Capstone Engineer - Spring 2018

Engineer

CAPSTONE

Spring 2018

YOUR FUTURE...

NOW Dramatic growth.

Outstanding physical and financial resources.

Rich and varied graduate programs in STEM fields.

The Graduate School at The University of Alabama offers you the key to unlock a wealth of academic and professional opportunities.

Contact us at 1-877-UAGRADS (1-877-824-7237), or gradschool@ua.edu.

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GRADUATE.UA.EDU

Features 24 Organization Brings Community, Support to Young Engineers

Student group supports members through

core values, professional development

28 Student Competition Teams Put Knowledge to Practice

Engineering groups learn from successes and failures 34 Engineering Students Give Back

Two humanitarian efforts have major impact

Departments 4 Dean’s Message 5 Surveying the College

Noteworthy news and research from UA Engineering

16 Currents

Events from around the College

38 Alumni Dynamics

Items of interest to Capstone engineers and computer scientists

48 Bits and Bytes

The College from outside

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Dean’s Message Dear Alumni and Friends, Each year the College of Engineering adapts to address the changing needs of tomorrow.

Through ongoing innovation and excellence, the students, alumni, faculty and staff of the COE rise to the occasion.

Improving research and graduate degrees is something University of Alabama president Dr. Stuart Bell is passionate about, and something the College is addressing by hiring more faculty and growing the graduate student population.

The College is working closely with the UA Graduate School to recruit the best and brightest while also retaining exceptional undergraduates as the University’s focus shifts toward growing our graduate programs. This fall our graduate enrollment grew by 52, and we intend to see that number rise in the coming years.

Even with this new mission, our undergraduate program has not fallen to the wayside.

Undergraduate enrollment went up by 188, and the quality of the freshman class remains strong with our newest students having an average ACT score of 30 and an average high school GPA of 3.96.

This edition of the Capstone Engineer highlights the incredible accomplishments just some of our undergraduate students have made through humanitarian efforts, putting knowledge to practice through student competition teams and the importance of getting the most out of the education provided at UA. Student organizations like the UA Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers offer multiple opportunities at the Capstone. NSBE is a place for students to gather for resources, networking and guidance from a group of their peers. Like many other groups on campus, NSBE is a close-knit community of students working to prepare themselves for life after college. The UA chapter has gone beyond their typical duties last summer by hosting a regional conference on campus.

Other students made news last year with their humanitarian efforts. Valerie Levine, a chemical engineering student, started the Alabama Prosthetic Project and uses 3D printers to make prosthetic hands for children. Also last year, a senior design team of four Alabama Astrobotics members worked to give a RISE Center student mobility by modifying a toy ride-on car to accommodate his shortened limbs. With full course loads and multiple extracurricular activities, these students gave their time to enriching others’ lives.

The College has several student competition teams, like Alabama Astrobotics, that have dedicated their time outside the classroom to preparing for competition. Each team has learned to use their education in practice. Through successes and failures, these students have learned valuable lessons and continue to try again and again to do their best not only in competition but also for each other.

We are confident that our students are prepared to take on innovation for tomorrow, and we cannot wait to see what our students come up with next.

Dr. Charles L. Karr Dean

Capstone Engineering Society 205-348-2452 R. Anthony McLain, Chair, Board of Directors • Charles L. Karr, Ph.D., Dean, College of Engineering • Nancy Holmes, Manager, Capstone Engineering Society and Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement • Alana Norris, Editor • Adam Jones and Alana Norris, Writers • Issue No. 55 • Capstone Engineer is published in the spring and fall by the Capstone Engineering Society. • Doug Shinholster, Designer • Alana Norris, Proofreader • Jeff Hanson, Bryan Hester, Zach Riggins, Matthew Wood, Photography • Address correspondence to the editor: The University of Alabama, Capstone Engineering Society, College of Engineering, Box 870200, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200

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• Visit the College of Engineering website at eng.ua.edu. • The University of Alabama is an equal-opportunity educational institution/employer. • MC9153

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Surveying the College Noteworthy news and research from UA Engineering

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Surveying the College

Left: Mechanical engineering professors Dr. Ajay Agrawal, foreground, and Dr. Joshua Bittle work with a machine built to study fuels in advanced combustion engines. Top right: Laura Rubisch works on a program that warps the image that comes out of a projector in order to project onto multiple 3D surfaces. Bottom right: More than 100 donated shoe boxes were used to create the high-heeled shoe.

UA Researches Fuels to Improve Engines, Cut Emissions In an effort to improve combustion engines while reducing harmful emissions, engineering researchers at The University of Alabama are testing how blended fuels can work with advanced engines.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy, the research team of Drs. Ajay K. Agrawal and Joshua A. Bittle of UA’s mechanical engineering department will experiment with different blends of fossil and biomass fuels in a test chamber that mimics an advanced compression ignition, or ACI, engine. They are looking for a range of optimal fuel blends that would allow automobiles to use less fossil fuel while producing fewer harmful emissions.

UA was one of eight universities selected to participate in the CoOptimization of Fuels and Engines, or Co-Optima, initiative. Two offices in the Energy Department — the Bioenergy Technologies Office and the Vehicle Technologies Office — are collaborating to maximize energy savings and on-road vehicle performance while reducing transportationrelated petroleum consumption and harmful emissions.

ACI engines are the next generation of combustion engines that will deliver both high efficiencies and low emissions. Agrawal, the Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair in mechanical engineering, and Bittle, an assistant professor, along with their students are examining the combustion properties and performance of biofuels and blends using 6

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advanced diagnostic techniques to create a model that will help optimize the use of these fuels in ACI engines.

To help with the project, the two professors are using a machine they developed to experiment quickly with different fuel blends while monitoring the process with advanced optical techniques integrated with multiple high-speed camera systems. The Constant Pressure Flow Vessel, or flow rig, is a chamber where air is supplied at the same temperature and pressure as an engine would have just before fuel injection. Cameras record the event as the fuel is injected, ignites and combusts. The air flow cleans the flow rig which is ready again for the experiment at a rate of five fuel injections per minute.

Technology Meets Fashion in UA Collaboration An unlikely collaboration between two University of Alabama colleges has resulted in an innovative, yet fashionable, way of displaying student work.

The SHOE PRO-JECT started with one goal – expanding the College of Engineering 3D Projection Lab’s scope by providing its students with a remarkable “screen” on which they could showcase their departments’ skills, said Genna Jones, events coordinator for the College of Human Environmental Sciences.

Brian Taylor, instructor in CHES’s department of clothing, textiles and

Surveying the College

Top left: Michael Rose and Maggie Saylor review one piece of the 3D image of the sword hilt before sending it to the 3D printer.

Bottom left: Metallurgical and materials engineering students, starting second from left, Hannah Heftley, Maggie Saylor and Michael Rose cast the sword hilt in the engineering foundry. Right: Using three-dimensional imagery developed through a technique called photogrammetry, the students made a 3D image of the hilt.

interior design, suggested building a giant shoe as a 3D projection screen, while Jones had the idea to build the entire shoe out of shoe boxes.

Laura Rubisch, a student from Weaverville, North Carolina, who is double majoring in architectural and civil engineering, has been “mapping” the footage that displayed on the 3D “shoe” screen.

Projection mapping uses a program that warps the image that comes from a projector in order to display onto multiple 3D surfaces. The engineering department had used the software on a trial basis, but the goal is to project onto buildings in order to work on blueprint plans or do presentations for special events.

UA Engineering Students Re-create History A few University of Alabama engineering majors re-created a bit of history as part of their senior project.

Working with UA’s Office of Archaeological Research and with the permission of Alabama Power Company, the students — Michael Rose, of Kennesaw, Georgia; Danny Massie, of Belleville, Illinois; Hanna Hefley, of Memphis, Tennessee; and Maggie Saylor, of Millsboro, Delaware; all metallurgical and materials engineering majors in Dr. Subhadra Gupta’s class — spent their senior year researching and developing a plan to create a replica of an 18th century British Hanger rapier.

Using three-dimensional imagery developed through a technique called photogrammetry, the students made a 3D image of the hilt.

Working with OAR’s Jeremiah Stager, Hefley, was responsible for creating and printing the 3D models that were used to create the cast.

The next step was creating rubber molds in preparation for the bronze casting. Once the hilt was cast, Massie worked with blacksmith Forrest Millsap in forging the blade.

The students learned about metal working, casting and modeling, and their sword hilt won first place in the American Foundry Society’s student casting competition in Birmingham in April 2017.

Now that the sword has been handed over to UA’s Office of Archaeological Research and UA Museums, it will initially be displayed at the Alabama Museum of Natural History and then Alabama Power Company. It will then be available for study and presentations.

UA’s Electric Vehicle Focus Part of National Transportation Collaboration The University of Alabama is one of four universities selected by the National Science Foundation to team together with government agencies and private companies to tackle challenges facing technological advances in automobiles.

UA joins the NSF Industry/University Cooperative Research Center,

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Surveying the College

Three UA engineering professors lead efforts to realize sustainable electrified vehicles under a project through the National Science Foundation. The team includes, from left, Dr. Hwan-Sik Yoon, Dr. Yang-Ki Hong and Dr. Tim Haskew.

or IUCRC, for Efficient Vehicles and Sustainable Transportation Systems, established to support efforts by the automotive and ground transportation industries to meet demanding new federal regulations governing vehicle fuel economy and emissions, as well as society’s expectations for improved sustainability.

As part of that mission, researchers at the University will focus on electric vehicles, working to help them become more efficient, cheaper and rely on more sustainable materials, said Dr. Yang-Ki Hong, principal investigator on the project and the E. A. “Larry” Drummond Endowed Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

NSF IUCRC’s are designed to encourage industry to partner with university researchers through paid memberships that fund research work and drive ideas for proposals.

The group is working together to identify important problems related to efficiency and sustainability, and they are formulating research projects that develop innovative solutions to these problems.

Along with Hong, co-principal investigators are Dr. Tim Haskew, professor and head of the department of electrical and computer engineering, and Dr. Hwan-Sik Yoon, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. The team also includes professors and students from across engineering and computer science as well as chemistry and physics.

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Back Receives UA Engineering’s Hackney Leadership Award The University of Alabama College of Engineering’s Dr. W. Edward Back, professor and chair of the department of civil, construction and environmental engineering, was the 2017 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership award recipient.

The T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the constant guidance and leadership necessary to make the College of Dr. W. Edward Back Engineering exceptional.

Back has extensive research experience in the field of construction engineering with particular emphasis in the areas of project execution planning, construction methods, cost and schedule control as well as materials management.

He has completed approximately $5 million in funded research for a variety of private sector clients as well as state and federal government agencies. His research has generated recommendations for improving the project planning and execution process for large, multi-

Surveying the College organizational projects classified as industrial, commercial, infrastructure or institutional.

Back is particularly active with the Construction Industry Institute.

He joined the University in 2007 as an associate professor, teaching advanced classes in project execution and delivery, probabilistic project controls, cost and schedule forecasting and predictive modeling, and optimization of construction operations and engineering processes. He was named a full professor in 2012.

Before being named department head in fall 2014, Back was the director of the Construction Engineering Program, and he serves as director of the UA Center for Sustainable Infrastructure.

While at UA, he was honored in 2016 with the Outstanding Commitment to Teaching Award by the UA National Alumni Association, the University’s highest honor for excellence in teaching.

Back was named the 2012, 2014 and 2015 recipient of the Donald H. McLean Civil Engineering Professor of the Year award at UA. The Hackney award was created as a tribute to T. Morris Hackney and was made possible by the contributions from John H. Josey and his son, Howard Josey.

Fund and the NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship.

He also was selected for scholarships from the Alabama Road Builders Association and the Alabama Concrete Industries Foundation.

A student in the Honors College, Dunn maintained a perfect grade point average while earning membership in the Alpha Lambda Delta, Phi Eta Sigma and Mortar Board honor societies.

