the generic field of low-carbon construction materials marks a change in the thinking and decision-making process,” Mishra said. “When you think of a typical engineering procurement process, the traditional approach has been to focus on function, safety and cost. What is now being proposed is that we should include the ‘sustainability’ leg into the material selection and procurement process.”

An advisory board will be established with representatives from each university, National Asphalt Paving Association, National Ready Mix Concrete Association, American Institute of Steel Construction and representatives from state DOTs.

The center will look to establish a program for EPD assistance grants for construction materials producers

to help offset the cost of collecting data and verification of EPDs and associated LCAs. Funds would only be provided to those who complete required training modules and adopt low-carbon materials.

A repository/website will be set up to store all EPDs generated through the project. This website will also house all training materials, instructional videos, and design tools created by the center and will be freely accessible worldwide. It will be shared and cross-listed with as many other publicly available databases as possible.

A key to generating more EPDs is training workers in the construction industry, as it will require a change in practices by each part of a construction team. If each construction crew member understands the benefit of low-carbon materials, it is a more wellrounded approach than just alerting manufacturers of the benefits of LCCMs. Implementing a widespread use of EPDs will take time and practice.

OSU will host annual workshops where national organizations will train representatives from all universities and partners involved in this research to discuss training that can be used nationwide.

Training materials and activities will then be created to educate stakeholders, and activities will be designed to engage K-12 students in summer camps on the importance of low-carbon construction materials.

The goal is to host 10 summer camps per year for K-12 teachers

and students, with Dr. Jovette Dew, director of outreach programs for CEAT, coordinating the camps.

Langston University will help establish internship opportunities for students from underrepresented groups as well as help recruit students for graduate and undergraduate research positions.

To showcase the importance of low-carbon materials to producers, design tools will be created for asphalt and concrete to meet economic, performance and sustainability goals. Performance-based testing on these low-carbon materials will take place when materials are produced and checked for quality control.

More EPDs on asphalt, concrete, structural steel, and mixed additives are among the project’s overall goals. EPDs vary across the industry, by state and across the country, so facilitating a standard for them is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions using low-carbon construction materials.

Having a consortium made up of some of the world’s leading experts in their field is a significant strength of the project.

“We did not just pick universities to represent a geographically diverse population,” Mishra said. “We worked with faculty members who are internationally recognized for their work in construction materials. We strongly believe our team’s composition is our main strength as we undertake this exciting project.”

Pipe Dream

CEAT professors research development of AI virtual assistant to aid municipalities

Amunicipality’s ability to manage its sewer assets can be wrought with challenges, such as repairs not happening until things break or difficulties repairing infrastructure. Issues also include a lack of computerized data or a siloed asset data management approach.

Two College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology professors at Oklahoma State University are working to help alleviate these challenges as part of a two-year study.

Dr. Yongwei Shan, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Dr. Weihua Sheng, a professor of electrical and computer engineering, are working on an addition to a sewer system data management platform that was first created in 2023.

The platform utilizes a geographic information system (GIS) and a relational database as its backbone, allowing users to access the location, design information, current and historical conditions, and work orders of all sewer assets in a municipality.

The platform has been in the hands of the City of Stillwater for testing, and the professors are working to add a virtual, artificial intelligence assistant to it that will help improve the process used by cities to monitor sewer assets.

Shan said in 2018, he and other researchers worked on a National Science Foundation Innovation Corps project to explore what is needed for sewer asset management.

“We were tasked with interviewing those municipalities, contractors and

engineering firms to see what is needed in this industry,” Shan said. “Then, we later found out that for the majority of municipalities, they don’t really have a good data management tool for the sewer infrastructure to help them make data-driven asset management decisions.”

Shan said his inspiration for pursuing this research was that wastewater infrastructure in the U.S. was given a D+ rating in the 2021 American Society of Civil Engineers America’s Infrastructure Report Card. He said reactive asset management, meaning things are fixed when they break, is common, which can be due to a lack of accessible data or data potentially not being accessible to all members of an organization.

This photo shows the hours of a sewer management staff after the information was asked for by a person to an artificial intelligence assistant designed to aid cities with the management of sewer assets.

Dr. Yongwei Shan

Dr. Weihua Sheng

a

to show the distribution of sewer pipe materials.

The data management tool was created through Cowboy Technologies with a startup company called InfraTie Solutions, co-founded by Shan and Hossein Khaleghian, a former Ph.D. student of his and currently the chief research engineer for InfraTie. The company was created to commercialize OSU’s intellectual property. Cowboy Technologies is a shareholder in InfraTie Solutions, as they gave preseed money to help the company develop its prototype tool. The company and OSU have signed an Option for Exclusive License Agreement.

Once the virtual assistant is developed, it will also be tested by workers in the City of Stillwater’s waste department.

The virtual assistant will help tie all the information from the GIS of a city’s infrastructure and could allow quicker access to the information for workers such as city engineers and crews in the field on the same platform.

Through Large Language Models, the AI assistant is trained to better understand how humans naturally communicate. This allows users of the platform to ask the virtual assistant a question, via voice or text, and it will respond appropriately.

“We are developing a companion robot which can talk to people in their natural language,” Sheng said. “Dr. Shan approached me and wanted to make this sewer asset management system more human-friendly. Maybe it’s like a tablet or a smartphone, so the crew onsite can just talk to it and get the information they need.”

The LLMs will be used for two purposes: the first is to correct human voice recognition errors, and the second is to be able to query information. An extensive database is required to query the data, and LLMs help map the natural language query the user asks through an SQL (standard structured query language) query.

