Syracuse Engineer Summer 2011 by Syracuse University's College of Engineering & Computer Science

vol. 09

L.C. SMITH COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE

ENGINEERING IN

summer 2011

ON THE COVER

L.C. Smith students and faculty are finding answers to real-world problems >

Computer security

Bacteria and biofilms

Indoor air quality

Capturing storm water runoff

Drinking water transport

Flocculation and dewatering

syracuse

engineer Dean Laura J. Steinberg, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean for College Advancement Steve Savage

Design Pinckney Hugo Group

Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Student Affairs Can Isik, Ph.D.

Assistant Dean for External Relations Executive Editor Ariel DuChene

Photography Steve Sartori Chuck Wainwright

Associate Dean for Research and Doctoral Programs Mark Glauser, Ph.D.

Assistant Editor Ellen Robb

Web Site www.lcs.syr.edu

Associate Dean for Student Affairs Andria Costello Staniec, Ph.D.

Contributors Jennifer Cheng Erica Murphy

Kathleen Haley Christopher Powers

Contact engineer@syr.edu

www.lcs.syr.edu

from thE dean Ask an average person on the street what images are evoked when thinking of engineers and the response will likely include a vision of individuals sitting at computer desks with open spreadsheets or testing samples in a laboratory. However, if you Google the word “engineering” you will find photos of bridges, satellites, manufacturing sites and medical facilities. You will find individuals with hard hats at construction sites or project managers leading teams through the design exploration process.

Those of us at L.C. Smith have a Grand Challenge on our hands. In addition to preparing our students to be drivers of innovation, the College seeks to contribute to changing the public perception of what it means to be an engineer and to work on projects which, by their very nature, affect societal change. The L.C. Smith College is driven by its vision, Engineering in Action—the idea that understanding the guiding principles of an engineering discipline is only the beginning of the journey to becoming an engineer, and that the learning process is incomplete without opportunities to test and apply those principles to real societal challenges. At LCS, we are challenging our students in many ways to prepare them to be engineers who recognize and thrive with this vision. We launched the first “Invention and Creativity

Competition” in the spring semester and saw 20 teams of students enter ideas that used engineering principles to create business opportunities. These students participated in the competition outside the scope of any coursework, demonstrating their drive and ingenuity. And, we had a record number of graduate students submit abstracts for our annual “Nunan Research and Lecture Day.” Our students are working on projects that range from addressing the wastewater management needs of the City of Knowledge in Panama to exploring ways that shape memory polymers can help R&D developers at General Motors. Students are working in our Industrial Assessment Center to evaluate the energy efficiency of New York State manufacturing facilities, and collaborating with J.P. Morgan Chase on developing more secure web interfaces for financial transactions.

The College is committed to continuing to develop curriculum and experiential learning opportunities in support of Engineering in Action. By creating opportunities for engagement which are aimed at solving real-life engineering challenges, LCS is exemplifying the close relationship between engineering in the academy and engineering in the real world, and is inspiring the next generation of engineers.

Laura J. Steinberg, Ph.D. Dean

contents

4 SYRACUSE SCHOLARS

Forry & Waller Named Syracuse Scholars ••••••••••••••••••••••

5 shape memory polymers

NUNAN lecture and

research day Lecture provides forum to showcase research projects ••••••••••••••••••••••

14 senior design class tackles storm runoff in panama

graduate research focus ••••••••••••••••••••••

18 brett maurer: civil and environmental ••••••••••••••••••••••

19 shuyu hou: biomedical and chemical

cutting-edge SMP Research Drives Costs Down

••••••••••••••••••••••

•••••••••••••••••••••• ••••••••••••••••••••••

ieee micromouse competition Four Engineering Students Capture First Prize ••••••••••••••••••••••

cells take

shape

SMPs Provide Greater Insight into How Cells Respond

••••••••••••••••••••••

20 jingjing pei: mechanical and aerospace

21 Karthick Jayaraman electrical engineering and computer science

22 quest for knowledge takes LC smith alumnus to new heights

29 CAREER ••••••••••••••••••••••

••••••••••••••••••••••

30 biofilms: Battling Drug Resistance

••••••••••••••••••••••

24 awards round-up ••••••••••••••••••••••

ABET survey

mother nature threw us a curve

Record Levels of Flooding in the Missouri Valley Basin

Waleed Abdalati appointed Chief Scientist for NASA

••••••••••••••••••••••

31 malware:

Defenders vs. Attackers ••••••••••••••••••••••

32 convocation ••••••••••••••••••••••

36 green roof

runoff

Leads to Quality Research ••••••••••••••••••••••

38 alumni notes

40 development message ••••••••••••••••••••••

41 spotlight

invention and creativity competition

delaware aqueduct

Plugging the Leaks in New York City’s Water Supply

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l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

SYRACUSE SCHOLARS Scholars

Forry & Waller Named Syracuse

Two LCS students were among 12 graduating seniors honored as Syracuse University Scholars, the University’s highest undergraduate academic honor. University Scholars are selected by a University-wide faculty committee using criteria that include coursework and academic achievement, creative work, a personal statement and a faculty letter of recommendation. According to Kenneth Johnson, assistant professor of communications and rhetorical studies, and chair of the selection committee, scholars are also evaluated on how they engage the world with their personal knowledge and experience. The two LCS winners exemplify those traits in spades. Benjamin Forry was one of a handful of undergraduates hand-selected to work in the SU Industrial Assessment Center (IAC), an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

At the IAC, he Chancellor & President, Nancy partnered with local Cantor with Benjamin Forry and MAE Program Director, Frederick Carranti businesses to assess and make recommendations to reduce their energy consumption. For his senior design project, Forry developed a wheelchair lift device for the Port Authority of Oswego, N.Y., to create more accessible charter fishing opportunities. He has spent time working in the engineering department at the Oswego Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant and conducting photovoltaic research at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. A LCS academic excellence workshop facilitator and mechanical engineering major, Forry helped engineering students on campus strengthen their understanding of coursework. He also served as president of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society and was a member of multiple other academic groups and clubs. After graduation, Forry began working in General Electric Aviation’s Edison Engineering Development Program and will be pursuing a master’s degree from the University of Cincinnati.

Environmental engineering major Kristin Anne Waller served as vice president of the Tau Beta Pi engineering honors society and is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi and Chi Epsilon civil engineering honors fraternities. She served as an officer in the SU chapters of Engineers Without Borders and American Water Works Association, and held memberships in a number of other prestigious societies. In the summer of 2009, Waller, then a rising junior, was one of only 26 undergraduates nationwide to earn the two-year Greater Research Opportunities Fellowship from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which gave her the chance to complete an independent research project and a 12-week internship with the agency. She presented her research on changes in Adirondack surface waters in response to the 1990 Clean Air Act amendments about power plant emissions of sulfur dioxide at the fall 2010 technical meeting of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program. Following graduation, Waller joined the engineering consulting firm O’Brien and Gere to work on water and wastewater treatment design.

Chancellor Cantor with Kristin Waller and CESE Director, Charles Driscoll

www.lcs.syr.edu

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are a class of “smart” materials that can switch between two shapes on command, from a fixed (temporary) shape to a pre-determined permanent shape. SMPs function as actuators, by first forming a heated article into a temporary shape and cooling to fix the shape. Then, by being exposed to a second stimulus (e.g. heat), the article can spring back to its original shape. See how two professors in the L.C. Smith College and Syracuse Biomaterials Institute are using this technology to push the boundaries of biomaterials research.

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shape memory polymers

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

cutting-

edge

smp research drives costs down Functionally graded materials (FGMs) have applications in various industries from aerospace to manufacturing to supply chain. However, one of the limiting factors of the use of these materials is their high cost to produce. This is because

both the materials used to make them, such as ceramic and metal, and the labor intensive processes to create them makes them cost prohibitive.

This got Patrick T. Mather, the Milton and Ann Stevenson Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) and director of Syracuse Biomaterials Institute (SBI), thinking about how he might use shape memory polymers (SMPs) to make an FGM that would be more cost effective and potentially more versatile than was currently available.

Working with undergraduate student Andrew DiOrio ‘10 and graduate student Xiaofan Luo ‘11, Mather was able to create a functionally graded shape memory polymer. His work was highlighted on the cover of the January 2011 issue of Soft Matter, the leading journal in the field of soft matter research. Functionally graded materials are defined materials, synthetic or natural, where the composition, microstructure, and other properties differ along sections of the material. Up until now, SMPs have been limited to reacting to only one or two discrete stimuli to create a reaction. The goal of Mather’s research was to apply the theory of FGMs to SMPs and create a material that could be fixed and recovered in one section of a polymer strip without impacting the response of other sections of that same piece.

www.lcs.syr.edu

“We are very excited about this new approach to preparing shape memory polymers, which should enable new devices with complex mechanical articulations.” pat mather

Mather first tested the graded SMP by creating small indentations along the length of the cured polymer. When heated, each indentation recovered to the original smooth surface as each one’s transition temperature, the temperature it had been programed for, was reached along the surface. A wavelike response resulted. The second test involved cutting the SMP in a comb-like fashion and bending back the cut sections. The SMP was placed on a Pelletier plate that uniformly heated the material. Just as we can slowly extend each of our fingers from a clenched fist one at a time, it was observed that as the plate warmed and a section of the polymer reached its transition temperature, each “finger” of the cut sheet independently recovered back to its unbent shape.

