EngineeringWV Fall 2013

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

FALL 2013

Volume 9 Issue 2

A Deep Science to Speed

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Cover Feature

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6 FALL 2013

IN EVERY ISSUE DEAN’S MESSAGE

Dean and Publisher / Eugene V. Cilento gene.cilento@mail.wvu.edu / 304.293.4157

RESEARCH NEWS FACULTY NEWS

Editor / Mary C. Dillon / mary.dillon@mail.wvu.edu

COLLEGE NEWS

Contributing Writers / Naseem Amini / Tony Dobies / Debra Richardson / David Welsh

STUDENT NEWS

Design Coordinator / J. Paige Nesbit

SUPPORT

Assistant Design Coordinator / Halley Kurtz

IN MEMORIAM

ALUMNI NEWS

Fall 2013

Photography / Greg Ellis / Halley Kurtz / J. Paige Nesbit / Brian Persinger / Debra Richardson

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Address West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources PO Box 6070 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6070 www.statler.wvu.edu Change of Address WVU Foundation / PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26504-1650 Fax: 304.284.4001 / e-mail: info@wvuf.org www.mountaineerconnection.com Engineering West Virginia is published twice each year, in spring and fall, for the alumni, friends, and other supporters of the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

Copyright ©2013 by the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Brief excerpts of articles in this publication may be reprinted without a request for permission if EngineeringWV is acknowledged in print as the source. Contact the Editor for permission to reprint entire articles.

The WVU Board of Governors is the governing body of WVU. The Higher Education Policy Commission in West Virginia is responsible for developing, establishing, and overseeing the implementation of a public policy agenda for the state’s four-year colleges and universities.

West Virginia University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution.

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WVU and NASA Team in Fairmont Develops Technologies for “Robotic Mechanic”

Cover Feature: Learning to fish

DiPaolo Urges Graduates to Put Their Passion to Work

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Rachel James named WVU’s 36th GolDwater Scholar

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DeWitts Honor Parents Through Endowments, Scholarships

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Message from the Dean Dear Friends:

For the past year, we spent time reflecting on our rich history and tradition as we celebrated 125 years of engineering education at West Virginia University. Now, as we enter the midway point of the fall 2013 semester, it’s time to look to the future.

The WVU Board of Governors approved our request for a new bachelor’s degree program in biomedical engineering (Bm.E.). This degree will have its basis in traditional engineering principles but the curriculum will provide students a strong biological and medical focus. The Bm.E. program will be housed in chemical engineering but engage faculty across the College and campus, including the health sciences. We currently have six full-time faculty members who have a primary focus in this program. As the enrollment grows, we will reallocate additional faculty positions as well as seek new positions. We are also adding laboratory space to support program objectives.

Freshmen who enrolled in August will have the opportunity to apply to this program for their sophomore year for the first time in spring 2014.

Dean cilento with two of our statler College Student ambassadors, Nick Underwood (left) and Richie Yoho (rIGHT)

But, as always, the future begins with our students.

In this issue of EngineeringWV, I am proud to share a number of stories with you on our student design teams and projects. These opportunities for our students to apply what they learn each day in the classroom in real-world engineering situations are priceless. From building robots that can “mine the moon” to building the next generation of energy-efficient homes, our students are making a name for themselves and West Virginia University on an international level.

Another group of students have brought recognition to us in other ways. Rachel James, who is a senior in civil and environmental engineering, was named WVU’s 36th Goldwater Scholar. Emily Lipscomb, who graduated from the same department this past May, earned a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship to support her work to identify water pollution sources. And, in a completely different arena, Travis Braden, a sophomore, is finding ways to combine his avocation for driving race cars with his education by dual majoring in mechanical and aerospace engineering. And what makes Travis’ story even more special is his no. 1 Chevy is sporting the WVU “Flying WV” logo and the “old gold and blue” colors this season.

Stories such as these show that the future of the Statler College is indeed bright! By continuing to expand our learning environment and opportunities for students, we can ensure that we are able to support our nation’s need for future generations of engineering talent.

Eugene V. Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean and Professor

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The Statler College mission is to prepare students for success in their professional careers; to contribute to the advancement of society through learning, discovery, extension, and service; and to stimulate economic well-being in West Virginia and the world through technical innovation, knowledge creation, and educational excellence.

In late 2014 we will also open the new Advanced Engineering Research Building (AERB). The steel for the building is now being erected. This facility will provide new research laboratories, nanofabrication and biofacilities, office and support space, and equipment to support faculty research programs. We are developing a plan for department and program relocation across all four engineering buildings once AERB opens to better use available space. Be sure to visit statler.wvu.edu for updates and photos on the new building.

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Research news The study of roadway design will help students understand the geometrics involved in designing roads, bridges, and critical intersections. “The section will help students understand the process involved in determining if turning lanes are wide enough for cars to maneuver specific turns,” Martinelli said. “We will also encourage practical problem-solving, such as how to ensure proper drainage to prevent hydroplaning or ice accumulation.”

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s part of an effort to boost interest among talented students in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs, West Virginia University’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is partnering with The Edventure Group to promote STEM learning environments in several Preston County schools this fall through the study of transportation. Participating schools include Preston High School, Bruceton School, Central Preston Middle School, and West Preston Middle School.

Three civil engineering undergraduate and graduate students—Carlee Hamrick, Allison Arnold, and Rachel James—will be teaching the modules. All three students are from West Virginia and as peer mentors, can demonstrate the many possibilities available in STEM career fields. Avinash Unnikrishnan, assistant professor of civil and environmental

Transportation planning and logistics will encourage students to examine the financial responsibilities associated with transportation. “Students will be asked how to plan new projects and where to invest transportation dollars in order to get the most benefit,” Martinelli said. “This section will also include routing and scheduling for both freight and passenger vehicles.”

WVU and The Edventure Group Join Forces to Encourage STEM Education in Local Schools

By Debra Richardson

“We think the field of transportation is a great technical platform for students to learn about STEM,” said David Martinelli, professor of civil and environmental engineering at WVU. “Everyone can relate to everyday transportation issues, such as highway congestion and traffic accidents.”

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Faculty and students in the Statler College will provide the technical expertise while representatives from the Morgantown-based Edventure Group will provide components related to development and delivery.

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“The Edventure Group will be managing the projects and working with the teachers, students, and college mentors to build lessons and activities that can be used in sixth through 12th grade classrooms,” said Edventure Group founder and former high school math teacher Lydotta Taylor. The Edventure Group, Martinelli said, will ensure the modules are applicable to state and federal learning outcomes.

engineering and co-principal investigator for the project, believes that having role models only a few years older than the high school students will motivate the teenagers and further promote confidence in the program.

“As we develop learning modules, we will create a project website,” said Unnikrishnan.

“The website will be a ready-made source others can access for free.”

“There are two aspects to this program,” said Unnikrishnan. “One is having access to knowledge and the belief and confidence that individuals can do STEM and the other is having access to successful young role models, like the college students.”

The website will contain all the modules, along with pictures and explanations of various group projects. The goal is to provide other middle and high schools across the nation with access to this material so other rural schools may also benefit from this project.

The project will consist of three main topics within the sphere of transportation: traffic control devices, roadway design, and transportation planning and logistics.

“The topic on traffic control devices addresses signs and pavement markings used for safety and efficiency as well as the more modern devices,” Martinelli said. “The session will approach topics such as how to employ traffic control to minimize delays and accidents.”

“We’re not just developing modules to give presentations,” Martinelli said. “We’re working with school officials to create experiences that can be certified so teachers know they can be used to meet federal guidelines.”

“Students enjoy real-world examples and applications of math and science,” Taylor said. “Engineering provides the perfect concepts and problems to make this happen.”

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

John Christian, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at West Virginia University, will lead one of 13 university teams selected

by NASA for collaborative Christian projects to develop and demonstrate new technologies and capabilities for small spacecraft known as SmallSats. The selected teams will work with engineers and scientists from six different NASA centers with a goal to transform small

some fantastic research in miniaturizing traditional spacecraft systems by researchers across the country.

“In the area of spacecraft navigation, which is the ‘bread-and-butter’ of the research programs in the ASEL, we noticed that the inertial measurements units or IMUs commonly flown on traditional spacecraft are too big and use too much power to be used on SmallSats,” Christian continued.

