Syracuse Engineer Fall 2015

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Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science Syracuse, NY 13244-1240

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

99,957

MOHAWK VIA PC100

Gallons wastewater flow saved.

214

Trees preserved for the future.

18,430 lbs

Net greenhouse gases prevented.

96,000,000 BTUs energy not consumed.

12 lbs

Water-borne waste not created.

6,691 lbs

Solid waste not generated.

Engineer magazine promotes a clean, sustainable environment. Throughout production, we have embraced green practices and principles. We use 100% post-consumer paper and print only with soy-based, non VOC inks. Our printer is FSC® certified. Our printer is Green-e® certified and offsets their electricity use through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Steps like this can preserve more than 210 trees, save over 99,000 gallons of wastewater, eliminate nearly 6,500 pounds of solid waste and prevent the emission of more than 18,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

That’s a big difference, and that’s the idea.

Environmental savings calculations are based on 17,820 lbs of paper production run.

Paper Manufactured and Printed Using 100% Certified Renewable Electricity TN#: 10-5005-1052

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Forward Momentum INTRODUCING DEAN DAHLBERG FALL 2015

34 20

AGUA LIMPIA

02

22

ALL THAT GLISTENS Harmful Practices in Gold Mining Inspire Mercury Research in Senegal

IN THE MEDIA

04

12

23

05

14

24

VIRTUAL BODY

DEAN DAHLBERG

10

THE RIGHT FIT Engineering Labs Set Up Shop in the CoE

SWARM ROBOTS

DRIVE

The Fast-Paced Return of SU’s Formula SAE Team

18

CHANGING BANDAGES Startup Developing Advanced Wound Dressing Is Based on SU Research

FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS

ENGINEERS TAKE ITALY

25

OMAR & ARGY Building a Lab From the Ground Up

32

CARBON CAPTURE New Material Moves Us One Step Closer to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

38

EYES IN THE SKY

40

HEADS UP New Classroom Encourages Teamwork in Engineering Education

42 Q&A

With Mark Povinelli

43

BOOTS TO BOOKS

46

FROM ORANGE TO ORANGE

Organizations Allyn Foundation Inc. American Institute of Steel Construction American International Group Inc. The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Association for Bridge Construction and Design Autodesk Inc. Autoliv North America Automatic Data Processing Foundation AXA Foundation BAE Systems North America Bank of America Foundation BASF Corporation Benevity

The Boeing Company CB&I Chevron Corporation Cisco Systems Inc. Computer Associates International Inc. Corning Incorporated Dakota Capital LLC The Dow Chemical Company The Ahmad & Elizabeth El-Hindi Foundation Inc. Exelon Corporation EY Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Fluor Foundation FM Global GE Fund Google Inc. The Heller Family Foundation Indira Foundation

Ingersoll-Rand Company Intel Foundation J.P. Morgan Chase & Company The Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York Inc. Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Johnson Controls Foundation JustGive KPMG Foundation Lam Research Corporation Eli Lilly & Company LMEPAC Charity Program Custodial Account Lockheed Martin Corporation Longwell Family Foundation The Lubrizol Foundation Macy’s Foundation

MCGI Tec Inc. McKesson Foundation Inc. McKinney-Geib Foundation Inc. Microsoft Corporation Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc. Claire & Jack Nath Charitable Foundation National Grid USA Network for Good Northrop Grumman Foundation O’Brien & Gere Ltd. PACCAR Foundation Pilipczuk Consulting Engineers & Home Inspectors PJM Interconnection LLC Pointwise Inc. Preferred Audiology Care LLC

Raymond International W.L.L. Raytheon Company Red Hat Inc. Research Foundation of CUNY Salesforce.com Foundation The San Diego Foundation Schwab Charitable Fund Sekas Homes Ltd. Richard S. Shineman Foundation John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Society of Women Engineers SRC Inc. State Farm Companies Foundation Taylor Orthopedic Clinic Inc. Technical University of Denmark Tyco International Ltd.

ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS Julie Hasenwinkel, Ph.D.

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS Ariel DuChene

DESIGN Leibowitz Branding & Design leibowitz.co

WEBSITE eng-cs.syr.edu

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT Michael M. Ransom

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matt Wheeler

48

ALUMNI NOTES

51

IN MEMORIAM

52

DONOR REPORT

DEAN Teresa A. Dahlberg, Ph.D. SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Can Isik, Ph.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMS Mark Glauser, Ph.D.

Computer Engineers Build an App to Help Veterans Transition to Students

COOL IT...

DATA CENTERS DONOR IMPACT

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR STUDENT RECRUITMENT Kathleen M. Joyce

CONTRIBUTORS Ariel DuChene Matt Wheeler Barbara Witek

PHOTOGRAPHY Susan Kahn Douglas Lloyd Steve Sartori Chuck Wainwright

CONTACT engineer@syr.edu

Union Pacific Corporation United Technologies Corporation United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut Verizon Foundation Voya Financial Wells Fargo Foundation Wilsu LLC Windover Construction Xerox Foundation

FROM THE DEAN

Dean Teresa A. Dahlberg joined the College on August 1, 2015. Read the article on page 5 to learn more about Dean Dahlberg.

Since my arrival at the College of Engineering and Computer Science in August, I have asked students—Why did you choose Syracuse University to study engineering and computer science?

The answers often start in the same way. “I want a strong engineering or computer science program, and …” However, the answers end in different ways. “I also want to…. do research… play sports… watch ACC games… study abroad… start a company… play in a band… act… study public policy (or business, design, law, medicine, math)… be in a diverse environment.”

An intimate, rigorous technical education, grounded in the liberal arts, situated within a comprehensive research university—this defines engineering and computer science at Syracuse University. We graduate engineers and computer scientists with the intellectual and emotional intelligence needed to tackle complex challenges facing the world today.

Inspiring examples of students solving problems are found in this issue. In the article Omar & Argy, you will learn how two graduate students helped build a junior faculty member’s lab from the ground up using creativity and resourcefulness. In Drive, we tell the story of how our students competed for the first time in years in the collegiate Formula SAE competition. Despite setbacks and a car that cost far less than their competitors, they won the respect of their peers and are committed to doing it again next year. And, in Boots to Books, you will learn how a veteran student in the iSchool teamed up with students from our College to develop an app to help ease the transition from military life to student life.

Working together with this College’s dedicated faculty, creative students, supportive staff, and passionate alumni, I relish the continuous flow of creative solutions from multifaceted engineers and computer scientists at SU. ●

Teresa A. Dahlberg Dean

FALL 2015 | 1

SPOTLIGHT Harmful Practices in Gold Mining Inspire Mercury Research in Senegal On the opposite side of the globe, a blue flame ignites and its scorching heat is applied to a small cluster of shimmering silver-white clumps of mercury and gold. As the mercury burns and vaporizes, traces of gold remain. But all the while, the air is turning to poison. As those in close proximity breathe in, the mercury trickles into their system. Brain cells begin to die.

This is only a short-term effect. The long-term effects are widespread and can even reach as far as the food on your dinner table. This much is clear: The true cost of gold is far more than the price you pay at a jeweler.

Artisanal gold mining, as this process is called, is a common practice in some developing countries. Mercury is used because it binds itself to the gold, allowing miners to separate the gold and mercury from the rock and dirt that encase it. Then, the miners burn off the toxic mercury, often in the same small huts where they live with their families. Not only does this activity have dire consequences locally, but it is also the single greatest source of mercury in the atmosphere worldwide. Rain disperses the mercury in our oceans and land and it ends up in our food supply—mainly in seafood like tuna.

Jacqueline Gerson Environmental Engineering Science “I’ve always been interested in chemistry and applied science research.

As an avid hiker and camper, I’m also passionate about preserving the environment. My mission is to use science to help protect the environmental systems that I love. I’m also motivated by the fact that my work can be used to help people in developing countries like Senegal.”

Jacqueline Gerson, a graduate student in environmental engineering science, is taking her research to a source of this environmental pollution. Funded by a graduate fellowship from the National Science Foundation, Gerson will study mercury contamination from artisanal gold mining in Senegal for the next three years.

Gerson’s work is inspired by the two and a half years she served as an environment and health volunteer with the Peace Corps in Senegal.

40%

70+

10M

1M

of 2010 global anthropogenic mercury emissions are attributed to artisanal and small-scale gold mining.

countries involved in this industry.

people involved in this industry.

estimated ounces of gold in the Senegalese Sabodala Deposit.

It is mined predominately by artisanal methods.

2 | FALL 2015

Artisanal Gold Mining 1

Mercury burns and vaporizes and is released into the atmosphere

2

Condensed water vapor containing atmospheric mercury falls back to Earth

3

High concentrates of mercury end up in fish—a main source of protein in the Senegalese diet

While there, Gerson witnessed artisanal gold mining firsthand.

“I had friends in the Peace Corps living where the mining was taking place—one so close that she had to relocate due to health concerns,” said Gerson. “When I went to see it for myself, I was shocked by the conditions. This is a situation where environmental and health dangers truly intersect. It became clear to me that this is what the focus of my graduate work should be.

I sought out Professor Charles Driscoll because of his mercury research and applied to Syracuse University.”

1 Miners extract gold ore from the earth. 2 Liquid mercury is the mixed with silt. The mercury binds to the gold, forming an amalgam which allows it to become easily separated from the other elements. 3 Heat burns the mercury from the amalgam, leaving only traces of gold. The fumes are not only harmful to those present but also to the whole environment.

Gerson’s research will focus on the effects of mercury on the environment in close proximity to the mining in Senegal. She wants to understand what is happening in the country’s streams and soils, and by proxy, the health of the villagers. By being present in the environment, mercury finds its way into the food chain through bioaccumulation.

Gerson hopes her research at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science adds to the world’s pool of knowledge on mercury and aids in the strategies the UN intends to implement to address artisanal gold mining and halt its damaging worldwide effects. ●

In Senegal, the population consumes a lot of fish, so if mercury is in the water, it’s likely to be in the food supply. Contamination in the environment has been largely unexplored in West Africa, and little has been done specifically in Senegal.

FALL 2015 | 3

VIRTUAL BODY What if you could enter a virtual world where you could travel through the ­bloodstream of the human body?

And, what if along the way you could test a new drug on different cells to see its effect on every organ, tissue, and blood vessel?

While drug testing has not advanced to the point of taking you on a Fantastic Voyage-style adventure through an Oculus Rift headset, the concept of creating a simulated environment to test drugs on live human cells is in fact a reality—and it could help make the process of testing drugs more efficient and more effective. Professor Mandy Esch, and fellow researchers, are developing a “body-on-a-chip.”

When developing new drugs, pharmaceutical scientists often focus on curing or relieving one specific health problem and, by extension, one specific part of the body. If they aim to resolve a stomach ailment, they test their drugs on stomach cells. If it’s a problem with the lungs, they use lung cells.

The problem is every organ in the body is part of a larger system that cannot be ignored. You can make the best heartburn medicine the world has ever known, but if it creates ulcers further down the digestive track, it ultimately doesn’t benefit the patient.

The easy way to discover the effect a drug will have on the person is to administer the drug directly to them. Of course, this could have disastrous health consequences and is totally unrealistic and unethical. Some companies turn to animal testing to see how a drug affects different areas of the body, but few drugs that work in a lab animal’s body will fully replicate that effect in humans.

“We’ve created a microfluidic system that is connected the same way as the human body,” says Esch. “With this, we’ve basically recreated the human metabolism. We are able to simulate the exchange of metabolites between all of the body’s organs. People tend to see it as a scaled-down version of the human body, but it’s more like a thin slice of the body with all of our organs represented in a system that fits in the palm of your hand.”

In the device, human tissue from throughout the human body is laid out in an intricate network of channels and chambers sandwiched between two glass chips.

4 | FALL 2015

Each channel’s thickness is determined by what is in the chamber it feeds. The channel that flows into a fat tissue chamber is quite thin compared to the channel that feeds the heart. This is to simulate the appropriate amount of blood that flows through each area of the body. Blood flow in fat is quite low, and in a heart, it is obviously high.

Each chamber is also proportional to the human tissue within.

Skin, the largest human organ, is given the biggest chamber while smaller organs, like the kidneys, are provided much smaller spaces. The idea is that the closer you come to the actual situation in the body, the closer you come to being able to realistically simulate drug metabolism.

Suspended in a liquid cell culture that serves as a stand-in for blood, the test drug is fed through the top of the chip. It passes through the series of channels and chambers, generating metabolites from each tissue. After it has passed through once, the remaining mixture is fed back through in the opposite direction to expose every tissue to the metabolites, just as it would occur in the body. This simple technique unveils the beneficial or detrimental effect the drug has on the cells of all parts of the body.

Using this novel system, unviable drug options can be detected earlier—saving time, money, and lives. Then scientists can move on to options that are more likely to achieve FDA approval and truly help people. “I’ve always wanted to do something that has an impact on society. Biomedical engineering and work like this is an ideal path for that,” says Esch.

Medicines of the future will have passed this simulated human body’s tests—and virtually everyone can feel better about that.

●

DEAN DAHLBERG

On a late September afternoon Dean Teresa A. Dahlberg strides confidently into my office, sits down, leans in, and is ready to engage. She is calm, collected, and present—despite a grueling day of back-to-back meetings.

By Ariel DuChene

It isn’t easy to uncover the totality of a person in a one-hour interview, but her high visibility among staff, faculty, and students over the last few weeks has provided countless opportunities to see her in action.

FALL 2015 | 5

ABOUT DEAN DAHLBERG

The second of six girls, Dahlberg spent much of her childhood outside of Pittsburgh in the Lebanese-American community where her four grandparents lived

1979 Enrolled in Carlow College, in Pittsburgh, as a music therapy major

1980 Switched majors to electrical engineering and moved to the University of Pittsburgh

1983 Took an internship with IBM in North Carolina in Research Triangle Park

1984 Moved permanently to Research Triangle Park to work for IBM in its display products division

1987 Moved to IBM in Charlotte to work for its banking systems division

1989 Received IBM Outstanding Technical Achievement Award

1990 Completed her M.S. in computer engineering from North Carolina State University

1990-1993 IBM Resident Study Award for doctoral studies

1993 Completed her Ph.D. in computer engineering from North Carolina State University

1994 Left IBM to become a visiting assistant professor at Winthrop University

6 | FALL 2015

She is equally at ease sitting down in a circle of first-year students at a weekend barbecue as she is meeting with leadership to discuss serious goals such as advancing the College’s educational impact, elevating our research prominence, and ensuring we develop a sustainable financial model for the future.

