Syracuse Engineer Spring 2015

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SPRIN G 2015

SEEKERS

National Science Foundation Invests in College's Future Leaders

CONTENTS

SPRING 2015

ON THE COVER

Roof at the 20 Green Oncenter A look inside this living lab

the Power 22 Harnessing of 800 Suns Student venture magnifies solar energy

Rising Star Faculty | Page 2 Assistant Professors Shikha Nangia, Shalabh Maroo, and Jesse Bond were awarded the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER), proving their role as young thought leaders.

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The Desk Zone Saving energy while staying comfortable in the office

Insecurity & 28 Fear, Smartphones NASA 32 Destination Ryan Milcarek, ’14, and the Astronaut Scholarship

of a Syracuse 34 Anatomy Snowball Rising 36 Mercury Playing a role in policymaking Powered 38 STE(A)M Haden Land G ’91 is enhancing STEM with the arts

the Power to Save 13 Celebrating Research 06 Putting Inspectors 40 Energy 2015 Nunan Research and Lecture Day Lives in Your Pocket Student project saves energy in BlueDefib wants to make AEDs more accessible

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Chen's IEEE Honor Sends a Signal

the Lens of a 08 Through Toxicologist A Profile of Professor Ruth Chen

with Dean Mohan 12 Q&A A Conversation with the Interim Dean

Tactics in the War on 14 New Superbugs Masterpiece: Engineering 16 The Preserving Art How engineering is protecting Michelangelo’s frescoes

Air in Culinary 18 Appraising Climates Inside the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory

Maxwell Hall

vs. the 42 Engineering Apocalypse Students engineer for the end

44 Alumni Notes Memoriam 45 InRemembering Ruth Dewey, Christopher Budwey and Professor Carlos Hartmann

IN MEMORIAM Ruth Dewey Ruth Dewey passed away in San Juan, Puerto Rico in October. Dewey retired from Syracuse University in 2002, where she worked for many years as a technical secretary, several of them in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Ruth Dewey was a stalwart in our Chemical Engineering Department administration staff. I will always remember Ruth’s pleasant smile and delightful personality.

She was a colleague you could count on to get work done,” said Professor Larry Tavlarides.

FROM THE DEAN

Professor Carlos R.P. Hartmann

Professor Carlos R.P. Hartmann was a gifted and widely regarded researcher in the areas of information and coding theory, whose work was supported

by NSF for many years. His research accomplishments were recognized by the prestigious IEEE Fellow award, as well as the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for exceptional academic excellence.

Christopher Budwey Carlos had joined the School of Computer and Information Science (CIS) Christopher Budwey ’12 passed away at home unexpectedly faculty in 1970, eventually becoming the director of the School. In 1996, he became in January. He was a 2012 graduate of the College of the first chair the newMaroo Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Bond,ofShalabh and Shikha Nangia, who received the National Science n March and 1988, a young Ph.D. in a on rarely worn Engineering Computer Science and student, he was working Science, when CIS merged with CAREER the formerawards Department of Electrical and Foundation’ s prestigious this year. (with a haircut roommate), abrown master's suit degree.

Budwey was a lab from teacher’his s assistant for the stepped Computer Engineering.

Heitself successfully led thisunder department until 2009, developing The University is transforming the leadership of Chancellor Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science off the airplane at the Syracuse airport, fully expecting that a cohesiveKent department in which multiple new collaborations emerged as a result Syverud, with extensive efforts being devoted by many students, staff, andwould an RF engineer Arcom Labs. of his strong leadership.

He was a great colleague, friend, and teacher; he willwe be this be justfor one more among several faculty position faculty, and administrators throughout the current academic year. Soon, “It is very sad for all of us here in the undergraduate interviews lined up that month. He was won over by themissed immensely. expect to see a University-wide academic strategic plan, new financial plans electrical and computer engineering community to lose for the long term, and an increased emphasis on academic excellence. Our warmth withday which was greeted, shown lab around Chris. Every I walkhe through the undergraduate and a lovelyProfessor Hartmann received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Instituto College is very much a part of this transformation, and we look forward to campus, and introduced am reminded of Chris. Theretoareaccomplished so many projectsprofessors and tasks as well Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in other São Paulo, Brazil, and a Ph.D. from thethe University of working closely with schools and colleges to make ’Cuse place where remindstudents. me of him. He is greatly missed,” said Professor as that brilliant Illinois at everybody Urbana-Champaign. wants to be.He passed away on April 21, 2015.

Duane Marcy.

Unsurprisingly, change can provoke fears, uncertainty, and confusion; Many things have changed over time, but the wonderfully collaborative but visionaries see through the fog, and articulate the directions in which atmosphere I experienced then at Syracuse University has only grown the world needs to move. A favorite verse of mine, by the Nobel Laureate stronger. This has attracted many more exceptionally qualified new faculty R. Tagore (1910 in Bangla, 1912 in English), begins, “Where the mind is members and students to Syracuse. without fear and the head is held high.” The critical elements of this poem are Time and change are what I like to study in my research. Things change— fearlessness, transcendence of narrow boundaries, openness, and a refusal to how do we figure out what has already changed, what is still changing, why be bogged down by “dead habit.” If this is what the world is to look like, how do these changes occur, into what future state will this change lead, what can can we make it happen? An answer comes from M.K. Gandhi (1913): “If we be done to modify the direction of change, and how do we prepare for the could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change….We need MAGAZINE REDESIGN DEAN ASSISTANT DEAN FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT future? InINTERIM the most recent doctoral dissertation that I supervised, for instance, The Cohl Group Chilukuri K. Mohan, Ph.D. Michael M. Ransom not wait to see what others do.” we found that observable changes in simulated populations of evolving Where will our College be in a few years? The external world and our individuals couldASSOCIATE be predicted much faster if we examined changes in the key SENIOR DEAN ASSISTANT DEAN FOR current STUDENTstate RECRUITMENT impose some constraints:DESIGN no amount of hard work will suddenly Pinckney Hugo Group ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Kathleen M. Joyce propertiesFOR of underlying substructures of the evolving populations, facilitating land us in Oz, but merely clicking our heels is insufficient to take us even to Can Isik, Ph.D. actions that direct the evolution toward a specific goal.

PHOTOGRAPHY ASSISTANT DEAN FOR Kansas.

EXTERNAL RELATIONS My crystal ball tells me that the whole world will be talking about With leadership comes a time to reflect on the indelible Douglas Lloyd ASSOCIATE change DEAN FOR RESEARCH Arielimpacts DuChene our wonderful achievements within fiveSteve years.

This will happen because of Sartori AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMS resulting from leaders. As dean, Laura J. Steinberg steered us through six the enthusiasm and hard work of exceptionally talented faculty, staff, and Chuck Wainwright Mark Glauser, Ph.D. EXECUTIVE EDITOR years of unprecedented and successful growth. Another former dean, Eric Matt Wheeler students, as well as the active support of our alumni. Thank you!

WEB SITE Spina, provided the DEAN University with wise counsel and support for eight ASSOCIATE FOR STUDENT AFFAIRS eng-cs.syr.edu Julie Hasenwinkel, Ph.D. CONTRIBUTORS years as Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Academic Affairs. Their insights Ariel DuChene Patti Gomez and hard work have helped to lay the groundwork for the accomplishment CONTACT Matt Wheeler Barbara Witek engineer@syr.edu of our College’s goals. Several of the articles in this magazine highlight the transformative achievements of faculty members who came to Syracuse and Chilukuri K. Mohan, Ph.D. were supported by Laura and Eric. These@ENGINEERINGSU include Assistant Professors JesseWITH US /ENGINEERINGSU CONNECT Dean ENGINEERINGSU

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SPRING 2015 FALL 20141 45

SEEKERS NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION HONORS JUNIOR FACULTY

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f there was ever an award to recognize the potential of a burgeoning star player while setting them up for a hall-of-fame career, the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) is it. As the NSF’s most prestigious award for junior faculty, it provides significant financial support for their research over the next five years, setting the stage for a lifetime of leadership in their respective fields. Not one, but three of the College’s young faculty members earned the early career development award this year, proving their role as young thought leaders who provide outstanding education and research.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR SHIKHA NANGIA Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Nangia is identifying ways to treat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by temporarily opening the blood-brain barrier tight junctions to allow medicines to reach the brain in non-invasive ways.

“An analogy to the blood-brain barrier is that of Velcro. On one side you have blood and one side you have the brain and there are cells lining up in the middle and they are jam-packed—this is the barrier. What we need to do is to open up the gaps between these cells. The prongs of the ‘Velcro’ are made up of proteins. If we can understand the structure of these proteins, we can develop strategies that can open the gaps to allow medicine to go through.”