“Together with our partners from Marquette University and NASA, we will work to address this problem by combining clusters of many small, low-cost inertial sensors into one effective IMU specifically designed for use on SmallSats. While each of these lowcost sensors has relatively poor performance by itself, we aim to show that a cluster of these sensors may produce performance

WVU’s Christian Selected for NASA Research Project on Small Satellites

By Mary C. Dillon

comparable to a single high-performance IMU. The end result will be a new inertial navigation system that will enable SmallSats to tackle more aggressive missions.”

Christian heads up WVU’s newly created Applied Space Exploration Laboratory (ASEL), which is housed in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and performs research in space systems design and aerospace vehicle navigation. He will be working with a team of researchers from Marquette University and NASA’s Johnson Space Center on this project, which will begin this fall and last about two years.

According to NASA, results from these projects could lead to the development of miniature radio and navigation devices, a low-power laser communications concept, and radiation-tolerant computers. Additional emerging concepts could include energy storage devices and electric propulsion for deep space missions.

Small satellites, according to Christian, have become popular in recent years due to their low cost, low mass, and relative simplicity.

These advantages, however, come with some challenges.

“SmallSats have tight constraints on mass, power, and volume that can severely limit the scope of the missions they can perform,” said Christian. “This challenge has led to

“There is a vibrant small spacecraft community within America’s universities and with this initiative NASA seeks to increase our collaboration with that community,” said Andrew Petro, program executive for NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology Program. “The universities will benefit from the extensive experience NASA has in space research and technology, and NASA will benefit from fresh ideas and cost-conscious innovation at the universities.”

David Graham, an associate professor of computer science and electrical engineering in the Lane Department, was one of three inaugural winners of West Virginia University’s Innovation Awards. The graham awards recognize faculty members who exemplify a spirit of innovation, commercialization, and entrepreneurship.

Graham received the Established Career Innovator Award for his work in energy efficient wireless sensor networks using ultra-low power analog circuits. Wireless networks rely on battery power, but typical sensors drain batteries quickly, shutting down the network. Graham received a patent in 2009 for the commercialization of ultra-low power electronics in sensor networks. He and Brandon Rumberg, a student working with him on the research, filed three more patent requests in 2013.

Wireless sensor networks hold great promise for all types of monitoring, from observing the environment, to keeping a watchful eye on borders around high security properties or borders between nations, to continually checking the safety of infrastructure such as bridges and the power grid.

Graham launched a start-up company, Aspinity, Inc., in 2013, to bring his inventions to market. Aspinity is the first and only integrated circuit design company in West Virginia.

In winning the award, Graham received $5,000 toward his innovation efforts.

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spacecraft, some of which weigh only a few kilograms, into powerful but affordable tools for science, exploration, and space operations.

Graham Honored for Innovation Efforts

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Research news WVU and NASA Team in Fairmont Develops Technologies for “Robotic Mechanic” NASA’s Robotic Refueling Mission may be more than 200 miles overhead on the International Space Station, but for a core team of West Virginia University students and faculty, the experiment’s aspirations to make satellites work longer in space are anything but remote: they hit very close to home.

Since 2009, an ever-evolving team has been working closely with NASA engineers to jump start a new world of satellite repair capabilities in orbit.

Technologies born in their facility off of I-79 in Fairmont, W.Va., could one day make their way to space and bring new life to costly spacecraft assets.

When Thomas Evans walks into the 60-foot high West Virginia Robotic Technology Center (WVRTC) facility in Fairmont, he sees more than NASA logos, enthusiastic graduate students, and multi-jointed robotic arms.

He sees innovation at work: the type of high-tech development that accelerates the future, reshapes local industry, and affects the lives of individuals nationwide.

Fall 2013

Faculty news

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Song Earns National Science Foundation CAREER Award

By Mary C. Dillon

research within the context of the mission of their organizations.

One of the byproducts of automobile exhaust and industrial power plants is waste heat energy, which is currently released unproductively into the environment. A $535,694 Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) will allow West Virginia University’s Xueyan Song to investigate ways to improve the sustainability of our energy infrastructure through waste heat recovery.

Song has been researching the development of materials for energy applications, which are essential to advances in the clean and sustainable energy systems. With this award, she plans to explore ways to improve the energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric oxide, which possess the ability to directly transform temperature differentials into electrical power.

The award is funded by the Ceramics Program in the Division of Materials Research at NSF.

The CAREER Program offers the NSF’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education, and the integration of education and

“Oxide materials, such as the newly developed nontoxic calcium cobaltite, are particularly promising for applications in thermoelectric power generators because of their stability in air at high temperatures,” said Song. “The current

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources Staffed by 10 faculty members and 12 students, and funded by a NASA grant, WVRTC is working hand-in-hand with NASA engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., to develop the technologies needed to robotically fix and repair satellites in space. Five full-time staff members also work at the facility.

For the WVU team that reports to duty daily, the opportunity to work at WVRTC is a source of innovation, inspiration, and pride.

Patrick Lewis, a Washington D.C., native and WVU graduate, began at WVRTC as a student worker in 2010 before becoming a full-time systems engineer in 2012. “I couldn’t have asked for a better first job as an engineer.”

The work, he says, is “cutting-edge,” and that’s exactly what makes it exciting and engrossing.

“It’s a learning experience. It’s not designing something you already know how to build. It’s never been done before.”

Evans, who serves as WVRTC’s program manager, describes how the facility is helping NASA tackle unique challenges.

“Imagine a completely robotic tow truck full of fuel and repair tools, traveling 22,000 miles over our heads, at 6,800 miles per hour,” Evans said.

“Then picture it approaching a client satellite that was never designed to be serviced.

“There isn’t a human in sight: every action has to either be controlled by humans from the ground below, or executed autonomously by the servicer.”

This is where WVRTC’s autonomous machine vision and accompanying algorithms, or

Song, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is bringing a novel approach to her research by involving not only college students but high school teachers as well.

“To introduce the concept of thermoelectric materials, energy efficiency, and energy sustainability to the broader society, I’ve chosen to involve high school teachers in the project,” said Song. “They are collecting their lab experiences in a journal, and designing and developing teaching materials about

Servicing capabilities could potentially extend the lives of hundreds of orbiting satellites, expensive assets that deliver essential services such as weather reports, cell phone and Internet communications, television broadcasts, and disaster relief.

WVRTC’s relationship with NASA has taken WVU faculty and staff to great heights, both literally and figuratively.

The technologies could also encourage the emerging commercial servicing industry that is rapidly gaining momentum.

In 2011, WVU team members successfully tested their algorithms on a “Zero-G” airplane that simulates the weightlessness of the space environment. Their algorithms allowed a robotic arm to autonomously follow a free-floating target—a test to help NASA understand how WVU’s algorithms can be used to guide a robot to successfully grapple objects in space.

Both Evans and Lewis see a bright future for WVRTC and the WVU individuals who are investing in its success.

Last year, WVRTC conducted a remote teleoperations demonstration that had Johns Hopkins University engineers in Baltimore, Md., commanding a robot in the WVRTC facility 230 miles away cut a piece of protective satellite insulation. Objectives were met without the slightest slip, and the results provided valuable information on how robots can be controlled from vast distances and still perform complex tasks successfully.

“That’s a dream of mine, that I could be with the Center from day one as it started up, and be a part of it as it grows.”

Other WVRTC accomplishments include advancing “smart tool” sensor technology, including tactile, chemical, and high-precision vision sensors. WVRTC is also helping NASA develop a new approach to controlling robotic motion under numerous constraints.

While NASA’s servicing mission may itself be conceptual, the technologies themselves are real and applicable to national objectives.

Lewis believes in the Center’s ability to deliver high-quality, world-class products, so much so that he has made the WVRTC a career path and goal.

Evans regards WVRTC’s work as an important milestone for West Virginia, an achievement that solidifies the state’s position as a hub for gamechanging technological developments.

“The WVRTC team and facility have the proven knowledge, creativity, and resources to support agencies like NASA to be successful in critical operations,” he said. “It is our goal to expand these capabilities and apply them to additional national interests such as the U.S. Department of Defense and industrial applications. The benefit is substantial; it increases West Virginia’s technology infrastructure and provides advanced career opportunities for the state.”

advanced materials for energy application for their classrooms.” The award will also help Song closely integrate her research into the undergraduate- and graduate-level courses she teaches.

