Volume 13, No.1 March 2014
A Magazine for Alumni and Friends of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering
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A MESSAGE FROM THE DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING Engineers need not only top-notch technical skills, but also the ability to communicate and collaborate effectively to find success in today’s workplace. Logan Kingen, a senior mechanical engineering major, discovered this during his co-op assignment at Honda R&D Americas. A big part of his work involved communicating ideas and changes to suppliers and between engineering teams. He shares this lesson with Smull Talk readers: “The brightest engineer on the planet will not be much good to a company if he or she cannot communicate their ideas.” In this issue, we feature Logan and several other students who are discovering new insights through outside-the-classroom activities such as co-ops, student design teams, undergraduate research experiences and internships. Our professors encourage our students to take part in experiential high-impact learning experiences like these that teach teamwork, communication, negotiation, problem-solving and much more. In the T.J. Smull College of Engineering, we also believe engineers and computer scientists need entrepreneurial skills. In almost every industry, individuals who rise to the top are the ones who understand opportunity and risk and who recognize how their work impacts the bottom line. Seven years ago, we began collaborating with the Dicke College of Business Administration to teach ONU students how to develop an entrepreneurial mindset. You can read about our innovative strategies in this issue. Bob Kenny, George Manos and David Walker are outstanding examples of ONU engineering alumni who possess an entrepreneurial mindset that contributed to their incredible success. All three alumni credit their ONU engineering education for equipping them with the knowledge and skills they needed to become standouts in their industries. We hope you enjoy this jam-packed issue, which celebrates the wonderful programs and people in the T.J. Smull College of Engineering. As always, we thank you for your generous support of our efforts.
Eric Baumgartner, Ph.D. Dean of the College of Engineering
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Dr. Eric Baumgartner Dean Voice: 419-772-2372 Email: e-baumgartner@onu.edu
ENGINEERS, ENTREPRENEURS, LEADERS
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BREAKING THE MOLD
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Professor Thomas Zechman Assistant Dean Voice: 419-772-2698 Email: t-zechman.1@onu.edu Dr. Jonathan Smalley, BSCE ’71 Chair, Civil Engineering Voice: 419-772-2377 Email: j-smalley@onu.edu Dr. Khalid Al-Olimat Chair, Electrical & Computer Engineering and Computer Science Voice: 419-772-1849 Email: k-al-olimat@onu.edu Dr. John-David Yoder Chair, Mechanical Engineering Voice: 419-772-2385 Email: j-yoder@onu.edu Dr. Ken Reid Director of First-Year Engineering Voice: 419-772-2383 Email: k-reid@onu.edu Professor Laurie (Kahl) Laird, BSME ’86 Director of Corporate and Alumni Relations Voice: 419-772-2421 Email: l-laird@onu.edu
SMULL TALK Publication of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering at Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio, 419-772-2371, www.onu.edu/engineering ONU’s T.J. Smull College of Engineering has consistently been ranked as one of the nation’s top 50 undergraduate engineering schools by U.S. News & World Report, America’s Best Colleges 2014.
Jacqueline Daley-Perrin Director of Development Voice: 419-772-2390 Email: j-daley-perrin@onu.edu
ENGINEERS, ENTREPRENEURS, LEADERS THREE ONU ALUMNI PROVE THAT AN ENGINEERING BACKGROUND CAN TAKE YOU TO THE TOP. ROBERT “BOB” KENNY, BSEE ’88, an inventor named on dozens of patents including CAT 5e, became a leading executive at one of the world’s largest cable and wire manufacturers.
GEORGE MANOS, BSEE ’73, became a power broker in the steel industry, with a distinguished 40-year career in management at United States Steel Corporation.
DAVID WALKER, BSEE ’72, graduated from ONU when a slide rule was still used for calculation but went on to become an engineer and entrepreneur who built undersea fiber-optic cable networks to carry voice and data across oceans and continents.
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innovator” and a “thought leader” within the industry. “Many of my best patents came from what I learned in the field,” claims Kenny.
Robert Kenny Global Senior Vice President, General Cable Cincinnati, Ohio In high school, Robert “Bob” Kenny, BSEE ’88, dreamed of one day running a company. Today, he’s a global senior vice president at General Cable, one of the largest cable and wire manufacturers in the world, in charge of operating eight business units. Kenny says his electrical engineering degree from ONU paved his path to upper management. “You can do anything you want with engineering as your base,” he says. “It teaches you how to logically approach issues and gives you the rigor and work ethic to succeed.” After graduating from ONU, Kenny started his career as an engineer. He loved to innovate but gradually realized that his inventions needed to connect with customers in order to be successful. “Engineers tend to spend too much time in cubicles,” he says. “We think we know what a customer wants, but we don’t really know until we ask.” Kenny began to tag along with salespeople when they went on customer visits. He would ask customers a lot of questions to find out how they used each product. About 90 percent of his ideas came from asking one vital question: What one thing would you change about this product? His customer-centered approach turned Kenny into an innovator extraordinaire. Kenny is named on almost 40 patents at four different companies. His cable innovations include bonded pairs, mixed dielectrics, halogen-content reduction, and the climbing twisted-pair performance levels of Category 5e, 6 and 6A. Cable Installation and Maintenance magazine recently hailed his contributions to wire and cable technology by calling him an “innovator’s
After working as an engineer and a manufacturing supervisor, Kenny jumped into general management and “never looked back.” His 25-year career has included management roles at Belden, Krone, Dupont and, most recently, General Cable. Wire and cable may not be a glamorous industry, says Kenny, but he’s found his niche. “My advice is to not let ego dictate where you work,” he says. “Pursue what truly interests you, and you’ll be successful.” In 2007, Kenny became a vice president at General Cable, a Fortune 500 company headquartered in Highland Heights, Ky. With more than 14,000 associates worldwide, General Cable specializes in the manufacture of aluminum, copper and fiber-optic wire and cable systems and solutions for a diverse group of customers. Kenny manages eight business units that encompass approximately $700 million in annual sales in the areas of electronics, broadcast, data communications and telecommunication. He oversees everything related to profit and loss, including customer relations, manufacturing, suppliers and pricing, for all eight units.
But in today’s environment, only those employees who work hard get ahead, he adds. Most organizations – including General Cable – have become lean and flat. Jobs eliminated during the recession aren’t coming back in the foreseeable future, he says. “It’s just the reality of how the world’s changed. Everyone is doing more than one job and working tremendous hours.” When he hires new people, Kenny looks for individuals with entrepreneurial skills and a strong work ethic. Individuals with an engineering education and background often fit the bill. “Engineers hit the ground running,” he says. “They provide good value in the short term, and in the long term they have the potential to be future leaders.” Looking back, Kenny credits the solid foundation in engineering that he received at ONU for his rise to corporate leadership. “I’m so glad I went to a university where the professors cared and took an interest in you,” he says. “Ohio Northern did a great job of preparing me, and I value the education I received.”