As a Hollings Scholar, he completed a research internship for the National Weather Service in Louisville, Kentucky. He was also a process engineering intern for the NASA Launch Services Program in the Flight Projects Office at Kennedy Space Center.

On campus, he worked for the University Transportation Center for Alabama and was a research assistant in civil engineering. He was also construction captain of the College’s concrete canoe team.

Dunn served as an ambassador for the Honors College, a student leader for Alabama Action and as retreat co-director for St. Francis Catholic Student Center.

The CES began the Outstanding Senior Award in 1986 to honor an exceptional student who deserves distinction among his or her peers. An outstanding student is selected from the 11 academic programs in the College, and the overall winner is determined by a selection committee after assessing each student’s academic performance, professional and technical activities, College leadership, external leadership and other activities.

UA, Airbus Partner to Enhance Engineering Education, Research

Michael R. Dunn received the 2017 Capstone Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award from Dean Charles Karr.

UA Engineering Alumni Honor Outstanding Senior Michael R. Dunn, who graduated in May 2017, was selected for the 2017 Capstone Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award.

Along with the award, Dunn was given a $500 stipend to honor his achievements. A graduate of Merritt Island High School in Merritt Island, Florida, Dunn graduated in 2017 from UA with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering.

During his time at the University, Dunn received several national scholarships including an award from the NASA College Scholarship

The University of Alabama and Airbus will partner in an effort to enhance engineering education and research, according to an agreement signed between representatives from the two organizations.

Airbus, with headquarters in Toulouse, France, and a manufacturing facility in Mobile, will assist UA in purchasing equipment in the areas of additive manufacturing and aerodynamic velocity measurements as well as a variety of student engagement activities.

Dr. Carl A. Pinkert, former UA vice president for research and economic development, signed the agreement at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Airbus Global University Partner Programme, or AGUPP, in Toulouse in April 2017.

Students in the UA chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, or AIAA, will have the opportunity to visit Airbus’ facility in Mobile and network with AIAA members from Airbus and supporting companies. Airbus personnel from Mobile will also visit Tuscaloosa as part of the agreement.

The agreement also provides for an Airbus Seminar series in the College of Engineering that will bring speakers, possibly Airbus officials, to campus to talk to students and faculty about research and development from the aerospace industry.

Researchers to Build Unique Radar to Study Glaciers, Rising Sea Level It is uncertain how much glaciers and ice sheets will influence rising seas because scientists are not quite sure how they behave, contributing to wide predictions of future sea levels.

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Surveying the College

Research assistants studying electrical and computer engineering working in Dr. Stephen Yan’s lab help with research on antenna technology.

They include, from left, graduate assistant Linfeng Li along with undergraduate assistants Cody Colangelo, Joshua Nunn and Ryan Haymon.

To provide clarification, an international team of researchers is studying the North East Greenland Ice Stream, and engineering researchers at The University of Alabama are developing a radar that should provide an accurate image of what occurs at the base of the ice.

The radar will be the first of its kind, advancing the use of a type of radar known as ultra-wide band surface-based radar for scanning the interior of ice.

The project is being funded through a nearly $1 million grant from a Denmark-based foundation, Villum Fonden, which is funding the larger project led by Professor Dorthe Dahl-Jensen at the University of Copenhagen.

This is the first project for the newly established UA Remote Sensing Center, which plans to develop technologies that enable high-resolution measurements of soil moisture, snow and ice. Dr. Prasad Gogineni, the Cudworth Professor of Engineering at UA, an internationally recognized expert in the field of remote sensing, leads the center.

At the outset of the project, Gogineni is joined by Dr. Charles O’Neill, assistant professor of aerospace engineering and mechanics, and Dr. Stephen J. Yan, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.

Like a slow-moving river, the North East Greenland Ice Stream carries water into the ocean by dumping icebergs and melting on its edges. Its speed has been increasing, but changes in the ice stream are not well understood, making it difficult to predict through modeling.

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This project aims to understand how the structure of the ice crystals and the interaction within the ice, particularly at the bottom, has influenced flow over time. To help with that, researchers need a detailed image of the ice stream that will come from the radar built by the UA engineers. The radar will be used to expand knowledge from a site where a core sample will be removed.

The proposed ultra-wideband radar operates over a wide bandwidth in the Very High Frequency and Ultra High Frequency bands to penetrate deep into ice, as opposed to commercial radios or satellites that use microwave frequencies with large antennas to transmit over longer distances.

The UA-developed radar will operate at a higher power and have a bigger antenna than similar radars for ice sounding. Yan and his students are working to build the antenna and radar technology, while O’Neill and his students are working on the sled and mechanical design of the radar that must operate in a frigid environment while traveling over a rough surface.

UA Students Build Lightweight, Strong Hood for Chevy Camaro Tasked with reducing the weight of a Chevrolet Camaro transforming into a hybrid electric vehicle, engineering students at The University of

Surveying the College

University of Alabama students successfully fabricated a lighter hood made of a mixture of graphene and carbon fiber. Members of the team include, clockwise from bottom left, Megan Hathcock, Nick Davies, Jacob Horton, Ryan Scalf, Zach Reasoner and Assunta De Pau.

Alabama successfully fabricated a lighter hood, proving a cutting-edge material can work on a consumer car.

The new hood is made of a mixture of graphene and carbon fiber, while the original hood is aluminum, as are nearly all exterior parts on consumer passenger vehicles. Six students designed and tested the hood as a senior project.

After months of computer modeling and material tests, the engineering seniors settled on a carbon fiber hood with less than one percent of graphene. They made resin of the material that they vacuum infused into a mold of the hood, later drilling and finishing the hood to fit onto the Camaro.

It is the first hood with graphene fused into the material, likely giving it some flexibility lacking in a hood made of only carbon fiber. Graphene is an atomically thin layer of the mineral graphite that is stronger and lighter than any metal or carbon-based material.

They needed to test it to be sure the hinges would stay intact and that the hood would not shatter or penetrate the windshield during a crash, which is a federal auto safety standard.

Using a testing apparatus they constructed, the students mimicked a 30-mph head-on collision with weights. The hood buckled under the force without splitting, and, in fact, returned to its original form after crash, demonstrating flexibility.

The new hood weighs 11.1 pounds, less than the 22.1 pounds of the original hood, meeting the goal to cut the weight of the hood in half.

This is a crucial adjustment as a larger team of students work to turn the Camaro into a plug-in hybrid as part of a national contest called EcoCAR 3.

The hood will be used by UA’s EcoCAR 3 team competing against 15 other North American universities to design and construct a car that uses less energy and emits less pollution without sacrificing performance, safety or consumer appeal. General Motors Co. and the U.S. Department of Energy sponsor the four-year engineering competition.

The engineering students also beat the project constraint of keeping the cost of their hood within five times the cost of the original hood despite not having advantages of a large-scale factory. In fact, the student team estimates the new hood costs less than twice that of the original aluminum hood.

The team consisted of mechanical engineering students Megan Hathcock, from Huntsville; Ryan Scalf, from Glendale, Arizona; Zach Reasoner, from Greenwood Village, Colorado; Nicholas Davies, from Birmingham; Assunta De Pau, from Palatine, Illinois; and Jacob Horton, from Joshua, Texas. The team’s faculty adviser is Dr. Brian Jordon, associate professor of mechanical engineering.

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Surveying the College

In Brief Two UA Engineering Professors Honored Two professors in The University of Alabama College of Engineering who teach metallurgical and materials engineering were honored by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society, or TMS, for their contributions to education and their profession.

Dr. Ramana Reddy, ACIPCO Endowed Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, was Dr. Ramana Reddy selected for the TMS 2017 Educator Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made outstanding contributions to education in metallurgical engineering or materials science and engineering.

Dr. Gregory B. Thompson, professor, was the TMS 2017 Brimacombe Medalist.

The Brimacombe Medalist is a mid-career award for TMS members who have sustained excellence and achievement in business, technology, education, public policy or science related to Dr. Gregory B. Thompson materials science and engineering with a record of service to the profession.

Both were honored at the TMS 2017 Annual Meeting and Exhibition in San Diego in March 2017.

UA Professor Selected as Fellow of Materials Research Society and as UA’s 2017 SEC Achievement Award Winner The Materials Research Society elected a UA scientist to its 2017 Fellows class.

Dr. Arunava Gupta, Distinguished University Research Professor of chemistry and chemical and biological engineering, was elected for his “distinguished research accomplishments” and “outstanding contributions to the advancement of materials research, worldwide.” The Society’s citation for his Fellowship cited his “pioneering research” on the Dr. Arunava Gupta growth, properties and applications of thin films and nanostructures of magnetic and superconducting oxides.

The maximum number of new Fellow appointments each year 12

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is limited to 0.2 percent of the Materials Research Society regular membership. As part of the class of 2017 Materials Research Society Fellows, Gupta was recognized at the society’s 2017 MRS Spring Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, April 2017.

Also, last spring officials of the Southeastern Conference announced Gupta as the 2017 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winner for The University of Alabama.

All 14 SEC Faculty Achievement Award winners received a $5,000 honorarium and become their university’s nominee for the overall SEC Professor of the Year Award. To be eligible for the award, faculty within the SEC should have achieved the rank of full professor, have a record of extraordinary teaching and have a record of scholarship that’s nationally or internationally recognized.

Gupta is widely known for his expertise in investigating thin films and nanostructured materials for use in information technology and energy applications.

COE Student Named a 2017 Premier Awardee The Premier Awards are the top individual honors for scholarship, leadership and service given by the UA Division of Student Life. Justin Magrath, a chemical engineering major, of Mandeville, Louisiana, was the recipient of the Dr. Catherine J. Randall Award.

The award recognizes the most outstanding student scholar at UA based on GPA, rigor of course study and extraordinary scholarly or creative endeavor. It is the eighth consecutive year a student from the UA College of Engineering was recognized with this award.

Justin Magrath

Business, Engineering Majors Win $50,000 in Business Plan Competition Three undergraduate students at The University of Alabama are ready to take the next step in changing how life-saving medicines are stored and transported after winning the $50,000 grand prize at the Edward K. Aldag, Jr. Business Plan Competition this spring at UA. Business majors Andrew Johnson and Grant Becker and chemical engineering major Kyle Pecot are the founders of KüLVAX, a startup company that has created a more efficient cooling process for the transportation of life-saving vaccines, particularly in developing countries that have unreliable access to ice and electricity.

After winning the grand prize, the group will now pursue patents and a prototype.

The group NeuroPress, which plans to license NASA technology to measure intracranial pressure to better detect and treat concussions, won

Surveying the College NSF Selects UA Student for Competitive Fellowship

Andrew Johnson, Kyle Pecot and Grant Becker, of startup KüLVAX, winners of the $50,000 grand prize at the Edward K. Aldag, Jr. Business Plan Competition at UA.

the first prize of $5,000. Team members are mechanical engineering majors Matthew Mims and Lizzy West, of Vestavia Hills and Trophy Club, Texas, respectively, and aerospace engineering major Jake Zalesky, of Fort Worth, Texas.

Two COE Students Named Goldwater Scholars in 2017 The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program selected four University of Alabama students as Goldwater Scholars for 2017-2018. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 a year for up to two years.

Sean Devey Two of those Goldwater Scholars are students in the College of Engineering.

Sean Devey, of North Salem, New York, is an aerospace engineering student. Since August 2015, he has worked on a novel method for passive separation control inspired by the scales of the fast-swimming shortfin mako shark with advisers, Dr. Paul Hubner and Dr. Amy Lang, associate professors in aerospace engineering.

Melissa Mathews, of Birmingham, Melissa Mathews is a chemical engineering major and a Computer-Based Honors student. With Dr. Lin Li, assistant professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, she creates computational models of a wellknown thermoelectric material Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3) to better study its mechanical properties. This fundamental study is a vital step toward improving the materials efficiency and therefore broadening its applications.

A May 2017 graduate of UA accepted admittance to the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program.