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ASSISTANT PROFESSOR SHALABH MAROO Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Maroo is investigating the fundamental physics associated with nanoscale meniscus evaporation and passive liquid flow to remove large amounts of heat from small surfaces in very short amounts of time.

“Currently the most effective way to remove heat from a surface is through boiling. Theoretically, if we can prevent boiling with use of novel nanotechnology, we can achieve nanoscale evaporation, which could remove 10 times as much heat.”

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR JESSE BOND Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Bond is exploring more sustainable ways to synthesize chemical products by using biomass in place of crude oil.

“Through this work, we are gaining fundamental knowledge about catalytic reactions, and those insights are generally universal. If I have trained my students to think rigorously about governing principles, to ask questions of fundamental importance, and to design experiments that answer those questions—I think those are the most important things that can come from their education.”

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SPRING 2015 5

THE POWER TO SAVE LIVES IN YOUR POCKET Y

ou’re sitting at a local coffee shop. A gentleman across from you appears to be struggling.

Moments later, he clutches his chest and collapses. You immediately reach for your smartphone, but instead of dialing 911, you grab a defibrillator from the wall and plug it into your mobile device.

A voice prompt emerges from your phone’s speaker: “Begin by exposing patient’s bare chest and torso.” While you start to remove the man’s shirt, another patron dials for help.

By now, you’ve placed two pads on the man’s chest. “Preparing shock—move away from the patient,” the voice instructs. The shock is delivered. The man’s heart is beating again. You continue to follow the prompts until emergency medical technicians arrive.

Survival rates from cardiac arrests like this are directly linked to the amount of time

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between the onset of the cardiac arrest and defibrillation. A victim’s chance of survival decreases by 7 to 10 percent with every minute of delay until defibrillation, if CPR is not performed. If the first shock is delivered within three to five minutes, the survival rate is as high as 74 percent when CPR is also performed immediately. That’s why public access to automated external defibrillators (AEDs) is so vital. The problem is, traditional AEDs are expensive. A basic unit can cost about $1,200, while clinical grade units with advanced diagnostic and control features can cost up to $60,000 each. Even refurbished AEDs start around $700. Because of this, AEDs are often cost-prohibitive in developing nations.

With their company, BlueDefib, seniors Elliott Russell, Austin Miller, Kevin Aziz, and Harlan Toussaint are creating a new kind of AED that features USB integration to allow devices like laptops, tablets, and smartphones to serve as an external processing device. This will likely be accomplished with an app or a

web-based platform that is compatible with the AED. The AED will be a stripped-down version of current versions on the market, contained in a more rugged and sturdy casing.

“Basically a shock box that connects to your smartphone,” explains Russell.

“Digital screens, speakers, and software are what make AEDs expensive. If we remove them from the device and replace them with the external screen and speakers that already exist on a mobile device, the cost of production significantly decreases,” Russell continues. With BlueDefib’s technology, the estimated cost of the AED would be less than $100.

The target market for BlueDefib’s device is the urban clinical environment in developing countries, rural areas and disaster relief areas.

“Our initial beta market is India, followed by release in Anglophone Africa and the Philippines,” Russell said. “The successful adoption of our product would bring lowcost, reliable AEDs to the places that need them the most.”

CHEN’S IEEE HONOR SENDS A SIGNAL T

he earliest methods of long-distance communication could only reach as far as our range of sight—receiving messages via a column of smoke rising from behind the horizon or a flash of sunlight glinting off a mirror. From smoke signals to Morse code, to telephones, to wireless networks, and smartphones—the science of sending and receiving signals has advanced throughout the centuries, and its applications are innumerable in this information age.

Today, we use technology to send and receive so many signals that it is easy to take it for granted. Professor Biao Chen of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science certainly does not. His work in the Communications Lab is advancing statistical signal processing, communication, and information theory in ways that our mirror-waving ancestors couldn’t possibly have imagined in their wildest dreams.

For his modern contributions to signal processing, Chen has earned the prestigious distinction of an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Fellow. IEEE is the world’s largest technical professional association. To be named a Fellow is a high honor in the electrical engineering and computer science community.

His research focuses on decentralized signal processing in sensor networks and interference management of wireless networks. In decentralized systems’ signal processing, such as wireless sensor networks, an array of “nodes” is spread out over a given area. These nodes collect raw data (i.e., sound, images, temperature, etc.) and send information back to a central point. Chen works on theoretical and practical solutions for optimizing and advancing how these kinds of networks deliver information. His work in interference management presents a theoretical foundation for dealing with interference that is present in wireless networks. He has been extensively published in IEEE’s publications for both subjects.

From its primitive beginnings to today’s advanced applications, signal processing is at the core of our technological society, and it remains an area of electrical engineering that will continue to require top minds and game-changing research.

Interim Dean Chilukuri Mohan says, “Professor Chen has made significant contributions to the development of the College’s focus area of wireless and has brought wide visibility to the excellent research efforts at Syracuse University. We are very proud of his achievements, and I am confident that his transformative research will bolster Syracuse University’s reputation as a top-tier research university.”

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THROUGH THE LENS OF A TOXICOLOGIST New chemicals, medicines, and technological advances have improved our lives in a multitude of ways. But, there are by-products of our scientific achievements with negative consequences—like toxins in our environment. There are those who would feel defeated or discouraged by this realization, but Doctor Ruth Chen is not one of them.

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hen, who is also the spouse of Chancellor Kent Syverud, has brought a unique dimension as an experienced environmental toxicologist and professor in the Departments of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Chen has made it her mission to protect people by investigating the air we breathe, the food we eat, and the things that we come in contact with. She uses a balanced, scientific approach to figure out if chemicals in air, water, or soil are a threat to human health. It is her job to give people the ability to make informed decisions about their lifestyle and environment and answer the question: What is the dosage that we can be safely exposed to?

“A good example is our exposure to pesticides on the food we eat,” says Chen. “Pesticides are a neurotoxin designed to kill living things, so there is good reason for concern, but you can’t just jump to the conclusion that any level of pesticide is unhealthy. It is the toxicologist’s job to determine the danger. What we uncover informs the public and helps shape regulations that keep people safe.”

In her career, she has made a substantial impact on the health of Americans. She served the residents of Tennessee as their State Toxicologist at the Department of Environment and Conservation. There, she received a grant from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate exposures from pesticides. Prior to that, she contributed to the detoxification of Tylenol as a staff fellow at the National Institutes of Health.

Like her husband, Chen came to Syracuse University from Washington University in St. Louis where she was a professor in the Department of Environmental and Chemical Engineering. At Washington University, her teaching and research focused on environmental risk assessment, energy and environmental economics, and risk management decision-making. She also led successful efforts to establish a new masters program and enable undergraduate engineering students to study environmental issues all over the world during summer school trips.

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TAKING IT TO THE STREETS

A HISTORIC LAB

Chen is currently working with Professor Jensen Zhang in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering to measure the emissions from traffic on Interstate 81, which cuts through the City of Syracuse and is within blocks of the University campus.

To do so, they’ve set up unique instruments that measure ultrafine nanoscale particles produced mainly by diesel engines. These particles are so small that they can find their way deep into our lungs and the damage that they do to our health is currently unknown.

The EPA has never developed the criteria for these particles because they are very small and difficult to detect. Chen’s research will change that. The monitor she is using has the ability to count the number of ultrafine particles in the air to understand their distribution quantitatively. This will help the agency determine the safe dosage by monitoring the health of people living and working in proximity to the source, in this case I-81.

Chen’s research of the ultrafine particles coming from the traffic on I-81 will continue and could eventually lead to safer emission levels and cleaner air for the University, the surrounding community, and the nation through new potential EPA regulations.

The Chancellor’s House is a place that welcomes alumni, students, staff, faculty, and visitors as guests. The House is currently playing an integral role in the One University initiative. One University is an initiative begun by the Chancellor and Dr. Chen last year to open the Chancellor’s House to the campus. It is achieved via a series of events, in which more than 5,000 faculty and staff from across the University have been invited to meet and share ideas for collaboration. This academic year, Chancellor Syverud and Dr. Chen have hosted thousands of people from the campus and alumni community at the House.

“People visit the house, so we needed to make environmental health a priority,” said Chen. In early 2014 the building underwent asbestos abatement, radon remediation, and removal of lead from the walls and in the pipes. Air filters were installed to remove ultrafine particles from the air.