According to Kenny, the approach he honed as an engineer – to listen and ask questions – works just as well in management. He strives to build strong relationships and open lines of communication with everyone in his circle, from employees to customers. “You can’t be successful sitting behind a desk,” he explains. “You have to get in front of people. Because at the end of the day, it’s all about people.” Since General Cable is a global company with operations in 26 countries, Kenny spends about 50 percent of his time traveling abroad. In the past decade, he’s visited 60 countries on six continents. His globetrotting adventures have introduced him to scores of interesting people and cultures. “I love to travel and meet new people,” he says. “I’ve discovered that despite the vast diversity of our globe, people are very similar at their core.” A dynamic leader, Kenny believes in acting with integrity and kindness. He feels gratitude to many people who took time to share advice and mentor him. Now he’s dedicated to assisting others along their career paths. He surrounds himself with talented individuals and tries to help their ideas take flight.
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“ Our country was built by great companies and people who made things,” he says. “I work for a wonderful company that produces steel for automobiles, roof trusses, appliances and hundreds of other uses that people experience every day without even knowing it. And we aren’t done making the next best thing to improve lives and create lasting value. That’s why I love this industry.” - George Manos photo courtesy of US. Steel
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event occurred only a few months into the job that changed Manos’ perspective on life. This time, Manos almost died on the way to work when his car was blindsided by a truck running a red light at 50 miles per hour. He spent four months in the hospital recovering from his injuries and re-learning how to walk.
George Manos President, USS Real Estate Pittsburgh, Pa.
From his hospital bed, however, Manos cultivated his customer base. He emerged from his ordeal with a positive outlook and loyal customers. “Clearly, it wasn’t my time (to die),” he said. “But from then on, I became a glasshalf-full kind of guy.”
When he attended ONU in the early 1970s, George Manos, BSEE ’73, intended to become an electrical engineer. But his career veered off in a different direction and kept changing course.
In subsequent years, U. S. Steel promoted Manos to positions in marketing, operations, governmental affairs and human resources. Manos took on increasing levels of responsibility, proving himself to be an adaptable and dynamic leader.
Instead of building electric circuits, Manos has spent the past 40 years in management at United States Steel Corporation, working in almost every field but engineering, including sales, marketing, operations, governmental affairs and human resources.
As a leader at U. S. Steel, Manos has played a prominent role in the company’s evolution in the industry over the past few decades. In the late 1980s, he helped broker a joint venture with Japanese steelmaker KOBE Steel to form U.S.S./KOBE Steel to produce steel parts for Japanese automakers entering the U.S. market.
“Engineering is a wonderful background for almost every field because it teaches you to think analytically,” says Manos, “and that skill applies to every position in most fields.” Manos started at U. S. Steel – the largest integrated steel company headquartered in the United States – right after graduation. When the mill foreman who was training him died unexpectedly, Manos, fresh out of college and just 23 years old, was placed in charge of 50 seasoned steel workers. It was a daunting prospect to lead such a group. “I told them I didn’t have a clue and I needed their help,” he recalls, with a laugh. “I made a promise that I would do everything I could for them if they would do the same for me.” He earned their respect that day with his openness and honesty. The lessons he learned on that first job have stuck with Manos his entire career but really began much earlier. His dad, who owned a dry-cleaning business in Canton, Ohio, taught Manos to treat everyone, from the mayor to the street sweeper, with the same amount of respect and consideration. On the shop floor, he discovered the truth behind his dad’s philosophy. “I have a deep, deep respect for steelworkers,” says Manos. “Folks working in the mill have some of the toughest jobs anywhere and are some of the hardest working people you will ever meet. It’s really important to recognize that you don’t know everything and to not let power go to your head. Everyone in the mill is of value.” Next, Manos transferred into a sales position in Mansfield, Ohio. Once again, a dramatic
He then served as director of administrative, governmental and legal affairs for Republic Technologies in Lorain, Ohio, which represented a merger between U. S. Steel/KOBE Steel and Republic Engineered Steel and Bar Technologies to be a leading producer of steel bars. While in Lorain, Manos became involved in the community by becoming a leader in the local Rotary Club and serving on the board of education. After U. S. Steel acquired Marathon and became USX Corporation, Manos transferred to Minnesota for a governmental affairs position to represent their merging interests. He got to know former Gov. Jesse Ventura as he educated the governor about the many energy interests the company had in the state. At the time, USX was the largest energy user in the state. Today, more than a decade following the dissolution of USX, U. S. Steel remains Minnesota Power’s largest customer. Manos then returned to U. S. Steel’s corporate headquarters in Pittsburgh to head up human relations and public affairs. For the last seven years, he’s served as president of USS Real Estate, overseeing the company’s vast property holdings, which stretch from coast to coast. The holdings include thousands of acres in nearly every state U. S. Steel has ever operated in, and range from pristine forests in Minnesota, to lakefront property in Chicago, to residential, commercial and industrial developments in Alabama.
Fairless Hills, Pa, the town named after Benjamin Fairless, BSCE 1913, Hon. D. ’35, one of ONU’s most famous engineering alumni and an industrial giant who was president of U. S. Steel from 1938 to 1958. Each morning, Manos arrives at work before 6 a.m. to tackle the day’s challenges. His work is highly diversified and often confidential. It requires sound decision-making and an understanding of complex legal and financial issues. But Manos breaks it down in simple terms: “I’m in charge of making sure that we as a company do the smart thing and the right thing with the land,” he says. As a leader, Manos follows four simple rules that he learned during a Rotary Club meeting in Strongsville, Ohio. First, take time to listen. Second, don’t be afraid to ask questions. Third, always be sincere and give every person, regardless of their status in life, the same amount of respect and attention. And lastly, surround yourself with people you can trust. Manos also believes every leader should strive to make a difference. “About 10 percent of leaders are absent and not visible to their employees, and the other 80 percent live in hiding, and only come out to maintain the status quo,” he says. “I believe in being part of the other 10 percent who bring about positive change.” His dedication to lead and be part of the 10 percent who bring about change is evident in Manos’ involvement in the Greater Pittsburgh Literacy Council. Taking another note from his father to be involved in the community and give organizations the same amount of commitment you do a job, Manos has been a leading advocate for adult literacy. “There are so many adults who cannot read,” he says, “and it is a fundamental skill that I believe every person should have.” Reflecting on his career, Manos is pleased with the choices he made and the path he has taken. He is grateful to ONU for providing him with a sound engineering education and experiences – such as being the student manager of McIntosh Center – that broadened his understanding and opened doors. He feels blessed to have been able to grow his career with the same company. “Our country was built by great companies and people who made things,” he says. “I work for a wonderful company that produces steel for automobiles, roof trusses, appliances and hundreds of other uses that people experience every day without even knowing it. And we aren’t done making the next best thing to improve lives and create lasting value. That’s why I love this industry.”
In an interesting twist of fate, Manos oversees the Keystone Industrial Port Complex in
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David Walker Telecommunications engineer and entrepreneur Amelia Island, Fla. David Walker, BSEE ’72, capitalized on his engineering expertise to become a successful entrepreneur in the telecommunications industry. In the 1990s, he and a partner launched companies organized to own and operate undersea fiberoptic cable networks that connected continents. Although his plans took a curve, in the end he reaped big dividends. “We had the right product at the right time for the wrong reason,” he says, with a laugh. Growing up in the coal fields of eastern Ohio, Walker learned the ins and outs of running a business from his father and grandfather. They owned a construction company that built coal-processing plants called tipples. From a young age, Walker worked at construction sites, operating cranes and bulldozers and wiring complex electrical control panels. This handson experience fueled his desire to become an engineer. After graduating from ONU, Walker enrolled at Stanford University, where he received a master’s degree in electrical engineering. “I was drawn to communications because I liked the concept of bringing people together,” he says. “I felt good about being in this line of work because it contributed positively to society.”