She has a voracious appetite for knowledge, and her demeanor demonstrates that she is consuming as much information as she can about each aspect of the College and the University.

I’M AN IBMer Dahlberg’s career began at IBM with a summer internship at its Research Triangle Park site in North Carolina. Her internship led to a senior year co-op and a job offer with its display products division upon graduation.

“I was the only female among 300 hardware engineers, and I was also the youngest person on the team. That was the first time that I realized my presence was something different. People didn’t necessarily know how to interact with me. I learned quickly that it was up to me to figure out how to make it easier for them. It was one of many, many life skills I learned in my early 20s.”

“ I was the only female among 300 hardware engineers, and I was also the youngest person on the team. That was the first time that I realized my presence was something different.”

After joining IBM’s check services division in Charlotte, she worked full time while pursuing a master’s degree and a portion of her doctoral degree.

Dahlberg was selected for IBM’s resident study program, which let employees earn their Ph.D. full time, just as she found out she was pregnant with her first child. Her son was born in May and she started the full-time portion of her Ph.D. in August.

CROSSING OVER Upon returning to work at IBM at the end of 1993, she found a company struggling with its future identity. The turmoil prompted Dahlberg to reexamine her own professional trajectory. She decided to change course too, and become a professor.

After a year at Winthrop University, the stars aligned when North Carolina approved UNC Charlotte to open its first three Ph.D. programs, one of which was electrical engineering. Dahlberg applied and landed one of the six new tenure-track positions.

“We were expected to build a funded research program in a school that had just gotten their first Ph.D. programs. There was no senior faculty guidance, no history at the university—but it was really fun. It was scary, but it was fun.”

Dean Dahlberg welcomes first-year students to the College of Engineering and Computer Science in Hendricks Chapel.

FALL 2015 | 7

Dahlberg developed the undergraduate and graduate wireless and wired networking curriculum from the ground up. And, in her 18 years at UNC Charlotte, she built a research program that attracted over $20 million in external grants.

For her, the process of building was energizing. And when the university decided to open up a new computing college she jumped at the chance to be a part of its creation.

BUILDING A CONSTELLATION “We started the computing college right at the dawn of the dot-com bust, and we were worried about enrollments.”

In response, Dahlberg created one of her proudest achievements—the STARS Computing Corps. Focused on student retention and success for underrepresented groups, STARS engages a city around a hub university or universities, thus creating a connected national network, a constellation, for sharing institutional knowledge.

After 10 years, the program boasts more than 50 university “stars,” catalyzed by the engagement of computing college students working in concert with universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, businesses, and community groups.

“Even with university support, it was difficult to get our institution to adopt proven practices into the curriculum. I thought the only way I was going to be able to implement lasting change would be by being one of the people making decisions.“ 8 | FALL 2015

“ I wanted to find an institution that was aspirational...

Above all else, I found that same aspirational spirit here at Syracuse University.”

ROAD TO ORANGE After serving as an associate dean at UNC Charlotte, Dahlberg set her sights on her next goal—becoming a dean. She joined The Cooper Union, a prestigious institution located in the heart of New York City, as dean of engineering and chief academic officer. With its strikingly different academic environment, she was attracted to its high caliber of students, the connectivity to innovation in the city, and its focus on excellence in education.

Just prior to her joining, a decision was made to charge tuition for the first time in its history. Communicating the great work of the students and the school became overshadowed by stories about the decision instead.

“I wanted to find an institution that was aspirational. From the beginning of my career at UNC Charlotte to the day I left, I was part of a culture that motivated us to constantly strive to be better. Above all else, I found that same aspirational spirit here at Syracuse University.”

1995 Became an assistant professor at University North Carolina (UNC), Charlotte in the department of electrical and computer engineering

2000 Joined the newly formed College of Computing and Informatics. In her time in the college she was promoted to associate professor and then full professor

2004 Founded the Diversity in Information Technology Institute.

Dahlberg served as director until 2013

2004 Named UNC Charlotte Woman of the Year

2004 Received the College of Information Technology Excellence in Graduate Teaching Award

2005 Named Provost Faculty Fellow

2006 Founded the STARS (Students and Technology in Academia, Research, and Services) Computing Corps through an NSF Broadening Participation in Computing Alliance Grant. Served as director until 2013

THE FIRST 90 DAYS Many of the challenges facing the College of Engineering and Computer Science are not unique to our institution. Ubiquitous throughout higher education are issues like limited space, student retention, finances, supporting research growth, faculty size, and meeting the future needs of industry and academia all while ensuring our students develop a fundamental understanding of their discipline. And just as within companies, these challenges are colored by nuances that make the College both distinctive and extraordinarily poised for successes.

As our conversation turns toward focusing on the future, Dahlberg expresses her desire to use this time to listen, to learn, and to uncover the attributes that set us apart. In concert with faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the administration, she seeks to find the cream and figure out how to coax it to rise to the top. But she also knows that time is a luxury. Decisions need to be made, and actions taken, even before she has a fully crystallized vision for the future.

Luckily, this is the element where Dahlberg thrives. She pursued a degree in electrical engineering because of her love for logic and strategy.

“ I want to make sure we have a plan that we can embrace for the next five years—one that aligns with the University’s plan and one that is tied to our budget so we have a strong implementation plan that establishes a roadmap to get us where we want to be.”

2011 Named associate dean, overseeing all aspects of undergraduate programs

“If you give an engineer unlimited time and unlimited resources to design a wireless system, they could deliver a product that runs the fastest and processes the most data, with zero service failures. Add cost and time constraints—and reality—and now you have an optimization problem, and a great way to think about how we look at the College.”

2013 Joined The Cooper Union as the dean of the Albert Nerken School of Engineering

“I want to make sure we have a plan that we can embrace for the next five years—one that aligns with the University’s plan and one that is tied to our budget so we have a strong implementation plan that establishes a roadmap to get us where we want to be.”

2014 Named chief academic officer at The Cooper Union

2015 Named dean of Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science

As she gets up to head back to her office, she turns back to offer one last thought.

“At the end of the day, people work at universities because they love to be around students and they love the whole idea of what college is all about—and that is why I am here and what makes me proud to be a part of Syracuse University.” ●

FALL 2015 | 9

THE RIGHT FIT Engineering Labs Set Up Shop in the CoE

Willis H. Carrier Total Indoor Environmental Quality

Combustion and Energy Research Laboratory

Studies how temperature, humidity, air quality, lighting and sound combine to affect human health and performance in built environments and on individual control of one’s local environment.

Develops alternative energy technologies to improve current thermal systems while reducing harmful emissions.

Faculty: Professors H. Ezzat Khalifa, Jianshun Zhang, Suresh Santanam, and Kwang Hoon Han

10 | FALL 2015

Faculty: Professor Jeongmin Ahn

On the revitalized brownfield site where the L.C. Smith Typewriter factory once thrived, stands the SyracuseCoE—New York State’s Center of Excellence for Environmental and Energy Systems.

Led by Syracuse University, SyracuseCoE engages faculty, students, and collaborators to improve energy efficiency, environmental quality, and resilience in healthy buildings and cleaner, greener communities. The entire facility serves as an urban ecosystem research lab for the College’s faculty and students.

SyracuseCoE addresses challenges in clean and renewable energy, water resources, and indoor environmental quality.

The SyracuseCoE headquarters facility is a true hub of discovery and innovation—making it the perfect location for the four mechanical and aerospace engineering labs that reside within its walls. ●

Thermodynamics and Combustion Laboratory

Flow Visualization Laboratory

Investigates combustion properties of alternative and conventional fuels to improve energy conversion efficiencies and reduce emissions.

Characterizes flowing fluids to reduce unwanted turbulence and ­provide efficiencies, creating an understanding of how water or air flows around structures or vehicles.

Faculty: Professor Ben Akih-Kumgeh

Faculty: Professor Melissa A. Green

FALL 2015 | 11

This scene plays out in a lab, while Professor Jae Oh and his team of summer Research Experience for Undergraduate (REU) students look on with intense interest, evaluating every move. Oh’s team is responsible for spawning this set of “swarm robots.”

Instead of antennae, segmented bodies, and spindly legs, these bizarre insects flaunt circuitry, infrared sensors, and wheels.

They cluster around a blinking contraption they identify as their nest.

Suddenly, an intrepid pioneer breaks off from the others. It drives a few feet away before it hesitates, retreats a few inches back toward its tribe, and halts. For a brief moment, all is silent until another robot follows suit, zipping two feet past the first, hesitating, backing up slightly, then stopping. Emboldened by his compatriots’ bravery, another joins the fray, positioning two feet beyond the last.

Just as this pattern seems it will repeat ad nauseam, the fourth makes a different choice. It maneuvers past the other three, where it discovers another blinking contraption matching their hive, but this one holds what they seek—food for the colony. It sidles up to the bug buffet and a small blinking light on its back turns from red to green, indicating the food has been stored. The insectoid impostor excitedly scurries back to the nest.

12 | FALL 2015

“Swarm robots are incapable of doing much on their own, but they can accomplish certain tasks by working together. The larger the swarm, the more it is able to accomplish. The swarms are only able to speak to one another when they are in close proximity and have no set communication links or connections,” explains Oh.

Oh’s Swarm Robot

This particular swarm is designed to imitate the behavior of a colony of ants. Like ants, each robot operates independently, with no central control, leader, or man behind the curtain. However, each takes cues from others around it to help its colony “gather food.”

It’s a warm summer day in July.

A group of students congregates on the Quad to share a picnic lunch.

As they eat, a single ant innocently creeps up to their food. Within minutes, a throng of ants has discovered the feast and the eating festivities are overrun.

Meanwhile, in a lab a few hundred feet away, another hungry swarm of bugs awakens and begins to stir.

But this is no ordinary infestation.

Worker

Beacon

“The real world is difficult for humans to deal with, much less robots. Making this work outside of a computer simulation is so unpredictable—there are so many variables,” says Oh. If in proximity to more than two beacons, it stays a worker.

If surrounded by workers, it becomes a beacon.

In their system, each robot is able to assume one of two roles— worker or beacon. Workers find the food and move it back to the nest, while beacons position themselves between the nest and the food and send out signals to workers, telling them where they can find food.

The robots communicate with each other using short-range infrared light to decide which job they should fulfill. If surrounded by workers, a robot becomes a beacon. If in proximity to more than two beacons, it stays a worker. The research team has achieved a working simulation in the computer that runs a “foraging algorithm” and is working to make it function in the real world.

Still, Oh’s lab, which has traditionally focused on artificial intelligence software, is determined to move this hardware-heavy research forward. The team sees tremendous potential for advanced swarm robotics in the future, from accomplishing challenging search-andrescue missions to exploring areas that humans cannot reach, like the surface of Mars or the deepest depths of the ocean. This technology could even be extended to flying drones to scout areas that can only be reached by air. Oh envisions swarms made up of thousands, or even millions, of robots to accomplish these ambitious tasks.

For now, Oh and his students are producing more advanced “bugs” that could lay the groundwork for this sort of futuristic system. It’s encouraging to know that ants are good for something other than ruining your picnic. ● FALL 2015 | 13

THE FAST-PACED RETURN OF

SU’S FORMULA SAE TEAM 14 | FALL 2015

he list of things left to be done was as long as it had ever been.

With the spring semester over, the number of people left to check things off the list had been cut in half, then cut some more. A car lay in pieces, strewn about different corners of a cramped space in the basement of Link Hall. Just two weeks before a national Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) racing competition in Nebraska, the team wasn’t even sure the engine would start.

For two full semesters, president of the SAE Joel Rosado ’16 and the rest of the team had been plugging away on Syracuse University’s first race car in years. Quitting was not an option. They were fulfilling their true mission with every step forward.

What was once a casual hobby squeezed in between classes had become a twoshift manufacturing operation behind on its deadlines. Everyone was hustling, and they were fairly sure it wouldn’t be enough to finish. With an odd sense of satisfaction, they continued, and still, the engine hadn’t been started.

In the final days before the competition, work shifts went around the clock, with some members forgoing sleep for assembly. They were weary, but tenacious.

They were confident that if they kept at it, they would have the car ready to make the drive to the Midwest, but there was no room for setbacks.

A moment of truth arrived around five in the morning two days before the competition. After a full night of working on the car with all hands on deck, the team members rolled it out onto the loading dock. They collectively held their breath, and turned the key, and the engine roared to life. They were off. Over the first hurdle and onto the next.

THE ROADBLOCK After an arduous 24-hour road trip, they arrived in Nebraska in time to register, set up their trailer, and prepare for a series of intense inspections. The car may have been in one piece with an engine that started, but there was still a full day’s worth of last-minute adjustments and assembly that needed to be made to ensure it would pass inspection.

During the very first inspection, in which the car is subjected to a 100-page rulebook, they were told that the distance between the pedals and the top of their roll hoop was too short. They’d need to weld an additional curved metal tube to the top of their existing roll hoop in order to pass. Back in Syracuse, this issue could easily be solved with a trip to Link Hall’s machine shop.

FALL 2015 | 15

Here on the hot asphalt at Lincoln Airpark, the team had no metal tube, and nothing to bend it or weld it with.

In a bout of frustration, Rosado broke off from the group to blow off some steam. All of their hard work was about to be undone because they’d built the car incorrectly.

Despite the SU team’s imminent demise, it wasn’t long before he began to be absorbed in the scene that was around him. Surrounded by more than 100 other teams, each with their own designs and enthusiasm, he couldn’t help but be drawn back into the excitement.

“I got talking to another team about their car and it just so happened that they had the same exact problem last year and had overcome it,” described Rosado. Instead of using the SU team’s misfortune to its advantage, this other team was kind enough to give him specific instructions to get the job done. He rushed back to the team to find that fellow team members Ryan Olson and Gabriel Smolnycki were one step ahead, having contacted the event’s host, the University of NebraskaLincoln, for help. The University generously supplied the metal and the pipe bender, and a welding tent on the airpark provided the welding. Just a few hours later, the fix was in place and they were over another hurdle. Of course, as with all hurdles, there were more to come.

THE CAUTION FLAG After passing the second inspection with ease, the team was now permitted to run the engine in its paddock. Before this, the engine had only ever run about five minutes before loading it in the trailer to bring to the competition. The problem was that the engine needed to be tuned badly. The throttle was all over the board; it revved loudly, subsided, and then revved again.

The best way to fix this was to drive the car, gather data, and optimize. Unfortunately, the rulebook states that you cannot drive your vehicle until after the fourth inspection. They’d have to fake it.