Megan Hathcock, from Huntsville, who studied mechanical engineering, was one of 2,000 NSF Graduate Research Fellows selected from more than 13,000 applicants to receive Megan Hathcock financial support for graduate studies.

By underwriting the training of graduate students with the demonstrated potential to be high-achieving scientists and engineers, the Graduate Research Fellowship Program represents long-range investments for the future of society, according to the NSF. Hathcock is seeking a career researching structural dynamics.

Along with Hathcock, Matthew Miller, who graduated in May 2016 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UA, was selected for an NSF fellowship. Miller is pursuing a doctorate degree at the University of Texas.

UA Students Selected for National Research Experience One Alabama engineering student was selected to work at one of the nation’s premiere research institutions for the physical and engineering sciences.

Sam Spector, an environmental engineering student from Northport, was part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or NIST-SURF, last summer.

Fellows in the competitive program are awarded grants to spend 11 weeks in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to conduct research alongside a NIST scientist or engineer.

UA Engineering Student Wins Bioethics Essay Contest Kaylee O’Connor, a chemical and biological engineering student from Fort Worth, Texas, won first place in the Institute of Biological Engineering Dr. Ryan Summers & Kaylee O’Connor bioethics essay competition.

O’Connor’s submission titled “The Cost of Compassion,” was chosen as one of the top five essays written on an ethical dilemma regarding biological engineering. The five semifinalists were invited to the 2017 IBE Conference in Salt Lake City.

At the conference, the semifinalists presented their essays during the bioethics session and answered questions from the audience. O’Connor’s work was selected for first place by the panel of judges, and she received $150 for her accomplishment.

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Surveying the College

UA Engineering Professor Named AVS Fellow

Roy Selected by U.S. Air Force for Scientific Role

Dr. Susan L. Burkett, Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professor in electrical and computer engineering, was named a 2016 American Vacuum Society Fellow.

Fellows of the Society are AVS members who have made outstanding contributions in areas of interest to AVS. Burkett was chosen as a fellow for contributions in materials reliability and processing techniques for 3D integration, and for leadership in STEM education and within the Dr. Susan L. Burkett profession.

Fellows of the Society is considered a prestigious membership level, and the membership percentage cannot exceed 0.5 percent in any calendar year.

Dr. Samit Roy is helping the Air Force select research proposals for funding for two years as the program officer for the newly established Structural Prognosis program.

Roy, the William D. Jordan Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics, was competitively selected to serve in the post within the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Arlington, Virginia, starting in October 2017. Structured as a two-year assignment through an Dr. Samit Roy Intergovernmental Personnel Act, Roy should return at the end of the assignment.

An expert in the structural prognosis technological field, especially in the life-prediction of composite materials for aerospace structures, Roy will initiate collaborative research activities in conjunction with other collaborators in the Air Force, U.S. Department of Defense, industry and academia, including several technical directorates in the Air Force Research Laboratory.

UA Engineering Students Awarded Scholarships, Fellowships by NASA The Alabama Space Grant Consortium gave seven UA engineering students graduate fellowship and undergraduate scholarship money.

Fellowships were given to Nicholas Jose Benenati, a graduate student in aerospace engineering and mechanics from Lilburn, Georgia; and Dylan Christian Ullery, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering from Tuscaloosa. The graduate fellowships are funded jointly through the ASGC and the UA Office for Research and Economic Development. The UA office provided fellowship matching for a total of $37,000.

In addition to the fellowships, the ASGC awarded five merit-based undergraduate scholarships worth $1,000 each. Undergraduate applicants were selected based on their academic qualifications, career goals and an assessment of their motivation toward an aerospace or space science career. Undergraduate ASGC award recipients include: Elizabeth Beddingfield, chemical and biological engineering from Helena.

Valdrie Leslie Buford, aerospace engineering and mechanics from Edmond, Oklahoma.

Chandler Nichols, aerospace engineering and mechanics from Cleveland, Tennessee.

Cristion X. Oliphant-Jerry, aerospace engineering and mechanics from Columbia, Maryland.

Megan R. Wood, mechanical engineering from Destin, Florida.

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Bradt Named Life Member of Ceramic Society Dr. Richard C. Bradt, metallurgical and materials engineering professor emeritus at UA, has been named a Distinguished Life Member of the American Ceramic Society.

Selection as a Distinguished Life Member is considered the most prestigious level of membership in the society. Bradt was one of three people given the designation in 2017.

The recognition is awarded to society members based on their outstanding contributions to the Dr. Richard C. Bradt ceramics and glass profession, their achievements in the ceramic arts or sciences or their service to the society. Bradt was awarded this honor Oct. 9 at the ACerS Honors and Awards Banquet at the Materials Sciences and Technology 2017 Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Bradt joined the UA College of Engineering faculty in 1994 as head of the department of metallurgical and materials engineering. In 2003, Bradt was named the Alton N. Scott Professor of Materials Engineering.

He retired in 2009, but he has remained an active researcher, speaker and educator.

Surveying the College

Retirements Dr. Jeff Jackson, professor of electrical and computer

engineering, focused his research on image processing, embedded systems, sensor and sensor network development, VHDL hardware description language and programmable device technologies.

He published more than 100 technical articles, directed the research of approximately 40 graduate students, and conducted technical seminars and short courses for clients, including North Carolina State University, NASA Kennedy Space Center and Mercedes Benz U.S. International.

Jackson was involved in projects with the Electromechanical Systems Laboratory and the Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies. He acted as past advisor for the IEEE student branch and Eta Kappa Nu

engineering honor society. He was also elected as an honorary member of Tau Beta Pi. Jackson spent his entire career teaching and researching at UA. He retired after 31 years at the Capstone — four years as a PhD student and 27 as a faculty member. For six years Jackson served as the electrical and computer engineering department head.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn University.

Now, Jackson is enjoying fishing the rivers, bays and gulf waters of southern Alabama with plans to continue technical contributions in image processing methods to assess fish population in the Alabama river system and along the Alabama gulf coast.

New to the College Dr. Robert Amaro, assistant professor, mechanical engineering Dr. Armen Amirkhanian, assistant professor, civil, construction and environmental engineering Dr. Prabhakar Clement, professor, civil, construction and environmental engineering, and director of the Center for Water Quality Research Dr. Chris Crawford, assistant professor, computer science Dr. Milad Esfahani, assistant professor, chemical and biological engineering Dr. Prasad Gogineni, Cudworth Professor of Engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and aerospace engineering and mechanics Dr. Ali Cafer Gurbuz, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering Dr. Sevgi Zubeyde Gurbuz, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering Dr. Ju-Won Jeon, assistant professor, chemical and biological engineering Dr. Jonghun Kam, assistant professor, civil, construction and environmental engineering Dr. Sundar Krishnan, associate professor, mechanical engineering Dr. Hamid Moradkhani, Alton N. Scott Professor of Engineering, civil, construction and environmental engineering, and director of the Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research Dr. Aibek Musaev, assistant professor, computer science Dr. Shashi Nambisan, professor, civil, construction and environmental engineering, and executive director of the Alabama Transportation Institute Dr. Rohan Sood, assistant professor, aerospace engineering and mechanics Dr. Kalyan Srinivasan, associate professor, mechanical engineering Dr. Ryan “Drew” Taylor, assistant professor, electrical and computer engineering Dr. Patricia “Leigh” Terry, assistant professor, civil, construction and environmental engineering Dr. Evan Wujcik, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, and adjunct professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering Dr. Feng Yan, assistant professor, metallurgical and materials engineering

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Currents

Currents Events from Around the College

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Currents

UA Hosts Meeting for 3-D Printing Experts A global group of experts that devises standards for additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing, met at The University of Alabama from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2, 2017.

The Committee on Additive Manufacturing Technologies (F42) was formed in 2009 through ASTM International, one of the world’s largest standards organizations, and is based near Philadelphia. Dr. Steve Daniewicz, professor of mechanical engineering, said this meeting was the first-time members in the fast-growing committee held their winter meeting outside of Philadelphia.

F42 meets twice a year, usually once in the United States and once in Europe, with two days of technical meetings. The committee, with a total membership of about 540, has six technical subcommittees. About 150 members typically attend each meeting.

All standards developed by F42 are published by ASTM International. The standards include technical specifications, test methods, guides and practices that people throughout the industry can use as a foundation for research and product development.

A demonstration in 3-D printing

UA Holds Symposium for Women in STEM The University of Alabama’s Women in STEM initiative hosted Empowering You: The Future of WiSE, its fifth annual symposium, on campus March 3-4, 2017.

The symposium was designed to provide an opportunity for researchers, academics and industry members from the Southeast to learn and share how to build leadership and career development skills for college women in STEM and to discuss ways to further increase the number of women in STEM initiatives.

Keynote speaker for the symposium was Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman in space and founder/president of The Jemison Group and BioSentient Corp. She joined several presenters from UA who covered topics on career, education and lifestyle issues for women in STEM fields and careers.

WiSE arose from UA’s Graduate School Tide Together initiative, which seeks to support women in STEM through mentorship and networking in hopes of narrowing the gender gap in STEM studies and careers.

The symposium is designed to provide an opportunity for researchers, academics and industry members from the Southeast to learn and share how to build leadership and career development skills for college women in STEM and to discuss ways to further increase the number of women in STEM initiatives.

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Currents

Dr. Kimberly Scott, executive director of the National STEM Collaborative and founder of the Arizona State University Center for Gender Equity in Science and Technology, speaks to participants at a conference on diversity in the STEM fields at The University of Alabama.

UA Hosts Regional Science Olympiad More than 600 students participated in the 2017 Regional Science Olympiad competition Feb. 18, 2017.

The regional competition for middle and high school students, co-hosted by UA’s College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering, is just one of many to take place across the country. Winners advance to compete in the state and national competitions.

Events scheduled for the middle school students include anatomy, ecology, experimental design, hovercraft, optics, wind power and more.

In the high school division, students can compete in electric vehicle, forensics, helicopters, remote sensing, hydrogeology, towers and more.

The events concluded with two awards presentations.

UA Workshop Supports Minority Women Studying in STEM Fields The University of Alabama hosted a workshop aimed to help administrators, staff and professors share and discover ways to engage students, particularly minority women, interested in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM, fields.

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The STEM Workshop and Forum, held March 2017, was part of UA’s efforts within the National Academic STEM Collaborative. The consortium of 19 institutions of higher education and nonprofit partners are committed to identify and scale effective, evidence-based strategies to improve STEM diversity in the nation’s colleges and universities with a special focus on women and girls of color from under-represented communities.

The workshop and forum allowed UA professors to network with peers at other intuitions in the southeastern region and to gain insights on best practices and approaches from the institutions. Participants also shared knowledge on research relevant to the experiences students need to sustain their engagement, motivation and efficacy from K-12 to STEM careers.

UA Hosts K-12 Robotics Competition Sixty teams of elementary through high school students from across Alabama programed robots to navigate obstacles in a competition held on campus in April 2017.

About 300 students and 200 parents and teachers attended the Alabama Robotics Competition hosted by the College of Engineering’s

Currents

Grade school students program their robot during the 2016 Alabama Robotics Competition in Bryant Conference Center. The annual event is hosted by UA’s computer science department.

computer science department. The contest, held in Sellers Auditorium at the Bryant Conference Center, had a special keynote speaker Brook Osborne, the educational program manager at code.org.

The competition emphasized programing skills by requiring students to program their robot and maneuver it through an obstacle course independently. Teams were scored based on their ability to operate their robot through the three problems and how long it took them to complete the obstacles.

Dr. Jeff Gray, computer science professor, said by participating in the competition, students learn technical skills for programming, teamwork through working with others, problem-solving by working through the obstacles and sportsmanship in competition.

The competition was split into three divisions, elementary, middle and high school. First, second and third place plus an honorable mention were awarded in each division. Trophies and nearly $5,000 in gift cards, books and other items were given to the winners.

Honda STEAM Event held on campus with Indy Champ The Honda STEAM Connections Tour made a stop at UA in April 2017.