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“ It’s not for everyone. There were tremendous highs and lows. I think my upbringing, the fact that my dad and granddad were independent businessmen, made me more comfortable with calculated risk.” - David Walker
Walker then embarked on a career in the telecommunications industry on the West Coast. His work took him to Los Angeles, remote regions of Alaska, and Vancouver, Wash., where he engineered and managed large projects to build satellite earth stations, terrestrial microwave systems, fiber-optic systems and telephone-switching systems. In the late 1980s, the company Walker worked for made him the vice president of engineering and operations for its fledgling undersea fiber-optic cable subsidiary. He and a small team of engineers took on the daunting task of partnering with two international companies to build the first privately financed undersea fiber-optic cable across the Pacific Ocean to Japan. The project included procuring the manufacturing and installation of the undersea fiber-optic system, building the terrestrial facilities to land the cable on the Oregon coast, building a diverse backhaul system to Portland to interface to the U.S. telecommunications grid, building a large satellite earth station for restoration, and organizing all operations activities for the cable and associated facilities. The learning curve was steep, but Walker came away with extensive expertise in an emerging field. “I obtained a very comprehensive knowledge of the undersea fiber-optical cable business on this one project,” he says. In the mid-1990s, Walker moved to the East Coast to become a consultant to one of the large Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOCs). At the time, the telecommunications industry was rapidly evolving due to government deregulation and the explosion of Internet and cell phone usage. With an insider’s perspective on the future, Walker determined that the RBOCs would soon need undersea fiber-optic capacity. He and a partner decided to seize the opportunity. They launched an initiative to obtain FCC cable landing licenses, develop ring networks of fiber-optic cables across the Atlantic and Pacific, and develop systems to a number of other locations, including a system from the coast of Oregon to Alaska.
Description of images: Key aspects of the construction work to lay undersea fiber-optic cable across the Pacific Ocean from Oregon, a project that would prove pivotal in Walker’s career. As it turned out, the RBOCs did need undersea fiber-optic capacity, but they obtained it from incumbent carriers. Luckily, Internet traffic exploded, and all the carriers soon needed additional capacity. Walker and his partner were waiting in the wings. “We went in with an incorrect assumption, but it ended up working out,” says Walker. “As my business partner observed, ‘We built a net to catch our luck in.’” Walker traveled extensively in the U.S. and abroad throughout his career and his entrepreneurial endeavors. His work took him to Europe, China, Hong Kong and Singapore. He made so many trips to Japan that a hotel doorman once told him: “Welcome home, Mr. Walker.” He describes those years he spent as an entrepreneur as a “rollercoaster ride.” His fortunes would change on an almost daily basis. “It’s not for everyone,” he says. “There were tremendous highs and lows. I think my upbringing, the fact that my dad and granddad were independent businessmen, made me more comfortable with calculated risk.” Throughout this time, Walker relied on the knowledge and skills he had honed as an engineer. His engineering training helped him to analyze the complex legal contracts that became a central part of his business, and to evaluate and solve the difficult problems he encountered as an executive manager. “One of the most repeated misnomers about engineering is the belief by those
outside the field that everything is black and white in engineering,” says Walker. “In reality, much of what we do is in the gray areas, where you need to balance risk versus cost and schedule.” Walker divested all his interests in the telecommunications industry in 2008. Now retired, he lives on Amelia Island, Fla., with his wife Barbara (Bobbi). He serves on the board of directors at The Peoples National Bank of Mount Pleasant, Ohio, and is the president and CEO of a family-owned limited liability company that is developing several documentary films directed by his son, Kevin, a filmmaker in Los Angeles. Reflecting on his interesting career, Walker recalls the many ways his ONU education came into play. “I received an excellent education at ONU. In fact, I feel I received better instruction at Ohio Northern than I did at Stanford, and at the time Stanford was the highest-ranked electrical engineering program in the nation,” he says. “The most useful skills I learned at ONU were analytical skills, problem-solving skills, and an appreciation for the evolution of technology.”
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BREAKING THE MOLD Ohio Northern University engineering and computer science students break the mold with divergent interests and activities that go far beyond math and science. They don’t let engineering define them; instead, they decide where engineering will take them.
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Nathan Brune
Junior Civil engineering major, entrepreneurship minor Decatur, Ind.
Future entrepreneur
Our nation needs people who can turn ideas into profitable businesses, believes Nathan Brune. So he’s not only studying civil engineering, he’s learning what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur. “An entrepreneur is a go-getter, someone who never gives up, but keeps pressing on to achieve his dream,” he says. “It’s someone who wants to make a positive difference in the world through business.”
Strong leader
Brune leads two student organizations: the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) and the Khanti Shah Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers. As president, he’s responsible for running meetings, organizing activities and helping the organizations grow. A strong leader, he thrives on open communication and hard work. “I always like to get the job done as soon as possible, and I dislike procrastination,” he says.
Dedicated volunteer
While some college students spend spring break lounging on a beach, Brune spends his time changing lives. Last spring, he traveled to Georgia with an ONU Habitat for Humanity team and spent an entire week building the front porch on a house. He’ll spend his 2014 spring break in Florida working on another Habitat house. “Being involved is one of the most constructive things a person can do,” Brune says. “My parents always stressed the importance of making a positive difference and helping others.”
Intense competitor
Brune was part of an ONU team that won second place and $1,000 at the Lawrence Tech Innovation Encounter in October, beating out competitors from Gonzaga, Lawrence Tech, St. Louis University, and more. With the clock ticking, he and his teammates scrambled to redesign a mechanical bed frame to save on shipping and material-usage costs. They had just 20 hours to develop a solution and present it to a panel of industry experts. “It was an awesome experience,” he says.
Intern extraordinaire
Last summer, Brune interned at NUCOR Building Systems in Waterloo, Ind., a leader in pre-engineered metal buildings. He worked in the estimating department creating 3-D computer renderings for project quotes. His efforts helped land new clients and convinced management they needed a full-time person in the position. “I got a glimpse of what it takes to have a successful work week and all that needs to happen to complete projects, both big and small,” he says.
Homeopathic health guru
After graduation, Brune wants to work for a structural engineering firm. But he also hopes to use his entrepreneurial skills to open an alternative health clinic. His passion for homeopathic and naturopathic medicine stems from his family’s decades-long struggle with Lyme disease. “It’s a different way of approaching health that focuses more on restoring the whole body, instead of just treating the symptoms,” he says.
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Devil’s advocate
As a leader, Shay strives to prioritize, motivate and be a devil’s advocate. He asks lots of questions to make sure his teammates have looked at the problem from all sides and considered different alternatives. He wants each teammate – especially the underclassmen – to understand the process and reasoning behind every step. “We’ve tried to get back to the basics in every aspect of the competition so we as a team have a better understanding of everything involved,” he says.
Debater
Nathan Shay
Senior Civil engineering major, political science minor Enon, Ohio
Future political strategist
Where engineering and politics converge, that’s where Nathan Shay wants to be someday. He’s not only interested in improving society with public projects, but also fascinated by the politics behind the process. “Civil engineering ties together my aptitude for science and math with my interest in politics and art,” he says. “Working at the intersection of aesthetics, policy and engineering is what truly excites me.”