“We are very excited about this new approach to preparing shape memory polymers, which should enable new devices with complex mechanical articulations,” says Mather. “The project demonstrated how enthusiastic and persistent undergraduate researchers could contribute substantively, even in the throes of their busy course schedules.” There are numerous applications opportunities for Mather’s functionally graded SMPs, from low-cost temperature labels that could measure temperatures in areas that are not accessible by conventional methods or not amenable to continuous and inexpensive monitoring, to indirectly indicate sterilization completions, or for incorporation into product packaging (for shipping industry or food storage) to indicate the maximum temperature for a product exposure.

Scan with your Smartphone to learn more about Shape Memory Polymers and view a video, or visit http://bit.ly/na8rw7.

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To start, Mather created a temperature gradient plate made of aluminum using a design published by NIST scientists. This elegant design features a cartridge heater on one end and a copper water pipe for cooling on the other end. The actual temperature gradient was verified by measuring different temperatures along the length of the plate. The SMP was cured on this plate to “program” the polymer to respond along that gradient of temperatures.

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Cells Take

Shape

Outside of the world of the lab and inside our bodies cells are constantly growing and adapting to the surfaces they are attached to. However, most cell biomechanics research has examined cell behavior on unchanging, flat surfaces like petri dishes. James Henderson, assistant professor of biomedical and chemical engineering in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) and researcher in the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute had an idea to use shape memory polymers (SMPs) to provide greater insight into how cells sense and respond to their physical environment.

“Living cells are remarkably complex, dynamic and versatile systems, but the material substrates currently used to culture them are not,” says Henderson. “What motivated our work was the need for cell culture technologies that would allow dynamic control of cell-material interactions. We wanted to give a powerful new tool to biologists and bioengineers.” The goal of Henderson’s research was to develop a temperature-sensitive shape memory polymer substrate that could be programmed to change shape under cell-compatible conditions, test if the cells remained viable after a change in polymer shape and see what happens to the alignment of the cells once the polymer substrate changes shape.

www.lcs.syr.edu

“what

motivated our work was the need for cell

culture technologies that would allow dynamic control of cell-material interactions.”

The breakthrough needed to achieve the research goal was made by Kevin Davis, a third-year Ph.D. student in the Henderson Lab. Davis was able to develop a SMP with a transition temperature that worked within the limited range required for cells to live. He observed greater than 95 percent cell viability before and after topography and temperature change. This is the first demonstration of this type of cell-compatible, programmable topography change. Henderson and Davis’ work in collaboration with Kelly Burke of Case Western Reserve University and Patrick T. Mather, Milton and Ann Stevenson Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University was highlighted in the January issue of the journal Biomaterials, the leading journal in biomaterials research. After confirming that cells remained viable on the substrate, Davis then began investigating how a change in the surface of the substrate the cells are attached to affect how the cells aligned after the substrate surface changed shape.

Davis programmed a SMP substrate that transitioned from a micron-scale grooved surface to a smooth surface. The cells were seeded on the grooved sample at 30 degrees Celsius to line up along the grooves of the surface. The substrates were then placed in a 37 degrees Celsius incubator, which was the transition temperature for the substrate to recover to a smooth surface. Following shape memory recovery, the cells were observed to be randomly oriented on the substrate. The application of shape memory principles offers potential solutions for current limitations of static substrate research in bioengineering research such as medical devices and tissue engineering scaffolds. “For the first time, we’ve shown that this general concept can be used successfully with cells, which suggests that it can be extended to a number of biomaterials that could be used for scaffolds and many other applications,” says Davis. Since most scaffolding is made out of polymers, Henderson envisions one day using SMPs to create scaffolds that can expand inside the body allowing for less invasive surgical procedures.

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james henderson

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

NUNAN lecture and

research day The annual Nunan Lecture and Research Day drew a large crowd at the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) on April 8. Made possible by a gift given in 2006 from the estate of Jim and Marge Nunan, the day features a technical lecture by a distinguished speaker and provides graduate students with a forum to showcase research projects they have been working on for monthsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; or even years.

www.lcs.syr.edu

THE LECTURE This year LCS welcomed Sotira Yiacoumi G’87 (M.S.), G’92 (Ph.D.) as the guest lecturer to present and address the global challenge of water scarcity. Yiacoumi’s lecture, titled “Addressing the Water Challenge,” kicked off the afternoon’s events and drew an audience of more than 70 people. A professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology, Yiacoumi shared research she is conducting with scientists and engineers about innovative methods to remove ionic pollutants from water. These methods, driven by the formation of an electrical double layer, are part of research aiming to address the challenge of water scarcity globally.

Yiacoumi explained to lecture attendees that temperature plays a crucial part in achieving efficiency in the process. “You can observe interesting behavior at a higher temperature due to the mix of ions of different sizes and valence,” she said. After her lecture, Yiacoumi reiterated the importance of collaborating with other experts on research. “Be persistent; know where and how your research can be applied to solve problems,” she said.

Highlighting the gravity of the need for better water and energy solutions, Yiacoumi started by explaining how climate change, increasing population, and environment degradation are exacerbating clean water shortages. “Creating infrastructure that recycles, reuses, and treats is not an easy task,” Yiacoumi said. “But there is a big opportunity in recycling water, and technology holds the promise for a better future.”

“But there is a big opportunity in recycling water, and technology holds the promise for a better future“ sotira yiacoumi

Yiacoumi also explored recent advances in nanotechnology that provide the opportunity for capacitive deionization (CDI), a technology for desalination and water treatment. Properties of materials needed for CDI were reviewed in addition to the important challenge of managing pollutants.

L.C. Smith Dean Laura J. Steinberg (right) presents a token of appreciation to guest lecturer Sotira Yiacoumi.

Yiacoumi also underscored the challenges that good research projects overcome. “If you don’t face challenges, your research project probably is not where it needs to be,” she noted. LCS Ph.D. candidate Shirley Wang G’15 shared her thoughts on the lecture. “Although the focus of my study is on polymers, I really care about the environment and enjoyed this lecture,” she noted. Wang also said she tries to attend as many lectures as possible and thinks students appreciate guest lectures, where they can learn more about a topic that may not be in their direct area of study.

lcs news

Yiacoumi detailed the interconnections between water and energy, termed the water-energy nexus, and how innovative water treatments require low energy. New and innovative microbial fuel cells can reduce waste-gas emissions and recover energy via direct electricity production, she explained. This reduces the need for an energy grid, which means water treatment systems could be deployed in less developed areas of the world.

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

“the

summer 2011

day is all about the outstanding

research our students accomplish.”

mark glauser

POSTER COMPETITION Another feature of the day came in the form of friendly student rivalry with the Nunan Research Poster Competition. Graduate students not only highlighted their research projects, but also their entrepreneurial spirit and innovation in engineering. Biomedical and chemical engineering graduate student Jiachuan Pan G’12 noted the benefits of connecting with her peers, professors, and advisors, as well as reviewing the projects that students in other engineering concentrations are building. Pan’s research focuses on controlling biofilms, which create resistance to drugs and present a grave challenge to infection control. “It opens up many new ideas,” Pan said. “I appreciate the opportunity to share ideas, show my work, and get feedback from everyone.” Mark Glauser, associate dean for research and doctoral programs; associate director for research, EQS Center; and a professor of mechanical, aerospace, and manufacturing engineering, and physics, has overseen Nunan Research Day for four years, including this year’s event.

“The day is all about the outstanding research our students accomplish,” said Glauser. “The goal for students is to package up and present their ideas, giving them experience in selling research ideas and projecting the big picture.” This year’s Nunan poster competition drew 38 projects. Glauser said he is hoping to see 60-65 projects submitted in future years. Yiacoumi met with several students during the graduate poster competition and open reception, where students presented their work to event attendees. “The students are doing very creative work; they are doing a great job,” she said.

Guest lecturer Sotira Yiacoumi analyzes a student’s poster at the Nunan poster competition.

Yiacoumi also noted how the competition helps hone students’ presentation, communication, and analytical skills for future business experiences. “You need to know how to present and collaborate with others. You also need to know how your research can be applied to solve problems.”

More than 38 projects were entered in the annual poster competition during Nunan Lecture & Research Day.

L.C. Smith Dean Laura J. Steinberg (left) gathers with the winners of the Nunan Lecture & Research Day poster competition.