“We thought maybe we could tune it enough to pass the noise inspection. If we could

16 | FALL 2015

just sustain our RPMs at a certain level for five seconds while keeping the noise below 110 decibels, we’d be through. We only had a couple of hours to get it tuned, but we knew we had a shot,” said Rosado.

charged it, and it died again. All of the frantic energy and progress on the car came to a halt. Time expired on the third inspection, and the team’s race to the finish was over—done in by a drained battery.

During the noise inspection, they were derailed. The car’s battery was dead. They

“We didn’t do it. We were disheartened. It was a very sad moment. We realized how far

“OUR MISSION IS TO GIVE THE MEMBERS

OF OUR TEAM AN EXPERIENCE THAT THEY CAN’T GET ANYWHERE ELSE.” - JOEL ROSADO

SPOTLIGHT

The SAE Dream Team L to R: Gabriel Smolnycki ’17, Jeffrey Clark ’17, Joel Rosado ’16, Ryan Olson ’14, G’16, Nicholas Pypiuk ’16, Colin Pritchard ’14, G’15, Oliver Scigliano ’17, Kyle Donaghey ’15, and Josh Beckerman ’17. Professor Jeongmin Ahn is in the vehicle.

we had come. We weren’t angry—we were upset the we couldn’t race,” Rosado said.

As the urgency of the situation dissipated, the team members began to feel the weight of their own exhaustion. They admired the cuts, scrapes, and carbon fiber splinters covering their hands and arms. They’d earned them from their efforts to complete the car and their frantic pace. Feeling a sense of accomplishment through their dejection, they stayed to watch the other

teams compete and observed lessons they could take away for the future. After a long ride home, everyone went his separate ways for the remainder of the summer.

THE CHECKERED FLAG

and a trip to a competition in which the SAE team wasn’t able to race, Rosado can only speak of success.

“Our mission is not to win a race. Our mission is to give the members of our team an experience that they can’t get anywhere else. Without actually applying their engineering knowledge to something practical like this, I don’t believe they will get everything they can get out of this college experience. We’re pulling things from thermodynamics, from statics, from mechanics of solids. It’s in our hands, it’s tangible. We made something that we designed and tested and it works. Our biggest success is all of the knowledge we gained. It’s been an unbelievable experience.”

Despite the disappointment in Nebraska, Rosado puts very little energy into feeling sorry for himself. In fact, it’s hard to even pull a negative comment out of him. After a year of work that seemed to end in failure,

Today, the team is recharging its batteries—figuratively and literally. The cramped room in Link Hall has returned to a more sustainable pace. If you drop in the team’s headquarters, you’ll likely see the car in some state of disassembly, as the team members begin to make adjustments for next year’s competition and after a test drive at a local go-kart track.

THEY ADMIRED THE CUTS, SCRAPES, AND CARBON FIBER SPLINTERS COVERING THEIR HANDS AND ARMS.

They know the car runs. They are confident they can make it to next year’s competition. But most of all, they know they have the drive to complete their true mission—to learn. ●

FALL 2015 | 17

CHANGING BANDAGES Startup developing advanced wound dressings is based on SU research

Changing bandages in the burn unit is not like ripping off a Band-Aid. The effluent that oozes from a healing burn can dry and adhere to a wound’s dressings. When the bandage is removed, new skin cells come with it. The pain is excruciating, so bad that many patients need to be deeply sedated to undergo the process.

On top of this, bandages need to be replaced often. Even the best bandages can only be left on for seven to 14 days before they need to be replaced or removed to avoid infection. By then, most bandages harden like a cast. This restricts the patients’ movement and can even cut into their sensitive healing skin if they move the wrong way. Every time dressings are removed, about eight hours of healing is undone, leading to longer healing times and more traumatic treatments. If burns don’t heal quickly, the skin is much more likely to scar.

Health care professionals across all specialties need a bandage that can fight infection and stay on the patient for longer periods 18 | FALL 2015

of time while remaining flexible. Katherine Desy ’15, a graduate of the Whitman School of Management’s business program, believes that the answer to this problem lies in the research completed by faculty in the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute.

Desy founded a startup based on 2010 biomedical engineering research from Professors Pat Mather and Dacheng Ren. The work was originally selected for Desy’s senior capstone project. With her classwork complete, she has made a decision to take her work to the next level and created her company, RMD Biotech.

“When it was suggested that we look into the University’s existing engineering intellectual property, I decided to accept the challenge of taking on something outside of my own comprehension because I’ve always had a strong desire to help people in a meaningful way. I saw Mather and Ren’s work as a real solution to a real problem that patients and their doctors face,” says Desy.

SPOTLIGHT

Silver Hydrogel Nanostructured Wound Dressing RMD’s initial product will be a wound dressing made of a unique nanofiber web containing a silver hydrogel. When applied to a wound, the silver releases slowly over time, acting to kill the bacteria that it comes in contact with.

Syracuse Biomaterials Institute (SBI) SBI is an interdisciplinary institute focused on research in biological materials, from the properties of individual cells, to their organization into tissues and organs, to the development of smart medical devices. For more information, visit biomaterials.syr.edu.

Nanofiber web

Contains silver hydrogel

RMD’s initial product will be a wound dressing made of a unique nanofiber web containing a silver hydrogel developed by Mather and Ren. When applied to a wound, the silver releases slowly over time, acting to kill the bacteria that it comes in contact with. This helps fight off infection for 10 to 15 days and does not harden. If hospitals adopt these bandages, it would save time and effort replacing dressings and ultimately help prevent dangerous infections from taking hold in their patients and hospital.

“ ...I decided to accept the challenge of taking on something outside of my own comprehension because I’ve always had a strong desire to help people in a meaningful way.” – Katherine Desy

Dr. Joan Dolinak, medical director of Upstate University Hospital’s burn unit, is hopeful that technology like this will live up to its potential. “In second-degree burns, the healing period is typically 10 to 14 days. If this product works, you could essentially put this on day one and not have to change the dressing at all until the wound is healed. Patients would heal quicker, they’ll be less likely to get an infection, and the likelihood of scarring will be reduced.

It would be a big deal.”

Using grant money Desy earned through the Syracuse University Panasci Business Plan Competition, she is funding work by students in Mather and Ren’s labs to prepare samples and prototypes for product development and to share with potential investors.

Once she has investors, she hopes to produce and sell the product to hospitals and the military. Eventually, she envisions an entire suite of products, including consumer bandages, a gel, and even a sprayable coating for internal devices like pacemakers and shunts.

The silver is released, helping to fight off infection for 10 to 15 days

Does not harden

Mather sees the partnership as a success for the University and is hopeful to see more collaboration between colleges that drive Syracuse University research to the market. He says, “Katherine has the energy and the interest to explore the technology’s possibilities. She’s going to do all the right things. It would be huge if this got out into the health industry. Partnerships like this are just the tip of the iceberg of what could be happening at SU.” ● FALL 2015 | 19

DONOR IMPACT

AGUA LIMPIA If you turned on your faucet and it began to spew an opaque, brown slurry, you’d likely decide to skip filling up your water bottle. In the small, tropical village of El Ciprés, Honduras, you wouldn’t have a choice.

Every time the rainy season hits, El Ciprés’ stream-fed water supply becomes especially turbid—inundated with suspended soil particles and microbes. It takes on a murky appearance and, with it, a high risk of water-borne illnesses.

This summer, a team from the College was invited by Fred Stottlemyer of the International Rural Water Association to travel to Honduras to address this problem for the 42 families living in this remote village.

Using plans from a theoretical solution originally devised as a senior design project, the team began the installation of a low-cost, low-tech system to reduce the turbidity of El Ciprés’ water supply to safe drinking levels. The team's design consisted of a self-sustaining treatment system powered completely by flowing water.

The team was made up of project designers Gerardo Martinez ’15 and Katayoun Mokhtarzadeh ’15, current students Yaskira Mota ’16 and Ejona Hadziu ’16, and Professor Svetoslava Todorova.

If this system can be mastered in El Ciprés, the International Rural Water Association will explore the possibility of expanding it to other villages that face the same problem. There is no telling how far this could go to benefit the people of Central America and beyond. ●

20 | FALL 2015

The team developed a scalable, gravity-fed system consisting of pre-treatment, filtration, and storage. It requires no electricity and will be operated and maintained by local volunteers.

FALL 2015 | 21

IN THE MEDIA On August 3, 2015, President Obama and the EPA announced the Clean Power Plan. In anticipation of this announcement, a team of researchers, including University Professor Charles T. Driscoll, launched an independent study of the environmental and health impacts of three options for power plant carbon standards.

In May, the journal Nature Climate Change published the first independent, peer-reviewed paper of its kind, titled “U.S. power plant carbon standards and clean air health co-benefits.”

“The bottom line is, the more the standards promote cleaner fuels and energy efficiency, the greater the added health benefits,” said Driscoll, the lead author of the paper. “We found that the greatest clean air and health benefits occur when stringent targets for carbon dioxide emissions are combined with compliance measures that promote demand-side energy efficiency and cleaner energy sources across the power sector.”

To learn more about this research, visit eng-cs.syr.edu/cleanair ●

22 | FALL 2015

WASHINGTON POST NEW YORK TIMES U.S. NEWS HUFFINGTON POST PITTSBURGH POSTGAZETTE THE BOSTON GLOBE SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN COLORADO PUBLIC RADIO MICHIGAN RADIO SYRACUSE POST-STANDARD THE HILL PITTSBURGH PUBLIC RADIO TOLEDO BLADE GRIST MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

DONOR IMPACT

FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS Every summer, the Faculty Excellence Awards provide funding for faculty to develop inventive new educational experiences for our students. This year’s awardees raised the bar on immersive learning in the College of Engineering and Computer Science once again.

These transformative awards are made possible by the generosity of chemical engineering alumnus and department advisory board member Brian Beals ’64 and his wife, Emily.

Professor Shikha Nangia

Professor Pranav Soman

Professor Svetoslava Todorova

developed interactive web-based simulations that transform fundamental chemical engineering concepts into hands-on, active learning applications.

The interactive apps simulate realistic physical systems in two-dimensional graphs, equations, and diagrams. These mathematical simulations feature sliders and levers that students can manipulate to change the conditions of an equation to visualize the outcome, allowing students to see the full spectrum of possibilities and how they relate to one another. This fall, students are using the apps to develop conceptual questions based on what they observe. These student-generated questions are used for weekly quizzes, fostering inquiry, initiative, and teamwork. ●

introduced a 3D bioprinting teaching laboratory and a series of related learning modules in his graduate and undergraduate courses. Students will be trained to operate 3D prototyping software and hardware, learn about the mechanical properties and chemical differences in commonly used polymers, and be challenged to design and print biopolymer scaffolds.

Their experience in the laboratory will provide basic experimental and research skills necessary to pursue careers as independent engineers and researchers working in biomanufacturing. ●

developed two immersive, experiential learning modules for her Introduction to Environmental Engineering course.

In two simulations, one of the United Nations’ negotiations on global mercury contamination, and the other of the litigation of a high-profile groundwater contamination trial, students are challenged to affect the outcome of the decision based on the scientific knowledge they gained in class.

Students from the College of Law will join engineering students during the roundtable negotiations to assure that the treaty abides by the legal principles of international agreements. A local attorney will also engage the students in cross-examination style questioning to help them develop skills in scientific argumentation and persuasive speaking. ●

FALL 2015 | 23

Genevieve Starke, ’17 “I loved having the chance to experience other cultures and travel through Europe. They had an outstanding field trip system. We saw Rome, Pisa, and many other great places. It’s something I wouldn’t have been able to do if I hadn’t gone there as part of this program.

“The study abroad program gave us the freedom to explore an unfamiliar place, with a strong support system to rely on.”

Alberto Gomez, ’17 “I love traveling, but besides trips to visit family in Mexico, I haven’t done much. A semester in Europe was an exciting new opportunity that I knew I couldn’t pass up.

“Florence really reminded me of Mexico at first—the cars, the way the streets were. It felt surreal. I thought ‘Am I really here? Is this really happening?’

ENGINEERS TAKE

“The classes were challenging, but that’s expected as an engineer. After all, these weren’t electives, they were core classes. I still had lots of time to experience Florence. It was about time management for me. If I got my work done, then I could go explore, eat, and see the city from a native’s perspective.”

Dave Brown, ’17 Few places are as suitable as Florence, Italy—renowned as the epicenter of the Renaissance— for higher learning. This past spring, a group of second-year students studying aerospace, civil, environmental, and mechanical engineering participated in a new study abroad opportunity at Syracuse University’s Florence campus.

Before now, engineering students were unable to participate in these programs without setting themselves back in their studies due to limited course offerings abroad.

“The beauty of this program is that students are able to experience unique opportunities in Italy while completing courses that contribute to their major—keeping them on track,” says Dean Can Isik.

In addition to taking courses related to engineering, students took an introductory Italian language course. They were immersed in Italian culture, living with host families, participating in field trips across the country to visit global companies, including General Electric, and seeing historical sites in Rome. ● 24 | FALL 2015

“I gained a new perspective in Florence, and I loved it. I really feel that I have a more cultural view of the world in addition to a better understanding of engineering. I dove in, studied hard on the language so I could communicate, and tried to experience as much as possible.

“I would recommend this to other students. There’s no reason not to. There’s nothing better for you than getting away from your hometown and what you know. Take yourself somewhere new, and you will learn a lot about yourself. That’s what I took away most. I developed my character, and that was immensely rewarding.”

Omar& Argy:Building a Lab Fromthe GroundUp FALL 2015 | 25

NANONDESCRIPTCORNEROFLINKHALL,THEREISASETOFSMALL CONJOININGROOMS,REPLETEWITHSCAFFOLDINGANDCATALYTIC REACTORS.TODAYTHEY , HUM WITHACTIVITYBUT , NOTLONG AGO,THESPACEWASEMPTY. Using little more than creativity, elbow grease, and resourcefulness (along with crucial financial support from Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, the National Science Foundation, and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority) two Ph.D. students have transformed the once vacant area into a robust chemical engineering lab that generates technologies to reduce our dependence on oil and scientific insights to broaden our knowledge of catalytic reactions.

In August 2011, Assistant Professor Jesse Bond joined the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. Coinciding with his arrival, Omar Abdelrahman Ali Abdelrahman and Argy Chatzidimitriou began work on doctoral degrees in chemical engineering. The three were introduced to each other through a course Bond taught to familiarize students with the focus of his research—developing catalytic solutions for replacing petroleum with renewable biomass. Abdelrahman and Chatzidimitriou became deeply interested in both the fundamentals of catalysis as well as Bond’s applied research, and they decided to join his research team.