Art enthusiast
In high school, Shay excelled in choir and drama club. He remains an arts enthusiast – enjoying theatre, the visual arts, and all forms of music, from bluegrass to rap. He supports his roommate, a musical theatre major, by attending all his performances. And his favorite pastime is visiting art museums across Ohio with his fiancée.
Canoe expert
Shay hopes to lead ONU to the 2014 National Concrete Canoe Competition this year. ONU made it to nationals two out of the three years that he’s been on the team. His responsibilities on the team have grown with his expertise. This year, he’s one of two project managers leading the efforts of the entire group. “I get to be part of every phase, including getting my hands dirty with test mixes, watching the hull design take shape, constructing the canoe, finishing the canoe, and competing against top schools that went through the same process,” he says.
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It’s an atypical experience for an engineering student and one Shay will never forget. His sophomore year, Shay debated a court case in front of a justice on the Ohio Supreme Court. As part of an honors course, he worked with classmates to create a legal brief on the issue of minors and life sentences without parole. His team then debated its case in front of a mock U.S. Supreme Court, which included Robert Cupp, ACIT ’71, BA ’73, JD ’76, Hon. D. ’11, who served on the Ohio Supreme Court at the time. “I was pretty nervous, but it was a real honor to have the experience and the chance to gain knowledge in another area,” says Shay.
Service leader
From picking up trash along a roadway to operating a tutoring program for engineering underclassmen, Shay is a service leader on campus. He coordinates volunteer efforts in his role as vice president of Tau Beta Pi, an engineering honor society. “Interacting with other engineering majors and serving the community, campus and other students is very rewarding,” he says.
Graduate student
After graduation, Shay plans to attend graduate school to obtain a master’s degree in transportation engineering. He dreams of working with politicians, community members and other engineers on projects that will improve people’s lives. “I will set my sights on the position in which I believe I can make the biggest impact,” he says.
Victoria Kerr
Junior Computer science major, graphic design minor Easton, Pa.
Future programmer
A computer programmer and an artist do not usually have much in common. But in the case of Victoria Kerr, they are one in the same person. She can become absorbed for hours in both writing computer codes and sketching pictures. “These are two different skills that involve opposite sides of the brain,” says Kerr. “Possessing both skill sets opens doors for me to be both the code designer and the interface designer.”
Web designer
For an EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) project, Kerr helped redesign the website for the village of Ada. She came up with design options for the site and presented her ideas to Ada’s mayor, who then presented them to the village council. Her artistry, combined with the work of the rest of her team, is now on display on the village’s home page. Through the process, she learned about teamwork and compromise.
premise of the competition, which is promoting green energy while fostering a close team of engineers who problemsolve together.”
Chapter president
Kerr is the president of ONU’s chapter of Phi Sigma Rho, a social sorority for women in engineering. The sorority provides an avenue for female students in engineering and computer science to connect and socialize. In addition, the sorority engages in service projects, including raising funds for Relay for Life. Last summer, Kerr traveled to California to represent ONU at the Phi Sigma Rho national convention. A computer gamer, she was thrilled to meet Michael Morhaime at the conference. He’s one of the founders of Blizzard Entertainment, the maker of video games such as World of Warcraft.
Jazz trombonist
For two years, Herting played trombone in the ONU Jazz Ensemble. He expanded his playing range and endurance while experimenting with a wide-range of styles, from traditional jazz to blues to rock. He even traveled to New Orleans with the Jazz Ensemble to hear some jazz greats perform.
Passionate Christian
Passionate about his Christian faith, Herting has forged close friendships with members of the Northern Christian Fellowship and Fusion, a worship group. “Fusion meets once a week as a way to forget about the busyness and difficulty of school and focus on God,” he says.
Communicator
Shy and introverted when she arrived on campus, Kerr says her ONU experiences have made her a better communicator. She discovered she enjoys being in charge and strives to be flexible and fair-minded. “I’ve become a more dynamic person and come to realize that, while knowing your information is important, there are equally important skills in life, such as being able to communicate effectively both verbally and non-verbally,” she says.
4-H mentor
Inquisitive kids find a kindly helper in Kerr. She mentors students in the Hardin County 4-H Tech Wizards program. Geared toward students in the fourth, fifth and sixth grades, Tech Wizards exposes students to science and technology through fun projects like LEGO Mindstorm Robots. As a mentor, Kerr helps students work through problems and complete projects. “All of the children are really bright and ask great questions,” she says. “Being able to share my knowledge with them and be a role model is very rewarding.”
Puzzle solver
Last summer, Kerr worked as a programmer at Selective Insurance in Branchville, N.J., and realized she loved working in the corporate setting. After graduation, she plans to pursue employment at a corporation. “My internship opened my eyes to the world of programming at corporations,” she says. “When I am coding, time passes way too quickly, and before I know it, I’ve spent hours working through a puzzling bit of logic and code.”
Daniel Herting
Junior Mechanical engineering major Beavercreek, Ohio
Future designer and builder
From his younger days spent competing in Science Olympiad with bottle rockets, mousetraps and coin sorters, Daniel Herting has always loved to design and build things with his hands. So, majoring in mechanical engineering was a natural fit. “I’m hooked on the problem-solving aspect of engineering,” he says.
Habitat fundraiser
As an outgrowth of his faith, Herting is actively involved in Habitat for Humanity, heading up fundraising efforts from car washes to meals that help more than 120 ONU students travel to Habitat sites across the U.S. during spring break. He appreciates the opportunity to use his building skills to help those in need. “Most importantly, this organization is God-centered in all it does,” he says. “That’s respectable and something worth working for.”
Unicyclist
Herting gets lots of attention on campus when he rides around on his unicycle. It took him two months and hours of practice to master the skill. “To answer everyone’s question: Yes, it’s difficult at first, but the learning curve is similar to riding a bicycle. Once you’ve got it, you’ve pretty much got it,” he says. Taking it one step further, he’s now learning how to juggle while riding the unicycle.
HPVC champion
Herting’s passion for cycling plays out as a key member of ONU’s team for the ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC). Last year, he and his teammates came in fifth place against competitors from top-notch schools with a vehicle that could travel at speeds of 30 miles per hour. This year, they’ve recruited a larger ONU team to participate. “I enjoy the design freedom and creativity allowed within the boundaries of the competition rules,” he says. “I enjoy the whole
Green energy enthusiast
Herting came to ONU, in part, because of the wide-open green spaces. A lover of nature and the outdoors, he appreciated ONU’s effort to support green energy, including the wind turbines and the geothermal heating/ cooling in several dorms. His dream is to simply be an engineer, but if he could find a job in the cycling or green energy industries, even better. “My dreams aren’t grand, but they’re realistic, attainable and worth striving for,” he says. “I just want to be an engineer, to get my hands dirty and creatively solve some real-world problems.”
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HIGH-IMPACT L Our mission at the T.J. Smull College of Engineering is to engage students through personal relationships and high-impact educational experiences to maximize their success. Our commitment to our students is that they will receive a high-impact education, which translates into hands-on, meaningful and challenging learning – both inside and outside the classroom. Research experiences, study abroad, co-ops and internships are examples of outside-the-classroom experiences that open doors to the future.
