Coen Engineering Newsletter Spring 2018

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING DEANS OFFICE

1910 UNIVERSITY DRIVE, BOISE ID 83725-2100

NONPROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT NO. 1

3010126002717006

College of Engineering

SPOTLIGHT AN UNSHAKEABLE FOCUS ON LEARNING

FACULTY IN ACTION Advisory Council Barbara Morgan, former NASA astronaut and Boise State educator in residence, was presented The Idaho Medal of Achievement by Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter. This achievement recognizes individual Idahoans for their “exceptional, meritorious, and inspirational” service to the people of Idaho.

The Advisory Council participates in the decision-making process regarding engineering programs at Boise State University. Current council members are: Kristine Barney, City of Boise

Dr. Krishna Pakala, Clinical Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Department, received the Outstanding Teaching Award from the Pacific Northwest Section of the American Society of Engineering Education.

Yvette Barrios, HP, Inc.

Dr. Rick Ubic, Associate Professor in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering, was selected as the 2017 Boise State University Foundation Scholar for Research. The prestigious Foundation Scholar awards honor Boise State faculty who have demonstrated ongoing commitment, expertise and accomplishments in teaching, research and creative activity, or professionally related service.

Doug Dockter, Idaho Power

Dr. Bernard Yurke, a Distinguished Research Fellow in the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering at Boise State, was named Distinguished Joint Appointment Fellow at the Idaho National Laboratory. Dr. JoAnn Lighty, Dean, Professor in the Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering Department received the 2017 Lawrence K. Cecil Award from the Environmental Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.

Mark Bowen, CH2M Hill David Butzier, AECOM Archie Clemins, Caribou Technologies

Tim Forhan, Sanctuary Wealth Jim Gasaway, Keynetics Cece Gassner, Boise State University Dean Klein, Micron Technology, Inc. (retired) Tom Loutzenheiser, Preco Electronics Elizabeth Marshall, Marshall GIS Jim Nottingham, HP, Inc. Lynn Russell, COEN Emeritus Professor Pat Shannon, COBE Emeritus Professor

https://coen.boisestate.edu

SPRING 2018

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WELCOME FROM THE DEAN As the new dean of the College of Engineering, it is an honor and privilege to serve our students, staff, faculty, and community. Over the past six months I have been witness to our students achieving national recognition, our faculty securing major awards, our staff diligently supporting the college, and our alumni and community partners giving back. All share in the college’s mission to promote student success through an unshakeable focus on learning. This mission has been at the heart of the College of Engineering since its start twenty years ago when 28 faculty supported five programs and a little over 600 students. Today, the college is home to 2,605 students, 16 programs, and over 100 faculty. Faculty, staff, and administration across campus have fostered this amazing growth as they provide students resources to promote learning and the skills to help them become successful engineers, scientists, researchers, and leaders in the 21st century workforce. As we embark on the next twenty years, I am mindful of all the people, the shared experiences, the successes, the partnerships, and the innovations that have made our college what it is today. What I find especially compelling, as I plan for the college’s future, is the level of engagement and investment by the community over the years, our cutting-edge facilities that compete with the very best, the success of our brilliant faculty in the classroom and in the research lab, the college’s culture of continuous improvement in teaching and learning, and the depth of intellectual talent of our student body. The pages of this newsletter highlight the college’s twenty-year history and many extraordinary student, alumni, and faculty achievements. As an advocate for our people and programs, I look forward to continuing the tradition of engineering excellence at Boise State and leading our college to new heights.

Front Cover: Dr. Dave Estrada, Assistant Professor, Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering and Alondra Perez, Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering student, in the Advanced Nanomaterials Manufacturing Lab. Allison Corona photo.

JoAnn S. Lighty Dean and Professor College of Engineering

STAY CONNECTED BSUCOEN_Dean http://twitter.com/BSUCOEN_Dean

BOISE STATE UNIVERSITY MICRON CENTER FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH IMPACT Materials research at Boise State will extend the nationally and internationally recognized research that distinguishes and differentiates our university.

MAKING MATERIALS THAT MATTER Research is a central component of materials science here at Boise State, and this new building will extend our ability to provide impact. Boise State is particularly recognized for work in novel materials, biological sciences, and nanotechnology. The College of Engineering promotes close student collaboration with faculty on funded research in areas such as semiconductor device reliability, nanoscale fabrication, microelectronics packaging, shape memory alloys, DNA nanotechnology, energy, biomaterials, materials characterization, and materials modeling.