The research project has two phases. The first phase is to use the LLMs to train the AI algorithms to accurately understand human interaction queries that will create SQL.

The second phase is to create the user interface and integrate those AI elements into the data management tool. Once the City of Stillwater tests the tool, it will then be fine-tuned based on those findings.

Shan said the goal of creating the virtual assistant is to help a city “get the information quicker so that it can save them time.”

The platform can provide a better overall picture of sewer system conditions as well as different information on a specific asset to help municipalities make a more informed decision, Shan said. The platform that the City of Stillwater has used allows workers to monitor the status of a specific sewer system asset and make proper maintenance or repairs when needed instead of fixing something after it breaks.

Sheng and Shan will have a team of OSU engineering students working on this project, including a Ph.D. student, to help develop the virtual assistant and plan to get undergraduate students involved to train on LLMs and AI.

“I think this is a good opportunity for students to get involved in AI research,” Sheng said.

Shan noted this type of research can motivate him to spend as much time in the lab as possible developing something that will aid cities in such an important area of infrastructure asset management.

“This is applied research, and I think what we are proud of is we are able to take the things that we’re creating in our research lab and bring it to the practical field,” Shan said.

This photo shows

map of sewer assets in Stillwater on a platform designed through InfraTie Solutions. The AI assistant created for this platform can be asked a question and then respond with the correct information or answer. The photo shows the map as seen in the platform, as well as an example of the AI assistant being asked

Unveiling the Power Beneath

Mileva Radonjic secures grant for groundbreaking geothermal energy project

In an endeavor to enhance the power of renewable energy, Dr. Mileva Radonjic, professor and Samson Investment Chair in Petroleum Engineering, has secured over $3 million in funding for a research project from the Utah FORGE project.

This significant three-year subrecipient award from the University of Utah is part of a Department of Energy initiative to enhance fracture conductivity in enhanced geothermal systems.

Radonjic’s research team includes esteemed colleagues: Dr. Christine EhligEconomides and Dr. Jeffrey Rimer from the University of Houston, Dr. Jonny Rutqvist from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Dr. Andrew Bunger from the University of Pittsburgh, and Dr. Hunjoo Lee, who joins Radonjic from Oklahoma State University.

Together, they are working to develop a way to optimize geothermal energy extraction by addressing a critical component of the process: maintaining

fracture conductivity to ensure efficient heat transfer and fluid flow.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS

Geothermal energy harnesses the Earth’s internal heat, circulating large volumes of water or supercritical CO2 (scCO2 ) through fractures in hot, dry rocks deep beneath the surface.

The water, initially cool, absorbs heat from these rocks, becoming hot enough to generate electricity upon its return to the surface. Central to this process is the placement of granular material, known as proppant, which keeps the fractures open, allowing continuous fluid flow and heat transfer.

Dr. Mileva Radonjic

temperatures, stress and corrosive environments — that deteriorate proppant materials over time. This project aims to develop more resilient proppants to enhance the longevity and efficiency of geothermal systems.

INNOVATIVE MATERIALS: THE KEY TO SUCCESS

Inspired by recent advances in materials science, the team is exploring the use of graphene coatings to improve proppant performance.

However, geothermal reservoirs present harsh conditions — high

Graphene’s unique properties can alter surface chemistry, significantly enhancing material durability. This innovative approach stems from Radonjic’s previous research with graphene nanoplatelets, showcasing the transformative potential of advanced materials in geothermal applications.

A glowing golden line symbolizes the immense geothermal power beneath the Earth’s surface. STORY DESA

GLOBAL IMPACT AND COMMUNITY BENEFITS

The implications of this research are far-reaching. By unlocking the full potential of geothermal energy, communities can access a stable, renewable energy source for heating and electricity.

Homeowners could see reduced energy bills through geothermal heat pumps, while entire regions might harness geothermal power for large-scale electricity generation.

Ehlig-Economides emphasizes the societal importance of this work.

“Geothermal offers an abundant amount of renewable energy that can be used for heating and electricity generation,” she said.

Bunger also discussed the critical need for this research.

“It is, therefore, of the utmost importance to society to unlock this resource,” he said.

NURTURING FUTURE EXPERTS

Beyond technological advancements, the project also prioritizes workforce development.

Each team member teaches courses specific to geothermal energy, preparing the next generation of professionals to contribute to the energy transition.

Radonjic highlights the interdisciplinary nature of their work.

“To investigate complex subsurface phenomena, it is critical to form diverse interdisciplinary teams from multiple institutions, bringing extensive theoretical, laboratory and field experience,” she said.

“This project brings together a great research team that amplifies our individual capabilities many times over. In addition, Utah FORGE provides an unmatched platform for exchange of data, samples and knowledge, from which we will benefit initially and hopefully contribute as the project progresses.”

A LEADER IN ENERGY RESEARCH

Radonjic’s journey from Serbia to the United States through England exemplifies her resilience and dedication.

With a Ph.D. and postdoctoral research from Bristol University and Princeton University, respectively, she has a rich background in both academic and industry settings. Her work with

Low to high magnification SEM images of sand used as proppant.

Right: Low to high magnification SEM images of sand coated with graphene. This image shows how well graphene platelets are attached to the sand grains and how they modify rough surface to smooth less reactive and easier to transport particles.

organizations like the Federation of American Scientists and BP America has shaped her energy and environmental research expertise.

Since joining OSU in 2018, Radonjic has led numerous projects focusing on the environmental aspects of the energy industry, including wellbore integrity and greenhouse gas mitigation.

Her commitment to representing historically underrepresented groups further underscores her holistic approach to research and education.

LOOKING AHEAD

Radonjic and her team are not only advancing geothermal technology but also paving the way for a sustainable energy future.