Study abroad Living and studying in a different country can be a life-altering experience. ONU offers study-abroad opportunities in dozens of countries across the globe. Engineering students can spend a summer, a semester or an entire year expanding their worldview.
Thomas Gresavage West Windsor, N.J. Senior Mechanical engineering major with applied mathematics and German minors
His experience: I spent nine
months in Germany studying the German language, culture, history and literature at Leuphane University, located in the small city of Lüneburg about 30 minutes south of Hamburg by train. My classes ended in the early afternoon, so I had free time to explore the city and surrounding areas. There is nothing low impact about studying abroad. You are dropped in a foreign country, more or less alone, and you have to learn the language, meet completely new people, adapt to a new culture and do well in your classes.
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Best moment:
Skydiving for the first time in Berlin.
Impact: My overall impression was
that Germany is one of the cleanest, most beautiful countries on earth. The German culture does an incredible job balancing technological innovation with nature. This strikes a chord with me as a mechanical engineer in the 21st century, where the buzzword is “sustainability.” The greatest things I learned from my German experience were interpersonal communication, punctuality and carpé diem. I plan to attend graduate school, and my study-abroad experience will demonstrate that I am well-traveled. Furthermore, businesses are becoming increasingly globalized, so being fluent in a foreign language, and having the experience of living in a non-English-speaking country, will be valuable assets on my résumé.
T LEARNING Undergraduate
research experiences
Undergraduate research experiences, which take place at large research institutions and government labs, expose students to innovative research in a specific field. Undergraduates have to apply for these competitive experiences and be chosen by the group sponsoring the research, typically the National Science Foundation or other governmental agency. ONU engineering and computer science students have participated in research experiences at Duke, Georgia Tech, Case Western, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and the Mayo Clinic, working in the areas of nano-technology, wind turbines, biomedical, automotive and more.
Meghan Letizia Dublin, Ohio Sophomore Computer engineering major
Her experience: I spent last summer participating in an undergraduate research experience at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. I worked on an interdisciplinary design team with two other students, one from Virginia Tech and one from California Polytechnic State University, to design a website from scratch using the Dreamweaver platform. I loved the entire experience. It taught me a lot about the real world – how to live on your own, work on a team and manage your time. The experience also exposed me to more detailed programming and the resulting product.
Best moment: Attending a conference in Atlanta, Ga., with my academic sponsor and running into my ONU professor and ONU students there! Also, hiking with my new friends to a spot called “Dragon’s Tooth” along the Appalachian Trail. The view overlooked the Appalachian Mountains and showed me how different Virginia is compared to Northwest Ohio, where there are no mountains in sight!
Impact: My experience made me
realize that computer engineering, focusing on programming both hardware and software, is the perfect fit for me. It also taught me to strive for only the best in everything I do.
I made a ton of new friends. Virginia Tech even helped me to connect with members of the Virginia Tech women’s tennis team to work out over the summer so that I could stay in shape as a member of ONU’s women’s tennis team.
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Cooperative
Education Program (Co-op)
The co-op program integrates classroom studies with supervised, paid work experiences. ONU’s engineering and computer science co-op students work in the research, development, manufacturing and engineering departments of industrial companies, consulting firms, and federal and state agencies across the U.S. Some ONU students have even participated in co-ops abroad in Chile, Germany, Japan and Singapore. The five-year program is optional and available for all majors in the College of Engineering.
Logan Kingen Pandora, Ohio Senior Mechanical engineering major
His experience: I participated in
a design engineering co-op at Honda R&D Americas Inc., in Raymond, Ohio, from June 2011 until August 2012 and returned for summer 2013. I have always loved cars, so being able to have an impact on a product I was so passionate about was extremely exciting. Every product I saw at Honda was a quality product. The design engineers prepare for conditions I never knew existed. They test durability up to standards I could not have previously considered. Their knowledge base of cars and how to make cars more reliable was awe-inspiring.
My job involved working between groups to solve problems from part positioning to styling to wire harness routing. I would relay decisions and design changes to suppliers and oversee the development of each part. Each part had to meet government regulations as well as Honda standards.
Best moment:
Seeing the future Acura NSX being developed. Also, watching a Honda Odyssey crash test while standing next to recently retired Indy Car legend Dario Franchitti.
Impact:The greatest lesson I learned
was the importance of communication. Communication formed the basis of everything I did at Honda. The brightest engineer on the planet will not be much good to a company if he or she cannot communicate their ideas to everyone around them. My co-op led to full-time employment. I have signed a job-offer letter to continue at Honda as a design engineer after graduation.
Katherine “Katie” Miller Cincinnati, Ohio Senior Civil engineering major
Her experience: I participated
in a co-op at EMH&T in Columbus, Ohio, from June 2012 until August 2013. I worked on all things related to site development, gaining experience in utility research, plan preparation, grading, site layout and design, and storm-water management. I became involved in a wide variety of projects, including an industrial building, a school and even a luxury pet hotel.
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I loved working at EMH&T because of the company’s culture. Everyone was extremely helpful and friendly. They were eager to teach me everything I wanted to know and willingly took the time to do so. It was fascinating to see how much work goes into even a simple site design. By the end of my co-op, I was working on more complex and challenging projects.
Best moment: The last week of my co-op, my supervisor took me on a tour of all the job sites under construction that I had worked on during my co-op. To see what I had designed on paper actually come to life in the field was rewarding.
Impact: Much of what I learned at
EMH&T built upon the strong educational base I received at ONU. Taking the next step and applying what I learned in the real world has made me more passionate about civil engineering. I know exactly what kind of work I want to do and what kind of company I want to work for after I graduate because of this co-op.
Internships Bridget Davis Newark, Ohio Senior Electrical engineering major
Her experience: I interned at American
Electric Power (AEP) for three summers in 2011, 2012 and 2013. AEP is a great company that really cares about its employees and customers. Everyone I worked with was helpful and took the time to make sure I understood the engineering aspects of the electrical-utility business. As an intern, I assisted the lead engineers on their projects. I worked in AutoCAD, creating and updating drawings. I helped create estimates for projects and assisted in the bidding process for new parts. I also performed maintenance testing on circuit breakers and transformers.
Students interested in summer internships make connections through their professors, ONU alumni, career services, and networking events sponsored by ONU and the engineering college. They discover a wide-range of opportunities at companies and organizations, both large and small, across the Midwest.
I enjoyed visiting a lot of substations to see firsthand how power is transported around the AEP system. I also visited manufacturers to see how various parts are made, which helped me to better understand the purpose and function of each part.
Best moment: Definitely the time I got
to go “dumpster diving,” which means to climb inside a failed transformer to examine it and determine the problem.
Impact: The greatest thing I learned was
that you never stop learning. I met engineers who had been in the business for 30 or 40 years, and they were learning new things every day. Just because you receive your degree doesn’t mean you know everything. Embrace learning, and don’t be afraid to admit you are wrong or don’t know the answer. After graduation, I am moving to Abilene, Texas, to work at AEP as a field engineer.
Jason Luthman Bellbrook, Ohio Junior Mechanical engineering major with biomedical science and chemistry minors
His experience: I interned at Battelle,
the world’s largest nonprofit research and development organization, this past summer working in developmental research on a catalytic pyrolysis biomass conversion process. This system is used to convert dry biomass (wood chips) into bio-oil that can be further refined to provide a useful form of alternative fuel. Battelle is an impressive organization with diverse opportunities that are hard to match. Most of Battelle’s projects don’t focus on generating a specific product in the traditional sense, but on learning about and improving a form of technology for a client, or researching technical alternatives or advancements in a given field. Their work advances our ability as people to adapt to changes in our surroundings and to live the best lives we can live.