“We worked with a group of extremely talented people from the Environmental Health Service group, facilities, construction, and campus planning to address some long-standing environmental issues. They looked at data from the past 20 years and we figured out what improvements ought to be made.”

Chen sees learning opportunities around every corner and has even opened up the house to students in civil and environmental engineering to work on projects that range from completing a structural analysis of the building to investigating the effect of temperature on its foundation. Her mission to help protect public health as a scientist and educator remains her priority, and the Syracuse community stands to benefit from it.

“There are more and more chemicals and environmental dangers in the world—more than toxicologists are even able to evaluate,” says Chen. “People need to be well-informed about the choices they make to protect themselves and their children, and we need to train new capable scientists to discover and deliver this knowledge.

I’m proud that we are doing just that at Syracuse University.”

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10 QUESTIONS

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Mandayam K. Srivas Ph.D., currently general manager, Texas Instruments, Chennai (India).

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WITH INTERIM DEAN MOHAN

On January 1, 2015, Chilukuri K. Mohan assumed the role of interim dean of Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

Mohan has been a faculty member at the College for more than 25 years and had been serving as the chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science since 2009.

The first book I coauthored, Elements of Artificial Neural Networks (MIT Press, 1997), required a large amount of work, but left me with the greatest satisfaction. I believe we presented several difficult algorithms and principles in a concise and understandable style.

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WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CLASS WHEN YOU WERE IN COLLEGE?

WHICH OF YOUR PUBLICATIONS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF?

The long-term theme of my research has been to understand, model, and reason about changes that happen in systems of various kinds. My current focus is on social network dynamics.

FAVORITE EVENT/DAY/ACTIVITY THAT OCCURS ON CAMPUS Commencement day, when everybody’s hard work shows its results.

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HOW MANY PH.D. STUDENTS HAVE YOU ADVISED IN YOUR 26 YEARS HERE AT THE COLLEGE?

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he significant increase in the number of posters, from about 30 in 2008 to 130 in 2015, clearly points to the extensive growth in our Ph.D. programs within the College and is a testimony to our outstanding faculty, the numbers of which have expanded by more than 30 new faculty hires in this time period,” said Mark Glauser, associate dean for research and graduate programs for the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The day featured short talks by a number of professors working in these research areas and a keynote by H. Vincent Poor, dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Princeton University. His talk was titled, "Fundamental Limits on Information Security and Privacy."

WHAT IS AI?

Twenty-three, half of whom were co-advised with Professor Kishan Mehrotra.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) involves the development of principles, algorithms, and computational systems that enable automation of tasks previously believed to require human intelligence and expert knowledge.

WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING NOW? I usually keep a book of fiction and one of nonfiction next to my bedside and in my car.

I’m currently reading:

WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU MOST VALUE IN PEOPLE? Honesty, integrity, respectfulness, openness, and kindness.

Artificial Intelligence.

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DESCRIBE YOUR RESEARCH AREA.

CELEBRATING RESEARCH The theme of the 2015 Nunan Research and Lecture Day was Cyber, Wireless, and Big Data.

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WHO WAS YOUR PH.D. ADVISOR?

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HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE COLOR ORANGE? I’m orange through and through.

HERE ARE THE WINNERS: Overall Winner Leading Edge Embedded Fan Airfoil Concept —New Powered High Lift Technology, Nhan Phan, Fourth-Year Ph.D., Advisor: Thong Dang, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Computational Rheology of Surfactant Micelle and Micelle-Nanoparticle Solutions: A Molecular Dynamics Study, Abhinanden Sambasivam, Ph.D., Dr. Subas Dhakal, Advisor: Radhakrishna Sureshkumar Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Sustainable and Innovative Design Methods for Geotextile Tube Dewatering, Mahmoud Khachan, Ph.D. Candidate, Shobha Bhatia and Zeru Kiffle, Advisor: Shobha Bhatia Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science • Guided-Wave Nanophotonic Devices Based on Networked Plasmonic Waveguides, Ashish S. Chanana, Second-Year Masters, Matthew Davis, Amit Agrawal, Jay Kyoon Lee, Advisor: Jay Kyoon Lee • Secure Distributed Inference in the Presence of Eavesdroppers, Sid Nadendla, Sixth-Year Ph.D., Advisor: Pramod K. Varshney

• Define-Use Vulnerabilities in Android, Yousra Aafer, Fourth-Year Ph.D., Xiao Zhang, Zhongwen Zhang, Nan Zhang, Advisor: Wenliang Du Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering • Design & Characterization of Low Friction Zwitterionic Hydrogel for Use as Articular Cartilage Replacement, Allen Osaheni, Second-Year Ph.D., Patrick T. Mather, Rebecca A. Bader, Advisor: Michelle M. Blum • Laser Ignition Studies of Methane and Biogas, Nathan Peters, Second-Year Ph.D., Henry Morrow, Advisor: Benjamin AkihKumgeh Practical Application Winner Understanding and Mitigating Security Hazards in Android Applications Uninstallation, Xiao Zhang, Fifth-Year Ph.D., Zhenshen Qiu, Kailiang Ying, Yousra Aafer, Advisor: Wenliang Du The College partnered with the Center for Advanced Technology in Computer Applications and Software Engineering (CASE) to present this event. Nunan Research Day was established in 2006 with a generous gift from the estate of Syracuse University alumnus James D. Nunan and his wife, Marge.

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NEW TACTICS IN THE WAR ON SUPERBUGS We have relied on antibiotics to eliminate bacterial infections for more than 70 years, so where do we turn when they stop working?

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Between October and January, patients at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center contracted a lifethreatening superbug. Out of the nearly 200 patients who may have been exposed, seven were confirmed infected, and two died.

Patients came into contact with the dangerous bacteria when a particular model of duodenoscope was used to check their gastrointestinal system.

It is likely that these instruments underwent the usual cleaning and decontamination processes, and yet the superbugs were able to survive and spread. Once these bacteria find their way into the patients, even the most powerful antibiotics can do little to remove them. We have relied on antibiotics to eliminate bacterial infections for more than 70 years, so where do we turn when they stop working?

Professor Dacheng Ren believes the key is to stop the superbug from ever having a chance to take hold in the body. One such strategy is to engineer better materials to reduce contamination. By studying the effects of material properties, including surface chemistry, stiffness, and topography, on bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, better methods may be developed to defeat superbugs that stick to medical tools and other surfaces in health care settings.

When bacteria—either pathogenic or friendly—stick together, they form a slimy layer called a biofilm that adheres to surfaces inside or outside the body.

A good example is inside your mouth, which is coated with a biofilm that you can feel. We need to keep the bad bacteria off the surfaces where they cause harm. To do this, it’s important that we understand why certain biofilms tend to prefer some surfaces more than others.

Ren’s lab explores how the stiffness and surface topography of polymers

can affect bacterial adhesion, and the growth, morphology and antibiotic susceptibility of attached cells.

Ren discovered that E. coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa are less likely to stick to a stiff polymer surface than they are to a soft one, and the stiffness has a profound influence on the physiology of attached cells.

Ren said, “We know that people are more comfortable sleeping on a soft, yet relatively firm surface—not something as hard as a concrete floor or as soft as a gel. The question we set out to answer was, ‘How much do bacteria care about the stiffness of the surface they rest on?’ We were surprised by just how much they cared. Our results revealed that surface stiffness is an important material property that influences the attachment, growth, morphology, and stress tolerance of biofilm cells.”

The role of surface properties is just part of Ren’s research. Another promising method of controlling superbugs may involve interrupting a process called horizontal gene transfer.

Here, bacterial cells living in biofilms can spread their ability to survive sterilization and resist antibiotics to other bacteria they come in contact with. When they live in biofilms, there’s obviously a greater chance for this to occur.

Through a new grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Huan Gu, a postdoctoral researcher in Ren’s lab, is conducting research to explore how surfaces in hospitals, ranging from tabletops to the tools like duodenoscopes, can be better designed so that biofilms cannot persist and continue to spread extremely harmful bacteria.

“Our goal is to interrupt the horizontal gene transfer by controlling the topography of surface materials.

By creating nanomicrostructures with specific patterns, we can reduce the frequency of DNA transfer between biofilm cells,” said Gu. Through this work, Ren’s lab continues to uncover new evidence about the effect a surface can have on cells in sticky biofilms, supporting his mission to understand and control these biofilms in the fields of disease control. Eventually, this knowledge may be used for a variety of applications that will help us avoid harmful infections and keep us healthy.

Ren said, “Interrupting the process of horizontal gene transfer and killing the superbug before it can infect us is the key. We’re losing the battle when it comes to using antibiotics. We need to find alternative approaches to tackling this problem, and this research is part of such effort.”