Their work promises to significantly benefit local communities and contribute to global renewable energy solutions.

Through innovative research and a commitment to excellence, Radonjic and her team are illuminating the path toward a cleaner, more sustainable world.

“Working with Planet Earth and Mother Nature is always a better solution than going against them, as it helps us sustain life, manage resources and secure a brighter future for new generations,” Radonjic said.

Left:

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

2023 Hall of Fame

DJ.

Stephen Ford

Architectural Engineering

Melvin R. Lohmann Medal

r. J. Stephen Ford attended Oklahoma State University from 1965-70, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in architectural engineering.

Ford’s parents, Dick and D.H., were also OSU graduates. They brought him and his brothers to OSU’s Homecoming as children. Those early experiences led him to an expectation and understanding that he would attend OSU. Ford and his wife, Jane, carried on the same tradition with their two girls, Jenn Grellner and Lisa Buss, who both attended OSU.

Ford’s undergraduate career pivoted significantly after his freshman year. Ford’s father introduced him to a friend and the owner of a structural engineering consulting firm in Lawton, Oklahoma. Ford worked there each summer and during school breaks. This experience not only led him to meet Jane, but also fully funded his OSU studies and sparked his passion for structural engineering.

The most important lesson Ford learned at OSU happened during failure. Ford worked for OSU’s Dr. Louis Bass in his consulting office and was responsible for writing a computer program to generate loads for a complex dome structure. The program contained an error in one of the load cases and cost $800 (equates to about $6,500 in 2023) to correct.

“I still remember how kind and non-judgmental Professor Bass was when we

determined what was wrong,” Ford said. “I’ve tried to remember that and emulate it when well-intentioned people have made an error.”

Upon graduation, Ford attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he obtained both a Master of Science and doctoral degree in civil engineering. He was active in researching the largest assemblage of concrete beams and columns at the Balcones Research Center. His research resulted in implemented changes to the American Concrete Institute Building Code.

Ford was recognized as a Distinguished Alumni of the University of Texas Civil, Architecture and Environmental Engineering Academy. In 2020, he was recognized by The Journal Record in construction and real estate.

Ford became a faculty member at the University of Oklahoma School of Civil and Environmental Engineering (1976-78), then worked at a large structural consulting firm in Dallas until 1980.

At OSU, Ford crossed paths with Bob Zahl, sparking a friendship-turned-business partnership that has endured for more than 55 years. Zahl-Ford Structural Consultants was born in 1980. That partnership is now known as ZFI Engineering. The firm’s work lies primarily in the design of structural systems for new/renovated buildings and in structural assessments/investigations.

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

2023 Hall of Fame

DDuane Mass

Architecture

uane Mass founded his architecture firm, Mass Architecture, with a determination to provide customer service and attention to detail. His passion for the built environment remains as palpable today as when he started his firm over 20 years ago.

Mass was raised in Hartshorne, Oklahoma, on a family ranch. The community was settled at the end of the 19th century by Italian and other immigrant groups. Mass called his hometown “the most atypical Oklahoma small town.”

Mass graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in architecture in 1989. Much of his time was spent in the architecture studio working, learning and mastering his craft. Upon graduation, he received the Alpha Rho Chi Medal for Merit in Architecture.

His professional career began in Tulsa where he completed a large corporate project. He then moved to a firm in Oklahoma City, where he honed his expertise in educational and medical design and served on a community level. Later, he completed international and multimillion-dollar projects at a third firm. Here, he discovered his passion for historic preservation and restoration.

In 2012, Mass designed the Oklahoma County Health Department’s new 54-acre public health campus, which was featured in The New York Times. He then prepared a

disaster and pandemic plan for Oklahoma that subsequently became the national model. Mass extensively offers his professional service to charitable foundations and other institutions within Oklahoma. He not only designs the facilities but also helps the organization fundraise to build them.

Mass led the initiative with Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry to restore the State Capitol. The restoration began in 2014 and was completed in 2023.

The American Subcontractors Association named Mass the 2013 Architect of the Year. Today, Mass serves on the OSU School of Architecture Advisory Board. He enjoys staying connected and relishes the fact that today’s generation is working just as hard as he did for the degree. Mass and his wife, Robin Troy, created and funded a scholarship endowment assisting nontraditional students who wish to study architecture abroad.

“Students at CEAT should understand that it is our mission to serve,” Mass advised to all students. “What you build or create will serve for the betterment of all of us or it is not worth doing.”

Mass and Robin met at the Eskimo Joe’s Beer Garden on Feb. 4, 1988. They went on to have one son and two daughters: Frank and Jessica both graduated from OSU, and Rachel graduated from the University of Arkansas.

Oklahoma State University

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

2023 Hall of Fame

GCraig Stunkel Electrical

Engineering

rowing up in Stillwater allowed Dr. Craig Stunkel to be immersed in the Cowboy Culture before becoming a student.

He loves the relationship Oklahoma State University has with the community. Stunkel walked onto the men’s basketball team during his freshman year, later earned a scholarship, and played throughout his undergraduate years. He was also a member of Sigma Nu Fraternity.

Stunkel graduated from OSU with a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in 1982 and a master’s degree in 1983. Upon receiving his master’s degree, Stunkel accepted a job with IBM and moved to Rochester, Minnesota. He spent three years designing IBM System/38 computers before making the decision to continue his education.

Stunkel and his wife, Susan, moved to Illinois in 1986 so he could attend the University of Illinois doctoral program.

“Susan and I often say, ‘If we had understood all the things that can go wrong on the road to a Ph.D., would we have had the courage to pursue it?”’ Stunkel said. “But it really worked out well in our case.”