Song earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in materials science and engineering from Yanshan University, China. She went on to complete her doctorate in the discipline at Zhejiang University, China. Before joining the faculty at WVU, Song worked as a research scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

She is the author of more than 50 peerreviewed journal publications, including ones that have appeared in Nature and Nature Materials.

Volume 9 Issue 2

challenge for developing thermoelectric oxides is to improve the energy conversion efficiency, which is currently lower than that of the conventional thermoelectric materials.”

computer commands, come into play. WVU experts are working with NASA Goddard’s Satellite Servicing Capabilities Office to give this conceptual tow truck the robotic eyes, “finger” sensitivity, and smarts it would need to safely rendezvous with a customer.

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song

Faculty news Klinkhachorn, Valenti Honored for Outstanding Teaching klinkhachorn

Outstanding students deserve outstanding teachers, and each spring, the West Virginia University Foundation lifts up several instructors who enliven their classrooms and groom students for ultimate success. Two such teachers from the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering— Powsiri Klinkhachorn and Matthew Valenti— were among the six honored for 2013.

Distinguished professional and academic titles are hallmarks of Klinkhachorn’s students. But Klinkhachorn’s passion for teaching doesn’t begin and end with the highest achievers.

“Dr. Klink,” as he is known to his students, friends, and colleagues, is an equal opportunity educator who is as invested in the success of a middle school student pondering a possible career as an engineer as he is a doctoral candidate who is poised to become an industry leader.

Klinkhachorn teaches some of the most challenging courses offered through the Lane Department. But he is perhaps best known within the University community for his work in robotics. For the past three years, he has led a multidisciplinary team of students in a set of international competitions sponsored by NASA.

Fall 2013

Students regularly mention his classes as the best they’ve had; even Space Shuttle pilot and WVU alumnus Jon McBride, who has worked with the University’s student team, has been impressed with Klinkhachorn’s skills.

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“When I encouraged WVU to participate in the NASA Lunabotics competition two years ago at the Kennedy Space Center, ‘Klink,’ with less than two months to prepare, assembled a team, designed, and built WVU’s robotic miner,” McBride said. “The amazing part of the story is that WVU finished second among 70 highly rated universities from all parts of our planet. They (WVU’s robotics teams) have now established themselves as the ‘team to beat’ and have elevated our engineering school to a position of prominence as viewed by the NASA coordinators and educators.”

He continued: “I have had the opportunity during my career to work with world-class individuals. These are the men and women who have reached a level of distinction that separates them from the rest. ‘Klink’ fits into that category. His work ethic is highly admirable; his teaching ability is beyond reproach; his demeanor is enviable (warm, affable, and receptive). A ‘true professional’ is the best descriptive.”

Klinkhachorn’s robotics projects are not only top-notch educational tools, but demonstrations of the projects have become an effective recruiting tool for the Department and the College. Klinkhachorn and his students have spent countless hours over the past few years in outreach and recruiting activities directed at middle school, high school, and freshman students.

Innovative and Effective Pedagogy You might not think something simple like developing a workbook for students would alone attract heaps of praise for an electrical engineering professor.

In 2002, Matthew Valenti first taught a juniorlevel course required by every electrical engineering student. As the course had undergone a significant curriculum revision, Valenti couldn’t identify a single textbook that adequately covered the diverse topics in the syllabus.

Viewing this struggle as an opportunity, he developed The Signals and Systems Workbook, which he provided free of charge to students of his class. Instead of being a formal, rigorous textbook, the workbook provides a working skeleton for class discussion. It also contains several intentional blank spaces for students to fill in during class.

Chair of the Lane Department, Brian Woerner, said Valenti’s book is an example of “innovative and effective pedagogy.”

valenti

“The skeleton outline helps students resynchronize if their attention fades,” Woerner said. “However, leaving blanks forces the student to be engaged.”

Valenti earned his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Virginia Tech. He also worked as an electronics engineer at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C. In 1999, he came to WVU as an assistant professor. His teaching and research areas include wireless and cellular communication networks, communication and coding theory, and signal processing.

Upon arriving at WVU, he founded the Wireless Communications Research Laboratory, which focuses on the design and analysis of modern wireless networks. The lab has grown to involve five faculty members and about 20 graduate students.

Since 1999, Valenti has also been an investigator on funded research grants in excess of $6 million, of which a significant fraction has been used to provide his graduate students with research assistantships and hire undergraduate researcher assistants.

All of Valenti’s strides in helping students have worked. A former student, Syed Amaar Ahmad, found a passion for communications after taking one of Valenti’s classes.

“Professor Valenti’s teaching style sparked my interest in communications and ensured that I was able to understand the challenging course contents,” said Ahmad, who is now working toward an electrical engineering Ph.D. at Virginia Tech. “Moreover, while teaching Stochastic Systems Theory, unlike some instructors who simply presume that students understand the material, he took the pains to explain the material to everyone even though it was a large class.”

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Zondlo Honored for Years of Service to SWE, NSBE

By Mary C. Dillon

While there are a number of successful student organizations at West Virginia University, two have had the benefit of counsel from the same faculty advisor from the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources for 25 years.

On May 3, representatives from the University’s chapters of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) came together to honor John Zondlo, professor of chemical engineering, for his unwavering support and guidance.

Zondlo got involved with both organizations for one simple reason: he was asked. “A student in the Department of Chemical Engineering came to me and asked if I would help start a NSBE chapter,” Zondlo said. “About a year later, a female student in the Department asked if I would help with SWE, since we had no female faculty members at that time.

“Over the years, I just couldn’t let them go,” he added. “Dealing with both groups has been a real blessing.”

SWE was founded nationally in 1950 as a conduit to recruit women into the career by offering training and development programs, networking opportunities, scholarships, and outreach and advocacy activities. The WVU

While SWE has had other advisors since its formation on campus in the 1970s, according

“It is high time he be recognized for his great accomplishments with both student organizations,” Idowu continued. “He is not one to seek praise, but he deserves it. He has brought both chapters to great levels of success.”

“I don’t know anyone more passionate and dedicated to students than John Zondlo.”

—Gene Cilento to Gbolahan “Bugzy” Idowu, outgoing WVU chapter president of NSBE, Zondlo has been its advisor since day one. The chapter was founded in 1984, two years after Zondlo joined the faculty, and in addition to bringing prominent speakers to campus, members attend the National Black Engineer of the Year Award Conference.

“Our organization has been built up into a model organization worthy of emulation due to Dr. Zondlo’s hard work and dedication to promoting diversity in STEM fields,” said Idowu. “We have had challenging years where we struggled to keep up membership involvement and now we are in a period where we stand out for excellence in membership consistency.

Through these years, Dr. Zondlo has always been there and has never considered leaving our group despite his busy research and teaching schedule.

Ordel Brown, an assistant teaching professor in freshman engineering and his co-advisor in NSBE, couldn’t agree more.

“His commitment to promoting diversity is remarkable, his passion for the growth and development of NSBE is undeniable, his record is unmatched, and his humility is boundless,” said Brown. “It has been an insightful experience, an honor, and an absolute pleasure serving with him.”

“I don’t know anyone more passionate and dedicated to students than John Zondlo,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “I have learned so much from him.

This is well-deserved recognition.”

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“Dr. Zondlo is the rock that grounds and centers WVU SWE,” said Amanda Thorp. “Even though officers change and members come and go, Dr. Z is the person that holds the organization together from year to year. It is important to have that source of constant support. He is also the bridge between the faculty and students.

It’s nice to have a faculty member in our corner, lobbying for our needs and goals.”

chapter hosts a number of activities throughout the year including Eighth Grade Visitation Day, the Murder Mystery Lunch, and Girl Scout Day.