OmarAbdelrahmanAlAbdel i rahman 26 | FALL 2015

Bond describes, “Working with faculty at the beginning of their career is really a unique experience. When you come in as an assistant professor, the College generally gives you a budget for research startup, hands over the keys to your new lab, gives you a pat on the back,­and says ‘Go for it!

An indispensable tool for the Bond lab, the batch reactor is protected with a mix of Teflon and PEEK lining and with 316 stainless steel reinforcement.

It can operate at temperatures in excess of 200°C and 1000 psi without suffering degradation.

FALL 2015 | 27

Custom-designed collars crafted at Syracuse University’s machine shop provide the clamping strength to hold together the batch reactor when under pressure.

28 | FALL 2015

We know you’ll do great, otherwise we wouldn’t have hired you!’ And then you walk into an empty laboratory. I remember thinking, ‘There is no way this is going to work out.’ Having never built a lab before, that was a brand new kind of terror for me.

And it’s bad enough for the professor, but it really takes a special kind of student to willingly walk into that environment and tackle the challenge of a blank canvas head-on at the start of their Ph.D. program.

I have pretty much used up a lifetime’s supply of luck getting two of them in Omar and Argy.” nce on board, the pair was immediately burdened with a heavy load of coursework, learning the tools of the catalysis trade, and building a laboratory from the ground up. For Abdelrahman and Chatzidimitriou, though, it’s all in a day’s work.

“When Jesse took us on, there were only two or three pieces of equipment that had already been purchased, and none were really online yet. He tossed us right into the deep end. He basically said, ‘I have these ideas and this equipment. Help me figure it out.’ We dug into it and by the end of our first year, we were in overdrive, building as fast as we could,” recounts Abdelrahman.

Building a fully functioning, experimental catalysis laboratory from scratch is capital-

ArgyChatzidimitriou

“ “BYTHEENDOFOURFIRST YEAR,WEWEREINOVERDRIVE,BUILDINGASFAST AS WE COULD.”

intensive, and, once startup budgets are exhausted, funding for research equipment can be difficult to come by. “For most experimentalists, there is no way that you can afford to buy turnkey versions of all of the equipment that you’d like to have. Starting up, you might tend to trim your wish list down to the essentials, balancing the experiments that you’d like to do with those that you absolutely have to do. Fortunately for me, that wasn’t really

good enough for Omar and Argy. Once they knew what they could learn from all of those tools that I initially told them were too expensive, they began coming up with creative, frugal, do-it-yourself alternatives and presenting their ideas to me during group meetings. To this day, their resourcefulness and ingenuity blow me away. Of course I gave them the green light,” says Bond.

FALL 2015 | 29

n order to move experiments forward, the team worked with whatever members could find. They bought equipment that was used and in disrepair for a fraction of the cost of buying new. They built scaffolding and shelving out of scrap metal that the University was throwing out. If other labs were disposing of old equipment, they pounced on it. It wasn’t long before people in the Link Hall machine shop and facilities department started coming to Abdelrahman and Chatzidimitriou any time something they might be able to use showed up in surplus.

Since that time, Bond’s laboratory has been supported through additional funding from the National Science Foundation and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, but its approach hasn’t changed, and research dollars have been stretched as far as possible. Once completely unfamiliar with the technology, Abdelrahman and Chatzidimitriou now learn about every nuance of their equipment. This creates new ideas and possibilities for their research—respectively, they are working on hydrogenation and oxidation of levulinic acid. It has also made them experts on the equipment. With the knowledge they’ve gained, they are able to restore old laboratory equipment to perfect working condition.

“Once you learn the instruments—what they are capable of—you find that your needs start getting bigger and broader.

We’re at the point where we are getting everything out of this equipment—far more than what we intended to use it for in the first place,” says Chatzidimitriou.

In addition to servicing and repairing the equipment, the duo leverages resources on campus, including the Link Hall machine shop and Arts and Sciences glass shop.

Sally Prasch in the glass shop and Dick Chave and Bill Dossert in the machine shop have been godsends in making the lab’s custom designs a reality. Tools and replacement parts are created right

30 | FALL 2015

Custom glassware

The glass FT-IR cell allows a catalyst wafer to be moved between a heated zone, where it is calcined to provide a clean surface, and a laser beam path for analysis.

SPOTLIGHT Jesse Q. Bond Assistant Professor, Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Bond’s research group is focused on the design and application of catalytic materials to improve sustainability in the production of transportation fuels and chemical products. His lab strives to advance renewable energy by promoting biomass utilization, energy efficiency and conservation, and waste minimization.

on campus to meet the unique needs of their research. Such parts could never be purchased off the shelf and would be extremely expensive if ordered through an outside vendor.

Four screws hold in place a two-piece enclosure to house a four-port switching valve. Incorporated into the reactor setup, this facilitates the changing of gas streams from reactors to a bypass while working at temperatures in excess of 250°C.

Abdelrahman and Chatzidimitriou will both complete their doctorates in the next year. While Bond expresses sadness about their inevitable departure, he also describes incredible pride in all they have accomplished at Syracuse University.

“I remember before I started at Syracuse, I would hear senior faculty talk about how ‘Back when I was starting out, I somehow

“ IN10YEARS,WHENSOME YOUNGPROFESSORASKS MEABOUTSTARTINGUPI,’LL SHAREWITHTHEMSTORIES ABOUTOMARANDARGY”.

#10–32 screw

0.5”

0.75”

1.75”

3”

managed to find this amazingly talented student that helped me to get things started. I don’t know what I’d have done without them.’ And I would panic and think, ‘There’s no way I’ll get that lucky.’

But somehow I did. Not just with one, but with two amazing students, both of whom really take great pride in our laboratory and have immense respect for the science that we pursue. In 10 years, when some young professor asks me about starting up, I’ll share with them stories about Omar and Argy. This lab is theirs; there is no way I could have done it without them. I know they have the drive, training, and expertise necessary to succeed anywhere and at whatever they take on.” ●

FALL 2015 | 31

COOL IT...

DATA CENTERS It doesn’t take long for an operating laptop to become uncomfortably warm sitting on your lap.

And yet, the heat it puts out is nowhere near the amount being generated by large data centers used by virtually every corporation in the world.

Syracuse University’s Green Data Center was developed in partnership with IBM and New York State.

32 | FALL 2015

SPOTLIGHT Roger Schmidt Elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2005, Schmidt received his M.S. and Ph.D. at the University of Minnesota in heat transfer under Professor Ephraim Sparrow.

Schmidt will teach a 500-level course called Data Centers: Infrastructure Design and Energy Efficiency that will invite students with backgrounds in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science.

Too much heat can shut down or destroy computing systems, so mechanisms to keep them cool are a necessity. Unfortunately, the combination of these servers and traditional cooling systems pulls a tremendous amount of energy from the grid.

“There are almost 10 million data centers in the world, and they use 2-3 percent of the world’s electricity. Many big data centers leave the air conditioners on full speed all day long, 24 hours a day. The amount of money people spend on this is just mind-boggling.” says Professor Roger Schmidt. As the world turns to more sustainable, green solutions, this is a black eye on the face of the forward-thinking tech industry. But is it a necessary evil of our technological society?

Schmidt doesn’t believe so, and this new member of the faculty is uniquely qualified because of his expertise in developing energy efficient data centers. A member of the National Academy of Engineers and a retired IBM Fellow, he is a recognized expert in the area of thermal cooling of computer systems.

“A large part of my role at IBM was helping our clients reduce their energy usage and be more efficient, but there is still so much more to be done,” he says.

“You can’t have a data center go down for an airline—you just can’t.

Planes are up there in the air and you can’t lose contact with them,” Schmidt says. “Because of that, [airlines] are risk averse, so they overcool to make sure nothing ever fails. These mission-critical applications require that the infrastructure supporting the data center has two of everything. The cost of that is enormous. There aren’t many places teaching a course on how and what technologies are needed for a reliable and cost-effective data center.”

There are a number of data center solutions being operated worldwide and Schmidt has seen many of them firsthand. He saw seawater being used in Finland, solar power in Bangalore and Kenya, and even the Hudson River to cool the IBM facility he worked in. There are also concepts that bring in outdoor air to cool the computing systems.

Schmidt was first introduced to Syracuse University in 2008 through a collaboration among SU, IBM, and New York State to create a Green Data Center on Skytop. This living laboratory—with its own tri-generation system—was designed to use 50 percent less energy than a typical computer center. The Green Data Center is being used as the University’s primary computing facility.

He has great respect for the area of research he has helped to define through his career. “The complexity of these problems are great. There are so many pieces: the facility side that is cooling and powering the data center, the IT side, all the different pieces of equipment, and fitting all these pieces together, some of which are constantly changing, is a real challenge. A data center has to evolve and keep up with those changes.” ●

Even the average data center can use more than its fair share of energy to stay cool, but certain industries present even larger challenges that need to be met. For example, in banking and air travel, computing failure is not an option. Systems are put in place to create redundancy and safeguards, but those systems only increase the amount of energy data centers consume.

FALL 2015 | 33

34 | FALL 2015

Trapping carbon dioxide during combustion will go a long way toward reducing emissions. A new material moves us one step closer.

FALL 2015 | 35

Fuel gas enters the tube (typically methane CH4)

O2-

NITROGEN OMISSION Removing nitrogen from the process saves energy, but not if you use energy-hungry air separation units to sort out the molecules.

With this material, it’s done using a simple chemical gradient.

FIG. 1

T

he Department of Energy estimates that the combustion of fossil fuels creates approximately 30 billion tons of CO2 every year—approximately 40 percent of all carbon emissions.

And, fossil fuels remain our primary source of energy due to limitations and low market penetration of clean, renewable energy technologies. Since we can’t go without them for the immediate future, we need to do what we can to make the process cleaner.

FIG. 2

36 | FALL 2015

In Professor Jeongmin Ahn’s Combustion & Energy Research (COMER) Laboratory, Ryan Falkenstein-Smith ’13 and his fellow researchers are developing a material to facilitate the capture of carbon dioxide at fossil fuel-burning power plants before it can be released into the atmosphere. This material is just one piece of solving a larger puzzle, but eventually, it could have a big impact.

In traditional fossil fuel combustion, a chemical reaction takes place between fuel (oil, coal, or natural gas) and air (made up of primarily nitrogen and oxygen). This produces heat, light, and useful

FIG. 3

The material allows oxygen, O2, from the air outside the tube to pass through, while blocking nitrogen, N2. An O2 ion flux is produced without the need for external 4O2-) circuitry (2O2 + 8e-

SPOTLIGHT

e-

Ryan Falkenstein-Smith ’13 Mechanical Engineering Research Assistant

Inside the tube, a combination reaction occurs creating energy, CO2 and water (CH4 + 4O2CO2 + 2H2O + 8e-) The water vapor is condensed out and CO2 can be contained by itself

energy. Molecularly, we are left with nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and water vapor. The material Falkenstein-Smith is developing uses a novel technique to remove nitrogen from the equation. By doing this, the combustion process requires less energy and is more efficient.

TRADITIONAL FOSSIL FUEL COMBUSTION

Typically, removing nitrogen from air requires the use of an air separation unit. These units tend to be energy-hungry—the amount of energy they eat up counters any savings gained by burning pure oxygen. In the COMER labs, researchers are

“In the COMER lab, I get to work on projects that could one day make a significant difference in the real world. Carbon capture is a hot topic right now and it will continue to develop. I imagine that technology like ours will be widespread in 10 to 20 years.”

trying to overcome this obstacle with a fabricated ceramic material that acts as an ionic conductor and is molded into hollow fibers. Using a simple chemical gradient, it moves oxygen ions through its membrane, while blocking the nitrogen from the combustion process.

The oxygen is fed through the hollow fibers along with the fuel.

They ignite, and after combustion you’re left with carbon dioxide and water vapor. This can be frozen and buried, or even put to use, sometimes in something as common as carbonating soda. ●

Figures 1-5 indicate the nitrogen omission material’s five stages from slurry to hollow fibers FIG. 4

FIG. 5

FALL 2015 | 37

EYES IN THE SKY In the not-so-distant future, smart autonomous drones may watch over us, providing life-saving surveillance.

One day, small, unmanned, surveillance quadcopters may hover over cities, highways, and even over our shoulders inside our homes, reporting anomalous incidents to first responders.

Research that could make this possible is being developed in the Smart Vision Systems Laboratory directed by Professor Senem Velipasalar.

Today, small quadcopters, or drones, as they are most commonly referred to, have become a remarkably common toy for hobbyists. You have likely seen a video captured by one from high above the ground. Certain models are even able to follow a signal from a wristband to be used as a “flying selfie stick” for rock climbers or skiers.

Drones are also one of the latest platforms on which researchers like Velipasalar have decided to employ wireless smart camera technology. These cameras act as a sensor, and computer vision algorithms allow for detecting obstacles and even human faces.

Currently, video captured by cameras on drones is sent to a laptop or a desktop computer to be processed and a command is sent back to the drone to avoid an obstacle or follow a human face.

Velipasalar and her students intend to bring the technology to the next level by capturing and processing the video completely

38 | FALL 2015

onboard. In doing so, her team aims to give drones the ability to navigate all by themselves, eliminating the need for remote controllers.

“Autonomous drones could be programmed to independently make smart decisions about what kinds of video to record. They will navigate and position themselves to record incidents of specific interest all on their own. When they have captured something of interest, they could take action, including reporting incidents to the proper authorities,” explains Velipasalar.

“Additionally, a completely self-contained vision-based drone is a much more elegant solution for this technology. We anticipate eliminating time delays that exist in the current systems caused by transmitting large amounts of video data externally and awaiting a command. It also removes the concern of the device being hacked during transmission.”

Undoubtedly such technology is bound to spark debate and references to Big Brother’s watchful eye in the sky, but there is no denying technology’s intrinsic value for ensuring security, preserving environments and saving lives. In addition to emergency response, the technology could be used for countless other applications, including inspecting infrastructure, contributing to search-and-rescue efforts, and documenting wildlife.

Tomorrow’s Drones at Work Scenario 1 No one notices when an armed man positions himself in a window overlooking a bustling Times Square crowd, but before he is able to take aim, the authorities have identified his location and evacuated the area below.

Scenario 2 Across the city, a car collides with a jack-knifed tractor-trailer.

911 is notified seconds later, before a single person has reported the accident.