Stunkel began a 30-year career of avid leadership with IBM Research in 1990, serving in multiple roles, including technical leader, executive advisor, different levels of management and mentoring. His

work on interconnects (a key part of any supercomputer system) contributed to, and was essential to, the development of multiple high-performance computing systems, which have been installed at the U.S. Department of Energy Labs, the U.S. Department of Defense, other U.S. government agencies and worldwide.

With Stunkel’s contributions, IBM has ranked first in the computing industry’s Top 500 list for performance of supercomputers. Stunkel received four “Outstanding Technical Achievement” awards in three different areas: contributions to Blue Gene/P, Federation Switch and SP Communications Subsystems. In 2020, Stunkel retired from IBM and joined NVIDIA. While Stunkel cannot share his contributions at NVIDIA, he stated that he continues to focus on creating the highestperforming networks in the world. Stunkel has 19 U.S. patents, 56 papers and three books/ journal issues to date. He is recognized as a world-class expert in the interconnect area. Stunkel’s passion lies in computer design and high-speed internet; however, this does not take away from his continued love for basketball and his family. Stunkel and Susan have two kids, Leanne and Kevin, and three grandchildren.

2003

2000

2000 Jim W. Bruza

2000 Charles O. Heller *

1999 Ronald L. Calsing

1999 John C. Mihm

1999 Heinz W. Schmit *

1998 Ronald D. Wickens

1998 John E. Hershey *

1997 J. N. Reddy *

1997 H. E. Cobb Jr.

1997 Donald L. Wickens

1996 R. Gerald Bennett

2023 Hall of Fame

1996 Marvin M. Johnson

1996 Jerry D. Homes *

1995 Ted E. Davis

1995 D. Ray Booker *

1995 Charles L. Hardt

1994 Kerry S. Havner *

1994 Donald R. Lehman

1993 Kenneth J. Richards

1993 Keith E. Bailey

Alyssa Schilling Warner Chemical Engineering

Alyssa Schilling Warner earned a Bachelor of Science in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University’s College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology program in 2002.

Schilling Warner was a Kappa Alpha Theta sorority member, an OSU Top 10 Freshman Woman, the top CEAT graduate and Top Female Graduate of OSU in 2002. She co-founded and led the CEAT Freshman Council, was active in AIChE, president of Omicron Delta Kappa and executive director of the Big Event, now known as Into the Streets.

Schilling Warner then began what would be a 20-year career with ExxonMobil. When she had the chance to take a new role, she jumped at it, though it involved moving her family, including her young daughters, around the world because of the amazing technical opportunity. She spent the last four years of her career in Papua New Guinea. Her highest-profile role was as an asset manager where she was the operations manager for an 8.3MTPA liquid natural gas plant.

Schilling Warner grew up in Follett, Texas, and then Shattuck, Oklahoma. From an early age, she was taught key life skills: hard work, family, community and service. Shortly after graduating, she began funding a President’s Distinguished Scholarship to benefit students from rural areas studying engineering. She

1993 Jack P. Holman *

1992 Wolter J. Fabrycky *

1992 W. Wayne Allen

1992 Robert M. Lawrence

1991 Jim E. Shamas

1991 J. Tinsley Oden *

1991 David J. Tippeconnic

1989 Wilfred P. Schmoe

1989 Neal A. McCaleb

1988 Robert M. Penn

1988 Choong-Shik Cho

1987 Raymond A. Porter

1987 James D. Cobb

1986 Martin E. Fate Jr.

1986 James E. Barnes

1985 Frank A. McPherson

1984 Glenn E. Penisten

1984 Edward C. Joullian III

wanted everyone to have the opportunities she had at OSU and was willing to support them financially. She also served as a recruiter for ExxonMobil at OSU, seeking out the best students to join the company.

Schilling Warner was highly respected by the workforce in PNG as she was invested in their growth and success. Female engineers looked up to her as a role model and referred to her as “Boss Meri” or “Girl Boss” in their native language.

In 2013, Schilling Warner married Jeff Warner and soon had two daughters, Audra (2015) and Laurel (2019). Her goal was to set an example for how to be a strong, smart and loving woman for her daughters to look up to.

Schilling Warner passed away on March 16, 2023, at the age of 44. She made a significant impact on many during her life and will continue to do so through her legacy and the lives she influenced. She was everything a leader should be and an inspiration to all.

1983 George H. Lawrence

1983 Bill N. Lacy

1982 Holmes H. McClure

1982 Floyd M. Bartlett

1981 William J. Collins Jr.

1980 John B. Jones Jr.

1979 Nicholas B. Marvis

1979 John L. Hatheway

1979 Eason H. Leonard

College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Oklahoma

2023 Hall of Fame

1978 Sidney E. Scisson

1977 John S. Zink

1976 James C. Phelps

1976 Fred H. Ramseur Jr.

1976 Donald E. Adams

1975 James J. Kelly

1975 Gus L. Maciula

1974 Carl G. Herrington

1973 David B. Benham

CCara Cowan Watts

Biosystems Engineering

ara Cowan Watts obtained a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from Oklahoma State University Stillwater in 1997 and a Master of Science in telecommunications management from OSU-Tulsa in 2002.

Before returning to OSU for her doctorate in biosystems engineering, Cowan Watts worked at Hewlett-Packard in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in manufacturing, then Williams Communications in Tulsa in telecommunications. She received her Doctorate in Biosystems Engineering in 2015.