Graduate students from the college’s four departments competed for best poster in their department and best overall poster. Department winners were given $250 and the overall winner was awarded $1,000. The winners, their abstract titles, and advisors are:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER:— Kang Wang, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (co-author: Pingying Zeng), “High-performance flame fuel cell using an anode-supported SOFC.” Advisor: Jeongmin Ahn. BIOMEDICAL AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING: Morteza Haeri, “Time-lapse study of change in cellular adhesion on a cathodically polarized CoCrMo alloy.” Advisor: Jeremy Gilbert.

MECHANICAL AND AEROSPACE ENGINEERING: Waleed A. Abdelmaksoud, “Improved CFD modeling of a small data center test cell.” Advisor: H. Ezzat Khalifa. CERTIFICATE FOR APPLICABILITY OF RESEARCH TO BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY (TIE): Tao Cong, “Plasmonic nanogels with robustly tunable optical properties,” R. Sureshkumar; Hossein B. Nejad, “New Self-Healing Coatings.” Advisor: Patrick T. Mather.

CIVIL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING: Brett Maurer, “Flocculation and Filtration in the Geotextile Tube Environment.” Advisor: Shobha Bhatia. ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE: Rahil Memon (co-author: Nirmit Shah), “Designing a Chaotic Communication System on FPGA.” Advisor: Fred Schlereth.

LCS invites individuals from local organizations to serve as judges for the poster competition, helping build relationships with industry and the community. Judges this year included Joan Hansen, Ph.D., of Dupont Performance Coatings; Swiatoslav Kaczmar, Ph.D., principal scientist at O’Brien & Gere; Joseph Kummer, Ph.D., president of Propulsive Wing; Sarah Muccio, Ph.D., mathematician for the Rome Air Force Research Laboratory; and Vijay Srinivas, senior director of corporate relations and technical alliances at Syracuse University.

lcs news

WINNERS

www.lcs.syr.edu

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Front row (l-r): Anjali Ganess, Anna Vanderhoof, George SegrĂŠ, Eli de Sola Goldman Back row (l-r): Dr. David Chandler, Dr. Chris Johnson

Senior Design Class Tackles Storm Runoff in Panama On January 1, 2000, the Panama Canal Zone that had been controlled by the U.S. military since 1903 was reverted to Panamanian control. Since that time, former U.S. military base Fort Clayton has been turned into a technological and

14 research complex called El Ciudad del Saber, or the City of Knowledge (CoK). The CoK has a stated goal to become LEED Neighborhood Certified, an environmental standard set by the U.S. Green Building Council. One requirement to achieve certification is for the campus to have zero storm runoff, a lofty goal in a place like Panama that receives several meters of rain per year. In January 2011, a group of students and professors from the civil and environmental engineering departmentâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Senior Design course at L.C. Smith spent a week at the City of Knowledge to see how they could redesign the existing CoK campus drainage to store more of the existing water on campus and reduce the runoff.

The trip to Panama was funded by alumni gifts to the department, and the Ciudad del Saber (City of Knowledge) in Panama.

www.lcs.syr.edu

The team stayed on site, surveying the grounds and conducting topographical research to help determine ways that the City of Knowledge could meet its goals, while at the same time gaining cultural experience. They took some time to see some natural rainforest wildlife, including monkeys, bird, insects and reptiles. They The team toured the Chagres River visited the Panama by dugout canoe after the river’s largest flood on record. Canal Authority, which is in the process of expanding the canal to handle larger ships. “It’s really a global-scale engineering project and quite amazing to see the work they’re doing,” says David Chandler, L.C. Smith professor of practice, who led the trip.

“Our objective was to promote green initiatives without causing major economical issues.“ george segré

commercial district and rain gardens for individual homes in the residential areas. “Our objective was to promote green initiatives without causing major economic issues,” says George Segre, one of the students on the trip. “We chose rain gardens because it’s a good storage system and more aesthetically pleasing than a big cistern.” Second, they proposed a regrading of the complex’s baseball fields, the largest contributor of runoff to the main water channel, and the installation of two bioswales, landscape elements that help remove silt and pollutants from runoff water. The bioswales would redirect the storm runoff from the regraded area and change the drainage pattern of that area of the campus. The team also proposed the construction of a detention basin to store water. All the proposals were then presented in a large report for the engineering staff at City of Knowledge so they could implement these plans as opportunity provides.

The flood was so large that it moved enough sediment into the reservoir for Panama City to shut down the city’s drinking water treatment plant for weeks. “The drinking water crisis caused a bit of a media stir,” says Chandler. “Since our project was related to water, we attracted a bit of media attention. In fact, a television camera crew came to film us while we were on site.” But the team didn’t let the extra attention interfere with the real reason for the trip. After the week was up, the students proposed three changes to the CoK campus. First, they proposed the construction of rain gardens in two strategic locations to capture water runoff. They suggested two large gardens to handle the runoff in the

cie

They attended the Panama Jazz Festival and took a canoe tour to a local village, where they were treated to native customs, dancing and songs. This part of the trip was particularly interesting because the river watershed area had just received nearly two meters of rain in one week, causing the biggest flood on record.

Anna Vanderhoof conducts a soil water infiltration test.

While the recommendations have yet to be implemented, the trip provided great insight and experience for all who participated. “It was quite interesting,” Chandler says. “It was a completely different experience than anything I’d done before,” says George Segre, one of the students on the trip. “I’d only done research but hadn’t worked for a client before. It was a totally new dynamic to see how working relationships develop.”

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Engineering Students Capture

First Prize in IEEE Micromouse Competition Four LCS engineering students won first prize at the annual Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Micromouse competition in Boston on March 26. Sponsored by the local chapter of IEEE, it was the first time that Syracuse University students had participated in this event. After the event, Perra shared some of his thoughts and experiences with ENGINEER:

Q: WHAT DID YOU ENJOY ABOUT PARTICIPATING? A: One of the most enjoyable parts of participating in the IEEE Micromouse competition was always having an exciting problem to solve. The problems we faced were not like the problems we were used to seeing as engineering students— they didn’t come out of a textbook and there really wasn’t a “right” or “correct” solution to them. That’s what made them so interesting, though. It was truly fascinating to approach a problem from several different angles, compare and contrast the possible solutions, and then make a design decision based on our analysis. To be honest, having a brilliant and passionate team was crucial to our success. Q: WHAT WAS THE DESIGN PROCESS LIKE?

A: Designing the software for the Micromouse was a great experience. We had to do a lot of research to learn about what techniques had already been employed by previous Micromouse competitors and figure out if we could improve upon them. Ultimately, our proposed design was largely influenced by the research we did. We compiled all of the information we found, sat down as a team, and then determined the approach we would take. From there, we split up the programming evenly and got to work. It was a lot of fun seeing how our design held up with respect to the work that had been done before. For the most part, we made a lot of good design choices, which had an overwhelmingly positive impact on our performance. Occasionally, we would find a quirk in our design, which would limit our performance, but some clever thinking would typically take care of it.

Scan with your Smartphone to view the Micromouse video, or visit http://bit.ly/nmRRW.

Computer engineering students (left to right) Weihua Li, Minghao Ruan, David Paul Perra and Andy Cash worked on their project for more than three months.

Q: WHAT DID YOU LEARN AFTER PARTICIPATING? A: Aside from what I’ve mentioned, I gained invaluable experience participating in a large-scale team project. This was the first time in my engineering career when I wasn’t directly responsible for every aspect of a project. As a result, I was very new to the idea of focusing on one part of the project, successfully completing it, and relying on my team members to do the same for their parts. In the time leading up to this project, I was concerned that our “divide and conquer” strategy might hinder the project’s progress. However, our team had remarkably effective communication in our weekly meetings, so our strategy actually turned out to be one of our greatest strengths. By always talking to each other about the project and lending a hand where we could, we were all able to be successful in our respective assignments while building trust in, and respect for, each other. Even though the project is over now, the bonds that I made with my teammates during this project will endure. I’m incredibly optimistic for future endeavors with them and I can’t wait to tackle our next big problem.

www.lcs.syr.edu

Graduate Research

True to the collegeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision of applying engineering and computer science to solving todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interdisciplinary problems, L.C. Smith graduate students are working in areas of research that have the ability to have a profound impact on how we live, connect, and conduct business in an ever-changing global environment. On the pages that follow, L.C. Smith students representing each department, detail the research theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve done on separating sediments from water, biofilms, indoor air quality, and Internet security.

graduate research

Focus

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Graduate civil and Research environmental

Focus

Engineering

Brett Maurer ‘09 G’11 grew up in Geneva, New York, in the heart of the Finger Lakes. As a native of Central New York, Maurer has a strong affinity for the region and its fragile natural resources. A graduate student working in the lab of Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor Shobha Bhatia, Maurer’s research was in a specific area of civil engineering known as geotechnical engineering.

Brett Maurer

While geotechnical engineers have traditionally focused on such research areas as soil dynamics, pile foundations, and earth dams, there has a been a shift toward exploring energy and environmental problems, including hydraulic fracturing, underground carbon sequestration, and geothermal energy systems.