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zondlo

Rakesh gupta

accolades

New Faculty Aaron Noble

P.V. Vijay

Assistant Professor Mining Engineering

Assistant Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering

Education: Ph.D. – Virginia Tech, ’13 M.S. – Virginia Tech, ’12 B.S. – Virginia Tech, ’09

noble

Teaching Interests: mineral processing, mine valuation, mine pollution control Research Interests: froth flotation, physical separations, plant design and simulation, separation circuit analysis

vijay

Education: Ph.D. – West Virginia University, ’99 M.S. – WVU, ’95 M.E. – Bangalore University, India, ’91 B.E. – Bangalore University, ’89 Teaching and Research Interests: structural design, analysis, durability, safety, construction, monitoring, and life-cycle evaluation of buildings, bridges, highway, and waterway infrastructure

By Mary C. Dillon

Ali Takbiri Borujeni Assistant Professor Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

Yoojung Yoon borujeni

Education: Ph.D. – Louisiana State University, ’13 M.S. – Institute Français du Pétrole, France, ’07 M.S. – Petroleum University of Technology,

Iran, ’07 B.S. – Petroleum University of Technology, ’04 Teaching Interests: hydraulic fracturing, numerical reservoir simulation, well testing, well design

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Research Interests: enhanced oil recovery, pore scale and multiscale modeling, flow and transport through porous media, unconventional resources

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Clark Named to National Academies Committee on Energy and Energy Conservation

Assistant Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering yoon

Education: Ph.D. – Purdue University, ’12 M.S. – Inha University, Korea, ’06 B.S. – Inha University, ’99

Research Interests: infrastructure systems, infrastructure planning and management, sustainable infrastructure, life-cycle cost analysis, risk management, profitability analysis of construction companies, project management, decision-making applied to infrastructure management Teaching Interests: planning and scheduling, cost estimation, project control, risk management, infrastructure systems related to water, transportation, energy and public facilities

Nigel Clark, the George B. Berry Chair of Engineering at West Virginia University and associate vice president for academic strategic planning, has been named to an ad-hoc committee formed to continue the work done in 2010 by the National Research Council (NRC) for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

A committee made up of 19 industry representatives and educators will meet to assess technologies for reducing fuel consumption of medium- and heavyduty vehicles.

This updated assessment will reassess the technologies analyzed in part one of the NRC report by providing updated estimates of the cost, potential efficiency improvements, and barriers to commercial deployment of technologies that might be employed in model years 2022 and beyond. The assessment will reflect developments since the initial report was issued and investigate any new technologies

Faculty News in Brief Sam Ameri, chair of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, was recognized with the Barbara R. Alvis Award for his outstanding service to West Virginia University’s international community, at an event in March. In April, he was named the outstanding professor in the Department

by WVU’s student chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers.

Thirimachos Bourlai, assistant professor of biometrics in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, was a featured speaker in a number of webinars held this year. On July 16, he participated in “Facial Recognition Readiness: What Criminal Investigators and Intelligence Analysts Need to Know,” sponsored by TeleStrategies’ ISS World. Later that month, he was a presenter at a webinar entitled, “Night Vision Systems,” at an event sponsored by the Institute for

Defense and Government Advancement. In September, he presented a talk at the Biometric Consortium Conference on “Heterogeneous Face Recognition: Current Challenges and Case Studies.”

Guodong Guo, an assistant professor in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and Xiaopeng Ning, an assistant professor of industrial and management systems engineering, had one

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

that may become important in model years beyond 2022-2023. The committee will also examine and make recommendations for improvements to the medium- and heavyduty fuel efficiency program.

said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “He has been a prolific researcher who will bring that wealth of experience to bear on the important work of this committee.”

“Our society is dependent on trucking for interstate freight movement, local delivery, and a wide variety of services, and trucks consume a substantial fraction of our national energy supply,” said Clark. “Driving energy efficiency in this sector is essential; it reduces fuel use, makes economic sense, and reduces overall exhaust pollutants. Serving on this committee represents a wonderful opportunity to reduce our energy footprint and advance our national economy.”

The committee will work under the oversight of the National Academies Division on Engineering and Physical Science, Studies and Special Programs Division. Part of the committee’s work will be to conduct a review of the final rule for fuel efficiency/greenhouse gas emissions standards for medium- and heavy-duty engines and vehicles for model years 2014-2018 with the recommendations offered in the NRC 2010 report. Potential implications and gaps in the U.S. regulatory process for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles as they pertain to the engine manufacturers, trailer manufacturers, final stage manufacturers, and complete vehicles will be identified. The committee will also explore regulatory options for trailers from a total vehicle perspective as well as contrast the U.S. regulatory approach to that in other parts of the world, notably Europe, Japan, China, and India.

Clark has extensive experience in vehicle design, advanced vehicle concepts, alternative fuels, and the measurement and reduction of vehicle emissions. He has conducted research for government and industry in the areas of fuel economy and emissions from heavy-duty vehicles, including buses and heavy hybrid drive vehicles, and works with the International Council for Clean Transportation on technology and efficiency review. Clark has contributed to understanding the influence of vehicle activity and test cycles on fuel use, and to relating engine and vehicle dynamometer data. A Fellow of the Society of Automotive Engineers, Clark previously served as director of WVU’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines and Emissions and has been responsible for implementing and performing well over $50 million in research.

of the top 25 downloaded papers on the IEEE Sensors Journal website for the month of March. The paper was entitled “Assessing Spinal Loading Using the Kinect Depth Sensor: A Feasibility Study.”

Rakesh Gupta, George B. and Carolyn A. Berry Professor and chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering, was the recipient of the Society of Plastics Engineers Mentor Award.

The award is given to an SPE member who

Zaniewski Honored for Excellence in Advising John Zaniewski, a professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Statler College, was honored with the Nicholas Evans Advising Award from West Virginia University. The award recognizes some of the University’s most dedicated and accomplished faculty and staff.

As the Department’s undergraduate program coordinator, Zaniewski advises all at-risk students. He creates a plan for each one of them to succeed, based on their circumstances.

“My philosophy in dealing with at-risk students is to investigate with the student the circumstances that created the at-risk situation and then work with the student to modify the circumstances that created the problem,” he said.

The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. They are private, nonprofit institutions that provide science, technology, and health policy advice under a congressional charter. The Research Council is the principal operating agency of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering.

influenced the life, career, or experience of another SPE member. Gupta was nominated

by Dejin Li, a process chemist at SABIC in Washington, W.Va. The award was presented at the organization’s annual technical conference, which was held in April in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tim Menzies, professor of computer science, had an op/ed entitled, “Beyond Data Mining,” published in the May/June 2013 issue of IEEE Software.

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“Nigel Clark is widely recognized in the heavy-duty vehicle industry as a leader in the study of alternative fuels and vehicle design, especially as it relates to mediumand heavy-duty vehicles and engines,”

The committee, which is chaired by Andrew Brown, Jr., vice president and chief technologist with the Delphi Corporation, is expected to issue its report in December 2015.

Accolades News in Brief:

Shahab Mohaghegh, professor of petroleum and natural gas engineering, was invited to participate in the 2013 U.S.-Turkmenistan Business Forum in April. He participated in a panel discussion entitled, “Turkmenistan and the World Gas Market.” He will deliver the keynote address in the technical session on surveillance (data mining) at the Society of Petroleum Engineering Middle East Intelligent Energy Conference and Exhibition, scheduled for October 28-30 in Dubai.

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WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Invest in the Future The Statler College is committed to offering educational programs that prepare students for the demands of a global economy. In order to keep our programs engaging and relevant for the next generation of students, we plan to raise $5 million through A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University to promote student opportunities in design, research experiences, and participation in national competitions. For ways in which you can help, contact Bob Bragg, director of development, at 304.293.4036 or robert.bragg@mail.wvu.edu.

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Features by Debra Richardson Edited by Mary c. Dillon

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Making the Unfloatable Float: Concrete Canoe Competitiondf The Concrete Canoe Competition challenges students to combine creativity, knowledge, and physical stamina to construct and race a concrete canoe. In order to make the unfloatable float, students rely on engineering principles they learn in the classroom and expect a lot of trial and error.

“In the planning phase, we varied different concrete mixes to try to find the lightest and most durable mixture to use,” said Emily Lipscomb, project leader from Swanton, Md. “We added in different proportions of aggregates, such as rubber and bolo glass beads.

Typically, small rocks would be used in normal concrete mixtures, but rocks are too heavy, so we had to find alternatives that would still allow our canoe to have some buoyancy.”

Before deciding on a specific mixture to use, the team tested each of the samples. The samples were cut into two-inch blocks and placed on a compressive testing machine. The machine adds pressure until the blocks crack and begin to break.

“The process tests for strength and density because we need the canoe to be strong but still light enough to float,” Lipscomb said. “By dividing the force over stress, we can determine how much force the sample can withstand before failing.”

The design and testing phase consumed the majority the team’s time. Just like in the real world, the students had to learn the ancient art of delegation.

“If nothing else, the students learn how to lead and direct others,” said Jennifer Weidhaas, ASCE advisor and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. “ASCE is about teaching students to be engineers and project managers, and that’s what this competition promotes.”