Cowan Watts’ husband, Doug Watts, created Tulsa Pier Drilling in 1998. She married Doug in 2005. Cowan Watts oversees drilling services, a team of almost 18 fulltime and part-time employees, a fleet of commercial trucks and drill rigs, bidding, legal negotiations, human resources needs, and much more for their privately-owned business. TPD has been under her leadership since 2016.

Cowan Watts is a Louis Stokes National Science Foundation Fellow and former twice-elected member of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Board of Directors. From 2017-21, she served as president of the Oklahoma Professional Chapter. In 2018, Cowan Watts facilitated an agreement between OSU and AISES to bring the National American Indian Science and Engineering Fair to OSU. In

1972 Richard O. Newman

1971 Ralph M. Ball

1970 Veldo H. Brewer

1969 Melvin A. Ellsworth

1968 David G. Murray

1967 Eugene L. Miller

1966 Edwin G. Malzahn

1965 Myron A. Wright

1964 William W. Caudill

2020, she was awarded the highest AISES lifetime achievement award — the Ely S. Parker Award — recognizing Native American leaders who most clearly embody AISES’ mission and goals through their achievements and contributions to science, technology, engineering and math.

Cowan Watts remains heavily involved in OSU. Since 2019, she has served on the OSU Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering’s advisory board, including acting chair. She joined the OSU College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology Strategic Advisory Council in July 2021.

Cowan Watts is committed to improving her community through both STEM education and beef production. From 2003-15, she served three consecutive terms as a Cherokee Nation Tribal Councilor for portions of Tulsa and Rogers counties in Oklahoma. She currently is serving her third term on the counties’ USDA Farm Service Agency Committee. Her goal is to drive public policy and ensure the next generation of farmers and ranchers can feed America.

1963 B. Harris Bateman

1962 Don McBride

1961 Lloyd E. Elkins

1960 Morrison B. Cunningham

1959 Francis J. Wilson

1958 Guy H. James

1957 Thomas M. Lumly Jr.

1956 Richard K. Lane

1955 Gerald W. McCullough

1954 Laurence L. Dresser

2023

LOYAL AND TRUE OF CEAT DONORS

Debbie & Charlie Adams CHE

Judith Allen

Rebecca & Joe Alvarez CIVE

Whitney & Caleb Bates ENGR TECH

Suzanne & Mohd Bilbeisi ARCH, ARCH

Donna & Shay Braun IEM

Kari & Gene Brown ARCH

Mallory & Price Buckley ARCH, MAE

Vickie & Ed Cannon ECEN

Cecil Culver CHE

Delores & Jerry Etter MAE

Ronda & Gordon Eubanks ECEN

Susan & Dan Evans

Amy & Jeffery Ferguson MAE

Tony Formby CHE

Christie & Ronald Gantz CHE

Janet & Brad Gaskins

Charlotte & Gordy Guest

Mickey & Tim Haddican ENGR TECH

Roger Harrod ENGR TECH

Virginia & Jim Hart ARCH

Belinda & Jim Hasenbeck ARCH

Dena & Ken Hirshey

Denay & Dwayne Huddleston ENGR TECH, IEM

Dianne & Chris Humes MAE

Barbara & Bill Johnson ENGR TECH

Myra & George Kaiser

Linda & Larry Kester ARCH

Annabelle & Kim Kimball ECEN

Valda & Randy Kreie ARCH

Betty Kron

Cindy & Tim Lang

Patti & Bill Lundeen ARCH

Charlotte & Keith Montgomery CHE

Ann & Bill Oglesby CHE

Jim Penn CIVE

Gene & Robin Purdie-Smith

Isabella & Charles Reimer ECEN

Carla Rickerd

Janet & Tony Sam ENGR TECH

Terry Seltzer ENGR TECH

Jane & Michael Sigmon ECEN

Mindy & Bill Silk ARCH

Harold Smith MAE

Judy Thurman

Misty & Brad Thurman ARCH

Jane & Bill Travis MAE

James Turner ARCH

Brian & Johnda Tuttle

Sharon & Alan Voskuhl MAE

Janet & Troy Weiss CHE, CHE

Wolf & Sandy Yeigh IEM

Jamie & Darton Zink

AAON Inc

AISC Education Foundation

Alpha Consulting Engineers Inc

American General Life Insurance

Company

American Institute of Steel

Construction

B&B Concrete of Kansas

Baker Hughes Foundation

CEC

Chevron Corporation

Chevron Phillips Chemical Company LP

ConocoPhillips

CyberGrants LLC

DCP Midstream LP

ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil Foundation

GE Grid Solutions LLC

Google

Interlocking Concrete Pavement

Institute Foundation

Lehigh Hanson

Leonard J. Paleck Jr. Revocable Trust

Louis H. Whitehair Revocable Trust

Martin Family Foundation

McMahon Foundation

NextStream

Niagara Bottling LLC

ONEOK

ONEOK Foundation

OSU Civil & Environmental Engineering Advisory Board

Phillips 66

Raytheon Company

Rockwell International

Seismograph Service Corporation

T. Boone Pickens Foundation

Talcott Resolution

Tides Foundation/Google

Tulsa Innovation Labs LLC

Verily Life Sciences LLC

Wallace Design Collective PC

White Engineering Associates Inc.