This new building will be located next to the other College of Engineering buildings and include: • approximately 85,000 square feet on three floors. • 40+ lab spaces. • workspaces for faculty and students. • 250-seat lecture hall. • two 80-seat classrooms.

Students work on cutting-edge research topics of national importance, gain professional exposure and, ultimately, secure job opportunities through their participation in national conferences and collaborations with the faculty’s regional, national, and international connections.

INVITATION TO INVEST With your support, construction of the Micron Center for Materials Research will... elevate the Boise State materials research program to national prominence, providing opportunities for continued innovation and discovery. Please consider supporting the center through your philanthropic gifts. For more information about the Micron Center for Materials Research, visit http://give.boisestate.edu/materials-research

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COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018 11

ALUMNI PROFILE

NSF CAREER AWARDS DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI SERVICE AWARD Yvette Barrios ‘03 BS in Mechanical Engineering As the daughter of a high school dropout, Barrios saw first-hand how education and sports could deliver its promise to a hard-working young person with dreams to go far. Despite winning two Texas individual state cross-country titles, her true passion was basketball. Standing at only five-foot, four-inches, a determined Barrios earned a full-ride basketball scholarship to Boise State University, declining scholarships to Georgetown University and three other schools. She is a first-generation college graduate in her family.

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After earning her bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering at Boise State, Barrios began her engineering career in Texas with Lockheed Martin. While at Lockheed, she was selected for the Engineering Leadership Program and helped develop and test the F-35 Lightning II.

“Despite raising my teenage son, saving the world one printer at a time, and volunteering, life is always good with a little BLUE and ORANGE face paint.” – Yvette Barrios 10 COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018

Five years later, she returned to Idaho and held the positions of design engineer and supervisor for Motive Power, a company building the next generation of high-speed trains. Barrios took a position with Hewlett Packard in 2011, and at the age of 36 was among the youngest manufacturing program managers in the company. Today she has advanced to the position of Future Product Marketing Manager with HP. Despite having a busy career, Barrios selflessly makes time to mentor Boise State engineering students, student-athletes and first-generation college attendees. She’s a volunteer member of the Boise State College of Engineering Advisory Board, the Varsity B Club, and former board member of the Boise State Alumni Association.

STAY CONNECTED Boise State College of Engineering https://www.facebook.com/pages/Boise-State-College-of-Engineering/286253614738328 BSUEngineering http://twitter.com/BSUEngineering Boise State College of Engineering Related Blogs http://coen.boisestate.edu/blogs/

Dr. Eric Jankowski – 2017 Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering

Dr. Jankowski’s CAREER award is supporting his research on transforming methods by which organic photovoltaic solar cells are made. The building-block materials used to develop OPVs are abundant and could enhance production of inexpensive solar panels. “I’m enormously grateful for NSF’s support through the CAREER award and humbled to be included among its recipients.” – Dr. Eric Jankowski

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Trevor Lujan – Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, Dr. Eric Jankowski, Dr. Claire Xiong and Dr. Paul Simmonds – Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering.

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING NSF CAREER AWARD WINNERS The Legacy Continues... Dr. Eric Jankowski joined Drs. Trevor Lujan, Paul Simmonds and Claire Xiong as esteemed NSF CAREER Award winners in the College of Engineering at Boise State University. Dr. Trevor Lujan – 2016

Dr. Paul Simmonds – 2016

Dr. Claire Xiong - 2015

Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering Novel Nanomaterials for Scalable Entangled Photon Emitters

Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering

Characterization and Simulation of Failure Mechanisms in Soft Fibrous Tissue

Defect-driven Metal Oxides for Enhanced Energy Storage Systems

ALUMNI NOTES

College of Engineering faculty have received 12 CAREER awards since the college’s inception in 1997, and is currently home to 8 awardees.