Maurer’s master’s thesis focused on a nascent and relatively unexplored aspect of envi18 ronmental geotechnics—the effect of flocculation mechanism on dewatering performance of a geotextile tube. Geotextile tubes are tubes made from high-strength polymeric woven and non-woven geotextiles, and act as a medium to separate sediments, slurries and wastes from water. Through a process of dewatering, water is removed from the tube leaving only the contaminants and sediment behind. Flocculants are chemical dewatering accelerants that separate the same materials from water. These polymers bind fine sediments through charge neutralization and particle bridging mechanisms. As a result, dewatering is done faster with better retention of contaminants.

“Brett is the first one to really systematically explore how different polymers change flocculation and how the filter cake properties can be changed by mixing different polymers,” says Bhatia.

“Brett is the first one to really systematically explore how different

polymers change flocculation and

how the filter cake properties can be changed by mixing different polymers.”

shobha bhatia

Maurer’s research is of particular significance given that many industries use high-water content materials that require dewatering. Energy production, wastewater treatment, mining, aquaculture, agriculture, pulp and paper, and food processing are among the various industries adopting this technology. The most extensive use is in the area of environmental remediation applications. The highly polluted Onondaga Lake in Syracuse will see one of the largest uses of geotextile tubes in history, as contaminated dredged sediments are dewatered. The multidisciplinary nature of the research also calls for diverse guidance inputs. In addition to Bhatia, Maurer’s advisory team includes a chemical engineer with expertise in polymer synthesis and modification, a bioprocess engineer with fluid particle separation and mathematical modeling expertise, and an industry expert specializing in geotextil tube technology. Maurer’s thesis represents the culmination of a successful time spent at LCS. Having obtained both a B.S. degree and an M.S. degree in civil engineering from LCS, Maurer is on track to pursue a doctoral degree in civil engineering at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Maurer has received several awards and recognitions at SU, a testimony to his success as a student, researcher, and teaching assistant. He received the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and the Outstanding Achievement Award in Graduate Study at SU in May. He was named Industry Advancement Scholar by the International Association of Foundation Drilling for 2009-2010 and a Chancellor’s Scholar at SU. “Brett is one of the best I have seen. Some people are good in teaching, others are good in research. But balancing both teaching and research is exceptional,” Bhatia observes.

www.lcs.syr.edu

Graduate Research

Biomedical

and Chemical

Focus Engineering While there is no shortage of news about bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics, L.C. Smith alumnus Shuyu Hou ’10 Ph.D. remains optimistic and committed to studying how bacterial resistance and infections can be controlled and ultimately reduced. Biofilms are bacteria that attach to surfaces and form sessile multicellular Shuyu Hou structures. Involved in 80 percent of human bacterial infections, biofilms are up to 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than their planktonic counterparts. Biofilms’ multicellular structures and glue-like communities of microorganisms are at the root of an increasing number of hospital infections.

Hou’s work also explains the increased risk for infection involved with patients who get medical implants to replace a missing biological structure, support a damaged biological structure or enhance an existing one.

“he is the best i have seen. within eight months of research, shuyu submitted his first paper draft—and it was from a new lab, which is very impressive.”

“It’s a growing problem,” says Dacheng Ren, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and adviser to Hou during his nearly five years of study at LCS. “The medical community wants to control the spread of drug resistance and understand what surface characteristics may help reduce biofilm formation.” In Hou and Ren’s research, they engineered surfaces to understand the ways bacteria and surfaces interact. “We created some specific surface patterns with areas that allow bacterial adhesion, while the background does not,” Hou says. “Thus, by tailoring the surface chemistry and topography, we are able to control biofilm formation in specific patterns, which allows us to reveal some critical information about biofilm formation that cannot be obtained with traditional approaches.” Ultimately, the research goals include being able to discern and understand how bacteria interact with different surfaces, and how to inhibit biofilm-associated infections in a safe, economical and sustainable way. “These surfaces are also useful for studying interaction between bacterial cell clusters during biofilm formation,” he notes.

It’s important work, and Hou has continued to delve into biochemistry since earning his doctorate last year. He is currently studying protein production and identification as a postdoctoral researcher at the Delaware Biotechnology Institute at the University of Delaware. Hou attributes much of his progress in the field of biochemistry to Ren. “Dacheng helped me get into this exciting field,” says Hou. “I learned a lot from him.” The respect is mutual. Says Ren, “He is the best I have seen. Within eight months of research, Shuyu submitted his first paper draft—and it was from a new lab, which is very impressive.” During his time at LCS, Hou served as a teaching assistant, was awarded a competitive fellowship from the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, was the recipient of the All-University Doctoral Prize 2010, published several articles in peerreviewed publications and made long-lasting contributions to the department through his productive and positive relationships. “One of the best things about SU is the people. The professors and staff are great, and everyone is very helpful,” he says.

graduate research

dacheng ren

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

Graduate Research

Focus

summer 2011

mechanical and aerospace

Engineering

Sometimes, doctoral research is missing an important element: fun. Not so for Jingjing Pei ’11 Ph.D., who pursues her studies with the same vigor with which she leads other areas of life. “The most important thing for research is that it be of interest to the researcher. My advice is to study what you think is worth studying and is fun to do,” she says. By following her own advice, Pei has made quite a name for herself in the world of indoor air cleaning technology. A native of China, Pei came to L.C. Smith five years ago and has thrived thanks to the school’s collaborative research environment and Jingjing Pei advanced research facilities. She received a grant-in-aid scholarship in 2008 from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). In 2010, she participated in the Women in Science and Engineering (WISE) program and received the Best Paper Award from Building Simulation, 20 an international academic journal, for her work titled “Modeling of sorbent-based filters: Development, verification and experimental validation.” She also contributed significantly to the development of an ASHRAE standard on air cleaning performance testing and evaluation during her time at L.C. Smith. All that is in addition to her doctoral studies, which revolve around the purification of indoor gaseous pollutants, such as toluene and formaldehyde, using adsorption, chemisorption and catalytic oxidization technology. The goal of such research is to provide building occupants with a clean indoor environment without significantly increasing energy consumption. “In a world with environmental and energy concerns, air purification

technology needs to be both effective and efficient to satisfy the indoor air requirement for improving people’s comfort, health and productivity,” she says. Her relentless approach to research has impressed her adviser of five years, Professor Jianshun (Jensen) Zhang. “Jingjing is capable of both experimental and modeling research and has done a fine job in both,” he says. “She is very thoughtful, reliable, timely and productive. She has an excellent work ethic and often goes the extra mile to help her fellow classmates.”

The next step in Jingjing’s journey takes her back home to China. She is joining her undergraduate alma mater, Tianjian University, as a faculty member and will continue her research on energy in indoor environments. “Solving problems related to poor indoor air quality is critical to everyday life. I can see the improvements we’ve made as a society and hope to further them through my work,” she says.

www.lcs.syr.edu

Graduate Research

Focus

electrical

Engineering and computer science

The Internet is all around us today, and that ubiquity is what makes Karthick Jayaraman ’11 Ph.D. dedicated to building secure and dependable web-based computer systems.

“the web is such a widely used infrastructure that facilitates day-to-day life in many ways. vulnerabilities and security threats can put all of our online activities at risk and impact our lives significantly.” karthick jayaraman

Prior to his doctoral work, Jayaraman examined one such vulnerability in a course on rigorously analyzing computer security policies. He worked with his adviser, associate professor Steve Chapin, and Carlos Caicedo from the School of Information Studies, to analyze the policies governing large-value online transactions in wholesale banking. The project involved studying requirements for mobile banking and the insecurity of mobile platforms and making recommendations for improvements to help Chase customers with their daily banking needs. That project led to his doctoral research, in which he proposed several novel methods of dealing with the most prevalent vulnerabilities in web applications, most notably web security and security policy analysis. “Attackers need fewer resources to attack vulnerable web applications compared to desktop computer systems. Specifying and managing security policies is of critical importance in system security,” Jayaraman says.

The research was challenging, but that’s what helped keep Jayaraman motivated. “Programmers continue to build richer services on top of a platform that was not designed with security in mind. Therefore, keeping key security properties is very challenging and requires a lot of innovation,” he says. His diligence in meeting the challenge really impressed Chapin. “Rather than giving up when something doesn’t work as expected, a good researcher takes the initiative to figure out where his understanding was wrong, and from that gains new insights. Karthick always looked for the learning opportunity in everything we did,” Chapin says. Since defending his dissertation in April 2011, Jayaraman has been working at Microsoft’s Redmond, Wash., headquarters, helping to develop the company’s new cloud computing platform, Microsoft Azure. Cloud computing helps organizations manage and scale their computing resources in a cost-effective and efficient manner, and Jayaraman is using his expertise to develop methods to ensure the security of cloud infrastructure and applications that use it.

graduate research

Karthick Jayaraman

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

It is common for children to grow up dreaming about working for an organization like the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Yet, far fewer individuals achieve such admirable goals, making such an accomplishment all the more noteworthy. L.C. Smith alumnus Waleed Abdalati ’86 has done that and more, having been appointed chief scientist for NASA in January, 2011.