Williams

Paige Anderson

Bob Blair CHE

Kathy & Larry Blake CHE

Julie & Anthony Blatt ARCH, CHE

Judy & John Brown CIVE

Lora & Neal Buck IEM

Renee & Jerry Conduff ARCH,

ARCH

Sue Fender

Carolyn & H. Earl Glimp ECEN

Susan & Jack Goertz IEM

Kelly & Carey Harris CIVE

Bari & Kent Hatheway MAE

Joan Hwang

William Kerber

Fish & Thom Maciula

Toni Melton

Huan Nguyen ECEN

Shirley Pappe

Karen & Joe Plummer CHE

Mary & Don Pruitt MAE

Kevin Snowden ARCH

Craig & Susan Stunkel ECEN

Sarah Timberlake

Marcia Tuttle

Sherri Voelkel

Carol White

Lynne & Jim Williams MAE

Kerri & Gary Wilson CHE

Mary & Brent Wooten CIVE

Stacie & Derek Wrobbel IEM, ECEN

BJ Services Co.

CEAT Student Council

Charles B. Goddard Foundation

Chickasaw Nation

Global Gaming Solutions LLC

Hughes Aircraft Company

MEGASLAB

National Fire Protection Association

Pella of Oklahoma

Pratt & Whitney

Pulse Communications Inc.

Raytheon Wireless Solutions

Timberlake Construction Inc.