ASCE also hosts a national Steel Bridge Competition, which challenges students to design and fabricate a one-10th-scale steel bridge.

The steel bridge team averages seven students per competition year. The team strives to develop a new design that will improve on the previous year’s results.

“Some ideas remain the same from year to year but typically we use a new design,” said Kyle Turner, project leader from Pilesgrove, N.J. “The rules change from year to year as well, and that forces teams to change up their strategies.”

Rule changes this year forced the team to rethink their connection design. Turner said they used a splice connection instead of their normal male-to-female connection. The rules represent a dose of reality for the teams and provide specific guidance that the students may encounter at an actual job site.

“A lot of schools use connections when a bolt is there only because the rules state a bolt must be included in the design,” Turner said. “The competition is always trying to maintain realistic guidelines, like bringing the focus back on the bolt because in reality, a bridge relies heavily on its bolts.”

The team completed several stages of planning, designing, testing, and building before the actual competition.

As part of the planning phase, Turner reviewed the results from the previous year’s competition to determine any weaknesses in the design. This allowed him to narrow the team’s focus on changing things that performed poorly while maintaining those things that performed well.

“Last year it took us 28 minutes to build our bridge but this year our design was smaller, so we felt like we’d score higher,” Turner said. The team receives points for stiffness, deflection, minimum weight standards, and the amount of time it takes the team to put the bridge together.

Just like the concrete canoe team, the steel bridge team relied on its own creativity and ingenuity. By tracing all the required sizes of various pieces on a sheet of paper before beginning to cut, the team saved a lot of time, which they used to begin testing.

“We conducted several tests before the competition day,” Turner said. “We put the bridge together and use a weighted pulley to gauge how much it sways. If it’s more than half an inch, it can’t be loaded with weights at competition due to unsafe structural integrity. We also practice putting the bridge together and taking it apart for time.

“Being able to see a project from start to finish gives you satisfaction knowing you did good or that next year you can only do better.”

Similar to the concrete canoe team, Weidhaas believes in taking a more passive role as advisor.

“Both competitions are completely student led from inception,” Weidhaas said. “I attend officer meetings, give teams a heads-up on any fund raising opportunities, and check on their progress, but everything else is completely run by the team.”

Results While WVU’s Concrete Canoe team placed third overall in 2010, and didn’t place in 2011 and 2012, the team found much success in 2013, finishing second overall at the Virginias’ Conference.

“This year was a great improvement, and we hope to see even more improvement for next year,” Lipscomb said.

“Paddling a 335-pound canoe is challenging, but the team maintained their team spirit and sportsmanship.

“We did have a few cracks form throughout handling, transportation, and racing,” Lipscomb added. “They were all fairly minor, and we didn’t have to use tape to repair them. We placed people as close to the cracks as possible so as to push the canoe further into the water and keep the crack in compression.”

The steel bridge team didn’t have as successful a year, being declared ineligible to compete due to failures during the load test.

“Our major problem resulted because we failed to determine the last-minute sway failure that resulted in our bridge not passing the sway test,” Turner said. “A goal for next year should be to completely load test the bridge before the competition and take more precision when drilling the holes.

“We may not have gotten the results we wanted, but overall this was a good building year,” Turner added.

“We are still working on balancing construction speed with structural stability and with a 14-minute build time this year, our team made significant progress, progress we intend to build on for next year’s competition.”

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“We had 24 members this year, which is good, but it required a lot of coordination to work around everyone’s schedule,” Lipscomb said. “We had some students in charge of different parts of the project and we depended on delegation.”

A Dose of Reality: Steel Bridge Competition

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The Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC), conducted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers or ASME, tests both brains and brawn in an annual competition that requires engineering students to design and build pedal-powered aerodynamic vehicles, and then race them. They are judged on design, speed, maneuverability, practicality, reliability, and safety.

The Design and Build Phase

2012 was the first year West Virginia University competed in ASME’s HPVC East Competition. The team placed seventh overall and won the “Energizer Bunny” award for having the most reliable vehicle in the three-day competition. The team’s impressive first-year performance helped the recruitment of new members for the 2013 competition.

“Helping students to understand the central role that the design component plays in the engineering process is a vital aim at this stage,” said Sierros. “Going through the multistep design process and being able to arrive at a detailed final vehicle design on time is of paramount importance.”

“I decided to join after hearing some of my fellow classmates who were on the team last year talk about the process and the project,” said Mohammed Jawad Anbari, a mechanical engineering major from Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates.

“They passed on their excitement about the team to me, and I knew I wanted to be involved.”

“Although last year’s vehicle proved to be highly maneuverable and exhibited excellent stability, it still showed significant room for improvement,” said Bridgeport, W.Va., native, Andrew Hoover, team leader and a graduate student in mechanical engineering. “As a team, we implemented some geometric changes in order to create a more streamlined and lighter vehicle that would be capable of achieving a greater maximum speed.”

Kostas Sierros, team advisor and assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, helps organize team meetings and recruitment events.

“Our aim is to make this design program a long-standing tradition for the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and our College,” said Sierros.

Even though the 2012 prototype was successful, changes were necessary to help the team be even more competitive. While the design phase wasn’t as extensive as the previous year, they still went back to the drawing board in order to gain perspective on the changes they needed to make.

To do this, the team incorporated a weight-reduction plan.

“Last year’s tricycle design was heavier than what we wanted, and the way the rider was located made it so you couldn’t achieve the most efficient power output,” Anbari said.

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

A recumbent configuration was kept as the general frame design for the 2013 vehicle. The team also used the same type of steel material for construction but modifications were made to the rollover driver protection system in order to reduce the weight from 65 to 48 pounds.

Reducing the weight while maintaining reliability was the team’s number-one priority, but many other changes and adjustments were made in order to build a faster, more ergonomic, and highly aesthetic vehicle.

“The new frame was designed to allow for seat adjustments for different drivers, and the wheelbase was extended,” Hoover said, “which changed the placement of the driver’s center of gravity.” The changes greatly improved the vehicle’s stability and handling around sharp turns. The team also incorporated new handlebars, which allowed for three points of adjustment; higher quality headsets; and customized spindles, which were machined in-house by the students.

“To reduce drag effects, a partial fairing was designed and constructed,” Hoover said. The team constructed a fiberglass resin nosecone to fit over the pedal section.

Kevlar straps reinforced it and, using a mold, formed two symmetric joined sections.

A rear fairing was also built to create storage space and enclose the area behind the driver, extending all the way to the rear wheel.

The Competition The team traveled to Ferris State University, in Big Rapids, Mich., for the competition, which included a vehicle design report presentation, a drag race, and the endurance race. Vehicle performance was assessed on design, speed, and durability. The team from West Virginia University placed 10th out of 31 teams.

Hoover said that most teams recruit competitive cyclists to race on the team’s behalf but WVU’s team chose to use HPVC team members as a reward for designing and building the vehicle.

“We had four different riders competing in the drag race event, and six team members took turns driving in the endurance race,” said Hoover. “While we wanted to place high in the overall competition, our priority was to let as many of our team members participate as possible.

“Although we ultimately would have liked to win, remaining in the top 10 for just our second year of participation is something that I believe the entire team is proud of,” Hoover said.

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“We recycled the rear end from a used mountain bike and integrated it into our frame,” Hoover said. “This reduced the weight and made the construction even more simplistic. It also reduced potential alignment issues since a custom fabricated rear end was no longer required.”

“I was really happy with the students’ efforts and the final product,” Sierros said.

“I was impressed by the maturity and focus of the team to identify and solve issues with last year’s vehicle and fabricate a highly competitive entry for this year’s events.”

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“Our teams are highly selective because we want the most-qualified students who have high academic achievement and a strong work ethic,” said Tim Godisart, team leader for both teams and a graduate student studying electrical engineering from Waynesburg, Pa. Godisart said the teams worked more than 20 hours a week, so commitment comprised a large portion of the recruiting and selection process. Powsiri Klinkhachorn, professor of computer science and electrical engineering, advised both teams.

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Both competitions encourage multidisciplinary teams composed of graduate and undergraduate students. With only five months to complete both prototypes, the teams had to master communication skills, construction techniques, and technical information unique to each robot and the individual competition requirements.

Each phase of the planning, building, and competing process was carefully mapped out according to each competition’s rules and requirements.