We want to stay in touch. Please send your updates to Leandra Aburusa-Lete at laburusa@boisestate.edu

For more information about the recipients visit: http://coen.boisestate.edu/careerawards COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018

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AW Engin

Management Micron School of Materials Computer Science THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING (COEN) Science and Engineering

219 31 707on learning, we provide accessible, exceptional-quality, na Through an unshakeable focus 121 and Electrical Organ MISSION STATEMENT:

Computer Perfo recognized programs of instruction, research and service that prepare students for engin 12 SI Engineering Work General Construction and other high technologyManagement careers. We foster innovativeEngineering research and practical solutions

RESEARCH & EDUCATION

AT a GLANCE

MATERIALS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING LANDS NSF GRANT Understanding materials relationships gives researchers the information needed to create advanced materials for a wide range of applications. Housed within the Surface Science Laboratory, the new instrument will significantly expand the research capacity in Idaho and meet the expanding needs of a broad research community that includes five universities, several local industries and two national laboratories.

The National Science Foundation awarded $624,000 to

College of Engineering’s Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering to support a controlledenvironment atomic force microscope, to be used to characterize the electronic properties of materials at the nano level. The microscope provides the ability to directly relate the structure and properties of a surface to how it was made and how it performs. The proposal was submitted by faculty members Elton Graugnard, Michael Hurley, Hui (Claire) Xiong and Paul Davis, manager of the Surface Science Laboratory.

“Many of the new materials we research in the lab are air and moisture sensitive, so we were limited in how we could study them,” explained Graugnard, principal investigator of the proposal. “With this new tool, we will be able to directly obtain key structureproperty relationships for these materials, which accelerates our research. This tool will be the only one of its kind in the northwest, and we’re excited to fill a gap in our region’s capabilities and be a valued resource to our community.” The controlled environment capabilities significantly expand the range of materials at the nano-dimensional level. Some applications include the investigation of corrosion mechanisms of alloys, the controlled integration of DNA nanostructions with semiconductor surfaces, and interphase evolution of air-sensitive metalion battery electrodes for stable, safe and high-capability energy storage.

178 316 support individuals and organizations in Idaho, the Northwest region, and beyond. 219 Undergraduate31 students Electrical and

ENROLLMENT FALL 2017 Computer

2605

Engineering

The program includes core courses across engineering domains: mechanical, civil, electrical, materials science, and computer science. It adds a unique 4-semester curriculum addressing problem solving strategies used in top organizations from business, to nonprofit, and service sectors. Finally, students add their own PLUS with engineering electives and a pathway to or from any department in the University. Graduates earning this engineering B.S. are prepared for a wide variety of high demand careers in as few as 8 semesters.

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Workplace Learning

178

316

FULL TIME FACULTY

Undergraduate students

FULL TIME Number of undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking FACULTY students enrolled (headcount by major/not minors) BOISE STATE COEN = 1000 degree-seeking students 101 650

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FACULTY AND RESEARCH

SPACE ON CAMPUS 1811 615 In-state OVER

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BACHELOR DEGREES: 287 Boise State

SPACE ON CAMPUS ENROLLMENT BY ACADEMIC LEVEL

ENROLLMENT ENROLLMENT PER PER SCHOOL SCHOOL AND AND DEPARTMENT DEPARTMENT

HONORS HONORS & & AWARDS AWARDS

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573

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AWARDS *

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Computer ComputerScience Science Micron School ofCOEN: Materials Science and Engineering SCHOOLS ANDScience DEPARTMENTS WITHIN 7 coen.b Science and and Engineering Engineering 541 Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering

707

Sophomore

Civil Engineering

Construction Construction 561

Management Management Freshman

ENGINEERING PLUS: ENGINEERING REIMAGINED We invite prospective undergraduates to participate in the college’s newest degree program: Engineering PLUS. The rigor of engineering requirements has traditionally made it difficult for students to integrate engineering with other degree programs, or even more than one engineering branch; this new offering enables either engineers or students in other departments to integrate multiple interests. This promotes greater choice and may extend the number of students who become engineers.