Approximately 340 area middle and high school students attended the event designed to highlight science, technology, engineering, arts and math, known as STEAM, and how they are pivotal in motorsports and the automotive industry.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, 2014 Indy 500 and 2012 IndyCar Series Champion, arrived at the Ferguson Center in a street-legal, two-seat Indy car with former Alabama defensive lineman Dalvin Tomlinson.

Hunter-Reay spoke to the students about STEAM subjects, took part in a question and answer session and signed autographs.

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Currents

Left: College students from 20 schools participated in the inaugural CrimsonHacks 24-hour invention challenge in the Ferguson Center on the campus of UA. Right: The UA College of Engineering hosted the SECME Summer Institute in 2017 to aid the nonprofit organization in its mission to promote STEM education to minority students through their teachers. The College also hosted the event in 2011 and 2015.

UA Computer Science Students Start CrimsonHacks Hacking Competition

UA College of Engineering hosts SECME Summer Institute

Five University of Alabama computer science students started a hacking competition during Spring 2017 that they hope will become a yearly event.

The 24-hour invention challenge, called CrimsonHacks, took place on the third floor of the Ferguson Center from 1 p.m. March 25 to 1 p.m.

March 26, 2017.

At the event, the University hosted 175 student participants from 20 schools. The hackers competed in teams, and at the end of the event, 40 teams demonstrated their projects for four judges.

Members of the UA student chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery and computer science seniors who organized the CrimsonHacks event were: Steven Eastcott–marketing director from Detroit Emily Huynh – executive director from Nashville, Tennessee Jake Zarobsky – finance director from Chicago Scott Carl – logistics director from Mobile Andrew Thomas – user experience director from Chattanooga, Tennessee

For the third summer in seven years, The University of Alabama hosted educators, students and industry leaders to help promote diversity inclusion in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, education.

The 41st SECME Summer Institute took place on the UA campus in June 2017. Through the nonprofit organization SECME, the institute gives educators the tools they need to make STEM education accessible to minority students. K-12 educators, university faculty, industry and government leaders convened during the institute to share content, research and practices with each other to encourage equity, excellence and inclusion in STEM education.

The institute is a way for the nonprofit organization to prepare historically underrepresented and underserved students for success in post-secondary studies and careers in STEM fields. The focus of SECME is on the partnership between K-12 schools and universities in a teachercentered effort.

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High school upperclassmen attended engineering program on campus in July High school students interested in the fields of engineering and

Currents

The UA College of Engineering hosted high school juniors and seniors during three separate week-long sessions of the Student Introduction to Engineering, or SITE, Summer Program in July 2017.

computer science had the opportunity to learn more about the disciplines at UA in July 2017.

Student Introduction to Engineering, or SITE, Summer Program welcomed high school juniors and seniors interested in science, mathematics and engineering. The students stayed on campus for a week and took three classes — English, computer science and pre-calculus — and also worked together in teams to complete an engineering design project.

The program, designed to help participants discover if engineering is the right career for them, took place in three separate week-long sessions. As many as 50 students attended each session led by four faculty members and seven engineering students. During the week, SITE students also attended departmental engineering seminars, took campus and industrial plant tours and went to the movies and bowling.

College of Engineering hosts national geospatial summit The University of Alabama College of Engineering hosted publicsector participants from federal, local, state and tribal governments for a three-day geospatial summit in August 2017.

The 2017 National Geospatial Preparedness Summit was held on the UA campus Aug. 7-9, and co-hosted by National Alliance for Public

Safety GIS Foundation with support from the Department of Homeland Security.

The purpose of the summit was to forge collaboration between first responders and GIS professionals, so that technology can be more effectively applied in preparedness nationwide. The summit brought together public safety practitioners and GIS responders to build skills in developing and implementing GIS-based decision support tools, share best practices, build peer relationships, and validate skills and capabilities.

Attendees had hands-on technical GIS training, and attended seminars and other plenary sessions. Dr. Laura Myers, director and senior research scientist for UA’s Center for Advanced Public Safety, spoke on a panel during the summit.

In addition to panels and workshops, the NAPSG Foundation hosted a reception for the 2017 Awards for Excellence in Public Safety GIS at the Hotel Capstone. The summit culminated in a full-day exercise designed around flooding scenarios. The goal was to become more efficient when responding to disasters.

Typically held in the Washington D.C. area, the move to Tuscaloosa was the first time the summit left the East Coast.

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COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING ETHNICITY

2017-18 By the Numbers

UA VS. COE ENROLLMENT

Asian

2%

Hispanic/Latino/Latina

4%

Black/African-American International

Other/Undesignated White

7% COE Enrollment

3% 6%

UA Enrollment

38,563

78%

6,122

COE is 16% of UA Student Population

COE STUDENT ENROLLMENT COE Graduate 417

BY PROGRAM

(UNDERGRADUATE ONLY) METALLURGICAL AND MATERIALS ENGINEERING

COE Undergraduate 5,705

31% MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ELECTRICAL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

COE GENDER

(UNDERGRADUATE ONLY)

Female 24% Male 76%

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13% COMPUTER SCIENCE 16% CIVIL, CONSTRUCTION, ENVIRONMENTAL AND ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING

16% CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

8%

AEROSPACE ENGINEERING UNDESIGNATED

DRIVING INNOVATION HONORS COLLEGE STUDENTS

There are more Honors students in engineering than in any other single college at The University of Alabama.

9,782

3,058

2017

2016

2,778

2015

8,722

2,015

2014

6,965

6,374

1,720

2013

2012 1,362 2011 1,048 0

5,672

ENROLLMENT SCHOLARS

5500

7,731

2,445

UNDERGRADUATES ON MERIT-BASED SCHOLARSHIPS

5000

TOTAL

4500

ENGINEERING

4,903

4000 3500

1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 8000 9000 10000

3000 2500 2000 1500 1000 500 0

11-12 12-13 13-14

14-15 15-16 16-17 17-18

2017

THE AVERAGE STARTING

SALARY FOR MAY 2017 COLLEGE GRADUATES

$62,276

30

SINCE 2006,

$518,424 IN SCHOLARSHIPS

30

30.1

27.1

26.3

25

CAPSTONE ENGINEERING SOCIETY (CES) HAS AWARDED

MEAN ACT SCORE FOR ENTERING FRESHMEN

24.6

ENGINEERING

20

UA AVERAGE

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

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Organization Brings Community, Support to Young Engineers

By Alana Norris

U

niversity of Alabama students have a multitude of areas where they can get involved. From service organizations to competition teams, students find their niche at the Capstone by following their passions and their ambitions.

One of those organizations housed in the College of Engineering has helped grow professional, well-rounded individuals on the UA campus for over 30 years.

The National Society for Black Engineers is an organization that seeks to give its members a fulfilling college experience by teaching core values like hard work and service.

As the organization’s motto says, their goal is to increase culturally responsible engineers.

NSBE motivates its members to a high level of achievement in academics and in the workforce while also being leaders locally. Made up of approximately 150 members, the UA collegiate chapter works hard to meet those goals.

The organization’s 2017-2018 president Nivory Gordon III, a mechanical engineering senior from Selma, said they strive to keep a momentum of academic excellence going throughout the school year by offering support to their members.

Conferences, study sessions and career fairs are planned throughout the year to give members as many opportunities as possible to network and learn. Once or twice a month, speakers from different industries are invited to speak to the organization.

NSBE seeks to help its members plan for their careers and life after college. Members are encouraged to apply for internships and interview for co-ops.

“Being in this organization helps students better prepare for the next steps in life and to be aware of their options,” Gordon said.

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Ashley Jeter, Nivory Gordon, Brittan Jarmon and Greg Singleton all serve in leadership positions in The University of Alabama chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.

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Brittan Jarmon is the organization’s secretary and a chemical engineering senior. Tobi Adedokun serves as the fundraising chair for NSBE and is a junior majoring in chemical engineering.

In their senior year, students travel to the NSBE national conference.

Gordon said the conference hosts one of the largest career fairs in the country with representatives from graduate schools and major companies in attendance to meet with the students.

In addition to preparing themselves for life, they also strive to impact their community. NSBE members take on outreach projects that champion STEM education in local schools. Through service these students offer tutoring and a junior NSBE chapter to high school students.

“They become role models to these middle and high school students,” adviser Gregory Singleton said.

These students want to leave a positive legacy of giving back, and not just working toward self-gain, with hopes that others will follow in their path, he said. The organization’s symbol is a torch, which illustrates the members’ desire to enact positive change, and two lightning bolts in the shape of an X, which shows the impact of their contributions on society.

“We try to make an impact everywhere we go,” Gordon said. “It is a fun and rewarding experience.”

NSBE is a national organization, and last summer the UA chapter hosted the Region 3 Leadership Conference. Around 150 chapter leaders from across the southeast convened in Tuscaloosa at the end of July for a collegiate conference aimed to help them learn and grow.

The annual weekend leadership conference brings together NSBE collegiate chapter leaders from Region 3 for a weekend of workshops and

“It’s a great opportunity to interact with some outstanding students — from entering freshmen all the way to graduation and beyond, they develop a strong support group for each other. NSBE provides students a cultural identity that reinforces support and encouragement from others with a similar background.”

Gregory Singleton

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NSBE Adviser

Kensley Wright, the NSBE publications chair, is a junior architectural engineering major.

Nivory Gordon is the 2017-2018 president of NSBE and a senior mechanical engineering student. Ashley Jeter is a metallurgical engineering senior and the organization’s historian.

networking. Throughout the conference, attendees discussed ways to facilitate chapter growth, learn how to better serve their chapter members and participate in leadership training.

“We get trained on how we can better serve [our members] to take advantage of the full benefits that NSBE as a whole has [to offer],” Gordon said.

The College of Engineering and UA’s Graduate School sponsored the closing banquet, which featured Dr. Viola Acoff, the College’s associate dean for undergraduate and graduate programs, as the keynote speaker.

Region 3 is comprised of 30 chapters in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, the Caribbean and South America.

The UA group has been advised by Singleton, the director of Engineering Student Services at the College of Engineering, since 1987. He enjoys getting to work with the students and seeing how they work with each other.

“It’s a great opportunity to interact with some outstanding students — from entering freshmen all the way to graduation and beyond,” Singleton said. “They develop a strong support group for each other.

NSBE provides students a cultural identity that reinforces support and encouragement from others with a similar background.”

Although the NSBE name may infer it is exclusive to black engineers, Singleton said that is not the case.

“The organization is not designated by ethnicity, gender or major,” Singleton said.

Most, but not all, members major in STEM fields and come from a variety of backgrounds.

“We don’t discriminate. We have a melting pot of members,” Gordon said. “All students are welcome.”

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Student Competition Teams Put Knowledge to Practice

By Alana Norris with contributions from Adam Jones and engineering students

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T

he College of Engineering is home to multiple student competition teams that spend the school year preparing to compete with other universities across the world.

Whether it’s converting a sports car into an eco-friendly vehicle over the span of four years or building a new mining robot each year, many College students are going above and beyond the classroom to put what they have learned in action.

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UA’s Formula SAE team, called Crimson Racing, competed in the Formula SAE Michigan Competition in May 2017.

Crimson Racing Races Up the Leaderboard at Annual Competition The University of Alabama’s Formula SAE team raced to a 17th place finish out of 120 other collegiate teams from around the world at the Formula SAE Michigan Competition in May 2017.

The vehicle, named CR-17, led the team to their best finish to date.

Headed by team captain Cole Frederick, the Crimson Racing team placed ninth in acceleration, 11th in design and 13th in presentation.

“We have worked long and hard, accumulating hundreds of hours, designing, building and optimizing the CR-17, culminating in the best finish in our team’s history,” Frederick said. The team placed 42nd in 2016 and set a goal of making the top 25 in 2017.

In the presentation portion of competition, student team members gave a group of investors a business pitch for their vehicle. To judge the design, industry professionals reviewed the vehicle and asked the student team members questions about the choices they made for the vehicle’s design.