United Technologies

Diann & Greg Adams ENGR TECH

Judy & Gary Allen ENGR TECH

Rhona & Walter Allen MAE

Arvind & Hema Amin MAE

Dean Anderson

Keith Angier

Elsa & Syam Antony IEM

Kevin Bailey ENGR TECH

Jim Barnette ECEN

Maureen & Ken Barrett MAE

Carolyn & Mike Bartlett IEM

Saundra & Buddy Bayer CIVE

Otto Behunin IEM

Lowell & Jodie Black ENGR TECH

Melanie & Dan Blakely ENGR TECH

Lauren & Ed Bond

Brady Born

Suzanne & Dallas Branch ARCH, ARCH

Shirley & Arthur Breipohl

Mark & Beth Brewer ECEN

Laura & Blaine Bunch ECEN

Richard Bush IEM

Anthony Byers MAE

Mabel & Paul Caldwell MAE

Billie & Frank Chambers

Sue & Frank Champion

Hong-Ju & Pei Chang CHE

Shannon & Stan Clark

Sam & Rita Combs IEM

Ashley & Ardist Conner

CHE

Bill Cook ECEN

Janell & Ken Cooper MAE

Lerri & Rick Cooper

Terri Cooper

Kathy & Ken Corbin ARCH

Carol & Jack Corgan

Berlyn Cota

Jim Cox MAE

Michael Crowley

Cynthia & Matthew

Cullum MAE

Sharon & Mike Damore

ARCH

Joan & Tom Davidson

ECEN

Susan & Joe Davis CIVE, CIVE

B. J. & Cary DeHart ENGR

TECH

Julie & Weston DeHart

ENGR TECH

Norb & Lynn Delatte

Erin & Chris DeMoss ENGR

TECH

Beth & David Denker MAE, MAE

Lee Ann & Mark Dickerson

CHE

Aubree Diebolt ARCH

Pat & Leo Dooley

Mike & Anita Dossey CHE

Lindi & Blaine Douglas

ENGR TECH

Liz & Brad Dunbar ENGR

TECH

Brian Eckhart

Karen & Franklin Eckhart

MAE

Kevin Eckhart

Scot Eckhart

Jeanette & Rand Elliott

ARCH

Laura & David Eudey MAE

Ming & Gerard

Fehrenbach

Joe Fehring CIVE

Howard Flanders CIVE

Stephen & Jane Ford

ARCH

Linda Foster

Jacque Fowler

Sandy & Darrel Fry MAE

Barney Ghiglieri CHE

Ian Giese IEM

Briar & Patrick Glenn

ARCH, ARCH

J.O. Graham ARCH

April & Bill Graif ENGR

TECH

Kim & Al Griggs MAE

JJ & Craig Grilliette

Michelle & Chad

Grinsteiner CIVE

Leticia & Frank

Groenteman IEM

Nancy & John Groh MAE

Christine & Greg Guckian

Tamara & Anthony Haas CIVE

Vickie & Joe Hall CIVE

Connie Haltom

Marla & Fred Hampton CHE

Mike & Patricia Harris MAE

Tricia & Matthew Hatley CIVE

Kerry Havner CIVE

Charlie Heller CIVE

Paula & Dave Heller ENGR TECH

Jack Hensley ENGR TECH Martin Hepp

Diane & Glen Hicks MAE

Rebecca & Thomas Hill MAE

Shannon & David Hill

Sherryl & Steve Hofener CIVE

Judith & Alan Holder ENGR TECH

Kathy & Don Hood MAE

Francee & Jeff Hume ENGR TECH

Dennis Hussey CHE

Camille & William Johnston

Barbara & Lucien Jones

Patricia & Jeffrey Jones ENGR TECH

Teri & Kevin Jones CHE

Angela Kana-Veydovec CIVE

Dale & Yvonne Keairns CHE

Stuart Keeton IEM

Zachary Kelch IEM

Sharon & Mark Kelley MAE

Vicki & Steve Kiester IEM

Gay & Ed Kirby

Geoff Koch MAE

Marty Kollmeyer CHE

Bonnie & Bill Kurtz MAE

Sharon & John Larson ECEN

Carolyn & John Lawrence CHE

Russell & Sherry Lawson ECEN

Amanda & David Lee ECEN

Callie Lee-Petricek

Cheryl & Jim Lefler ENGR TECH

Laura & Don Lehman CHE

Renee & Stan Lingo ARCH

Megan & Ryan Lipscomb CHE

Bruce & Linda Litchfield

Yuan Yue & Duoying Liu

ECEN

John & Ruth Lloyd

Logen & Jayanthi

Logendran IEM

Jill Long CHE

Dick & Anne Lowery MAE

Shane Lupi ENGR TECH

Hui Min & Ko Makabe ARCH, ARCH

Mark Marston CHE

Gary & Karen Martin MAE

Robin & Duane Mass ARCH

Linda & Phil McCurdy ARCH

Trish & John Meek ARCH

Bernadine & Kurt Metzinger MAE

Gale & Robin Mills

Cassie Mitchell CHE

Martha & Gregory Mooney CIVE

Laura & Jose Moreno MAE

Krista & Kenny Morrison CHE

Carol & Frank Morsani Dean

Diane & Jerry Mounts MAE

Heather & Mark Nealis CIVE, MAE

Gary & Jana Oberlender CIVE

Colette & Kevin O’Brien MAE

Diane & John Offutt ENGR TECH

Phyllis & Steve O’Hara ARCH

Kathleen & Steven Oltmanns ECEN

Melanie & Brian Orr CIVE

Megan & Aaron Owen ENGR TECH

Craig Parker

Jody Parker

Anna & Randy Parks ARCH

Susie & Bill Phelps MAE

James Pickel

Kerri & David Powell ARCH

Sheryl & Kent Powers IEM

Brenda & Brian Price CHE

Margaret Price

Randy Randall ECEN

Kathleen & Dan Rao IEM

Eron Richards ARCH

Eula Ridley

Ryan & Julie Roberts ARCH

Kathleen & Francis Rooney

Craig Rose ENGR TECH

Raina & Tom Rose Tagle

Teresa & Warren Ross

Katherine & Neil Ryan ENGR TECH

Charles Schwarz CIVE

Mandy & Bill Seider ARCH

Jayne & James Selman IEM

Mary & Patrick Shafer-Malicki CHE

Mark Shutt ECEN

Sandra Skinner

Donna & Larry Smith

Barbara Snoddy

James Snyder CHE

Barry & Christine Steichen

Tangye & Kevin Stephney ECEN

Shane Sterett

Claudia & Ed Stokes CIVE

Trina & Bradley Stover CHE

Nancy & Al Strecker ECEN

Lee Sudan ECEN

Jeffrey Szcinski ECEN

Walter Taylor

Phil & Ruth Terry MAE

Bob Thompson CIVE

Mark & Susanne Thompson ARCH

Vicki & Robert Thompson

Cindy & Carl Tipton IEM

Carolyn & Charles Tobin IEM, IEM

David Tosetto ENGR TECH

Cal Vogt ECEN

Leesha & Eric Vogt ARCH

Steve Waken ECEN

Kai & Dave Wang MAE

Debbie & Cary Watson ECEN

Van Weathers IEM

Mee Mong & Richard Weidner ECEN, ECEN

Doug & Barbara White IEM

Ann & Rob Whiteley CHE, CHE

John Wilkins ENGR TECH

Yvonne & Charles Williams ECEN

Nathaniel Woody MAE

Katherine & Keith Yancey ARCH, ARCH

Zoanne & Bob Zapata

Abbott Labs

AC Owen Construction

Access Midstream

Action Safety Supply Company

Ad Astra Foundation

Advanced Workzone Services

AGC of Oklahoma Education

Foundation

AIA Oklahoma

Alberici

Allen Contracting Inc.

American Society of Professional Estimators/Landrun Chapter 80

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation

Andres Construction Services LLC

ANSYS Inc.

Apple Inc.

Association of Oklahoma General Contractors Inc.

Austin Commercial LP

Balfour Beatty Construction

Benchmark Construction Engineering & Inspection

Bronco Drilling Company Inc.

Burns & McDonnell Foundation

Byrne Construction Services

Caddell Construction

CAF America

Canaan Energy Corp

Cantera Concrete Company

Carolyn Watson Rural Oklahoma

Community Foundation

Centennial Contractors Enterprises Inc

Charles Machine Works

Chesapeake Energy

Church & Dwight Co Inc.

CORD Construction

Coreslab Structures Inc.

Crimson Steel Supply

Crossland Construction Company Inc.

Crossland Heavy Contractors Inc.

Cummins Construction Company Inc.

Dell Inc.

Deloitte

Ditch Witch

Dolese Bros Co.

EST Inc.

Flatiron Corp

Flintco LLC

Foundation for Engineering at OSU

Frankfurt Short Bruza & Associates PC

Frontier Bridge Inc.

Garney Holding Company

Garver

Garver LLC

GH2 Architects

Great Plains

Haskell Lemon Construction Co.

HollyFrontier Sinclair

IBM Corporation

International Chemical Company

International Paper

Kiewit Infrastructure South Co.

Kirby-Smith Machinery Inc.

KKT Architects Inc.

LA Fuess Partners Inc.

Lemon Family Foundation

Lithko Contracting LLC

Lockheed Martin Employees’ Political Action Committee

MacArthur Associated Consultants LLC

Magellan Midstream Partners LP

Manhattan Road & Bridge

National Association of Pipe

Fabricators

NextEra Energy Resources

Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited

NW Central PipelineCorp

Occidental

OK Construction Advancement Foundation

OK Natural Gas Company/Oklahoma

City

OKC Community Foundation

Oklahoma City Section

Oklahoma Structural Engineers

Association

Olsson

Overland Corporation

Ovintiv Inc.

Oxy USA Inc.

PACCAR Foundation

PACCAR Inc.

Peterbilt

PLW Waterworks LLC

Rick Scott Construction Inc

RJN Foundation

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions LLC

Smith Roberts Baldischwiler LLC

Society of American Military

Engineers/OKC Post

Society of Fire Protection Engineers/ Michigan Chapter

Standard Testing & Engineering

Company

Subsite Electronics

Textron Aviation

Traffic Engineering Consultants, Inc.