Scenario 3 In the suburbs, an elderly man living alone falls and injures himself in his home. A moment after, an ambulance is dispatched even though no one else was there to see the fall happen.

Off-the-shelf quadcopters are used in Velipasalar’s research to employ wireless smart camera technology.

Currently, Velipasalar and the researchers in her lab are only focusing on indoor applications, due to FAA regulations. They are working toward addressing some of the existing challenges in embedded computer vision to make a vision-based smart autonomous drone possible in the coming years.

There is no telling how integrated drones will become in our society but if their capabilities attain the potential that Velipasalar envisions, then there may come a day that we no longer look at drones as an entertaining hobby, but as guardian angels keeping us safe. ●

SPOTLIGHT Senem Velipasalar Associate Professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science The focus of Velipasalar’s research is on embedded computer vision, mobile camera applications, wireless embedded smart cameras, distributed multi-camera tracking and surveillance systems, and automatic event detection from videos. She is the recipient of the NSF CAREER Award and a senior member of the IEEE.

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DONOR IMPACT

HEADS UP

New Classroom Encourages Teamwork in Engineering Education “Heads down, pencils up.” We’ve all heard an instructor provide that direction at one point in our academic lives. Educators and students are rejecting the notion of going it alone in engineering education in a new style of classroom in Link Hall. For these students, it’s “heads up, minds open.”

This spring, the College officially opened a state-of-the-art classroom for collaboration. The space allows students to explore their course material in ways that aren’t possible in traditional classrooms.

Here, instructors design their classroom activities to foster teambased learning and are provided technology and resources that bolster their efforts. The room features 10 interconnected LED monitors, reconfigurable tables, mobile whiteboards, dual overhead projectors, and a high-tech teaching station.

“We recognize that classroom infrastructure plays a critical role in active learning. In this space, that process can be facilitated. We’re thrilled to have a place where students can interact with their peers and instructors in ways that enhance their learning experiences and outcomes,” said Julie Hasenwinkel, associate dean for undergraduate programs and student affairs.

Funding for the collaborative classroom came from three key sources—a generous gift from alumnus Avi M. Nash, G’77; the College of Engineering and Computer Science, which includes gifts from individual donors to the Dean’s Fund; and Syracuse University. ●

Amanda Walkowicz, ’16 “Projects that we were previously required to puzzle through individually, were augmented to become group projects that model the way engineers innovate in industry. By working through problems together, we’re able to solidify our understanding of the material.”

Jannuel Cabrera, ’16 “I’m a visual learner. Having screens all over the room creates an extremely visual environment and a more interactive setting.

Our professor had the ability to display different info on different screens. It makes for an easier transition between ideas.

The room certainly provides an atmosphere that is conducive to learning.”

Molly Kollman, ’17 “Thermodynamics was my favorite class I’ve ever taken, and a big part of that is due to the Collaborative Classroom’s resources. In professional engineering, we will always work in teams, so we need to be able to develop those skills while we learn engineering concepts.

Simply being able to face another student in a comfortable, brightly lit setting helped my learning so much.”

SPOTLIGHT

Avi M. Nash, G’77 Chemical Engineering With 40 years of experience in the chemical industry and corporate finance and investing, Nash is the founder and managing director of Avi Nash LLC, a global management consulting firm for the chemical industry. Nash remains actively engaged with the College, providing financial support on a number of initiatives to enhance our impact on students, alumni, and communities throughout the world.

FALL 2015 | 41

DONOR IMPACT

Q&A WITH MARK POVINELLI Mark Povinelli is the Kenneth A. and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership.

With dual appointments in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the Whitman School of Management, Povinelli will be working across campus to encourage collaboration and learning around entrepreneurship.

How do you define entrepreneurship?

Sometimes there is a preconception that entrepreneurial skill sets are reserved exclusively for people who are engaged in creating a small business that involves significant risk. Skill sets like empathy, working well in teams, and developing innovative ideas are necessary to be successful in any work environment.

What role does empathy play in coming up with a solution?

Empathy is crucial. Students engaged in design problem solving benefit if they base their solutions on an understanding of the needs and feelings of the people they are responding to.

What is your teaching philosophy?

I want to see the students engaged in team learning through a creative, hands-on approach. I want them to experience a potential problem space through observation and study, formulate what the problem to be addressed is, and participate in collaborative brainstorming. Then they can work through design options, prototyping, testing, get user group feedback, and iterate.

How will entrepreneurship courses help benefit students?

Engineering and computer science students spend significant time in lectures and learning theoretical engineering principles.

Opportunities to solve real-world problems and work in diverse team environments can help develop their interpersonal and ideation skill sets, which will enhance their design capabilities.

How do you help students select what ideas to pursue?

It’s about first removing the fear of failure by giving them the ability to try out ideas quickly to assess which ones fail and

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succeed. Research and using charettes, end-user feedback, and mentorship will help them build confidence.

What role does failure play in entrepreneurship?

Failure is a necessary part of the learning process. By embracing failure early and as a tenet of the engineering design process, we allow room for the risk of trying out innovative ideas before implementation.

How will you help integrate the College into the University ecosystem of entrepreneurship?

I am actively engaged in discussions and projects with the Whitman School, iSchool, and College of Visual and Performing Arts (School of Design) on ways students can collaborate. We want our students to work with peers from other schools and colleges with different learning backgrounds to give them a more diverse experience because that mirrors the working environments they will encounter as graduates. â—?

Computer Engineers Build an App to Help Veterans Transition to Students FALL 2015 | 43

Charles Preuss had spent the previous seven years of his life with his head on a swivel. As an airborne paratrooper for the U.S. Army, his very life depended on an astute understanding of his surroundings and the people in them. Upon returning to civilian life, it seemed that every person he encountered was the opposite—absorbed by their smartphone’s tiny, glowing screen and oblivious of what was happening around them.

“I felt like I was around robots,” describes Preuss. “Being overseas for so long, I didn’t use my phone. Everyone here seemed to be walking around with their heads down, totally engrossed in their device. That was very foreign to me at first.”

In addition to transitioning from a military life to a civilian life, Preuss was grappling with the transition from soldier life to student life as he enrolled in the iSchool’s information studies program.

“Student veterans are a very different demographic. We’re in our mid- to late-20s or older. Some are raising families or working full-time jobs. We’re coming out of a very structured military culture into one that’s not so structured.

We’re also a minority in the student population, so it’s important that we’re able to find each other,” says Preuss.

Recognizing society’s infatuation with mobile devices and his own desire to connect student veterans with people they can relate to, and utilizing support from the University’s Institute for Veterans and Military Families and the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs (OVMA), Preuss proposed a mobile application exclusively for the benefit of veterans at SU. The idea excited Ron Novack, OVMA’s executive director, so much that they set out to put boots on the ground to start the project almost immediately.

Working with Steve Masiclat, the director of new media management in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communica­ tions and a Marine Corps veteran, they were quickly able to identify a team of computer engineering graduate students in the College of Engineering and Computer 44 | FALL 2015

“Ankur likes to break it down to the bare bits and bytes and wanted to know the entire architecture of how the app is being built”

“Tushar knows all the different computer languages and thinks holistically”

“Gaurav likes to go against the status quo and ask why”

“Abhilash wanted to find efficiencies and keep the project on track”

SPOTLIGHT

The Office of Veteran and Military Affairs Serving as Syracuse University’s point of entry for all veteran and military related programs and initiatives, OVMA collaborates and coordinates with all stakeholders to best serve veterans, military connected students, and military family members who are students or employees at Syracuse University. For more information, visit veterans.syr.edu.

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Science that was not only capable of building the app for iOS and Android platforms, but prepared to share the vision of supporting veterans. Tushar Bhatia, Ankur Pandey, Gaurav Bhasin, and Abhilash Krishnamurthy took on the task, developing an app in just two months.

In his role as product manager for the app, Preuss found himself applying leadership skills he learned in the military. “To overcome any obstacle, you have to know your men, their strengths and weaknesses, and how to build the team so our strengths levy each weakness and form a great unit.

It doesn’t matter if it’s in the military or in business, you still have a team,” he says.

“Ankur likes to break it down to the bare bits and bytes and wanted to know the entire architecture of how the app is being built.

Tushar knows all the different computer languages and thinks holistically. Gaurav likes to go against the status quo and ask why. Abhilash wanted to find efficiencies and keep the project on track. The product rose to another level of quality because of their devotion to this project.”

The entire cross-collaborative team ideated what shape the application should take and arrived at a robust, yet straightforward, set of features. Using the app, veterans are provided guidance through their entire higher education experience, using a newsfeed of veteran news and events, and a step-by-step “roadmap” through the application process. It also includes a directory that connects users, listing their military branch and contact information.

“I worked for Oracle before I came to Syracuse University, so I have experience with developing products like this, but I’ve never experienced this degree of satisfaction with a project before,” describes Krishnamurthy. “I’m hopeful that this

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Abhilash Krishnamurthy

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Charles Preuss

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Professor Steve Masiclat

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Ankur Pandey

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Tushar Bhatia

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Gaurav Bhasin

app will help create a smooth transition from military to academic civilian life.

We put a lot of thought into providing veterans with everything they need to succeed at SU and gathered their feedback along the way.”

The application is in the early stages of its rollout. It is available for download in the App Store and Google Play. With most of the work behind them, the team remains hesitant to celebrate their success. “I can’t wait to talk about it when my fellow veterans have found value in it. That’s the moment we’re all waiting for. When veterans come up to us and say, ‘This app has helped me,’ that will be our measure of success,” says Preuss. ● FALL 2015 | 45

L to R: Maryam Wasmund (El-Hindi) ’78 (VPA), G’80, Lawrence El-Hindi ’87, G’13, Ahmad El-Hindi ’52, Mehdi Meghezzi G’12, G’13

FROM ORANGE TO ORANGE At 88 years old, Ahmad El-Hindi ’52 sits at the same desk and in the same chair that he did when his company, Filtertech, was just a small office inside his family’s home more than 40 years ago.

On the wall is a framed picture of him on the cover of Time magazine announcing him as “Man of the Year.” Never mind that it is a hand-drawn cover done by one of his sons when he was in grade school. To his family, he deserves this title.

The company, now headquartered in Manlius, N.Y., is a family affair.

Partly because three of his children, Lawrence El-Hindi ’87, G’13, Maryam Wasmund ’78, G’80, and Joseph El-Hindi, are managers within the company, and partly because many employees have worked at the company for decades—and they too are like family.

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“There have been people who have worked on the floor since before I was here, so you go to them like an uncle,” says Lawrence El-Hindi, who is a quality engineering manager and sales engineer at Filtertech. “I have younger engineers who will come to me with questions and I’ll say, ‘Let’s ask Uncle Carl.’”

Syracuse has been home to Ahmad El-Hindi since he stepped off the boat from Palestine in the fall of 1947 to begin what he believed was a short journey from New York City to Syracuse. For 10 hours on that crisp October day, the train wound through urban neighborhoods, rural countryside, and farmland before arriving at his new home—Syracuse University. Just like the landscape, the weather had shifted, and El-Hindi caught his first, but not last, glimpse of snowfall.

The son of an orange farmer, El-Hindi was, in a way, trading in one orange grove for another. The symbolism was a comforting reminder of home.

Since its founding in 1969, El-Hindi has sat in this chair and at this desk even as Filtertech grew.

In 1948, the State of Israel was created and El-Hindi found himself to be a man without a country and without a home.

With only a few hundred dollars left, he didn’t have the means to afford school. And, as a foreign student, he couldn’t work.

Dean Frank P. Piskor of the graduate school assured him that Syracuse University would take care of him so he could stay.

El-Hindi worked 56 hours a week, while also taking classes, so he could send money to his family who had become displaced from its home. His thermodynamics professor, John A. King, found out about his workload and gave him a job grading papers for the class. He had to stop when students began to question the black, sooty stains that appeared on their work—evidence of his night job shoveling coal. Regardless, he never forgot about being offered that opportunity.

“I like Syracuse University because they are really compassionate and they take care of students,” said El-Hindi.

After working for Hoffman Air & Filtration Systems for 17 years, and reaching the level of a vice president, he decided he wanted to travel less and be with his family more. He had built such strong

relationships when he was at Hoffman with companies like AT&T, Alcoa, and Reynolds Aluminum that they trusted him and valued his insights and recommendations, which enabled him to start his own consulting firm.

Over the decades, Filtertech expanded from consulting for companies to building filtration equipment and systems. As the company has grown over the decades, it has not lost that family feeling. After having his photo taken, El-Hindi strode through the office handing out oranges left over from the shoot. You can take the man out of the orange grove—but not the orange grove out of the man. ●

SPOTLIGHT Filtertech Filtertech is an international producer of liquid filtration and waste disposal equipment for industrial applications, including wire drawing, aluminum and steel rolling, machining, grinding, and coolant disposal. It has recently developed its filtration system technologies for new applications in optical glass lens grinding and industrial waste water treatment.

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ALUMNI NOTES 1950s Frank Reick ’52 (Industrial) Joined the senior citizen flying club known as the United Flying Octogenarians. The elite club unites more than 1,400 men and women pilots across the world with a minimum age requirement of 80.

James M. Hoefler ’77 (Mechanical)

Eugene McCabe ’92 (Mechanical)

Sarah Hamilton (Benedict) ’97 (Aerospace)

A political science professor at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., James invented XoomRooms, a portable, temporary, sustainable wall system for dividing spaces in homes and apartments.

Retired from the U.S. Air Force after 20 years of active duty. He is the manager of the engineering support and plan review section of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation in Anchorage, where he oversees a group of civil and environmental engineers who develop and review technical standards and review wastewater system designs statewide.

Is the mission operations planning team lead for the New Horizons spacecraft that flew past Pluto on July 14, 2015. She is employed

by Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory.

1980s 1970s

Renard Barnes ’87 (Electrical) Is general counsel at AJS Shared Services, an entity that provides legal, financial, and executive managerial support to the New Jerseybased Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor architectural and engineering firm.

Augustine F. Ubaldi ’70 (Civil) Recently appeared in two episodes of the History Channel series “Engineering Disasters” discussing a 2013 train accident in Chaffee, Mo. and the 2013 derailments on Metro-North in New York.

He was also interviewed by CNN and the New York Times regarding the fatal train crash on February 3 in Valhalla, N.Y. Augustine is an airport and railroad engineering expert at Robson Forensic based in Dublin, Ohio.