“Team members explain and justify all the designs to show the judges their wealth of knowledge. With all the additional members on the team this year, we were able to prepare more analysis than previous years and felt that it helped throughout the event,” Frederick said. “We were just shy of being invited to the design finals, which is where judges ask follow-up questions to all of the teams that come in the top ten.”

The acceleration event consisted of four 75-meter straight line drives completed by two drivers who did two runs each. The fastest time is

used toward the team’s score. Crimson Racing’s fastest time was 4.247 seconds, which beat 2016’s 4.9 seconds and also reached the team’s goal of coming in under 4.5 seconds.

“We were the ninth fastest acceleration time in the entire competition,” Frederick said. “We were able to beat many teams that have significantly higher budgets.”

Crimson Racing was also pleased with their scores on their cost report, which is based on the cost of manufacturing the vehicle compared to other teams. The Alabama team competed in the skid pad and autocross competitions as well. The scores stayed similar to previous years in skid pad, but improved by 5 seconds in autocross, which raised the team’s ranking by nearly 20 spots.

The student team designs and manufactures a new formula style car for the competition each year. In 2017 the students were able to reduce the vehicle’s weight to 412 pounds from last year’s 497 pounds by using smaller wheels and a carbon fiber body as opposed to fiberglass.

“The reduction was produced based on all the sub-teams working hard to reduce weight. Our team’s goal was to be under 450 pounds, so we are excited to come in below that goal,” Frederick said.

Team members are working on their next vehicle and have a goal of reaching the podium in 2018.

“Work has already begun on CR-18, and we have no intentions of slowing down,” Frederick said.

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Alabama Astrobotics, a team of UA students, won top prize for the third straight year at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition. The team designed and built MARTE 2017, short for Modular Autonomous Robotic Terrestrial Excavator, a robot that digs and collects simulated Martian soil for the contest.

A Three-Peat for UA Robotics Team at NASA Contest For the third consecutive year, a student team at The University of Alabama placed first at a NASA robotics contest.

Alabama Astrobotics took the top prize at the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, besting student teams from 45 other institutions in the challenge to build a robot capable of navigating and excavating simulated Martian soil, or regolith.

“Winning the NASA Robotic Mining Competition for a third straight year is amazing and humbling,” said team lead Joseph Kabalin, a mechanical engineering graduate from Loveland, Ohio. “Our team knows how hard it is to get here and how much work it takes. It was truly a team effort.”

The team has more than 60 students from across eight disciplines, including engineering and computer science, and it is the only team to win more than once in the contest’s eight years, placing first four times in 2012, 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Alabama Astrobotics won the Joe Kosmo Award for Excellence as the top overall team in 2017.

The teams competed at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

“I am very proud of the team members,” said Dr. Kenneth Ricks, team adviser and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

“They bought in to our process, put their individual needs aside for the good of the team, and dedicated themselves to excellence in every category, which was recognized by the competition judges.”

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Robots are judged on how much regolith they can dig and deposit into bins as well as their ability to operate on their own, or autonomously. This year, Alabama Astrobotics collected a record amount of regolith, and the robot was the first ever to complete its tasks fully autonomously.

The team placed first in five out of nine categories that included mining, autonomy, technical presentation, effective use of communication with the robot and outreach project. Alabama Astrobotics placed in the top three of every category, racking up the most points in the contest’s history.

In all, the students won $10,000 for use on the 2018 robot.

The team designed and built a new robot, but stuck with the approach that netted the top prize the past two years. The students improved some of the robot’s mining capabilities, making it lighter and upgrading its ability to operate autonomously, Kabalin said.

The robot is called MARTE 2017, which stands for the Modular Autonomous Robotic Terrestrial Excavator 2017. The team kept the bucket ladder excavator and an offloading conveyor belt used in the previous competition. It also continued to use lidar sensors to scan in 3-D using 16 lasers to measure distance and determine an object’s position.

The sensors are a sort of radar that use light instead of sound.

In 2017 the team installed an electronic device called an inertial measurement unit to help make the autonomy more reliable.

The UA students on the EcoCAR 3 Team check under the hood of their vehicle in a lab on campus.

EcoCAR 3 Team Completes Third Year of Competition The UA EcoCAR 3 Team closed out its third year of the four-year challenge to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into an eco-friendly vehicle with three awards in 2017.

In addition to achieving full functionality of the vehicle this year, the team stood out with their work in engineering, communications and project management.

Karrisa Young, now a UA alumna, won the third-place Innovation Award for her work to integrate a dual-mode combustion strategy into the vehicle’s 2.4L LEA engine.

Year 4 project manager Haley Loftis won the GM Women in Engineering Award for her dedication to the field and outstanding technical accomplishments.

The team also won second place in the Overall Communications Program.

The vehicle passed the safety tech inspection and the on-road safety evaluation. Overall, the team placed 14th in competition.

After the Year 3 Competition in May 2017, the vehicle was disassembled to address issues found while competing. The team then set a goal to achieve full functionality again before the end of the fall semester. The vehicle was tested again in an emissions testing event in January.

Outside of competition, the team implemented a successful automotive and STEM-focused program called EcoScholars with 50 sixth-grade students at University Place Middle School.

The Camaro was also featured as the only non-dealership vehicle in the Alabama Auto Show hosted by the Birmingham Auto Dealers Association.

The UA EcoCAR 3 Team learned from the third year of a four-year challenge to convert a Chevrolet Camaro into an eco-friendly vehicle and made multiple adjustments to the car.

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UA Engineering Students Participate in ASCE Conference Engineering students from The University of Alabama traveled to Florida Atlantic University in March 2017 to participate in the American Society of Civil Engineers Southeast Student Conference.

More than 1,000 students from 25 universities in the southeastern region of the United States, as well as Puerto Rico and China, competed in the three-day event at FAU’s Boca Raton campus and other nearby locations.

UA civil engineering students placed in three competitions. Coming in first place in the Traffic Engineering contest was the team of Davis Duncan, from Brentwood, Tennessee; Blair Deshong, from Springhill, Florida; Nathan Rhomberg, from Saint Charles, Missouri; and Tyler Rhodes, from Hoover. In the Professional Paper competition, Emily Gould, from Charleston, West Virginia, placed second. The team of Kaitlyn Payne, from Puxico, Missouri; Rachel Thornton, from Eugene, Oregon; Gould and Rhodes placed third in the Balsa Wood Bridge contest.

The University came in 15th in the overall competition with 2,750.1 points. First place went to the University of Florida with a score of 7,285.3.

“We are very proud of the accomplishments of our student teams and gratefully acknowledge the support of everyone who helped make this possible,” said Dr. Derek Williamson, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering.

The conference was comprised of 34 competitions including Concrete Canoe Design Paper, Concrete Canoe Design Presentation, Concrete Cylinder Strength, Concrete Frisbee, Concrete Cornhole, Best Duct Taping, Steel Bridge Efficiency, Steel Bridge Construction, T-shirt Design and more.

“Our steel bridge team brought a good bridge to competition and (was) supported during their qualifying build time by arguably the most enthusiastic and loudest cheering for any steel team,” Williamson said. “I received comments from multiple observers, including the head bridge judge, that this product was a great improvement over those of the last several years.”

UA Engineering Students Compete in Drone National Championship Two University of Alabama engineering students put their drone flying skills to the test in April 2017 during the first-ever Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship.

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Ben Fischer, aerospace engineering student from Vestavia Hills, and Dylan Marcrum, mechanical engineering student from Appleton, Wisconsin, were accepted to compete in the collegiate national championship as two of 48 pilots representing 26 schools.

“We had to apply and send in an application video,” Marcrum said.

“They had a waiting list, and they picked the top 48 (pilots),” Fischer added.

From newbies to veterans, Fischer and Marcrum said the field was diverse. Some pilots competed as individuals while 10 universities had full teams consisting of two to five members. All contending pilots built the drone they used in competition “This (drone) is all custom,” Marcrum said, who built a drone specifically for this competition. “Mine will draw over 100 amps at full throttle.”

Marcrum has been interested in drone racing for the past three years when he learned about the hobby watching online videos. Fischer said he picked up drone racing in December 2016. The students want their team, called Ripping Tide, to grow in 2018 as they work toward becoming an official competition team.

A course was mapped out for the drones to navigate including turns, checkpoints and obstacles the pilots have to maneuver going speeds in excess of 60 mph. The national championship was held at Purdue University, beginning with qualifying races followed by the championship races.

Tuska UAV Design Team Becomes More Active During the 2016-2017 school year, the Tuska UAV Design Team became more active both on and off campus.

Under the direction of former president Jamie Moon, the team was able to complete multiple missions on campus including water stress mapping of the University for the UA Grounds Department, 3D aerial scanning of Somerville Hall and thermal imaging of Hardaway Hall to name a few.

Their presence has grown off campus as well with their involvement in the Tuscaloosa Rocketry Challenge, E-Day and Science Olympiad.

In the Fall 2017 semester the team grew in size, and they have been working on building multiple fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for members to learn to fly. They are also continuing to stay involved both on and off campus. During fall 2017, the team visited Capstone Village to demonstrate current drone technology.

Far left: University of Alabama engineering students participated in events like Concrete Canoe at the American Society of Civil Engineers Southeast Student Conference at Florida Atlantic University in March 2017. Middle: Ben Fischer takes his drone for a spin in preparation for the first-ever Collegiate Drone Racing National Championship in April 2017. Right: The University’s Baja SAE Bama Racing team has been busy becoming more involved on campus and using last season’s grit to make strides in 2018.

Alabama Chem-E Car Team Hones Previous Year’s Concept

Baja Racing Team Overcomes Obstacles, Learns Lessons

The Alabama Chem-E Car team decided it would focus on building a car that ran on a gas-producing reaction.

The reaction the team decided upon was glacial acetic acid and sodium bicarbonate, which reacts to produce carbon dioxide gas. The plan was to evolve this gas in a sealed pressure vessel and then use the pressure to operate a pneumatic motor, which would produce the work necessary to turn the axles of the car. Depending on the distance to travel and the load they were to operate with, they could vary the amount of their limiting reactant to achieve the desired output.

The car ran into several issues. Pressure vessels are closely monitored by AIChE, and any pressurized reaction must be operated in a Department of Transportation certified pressure vessel and must also have a pressure relief system. The team also had problems with the weight of their car, finding wheels of appropriate height and durability, issues with proper mixing of the gas, and general safety concerns with keeping all of the reactions double-contained and sealed off. Because of this, the team did not compete in the 2017 AIChE Chem-E Car competition.

These setbacks did not deter the team from coming back in 2018. The students took the lessons they learned from 2017 and returned with a plan to adjust the vehicle and an optimism to compete again.

In 2018, the team is sticking with the same concept for the car but modifying and improving the design to account for the issues they ran into last year. This includes finding a more suitable pressure vessel, determining how to best mix reactants, and determining how to best control the pressure output to achieve a suitable operating dynamic.

The Bama Racing SAE Baja Team didn’t have nearly the year they’d hoped for in the 2016-2017 season.

The team ran into some issues during the build and had to make some compromises to get a buggy ready, which ended up costing them at competition. However, there were some positives that came from the season.

The team traveled to Kansas with a finished buggy, passed the technical inspection and competed the buggy with 100 other teams from around the world. Even when their continuously variable transmission, or CVT, burned up during the endurance race, the team replaced it and got the car back out on the track. When they sheared the front suspension tabs off the chassis, the team tore apart the front end, welded the tabs back on and returned to the track. When the four hours on the endurance race were up, the No. 14 University of Alabama car was still putting in laps.

Although they didn’t have the season they’d hoped for, president Ryan Kinser said he is proud of the way the team came together to keep the car on the track at competition.

In 2018 the team has set a goal to do a better job of setting and meeting deadlines. Kinser said it can be difficult to find a balance between school and the team, but everyone on the team has a job to do and must pull their weight to get the job done.