In his role, Abdalati serves as an advisor to the NASA Administrator on NASA science matters and as the key scientific liaison between NASA and the White House, Congress, other federal agencies, international space and science organizations, and industry. Serving in several capacities as part communicator, part scientist, and part evaluator, Abdalati is one of the faces of NASA science. “I am an interface and communicate to both the administration and the public why certain initiatives and research priorities are important and contribute to the nation’s space exploration,” he says. “I also help ensure we maximize the science return for NASA’s investments.” Abdalati is a leader in every aspect of his career and in his current position with NASA. “I help people understand why

we’re doing what we do and how we’re doing it—and ensure that priorities are aligned with national priorities and executed responsibly.” One of Abdalati’s objectives, among many, is to address any concerns as well as create excitement about NASA. “I hope people enjoy talking to me and learning about NASA. I believe 100 percent in what we are doing,” he notes. From a young age, Abdalati expressed enthusiasm for space and mathematics. Growing up in New Hartford, N.Y., after losing his dad at age 12, Abdalati was focused on education and, in time, securing work that would both challenge and reward him. Abdalati remembers inquiring about the Apollo mission when he was in second grade, asking his teacher how the rocket would reach its correct location on the moon, when both were moving so fast. “My teacher told me ‘they do a lot of math,’ and it stuck with me,” he says. “I realized I had a strong connection to math and science.” Abdalati’s “strong connection” may be an understatement, as he went on to graduate cum laude from L.C. Smith’s Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and earn master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has also conducted groundbreaking research, mentored students, led departments and organizations, published 36 peer-reviewed articles and 26 other articles, given more than 50 invited lectures and keynote addresses, and more. In fact, this is only a partial list of Abdalati’s experience, accomplishments, accolades, and leadership activities.

www.lcs.syr.edu

“I feel tremendously lucky,” he says. “I’d attribute my being here to a lot of hard work, but it is also a result of amazing opportunities and productive and effective relationships.” Some of Abdalati’s noteworthy relationships and opportunities, he explains, came from the teachers and faculty he had throughout primary and secondary school, as well as during his undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate work. “The teachers and faculty we have from the time we are kids and into adulthood play such a tremendous role in our lives,” he says. “I think a lot of people recognize it, but it’s important to explicitly distinguish it.” The formative experiences that Abdalati enjoyed at LCS helped shape him into the successful scientist that he is today. “When studying, I used to find an empty classroom in Link Hall, and sometimes I go back to that in my mind today.” While reflecting on fond memories at LCS, he explains, “It’s being immersed in an environment with so many peers and so much positive energy. Everything you do is an investment in yourself, and some of my best memories are the social experiences that led to broader development as a person.” After graduating from LCS, Abdalati went to work for a large contractor for a few years and eventually felt the pull to return to school to earn an advanced degree.

“not since my early days at su have i been immersed in such a tremendous

learning experience.” waleed abdalati

He soon became increasingly interested in what satellites were observing, in addition to building them. “As I went into graduate school, I made a commitment to myself: I was there to learn more than to get a degree. I think that shapes how you go through school.”

A life-long learner at heart, Abdalati has made the most of his perpetual quest for knowledge. He notes that an engineering background is “a tremendous foundation on which to build.” The skills that engineering students learn to turn disparate information into valuable results can serve any pursuit— whether you want to be a scientist or a banker, he explains. While honing his skills and working on his master’s degree, he spent several months living in a tent on the Greenland ice sheet and realized he wanted to shift his focus to more science-based work. His research used, and continues to use, satellite observations to understand why the Earth is changing in the ways that it is.

“I am fueled from students’ energy. I think it’s a privilege to be part of academia and teach and motivate students.” waleed abdalati

“In my role at the University of Colorado I work with students and post-docs on developing satellite techniques to observe why and how the ice is changing,” he says. “I am fueled from students’ energy. I think it’s a privilege to be part of academia and teach and motivate students.” Abdalati adds, “It is tremendously rewarding to work with students and see the gears turn in their minds. They view things through a prism that hasn’t been shaped by experiences over the years.” Although Abdalati’s current position with NASA isn’t in a classroom, he draws on his teaching skills to shape how key stakeholders—including the public—understand and appreciate space exploration. “Not since my early days at SU have I been immersed in such a tremendous learning experience. It’s great having a front-row seat to all of NASA’s research and activities,” he says. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I’m not blown away by something. I frequently step back and say, ‘That is amazing.’” Abdalati will return to his position with the University of Colorado at Boulder after his appointment with NASA concludes. “We all have teachers who inspire us, and I get the chance to be one of those people,” he says. “To have that opportunity is a privilege.”

alumni

Abdalati serves as the torchbearer to seemingly countless organizations, memberships and space-related initiatives, but it is his humility that comes across most notably.

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

L.C. SMITH COLLEGE AWARDS

summer 2011

ROUND-UP

Peter Simpkins Elected Fellow of American Physical Society

Mark Glauser Named Fellow by AIAA

The American Physical Society (APS) has selected Peter G. Simpkins, University Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, to join its prestigious Fellowship Program.

Mark Glauser, associate dean for research and doctoral programs and professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at LCS has been named a Fellow by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

The APS Fellowship Program was created to recognize members who have made advances in physics through original research and publication, made significant innovative contributions in the application of physics to science and technology, or made significant contributions to the teaching of physics or service and participation in the activities of the society.

The distinction of Fellow is conferred by AIAA upon outstanding members of the Institute who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences or technology of aeronautics or astronautics. Glauser has been recognized for his innovative use of multi-point low-dimensional approaches to develop physics based closed-loop flow control methods for application to aerospace relevant turbulent flow phenomena.

“Professor Simpkins has made seminal contribution to diverse areas of engineering; and has had significant

impact on our department.”

achille messac

Speaking of his election Simpkins says, “I am delighted that my work has been recognized by the Fluid Mechanics community of the American Physical Society. It is a singular honor for me.” Each year, no more than one half of one percent of the society

24 membership is recognized by their peers for election to the status

“Professor Glauser has distinguished himself and made significant contributions in challenging areas of flow control,” says Achille Messac, Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “He has been highly successful in undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral education; and he has been visionary and productive in his administrative positions. We are truly proud to have him as our colleague.”

“Professor Glauser has distinguished himself and made significant contributions in

of Fellow. Simpkins was elected for incisive analytical and experimental studies of two-phase flows, natural convection, and various aspects of electro-optical materials processing.

challenging areas of flow control.”

“Professor Simpkins has made seminal contribution to diverse areas of engineering; and has had significant impact on our Department,” says Achille Messac, Distinguished Professor and chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department. “This is a richly deserved recognition.”

AIAA President Mark Lewis says, “Being named a Fellow of AIAA is among the highest honors that can be bestowed upon an aerospace professional, and represents recognition from colleagues and peers for great contributions to our field and technical community. I congratulate each member of this year’s class of Fellows and Honorary Fellows.”

Simpkins is also a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers

achille messac

www.lcs.syr.edu

ACS Names Lawrence Tavlarides I&EC Division Fellow

Tapan Sarkar Chosen as IEEE Distinguished Lecturer

Lawrence L. Tavlarides, professor of chemical engineering and materials science at LCS, was named a fellow of the Industrial & Engineering Chemistry (I&EC) Division of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Tapan K. Sarkar, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at LCS, has been named a distinguished lecturer of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Antennas and Propagation Society (APS).

The award recognizes Tavlarides’ research impacting both chemistry and chemical engineering for more than 40 years. Tavlarides’ current research focus involves separation of radio nuclides from nuclear waste, building upon a career portfolio of studying separation processes based upon liquid extraction and adsorption.

Sarkar is a Fellow of IEEE. As a distinguished lecturer, Sarkar will present speeches of interest and importance to the antennas and propogation community of IEEE APS chapters worldwide. The appointment is for a period of three years, from 2011-2013.

with my colleagues and students. Without them this would not have happened.”

Lawrence tavlarides

Tavlarides credits his colleagues and students for their contribution to his work and the subsequent recognition. “When I say my work, I mean work with my colleagues and students. Without them this would not have happened,” Tavlarides says. This marks the sixth year that this honor has been awarded by the I&EC Division of ACS. In recognition of Tavlarides’ achievements, a half-day symposium will be held in his honor at the spring 2012 ACS meeting. Tavlarides will also receive a plaque naming awarded fellows of the I&EC Division, a one-year membership in the I&EC Division, and a $750 travel award.

In his current research, Sarkar is examining numerical solutions of operator equations arising in electromagnetics and signal processing with application to system design. Previous research has included analysis and design of electromagnetic radiation from computers, radio and television towers, and satellite and cable broadcasting systems, as well as the design of mobile adaptive communication systems and intelligent signal processing.

awards

“When I say my work, I mean work

Distinguished lecturers are chosen based on their broad range of expertise in the area of antennas and propagation, and each of Sarkar’s lectures will focus on one of three topics: “Who is the Father of Electrical Engineering?” “Physics of Multiantenna Systems and their Impacts on Wireless Systems” and “Solving Challenging Electromagnetic Problems Using a Parallel Out-ofCore Solver.”