Organizational

TO STUDENT 283 Performance and FACULTY ANDDEMOGRAPHICS: RESEARCH

219 113

2nd degree

Electrical Electrical and and Computer Computer Engineering Engineering

316

121

(208 GRADUATE DEGREES: 84

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (O

12 12 SINCE SINCE 1997 1997

Computer Science

General General

Construction Management Engineering Engineering NUMBER OF Electrical and Computer Engineering GRADUATE Micron School of Materials 31 Science and Engineering Mechanical and Biomedical STUDENTS: 384Engineering

Graduate Degrees granted in 2015-201

Organizational Performance and Workplace Learning (OPWL) Organizational Organizational

Performance Performance and and Workplace Workplace Learning Learning

178

TOP TEN

= 10 graduate stud

SCHOLARS SCHOLARS **

Undergraduate Undergraduate students students

* The CAREER award is the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious program in support of junior faculty who effectively integrate outstanding research and education within the context of their organization’s mission. FACULTY FACULTY AND AND RESEARCH RESEARCH

29 29 SINCE SINCE 1999 1999

**The Top Ten Scholars Awards are presented by the Alumni Association to graduating seniors that are recognized for their exceptional academic success.

FULL FULL TIME TIME FACULTY FACULTY

4 COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018

BOISE BOISE STATE STATE

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COEN COEN

101 101

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RESEARCH LABS

COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018 9

BUILDING A BETTER KIDFRIENDLY SEARCH ENGINE

STUDENT PROFILES FLYING TO NEW HEIGHTS – ONE OF AVIATION WEEK’S 20 TWENTIES Jenni Domanowski is originally from Arlington, WA. She came to Boise in the Fall of 2012, coming straight from high school into the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering. The concept of how “everything is made of something” fascinated her. She began to imagine changing the world by developing and improving modern materials that are used in everyday life. Some of Jenni’s most recent learning experiences took place at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, where she worked with polymeric materials. In an extreme environment like space, materials can out-gas, meaning that they release gases that can damage components of a spacecraft or satellite. Jenni helped develop a screening test for high out-gassing materials. She also worked on a project with the Smithsonian concerning artifacts that were out-gassing where she helped develop a solution to stop the damage of neighboring artifacts. Curiosity, exploration, and hard work have earned Jenni recognition as a Top 20 aerospace-bound engineering student by Aviation Week and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The “Tomorrow’s Engineering Leaders: The 20 Twenties” awards were presented during Aviation Week’s 60th annual Laureates Awards on March 2, 2017 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Jenni graduated with a B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering this past May and is now following her dreams as a materials process engineer at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. 8 COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018

BOISE STATE STUDENTS SOAR WITH NASA AT THE JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

Working for NASA is a dream few adults, let alone students, ever realize. However, a team of Boise State students were at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, Nov. 27 – Dec. 2 to test out the efficacy of a high-altitude data recorder the students designed and fabricated for the space agency. “With most projects, you design something but you rarely ever build something,” explained Zach Weyne, a mechanical engineering senior and the design team lead. “This is a unique opportunity to both design, build and test our own device for NASA.” The opportunity is indeed unique; Boise State was one of 8 universities chosen to participate in NASA’s new program – Student Opportunities for Airborne Research (SOAR). Over the course of 16 weeks, a multidisciplinary student team made up of electrical engineering, mechanical engineering and computer science majors designed and built a high-altitude atmospheric data recorder, designed to be used in NASA’s high-altitude research aircraft, the WB-57. Due to the unique nature of the aircraft, the device must be capable of measuring temperature, pressure and vibrations. The 15-member student team was guided by faculty advisors Christine Chang, a STEM and diversity initiative coordinator, and distinguished educator in residence and former astronaut Steve Swanson.

Ask kids a question, and they’ll likely turn to the internet to find the answer. Despite being digital natives, children often have trouble navigating sites like Google, Bing or Yahoo – sites designed with adults, not children, as their primary users. Often the content identified is unsuitable to children’s interests or reading levels. Boise State computer scientist Dr. Sole Pera plans to change that with software modules designed as search engine add-ons aimed at children. The project is being funded by a National Science Foundation Computer and Information Science and Engineering Research Initiation Initiative grant. “Even though children are increasingly active internet users, few designers have considered their particular goals, or how best to direct them to the age-appropriate content they seek,” she said. “Unfortunately, their lack of skill in formulating adequate queries or identifying suitable retrieved resources can result in poor outcomes.” That lack of skill encompasses a number of factors, including a limited vocabulary, poor spelling, or the inability to identify appropriate key words or phrases. And although search engines offer suggested query phrases, children often ignore those. They also are more likely to navigate to the first item on their result list instead of identifying the most appropriate sites.