The Design/Build Phase The Lunabotics Mining Competition, which was held at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, required the team to construct a robot capable of completing excavation tasks in a simulated space environment.

“My first year on the team, we had to build everything from scratch,” Godisart said. “Last year we redesigned everything again and made it a tank. This year, we’re using a lot of the same parts, but the design is different.”

The team spent many grueling hours in front of a computer screen, relying on CAD software to help them create new designs or alter old ones. After the team was satisfied with the design specifications, they moved into the prototype phase, where the value of their effort either proved successful or forced them to get back to the drawing board.

“Prototyping takes up the most amount of time,” said Jason Battin, an electrical engineering major from Parkersburg, W.Va. “It takes a long time because we have to design a fully working model and determine any errors. If we find errors, we have to go back and redesign the

prototype again. We spent more than 200 hours in one week just on redesigning.”

The Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage Exploration RoboOps, or Mars Robo-Ops Competition, required the team to construct a planetary rover prototype capable of completing various tasks in an analog environment. The competition is highly selective with only eight teams selected annually to compete at the event, which was held at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex. While the rules change annually, the team was able to salvage their design from last year, but installed new parts.

Despite having the same design, the team still went back to the drawing board before competing.

“We reviewed the design with the entire team,” Godisart said. “We knew we were keeping the same design, but we opened communication among everyone and sought out solutions to small problems, new design ideas for the new parts we planned to install, and encouraged general conversation about the pros and cons of the design in general.”

Despite the similarities to last year’s entry, the prototyping phase was still lengthy. “We still had an extensive prototyping phase because we had to verify that our design and configurations would perform to specification,” said Matt Grubb, an electrical engineering major from Winchester, Va. “Engineering isn’t always black and white,” Klinkhachorn said. “You can design something only to build it and find out that it doesn’t work as planned.

That’s why the prototyping phase is so important.”

While competition rules permit schools to utilize technical support services from companies or individuals, the WVU team is responsible for building all of their necessary parts. “Our students get lots of hands-on work,” Klinkhachorn said.

“We teach everyone a little bit at a time, but in the end, most of the students are knowledgeable and experienced with the equipment we use.”

In order to increase efficiency, the team was divided into several areas of focus, such as programming, mechanics, and design. “Not everyone

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

comes in to physically build the robot, but everyone has access to each stage of its development if they’re interested or curious,” Grubb said.

The Competitions

The WVU team went back to the drawing board and, after several modifications, tore through the competition on day two, collecting a record-high 150 kilograms in its second run. The team finished fourth overall in the mining competition and second for the team spirit award.

Top honors went to the team from Iowa State University.

“With this year’s finish I think it’s safe to say that WVU is now recognized as having one of the top robotics programs in the country,” said Klinkhachorn. “Our team was made up of some of the brightest students in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources along with representatives from Bluefield State College and WVU Air Force ROTC.”

The team didn’t have much time to celebrate, however, as it headed to Texas about a week after its return from Florida for the Mars RoboOps Competition.

The competition was not without its setbacks for WVU, however. On day one, the robot experienced an unexpected sensor failure, which caused it to fall

And, once again, the team experienced an unexpected setback: a communication failure. The team had to change wireless cards and providers while on site at the

competition. The webcams used for the mast also had a major problem. “The camera wouldn’t boot up successfully,” explained Klinkhachorn. “The team looked into several causes and eventually narrowed it down to a driver issue.” The team was forced to replace its fourtower mast camera system with a single camera in order to be able to compete.

All of the last-minute changes limited the team’s efforts on the rock yard.

“Our drivers were successfully able to collect two samples, find several more, and traverse obstacles on the course,” Klinkhachorn said. “Unfortunately the last-minute changes caused our camera feeds to be much lower quality than expected, which made it hard for the operators to easily identify samples.”

Despite all the setbacks, the team finished fourth overall. WVU earned top honors for the best technical paper, the best-looking robot, and won the slalom Olympic challenge. According to Klinkhachorn, the judges and NASA engineers were impressed by the Mountaineer

rover and its drivetrain, which was able to successfully traverse very large obstacles and steep grades in the sandpit, which no other rover could do.

“The team was very proud of their accomplishments but knew that, with a little more time, their rover could have been competing for one of the top spots,” Klinkhachorn said. “The on-site team did a fantastic job of working under pressure to deliver a capable robot despite the unexpected failures. The drivers did a fantastic job adapting to the changes made and working as a team to identify and collect the samples.”

The WVU lunabotics team was sponsored by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the Statler College, the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, and U.S. Air Force ROTC. In-kind support was provided by the departments of mechanical and aerospace engineering and chemical engineering.

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For the third straight year, the team from WVU finished near the top of the Lunabotics Mining Competition, taking home second place for the coveted Joe Kosmo Award for Excellence. The award honors the team earning the most points overall in the competition.

over in the competition pit. Thankfully, the team was able to right the robot remotely, keeping them in the competition. “Despite a stuck limit switch,” said Klinkhachorn, “we were still able to collect more than 15 kilograms of regolith, which was enough to qualify us for day two of the competition.”

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Professional race teams are most often made up of engineers, drivers, mechanics, and technicians, all of which are hand-selected by the race team owner to ensure the best fit for success. In the case of West Virginia University’s entry into the Society of Automotive Engineers’ Baja competition, the members simply enroll for the right to participate as part of a senior design course offered in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

And while professional teams are most often seen on the likes of such paved ovals as Daytona International Speedway, the mini Baja teams race through dirt, gravel, and mud, while encountering sharp turns and steep hills and obstacles such as rocks and logs.

The Baja project has been a part of the mechanical and aerospace engineering capstone senior design class since the early 1980s. “We have traveled all over North America, including trips to Canada, to compete with schools from all over the world,” said Ken Means, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering.

“The auto industry designs and builds cars in the same way the Baja students do; with a specified time frame, a budget, and various project-specific constraints.”

Driving the car is one of the most enjoyable aspects of the entire project, according to Anderson. “It’s a lot like drag racing, but on a go-cart and on dirt,” he said. “We all took turns learning to drive it, seeing how it handled, and trying to determine if we thought there were any issues with it.”

The class starts off with a bang, but the immediate joy from driving the car is replaced with the somber reality that the students have to design and build their own car within a short time-frame.

The Design Phase “It’s a little scary at first, to think that we have to work as a team to create something that will go ridiculously fast and yet still be safe,” said Joyce.

Even though the team had access to last year’s car, the design phase was intense. The team was divided into sub-teams, which included the frame front suspension, steering, rear suspension, wheels, tires and brakes, and the drivetrain. The sub-teams researched and explored different options to make the entire car more durable and faster.

“The design phase was tough,” Anderson said. “It originally seemed like a great idea to split the group into different teams, but then when we came together to discuss each groups’ ideas, we realized, although realistic, that it was difficult.”

“I chose the Baja team as my senior project because I had a good automotive background and thought I could help our school do well in the competition,” said Stephen Joyce, team captain from Goochland, Va. “I also liked the idea of having a project that would allow me to design a car, then build what I had designed and test it.”

“Most of the time we took a team vote to decide if a sub-team’s ideas were going to be used or not,” Joyce said. “Several times team votes favored a choice that we later found to be insufficient for our car, but it had to be implemented anyway due to the lack of time to test it and correct it.”

“The first few weeks of class were spent taking last year’s car apart, to see how the previous students put it together,” explained David Anderson, of Coatesville, Pa. “After we had a few tries at taking it apart and putting it back together, we got to drive it.”

“The hardest part of this project is learning to work as a team and integrating different parts of the design,” Means said. “Some personalities clash, and some students don’t like to give up their ideas to allow for other concepts to be considered. But that is one important aspect that prepares students for the workforce and develops personal growth.”

As the weeks passed, the team worked tirelessly to build the car from frame to completion. “The hardest part was finding enough time to dedicate to the whole process,” Anderson said. “It was hard to hold 20 credit hours and dedicating your evenings to designing this, or building that.

“My most memorable time working on the Baja car were the nights leading up to the actual competition and the first few days spent competing. There was a huge urgency to get the final touches on the car; everyone had a job to do, and team unity was at its highest.”

The Competition The mini Baja car competition was held at Tennessee Tech University, in Cookeville, Tenn., with WVU competing against 100 other teams. The endurance course was 2.5 miles long and included a creek, a rock crawl, and several large mud holes.