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

ABET survey

Every 6 years, the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) goes through a review process to maintain its ABET accreditation. ABET accreditation is assurance that a college or university program meets the quality standards established by the profession for which it prepares its students. A key component to this process is feedback from alumni. In December 2010, L.C. Smith sent out an email to all alumni requesting help with filling out a survey about our academic programs. Thank you for all of your help with this effort, the overwhelming participation we received is a testament to your commitment to your alma mater.

Fast Facts:

897 – 593 – 229 – 67 –

# of alumni who participated in the ABET survey # bachelor’s degree respondents # of master’s degree respondents

# of Ph.D. Respondents

Highest participating

class years: 26 2010 – 59 2009 – 40

Sample of organizations mentioned that you were involved in at LCS IEEE, SWE, Pathfinders, Engineers without Borders, ASCE, WISE, NSBE, ACEC, SPE, Theta Tau, AIAA, AiCHE, SHPE, AEW, PRIDE, SAE, Tau Beta Pi

2000 – 27 1986 – 25

2008 – 38

1987 – 24

2007 – 27

1984 – 22

Highest participating

MAJOr :

Electrical Engineering – 183

Rate your L.C. Smith education as it pertains to preparedness for your career or advanced degree: Unprepared – 6 Somewhat unprepared – 24 Neutral – 91 Prepared – 542 Extremely prepared – 233

www.lcs.syr.edu

Based on your experiences since graduation, what were the strengths of your L.C. Smith education?

“Problem Solving, advanced solutions, team-based work, undergraduate research experience.”

“Great professors that encouraged life-long learning.”

“A well rounded education that provided/ demanded more than just technical skills.”

winner: louis M. calucci By completing this survey, each participant was entered for a chance to win an iPad. We selected one name at random to win this prize. The winner was Louis M. Calucci ’04. Mr. Calucci is a graduate from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and is currently working at the Vanguard Group, one of the premier global providers of mutual fund investment opportunities. His internal IT group is currently working on a major update to the company’s website to greatly improve and streamline the process that clients use to perform account transactions.

We asked him about his time here at LCS: “One of my favorite memories from my time at L.C. Smith was my Software Specification & Design (CIS453), and Software Implementation (CIS454) classes. Over the course of a year, students worked in teams to first brainstorm and design software, and then build it. It was a fun break from the usual textbook exercises, and it was a great chance to use my knowledge in a setting very similar to that of a real software business. Working in the industry now with an Agile business methodology, I can’t help but see the similarities in those two courses, and I think my experience at Syracuse gave me a good foundation for when I was finally able to get into the IT industry.”

Thank you to all who participated in this critical survey for LCS!

abet survey

“The community - A small school feel inside a large school.”

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

[

summer 2011

HELP SUCCESS TAKE ROOT.

]

This year, give a gift that fosters academic excellence in engineering education. Your contribution will help cultivate student success at the L.C. Smith College by supporting scholarships, research opportunities, student programs and more. For more information or to make your gift today, please visit www.lcs.syr.edu/giving.

Engineering in Action. Turning ideas into reality.

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career The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most prestigious awards in support of the early career-development activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their organization.

career

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l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science summer 2011

biofilms: battling drug resistance Have a bacterial infection? Antibiotics have long been the solution to the problem. However, just as we learn and adapt as our environment changes, so do bacteria, which creates a problem of drug resistance for how science and technology stays ahead of the curve. Dacheng Ren was awarded a CAREER grant to study how bacteria attach to surfaces and form biofilms.

Dacheng Ren, assistant professor in the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering and member of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, was awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) grant to obtain an in-depth, mechanistic understanding of how bacteria attach to surfaces and form sessile multicellular structures (known as biofilms), and how those biofilms develop a resistance to antibiotics at the genetic level.

Biofilms cause serious problems in both medical (chronic infections) and industrial (persistent biofouling) settings. For example, it is well documented that biofilms are involved in 80 percent of bacterial infections in humans. Individual bacterial cells (if not a drug-resistant species) can be eliminated by antibiotics, but biofilms can tolerate more than 1,000-timeshigher doses. Thus, in most cases, the human body cannot tolerate the drug levels required to kill biofilm cells. This leads to chronic infections and development of multidrug resistant bacteria, such as MRSA and “super bugs.” Unlike with many other diseases where there is increasing progress, the inability to treat drug resistant infectious diseases is becoming a deteriorating problem. An increasing number of bacterial strains are becoming resistant to multiple antibiotics, leading to a serious threat to public health. Ren’s work on biofilms began with research for his Ph.D., in which he explored how to control biofilm formation with natural compounds that disrupt bacterial cell-cell

communication. In 2008, Ren was awarded a NSF grant to focus on using surface engineering to obtain biofilms in different patterns. By controlling the morphology of cell clusters, Ren could then focus on understanding the interactions that occur between cell clusters and the connection between biofilm morphology, gene functions, and horizontal gene transfer. “To address this challenge, it is critical to understand the mechanism of biofilm formation and associated drug resistance,” Ren says. Ren’s research for the CAREER grant will focus on understanding the effects of biofilm structure and interactions among cell clusters on horizontal gene transfer, which plays a critical role in multidrug resistance development. In addition to fundamental understanding of biofilm formation and horizontal gene transfer, the findings from this study will also improve the general knowledge of bacterial physiology and help develop more effective methods to control bacterial biofilm formation and drug resistance. “It is a great pleasure to see Dacheng receive one of the highest honors awarded to a young faculty member by the U.S. National Science Foundation,” says Radhakrishna Sureshkumar, chair of the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering. “It is my anticipation that he will build on his successes to emerge as an internationally-recognized leader in microbial engineering and biotechnology.”

malware: www.lcs.syr.edu

defenders vs. attackers Yin likens these discrete defense mechanisms to going through airport security; where online protection includes screening someone as they go through the security check points and offline analysis is doing background checks on someone who has been identified as a potential threat and has been detained.

“The endless arms race between malware defenders and attackers resembles the fight between the cat and the mouse in the famous Tom and Jerry cartoon series,” says Heng Yin, assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS). “Sadly enough, malware defenders, just like Tom, often lose the game.” In the study of malware protection, the primary objective is to defeat the malware and protect the operating system from attack. Yin was awarded a National Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) grant to fulfill this objective. Yin plans to approach this problem from two different angles: online protection and offline analysis. The online protection entails exploring ways to prevent malware from impacting a system or developing defenses that more accurately detect malicious code. The offline analysis is where exploration of how the malware affects a system is conducted.

“I feel so honored to receive this award on my very first attempt. I am so passionate about this work and will make my best effort to fulfill my proposed research and education plan,” says Yin. This is Yin’s second NSF award since completing a Ph.D. in 2009. “Professor Yin is an extraordinarily talented researcher whose work is characterized by systemic analyses at multiple levels; he and other EECS faculty have developed a topranking reputation for cybersecurity research and education at Syracuse University,” says Chilukuri Mohan, professor and EECS chair.

“i am so passionate about this work and will make my best effort to fulfill my proposed research and education plan.” heng yin

career

Heng Yin was awarded a CAREER grant to study ways to protect operating systems from malware attacks.

Yin’s research proposes beginning with offline malware analysis. By using a new sandbox technique that can isolate a malicious code module using virtual techniques, Yin can analyze the binary code created by the malware and work to understand the impact it has on a system. Ultimately, the goal is to extract knowledge about how the malware works to develop better defenses in the online environment. In addition to exploring ways to defend operating systems against malware, Yin is committed to using his research to improve the opportunities for students at LCS. He hopes to engage both undergraduate and graduate students in his research, as well as introduce a course in virtualization for computer science students.

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

convocation On May 14th, 2011, undergraduate and graduate students along with their friends and family attended the Convocation ceremony for the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science.

The undergraduate students were addressed by Salman Amin ‘81, the Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for PepsiCo International

“The underlying theme of virtually every course at this college is that change is happening at a relentless pace. Preparing for what may today seem utterly unimaginable is your real challenge. To prosper in this new period, you will need imagination, an ability to combine the practical with the fantastic, an undying optimism and self belief that you can and will succeed, no matter what challenges you encounter.”

Scan with your Smartphone to view the entire 2011 Undergraduate Convocation Ceremony video, or visit http://bit.ly/opa0aW.

The graduate students were addressed by Ehtisham Siddiqui G’76 Ph.D’79, Vice President and General Manager for Commercial Avionics at BAE Systems. “Be passionate about what you are doing. Passion is quite infectious and you can have a positive effect on the whole team and the outcome of the project. It also enables you to give a 110% of yourself without stressing yourself out.”

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www.lcs.syr.edu

Plugging the Leaks in New York City’s Water Supply

The Delaware Aqueduct takes water from four Upstate New York reservoirs and transports it to a pumping station near Yonkers, supplying about one-half of New York City’s 1.3-billion-gallon daily water requirements. Roughly 85 miles long, the aqueduct is the world’s longest continuous underground tunnel. It was completed in the early 1940s and is quite a feat of engineering.