He is particularly excited to have David Thomas as their suspension lead this year. Thomas was able to use the Baja suspension as his senior design project, which has allowed him to commit more time to optimizing the buggy, designing something he has a strong interest in and fulfill his ME-490 credit. Additionally, the team has recruited some “sharp new team members.” They feel like they are definitely on the right track to a strong team this season.

The team has been busy becoming more involved in public relations.

Just this season they have sent out a sponsor newsletter, partnered with the University’s Division of Strategic Communications to document the team throughout the season, finished 24th overall at the Midnight Mayhem event in Kentucky, and participated in the College of Engineering’s E-Day, World of Works and DENSO’s College Day. The team members feel as though they have more good things coming down the pipeline, and they are excited to get the buggy ready for competition in Maryland.

Hovercraft Team Transforms The University of Alabama Hovercraft Team underwent a transitional phase in the 2016-2017 season, reorganizing from an aerospace engineering and mechanics senior design team to a UA club team. With this shift came a need to diversify the organization to a mix of class years and disciplines. Over the course of the year, the club has grown from single digits to more than 30 members with its new initiative. With this new group, the club hopes to restore a second hovercraft to working order and begin competing against other university teams.

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By Adam Jones and Alana Norris

S

tudents in the College of Engineering stay busy with schedules filled with classes, labs, competition teams, academic organizations, research projects and so much more. These students also find ways to use their education and extracurricular activities to give back to the community and beyond.

Two student groups in particular worked to give back to children and the university.

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Valerie Levine, a student in chemical and biological engineering, began a project to make prosthetics through 3D printing for children without hands.

Using 3-D Printer, Engineering Student Creates Prosthetics for Children What began as simply tinkering with a 3-D printer the summer before Valerie Levine’s junior year at The University of Alabama ended with children receiving prosthetic hands before the year’s end.

“It became more than just a fun thing to do and became something where I could actually help children,” she said.

Levine established the Alabama Prosthetic Project with funding and assistance from the UA Honors College and a 3-D printer in the ComputerBased Honors Program to design and create inexpensive prosthetics for children. Levine is a student researcher in the Randall Research Scholars Program, which is the former Computer-Based Honors Program.

“This is such a great project to have had the opportunity to found, as it provides devices to children who may not otherwise have a prosthetic device,” said Levine, a native of O’Fallon, Illinois. “We hope to grow this project and provide as many children as possible with comfortable, functional prosthetic hands.”

The idea was conceived during the summer of 2016 in the lab of Dr. Jason Bara, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering at UA, where Levine, who is studying chemical engineering, has researched since the fall of 2015. There she began to use a desktop 3-D printer on the side to learn more about the technology.

With an interest in biomedical applications of plastics and materials, Levine said she quickly took to printing prosthetics, a growing use of 3-D printing since they can be cheaper and more easily fitted to an individual than conventional prosthetics.

The advantages can be greater for children, who can outgrow conventional prosthetics that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The prosthetics Levine made cost less than $50 to create and are easier to assemble and repair, she said.

Levine modified open-source designs to create a wrist-powered hand of ABS plastic with fishing lines and elastic strung through the fingers to open and close the grip. Standard screws increase or ease the tension in the grip.

“The great thing is if they snap a finger piece, we can print them a new one,” Levine said.

She worked with prosthetic specialists, physical therapists and orthopedic surgeons at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta and Children’s of Alabama in Birmingham to fine-tune the design to ensure what she was creating would be useful for patients.

Staff at the two hospitals helped her identify good candidates for the prosthetics, and in February 2017 she delivered three to children at The Hand and Upper Extremity Treatment Center of Georgia in Atlanta and sent a fourth to a child who was measured that day. Although she had worked with their parents and healthcare providers leading up to the delivery, she had not met the children.

“I was so nervous they were going to break it, but they really stood up,” she said. “Kids are perfect because they are honest so if they don’t like something they are going to tell you.”

She plans to continue the side project with some of her peers this year and possibly beyond graduation, seeking to expand the project beyond the founding individuals.

“Other people like video games in their spare time. I like building prosthetics,” Levine said. “I really like to see the kids get fitted with them. It’s really rewarding to see them happy to be able to pick up juice boxes and tennis balls where they otherwise might not have been able to.”

In February 2017, Valerie Levine delivered prosthetic hands she made with 3D printing to children at The Hand and Upper Extremity Treatment Center of Georgia in Atlanta.

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UA Engineering Students Use Skills To Help Child at RISE

Rebecca Dietz, a UA student in mechanical engineering from Waleska, Georgia, straps Justin Carter, a student at the RISE Center, into a car she and other students adapted for Justin to drive.

Putting together what they learned in college, four students at The University of Alabama adapted a toy ride-on car for a child born with physical challenges, offering the chance to move around with his friends.

“We feel blessed, full of joy – a heart of gratitude – that they took time for our son because it’s making a difference in his life and ours as well,” said Shirley Carter. “It’s something we’ll cherish forever and never forget it.”

Justin, the son of Shirley and Charles Carter, was born with a condition that shortens his limbs, limiting his mobility and independence. His teachers at the RISE Center on campus wanted him to be able to play outside with the other children without relying on someone to carry him or move him, so they approached Alabama Astrobotics, a student team on campus that has gained a reputation for building award-winning robots, to modify a battery-powered car for Justin.

Four UA students from the team took it on as their senior engineering project.

“The goal of the senior project is to bring a culmination of what you’ve learned in your degree, so it means a lot to us to use what we’ve learned to

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help someone,” said Joseph Kabalin, a mechanical engineering graduate from Loveland, Ohio.

They delivered the car to Justin at the RISE Center as classmates and teachers watched. Within a few minutes of strapping into the driver’s seat, Justin was driving around the playground, relishing his new freedom.

The car Justin drove began on the shelf of a toy store where the students bought it. In the end, the students essentially kept the plastic body and tires, replacing everything else.

Justin has several needs the seniors had to address before he could drive the car. For starters, he cannot reach the original steering wheel or pedal needed to move the car. The car also would be more than just a toy as Justin would rely on it to get around inside and out for much longer than the car is designed.

Lastly, the car could not become a burden for parents and teachers if Justin got tired, so the students wanted a way for them to drive the car rather than having to carry or push it.

They upgraded all the electronics in the car. A control panel with a joystick and buttons replaced the original drive mechanisms such as the

The team of engineering students who adapted the toy car for Justin Carter are, from left, Joshua Yarbrough, Joseph Kabalin, Tyler Gester and Rebecca Dietz.

steering wheel and pedal. The panel rests closer to where Justin sits in the vehicle.

A second motor was added to give the car more power, turning the car from a one-wheel drive to two-wheel drive and allowing travel over soft terrain such as on a playground or wet grass.

The battery that came with the toy was scrapped for two batteries with more capacity, increasing battery life from roughly 15-20 minutes to possibly more than an hour, depending on use.

In an innovative step, the students added an internal computer with wireless internet that provides the ability to control the car through a custom-built website so Justin’s parents or teachers can operate the vehicle on a smartphone.

“I think the fact that you modify something that his peers play with so he’s able to do something that his typically developing peers are able to do, that’s what we are all about at RISE – children with special needs participating in activities and in a classroom with traditional learners,” said Andi Gillen, RISE director.

Each student brought something to the table, relying on what they learned in the classroom and as part of Alabama Astrobotics. The team competes annually in a NASA-sponsored contest to build a mining robot, and has won several times. From a technical view, adapting the toy car was easier than building self-driving robots.

“We already had the knowledge,” said Joshua Yarbrough, a mechanical engineering graduate from Huntsville. “It allowed us to do a worthwhile senior design project and get practical experience designing and building for a client and meeting their needs. You get an end product that really helps someone in the end.”

In 2017 at NASA’s annual Robotic Mining Competition, the senior project earned the team the outreach award — an award Alabama Astrobotics had never won before.

Along with Kabalin and Yarbrough, team members included Rebecca Dietz, a mechanical engineering student from Waleska, Georgia; and Tyler Gester, a computer science and mechanical engineering graduate from Birmingham.

The RISE Center, a part of the UA College of Human Environmental Sciences, serves children with disabilities and their typically developing peers, from ages 8 weeks to 5 years. The children are divided by age among six classes, each with 16 students, one teacher and three assistants.

The integrated preschool program benefits families in the community and serves as a practicum and internship site for students from UA and other colleges.

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Alumni Dynamics Items of interest to Capstone engineers and computer scientists

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The 2017 Distinguished Engineering Fellows are, from left, Jody Singer, Dean Charles Karr, Stephen F. Cash, Gregory A. Mays, Pam Caruso and Mark S. Whorton.

Five Honored as Distinguished Engineers

The University of Alabama College of Engineering honored five alumni by inducting them into its 2017 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

Each year, the College of Engineering inducts a select group of alumni and friends as Distinguished Engineering Fellows. Recognition as a Distinguished Fellow is the highest commendation given to graduates and others who have strengthened the reputation of the College of Engineering through their efforts.

Since the recognition’s inception more than 25 years ago, fewer than 400 individuals have been recognized as Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

The 2017 class includes Pam Caruso, of Huntsville; Stephen F. Cash, of Huntsville; Gregory A. Mays, of Issaquah, Washington; Jody Singer, of Huntsville; and Mark S. Whorton, of Big Cove.

The inductees were honored at a ceremony at the Embassy Suites in downtown Tuscaloosa on April 1, 2017.

Pam Caruso graduated with a chemical engineering degree from UA in 1980 and began her career as a research engineer for DOW Chemical.

In 1995, she received a master’s degree in environment engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. For 25 years, Caruso worked with several Army organizations including the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command at Redstone Arsenal, where she supported the Space and Missile Defense Battle Laboratory as an engineer and later as division chief of the Combat Applications Division. She then became chief of the Total Defender Program. For the last eight years of

her career, Caruso worked at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in the Engineering Directorate. In January 2016, she retired.

Stephen F. Cash has spent the majority of his career focusing on space shuttle propulsion and safety for NASA at Marshall Space Flight Center in his native Huntsville. He started in the Structures and Propulsion Laboratory as a stress analyst. After the Challenger disaster, Cash was assigned to the Solid Rocket Booster Redesign Team.

Following the space shuttle’s successful return to flight, he held multiple positions for the Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor. Then the Columbia disaster took Cash to Kennedy Space Center on a one-year assignment where he focused on return to flight launch issues. Upon returning to Marshall, Cash worked in the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office. After the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program, he led the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at Marshall. Today, he is the vice president of the Advanced Space Systems Division of QuantiTech. Cash graduated from UA in 1981 with a degree in civil engineering.

Gregory A. Mays has worked on aircrafts and for airlines since he graduated from UA in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering. Starting at Boeing in Huntsville, Mays spent six years as a design/test engineer and project manager for the International Space Station. He then spent 13 years working for Delta Air Lines in Atlanta.

During this time, he earned his Master of Business Administration from Emory University. In 2011, Mays became the vice president of maintenance and engineering for Alaska Airlines in Seattle. Today, as vice

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Alumni Dynamics

Shaw Gilmer was honored as the Outstanding Alumni Volunteer at the Distinguished Engineering Fellows Banquet.

president of labor relations, he is responsible for developing relationships with union leaders and representatives from five labor unions that make up 80 percent of the Alaska Airlines workforce. Mays’ son, Jeff, is a thirdyear aerospace engineering student at the University.

Jody Singer has held a career long appointment at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, which is a testament to how she has dedicated her life to space exploration and research. Starting as an engineer in the professional intern program, Singer ascended the ranks and is serving as the deputy director of the research center. For more than 30 years, she has worked in several offices at Marshall including the Reusable Solid Rocket Project Office, the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office, the Ares Project Office and the Flight Programs and Partnerships Office. As deputy director of Marshall, she assists with the management of one of NASA’s largest field installations. A 1983 graduate of UA, Singer earned her bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering.