“The mud holes through the woods required our car to be small and agile,” Joyce said. “Our design allowed us to maneuver through several wrecked vehicles, around trees, and other obstacles. The new braking and turning system we implemented this year really paid off.”

While WVU has won the competition four times and placed in the top 10 many times, this year’s competition re-emphasized the importance of testing.

“We did well in three events: land maneuverability, acceleration, and power pulling,” Means said. “Attention to detail and understanding how all the high tolerance components must fit together is a difficult part of this project. We had a problem in the transmission that kept us from completing the endurance race, but our overall finish was still in the middle of the pack.”

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Several corporations within the car industry have stated they often try to hire engineers who have participated in the Baja competition, Means said. For many students, the Baja competition is a career starter because it closely mimics the needs of the car industry.

The Build Phase Because each team must use the same 10 horsepower engine, the WVU team focused on making their car as lightweight as possible. “Lightweight is a constant goal for Baja teams so they can gain an advantage of speed and power over other teams,” said Joyce. “We learned a few things from last year’s team to help make the car lighter, such as having fewer bends in the tubing around the frame.”

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“It’s a stressful time for students and advisors,” said John Kuhlman, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and team mentor. Unlike other projects, microgravity team candidates undergo a rigorous selection process that screens students based on grades, research interests, and personal interviews.

Select a Topic, Submit the Proposal Once selected to be on the team, the students spent three weeks conducting brain storming sessions in order to determine a research topic. “The research is chosen completely by the students on the team,” said Nick Underwood, an aerospace engineering major from Beaver, W.Va. “Dr. Kuhlman provides some insight into possible topics for research, but ultimately, the decision is made by the team members. We had several topics of interest and only after several days of discussion and research were we finally able to choose one.”

The team had limited time to complete their research on their chosen topic and submit a technical proposal. As individuals

“This year, our completed proposal was more than 60 pages in length and required well over 100 hours to write,” said Stephen Itschner, an electrical and biometric systems engineering dual major from Huntingtown, Md. Proposals were submitted in October to NASA’s Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, who selected WVU to participate along with 13 other teams.

After being notified, the team had seven months to design, build, and test their experiment.

“In the spring, the team had to write a report that presented engineering calculations to prove the experiment is safe for flight aboard the aircraft,” Kuhlman said.

The team chose to research the effect of microgravity conditions on spray cooling systems. Spray cooling is used to cool a wide variety of electronic devices, from super computers to high-powered lasers.

“This technology could be very useful to NASA if it can be made ‘idiot proof’ and where it doesn’t need maintenance,” Kuhlman said.

Spray cooling has been researched before, but not extensively, and published experiments have offered conflicting results.

“Some research has shown microgravity decreases the efficiency of the cooling and some show it actually increases the efficiency,” Underwood said. He added that the team hoped to identify a relationship between the velocity of

used the research to gain reference conditions so they could begin developing different tools to measure the actual heat transfer process.

After the design phase, the team moved into the prototype phase. “The prototype was built by combining a circular copper heater in a circular tank,” Underwood said. “We attached a spray nozzle at the top and a pump provides water flow throughout the system. Multiple power supply units provided power, heat, and collected data measurements.”

All equipment was contained in a specially fabricated rigid frame. The frame was necessary to meet safety requirements and provide protection of the equipment while on board the aircraft.

The equipment was evaluated by NASA for any safety violations, which included possible issues with the equipment if the aircraft were to undergo a hard landing.

For this reason, the frame was required to be tied down for the duration of the flight.

“We designed a double containment system for all portions of the apparatus that contain liquid, to help prevent any

the spray and the amount of heat that is removed from the cooled surface.

leaks and improve the overall safety,” Itschner said.

“By identifying a relationship, we hope to optimize future spray cooling systems by determining how much spray is needed to cool a surface by a specified temperature,” Underwood continued.

“Doing so will allow optimized systems to conserve energy and resources.

This would be critical, for example, on long-term space flights, where energy consumption is always a top priority.”

Itschner authored a computer program that automatically recorded data sent from different data collection hardware components to a computer via USB. “As a result of this program, we were able to log the data we need to collect during the flight without human intervention.”

The timing capabilities of this software are very impressive, with recording accuracy to within 42 nanoseconds.

This allowed for more precise data collection at shorter intervals.

The design phase was greatly reduced due to the team having access to Kuhlman’s current research, which focuses on spray flow rates. The team

Flying in Zero Gravity In July, nine members of the team headed to Houston to conduct their research, joining teams from Baldwin Wallace University/John Carroll University; Purdue University; Rice University; SUNY Buffalo; University of California San Diego; and University of Texas, El Paso.

WVU conducted its experiment from July 19-21.

“It was incredible flying in zero-gravity and touring the NASA Houston facility,” said recent graduate and “flyer” Dustin Frohnapfel, of Follansbee, W.Va. “The experience made the nine months of preparation completely worth it.”

WVU alumni Tyler-Blair Sheppard, Judy Hayes, and Adam Korona, all of whom work at JSC, took the team on tours of the International Space Station, the Apollo Mission Control Center, and the Neutral Buoyance Lab. “These types of interactions with alumni are extremely helpful to students,” said Kuhlman. “They get to hear about real problems they are working on.”

Kuhlman sees these types of handson, project-based experiences as being invaluable to students. “They get to apply their formal classroom learning while developing technical skills,” he said. “This tends to help them build confidence and can motivate them to learn even more.”

The team will issue a final report analyzing the experiment’s effectiveness, scientific findings, and conclusions to NASA this fall.

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and a team, they were expected to read current literature and extract key results with some understanding of the methodologies discussed.

The Design, Build, and Test Phase

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By the time our readers receive this magazine, the results of the competition may have already been announced. Regardless of the outcome, the team from West Virginia University has proven one thing: Mountaineers never give up.

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A journey that started during the summer of 2011, when Ken Hite took a trip to Washington, D.C., and stumbled upon an exhibition of homes on the National Mall, comes to fruition this month as the team from West Virginia University competes in its first Solar Decathlon. The biennial event, which features 20 international teams, challenges students to design and construct an affordable, attractive, and energy-efficient solarpowered home. For the past 20 months, the interdisciplinary team has faced its share of challenges: from the coming and goings of team members to the wrath of Mother Nature, which at times may have made them wish they were building an ark instead of a home. Despite it all, they persevered and made the trek to this year’s competition in Irvine, Calif.

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college news DiPaolo Urges Graduates to Put Their Passion to Work

E

dward “Jed” DiPaolo, B.S., agricultural engineering, ’76, spent more than three decades in the energy business, rising to the position of group senior vice president of global business development at Halliburton Company and serving as partner and president of JNDI Corporation. But as he told the graduates of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at its annual commencement ceremony in May, where he was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree, the “energy” wasn’t just oil and natural gas. It was human energy.

Fall 2013

“Human energy relates to the terms mentioned in the first chapter of my old physics 110 textbook,” DiPaolo said. “Its components are potential energy and the transformation of that energy source into kinetic energy.”

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Kinetic energy, DiPaolo said, doesn’t mean the ability to work but the ability to interact and solve problems. “My view of kinetic energy isn’t limited to transforming potential energy into work; it’s about working for the betterment of society and making the world a better place.”

The catalyst in the transformation is passion. “The most rewarding experiences of my life,” DiPaolo said, “are when I worked with an individual who I thought didn’t have the potential energy to succeed but who pushed through their limitations and created more kinetic energy than I could have ever imagined. Do you know how they did it? Passion.”

DiPaolo gave the graduates five tenets to help them discover their passion and guide them in their professional careers. The first being work is work.

“Most of the young people I talk with tell me they hate their jobs because work is not fun or they are getting no enjoyment out of it,” DiPaolo said.

“Because of this, most young people lose their passion, and little energy is converted. Just talk to your parents or any trusted mentor and I am sure that they will tell you that not every day is a good day.”

Cautioning the class not to take themselves too seriously, DiPaolo did urge them to use the first five years of their careers as an opportunity to learn. “Treat each job as a class and learn all you can. View your early bosses as instructors and learn both good and the bad from them.”

But don’t necessarily be an “out-of-the-box” thinker or “burn daylight.”

“Out-of-the-box thinkers cause discomfort and, even if they are passionate, they can’t get things accomplished,” he said. “My advice is to learn to stretch the box.