Unfortunately, the aqueduct leaks in two places, causing the loss of millions of gallons of water each day. For the past four years, civil engineering professor Raymond Letterman has been working to determine how to best plug the leaks in the highly pressurized tunnel. The leaks are occurring in places where the tunnel is surrounded by fractured rock. For phase one of the project, Letterman worked with a consortium of engineering firms to figure out a way to reduce the aggressiveness, or corrosiveness, of the water. “Less aggressive means a reduced tendency to dissolve the cement matrix in the tunnel’s concrete liner,” Letterman explains. Letterman began examining the behavior of the water if it was supersaturated with calcium carbonate, the same chemical that forms lime deposits in plumbing. “It’s a bit of an off-thewall alternative, but when calcium carbonate passes through he very fine cracks in the concrete liner, it tends to form scale and reduce the flow rate through the cracks,” he says. Letterman set up laboratory experiments to analyze different chemical mixtures that could be used to supersaturate the water with calcium carbonate. He and a team of students developed a bench-top device to constantly make supersaturated solution and pump it through a simulated crack in concrete. The team then followed the behavior of that crack over time to watch how it responded. Eventually, scale formed to restrict the water flow through the crack. The team also simulated different conditions by adding different amounts and types of chemicals and measured the impact. “Phase one was more of a proof-of-concept type of approach,” Letterman says.

raymond letterman

Following a recommendation from New York City’s technical review committee, of which Letterman is a member, phase two of the research began in December 2010. The city was interested in seeing if this method could be used with a more subtle application of chemicals. “They want to know the lowest amount of chemicals that could still make this method work,” Letterman says. “This method forms particles of calcium carbonate in the water to help fill in the cracks. By reducing the amount of chemicals, fewer of those particles form. Some people think the lower dosages will still form enough scale in the cracks to make this method successful. Others are not so sure, and we’re trying to resolve that question.” In June 2011, the New York City Department of Environmental Protection announced it will build on Letterman’s research by attempting large-scale duplication of the lab experiments. Beginning in 2012, the city will build temporary structures next to Rondout Reservoir in Ulster County designed to test the addition of lime in more realistic aqueduct conditions. The study will last for one year. Letterman says the project has been worthwhile, for both himself and his team of student researchers. “It’s an exciting project because it involves this huge infrastructure. There’s been a lot of interest from students in all departments who want to help,” he says. Over the course of the project, Letterman has worked with four chemical engineering undergraduates, three environmental engineering undergraduates, two civil engineering undergraduates, and four graduate students. Letterman says, “It’s been very interesting research, and the students who have worked on this have gotten a lot out of it. Many have moved onto other real-world water problems, so it’s been good experience.”

category?

Eric Garglulo–Civil Engineering Undergraduate Student

“It’s been very interesting research, and the students who have worked on this have gotten a lot out of it. Many have moved on to other real-world water problems, so it’s been good experience.”

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Mother

Nature

Threw Us a

Curve

As a 10-year-old boy he dreamed of a possible career in baseball. And, though now graying a bit at the temples, to look at the trim, muscular 55-year-old, one might think he had realized that ambition and was now head coach of a pennant-pursuing Major League Baseball team. Or perhaps that fitness stems from thousands of Army push-ups and sit-ups, and hundreds upon hundred of miles run in daily physical training. by tommy g. clarkson

John McMahon, a 1977 graduate in biomedical engineering from the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science, is an Army brigadier general, the commander of the 700,000-square-mile Northwestern Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Among his multi-faceted charge is oversight of more than $3.7 billion in civil works, environmental restoration, and military construction, as well as the management of 27 dams, 6,627 miles of shoreline, 247 miles of navigable river, and six hydropower projects that have the capacity to produce 2.5 million kilowatts per day.

Most recently, his primary focus has been on the daunting challenge nature has thrown his wayâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;record levels of flooding in the Missouri Valley basin. Unanticipated heavy rainfall, coupled with unprecedented melting of mountain snowpack, has the United Stateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s longest river swollen beyond its banksâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and that runs through the heart of his area of responsibility. After having recently returned from inspection of flood stressed levees and barely minutes before yet another meeting with senior emergency management officials and community leaders, he paused to share his thoughts on the situation.

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“Appropriate to our present challenge, the corps is our nation’s lead flood risk reduction agency, a major producer of hydroelectric power, a key partner in maintaining our coastal navigation channels and harbors, as well as providing recreational opportunities throughout the U.S.”

john mcmahon

Such has been the reputation preceding him from numerous arduous assignments successfully completed, such as being director of engineering for U.S. forces in Afghanistan and equally challenging chores elsewhere around the world— assignments in combat zones excluded, with wife Catherine and their four children by his side. Asked his thoughts on the work of the U.S Army Corps of Engineers, he reflected a moment, smiled, and replied, “Many have no idea of the breadth of the corps’ past or the diversity of its present responsibilities. It was integral in the building of our nation’s original infrastructure—from one of its first assignments in 1802 to found and operate the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, through its construction of coastal fortifications, lighthouses, jetties, and piers, as well as the surveying of roads and canals, to say nothing of its exploration and mapping of the Western frontier, as well as construction of buildings and monuments in our nation’s capital.

ago, the corps became the leading environmental restoration agency.” That having been said, he was asked where he hoped the corps would be 50 years from now. He took a moment to reflecting and responded, “I would hope that the corps remains a vigilant, active force in the maintenance, rebuilding, and renewing of America’s vast and vital infrastructure helping our country into a new period of growth and prosperity.” Before pressing challenges called for his attentions elsewhere, perhaps lingering images of “the boys of summer” and wooden bleachers by dusty diamonds from his youth may have spawned an unconscious metaphoric thought as he grinned and said, “This spring Mother Nature is playing hardball with us and threw us a curve. But, rest assured, our game won’t be called on a count of rain!”

lcs news

With professional focus and keen organizational skills readily apparent, McMahan easily discussed the ramifications of present dam spillway flow rates, river height levels versus the levee height, and the extended weather forecasts. Underscoring certain key points, his generally casual demeanor was occasionally punctuated by animated gestures for emphasis. The depth of his care and concern was obvious.

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

Green Roof

Runoff Leads to

36 A few studies have examined the effectiveness of “green roofs” in capturing rainwater quantity in addressing the problem of storm water runoffs; George Segré’s research is one of the first to consider water quality. The senior civil engineering major won 3rd prize for his paper which he presented at the New York Water Environment Association’s (NYWEA) Annual Conference 2011, which took place in February in New York City. NYWEA is a non-profit educational organization that promotes managing clean water quality through science, education and training.

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His research also looks into reusing water for cooling systems and indoor plumbing needs. “There haven’t been a lot of long-term studies of green roofs or water quality of green roofs,” he says, which makes his research difficult because there are no precedents to follow. “Part of sustainability is managing resources, and being able to manage water thoughtfully is important,” Segré says.

George Segré

Segré started his research on green roofs in May 2010 in collaboration with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE). A green roof on the top of a building is like a garden with soil and plants. By retaining rainwater and releasing the water back into the atmosphere through evaporation or transpiration green roofs reduce the urban heat island effect and storm water runoff. Each week, he visits the SyracuseCoE building to obtain samples of the rainwater entering and leaving the green roof, and measures the levels of chemical constituents such as pH, dissolved organic carbon, nitrogen, ammonia, phosphorus, mercury, and trace metals in water samples. Segré found that these chemicals are more concentrated in urban environments than rural areas. He found that water quality collected from the green roofs is seasonal, because the water quality is better when there is more rain. The more rain there is, the more the water contaminants become diluted. In colder temperatures, the water quality changes when plants go dormant. Therefore it is important that his research is conducted over the long-term in order to record the seasonal variation in the chemistry of roof drainage, he says.

Segre’s research advisor, Charles Driscoll, also notes the importance of this research. “Onondaga County has embarked on a very ambitious campaign to “Save the Rain” using green water technologies to address the problem of storm water runoff and the impacts on Onondaga Creek and Onondaga Lake. George’s research will go a long way in informing us whether or not green water technologies will be adequate to solve this problem,” says Driscoll. Segre’s research looks to wrap up this summer, but the research team hopes to continue to study the function of green roofs and other green water technologies over the long-term. This project is a collaboration between the L.C. Smith Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the SyracuseCoE. University Professor Charles Driscoll and LCS laboratory manager Mario Montesdeoca (supervise the research. Two PhD students, Aimee Clinkhammer and Dimitar Todorov, along with Utica College are also involved.

“Part of sustainability is managing resources, and being able to manage water thoughtfully is important.” george segré

l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

alumni notes 1960s Thomas L. Magnanti ’67 is the president of Singapore University of Technology and Design. Prior to taking the position in Singapore, Magnanti was the dean of engineering at MIT. He is also one of 14 Institute Professors in electrical engineering. Theodore J. Sheskin G’65 retired in June 2009 from Cleveland State University after serving 35 years on the faculty. He is now a professor emeritus of industrial engineering and teaches statistics. Sheskin also wrote Markov Chains and Decision Processes for Engineers and Managers, which was released in November 2010.