I got to witness some of the best minds in research science and engineering at work. Beyond their talent and commitment to the project, they were also fun to be around. I’ve always thought that a job you enjoy shouldn’t feel like a job at all, and that’s definitely how I felt working at Battelle.
Best moment: My first day on the job,
I was given a project and asked to complete it in two weeks. I collaborated with multiple engineers, CAD technicians and machinists to complete the planning, fabrication and installation of a custom component. It was a lot of responsibility, but my team provided great support. This experience instilled me with confidence, and it’s something I will remember for a long time.
To learn more about our high-impact learning opportunities, visit onu.edu/enghi.
Impact:
Aside from building my résumé, this experience provided me with valuable skills, both technical and interpersonal. It gave me confidence to trust in my work and helped me improve my ability to communicate with others, which is a critical skill for any job. I learned how to be a professional in the broad sense of the word and what it takes to become one of the best and brightest innovators in engineering and science. Interning at Battelle was the opportunity of a lifetime and has made a major difference in the way I approach school and my future as an engineer.
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DEVELOPING AN
ENTREPRENEURIAL
MINDSET
Engineers need to possess an entrepreneurial mindset to find success in today’s dynamic and demanding work environment.
Employers want engineers with the business acumen to connect their ideas with the marketplace, explains Dr. John-David Yoder, professor of mechanical engineering. “I always tell my engineering students that the equation for profit is the most important equation to remember as they design products,” he says. Yoder is championing an effort to develop an entrepreneurial mindset in every ONU engineering student. It’s not about becoming the next Bill Gates, he explains, but about being an engineer who can recognize opportunity, identify risks, assess problems, and understand legal and business issues, regardless of job title or industry. The T.J. Smull College of Engineering, in conjunction with the Dicke College of Business Administration, promotes an entrepreneurial mindset across campus through programs funded primarily by Kern Entrepreneurship Education Network (KEEN) grants from the Kern Family Foundation. Since 2006, Yoder, along with Dr. Rob Kleine III, associate dean of the business college, have obtained more than $600,000 in grants. The entrepreneurial mindset program positively impacts the educational experience of every ONU business and engineering student, says Yoder. And every year, it gains momentum.
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Thinking
like an Entrepreneur ONU engineering students start to think like entrepreneurs their first year on campus. All freshman engineering majors participate in the Freshman Design Project. In small teams, they design a device to help impoverished people living in a Third World country. The device must alleviate hardship in some way, either by helping individuals earn money or by saving them time, money or effort on a basic task. Each team engages in a comprehensive design process that culminates in a functional prototype. Past projects have included composting toilets, manual water pumps and mosquito traps. The entrepreneurial component of the project requires each team to write a business plan for their device. The plan must include costs, distribution, material availability, marketing and more. “The business plan forces students to consider the big picture,” explains Dr. Ken Reid, director of first-year engineering and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Without it, students simply try to minimize costs, without considering things like where the materials will come from and where it will be manufactured.” According to Reid, helping students develop an entrepreneurial mindset early on, through experiences like the Freshman Design Project, turns them into creative and grounded engineers. “Entrepreneurship introduces and encourages the creative and business aspects of design that become so important after graduation,” he says.
Pitching an Idea
Racing
to Innovate
Prototype and business plan in hand, each freshman design team must participate in the Polar Elevator Pitch Competition – ONU’s own version of “Shark Tank,” minus the billionaire investors.
The KEEN Innovation Challenge is another upbeat competition that encourages engineering students to think outside the box. These challenges are modeled on a similar competition held at Saint Louis University, another KEEN school.
The pitch competition held every semester encourages a culture of creativity and collaboration on campus. Any ONU student with an idea can sign up. The competition grows bigger and more competitive each time it’s held, says Dr. Tammy Schakett, assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Dicke College of Business Administration.
The College of Engineering hosts two challenges each semester. Students form three-person teams (at least one team member must be an engineering major) and tackle a quick and dirty design project, such as creating a pingpong ball launcher or paper airplane. Teams receive materials and a rules sheet and have just one hour to design, build and test their products.
The pitch competition features four categories: ideas that improve society; high-tech, commercialized product ideas; as-seen-on-TV product ideas; and new businesses that create jobs.
The KEEN Innovation Challenge promotes teamwork in a high-energy and competitive atmosphere. “Students have to think through the design and then pull it together in a way that meets the required objective,” says Tom Zechman, assistant dean in the College of Engineering. “Although it’s fun and quick, it holds most of the components of a real-world design project.”
Each individual or team is given two minutes to present their idea to a panel of three judges. They then field questions for two minutes and receive feedback from the judges for two minutes. The judges award cash prizes to the three most compelling ideas. “Engineering students are initially very uncomfortable trying to condense their idea into two minutes,” says Yoder. “It’s a real challenge for them. But they improve their communication skills and become more at ease presenting their ideas to strangers.” Most engineering students participate in the Polar Elevator Pitch Competition more than once during their college career, adds Yoder. The pitch competition also is a requirement for Principles in Entrepreneurship – a business course taken by approximately 75 percent of engineering and computer science students.
The winning team of each KEEN Innovation Challenge receives a cash prize to split three ways. “The cash prize keeps everyone in the game,” says Zechman. Armed with just 12 pipe cleaners and two sheets of aluminum foil, Alex Frey, Marc LeRoy, and Evan Sawyer, all mechanical engineering majors, constructed a boat that beat out nine competitors at the November KEEN Innovation Challenge.
The teammates devised a simple strategy: make a wide boat to prevent drifting and a wide sail to catch as much air as possible from the box fan. Their strategy worked. Their boat achieved the fastest time down a makeshift canal. Frey said the short timeframe and limited supplies made the competition challenging. He and his teammates learned to compromise and meld their ideas. “It’s always a great experience when you can apply engineering to a fun exercise,” he says. “The prize money our team won was also nice, especially since being broke goes hand-in-hand with being a college student.”
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Taking Learning to the Next Level
ONU engineering professors also strive to incorporate an entrepreneurial component into their classes. Many professors have attended KEEN workshops to learn strategies for bringing the entrepreneurial concepts to life in technical courses. The Electric Circuits class, a sophomore-level course that’s a requirement for electrical, computer and mechanical engineering students, offers students a chance to earn extra credit for thinking like an entrepreneur.
“It’s not sufficient for engineers to just be good technical problem-solvers” In teams of two to four, students form a fictitious company and respond to a request for proposal (RFP) for the design of a set of temperature sensors using negative temperature coefficient (NTC) thermistors. Each team must create a comprehensive written proposal that
includes not only two alternative solutions, but also extensive supporting documentation, including labor costs, material lists, testing plans, time schedule for delivery and breakeven analysis. After submitting the written proposal, each team pitches its product to the customer (the course instructor) using a PowerPoint presentation. The winning teams from each course section then compete against each other for a monetary prize and the chance to present the project at an ASEE section conference. The extra-credit project is a perfect blend of technical skills and soft skills, says Dr. Heath LeBlanc, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. “In particular, the
project aims to teach written and verbal communication, management, persisting and learning from failure, and how to solve ambiguous problems.” LeBlanc says students respond positively to this opportunity to take learning to the next level. “It’s not sufficient for engineers to just be good technical problem-solvers,” he adds. “Engineers need to interact with clients and help sell their designs and ideas in the vernacular understood by business professionals.”