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Carrier's innovative trumpet-shaped diffusers with their diamond-shaped perforated plate are located under the windows on the south wall of the Sistine Chapel.

ENGINEERING PRESERVING ART T

here are things that one would expect to experience when visiting Vatican City—its rich culture, historic architecture, and beautiful streets. You’d likely visit the Sistine Chapel, where you would undoubtedly be awed by Michelangelo’s breathtaking frescoes on its famous ceiling. What you wouldn’t expect to see: a sign on the door that reads “Closed to Visitors.”

In 2010, Carrier, the world’s leader in high-technology heating, ventilating, and airconditioning (HVAC) solutions and a part of UTC Building & Industrial Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp., learned that the frescoes were deteriorating. A whitening patina had formed on the frescoes. The powdery substance consisted of calcium bicarbonate and calcium carbonate deposits that formed from high levels of carbon dioxide and humidity within the chapel, due to six million visitors per year. It seemed that the only way to stop the slow yet steady damage would be to close the landmark to the public. But this was not a viable option for the Vatican and another solution had to be devised.

That’s when Carrier and its team of dedicated engineers, including alumna Jackie Russo Anderson, Ph.D. ’11, were called upon to develop an air management solution to preserve the chapel’s artwork and keep it open for generations of visitors to come.

After examining the Sistine Chapel’s original air-conditioning system, which Carrier designed and installed in 1993, the team found that although

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it was still functioning as designed, it was no longer large enough for the growing amount of visitors.

It was built to accommodate a maximum of 700 simultaneous visitors. Today, daily visitor traffic in the chapel reaches approximately 2,000 visitors at one time, and 20,000 people per day.

A 60-meter-tall crane inside Vatican City supported the construction work around the Sistine Chapel.

Carrier faced an extraordinary task. The company needed to create a system that would increase the volume of air going into the chapel to cool it, while diluting the quantities of carbon dioxide produced and dust brought in by visitors.

However, all this had to be done within the chapel’s unique requirements: The system needed to be virtually invisible and inaudible to the thousands of daily visitors; it could only use pre-existing duct openings in a setting that was more than 500 years old; and it needed to manage the flow, humidity, quality, and temperature of the air. The new system also had to be designed to adapt to future needs.

Anderson, who obtained her doctorate in mechanical engineering, and specialized in indoor

air quality, is a senior air management engineer for Carrier. She was a key part of the air management systems technologies group in charge of designing and testing the air diffusers, and monitoring and understanding the chapel’s airflow. “It was one of the most amazing projects that I’ve ever worked on. It had the most unique constraints and rigorous requirements. It was a global effort with teams working across three continents to determine a solution,” said Anderson.

Anderson explained that they had to be creative. The company’s AdvanTE3C engineering team, a global group of experts in efficiency and environment, worked in close collaboration with the Vatican’s technical teams and used leading-edge computer modeling and simulation techniques to predetermine every move they would make.

After an extensive process, a technical masterpiece came to life. The new system uses two Carrier AquaForce® 30XWV water-cooled chillers with Greenspeed® intelligence, each with 580 kilowatts of capacity. It leverages specially

designed software and components as well as patented, energy-saving technologies to maintain optimal climate conditions to protect the chapel’s paintings. An intelligent system of controls, linked with an advanced video application from UTC Building & Industrial Systems, enables the HVAC system to anticipate visitor levels and adjust its performance. Cameras count visitors to calibrate ventilation while sensors and video analytics proactively ensure optimal temperature and air quality. The new system delivers twice the efficiency and three times the cooling capacity of the former system, offers comprehensive air filtration, and cannot be seen or heard.

Although the system was replaced during the peak summer season, the Vatican museums were able to keep the chapel open with the use of a temporary HVAC system provided by Carrier Rental Systems.

“The work we completed will ensure that future generations will be able to experience and enjoy the Sistine Chapel and Michelangelo’s masterpiece,” said Anderson.

“It was one of the most amazing projects that I’ve ever worked on. It had the most unique constraints and rigorous requirements.

It was a global effort with teams working across three continents to determine a solution.”

Jackie Russo Anderson, Ph.D ’11

SPRING 2015 17

APPRAISING AIR IN CULINARY CLIMATES 1

T

he air is filled with a savory aroma and meat is sizzling on a skillet. You wouldn’t expect a bacon cheeseburger to be part of a science experiment, but at the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory (BEESL) it’s business as usual. Ph.D. candidate Meng Kong and his team are out to find the particulate matter emission rates of commercial countertop cooking appliances using a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) method. They are investigating other means for classifying the appliances to better define commercial kitchen heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) requirements. The emission results are also used to estimate the effectiveness of different kitchen ventilation methods in reducing energy consumption, while satisfying indoor air quality requirements for building occupants.

The project, in which 20 different appliances will be tested, is funded by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).

2

1

CLIMATE CHAMBER

The BEESL climate chamber is where testing occurs. Atmospheric conditions within the chamber, such as temperature and humidity, can all be controlled and monitored. The appliance being tested is an electric hot plate. For the first portion of the EPA Method 5 test, Kong will preheat the electric hot plate and perform an idle test, during which samples of the air will be extracted. The idle test will allow the team to measure any atmospheric changes within the chamber while the appliance is on, but not yet being used to cook.

2

4

CONTROL DASHBOARD

During both the idle and cooking tests, the control dashboard monitors the temperature of the sampling air and regulates the rate at which the air is being sampled. The air being extracted must be kept at the same temperature as the air within the chamber for control purposes.

3

ELECTRIC HOT PLATE

After the idle test, a cooking test is performed. Here, Kong is preparing to determine the amount of grease particles, vapor production, and heat generation produced by the electric hot plate when being used to cook the meat for a bacon cheeseburger. During the cooking test, another air sample is extracted.

3

4

LAPTOP

After the tests, post-processing occurs. Kong and his team will output the data, and the various sample results will undergo comparative analysis. The team will then calculate the air versus the energy required for the removal of heat and moisture within that air in a commercial kitchen HVAC system. This will help them better determine other means for classifying appliances and commercial kitchen hood requirements.

18 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

SPRING 2015 19

GREEN ROOF AT THE ONCENTER E

very time it rains or snows in the city of Syracuse, water runs off roofs and parking lots and makes its way into the sewer systems. The water then mixes with the sewage and flows to the treatment plants, where it needs to be treated with a concoction of chemicals. When water levels are too high, the sewage overflows into Onondaga Lake. As a result, the county is attempting

to capture this runoff as part of its "Save the Rain" initiative.

In summer 2011, the Oncenter installed a green roof system. The goal is to capture the water that falls on the rooftop and recycle it naturally. The water is recycled through evapotranspiration—the sum of evaporation and plant transpiration from land to the atmosphere. The plants on the roof store the water, use the water, and

FAST STATS: THE ONCENTER ROOFTOP IS

THE COUNTY WANTS TO CAPTURE

THE ROOFTOP CAPTURES OVER

95 OF RUNOFF 60,000 1.5M GALLONS BEFORE 2018 SQ. FT. %

OF WATER EACH YEAR

then let it evaporate cleanly into the atmosphere, rather than running off the roof and becoming sewage overflow.

Professor Cliff Davidson, of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, wanted to offer something new to this green roof project. He set up state-of-theart equipment to measure incoming and outgoing water and monitor what is happening on the roof.

SITE DETAILS: PRECIPITATION

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

PLANT STORAGE WIND BLANKET GROWTH MEDIA SHEET DRAIN DRAIN CONDUIT PROTECTION LAYER COVER BOARD

ADHERED MEMBRANE

GROUNDING SCREEN EPDM MEMBRANE

INSULATION

ANCHOR CONCRETE ROOF DECK STEEL ROOF DECK STEEL BEAM

INTO SEWER 20 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

SPRING 2015 21

SOLSTICE POWER MAKING THE FUTURE OF ENERGY BRIGHTER

W

hat if you could harness the power of not just one sun— but 800 suns?

That’s exactly what the founders of Solstice Power are doing with their solar panel technology.

Engineering alumni James Shomar ’12, G’14, Tim Jeter ’12, G’14, and Ph.D. candidate Griffin Kearney ’12, G’14 are out to change the world’s relationship with energy.

“Think of a kid frying ants on the playground with a magnifying lens,” said Shomar, CEO of Solstice Power. He is energetic and articulate and has a clear vision for the use of his company’s technology.