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1990s Tom Hull G’92 (Computer Engineering) Was named vice president and chief information officer of Florida Polytechnic and has completed the institutional planning, technology design, implementation, and startup. This includes all the technology to run the university and innovation labs for the STEM-focused curriculum. He is also a professor of computer science, including computation and programming, and digital media production.

Derek Landel ’93 (Computer Science) Of Ramsey, N.J., and Darren Buck ’94 (VPA) of Boston are co-founders of the Duke Baxter Band, an eight-piece party band specializing in the classic soul music of the ’60s and ’70s that has been going strong for 14 years.

Rosiland Rollins ’94 (Electrical) Is a patent agent at Roylance, Abrams, Berdo & Goodman, an intellectual property law firm based in Washington, D.C.

Wanda Dann G’97 (Computer & Information Science) Is a senior systems scientist and director of the Alice Project at Carnegie Mellon University, received the Alumni Achievement Award from Alderson Broaddus University in Philippi, W.VA., in October.

Wanda Lotus McCrae G’98 (Computer Engineering) Is one of the inaugural artists whose black-and-white street photography was selected for exhibition by Rush Street Gallery, a digital exhibition of contemporary artistic photography. Her photography was also accepted for inclusion in Colors of Humanity’s February show, Red.

2000s

Jared Green ’01, G’02 (Civil) Received the Diamond Award presented by the American Council of Engineering Companies for the New York Police Academy development in College Point, N.Y. Jared is a senior project manager for LANGAN.

Nicholas Romeo ’03 (Mechanical), G’05 (Engineering Management) Recently moved from York, Pa., to Lexington, Ky., with wife, Laura, and their children, Ellie and Lucas, to pursue an engineering career as a project manager/ mechanical engineer consultant with CMTA Consultant Engineers, Inc. He designs mechanical HVAC and plumbing systems for clients, who are mainly in the health care and education markets.

Tagbo Nieba ’09 (Bioengineering), G’14 (Chemical Engineering) Was awarded the Penn Postdoctoral Fellowship for Academic Diversity at the University of Pennsylvania.

He is working on interfacial phenomena linked to bacterial films, relevant to understand disease and bioremediation.

2010s

Marco Iacono G’02 (Computer Science) Is director of product management at Viv Labs (www.viv.ai), a Silicon Valley startup founded by the creators of Siri. Viv is a radical new AI technology that provides an intelligent interface to everything. Prior to Viv, Marco spent four years at Apple in Cupertino, Calif., managing the development of Siri features for iPhone, CarPlay, and Apple Watch.

his volunteer work and philanthropy on behalf of Syracuse University.

The award is conferred at the signature Generation Orange event during Orange Central Homecoming.

Brett Sauro ’07 (Mechanical) Is now a project manager for the Gilbane Building Company, which provides global integrated construction and facility management services in New York City.

Steven Herman ’12 (Civil) Is an M.B.A. candidate at New York University Stern School of Business specializing in finance and strategy. He works for Parsons Corporation, where he specializes in the inspection, design, analysis, and rehabilitation of bridges in and around New York City.

Michael Kochanek ’08 (Civil) Married Sarah Ross of Baldwinsville, N.Y., on August 15, 2015, at Hendricks Chapel.

He is a project engineer in water/wastewater at Barton and Loguidice. The couple resides in Manlius, N.Y.

Muss Akram ’10 (Chemical) Was named the 2015 recipient of the Generation Orange Award for making an impact on campus and in his community through

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ALUMNI NOTES CONTINUED 2010s Martin Spears ’12 (Civil) Is a construction specialist at CDM Smith, a global engineering and construction firm that focuses on various solutions in water, environment, transportation, energy, and facilities. He travels to various projects around the country providing construction management and on-site engineering services.

Natascha Trellinger ’13 (Aerospace) Is pursuing her masters at Purdue University’s School of Engineering Education.

She is researching faculty teaching philosophies and hopes to positively impact the perception of teaching at research institutions.

Help a New Generation Calculate Its Future When you give a gift to Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, countless students enjoy the fruits of your generosity. Help us shape the future of engineering and foster academic excellence by supporting scholarships, research opportunities, student programs, and more.

ENG-CS.SYR.EDU/GIVING Andrea Butchko ’13 (Civil) Became the middle school math specialist at the Stevens Cooperative Newport campus in Jersey City, N.J. She works with sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade teachers to develop a math curriculum that satisfies state requirements and also incorporates engineering aspects. She also leads engineering clubs and workshops that allow students to use their classroom skills in real-world applications.

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Let us know about your accomplishments!

Send your alumni news to engineer@syr.edu to be featured in an upcoming edition of Syracuse Engineer.

IN MEMORIAM Last December, a celebration of Ted’s life was held on Shaw Quad, with Hendricks Chapel Dean Tiffany Steinwert presiding.

“For all that Ted has given us to make us what we are, for that of him which is rooted and grows in each of us, and for all that will live on through his legacy, here at Syracuse University, we give thanks,” Steinwert said. With those words, Ted’s ashes were given a final resting place outside Smith Hall, where he spent so many days as an engineering student. ●

Theodore “Ted” Leverett ’49, G’50 Syracuse University played a large, important role in the life of Theodore W. Leverett ’49, G’50. Leverett earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering, which became the educational foundation for his successful career with IBM. While a student at SU, he worked as a graduate assistant in engineering and served for two years on the Hendricks Chapel board.

It was at Syracuse that he met his wife, music major Irene Elaine Engle ’49, and their marriage, which began in 1954, lasted until his death in 2010.

Despite busy professional and personal lives, the Leveretts maintained strong connections to their alma mater—Ted served as president of the Dutchess County SU alumni club, and both he and Irene met with potential students as pre-college counselors. Among their interests was one that combined Irene’s love of music with Ted’s penchant for engineering—collecting, and in many cases repairing, items that played a tune—from music boxes to musical toys, art, and instruments.

Doug Danforth ’47 Trustee Doug Danforth ’47, a lifelong supporter of Syracuse University, passed away on June 9, 2015.

Danforth, whose ancestors were among the first settlers in Syracuse, came from a family of extremely modest means. In the 1940s he was an unlikely candidate to have the opportunity to go to college. Despite the challenges, he was determined to go to Syracuse University.

By all accounts, Danforth had an extraordinary professional career. After spending a few years after graduation in South and Central America, he joined Westinghouse in 1955 as executive vice president and general manager of a sister company, Industria Electrica de Mexico. In 1961 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he continued to rise in the ranks at Westinghouse until he became CEO and chairman in the 1980s.

“Doug was the quintessential old-school gentleman—dedicated to his city, Pittsburgh, his company, Westinghouse, his university, Syracuse, and his friends and family,” said Eric Spina, Trustee Professor, who had the opportunity to work closely with him when he served as the Douglas D. Danforth Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and as the University’s Vice Chancellor and Provost.

Danforth was a philanthropic leader who understood the value of supporting the next generation of leaders and the place that had given so much to him.

“What Doug was really passionate about was the students—he loved to interact with the students when he would come to campus,” said Spina. “His last gift to the University is focused on supporting students through scholarships.”

Through his generosity in supporting Syracuse University students his legacy will live on here on the Hill. ●

“When I enrolled in college only about 7 percent of high school graduates even thought about going to college,” said Danforth in a 2006 video produced about Syracuse war veteran students. “Thanks to the G.I. Bill, it allowed returning service people to enter college—and for many families for the first time.”

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DONOR REPORT We gratefully recognize the following alumni, parents, friends, corporations, and foundations for their generous financial contributions during the 2015 fiscal year.

(The following list reflects gifts received from July 1, 2014, through June 30, 2015.)

Benefactors ($1000+) Andreas Acrivos Mussadiq Akram William F. Allyn and Janet J. Allyn R. K. Anand Michael Clark Anzalone and Nicole M. Anzalone William K. Arnold Charles T. Badlato and Julia M. Badlato Rajeev Badrinath Brian L. Beals and Emily B. Beals Neal F. Bergman and Nomi Bergman Lee A. Brathwaite John E. Breyer and Patricia Ann Breyer John N. Brogard Friends of Mr. Christopher Brian Budwey Gar Wood N. Burwell James A. Capolongo and Barbara Capolongo John R. Chawner Wen-Ching Chen Eric P. Chenoweth Shiu-Kai Chin and Linda M. Milosky

Kevin J. Cleary Samuel P. Clemence and Carolyn J. Clemence Said Cohen Ellen M. Consaul Harold R. Cramer Yi-Chyun Dai Mark Ian D’Aprile Craig S. Dean Philippe Dorante and Lisa M. Perard David G. Edelstein and Jennie E. Berkson Ahmad M. El-Hindi and Elizabeth El-Hindi Daniel K. Emadi Fadel F. Erian Nurul-Amin K. Eusufzai Elaine M. Falvo Lisa B. Feltrin Harold G. Fisher William Ted Frantz Jane Maselli Frenchik Mark Glauser and Gina Lee-Glauser Louis J. Goodman Jr. and Kathleen T. Goodman Jerrold A. Heller N. Carl Hellman Robert W. Hinkley Mary Ann Hopkins Estate of Dr. Lori Hunter* Can Isik

J. Charles Jennett and Linda E. Jennett Robert E. Joerger and Helen N. Joerger Brian K. Jones Donald M. Josephson Susan C. Kaymon Jeng-Shyong Ke H. Ezzat Khalifa and Shadia Khalifa Ali Kiran and Linda Kiran Daniel P. Kowalski Marian J. Langdon Michael J. Lazar Carlos G. Leon and Melyza G. Leon Raymond D. Letterman and MaryEllen M. Letterman Irene E. Leverett Gregory P. Levine Richard M. Loewenstein Jr. and Regina W. Loewenstein Frank A. Loguidice and Hilda R. Loguidice John D. Longwell Carla J. Manning George R. Marks Bryan Andrew Marston Robert P. Marston and Karen M. Marston Thomas N. McCausland and Linda P. McCausland Richard McFee and Joan E. McFee

Anthony McGraw Robert A. McKie Alvin S. Meltzer George H. Millman Jane Ann Murphy Avi M. Nash Robert L. Nevin David P. Owen and Dianne J. Owen Edward D. Paradise Michael J. Parenteau David G. Perkins and Debra J. Perkins Joel D. Plumley Michael M. Ransom James C. Rautio Nagappa Ravindra and Vasantha Ravindra Joseph T. Rossi Latisha F. Rourke Mark Z. Salvador and Rebecca Measday-Salvador Philip E. Schefter and Carolyn D. Schefter Klaus Schroder Michael P. Schwartz and Barbara A. Schwartz John P. Sekas William J. Sheeran and Deborah L. Pearce James A. Spearot A. Douglas Steinberg Jr. Ann W. Stevenson

GIFTS TO SUPPORT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY’S COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE James P. Stewart Bradley J. Strait Patricia A. Strandell John G. Stratakos Radhakrishna Sureshkumar David E. Suuronen Garrett L. Szczarba Aaron C. Tersteeg and Jessica A. Vasi Reid Wyman Thomas and Victoria Katherine Thomas Kelly M. Thompson Philip L. Varghese Michael R. Venutolo Mark J. Verone and Rachelle D. Hardy Guy A. Wadsworth John C. Watson Mark Donald Weber Raymond A. Wedlake and Nancy Joy Wedlake Jerry R. Whitaker Thomas C. Wilmot and M. Colleen Wilmot James L. Withiam and Beverly W. Withiam Abdallah H. Yabroudi Henry Yeh and Janice L. Yeh Edward S. Zuranski

Associates ($500-$999) Daniel Ambrose and Sandra L. Ambrose Aaron S. Berman Thomas D. Bickley Joshua M. Bieber Yu Chang Richard H. Chazen Edgar O. Cheney Jr. Chia-Lun Chou Andrew H. Cohen James M. Cornacchia Jon W. Drosendahl and Aileen D. Drosendahl Leonard L. Epstein Ewald F. Fischer Richard C. Flaherty Richard S. Fleisher Garth H. Foster and Mary-Helen Foster John H. Gaura Nicholas John Goodman and Lindsay A. Goodman Jonathan S. Greenfield and Georgette D. Greenfield Frank S. Guros Thomas M. Gurtowski Emily Hall William J. Hannett and Marcia T. Hannett *deceased

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Alexander E. Holstein Jr. and Charlotte G. Holstein Allen F. Horn III and Susan P. Horn Frederick L. Hunter Jr. Dharmarajan R. Iyer Ryan B. Jean Richard M. Jobbins and Jill M. Jobbins Edward S. Joseph Deepak M. Kamath Charles A. Keenan William P. Kelly and Elizabeth Y. Kelly Peter John Knoke* Joseph A. LeBlanc Leland D. Lewis Yonglang Li Paul H. Longchamps and Karen A. Longchamps Eric M. Lui Kathleen A. Luvisi Matthew C. Mace John M. MacKenzie Edward C. Magee Adam Moshe Mitchneck John F. Olson Paul J. Ossenbruggen Robert E. Papsco and Carol-Noel G. Papsco Kim A. Pearson Raymond E. Peart Frank J. Petsche Richard W. Powers Michael J. Querino Ronald F. Reed William J. Rugg and Marjorie K. Rugg Michael Runser John G. Santoni Gary C. Schafran Richard F. Schneider Harvey K. Schuman and Dona M. Schuman James M. Showalter George R. Smith and Lois M. Smith

Karl Spingarn David C. Stolp Thomas A. Teager and Patricia A. Teager Cynthia A. Thomas Philip T. Trent Thomas E. Troast Kevin C. Trott Ralph T. Urich Jr. William T. Vecere Barbara C. Wheler Denis E. Wickham Priscilla T. Williams Man Zhang

Contributors (up to $499) Robert C. Abbott David J. Abrahamian Scott F. Adams Brij N. Agrawal Lolet J. Ahyee Amin Al-Ahmad Everett E. Aldridge Todd Renell Allen Michael A. Aloi Joe Amato Axel G. Amaya James M. Amyot Stephen W. Anagnost and Susan E. Anagnost Rangachari Anand Arthur H. Anderson Jr. Brittany Irene Anderson Craig E. Anderson Mary-Claire Christina Anderson Steven J. Armenia Paul F. Bala Girish Balaiah Aswathaiya Kris A. Balch Charles A. Ballaro David A. Barkley Sr. Alan R. Barnes