Graduating
Creating
with an Advantage
Synergy
Engineering students also collaborate with business students and professors through ONU’s entrepreneurial mindset program. “I lecture in business classes, and entrepreneurship professors lecture in engineering courses,” Yoder explains. “Engineering students also are involved in teams that include business students, either in competitions, on and off campus, or in student projects.” Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO), a student club for budding entrepreneurs, grew out of this synergy. Formed in 2011, the club is open to students from all majors who dream of owning a business someday. However, engineering and business students dominate the membership roster. They host monthly gatherings and invite local entrepreneurs to share their experiences with the group. They also attend conferences and enter competitions together, including the 2013 Lawrence Tech Innovation Encounter where the ONU team (comprised of two business majors and two engineering majors) placed second. 20
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In addition, some engineering students enhance their degrees with a minor from the Dicke College of Business Administration. The entrepreneurship minor was established with the first KEEN grant ONU received from the Kern Family Foundation. The minor is geared toward any student who dreams of launching his or her own business or who simply wants to prepare for a fast-paced and global marketplace. Eleven engineering students are enrolled in the entrepreneurship minor program this year, and another 16 engineering students are working toward a minor in business administration.
All the components of the entrepreneurial mindset program – from curriculum modifications to pitch competitions to business-plan writing – work together to create a well-rounded engineering graduate, says Yoder. The ultimate goal is for every engineering student – even those who aren’t businessinclined – to graduate from ONU with the ability to think and act like an entrepreneur. “If our graduates can recognize opportunity and talk about why their work is important in business terms, it gives them a huge advantage in the workplace,” says Yoder.
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI AWARD
2014
DI ST I
Harold D. Marker BSCE ’52
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“My desire to get off the farm made me work hard,” he says. “I focused on OUTSTANDING integrity and work quality and surrounded myself with people who did the same.” CONTRIBUTIONS IN A licensed professional engineer, Marker started Thomas & Marker Construction Co. in Bellefontaine, ENGINEERING OR Ohio, in 1965 after working for 12 years for a large commercial construction firm. HeSCIENCE became the sole COMPUTER SM owner in 1983, and the company continues to grow with offices in Bellefontaine and Columbus.I UL
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E With more than 100 associates, Thomas & Marker has earned a reputationLfor toFcomplete C Oits L Lability EGE O highly technical and complex projects. The company has constructed a number of projects at ONU, including the Freed Center for the Performing Arts, James F. Dicke Hall, and the King Horn Sports Center. Marker currently serves as chairman of the board, while three generations of the Marker family provide strong leadership for the business.
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OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTIONS IN ENGINEERING OR COMPUTER SCIENCE
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J. T.
The T.J. Smull College of Engineering Alumni Award recognizes those who have distinguished themselves through outstanding personal qualities and significant contributions to his or her chosen field. To be eligible for the award, an individual must be a graduate of the T.J. Smull College of Engineering; be distinguished in his or her profession, business or other worthy endeavor; have received recognition from his or her contemporaries; have made significant contributions benefitting his or her community, state nation, the University or the college; and be a person of such integrity, stature and demonstrated ability that the faculty, staff, students and alumni of the college will take pride in and be inspired by his or her recognition.
S RD
2014
ED ALUMN IA ISH W GU A N Growing up on a farm in Miami County in Ohio, Harold Marker, BSCE ’52, never dreamed he would one day own a company that built university buildings, schools, hospitals, churches, museums and more all across the state.
Our 2014 Distinguished Alumni Award honorees are:
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Jack Ridge Distinguished BSME ’60 Alumni Awards
Marker says he enjoyed constructing buildings that added value to communities. “At the end of the day, I could look back at my work and feel good,” he says.
Distinguished
Marker’s community involvement includes serving as a long-standing trustee of the Sloan Industrial School, a member of the First United Methodist Church, former director of the Colonial Federal Savings and Loan, and past director of Quincy Castings Inc. He was recognized as the Kiwanis Citizen of the Year in 2007. Marker and his wife, Barbara, have been married for 62 years. They have three children, eight grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He is pleased to report that his family’s ranks include several civil, industrial and mechanical engineers.
Alumni Awards
Jack Ridge, BSME ’60, credits his success as an engineer and entrepreneur to perseverance and his faith in God. “I showed up every day and took steps of faith, and God honored those steps,” he says. As an ONU student, Ridge benefited from the personal attention he received from his professors. His engineering education, he says, taught him how to attack problems. He began his career working in the aerospace and petroleum industries. He then opened his own engineering consulting firm in Findlay, Ohio, called Ridge & Associates. His interest in developing a job-costing program to improve his firm’s operations led him to partner with two other individuals to launch a software development company. During its 20-year history, Solomon Software became one of the industry’s primary market leaders in accounting software, serving more than 60,000 businesses worldwide. Solomon eventually merged with Great Plains Software and was then acquired by Microsoft in 2001. After four years as an integral part of Microsoft Business Solutions, Solomon’s software development and technical support was outsourced by Microsoft to the newly created Plumbline Solutions in 2004. Today, Ridge serves on Plumbline’s board of directors. He also provides facilities consultation and oversees community outreach for Six Disciplines Corp. in Findlay. He shares his strong Christian faith with others through his volunteer work with Champions for Life prison ministry, Besor Ravine Ministry and student-led campus ministries. Ridge and his wife, Judy, have two children, Jacquie and Jim, and seven grandchildren.
2013-14 Members of the College of Engineering Advisory Board
Michael Chow, P.E., LEED AP BSEE ’92 Owner/Principal Metro CD Engineering LLC Dublin, Ohio
Board Chair Kevin Freese BSME ’84 President and CEO Affordable Living Spaces Ltd. Cleveland, Ohio
Lori (Burgett) Gillett BSCE ’96 Business Development Manager Kokosing Construction Company Westerville, Ohio
Board Chair-Elect Deborah (Green) Houdeshell, P.E. BSCE ’87 Senior Associate Hazen and Sawyer Akron, Ohio
Bruce Hollinger BSCE ’75 President/Co-Founder WiSys LLC Flowery Branch, Ga.
Dr. Donald Campbell BSME ’59, ACIT ’95, Hon. D. ’98, ACIT ’11 Director (Retired) NASA Glenn Research Center Cleveland, Ohio
Frederick “Fritz” Kucklick BSME ’69, ACIT ‘09 Engineering, Mgmt & Lit. Consultant IMT Consulting Inc. Cassopolis, Mich.
Dr. E.F. Charles LaBerge Professor of the Practice of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Maryland, Baltimore County Baltimore, Md. Susan (Di Nezza) Lettrich BSEE ’85 Corporate and Business Unit Executive Cleveland, Ohio Victor Marone, P.E. Senior Partner Chesapeake Management Associates Annapolis, Md. Lt. Col. Brett Mason BSEE ’86 Vice President, Intelligence Community AC4S Fairfax, Va.