The innovative Solstice Hybrid System is a new type of solar panel that magnifies sunlight up to 800 times, thanks to the use of a Fresnel lens, a lens with a large aperture and short focal length that works like a magnifying glass. The lens focuses the sunlight onto compact, high-efficiency solar cells that boast an impressive 40 percent efficiency. These compact cells allow the overall size to be reduced to one-third of the size of conventional solar panels.

As a result, each solar square foot becomes more affordable, efficient, and usable.

Many existing solar panels are inexpensive, but they are also very inefficient. The typical panel converts less than 16 percent of sunlight into energy—no matter how affordable they become, they can’t supply enough energy for larger industrial energy consumers. “Imagine needing Niagara Falls,

22 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

but all you can get is a kitchen faucet,” Shomar explains. “That’s why we’ve invented the Solstice Hybrid System..."

“How can we expect to reduce carbon dioxide emissions or energy costs if the largest energy consumers in our society can’t use renewable energy?”

With existing solar panels, energy consumers must choose between producing electricity and producing heat. “Only 1.4 percent of the solar market is made up of larger energy consumers that need both,” Shomar continues. With the Hybrid System, consumers would no longer have to choose between the two. Each unit is able to produce both heat and electricity, while generating five times more energy than the traditional solar panel.

Although solar energy is currently a supplement to traditional nonrenewable forms of energy, this technology would allow solar power to become a staple in industrial, commercial, and residential settings.

Solstice Power has already made its first sale to the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry, which has signed a letter of intent to purchase and install the company’s beta product system.

For more information on Solstice Power, visit www.solsticepower.com.

HOW IT WORKS: 1 Light passes through the Fresnel lens, which is

used to concentrate the sunlight to one specific point. Fresnel lenses were invented by AugustinJean Fresnel in 1821. Fresnel sought a way to create a larger lens while reducing the amount of material and weight needed. He discovered how to make the lens nearly flat, while it possessed the same optical properties as a magnifying glass.

Fresnel Lens

2 The high-efficiency solar cell then converts the

Focal Length

sunlight to heat and electricity. The cells are made of semiconductor crystalline materials, germanium, and gallium nitride.

3 Focal length refers to the distance between the

lens and where the light focuses. For the Solstice Hybrid System, the distance between the solar cell and the lens is roughly one foot.

4 The aperture is the area of the lens through

which light transfers.

Solar Cell Aperture

SPRING 2015 23

THE DESK 24 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

ZONE

It is a hot day in July. The temperature outside is reaching a record high. Inside your office building, the thermostat is set to a balmy 79 degrees Fahrenheit. And yet you are not hot. Could this scenario be possible? The U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) thinks so.

SPRING 2015 25

M

odeled after the Department of Defense’s DARPA organization, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) is designed to invest in technologies that address the grand challenges of the energy sector.

The challenge posed by the Delivering Efficient Local Thermal Amenities (DELTA) program was to develop technologies that allow the thermostats of commercial buildings to be raised in the summer and lowered in the winter without impacting occupant comfort.

The concept of zoning a home is widely understood to have benefits for reducing energy usage. With zoning, homeowners can control which rooms are kept at specific temperatures based on personal preference and which rooms are used most often. Bedrooms don’t need to be heated as much as living rooms, and the house can be warmer in the summer or colder in the winter during the hours when a person isn’t home. But retrofitting an older home for temperature zoning is expensive, invasive, and time-consuming.

The same challenge is true for commercial buildings. But is there a way to apply the energysaving concept of zoning without requiring large capital investments? The DoE has thrown down the gauntlet and Syracuse University’s Professor H. Ezzat Khalifa along with a team of strategic partners answered the call. Khalifa’s team was awarded $3.2 million from the DoE and $319,000 from Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation (NYSTAR). Selected from a larger pool of proposals, Khalifa's team is one of 11 total teams addressing this energy problem.

Thirteen percent of total U.S. energy usage—about 5.2 quadrillion British thermal units (Btu)—is attributed to building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) for residential and commercial buildings. This also accounts for about 13 percent of the U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.

ARPA-E sought to explore an option that allowed buildings to reduce the energy used for heating and cooling by lowering the temperature

26 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

to which buildings are heated in the winter from 70 degrees to 66 degrees and raising the temperature in the summer from 75 degrees to 79 degrees. ARPA-E estimates that doing so would decrease the energy consumed for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning the buildings by more than 15 percent.

heat from the room and pumping it above the material’s melting temperature so it can be used again the following day.

The ARPA-E challenge required that these units be capable of maintaining a comfortable temperature for 10 hours, and that the units not use any more than 65 watts. The system that the Syracuse team is proposing should be able to meet the requirements using less than 12 watts in the summer and less than 15 watts in the winter.

This unit does not require any additional office infrastructure beyond a power cord to plug the unit in a wall outlet. If adopted by an entire office,

WINTER EFFECT

this micro-environmental control system could save more than 20 percent of the total energy provided for heating and cooling in a building— exceeding the ARPA-E goal of 15 percent.

So, fear not. Your office may be warmer or colder in the future, but you will not be, thanks to researchers at Syracuse University.

Led by NYSTAR Distinguished Professor H. Ezzat Khalifa, the team includes collaborators at SyracuseCoE, United Technologies Research Center, Air Innovations, Cornell University, and Bush Technical.

SUMMER EFFECT

The Syracuse DELTA system will be a selfcontained unit, smaller than a computer desktop tower, that is installed under an employee’s desk.

This unit has a high-efficiency micro vapor compression system that includes a tiny scroll compressor and a heat exchanger embedded in a phase-change material that freezes at approximately 65 degrees.

In cooling mode, the system works at night to freeze the phase-change material and, when the desk is occupied during the day, 79-degree ambient air will flow over the frozen phasechange material, releasing the stored cooling as a gentle breeze of 72-degree air, which can be blown directly at the occupant.

In heating mode, the system works during the day to draw heat from the phase-change material and, using a heat pump, boosts the temperature of the blown air to a comfortable 85 degrees.

The heat pump consumes less than 15 watts of electricity to deliver more than 60 watts of heat, thereby keeping the occupant comfortable in the 66-degree room. During the night, when the occupants are gone, the system works to melt the frozen phase-change material by drawing

A HEAT PUMP USES

<15 WATTS OF ELECTRICITY TO DELIVER >60 WATTS OF HEAT, BLOWING 85° AIR TO KEEP THE OCCUPANT COMFORTABLE IN

THE 66° ROOM

79° AMBIENT AIR

FLOWS OVER THE FROZEN PHASECHANGE MATERIAL, RELEASING THE STORED COOLING AS A

GENTLE BREEZE OF 72°AIR

SPRING 2015 27

FEAR, INSECURITY, & SMARTPHONES

SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER: 443-29-8710

BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER: 0745160032

PHOTOS OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY

28 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

ADDRESS: 504 SWINDLE LANE BOSTON, MA 12345

SPRING 2015 29

T

he fear of being disconnected from a mobile device, known as “nomophobia” (no-mobile-phone), has become prevalent in today’s incessantly connected world.

Some people have become so dependent on smartphones that panic and depression can set in when they cannot be reached by text message or notification. In fact, adding nomophobia to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been seriously considered.

According to information collected by the Android app Locket, the average person unlocks his or her phone around 110 times per day. That gives the bad guys lots of opportunities to catch a glimpse of your PIN. Unfortunately, even covering the screen may not protect you if the wrong person is watching.

According to Professor Vir Phoha’s research, an attacker doesn’t even need to have a direct line of sight to your phone’s screen to be able to see what you are typing into your phone.

The hacker relies entirely on the spatiotemporal dynamics of your hands as you type.

Although being cut off from mobile devices is high on our list of worries, our concern would serve us better if we turned our energy and attention toward protecting what’s inside of our smartphones and tablets.

Every day, hackers are conjuring clever new ways to get at private data, whether it’s account or Social Security numbers, location, habits—you name it, they’re after it. Researchers at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science are uncovering ways a savvy attacker could steal your info to help develop solutions and to teach people how to keep their private information safe.

The first part is easy. The attacker takes a video of you as you type. With cameras on every corner and on every device, it’s a lot easier for someone to record you without you noticing it. Second, the attacker learns how the keyboard or lockout screen is displayed on your device, so the hacker knows the position of the keys. Then, the hacker algorithmically maps the position of your hands to the known geometry and position of the keypad and voilà! The attacker has learned what you just typed.

Phoha and his research team were able to show that this sort of attack uncovers someone’s PIN an average of 50 percent of the time during the first attempt and an average of 85 percent of the time in 10 attempts. Because the attack can be conducted without raising suspicion, this method is very likely to be adopted by information thieves.