University of Tulsa

Valero Services Inc.

Walsh Construction

XTO Energy

THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS!

Your generous contributions to CEAT drive the college forward.

CEAT alumni, friends, faculty, staff and students,

Your donations allow us to become a 21st century hub of innovation and impact. As a donor, your gift represents the pinnacle of private annual support to CEAT and demonstrates your passion for higher education, students and OSU. While we have accomplished much in the past, our ambitions continue to grow and we need your continued support.

I would like to invite YOU to become a Dean’s Club member.

The CEAT Dean’s Club is a distinguished group whose annual gifts of $2,500 or more to either the CEAT Designated Endowment Program Fund or the Scholar Program Fund, support our college’s top priorities and ensure a bright future for CEAT students. As a member, you will receive a number of exclusive benefits and privileges.

It’s because of donors like you, near and far, that our students graduate as leaders, innovators and America’s Brightest!

ALABAMA $16,270

ARIZONA $7,200

ARKANSAS $9,717

CALIFORNIA $331,585

COLORADO $139,729

CONNECTICUT $125

D.C. $151,000

DELAWARE $10,100

FLORIDA $6,895

GEORGIA $169,136

HAWAII $860

IDAHO $330

ILLINOIS $152,698

INDIANA $16,350

IOWA $1,350

KANSAS $60,400

KENTUCKY $360

LOUISIANA $2,600

MAINE $500

MARYLAND $1,820

MASSACHUSETTS $62,200

MICHIGAN $196,400

MINNESOTA $210

MISSISSIPPI $625

MISSOURI $32,285

NEBRASKA $2,925

NEVADA $101,549

NEW HAMPSHIRE $1,000

NEW JERSEY $376

NEW MEXICO $5,665

NEW YORK $9,266

NORTH CAROLINA $2,150

OHIO $200,080

OKLAHOMA $11,349,472

OREGON $11,660

PENNSYLVANIA $126,410

RHODE ISLAND $10,500

SOUTH CAROLINA $17,214

SOUTH DAKOTA $600

TENNESSEE $6,900

TEXAS $3,547,157

UTAH $5,300

VIRGINIA $145,864

WASHINGTON $8,190

WISCONSIN $700

WYOMING $110

46 STATES DONATED $17M IN 2023

DEPARTMENT HEADS

LEADERSHIP CEAT

HANCHEN HUANG

Dean, College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology

CHUCK BUNTING

Associate Dean, Research

CARISA RAMMING

Associate Dean, Academic Programs & Student Engagement

RAMAN SINGH

Associate Dean of Engineering, OSU-Tulsa

ED KIRTLEY

Associate Dean, Engineering Extension

JOHN VEENSTRA

Associate Dean, Faculty Affairs

Professor & Head

Mari S. Chinn, Ph.D.

Associate Director, Sun Grant Program-South Central Region, School of Biosystems & Agricultural Engineering

Professor & Head

Norb Delatte, P.E., Ph.D., F.ACI, F.ASCE

M.R. Lohmann Endowed Professor, School of Civil & Environmental Engineering

Professor & Interim Head

Chulho Yang, Ph.D., P.E.

Division of Engineering Technology

Professor & Head

James Smay, Ph.D.

C.F. Colcord Chair, School of Materials Science & Engineering

Professor & Interim Head

John Phillips, P.E.

Centennial Professor of Architecture, School of Architecture

Professor & Head

Heather Fahlenkamp, Ph.D.

Edward Bartlett Chair, School of Chemical Engineering

Professor & Interim Head

Guoliang Fan, Ph.D.

Cal & Marilyn Vogt Professor of Engineering, School of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Professor & Head

Guiping Hu, Ph.D.

Donald and Cathey Humphreys Chair, School of Industrial Engineering & Management

Professor & Head

Sandip Harimkar, Ph.D.

Albert H. Nelson, Jr. Chair, School of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

A message from

The Foundation

The OSU Foundation’s mission is to “unite donor passions with university priorities to elevate the impact of Oklahoma State University.” As a development team who works with the dean and academic leaders, we strive to identify CEAT priorities and unite them with your passions to achieve excellence.

Excellence can be defined in a variety of ways and take on a variety of forms. Sometimes excellence is the first-generation CEAT student earning their degree, a faculty member making groundbreaking research in the lab, or students gaining hands-on experience while learning to work as a team through their senior design projects.

With the current economic challenges facing higher education, private support plays a significant role in allowing the college to truly achieve excellence. Whatever your passion is for helping us achieve excellence, it is our hope that you, our alumni and friends of this great college, realize the role we play in bridging the aspirations of both parties.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, ARCHITECTURE AND TECHNOLOGY

STRATEGIC ADVISORY COUNCIL

GREGG BRADSHAW Construction Manager Joe D. Hall General Contractors, LLC

GAREN EWBANK President GreyEdge Group, LLC

HANCHEN HUANG

CEAT Dean Oklahoma State University

SHAY BRAUN President Select Milk Producers

JEFF FISHER Chief Executive Officer Ascent Resources

STEVE HUCKABY

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Humble Midstream

CARA COWAN WATTS

Chief Executive Officer Tulsa Drilling

JIM HASENBECK Principal Architect Studio Architecture

DENAY HUDDLESTON

Manager of Digital Products Phillips 66

JEFF HUME

Vice Chairman of Strategic Growth Initiatives Continental Resources, Inc.

CARRIE JOHNSON

CHRIS HUMES Consultant City of Stillwater

NEAL

RICK

CHERIE HUMPHRIES Director, Special Projects Williams

Corporation

PATRICIA