Russ Bassani and Christine M. Bassani Amanda V. Bastian Albert T. Bauchle and Betty L. Bauchle Jeffrey L. Bauman and Susan Bauman Gene K. Baxter Gerard Adams Baxter II Lewis R. Becker Jr. Nashone S. Becton and Donya-Gaye M. Becton Christopher M. Begley Masoud Beizai Andrew S. Bell Scott Edward Bell and Stephanie H. Bell Jeffrey L. Bernard David D. Bertetti Roger H. Bettys Jr. Aloke S. Bhandia Tej Bhatia and Shobha K. Bhatia Prafull Bhosale Donald K. Bigsby and Marie A. Bigsby E. Raymond Boc Timothy F. Boland Richard D. Bomba Ursula Bongiovanni Patrick Ormande Bowles Alphonse M. Bracco Eric K. Bradley Timothy P. Brady Carl E. Braestrup Fred E. Brandstadt Richard W. Bratt Thomas Brexel and Patricia Brexel Ellen M. Brezinsky David C. Briggs Mary C. Brooks Jerome M. Brophy Charlotte C. Brown David G. Brown and Kimberli R. Brown Douglas F. Brown

KerryAnn Brown David R. Bruins Richard H. Bruns Gerald W. Bruyette John C. Bruzinski Bridget A. Budwey Randy C. Budzinski Robert J. Bugiada K. Wayne Bunn Christine Burgermaster Daniel J. Burns Joseph J. Buschynski Andrew F. Bushnell Gregory Butorin Gabriel L. Buzas and Jill Buzas John W. Byers Paul F. Byrne Andrew J. Cabal Charles R. Cahn John F. Cain Matthew J. Callahan John E. Campbell David J. Candelori Ronald B. Capelli R. William Card Stuart W. Card Gary J. Cardamone Patrick M. Carguello Jeffrey T. Carlo Bradley S. Carlson Matthew P. Carrano James R. Carroll Mackenna Caryl Richard Casillas and Jennifer Casillas James F. Cassidy and Susan M. Cassidy William A. Castner Martin C. Celemin Edward J. Cettina and Erin G. Cettina Dean P. Chaffe and Michele H. Chaffe John Chalecky John H. Chamberlain and Mary Ann Chamberlain

Stanley Chan Keith R. Chandler John H. Chaney Yasha Chaturvedi Chu Chen Limin Chen William Weizhong Chen Xi Chen Yee Pien Cheng Philip S. Chivily Sabah J. Choueiri Tek C. Chu Michael Chudyk Richard E. Church Jr. Richard F. Chuska Brent M. Clark Paul H. Clark Michael T. Coakley Patrick O. Coffey Beth O. Cofsky Daniel R. Colasanti Sr. James Andrew Cole Daniel G. Coleman Ronald M. Coleman Lawrence O. Comfort Robert D. Conine II Richard H. Connelly Matthew A. Conte Ralph R. Coon and Mary K. Coon Charles T. Cooney Jr. and Joan F. Cooney Joseph L. Cooper and Joelle D. Cooper Susan L. Cooper Barry W. Copeland H. Allen Corbin Jr. Connie S. Corey Jose F. Cortell James P. Costello William C. Cox Glenn Russell Crane Anthony C. Crescenzi and Vicki M. Crescenzi Rudolph W. Creteur Jr. Jay P. Crozier

Jose A. Cruz Kelley A. Cunningham Michael M. Dach Lawrence D. Daley Don J. Danks and Barb A. Danks Sumit DasGupta Mark E. Davis Debra L. Deas Marvin C. Decker and Sandra H. Decker William S. DeLaurier Stephen C DeSalvo Chuck L. Desmond and Kim C. Desmond James DeSpirito and Carmel J. DeSpirito Michael J. Dewey Hemant N. Dhulla Anthony J. DiMaso and Joanne M. DiMaso Dominga Dionisio Russell C. Dionne and Nancy W. Dionne Diane J. DiPino Paul H. Divjak and Susan F. Divjak Brian E. Dix William T. Donegan Jr. Zhifa Dong Robert S. Donnelly Sean P. Donnelly Bradley R. Dorfman Harry F. Doyle Taylor Michelle Doyle Bryan Patrick Doyon Walter R. Dressel Jr. Charles T. Driscoll Jr. and Kimberley M. Driscoll S. Craig Drumheller and Ann D. Drumheller Stephen M. Dunyk and Lynn A. Dunyk William D. Duvall Wallace F. Ebner Jr. and Nancy L. Ebner William W. Ebner *deceased FALL 2015 | 53

DONOR REPORT CONTINUED Contributors Cont (up to $499) John D. Edmunds Christina Eggert Richard J. Eksterowicz Lawrence R. El-Hindi and Fatima E. El-Hindi Carl W. Eller and Janet P. Eller Ira T. Ellis Jr. Donald L. Ely Howard Jeff Empie Jr. Gustav A. Engbretson Stephen G. Engle Richard Epstein Richard E. Ertinger Corey M. Falter and H. Ellie Falter Yong Fan Michael L. Fasano and Laurie A. Fasano James W. Fawcett Oleg V. Fedoroff James Feng Peijie Feng Mary Beth Fennell Philip P. Ferraiuolo and Anna T. Ferraiuolo John E. Ferree and Betty A. Ferree Erman E. Ferris Gary M. Fey Vincent J. Filingeri Richard E. Filippi John A. Fillo Jr. William Fred Finch III Vincent Fiorenza Victor A. Fischer Thomas J. Fitzpatrick and Kathleen G. Fitzpatrick Angela Renee Flanagan John D. Flanagan Paul Floroff Robert B. Fogelsonger

54 | FALL 2015

James E. Forde Jr. William C. Forma and Marian L. Forma John M. Fossaceca and Donna A. Fossaceca Alexandria Lee Framarini Louis Framarini Jr. and Priscilla A. Framarini David Howard France Stephen L. Franz and Linda A. Franz Joseph C. Franzone Robert L. Freedland and Cass Freedland Kevin Patrick Freeman Robert C. Freer Jesse Carter Friedland Robert D. Frisina and Susan T. Frisina Glenn S. Froese and Mary Lee Froese Keith Ronald Fuhrhop Brett W. Fuller John W. Fuller Jr. David M. Fulmer John F. Galanti Douglas P. Gallagher Anne D Galloway Rushabh Ravindra Gandhi Zhan Gao Scott F. Garberman and Sandra P. Garberman Edward T. Gardiner Joel B. Gardner and Doreen A. Gardner Frank J. Garguilo William J. Gavigan Andrea M. Gaynor Solomon Sahr Gbondo-Tugbawa George R. Gearn David F. Geary Sally A. Gedney Stephen H. George Philip Dariush Geramian David Gibbons Robert A. Gibson

William N. Gill Patrick G. Gillespie and Margaret H. Gillespie Herbert Gish Gerald P. Gladue and Gertrude P. Gladue Alberto Gomez-Rayas and Reyna Gomez Jason T. Gomez Donald J. Gondek Edwin Gonzalez Ramiro J. Gonzalez Hugh F. Grabosky Kenneth R. Gratz Laurence G. Gray Robert I. Gray and Elise N. Gray Michael J. Greco and Diana Greco Allan K. Green Raymond F. Green Bruce D. Greenwald and Leslie M. Greenwald Daniel T. Greiner and Deborah A. Greiner Harold F. Greiner Lillian Griff Anthony J. Grimaldi John P. Gromniak Terry P. Grummitt Michael P. Gruszka Matthew Dustin Grzelak Kurt L. Gschwind and Sheila M. Gschwind Amy S. Gullotta Elvira Gurevich Fred W. Haetinger Marc C. Hahn Walter A. Halbig Harold D. Hale Jr. Colin Blake Hall Hugh E. Hallenbeck Shawn A. Halpin William M. Halpin Sr. and Patricia A. Halpin Althea K. Hamilton Robert T. Hammond

Chang Han Pamela R. Handen James D. Hannon Ejvind R. Hansen Joan E. Hansen Frederick W. Hardt Kurt W. Harlacher James G. Harris John P. Hassett and Judith A. Crawford Scott V. Havelock and Rayna Merl Havelock Michael R. Hayes Gerald F. Healey III and Linda F. D’Antonio Robert James Heins Veronica J. Helgans Dean E. Helm Philip Helmes and Kathleen A. Helmes Charles M. Hendee and Denise P. Hendee John F. Hennessy II Jesse J. Herbert John P. Heslop and Elizabeth H. Chapman Adam L. Hess Deborah L. Hess Richard H. Hess and Leanne M. Hess John M. Hill and Kathy G. Maronski Richard C. Hill Robert L. Hill Ronald N. Hill Robert Garrett Hiller William G. Hillman David M. Hines John G. Fred Hiss Jr. and Marialyce K. Hiss Richard L. Hockenbrock Milton T. Hodgins and Susan K. Hodgins Bruce H. Hoffman and Linda T. Hoffman Reinhard Hohensee and Diane M. Hohensee Robert James Holbrook

Pentti A. Honkanen Todd E. Horowitz and Carol S. Levine Paul W. Horstmann Caitlin Elizabeth Houghton William E. Houghton Jr. and Barbara Lum Houghton Dennis E. Hrabchak Frances B. Hradil Ming-Han Hsieh Ryan C. Hudson Friends of Lori Hunter William S. Hurley George R. Huson Kenneth R. Hutton Jennifer Susan Imbro Alexandra Christine Ingram Joseph G. Inserra Arun V. Iyer Paul Jackman Domonique Aubrey Jackson Leona B. Jackson Ariba Jahan Niraj K. Jain Richard B. James Peter F. Jardieu Richard J. Jaskot Herbert V. Jene and Lynn F. Jene Evan P. Jennings Charles A. Johnson and Lynda M. Johnson David W. Johnson Andrew K. Johnston Thomas E. Jordahl and Lauren K. Jordahl Pierre Joseph Abhay B. Joshi and Tanuja R. Joshi Justin Cale Joslin Shin-An Ju Henry J. Juda John H. Judge James C. Junk Kenneth T. Kaminski and Paula C. Kaminski Kuo-Lung Kao

Thomas J. Kapfer and Deborah M. Kapfer Douglas J. Kaputa and Nancy L. Kaputa Robert M. Karabin and Melissa Quinn-Karabin Subramaniam Karthik Walter Katuschenko Julian A. Katz and Gila J.R. Katz Charles F. Kay Cheryl L. Kearney Bruce D. Keller Richard R. Kemmerer and Rebecca D. Kemmerer James A. Kennedy Asad U. Khan Mary Alice Kiah Michael B. Kimber and Jean M. Kimber Howard E. Kimpton Robert D. King Robert J. King Richard R. Kinsey and Sally B. Kinsey Harry J. Kit Rex C. Klopfenstein Herbert W. Klumpe III Peter M. Kogge Walter Koozin Rudolph J. Korbler Jr. George L. Kosboth Henry J. Kotas Leonid V. Kovalev Peter L. Kowalczik Clif Kranish Steven R. Krauszer Stanley J. Krawczuk and Nancy M. Krawczuk John F. Kruse Harry A. Kubick and Diana W. Kubick Peter Kummer and Deborah Jo Kummer Albert Sheng-Yi Kuo John E. Kuras Akua M. Kusi

Kofi Kusi George H. Kyanka Leslie T. Kyser Neil F. Labrake Jr. Joseph W. Ladd Jr. Haden A. Land Ronald T. Landers Robert L. Landon Jr. L. Thomas Lane and Mary E. Lane Mark R. Lang Franklin J. Lanuto James V. Lauricella Giuseppe Laviano Michael D. Lavin Nancy A. Lavriha-Smith Richard J. Laws Steve Lee Bernard Leeds David M. Leight John J. Leimer Judith Shattuck Leithner Robert J. Lenuzza Scott R. Leonard Samuel M. Leone Eric J. Letvin Annette Quaranta LeVan Joshua A. Levi Fara J. Levine Petrona H. Levy Matthew J. Lewis and Rosemary E. Lewis Meredith Mayer Lewis Bei Li Ping Guan Li Xiao Li Xiaoning Li Kenneth R. Linton* Samuel T. Liss Jincheng Liu Sheng Liu Mark E. Livesey and Nancy H. Livesey Melvin P. Livingston Edward R. Locke and Linda W. Locke

Serene H. Longsworth Harold A. Loomis Steven R. Lootens Dane E. Lopes and Shari Lopes Alexis Rae Lopriore Justin R. Louise and Ronna P. Louise Michael F. Louise David Allen Lower Yi Lu and Julia H. Lu Henry R. Lucenius Joseph F. Ludford Arnold Ludke Joseph A. Lukas and Janice F. Lukas Jurrie Lulofs Joshua Luna Edwin T. Lurcott Raymond K. S. Lyau Hugh D. Lynch Yixin Ma Bruce J. Mac Mullen Michael J. Mack Orrin B. MacMurray Theodore M. Madzy Patrick J. Magari Shannon Magari Ankit Mahajan James T. Mallen Douglas Thomas Mallinak Prajwal Mahesh Mamledesai Ernest L. Manchin and Barbara J. Manchin Teresa E. Marchbanks Julie Marino James F. Marquardt and Nancy F. Marquardt Robert J. Marsey Peter Marshall Rudolph J. Marshall III Tracy L. Martellotta Susan M. Martini Daniel A. Mastropietro Rajendra K. Mathur

Lydia M. Matos Abraham G. Matthews John D. Maurillo Ronald J. Mauro Joseph R. Mautz and Barbara Ann Mautz Iris Ann Maxon Kristian Gerard Mayer Peter G. Mayer and Susan Kay Mayer Kenneth B. Maynard John A. Mazzacane Kevin Andrew McCandless Arden J. McConnell and Clara Marie McConnell Rodney K. McDowell Karen M. McGlynn Peter E. McGrath Mark R. McGuire and Maria R. McGuire Janet L. McHugh Sarah E. McInnes Lee W. McKnight and Elaine M. McKnight Bruce K. McLeish Laurence B. McNabb Rama T. Mehrotra Din-How Mei and Angela Lee Shung-Ying Carol Melling Donald G. Michaud and Maria J. Michaud James A. Migliaccio Julia A. Mignacca Michael Mikolay William R. Miles Jill Bower Miller Leonard J. Millner Ethan Thomas Minier James R. Mitchell Katayoun Mokhtarzadeh Rick A. Molnar Carol Mone Larry Gene Monroe Theodore A. Monto and Theresa M Monto