WATCHING YOUR HANDS

DEVELOPING APPS WITH ULTERIOR MOTIVES Anyone who has downloaded an app to his or her smartphone is used to being prompted to give it permission to use certain features: “This application needs access to: Photos/Media/Files; Wi-Fi connection information; and Device ID & call information.” Who really reads these things? Most people click “accept” before they’ve even had a chance to process what is appearing on their screen, and this opens up potential vulnerabilities.

Those of us who are a bit more security-conscious may have an anti-virus application installed to provide additional warnings, but Professor Heng Yin says even that is not enough to protect you from malware that can steal your credentials or take control of your device.

Current smartphone anti-virus software identifies which apps are safe and which are not based on whether the code signatures do or do not match those of known viruses. It’s like saying people who wear white can be trusted implicitly and people who wear purple will always hurt you. Of course, if an attacker is smart, he or she will “dress in white.” By disguising a malicious app as a “good guy,” malware can be installed on your device, circumventing common security measures.

EXPLOITING INSECURE APPLICATIONS As application developers look to make their products work on multiple mobile devices, they are turning to HTML5 to do it. Professor Kevin Du has discovered that HTML5-based mobile applications can put a user’s private data at risk because hackers can easily exploit the applications’ vulnerabilities through relatively simple functions: enabling location services or push notifications, through the scanning of bar codes, or sending an MP3 file to a friend. Hackers can gain access to personal information, contact lists, or even the user’s location.

“Imagine you’re at the airport and you want to find the free Wi-Fi. When you scan, your phone is going to display the Wi-Fi access points. That could be an easy channel for a hacker to inject malicious code into your smartphone,” Du said.

Du and Yin assessed the prevalence of this by developing a vulnerability detection tool and analyzing apps found in Google Play. Out of 15,510 apps, 478 were found to be vulnerable. Du and Yin created a prototype patch that can defend against an attack and informed the creators of the vulnerable apps.

PROTECT YOURSELF What can the average smartphone user do in the face of such threats?

Understand the dangers and adjust your behavior accordingly. Be diligent about checking your surroundings before logging in. Reconsider accessing your financial information on mobile devices. Become educated on the wide

range of methods that attackers can employ to steal your info.

“Know the apps you are downloading and what technology they are built on,” warns Du. “A flashlight app has no need to access your contacts. Be smart about the apps you are using and what access you grant to them.”

Luckily, the cybersecurity experts who are teaching, researching, and learning at the College are in our corner. Every day they are working hard to outpace the hackers, offer solutions to protect you, and dispel the fear of an insecure smartphone.

DESTINATION NASA R

yan Milcarek spent the morning dining with astronauts. There were brief introductions—Where are you from? What do you study? But the conversation quickly turned to combustion and fuel cells. Over eggs and coffee, veteran astronaut Jerry Ross and Milcarek ’14 discussed the topics they both know intimately—Ross from his record seven spaceflights and Milcarek from his studies and research in mechanical engineering at Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science.

As a junior, Milcarek was awarded the prestigious Astronaut Scholarship, given by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. It is presented to U.S. students who exhibit exceptional performance, initiative, and creativity in science and engineering. In addition to providing funding, the foundation connects Milcarek and his fellow scholars with accomplished engineers, like Ross, at special events throughout the year.

Last May, Milcarek was invited to attend the induction of Ross and Shannon Lucid into the Astronaut Hall of Fame at NASA in Cape Canaveral. Seeing this as an opportunity that was too good to pass up, the College’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering provided the funding for Milcarek to attend.

Over the course of a long weekend, Milcarek was given VIP access to the Kennedy Space Center, experiencing parts of NASA that the public never sees, including inside the Orion Mars space mission.

At a gala the night before the inductions, he ate dinner with the Saturn 5 rocket suspended directly overhead. On a tour, he encountered the Space Shuttle Atlantis on full display, open and nearly close enough to touch. Milcarek inspected the legendary shuttle through the eyes of a mechanical engineer and discovered a new appreciation for what NASA has accomplished.

Milcarek with Hall of Fame Astronaut Shannon Lucid “Growing up, I had a fairly abstract understanding of space exploration,” says Milcarek. “Everybody knows about NASA and going to the moon, but when you actually see and hear how it happened, you understand just how far incredible imagination and hard work can take you. The men and women who design spacecrafts have to consider an 32 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

astounding number of things in what can be lifeor-death missions for the astronauts. I look back on the moon missions and imagine if it was me doing that work 50 or 60 years ago. How would I have fit into that picture?”

Milcarek with the Space Shuttle Atlantis Milcarek is researching the integration of fuel cells—not for a spacecraft, but for our homes. In Professor Jeongmin Ahn’s Combustion & Energy Research lab, students are seeking ways to employ solid oxide and flame fuel cell technology to provide heat and electricity. Currently, electricity is becoming more and more expensive, and it is often generated by unsustainable coal and natural gas. The students see fuel cells as a necessary way to transition to the use of hydrogen for home appliances. A shift to hydrogen will require significant changes to the infrastructure, so flame fuel cells could serve as a go-between solution.

Milcarek earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2014 and is working toward a master’s degree in energy systems and mechanical engineering, as well as a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering, to help him achieve his goal of becoming an energy engineer.

“There’s a tremendous need for experts in energy in the U.S. We’re potentially moving toward a completely different way of approaching energy.

It’s a very hot field, and there’s a need for people who understand it. There’s this new idea of the energy engineer, but they have to be people who are interdisciplinary. They need to be able to work mechanically, understand HVAC, and think in terms of electricity and power. A lot needs to be done, and I’ve been inspired to make my mark there.”

Experiences like Milcarek’s are made possible by generous gifts to the Dean’s Fund and departmental funds.

SPRING 2015 33

A SYRACUSE SN WBALL

civil engineer, mentor, ironman, friend, historian, teacher, role model

S

yracuse is a great place to make a snowball—and not just because of all the snow it receives. Out West the climate is drier, so the snow has less moisture; if you try to pack the snow, it falls apart. Syracuse snow has more water, which makes it ideal for packing it into the perfect snowball.

An average snowflake is made up of 180

billion molecules of water.

Snow has a higher pH than rain, due to

inorganic particles in the air.

Through his teaching and by his example, Professor Emeritus Sam Clemence has spent the past four decades inspiring students to excel in engineering and in life.

1,000,000, 000,000,000, 000,000,000

And now, a scholarship has been established to honor Sam’s extraordinary legacy of success. With your support, the Samuel P. Clemence Scholarship Fund will provide scholarship assistance to worthy civil engineering students for decades to come.

Each winter in the U.S., at least 1 septillion ice crystals fall from the sky.

Help us reach our $37,000 goal in honor of Sam’s 37 years at SU. Please make your gift by visiting our secure site at eng-cs.syr.edu/clemencefund and selecting the “Samuel P. Clemence Scholarship Fund.”

When you apply pressure to pack a snowball, the pressure causes the snow to melt; when you release the pressure it re-freezes and makes a great snowball. If it’s too cold, the snow can’t be packed, because enough pressure can’t be applied to melt the snow.

Questions? Email us at engineer@syr.edu.

Snow in the city has more dust, soot, and air pollution than in the country. As snow melts, these pollutants are washed out first—so the first part of the melt is highly polluted and becomes increasingly

®

cleaner through the melt. ®

Snowballs are not actually white, but translucent.

Snow reflects all of the colors of sunlight equally, giving it a white appearance.

34 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

Announcing the

SAMUEL P. CLEMENCE SCHOLARSHIP FUND Show your support at eng-cs.syr.edu/clemencefund

SYRACUSE ALUMNI

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AN EXPERIMENT IN NEGOTIATION

R

epresentatives from the world's leading nations, regions, and scientific organizations filed into Lyman Hall on Syracuse University’s campus and took their seats. The room buzzed as each small group gathered around notepads, laptops, and tablets, reviewing and putting the final touches on their statements. The meeting was called to order, and one by one, each delegation took the floor, prepared to express its official position on mercury contamination in the environment to the high-level representatives from every part of the globe.

The proceedings, although nearly identical to an actual portion of United Nations negotiations, were really a simulation designed to teach Professor Svetoslava Todorova's Intro to Environmental Engineering students the role that science plays in policymaking. The program was enhanced because she had actually served as a science observer for the UNmandated Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on mercury.

For the course, students researched the global consequences of mercury with a focus on the specific interests of the group they represented.

After opening statements, the students attempted to forge a balanced treaty through roundtable negotiations. After more than eight hours of debate, compromise, and agreement, they were able to reach a resolution, producing a signed treaty.