Scott McClintock, P.E. BSCE ’86 Project Manager Kass Corporation/2AW Limited Pataskala, Ohio Neil Naiman, P.E. BSEE ’74 Manager, Downstream Planning and Strategy (Retired) Marathon Petroleum Company LLC Findlay, Ohio Michael Rencheck, P.E. BSEE ’83, ACIT ’08 President/CEO AREVA NP Inc. Lynchburg, Va. Khalil Shuhaibar BSEE ’93 Project Manager Discovery Communication Inc. Silver Spring, Md.
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ENGINEERING NEWS FOUR PROFESSORS JOIN FACULTY Dr. Fan Ye, assistant professor of civil engineering
Four new professors bring a wealth of knowledge and energy to campus.
Dr. Alexandra Coman, assistant professor of computer science
The Spotts Lecture was held on Feb. 26, 2014, and featured Dr. Paolo Pirjanian, iRobot’s chief technology officer, who provided insight into how robots are disrupting industries, changing the world and impacting our lives. In his talk, he discussed the challenges of transitioning technologies from the lab into practical, real-world products that can perform autonomous tasks ranging from vacuuming floors in the home to saving lives in the battlefield. Pirjanian shared his vision with respect to emerging technologies, such as 3-D sensing, mobile devices and cloud computing, and how they will shape the robotics industry and our future.
Dr. Alexandra Coman received her M.S. and her Ph.D. in computer science from Lehigh University and her B.S. in IT systems management from RomanianAmerican University. Her research involves endowing artificially intelligent agents with autonomy and behavioral variations to make them more useful and interesting to interact with. Dr. Nesreen Alsbou, visiting assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Dr. Nesreen Alsbou earned her Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Oklahoma and her M.S. and B.S. from Kansas State University. Her research involves wireless networking and communication.
Dr. Fan Ye received her Ph.D. in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and her M.S. and B.S. in civil engineering from Southeast University in China. Her research interests include highway safety, traffic operations and traffic-control devices. In the last 12 years, she’s participated in more than 20 transportation engineering projects in both the U.S. and China. Most recently, she worked as an assistant transportation researcher at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute. Dr. Ziad Youssfi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering Dr. Ziad Youssfi earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in electrical and computer engineering from Michigan State University. Most recently, he taught at Western University in London, Ontario. He also worked as a software developer for Michigan State and as a development engineer for Intel. Youssfi’s research interests include optimizing performance and power consumption in computer architecture.
iRobot and iRobot product images are registered trademarks of iRobot Corporation.
BILL KANZIG RETIRES FROM THE COLLEGE
TOP 50 RANKING Ohio Northern University’s T.J. Smull College of Engineering has been recognized as one of the nation’s top 50 undergraduate engineering programs in Best Colleges 2014, published by U.S. News & World Report. The college ranked 33rd among engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s. This is the college’s highest ranking ever and marks the sixth time in seven years that U.S. News & World Report has listed ONU in its top 50 rankings. 22
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William “Bill” Kanzig retired in December 2013 after working as the manager of the machine shop for 20 years. Kanzig enjoyed providing hands-on instruction to engineering students over the years, showing them how to operate the shop’s machines and tools. He also advised and assisted ONU’s Baja SAE teams for many years. Kanzig looks forward to spending winters in Florida and painting and sculpturing in his retirement.
EPICS PROJECT RESTORES CANNON BASES The cannons in Gormley Park in the village of Forest, Ohio, have reminded the townspeople of sacrifices made in the name of freedom for more than a century. Long ago, the first cracks appeared in the cannons’ concrete bases. Over the decades, the cracks grew wider and deeper. In time, great chunks of concrete fell away, taking with them some of the grandeur of the old guns.
EPICS (Engineering Projects in Community Service) project. An academic program for colleges and universities, EPICS combines engineering with service learning.
mountings. These monuments to military service will now stand proudly in the village of Forest for generations to come. Read an in-depth account of the cannon base restoration project at http://www.onu. edu/features/54681.
The project spanned three semesters and ended in fall 2013 when the students saw their design and hard work come to fruition with new steel cannon
ONU engineering students recently tackled the task of restoring the cannon bases as an
2013 NATIONAL DESIGN COMPETITIONS Instilling our students with a passion for engineering and computer science happens every day inside our small, intimate classrooms. Nowhere is high-impact learning beyond the classroom more evident than in our design teams, for which students apply the knowledge they have gained in the classroom in a variety of national design competitions. Here are the results for 2013 design competitions and the schedule for 2014. We are so proud of our students and faculty advisors and the success that they experience nationally.
2014 COMPETITION SCHEDULE
Robotic Football • Win over the University of Notre Dame by a score of 49-37 as part of the Brian Hederman Memorial Robotic Competition • Win over the University of Notre Dame by a score of 52-41 during an exhibition match at ASEE Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
Baja SAE • Third place overall in the Mike Schmidt Memorial Iron Team competition by earning the third highest cumulative point score at the three U.S. Baja SAE events during the 2013 competition season • Second place at Baja SAE Tennessee • Seventh place at Baja SAE Washington • Ninth place at Baja SAE Rochester
ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge • Fifth place at the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) East competition
ASCE Concrete Canoe • Second place at the North Central regional competition • Participation in the 2013 National Concrete Canoe Competition
IEEE Micromouse • Third place at the Region 2 IEEEStudent Activities Conference
March 27-30, 2014 - ASCE North Central Student Conference (Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge Competitions) at University of Detroit-Mercy, Detroit, Mich. April 4-6, 2014 - IEEE Region 2 Student Activities Conference (Micromouse Competition) at Rowan University, Glassboro, N.J. April 11, 2014 - Brian Hederman Memorial Robotic Football Competition at University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Ind. April 11-13, 2014 - SAE Aero Design East at Lockheed Martin, Marietta, Ga. April 11-13, 2014 - ASME HPVC East at University of Central Florida, Orlando, Fla. May 22-25, 2014 - Baja SAE Kansas at Pittsburg State University, Pittsburg, Kan. June 4-7, 2014 - Baja SAE Illinois at Caterpillar Edwards Demonstration & Learning Center, Edwards, Ill. To learn more about our high-impact learning opportunities, visit onu.edu/enghi.
Alumni in these areas are welcome to come out and cheer on the Polar Bears. Contact the College of Engineering at engineering@onu.edu for further details.
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College of Engineering 525 S. Main St. Ada, OH 45810
ENGINEERING SUMMER ENRICHMENT OPTIONS FOR STUDENTS
CAMP GEMS
Girls in Engineering, Math & Science
SAHI ENGINEERING PATHWAYS
WHAT: A weeklong residential camp that introduces students to civil, computer, electrical and mechanical engineering. WHERE: Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio WHEN: June 22-27, 2014 WHO: High school students entering the 10th, 11th, or 12th grade in fall 2014 COST: $460, which includes room, board, travel for field trips and educational materials.Transportation to and from camp is not included. MORE INFO: onu.edu/sahi
CAMP GEMS
WHAT: A four-day residential engineering, mathematics and science camp WHERE: Ohio Northern University, Ada, Ohio WHEN: July 13-16, 2014 WHO: Girls entering the seventh or eighth grade in fall 2014 COST: $300, which includes room, board and educational materials.Transportation to and from camp is not included. MORE INFO: onu.edu/campgems
Contact Laurie Laird, director of the camps, at 419-772-2421 or l-laird@onu.edu