Joel S. Mooney and Jeanne R. Mooney Rebecca Elizabeth Moore William B. Moore Jr. and Barbara S. Moore Peter S. Morelli John P. Morrell Frank Morrow Jr. and Martha Morrow Evangeline M. Morse Allen L. Mossman Randall L. Mosten Zaher M. Moussa and Barbara A. Moussa William W. Moyer Jr. Paul A. Moynihan Charles G. Muniak Bruce C. Murdock Gerard N. Murello and Lisa A. Murello Mukund Narayana Murthy Christopher Nicholas Nagel Norbert A. Nann and Alma S. Nann Robert G. Nath and Judith E. Nath William R. Naumann Ira Nemeroff Glen R. Nemerow Ruth E.K. Nester Jeanette C. Newell Richard W. Newman Gordon A. Ngai Thomas W. Nolan Denis W. Noonan and Rita C. Noonan Michael A. Norato Robert F. Nordin Norman H. Nosenchuck Larry R. Noyes Cornelius J. O’Connor III Clyde G. Oakley and Patricia J. Oakley Ronald W. Ogur Ernest A. Olin and Judy M. Olin

Eimei M. Onaga and Yoko S. Onaga Carl P. Oppenheimer and Sarah P. Oppenheimer Michael C. Orlovsky Kenneth W. Orlowski Thomas I. Osborn Kathleen M. Owczarski Rose E. Page Anil Bhaskar Pai James A. Paige JP S. Palandrano John S. Palleschi and Francesca G. Orsini Xiaomei Pan Catherine A. Pandozzi Brian P. Papszycki and Ruth Marie Papszycki Stephen M. Parish and Karen E. Parish Jeffrey M. Park and Janet F. Park Helen K. Parr Cindy Parran Christopher D. Parzych Lyman M. Pauls Jr. Douglas J. Pavone Robert A. Peil Aarre David Pellinen Dawn E. Penniman David Perel Susan M. Perrigo James Leroy Perry and Toloa S. Perry Charles F. Peters William C. Peters* Glen E. Phillips Paul W. Phillips John Pickelhaupt Jr. Robert J. Pietrasik Russell J. Pike Wosyl Pilipczuk Vijayaraghavan Pitchumani Dennis S. Poe Albert R. Pollack Mileysa Ponce Rios

Glen E. Potter and Jean A. Potter John F. Povacz James J. Powers III Mukund J. Prajapati and Smita M. Prajapati Steven J. Pratt and Lisa M. Pratt Barbara J. Prusiewicz Kevin P. Prykull and Karen L. Prykull Thomas Scott Pullen Michael Putrino and Barbara A. Putrino Stephen Pynn and Kathryn R. Pynn Lizeng Qin and Hongli Yu Sean Michael Quarry Dana M. Radcliffe and Karen Low Norman Radow Louis J. Ragonese Suruliappan Rajamanickam Rajeev R. Raje and Anjali R. Raje Robin Ramos Raghavendra Prasad Rao Yi Rao Jothikumar Rathinamoorthy Brian James Rautio John D. Reale Richard T. Reavely Wayne Redlich Howard Justin Reed Nandlal S. Reejhsinghani Thomas J. Regan Jr. Charles R. Register and Virginia L. Register Irvin D. Reichley Eduardo Reid Remi H. Renard and Esperanza P. Renard James C. Rentos Dolores Reyes and Maria V. Olivo

*deceased FALL 2015 | 55

DONOR REPORT CONTINUED Contributors Cont (up to $499) Robert F. Rhinehart and Christina A. Rhinehart Ann R. Rice Dale A. Rice Robert P. Rice Jr. and Ayse Z. Akyol-Rice William H. Righter Spencer W. Roberts Eric A. Rodebaugh Robert Andrew Rodrigues William D. Roe Daniel F. Rogers John C. Rohde Steven J. Rolfe and Claudine M. Rolfe Vincent D. Roman Andrew J. Romano and Gail M. Romano Rocco A. Romano Raymond E. Rosenberger Piotr Roslan and Jolanta Roslan Barry I. Rothenberg Andrew M. Rotunno Ian Z. Rubinstein Kenneth C. Rubinwitch Ernest W. Russom III and Lynn A. Russom Nelson E. Russom Robert D. Ruth Anderson Ryan Mamoud Sadre and Patricia A. Sadre Vincent L. Saladin III Joseph M. Salvati George H. Sander Suresh Santanam and Linda Santanam D. Vijay Saradhi George M. Sarkis P. Anthony Sarubbi Jr.

Robert S. Savage Stephen A. Savage Robert M. Savasky George C. Savvides John W. Schaefer Christopher W. Scharff James R. Schatz William G. Scheerer and Janet L. Scheerer Randy S. Schepis and Deborah S. Schepis Robert J. Schiera and Karen A. Schiera Martin F. Schlecht Stuart S. Schlitt Albert F. Schneider Alan Schneiderman Judith A. Schonhoff Douglas A. Schrank Kathleen Anne Schroeder Frederick D. Schulkind Matthew Wesley Scott Irwin H. Sebelowitz Louis H. Sedaris Yuk L. Seidman Adrian D. Semple and Ava C. Semple Brian Allen Sessler Christopher L. Shaffer B. P. Shah Robert Shawver Jack E. Sheehan Huitao Sheng Debra L. Shenk Matthew D. Sheridan and Kelly Comfort Sheridan Richard G. Sherman Parul C. Sheth Scott M. Shipman and Tiffany A. Shipman Richard W. Shirk Nancy G. Shreve Yu Fan Shum and Linda Shum James A. Shurtleff

George Aubrey Siller Robert L. Silver Mary Anne Silvernail Daniel J. Simon Charles G. Simonson and Andrea M. Simonson Jagjeevanjot Singh Edward W. Sirgany Alex F. Sisti Beth A. Smith Francis R. Smith Phillip T. Smith Randy S. Smith and Julie G. Smith Willard J. Smith Bernice E. Smoll Vincent J. Smoral Dennis J. Snyder and Cathy L. Snyder Anthony Socias Harris E. Sokoloff Barry S. Solondz Frank L. Sowers Jr. and Kimberly A. Sowers Nicholas Salvatore Sozio Donald J. Spiegel Joel J. Spiegelman and Andrea Spiegelman Ronald A. Spinek John N. Spiridakis Jason E. Springer Prasit Sricharoenchaikit and Jolynn Sricharoenchaikit Seshadri Srinivasan John B. Steele John M. Stengrevics and Susan S. Stengrevics John T. Sterling David A. Stevenson Linda M. Stevenson Jack M. Stewart Norman Stoller Ronald Storch and Amy Storch

Richard J. Storey and Olivia W. Storey Thomas M. Storey and Deborah F. Storey Francis J. Straub David J. Struski and Christine A. Struski Armin Wilhelm Stuedlein Frederick M. Swed Jr. Robert J. Sweeney and Barbara R. Sweeney Janusz Szela and Malgorzata M. Szela Scott J. Tait Katelyn Marie Tamargo Arthur J. Taylor and Monica Taylor Paul W. Taylor Stacy R. Taylor Paul T. Tenney and Christine A. Tenney Robert C. Terwilliger Jr. Matthew A. Thelen Linda Stokes Thompson David J. Timer Kenneth J. Tiss and Martha L. Tiss Michael R. Tobin Teeradet Tong-Ngork Juan Diego Torres William J. Tracz Vu Nghia Tran Mark E. Trautmann and Ana E. Rodriguez Albert Travostino Frank E. Trendell Paul Tucci and Kimberly A. Tucci Marc Tulgan Arthur R. Tuppen Lynn A. Turner Augustine F. Ubaldi Colin Ulen Zerksis D. Umrigar Ramachandran Vaidyanathan

David B. Vail David Van Valauri and Jill Ann Valauri Kimberlee M. Valdes Vincent C. Vannicola James P. Vigneault Barry L. Volain Roger J. Voorhis Jr. William E. Vosteen Joseph A. Vrablic Joseph J. Waclawski and Betty S. Waclawski Frederick E. Waibel Henry J. Wakefield Richard B. Wakeman Stephen A. Walata III Daniel F. Walczyk Raymond A. Waldbusser Kristin Anne Waller Gerald W. Walsh III* James P. Walsh* Huaning Wang Jingjing Wang Zhao Wang James Matthew Ward Edward A. Wardner Richard Wasiewicz Ronald Waxman Mark A. Weber and Dana F. Weber Kenneth Ira Webman Donald R. Weihrich Brian Ishmael Wellington Philip B. Wells Frederick C. Wendt Robert E. Wengert Fredric T. Wenthen and Carole M. Wenthen Richard Wessel Roberta Lee Weston Roger E. Wetherbee and Roberta J. Wetherbee Christopher L. Whaley Edward W. Whelan Jr.

Mark W. Whipple and Marilyn E. Whipple Richard C. Wilbur and Brenda L. Wilbur Charles F. Willard Jr. Jack B. Williams Thaung Win Reynolds B. Winslow Ashley L. Wisse Robert J. Wisse and Jody S. Wisse George E. Wolke and Daryl Morrison Wolke William Wong Scott D. Wortman and Donna J. Wortman Richard N. Wright III Robert A. Wright Ge Xu Hao Xu Hongwei Yan Ray Y. Yan Zhe Yang Jessica Libby Yarmarkovich Thomas A. Yezza Jr. Chunzhong Ying Michael Yonko Peter H. Youngwith Sheng-Mou Yu Philip T. Yuan and Beatrice Yuan David M. Zasada Kenneth D. Zastrow and Nancy B. Zastrow Fanda Zeng Jianshun Zhang and Bing Guo Yuedong Zhao Nancy J. Ziobro Carol G. Zollweg Junaid A. Zubairi Francis R. Zumpano

*deceased 56 | FALL 2015

34 20

AGUA LIMPIA

02

22

ALL THAT GLISTENS Harmful Practices in Gold Mining Inspire Mercury Research in Senegal

IN THE MEDIA

04

12

23

05

14

24

VIRTUAL BODY

DEAN DAHLBERG

10

THE RIGHT FIT Engineering Labs Set Up Shop in the CoE

SWARM ROBOTS

DRIVE

The Fast-Paced Return of SU’s Formula SAE Team

18

CHANGING BANDAGES Startup Developing Advanced Wound Dressing Is Based on SU Research

FACULTY EXCELLENCE AWARDS

ENGINEERS TAKE ITALY

25

OMAR & ARGY Building a Lab From the Ground Up

32

CARBON CAPTURE New Material Moves Us One Step Closer to Reducing Carbon Dioxide Emissions

38

EYES IN THE SKY

40

HEADS UP New Classroom Encourages Teamwork in Engineering Education

42 Q&A

With Mark Povinelli

43

BOOTS TO BOOKS

46

FROM ORANGE TO ORANGE

Organizations Allyn Foundation Inc. American Institute of Steel Construction American International Group Inc. The Associated: Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore Association for Bridge Construction and Design Autodesk Inc. Autoliv North America Automatic Data Processing Foundation AXA Foundation BAE Systems North America Bank of America Foundation BASF Corporation Benevity

The Boeing Company CB&I Chevron Corporation Cisco Systems Inc. Computer Associates International Inc. Corning Incorporated Dakota Capital LLC The Dow Chemical Company The Ahmad & Elizabeth El-Hindi Foundation Inc. Exelon Corporation EY Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Fluor Foundation FM Global GE Fund Google Inc. The Heller Family Foundation Indira Foundation

Ingersoll-Rand Company Intel Foundation J.P. Morgan Chase & Company The Jewish Community Foundation of Central New York Inc. Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Johnson Controls Foundation JustGive KPMG Foundation Lam Research Corporation Eli Lilly & Company LMEPAC Charity Program Custodial Account Lockheed Martin Corporation Longwell Family Foundation The Lubrizol Foundation Macy’s Foundation

MCGI Tec Inc. McKesson Foundation Inc. McKinney-Geib Foundation Inc. Microsoft Corporation Morgan Stanley Global Impact Funding Trust Inc. Claire & Jack Nath Charitable Foundation National Grid USA Network for Good Northrop Grumman Foundation O’Brien & Gere Ltd. PACCAR Foundation Pilipczuk Consulting Engineers & Home Inspectors PJM Interconnection LLC Pointwise Inc. Preferred Audiology Care LLC

Raymond International W.L.L. Raytheon Company Red Hat Inc. Research Foundation of CUNY Salesforce.com Foundation The San Diego Foundation Schwab Charitable Fund Sekas Homes Ltd. Richard S. Shineman Foundation John Ben Snow Memorial Trust Society of Women Engineers SRC Inc. State Farm Companies Foundation Taylor Orthopedic Clinic Inc. Technical University of Denmark Tyco International Ltd.

ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS Julie Hasenwinkel, Ph.D.

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS Ariel DuChene

DESIGN Leibowitz Branding & Design leibowitz.co

WEBSITE eng-cs.syr.edu

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT Michael M. Ransom

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matt Wheeler

48

ALUMNI NOTES

51

IN MEMORIAM

52

DONOR REPORT

DEAN Teresa A. Dahlberg, Ph.D. SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Can Isik, Ph.D. ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMS Mark Glauser, Ph.D.

Computer Engineers Build an App to Help Veterans Transition to Students

COOL IT...

DATA CENTERS DONOR IMPACT

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR STUDENT RECRUITMENT Kathleen M. Joyce

CONTRIBUTORS Ariel DuChene Matt Wheeler Barbara Witek

PHOTOGRAPHY Susan Kahn Douglas Lloyd Steve Sartori Chuck Wainwright

CONTACT engineer@syr.edu

Union Pacific Corporation United Technologies Corporation United Way of Central & Northeastern Connecticut Verizon Foundation Voya Financial Wells Fargo Foundation Wilsu LLC Windover Construction Xerox Foundation

PAID

Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science Syracuse, NY 13244-1240

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

99,957

MOHAWK VIA PC100

Gallons wastewater flow saved.

214

Trees preserved for the future.

18,430 lbs

Net greenhouse gases prevented.

96,000,000 BTUs energy not consumed.

12 lbs

Water-borne waste not created.

6,691 lbs

Solid waste not generated.

Engineer magazine promotes a clean, sustainable environment. Throughout production, we have embraced green practices and principles. We use 100% post-consumer paper and print only with soy-based, non VOC inks. Our printer is FSC® certified. Our printer is Green-e® certified and offsets their electricity use through the purchase of renewable energy credits. Steps like this can preserve more than 210 trees, save over 99,000 gallons of wastewater, eliminate nearly 6,500 pounds of solid waste and prevent the emission of more than 18,000 pounds of greenhouse gases.

That’s a big difference, and that’s the idea.

Environmental savings calculations are based on 17,820 lbs of paper production run.

Paper Manufactured and Printed Using 100% Certified Renewable Electricity TN#: 10-5005-1052

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