Ethan Schafer ’15, civil engineering, describes the experience: “Oftentimes in the classroom, students may only retain a certain amount of information, but in a simulation, where there is personal stake, students pay attention and actually retain a high amount of information…"

“Overall, I feel that this simulation taught us much more than five lectures on mercury could have ever taught.”

Mercury contamination is a serious environmental and health problem.

A neurotoxin, mercury causes long-term cognitive and developmental defects in humans. It’s a naturally occurring element, but 60 to 70 percent of the mercury contamination in water is a direct result of human activity, usually gold mining.

The actual negotiating committee finalized the development of a global mercury treaty, known as the Minamata Convention, in January 2013. The treaty is currently open for signatures.

Todorova’s work with the United Nations will continue. Now that the treaty has been drafted, she hopes that countries will ratify and implement it—to better protect the environment and living things from the dangers of mercury contamination today and in the future. For now, she is pleased with the outcome of her students’ ability to excel in her unique lesson.

Todorova noted, “It was interesting to see how closely the groups’ dynamics resembled the actual negotiations. I am so proud that the students were able to overcome cultural differences and differences in positions to negotiate a balanced text.”

As a graduate of Syracuse University, you understand the value of a degree that prepares you for success. Now, furthering your education is more convenient than ever with our online master’s degrees. College of Engineering and Computer Science alumni receive 30 percent tuition savings on the following online degrees: »

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T H E S P I R I T TO S E E K S M A R T E R S O L U T I O N S

36 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

STE( A )M POWERED W

hen Haden Land, G ’91, was a young boy, his father was a rocket scientist at NASA working on the Apollo trajectories. Having such a close connection to space exploration awakened Land’s passion for science and innovation. Space symbolized a seemingly limitless boundary for discovery and served as a source of inspiration for creative and innovative thinking.

38 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

“I got really excited and engaged in the Apollo human spaceflight program and the mission to the moon,” said Land. “I would say the combination of my love for numbers and my dad is what pivoted me in the direction of math and science.”

Land uses the word “pivot” to describe a number of key moments throughout his career, but he is most emphatic about the moment that he realized that the push for education in science, technology, engineering, and math, known as STEM, is missing a crucial element—the arts. Just as his father inspired a love of science and discovery, his daughter has inspired a high appreciation for how creative thinking belongs in the STEM equation.

“My daughter went to the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has always been very creative but also very strong in science and math. She is very artistic. She and I would talk often about her future, and she would give me her perspective on how creativity was so important to what she does and how she applies it to science.”

The arts and humanities are categorized by divergent thinking, a process where students are presented with a concept and then asked to explore how to elaborate or expound on the idea.

Conversely, the STEM fields have historically been characterized by convergent thinking, in which students take a problem and apply a set of known concepts to produce the correct answer.

In Land’s current role as vice president of Research and Technology in Lockheed Martin’s Information Systems & Global Solutions business, he sees the integration of both forms of thinking as critical to the work he does.

“I have done a lot of work in adaptive sciences—like neuromorphic architecture, heliospheric engineering, biomimicry, quantum computing, machine learning, cyber fractology, data sciences. All of these jobs really require someone who can perform convergent thinking and divergent thinking.”

The STEAM initiative—the A stands for Arts—in education is gaining global support, and Land is a champion at the forefront of the movement. With his heavy involvement in regional, national, and global organizations and his leadership role at Lockheed Martin, he has conceptualized and honed his distinct point of view—one that he hopes will continue to gain traction worldwide.

In May 2014, Land gave a presentation as part of a panel organized by the Congressional

STEAM Caucus, a bipartisan group focused on invigorating STEM education with the arts.

More than 75 U.S. senators support the STEAM initiative, and at the state level, New York and Maryland have also taken up the charge. Land has also assumed an active role with the SUNY system to promote the integration of STEAM throughout the curriculum.

At an international workshop on global security in Paris, Land and a colleague from Lockheed Martin spoke on the importance of STEAM. Their message resonated with the audience of defense ministers, allied joint commanders, senior NATO officials and senior European Union officials.

During the workshop, Land said, “If world leaders get it, then there really is no excuse for other leaders not to get it.”

“Future jobs, particularly those in the adaptive science arena, require people who can do both simultaneously. That is really the foundation of why STEM needs to evolve to STEAM for the future.”

The explosion in technology-leveraging artificial intelligence epitomizes the need for STEAM because it requires expertise in human-centered design.

This work requires redefining a creative workforce to be a set of individuals who have an intimate understanding of engineering and science fundamentals and have the problem-solving skills and entrepreneurial spirit to push the boundaries of what is possible.

Technological innovation is catalyzing a need for data processing, storage, and security capabilities.

What started with megabytes has grown to gigabytes and will continue to grow to zettabytes and yottabytes. In this hyperconnected world, people need to be prepared to understand the role information plays globally and design innovative solutions to problems yet to be defined. Land has a vision for how we can ensure that future—and the arts are a big part of the landscape.

Land, who received his master’s in computer science from Syracuse University, spoke to our master’s and doctoral graduates at Convocation this May. His message on convergent and divergent thinking and his vision for the future of innovation are valuable messages for SU students who are entering a rapidly changing landscape.

SPRING 2015 39

I

t was a crisp fall afternoon at Syracuse University when a team of students soldiered up to Maxwell Hall to solve a problem—an energy problem.

Entering the building with their keen understanding of energy optimization and meticulous attention to detail, the students found rooms that matched the chill of Tennity Ice Skating Pavilion and others reminiscent of the sweltering heat of a Cancún beach during spring break.

Anyone could have told you that something wasn’t right, and the uniquely qualified team from the Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) was called in to do something about it.

They began by placing data loggers in strategic locations throughout the building, and then they waited. As time ticked by, the data loggers faithfully recorded the temperature in their assigned areas. The results narrowed the pool of suspects to the heating units in affected areas of the building.

Like a detective with a magnifying glass, the students inspected the rooms with a thermal imaging camera. On its screen, bright reds, oranges, and yellows revealed the problem. Some units were filled with water, providing very little heat. Others were red-hot and dry, pumping heat into the room continuously. The systematic sweep of the building had led them to the culprit—faulty steam traps.

The IAC team, made up of students Enrica Galasso, ’15, Jillian Burgoyne, ’14, Ryan Milcarek, ’14, and Mark Seibel, ’15, turned their findings over to Emily Greeno, energy conservation manager for the University. Greeno said, “Upon receiving the student report, the University brought in a third party to 40 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

perform a steam trap survey within Maxwell, utilizing incentives available from National Grid.

The survey found that 21.7 percent of the traps were found to be defective.”

The University promptly repaired the steam traps, and this had an immediate impact on the building’s overall energy usage, pollution output, and cost of heating.

This work led to an estimated savings of more than $12,000 per year and 525,000 pounds of steam for the University—not to mention providing a cozier environment for Maxwell’s occupants.

The Syracuse IAC is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy and helps manufacturing facilities decrease their energy usage and increase their efficiency through no-cost energy audits. This project, “Green Heating: Reducing Overheating and Pollution on Campus,” was awarded first place in the graduate student category at the 2014 Earth Day Event and Student Competition Exhibition, held at the Rochester Institute of Technology, for developing an innovative solution that benefits a campus environment.

“I enjoyed being able to do my part to improve the campus,” said senior mechanical engineering student Mark Seibel. “I was thrilled that it was something we could experience and that it actually has made an impact. Through the IAC, we do things all the time outside of Syracuse, and it was neat to be able to do something that affected our own campus that we could point to and say, ‘We did that.’”

SPRING 2015 41

The end is nigh. A cataclysm will soon upend the world. Resources will dwindle. Communications will crash. Society will crumble.

It is time to make preparations for the coming Armageddon.

42 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

This ominous forecast set the stage of the firstever SRC-SU Intrapreneurship Day. On a frigid, gray morning in February, 15 students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science traveled to SRC Inc., a local engineering firm and defense contractor, for a unique, competitive, educational experience. Their assignment—to conceptualize the development of a viable product that would help people survive an end-of-theworld scenario.

The students were divided into four groups, in which each member represented a different discipline in engineering or computer science.

As mentors from SRC and the College floated from group to group to provide insight and motivation, the students envisioned the horrible perils that mankind might face at the onset of the apocalypse: floods, droughts, blackouts, being separated from loved ones, and, of course, zombies. Once they settled on a problem (or two), they set about brainstorming solutions.