USING BACTERIA TO STABILIZE SOILS BENEATH U.S. ROADS The United States spends billions of dollars annually repairing and maintaining roadways built on expansive soils, including transportation corridors in Idaho. Past attempts to solve the problem include pre-wetting, moisture barriers, mechanical compaction, chemical stabilization and innovative pavement design. Dr. Bhaskar Chittoori is working on an innovative and more sustainable approach to the problem. The technique, called microbial-induced calcite precipitation, stimulates bacteria in the soil to produce calcite, which then strengthens the soil. While the technique has been used in the past, mostly in sandy soils by introducing bacteria into the soil, Chittoori’s approach is unique. Instead of introducing new bacteria into the environment, he and co-principal investigator Dr. Malcolm Burbank from CDM Smith propose stimulating already present bacteria using clay soil as a natural incubator. Encouraging bacteria to reproduce by “feeding” them nutrients will prompt them to precipitate calcite, which then changes the physiochemical behavior of the soil. The work is funded by a grant from the National Academies of Science.

The project will look at how to reorganize or filter results and will weed out inappropriate content. Sites like Google Safe Search touch on some of these issues, but don’t look at the relevancy of what kids are searching for or the age of the child. Using Common Core standards, her team will develop software to identify the likely search intent given a child’s natural language or key word query, suggest queries based on key words and phrases in children’s vocabulary lists, literature, content written by other children, and subject areas appealing to youngsters. Results will be filtered to meet readability and suitability levels for children in grades K – 9. “We want to teach children how to search, but don’t want to reinvent the wheel,” she said. “We have all the resources and they are great, but they don’t serve the target audience.” COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018 5

20 Years

1997

The College of Engineering (COEN) is established July 1 with construction management, instructional and performance technology, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering as the founding departments. Lynn Russell becomes the founding dean of COEN. COEN confers its first engineering degree, a bachelor of science in civil engineering. Boise philanthropist Velma Morrison announces a $2 million donation from the Harry W. Morrison Foundation for the construction of a civil engineering building.

1999 Civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering baccalaureate programs become ABET accredited. A dedication ceremony was held to celebrate the completion of the two-story, 14,160 square foot Harry W. Morrison Civil Engineering Building.

2000 More than 40 companies, foundations and individuals met the $6 million Micron challenge, resulting in the January 21 dedication of the Micron Engineering Center. Master of science in engineering programs established for civil, computer, electrical, and mechanical engineering. 6 COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018

of Engineering Excellence

2001 Computer Science joins COEN. From 1997 to 2001, COEN more than doubled from 656 to 1489 students. The first master of science in engineering degrees conferred within COEN go to two electrical engineering students.

2003

2010 The Department of Construction Management celebrates 30 years of training the nation’s construction leaders. 30thAnniversary

2011 Amy Moll named Interim dean of COEN, becoming dean in 2012. The new $25 million, 98,000 square-foot Environmental Research Building, designed to foster collaboration across disciplines, opens its doors.

Cheryl B. Schrader becomes the 2nd Dean of the College.

2004 The Department of Materials Science and Engineering becomes the seventh department in COEN.

2012

Graduate programs in civil, computer, electrical, materials, and mechanical engineering begin offering master of engineering degrees.

Through a $13 million gift from the Micron Foundation, COEN establishes an interdisciplinary doctoral program in materials science and engineering.

2005 The first doctoral program in COEN, electrical and computer engineering, is unanimously approved by the State Board of Education.

2006 The materials science and engineering baccalaureate program becomes ABET accredited. The Micron Technology Foundation awards $5 million to Boise State to support its new doctoral program in electrical and computer engineering.

2015 The day after his State of the Union Address, President Obama visits Boise State’s College of Engineering. During his visit, the President highlights Boise State’s culture of innovation. The Micron Foundation contributes $25 million, the largest gift in the university’s history, to create a new Center for Materials Research.

2016 Computer Science starts a new interdisciplinary doctoral program in computing. The Department of Materials Science and Engineering becomes the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering.

2017 Dr. JoAnn S. Lighty becomes the College of Engineering’s 4th Dean.

2013 First doctoral degree in materials science and engineering is conferred.

2017

2014 Dr. Sulmer Fernandez is the first woman to graduate with a doctoral degree from COEN.

The Engineering Building is renamed the Charles P. Ruch Engineering Building

COEN Newsletter | Spring 2018 7