1970s Frank Slazer ’80, G’81 was named head of the Space Systems Division for the Aerospace Industries Association. He has nearly 30 years of experience on space policy issues and programs through working with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, United Launch Alliance, and The Boeing Company. Slazer also serves as president of the American Astronautical Society.

1980s

Richard E. Church, Jr. ‘84, principal engineer at MKS Instruments has been living and working in Rochester, NY since graduation. He and his wife Elizabeth Rogers have two children, Mary Helen and John Rogers. The family is active in church, scouting, cycling, sailing, and skiing. A member of the ski patrol, Church skis with his family at Swain with occasional trips to Vermont. William Giovino ’84 of Long Island, NY, is founder and president of Microcontroller.com in Boston, MA. Microcontroller.com has been online since 1996. Robin Schwartz ’85 is using her SU engineering experience to motivate women and minorities and help them explore a future in engineering. Every summer, she holds a workshop called “Engineering Your Future” at Manhattan College in Bronx, NY. She encourages students to look long-term at how math and engineering can build useful life skills. Schwartz earned an MBA at NYU, has worked for BSEE and is the mother of two sons.

Eddy Trink ‘84 is a technical advisor in the core wireless network engineering group at Nortel Networks with expertise in CDMA and 1xRTT packet data. He has been working in wireless (AMPS, TDMA, CDMA, GSM) for more than 23 years. His previous roles have included Design, MTX Support, Systems Engineering, and Product Management. Trink also attends high school college fairs in Dallas and Fort Worth to recruit students for SU. David Wenthen ’85 G ‘05 relocated to Troy, MI where he is senior engineer research and technology ERT for driveline and chassis control systems with Magna Powertrain.

1990s Carol M. Azar G’92 PhD ’96 is associate professor of electrical engineering at the Lebanese University, as well as adjunct professor at the Lebanese American University. Azar also serves as president of the SU’s International Alumni Club of Lebanon. Inaugurated in December 2009, the chapter has 73 members residing in Lebanon and additional members temporarily residing in the Emirates. Yunghsiang Sam Han PhD ’93 has been selected as an IEEE Fellow. He was awarded this most prestigious honor for his contributions to decoding techniques. A few years ago, Han spent time at CASE as a SUPRIA fellow and did significant work that was instrumental to getting his national recognition. Sunwoo Lee G’92 is manager of the intellectual property practice group for Roetzel & Andress Law Firm in Washington, D.C. Anissa Stern ’91 has recently been promoted to principal systems engineer at BAE Systems. She works on a variety of programs, using the company motto “We Protect Those who Protect Us.” She recently graduated from a leadership class with the Anti-Defamation League.

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2000s

Dylan Desimone ‘09 has accepted a position with Robson Woese Inc. as project manager. He will be responsible for project management and mechanical engineering of renovations to critical data centers for various clients across New England. Andrew Forbes ’06 is working for D.S. Thaler & Associates Inc., a land development consulting firm in Baltimore, MD. He recently received the 2010 Young Engineer of The Year award from the Maryland Society of Professional Engineering (MDSPE). Forbes also serves on the Board of Directors for MDSPE. Ariba Jahan ’08 is a medical student at Upstate Medical University. She was awarded the American Association of Thoracic Surgery Scholarship and will conduct summer research at Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. After medical school, Jahan wants to pursue postgraduate training in surgery, with a specialization in either surgical oncology or orthopedic surgery.

Tagbo Herman Roland Niepa ‘09 recently won $ 60,000 along with his teammates, Luis Romo ‘10 and two other SU industrial design students at the New York State Business Plan Competition in Albany, NY, hosted by SEFCU. Niepa joined his teammate, Romo at the Syracuse Tech Garden where they run the medical device company, Helios Innovative Technologies. Niepa is a PhD candidate in L.C. Smith’s chemical engineering program. Luis Fernando Romo ‘10, recently won $ 60,000 along with his teammates, Tagbo Herman Roland Niepa ‘09, and two other SU industrial design students, at the New York State Business Plan Competition in Albany, NY, hosted by SEFCU. Romo founded Helios Innovative Technologies, a medical device company focused on building and designing sterilization systems for use in hospitals using UVC technology. He is currently pursuing a biomedical engineering master’s degree and serves on the SU Student Philanthropy Council. Let us know about your accomplishments! Please send your alumni news and notes to engineer@syr.edu.

Hervens Jeannis ’09, winner of the 2009 LSAMP Bridge to the Doctorate Fellowship at University of Maryland Baltimore County recently received a master’s degree in Systems Engineering. During his time at SU and UMBC, Jeannis worked with NSBE (National Society of Black Engineers) high school students and was honored by the UMBC chapter for helping NSBE PCI (Pre College Initiative) throughout the year. He is currently interning at the University of Pittsburgh working on an instrumented glove designed for stroke and TBI patient recovery from home.

alumni notes

Jennifer Flanagan Dandrea ’05 earned a master’s degree in engineering from Washington State University. She is a flight test engineer on the Boeing 787.

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l.c. smith college of engineering and computer science

summer 2011

The Foundations

of Engineering

in Action Engineering in Action not only pertains to our students and faculty but to our donors as well. Frankly, it is not a new concept. In fact, one could argue this is the goal of every donor to the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science. I am always amazed at how strategic those alumni, parents, and friends with whom I work on gifts to the college are and how much thought they have put into their decisions. Their goals are not only as broad as making the L.C. Smith College as strong as it can be, but they are also as specific as making certain a singular societal issue is addressed. 40

There are many examples of philanthropy facilitating Engineering in Action. It can be seen in the establishment of endowed faculty positions that enable us to attract the best and brightest faculty members who will conduct groundbreaking research and work with students to give them the skills they need to be problem-solvers. Then there is the underwriting of an internship program abroad that not only provides students with the practical experience that will make them attractive to employers, but also introduces them to new cultures and people that will allow them to be comfortable in the global economy. There is also the Deanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fund for Engineering that allows Dean Steinberg to give students and faculty the opportunities to pursue initiatives that would otherwise not be available to them. All of these acts of generosity are critical to the idea of Engineering in Action.

FPO We at the L.C. Smith College continue to be humbled and grateful to our many alumni, parents, and friends who support our mission. Without each and every one of you, we would not be able to do the work we do and produce engineers and computer scientists who impact our world each and every day.

Steve Savage Assistant Dean for College Advancement

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spotlight

invention &

creativity competition In the spring of 2011, the L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science (LCS) launched and hosted the first annual Invention and Creativity Competition The competition, sponsored by Corning Incorporated, focused on developing technologies to create sustainable living solutions. Photo caption to go here

Students were able to participate as individuals or as teams comprising undergraduate, graduate or post-doctoral students. Participating students received guidance from local venture capitalists and technology entrepreneurs who helped prepare them for their project presentations. A total of 20 student teams presented their ideas on April 8 to alumni, students, faculty and friends of the college. Four prizes of $300 each were awarded:

Development of a Simplified Small Scale Hot Water Extraction System Christopher D. Wood

Most creative Creation of Sterile Saline in Rural Ghana Francesca Coppola, Jenna Priola, Rachael Ogundiran, Patricia Wardwell and Catherine Wilcox

Greatest potential impact on sustainability Energy Harvesting Door/ Self- Sustaining Automatic Door John Nieliwodski, Jeffery Rarick, Andy Legere, Sean Mitchel, and Jonathan Monaco

Best presentation Storm Shapes: Collecting rain and stormwater for recycling Kristin Waller, Helena Dickerson, Samuel Kenney, Megan Daley and Vanessa Ho LCS plans to make this an annual competition, and through its continuation, aims to encourage the entrepreneurial pursuit of innovative and creative technologies of engineering and computer science students.

spotlight

Project â&#x20AC;&#x153;most likely to succeedâ&#x20AC;?

NON-PROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE

Syracuse University L.C. Smith College of Engineering and Computer Science Syracuse, NY 13244-1240

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PAID

SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

visit us on facebook Data Obtained from Mohawk Papers Environmental Impact Calculator http://www.mohawkpapers.com/environment Primary values were derived from information publicly available at: http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/1687_figures.pdf and http://www.epa.gov/stateply/resources/index.html

21,499 lbs

Net greenhouse gases prevented.

232

Trees preserved for the future.

FPO 98,688

Gallons wastewater flow saved.

164,560,000 BTUs energy not consumed.

671 lbs

Water-borne waste not created.

10,919

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-petroleum inks. Our printer is FSC certified, and the first printer in the northeast to be verified to the national standard of the SGP Partnership. Steps like this can preserve more than 200 trees, save nearly 10,000 gallons of wastewater, eliminate nearly 11,000 pounds of solid waste and prevent the emission of more than 21,000 pounds of greenhouse gases. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a big difference, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the idea.