Discussion and debate quickly morphed into quiet cooperation and their plans began to take shape. Some sketched their plans on the back of the day’s agenda. Others designed them on glowing tablets. One group even went so far as to optimize its product in MATLAB. Natalie Kretzing ’16, describes the experience: “I started by focusing on a solution purely from a mechanical engineering perspective, since that’s my major, but after getting some really great advice from one of the SRC mentors, it became clear pretty quickly that the solution we wanted to create was going to be more electrical and computer engineering. I loved the fact that they divided us into teams of varying majors so we could all provide our own unique points of view and knowledge outside of the areas we knew best.”

After hours of planning, it came time for the groups to present their work. The solutions

included a survivor’s backpack that was a virtual Swiss army knife of survival gear, a portable water filtration system to ward off dehydration and waterborne illnesses, and a system that notified your loved ones that you were OK using minimal bandwidth in stressed communication systems.

The group that took the top prize designed a novel biohazard suit to protect people from toxic fumes exploding from the sewers, proving that the group was every bit as creative about the scenarios as it was about its solutions. The suit would completely seal the person in and would be lined with a synthetic material that is capable of photosynthesis—converting one’s exhaled carbon dioxide into breathable oxygen. The suit would temporarily protect the person until he or she was able to evacuate the affected area.

So while the world didn’t actually end, the students’ work brought us a few steps closer to being prepared if it did.

The students used the opportunity to network and learn from SRC’s leaders and professional engineers, and the event paved the way for future intrapreneurship days.

While the students provided overwhelmingly positive feedback for the experience, they were not eager to prove their mettle in such a serious real-world catastrophe just yet. When asked if he thought the apocalypse was coming any time soon, aerospace engineering student Jannuel Cabrera ’16 said, “I hope not. I still have a lot of things I want to do.”

SPRING 2015 43

CONTENTS

SPRING 2015

ALUMNI NOTES ON THE COVER

1970s

Gary J. Grieco ’72 (Aerospace), owner of Air Consulting Associates in Morris Plains, N.J., wrote Sherman’s Angels: A Christmas Story Assistant Professors Shikha Nangia, Shalabh Maroo, and Jesse Bond were (Tate Publishing), which was released on awarded the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Faculty Early Career Veterans Day.

Rising Star Faculty | Page 2

Development Award (CAREER), proving their role as young thought leaders.

Burton Goldfield ’78 (Bioengineering), CEO of TriNet, a cloud-based human resources services company headquartered in San Leandro, Calif., has appeared on CNBC’s Mad Money and was featured on the cover of the August issue of Smart Business magazine of Northern California.

2000s

the Power to Save 13 06 Putting Lives in Your Pocket

Mary Ann Hopkins ’87, G’89 (Civil), president BlueDefib wants to make AEDs more of Parsons Government Services, is the newest accessible inductee into the Washington 100, the premier group of leaders who execute strategic vision and drive value for the Chen's AmericanIEEE publicHonor at the Sends intersection of the public and private sectors.

07 a Signal

1990s

08 Through the Lens of a

Matt Tryniski G’93 (Electrical) has been Toxicologist appointed as vice president, Defense and A Profile of Professor Environmental Solutions (DES), for SRC Ruth Inc. Chen In his new role he will be responsible for the management, the technical and all Q&Aleadership, with Dean Mohan aspects of DES business.

12 A Conversation with the Interim Dean

44 SYRACUSE ENGINEER

A look inside this living lab

14 16

Ruth Dewey

Professor Carlos R.P. Hartmann

Student venture American Airlinesmagnifies Captainsolar energy Russell Danwin ’78 (Aerospace) and First The Desk Zone 24 Officer Katherine Magon Saving energy while staying ’85 (Drama)increwed comfortable the office together, flying a 767 Fear,England Insecurity & to Chicago.

28 from

Ruth Dewey passed away in San Juan, Puerto Rico in October. Dewey retired from Syracuse University in 2002, where she worked for many years as a technical secretary, several of them in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“Ruth Dewey was a stalwart in our Chemical Engineering Department administration staff. I will always remember Ruth’s pleasant smile and delightful personality.

She was a colleague you could count on to get work done,” said Professor Larry Tavlarides.

32

Christopher Budwey

Professor Carlos R.P. Hartmann was a gifted and widely regarded researcher in the areas of information and coding theory, whose work was supported

by NSF for many years. His research accomplishments were recognized by the prestigious IEEE Fellow award, as well as the Syracuse University Chancellor’s Citation for exceptional academic excellence.

Carlos had joined the School of Computer and Information Science (CIS) faculty in 1970, eventually becoming the director of the School. In 1996, he became the first chair of the new Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, when CIS merged with the former Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He successfully led this department until 2009, developing a cohesive department in which multiple new collaborations emerged as a result of his strong leadership. He was a great colleague, friend, and teacher; he will be missed immensely.

Destination NASA

Robert Formisano ’05 (Computer) and Megan Ryan Milcarek, ’14, and the Caiazzo Formisano ’06 (A&S) of Bordentown, Astronaut Scholarship N.J., announce the birth of their son, Vincent Joseph.

34 Anatomy of a Syracuse

Sajda Nuriddin ’06, G’08 (Mechanical) specializes inSnowball evaluating energy consumption in buildings and making deteriorating systems more efficientMercury as an energy engineer for Rising NORESCO.

36 Playing a role in policymaking

Jeremy Pinier G’07 (Mech/Aerospace), LaRC SLS lead for Aeroscience, NASA Langley STE(A)M Powered Jared Green ’01, Research Center’ s Configuration Aerodynamics G’02 (Civil) Branch, Hampton, Va., received the AIAA Haden Land G ’91 is enhancing recently won Lawrence Sperry Award.

Pinier was honored STEM with the arts ENR-NY for his “significant technical accomplishments Celebrating Research awards for two and leadership in the aerodynamics design and Energy Inspectors of his Brooklyn, 2015 Nunan Research and Lecture Day development of the next U.S. crew and heavyStudent project saves energy in N.Y. projects: lift launch vehicles.”

Maxwell Hall Theatre for a New New Tactics in the War on Audience and 2010s SuperbugsPAVE Academy.

Engineering vs. the Sindhu Yarlagadda ’14 (Engineering Ingrid Skoog is a business analyst at The Masterpiece: EngineeringManagement)Apocalypse ’04 (Computer Clairvoyant in Chandler, Ariz.

Students engineer for the end PreservingScience) Art has accepted a new Let us know about your accomplishments!

How engineering is protecting job at Harvard Alumni Please send your alumniNotes news and notes to Michelangelo’s frescoes University as engineer@syr.edu. an information In Memoriam Appraisingsecurity Air inspecialist.

Culinary

38 40 42

18 Climates

Inside the Building Energy and Environmental Systems Laboratory

IN MEMORIAM

the Power 22 Harnessing of 800 Suns

Smartphones

Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Sabti, ’94, G’98 (Computer) has been appointed Saudi minister of higher education, relieving H.E. Dr. Khalid bin Mohammed Al-Angari at his request. In his new role, Dr. Al-Sabti will oversee the expansion of higher education institutions and the King Abdullah Scholarship Program, both of which have undergone significant growth in the past decade.

1980s

Roof at the 20 Green Oncenter

44 45 Remembering Ruth Dewey,

Christopher Budwey ’12 passed away at home unexpectedly in January. He was a 2012 graduate of the College of Engineering and Computer Science and he was working on a master's degree. Budwey was a lab teacher’s assistant for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and an RF engineer for Arcom Labs.

“It is very sad for all of us here in the undergraduate electrical and computer engineering community to lose Chris. Every day I walk through the undergraduate lab and am reminded of Chris. There are so many projects and tasks that remind me of him. He is greatly missed,” said Professor Duane Marcy.

Professor Hartmann received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica in São Paulo, Brazil, and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He passed away on April 21, 2015.

SYRACUSE ENGINEER INTERIM DEAN Chilukuri K. Mohan, Ph.D.

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR COLLEGE ADVANCEMENT Michael M. Ransom

MAGAZINE REDESIGN The Cohl Group

SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR ACADEMIC AND STUDENT AFFAIRS Can Isik, Ph.D.

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR STUDENT RECRUITMENT Kathleen M. Joyce

DESIGN Pinckney Hugo Group

ASSISTANT DEAN FOR EXTERNAL RELATIONS Ariel DuChene

PHOTOGRAPHY Douglas Lloyd Steve Sartori Chuck Wainwright

ASSOCIATE DEAN FOR RESEARCH AND DOCTORAL PROGRAMS Mark Glauser, Ph.D.

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Matt Wheeler

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

CONTRIBUTORS Ariel DuChene Matt Wheeler

WEB SITE eng-cs.syr.edu Patti Gomez Barbara Witek

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