Dr. Mark S. Whorton has contributed to the private and public sector as well as the world of academia. His career began at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville where he worked in flight system and advanced technology development as well as guidance, navigation and control for 15 years. Later he worked for Teledyne Brown Engineering and Teledyne Optech. Whorton transitioned to academia in 2016 by becoming the executive director of the University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee. In this role, he provides leadership and direction for quality graduate engineering education and growth in research. Whorton studied aerospace engineering, graduating from UA with a bachelor’s degree in 1987 and a master’s degree in 1989.

He later continued his education at The Georgia Institute of Technology where he earned his doctorate in 1997.

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Shaw Gilmer Recognized as Outstanding Alumni Volunteer The University of Alabama College of Engineering recognized Shaw Gilmer as the 2017 Outstanding Alumni Volunteer.

Gilmer, a Birmingham native, has demonstrated consistent loyalty to the College. Since 2010, he has been an active board member of the Capstone Engineering Society.

Gilmer graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University in 1993. Today, as the biogums strategic platform director for CP Kelco, A Huber Company, Gilmer leads a $270 million global biogums business, which sells into food, pharma, industrial and energy markets.

In 1995, the UA College of Engineering began a yearly tradition recognizing an alumnus who provided excellent volunteer assistance as the Outstanding Alumni Volunteer.

While a member of CES, Gilmer has chaired the CES Golf Tournament twice, in 2012 and 2016, and he has served on the golf committee since 2010.

He has been an alumni mentor to several engineering students since 2013 in the Mentor UPP: Undergraduate Professional Partnering program and participates in the CES networking receptions.

His career started in the Harrison Division of General Motors in Tuscaloosa where he worked as a manufacturing engineer. Later, he took a position as a production supervisor/project engineer for Stabilus, USA, in Gastonia, North Carolina.

In 1996, Gilmer began working for J.M. Huber Corp. where he continues to work today. He has taken on multiple positions in the company in Etowah, Tennessee and Atlanta.

Gilmer received Six Sigma Black Belt Certification in 1999 and became a Six Sigma Master Black Belt in 2001. Also in 2001, Gilmer took part in the J.M. Huber Corp. Mini MBA Program.

Gilmer and his wife, Heather, live in Atlanta and have two children, Mallory and Madeline, a junior mechanical engineering student and president of the Ambassadors of the College of Engineering.

Alumni Dynamics

2017 CES Golf Tournament a Success The 17th Annual Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament was held Sept. 18 at Riverchase Country Club in Hoover. Last year, one executive sponsor, seven tournament sponsors, 28 hole sponsors, one putting-contest sponsors, multiple silent-auction donors and 128 golfers participated in the tournament. Thanks to generous contributions, $45,200 was raised for the Capstone Engineering Society Scholarship Fund.

Over the past 17 years, the CES Golf Tournament has raised more than $413,000.

First-place gross – went to the VIC Systems Team of Mike Simmons, Zach Burger, Dave Williams and Nathan Stewart.

First-place net – went to the Bama Concrete Team of Butch Thomas, Mark Neely, Danny Cox and Jon Harrell.

Second-place net – went to the Vulcan Materials Company Team of Darren Hicks, Ben Steltenpohl, Charlie Vines and Eric Hess.

The putting contest winner was Richard Olive. The closest to the pin was Jon Harrell. The longest drive went to Laramie Cook.

Jon Harrell receives the closest to the pin award from Dean Charles Karr. Alumni and friends of the College came together to raise money for the Capstone Engineering Society Scholarship Fund by playing golf at Riverchase Country Club in Hoover.

The VIC Systems Team, made up of Mike Simmons, Zach Burger, Dave The Cook Team wore their Alabama gear at the 17th Annual Williams and Nathan Stewart, receive their first-place gross trophies Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament in September 2017. from Dean Charles Karr.

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2017 Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament Executive Sponsor

Golf Ad Spread

Tournament Sponsors

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2017 Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament Putting-Contest Sponsor

Hole Sponsors Apache Construction Corporation Apache Construction Corporation Barnett JonesJones Wilson, LLC LLC Barnett Wilson, Bradley ArantArant Boult Cummings LLP Bradley Boult Cummings LLP C & B Piping C & B Piping C.S. Beatty Construction C.S. Beatty Construction Chesapeake Consulting Inc. Chesapeake Dunn ConstructionConsulting Company Inc. ENERCON Dunn Construction Company Ferguson Waterworks ENERCON Gonzalez-Strength & Associates, Inc. Ferguson Waterworks Hargrove Engineers + Constructors Gonzalez-Strength & Associates, Inc. HOAR Program Management Hunt Refining Company Hargrove Engineers + Constructors LBYD, Inc. HOAR Program Management Morell Engineering, Inc. Hunt Refining Company LBYD, Inc. Morell Engineering, Inc.

Nucor Steel – Decatur Nucor Steel – Decatur Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, Inc. Inc. Nucor Steel Tuscaloosa, PASS, Inc.Inc.-Process Process Automation & Simulation PASS, Automation & Services, Inc. Simulation Services, Inc. SAIIA Construction Company LLC SAIIA Construction Company LLC Schoel Engineering Company, Inc. SchoelSolutions Engineering Company, Inc. Seabrook Spectrum Environmental, Seabrook Solutions Inc. Volkert Spectrum Environmental, Inc. Vulcan Materials Company Volkert Vulcan Painters, Inc. Vulcan Company Wade SandMaterials & Gravel Co., Inc. Vulcanand Painters, Whitaker RawsonInc. Wink Engineering, LLC Co., Inc. Wade Sand & Gravel Whitaker and Rawson Wink Engineering, LLC

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Alumni Dynamics

2017 CES Golf Tournament

Interested in sponsoring the 2018 CES Golf Tournament?

Call 205-348-2452 or visit golf.eng.ua.edu.

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Alumni Dynamics

Alumni Notes

Ronnie Chronister

1982

Ronnie Chronister, BSCE, was named vice president of contracts at Dynetics.

In his new role, Chronister will manage the company’s contracting, subcontracting, purchasing, management of government property and legal departments. He will also focus on growing customer relationships.

1986 Robert Lightfoot Jr., BSME, became NASA’s acting administrator Jan. 20, 2017.

Since Sept. 25, 2012, he has held the permanent title of associate administrator of NASA, which is the agency’s highest-ranking civil servant position.

1993 Huban Gowadia, BSAE, was the acting administrator of the Transportation Security Administration from Jan. 20, 2017 to Aug. 10, 2017.

Gowadia is now the deputy administrator of the agency where she assesses threats and intelligence associated with transportation security.

Jobs. Promotions. Awards.

Huban Gowadia

2007 David Holt, BSChE, MSCE ’09, JD ’10, was recognized as an outstanding young professional AIChE member with the AIChE 35 Under 35 Award. Honorees are chosen for their significant contributions to the institute and to the chemical engineering profession. Holt is an associate attorney at Bradley Arant Boult Cummings.

2010 Bob Hines, MSAE, is among 12 new astronauts chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Hines, a native of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, lives in Houston where he is a research pilot at Johnson Space Center. More than 18,300 people applied to the program.

2013 Kenya L. Goodson, Ph.D., was named a Black Warrior Riverkeeper board member.

The non-profit organization’s mission is to restore and protect the river and its tributaries.

Bob Hines

Kenya L. Goodson

2014 Shelby Brooks, BSChE, MSCE ’16, was the featured AIChE Young Professional for January 2017. A Q&A style interview with Brooks where she talks about her work with Chem-E Car, her research and her passion for chemical engineering is on the AIChE online community called ChEnected.

2015 Kaylie Crosby, BSME, MBA ’16, was recognized by Manufacturing Engineering magazine by being selected for the 30 Under 30 list.

The program honors young professionals making a difference in manufacturing and STEM fields. Crosby was also featured in a “Where Are They Now” article on EcoCAR3.org.

Jared Cassity, BSME, and Patrick Powell, BSME, are cofounders of Kinematic Sports, which produces a portable and collapsible medical tent called the SidelinER. In May, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell announced the league would use the tents during the 2017 season.

Shelby Brooks

Kaylie Crosby

Something we missed?

Please send us your professional achievements and recognitions for inclusion in Alumni Notes by visiting eng.ua.edu/alumni/ update.

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Alumni Dynamics

In Memory

William P. Buckelew

William P. Buckelew died March 27, 2017, in Huntsville. Buckelew graduated from The University of Alabama in 1950 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. During his career, he worked for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, TVA, the Army Corps of Engineers and NASA.

Samuel R. Hart Jr.

Samuel R. Hart Jr. died July 12, 2017, in Vestavia Hills. A native of Birmingham, Hart graduated from Ensley High School in 1944 and The University of Alabama in 1949 with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. He also served in the Army during World War II. Hart spent his 38-year career working with Southern Company. He retired in 1986 as the vice president of research and environmental affairs for Southern Company Services. After he helped start the organization, Hart served as the first chairman of the Capstone Engineering Society. In 1979, he was named an Outstanding Alumni by the UA COE, and in 1981 he was given the honor of Distinguished Engineering Fellow.

Raymond C. Hayes

Raymond C. Hayes died March 24, 2017, in Mequon, Wisconsin. He was born in Rochester, New York, and graduated from UA in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. Hayes was a Registered Professional Engineer and also a Certified Manufacturing Engineer. He gave back to his alma mater as a member of the Capstone Engineering Society and was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow. During his career, he worked abroad and in the U.S. for General Electric, Geo. J. Meyer Manufacturing Company, NWL Control Systems, McCleanAnderson and Pullman Swindell.

E. Sorrell Lanier Jr.

E. Sorrell Lanier Jr. died Sept. 21, 2017, in New Orleans. A Tuscaloosa native, Lanier earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from UA in 1965, and he received a master’s degree in civil engineering from Tulane. He also served in the U.S. Marines. Lanier founded Lanier & Associates Consulting Engineers, Inc. in 1974 and served as CEO. He was a member of the Capstone Engineering Society and served on the board. Lanier was also named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow.

James C. Lewis

James C. Lewis died Jan. 4, 2017, in Birmingham. A graduate of West End High School, Lewis began studying engineering at The University of Alabama in the fall of 1940. Two years later he left the University to attend 46

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pilot training after joining the U.S. Army Air Force. Once he graduated, he spent a year as an instructor and then spent the conclusion of his time in the service flying B-29 bombers in the Pacific. He returned to UA in 1946 under inactive reserve status and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1948. Lewis and his brother, who is also a COE alumnus, started a manufacturing business in 1949. At the outbreak of the Korean War, he was called back into active service and spent two years in the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command. Then in 1954, he started a construction company that developed, constructed and marketed homes, apartments, condominiums, offices, retail and resort developments. In 1990, he was inducted into the Alabama Homebuilders Hall of Fame. Lewis was a member of the Capstone Engineering Society and named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow.

Colonel Nimrod McNair Jr.

Colonel Nimrod McNair Jr. died Sept. 12, 2017, in Stone Mountain, Georgia. A Tuscaloosa native, McNair graduated from Tuscaloosa High School and joined the Army Air Force in 1942. He served in World War II, the Cold War and the Vietnam War. As a fighter pilot, he flew 600 combat hours on 110 missions, was shot down twice and survived four plane crashes. He was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.

McNair earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from UA in 1949, a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and also graduated from the Air Force School of Management. He taught aeronautical engineering during the Korean War at N.C. State and served at the Pentagon as a director of aerospace programs. McNair also studied religion, authored books and articles, and led seminars on management and leadership.

William W. Moss

William W. Moss died Jan. 15, 2017, in Birmingham. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering from UA in 1959. From 1953-1962, Moss served as a 1st lieutenant in the U.S. Army, and he spent three years as a post engineer for the Corps of Engineers in Germany. In 1963, Moss began working for Moss-Thornton Company, his family engineering and construction business known for building interstate highways. He became president of the company in 1973. Moss worked with William H.G. France to build Talladega Superspeedway in 1969, and was also an integral part in the construction of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame. Moss raced cars in the late 1950s as an amateur, which is how he met France — who founded NASCAR. Moss was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow of the College in 1994.

Alumni Dynamics Colonel Nathaniel G. Raley

Nathaniel G. Raley died May 17, 2017. A native of Demopolis, Raley studied mechanical engineering at UA. At age 19, Raley left UA for the opportunity to become a fighter pilot, and in February 1942, he passed the aviation cadet exam. After undergoing training, he spent time in Morocco, Tunisia, Italy and Sicily. He was the youngest pilot in his fighter squadron of the 12th Air Force and worked up the ranks as wing man, element leader, flight leader and squad leader. In January 1944 during his 48th mission, Raley’s plane was hit by enemy fire, and he was forced to eject. He landed near a group of German soldiers and spent 15 months in German prisoner of war camps. In April 1945, the camp was liberated by the Russian Army. After arriving home, Raley left active duty and joined the reserves. In 1974, he retired as a full colonel. He returned to the University and graduated in 1949. During his career, he worked for the state of Colorado, the Tennessee Valley Authority in Knoxville, the Army ballistic program in Huntsville and NASA. He retired in 1980.

Kenneth E. Riggs

Kenneth E. Riggs died May 18, 2017. Born in Memphis, Tennessee, he was drafted before he graduated high school and served with Patton’s 3rd Army during the European campaign of World War II. Riggs earned three Bronze Stars along with several other honors and medals. After the war, he used the GI Bill to attend The University of Alabama and graduated with a mechanical engineering degree in 1958. Riggs started his career at the Army Ordnance Corps at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. He was involved with NASA’s Mercury, Apollo, and Space Shuttle programs, but he was most proud of his contribution to designing the Lunar Rover Vehicle used during the Apollo moon missions.

Joseph D. Zasa

Joseph D. Zasa died April 16, 2017, in Dothan. Zasa was born in Newark, New Jersey, and graduated from UA with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1943. He was named a Distinguished Engineering Fellow and was a member of the Capstone Engineering Society. Zasa was a Certified Professional Engineer and worked for General Electric, Texas Instruments and Bendix before moving to Mountain Brook to form engineering sales group J.D. Zasa Associates. During World War II, he served as an officer in the Corps of Engineers in the Pacific and received the Army Commendation Medal, the highest non-combat medal.

Friends We Will Miss Thomas W. Barnes Jr., BSME ‘49 Lee M. Berra, MSAE ‘14 Jill R. Bobo, BSEE ‘92 Robert J. Botters Sr., BSEE ‘61 James A. Brown, BSIE ‘49 William L. Carl, BSME ‘51 William O. Carter Jr., BSME ‘49 Joseph H. Chalmers, BSIE ‘51 James W. Christopher, BSEE ‘67 Robert D. Civil, BSME ‘53 Forest E. Clark Jr., BSCE ‘49

James M. Clark, BSCE ‘53 Ronald W. Clarke, MSIE ‘72 Graydon F. Corn, BSME ‘56 Charles F. Getman, BSEE ‘61 John O. Glenn Jr., BSIE ‘60 Michael C. Gough, BSEE ‘78 Dr. Thomas R. Graves, BSIE ‘52 Carlos A. Gregg, BSME ‘57 Kenneth G. Griffis, BSME ‘62 Robert N. Hall, BSCE ‘77 Stanley M. Hamilton, B.S. in Electrical Engineering Technology ‘84 Taylor Harsh, BSCE ‘15 Warren G. Hunter, BSME ‘51 Jimmy R. Jackson, BSIE ‘72 John R. Jordan, BSME ‘58 Robert T. Keown, BSChE ‘60 George R. Kilpatrick, BSCE ‘52 John C. Kite, MSE ‘60 Karl C. Knight, BSME ‘84 Ralph O. Kornegay, BSIE ‘72 William M. Lampkin, BSMtE ’64, MSMtE ‘65 Henry V. Lewis Jr., BSEE ‘49 Dr. Henry A. Lilly, MSCS ‘82 Dan H. Lynch, BSMinE (Min.) ’53, MSMinE ‘56 Leonard C. Mandell, BSME ‘41 Lonnie A. Marlowe Jr., BSCS ‘94 Norman B. Mensing, BSMinE ‘69 Jesse D. Mitchell Jr., BSEE ‘71 Robert E. Moore, BSAE ‘49 James A. Norris, BSAE ‘72 Thomas S. O’Rorke, BSCE ‘65 William L. Orr, BSAE ‘67 Donna B. Patmon, BSIE ‘76 Jack R. Pollard, BSIE ‘51 James E. Roach Jr., BSIE ‘51 Tryce A. Senter, BSChE ‘49 Johnny T. Smalley, BSCE ‘71 James W. Snowden Jr., BSChE ‘49 Ronald W. Sockwell, BSEE ‘58 John F. Stone, BSIE ‘48 Robert H. Sweat, BSChE ‘50 Kirby L. Sweatt, BSEE ‘57 Charles G. Theim, BSME ‘60 Richard R. Thigpen, BSME ‘57 Bennie J. Waldrop, BSEE ‘82 Allen W. Ward, MSE ‘69 Katrina R. Washington, BSIE ‘91 Gaines L. Watts, BSME ‘63 Larry L. Weed, BSCE ‘69 Charles M. Whitson, BSMinE (Min.) ‘66 Freddie L. Williams, BSCE ‘49

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Bits and Bytes

Bits and Bytes The College from Outside “They get a simple lesson on buoyancy. We just like for them to do it as opposed to talking about equations.” – Dr. Marcus Ashford, a mechanical engineering professor who worked at the SITE Summer Camp in the article “High school kids ‘sink or swim’ during engineering camp” in The Tuscaloosa News.

“I was really impressed with Valerie’s idea to use the printers to build prosthetics, I pretty much allow my students to work independently on the 3-D printers and come up with creative ideas. So, Valerie definitely took advantage of a resource available to her and put it to good use.” – Jason E. Bara, University of Alabama associate professor and faculty adviser speaking about student Valerie Levine, in the article “Hands created

by OTHS grad on 3-D printer put new world within kids’ grasp” in the O’Fallon Jason Bara Progress.

“It’s a great precursor of sorts, a good tester to see if the child will be a good candidate for a more permanent prosthetic limb later in life. So, it’s a great evaluation tool in the very least, but also helps improve the child’s quality of life as a whole.”

– Colleen Coulter, a physical therapist and team leader of the Limb Deficiency Program Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, in the article “Hands created by OTHS grad on 3-D printer put new world within kids’ grasp” in the O’Fallon Progress.

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“The EcoCAR 3 project built a confidence in myself that I had never seen before, I am thankful to carry this into my future career.” – Kaylie Crosby, UA mechanical engineering alumna and former project manager for UA’s EcoCAR 3, said in the article “Where Are They Now: UA’s Kaylie Crosby” on EcoCAR3.org.

Kaylie Crosby

“When you start talking about leadership, a lot of people want to know if you are a born leader or if it is something that you develop, I don’t have a clue, but I can tell you this, anything you work at, you can get better at. You have to work at it to be successful.”

– Dean Chuck Karr in the article “Hundreds attend Chamber breakfast” in the Daily Mountain Eagle.

“The center is a great opportunity to not only improve related research capabilities but also promote the automotive engineering education program at UA in both undergraduate and graduate levels by directly interacting with automotive industries.”

– Dr. Hwan-Sik Yoon, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, in the article “UA Professors Cracking Sustainable Car Code” on BusinessAlabama.com.

A SidelinER prototype is used during a 2015 University of Alabama Crimson Tide football game. The technology has since been patented by the University.

“If we don’t break it, we’re not testing it right.”

– Dr. Kenneth Ricks, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the head of the Alabama Astrobotics team, in the article “UA team preparing for NASA robotics competition” in The Tuscaloosa News.

“Developing world-class engineers at the local level to provide research and marketing input is exactly my target. The goal is to make UA engineering graduates just as savvy and knowledgeable as engineers in Germany, and to make them truly multicultural.”

– Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian, an engineering professor at UA and executive director of UA’s Center for Advanced Dr. Kenneth Ricks Vehicle Technology, in the article “Higher Education “Students will have access to actual data to Meets Manufacturing” understand system efficiencies related to energy in Southern Automotive conversion and storage processes. Additionally, Alliance magazine. they will be able to investigate the impact of weather conditions on power production.”

– Allen McClendon, director of external affairs Dr. Bharat Balasubramanian and development, in the article “UA solar project is a teaching tool for future engineers” on “These students did a phenomenal job. This thing’s AlabamaNewsCenter.com. really going to work. But, the issue is that everyone in America is going to want one.” – the Crimson “It’s a top opportunity to expand your engineering Tide’s head athletic trainer Jeff Allen told Dean Chuck knowledge. To get a chance to adjust the Camaro, Karr in the article “Medical tent created by Alabama that’s a big thrill. Redesigning something like this continues to evolve, expand” on AL.com. from the ground up, it’s unique.” – UA EcoCAR 3 team member Trevor Ford in the article “An Environmentally Friendly Muscle Car” on ASME. org.

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“It has evolved more than I ever could have imagined to be honest with you. It makes me really proud to be a part of it and to know that it was literally something that was built by Bama.”

– Jeff Allen, the Crimson Tide’s head athletic trainer, said in the article “Medical tent created by Alabama continues to evolve, expand” on AL.com.

“After working with this team for two semesters, they have demonstrated perseverance, outstanding problem solving skills and a dedication to innovation and product delivery that exemplifies qualities of UA engineering graduates.”

– Dr. Rachel Frazier, assistant director of the Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs Center at UA, in the article “UA Students Develop Lightweight Hood Fused With Graphene” on GrapheneEntrepreneur.com.

Dr. Rachel Frazier

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“Although women make up half the potential pool of professionals, women are still a distinct minority in the STEM fields. A number of research reports, such as those published by the American Association of University Women, have attributed this to various environmental and social barriers such as stereotypes, gender bias and the climate of science and engineering departments in colleges and universities.”

– Dr. Viola Acoff, associate dean for Undergraduate and Graduate Programs in the College of Engineering, on Women in STEM at ua.edu/news.

Dear Alumni and Friends, The College of Engineering has set another record this fall with total enrollment exceeding 6,000 students. With an average ACT score of 30.1 and GPA of 3.96 for our first-time undergraduate students, the College of Engineering continues to recruit the best and brightest!

More than ever, we need our alumni and friends to stay connected with the College. With the growth of our student population, it can be challenging to find opportunities for them. Here is how you can help: • Update your personal and professional contact information on the College’s webpage at eng.ua.edu/Alumni/update- your-information so we can connect with you.

• Get involved with the Capstone Engineering Society (CES), your College alumni association, at ces.eng.ua.edu.

• Connect with us through the Capstone Engineering Society LinkedIn Group at eng.ua.edu. Click the LinkedIn icon

to join.

• Tell us how you wish to be engaged with the College of Engineering: o Host a networking reception for students and/or professionals in your area or be an event sponsor o Support student organizations and projects with your time or resources o Provide student job shadowing opportunities at your company o Assist with mock interviews or senior design projects o Share employment announcements available at your company with the CES, the Career Center, and Co-op o Conduct an information session on your company o Help the College develop partnerships with companies or industry o Establish a student scholarship or support fund - personally, with your company, or with other alumni and friends o Mentor a junior or senior to help them transition from college to career o Share your ideas on how you wish to engage with the College and the CES at eng.ua.edu/support/get-involved

The opportunities to provide support to our students, the College of Engineering, and the Capstone Engineering Society are endless. Call me at 205-348-2452 if you wish to discuss how you can help or get involved. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Roll Tide!

Nancy Holmes

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Nonprofit Org. U.S. Postage PAID The University of Alabama

Capstone Engineering Society College of Engineering Box 870200 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200

The 18th

Annual

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GOLF TOURNAMENT SE P T. 17

OLD OVERTON COUNTRY CLUB VESTAVIA HILLS, ALABAMA

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