“As you move on in life, time allows you to get comfortable. If you are striving to convert potential energy to kinetic energy, be wary of the influence of time and comfort. Most conversion takes place when you’re uncomfortable and your hair is on fire.”

With information easily available at their fingertips, DiPaolo cautioned the graduates on how easy it is to burn out.

“Take care to stop and smell the roses occasionally,” DiPaolo said.

“Look into people’s faces. Put your electronics down or away. Enjoy your successes. Most importantly, set milestones and, once you have accomplished these goals, celebrate.”

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Top Seniors Honored West Virginia University recognized five top seniors from the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources with the WVU Foundation Outstanding Senior Award. Three of those students were also honored with the University’s most prestigious student honor—the Order of Augusta.

Established in 1995 to signify the 40th anniversary of the WVU Foundation, the Outstanding Senior Award recognizes students for their contributions and achievements in scholarship, leadership, and service.

The Order of Augusta further recognizes the students’ superior scholarship, demonstrated leadership, and record of community and public service. The award is named for its historical significance in the state. Augusta was among the original names considered by the Legislature when the state seceded from Virginia in 1863.

The Order of Augusta scholars were Surya Mannivannan, Morgantown, W.Va.; Byron Patterson, Philadelphia, Pa.; and Petra Zublasing, Eppan BZ, Italy. Emily Lipscomb, of Swanton, Md., and Gbolahan Idowu, of Victoria Island, Lagos, received the Outstanding Senior Award.

The awards were presented at the Celebration of Student Honors, held as part of the annual Week of Honors, in April.

WVU Offers First of its Kind Process Safety Boot Camp to Chemical Engineering Students A recent recommendation by the Accreditation Board for Engineering NARA and Technology called for universities to include reactive hazard awareness into chemical engineering curriculums. The Department of Chemical Engineering at West Virginia University did just that for the first time in mid-April when it offered a two-day Process Safety Boot Camp.

The course, which was sponsored by Bayer MaterialSciences, LLC, was led by Louisa Nara, the technical director for the Center for Chemical Process Safety (CCPS) with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and a 1981 graduate of WVU. Don Abrahamson, a CCPS staff consultant, and 44-year industry veteran, assisted with the instruction. Bayer MaterialScience participates in the Scale-up Program through the AIChE Foundation. As part of their sponsorship, Bayer provided each student with a copy of the book, Incidents that Defined Process Safety.

CCPS/AIChE offers a four-day version of the course to professionals in the field, providing companies with the opportunity to train chemical engineers on the fundamentals of process safety. This is the first time it was offered to a university.

In 2011, Nara was inducted into WVU’s Academy of Chemical Engineers.

Volume 9 Issue 2

News in Brief

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college news

morris

goseva-popstojanova

kuhlman

Outstanding Teachers, Advisors, Researchers, and Staff Honored The Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is made up of many hardworking, dedicated professionals who go above and beyond every day in their dedication to our mission of teaching, research, and service.

The following faculty and staff mentors were recognized for their service this past academic year.

Teacher of the Year

Unnikrishnan

valenti

solley

Melissa Morris, freshman engineering

Outstanding Teachers Katerina Goseva-Popstojanova, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering John Kuhlman, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Avinash Unnikrishnan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Matthew Valenti, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

schmid

graham

li

Advisor of the Year Dave Solley, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Outstanding Advisor Matthew Valenti, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Researcher of the Year

siriwardane

song

wu

Natalia Schmid, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Outstanding Researchers David Graham, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Fall 2013

Xin Li, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Hema Siriwardane, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Xueyan Song, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

bhattacharyya

centofanti

coleman

Nianqiang Wu, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

New Researcher of the Year

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Debangsu Bhattacharyya, Department of Chemical Engineering

Outstanding Staff Members Karen Centofanti, Department of Mining Engineering Chuck Coleman, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

cordwell

hall

Candy Cordwell, NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium and Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering James Hall, Department of Chemical Engineering

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Statler College Welcomes Students From Mexico

By Debra Richardson Front row, from top: Severiano Jaramillo-Quintanar, Carlos Andres Perez-Alba, Francisco Javier Rangel-Macias, Paulo Sergio CalvilloGonzalez, Susana Vega-Hernandez; second row: Eduardo ColinPuig, Roberto Ivan Gutierrez-Echeveriia, Rodrigo Estrella-Trevino, Alonso Francisco Rayas-Soria; third row: Victor Mucino.

Since 1997, Victor Mucino, professor and associate chair for education in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University, has led teams of students to Queretaro, Mexico. The Department’s Industrial Outreach Program teams WVU students with Mexican students, who work to solve practical problems often seen in industry. During their 2012 visit, a decision was made to create a reciprocal agreement that, for the first time, brought Mexican students to WVU this spring.

“The reciprocal visits will provide an opportunity for WVU students to become acquainted with Mexican team members who will join them in the industrial projects during the subsequent summer,” said Mucino. “The network of industries, institutions, and research centers in Queretaro, in addition to the rich cultural opportunities of the city and state, provide WVU students a unique opportunity to enhance the competitiveness of their education and their job market potential.”

Mucino has been working on putting the pieces of this portion of the agreement in place for quite some time. “We have been working on this for a long time, piece by piece, and finally all the pieces fell into place,” he said. “We developed a partnership with the Council of Science and Technology in Queretaro, which was instrumental in organizing the selection criteria and providing additional funding to help some of the students with travel costs.”

The students were chosen based on highly competitive selection criteria, which included their overall GPA, their engineering GPA, and both their math and English-language skills.

Susana Vega, a junior electrical engineering student, enjoyed her time at WVU but was learning to overcome small obstacles that she wouldn’t have to face back in Mexico.

“Back home, I’m the only girl in my major, so this is a new experience for me,” Vega said.

“In Mexico, I live with my parents and I have to ask permission to go out and here I don’t. I’m experiencing a lot of freedom here but at the same time, now I have more responsibility, such as meals and laundry, which my mother would normally do for me.”

All of the students remarked on the state’s beauty and how excited they were to see snow, but while it was exciting to see snow for the first time, they weren’t prepared for the cold. While all of the students were proficient in English, the American culture is still vastly different from their Mexican culture.

Javier Rangel, a junior aerospace engineering student from the University of Queretaro, says the classes here are similar to what he would have taken back in Mexico, but the level of required math is much higher here and the work load is heavier. “My dream job is to work with aerospace research because this is a growing industry in my city.”

Representatives from the three institutions came to WVU to get a report from the students and to explore further initiatives in research and education that can be beneficial to the University and Queretaro.

“WVU is highly respected in Mexico and having these students return with this experience will make them ambassadors for the University when they become professionals,” Mucino said.

“Engineering is a global profession, and this is one area where there literally and figuratively aren’t any borders.”

Alumni Return to Deliver Distinguished Lectures Two alumni of the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources returned to campus during the spring 2013 semester to present lectures as part of the College’s Distinguished Lecture Series.

christopher

Gary Christopher, BSCE ’74, president of The Jholdas Group, presented “Perspectives on Entrepreneurial Leadership,” on February 21. Christopher has 36 years of experience in executive leadership, operations management, and project management within the engineering and construction sectors, serving industry, federal, and public-sector clients throughout the United States, Europe, Middle East, and South Asia. He is on the leadership team of the nonprofit organization, International Micro-Enterprise Development, which has established more than 600 micro-enterprises in Third World countries.

Volume 9 Issue 2

college News In Brief

Mark Horstemeyer BSME ’85, professor of mechanical engineering and chair and chief technical officer for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems in Computational Solid Mechanics at Mississippi State University, discussed “Lifelong Learning in Engineering: What I Learned at WVU” in April.

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The presentation highlighted various facets of lifelong learning in the context of engineering examples and Horstemeyer’s career. He is widely known for his work in multiscale modeling. He has published numerous journal articles on the deformation, failure, and fatigue of lightweight cast materials for vehicular applications. Working with the United States Council for Automotive Research, Horstemeyer has been able to influence the automotive design and analysis process related to integrated computational materials engineering. horstemeyer

Student News

When Rachel James was a junior in high school, the youngster from Crawford in little Lewis County, W.Va., saw her first eight-lane highway. For some, that might not be significant. For her though, it was life changing.

On that high school band trip to Disney World, she was so excited to see some of the country’s bigger cities for the first time that she would set alarms for when she anticipated the bus would travel by or through them just to look—wide-eyed— at the grandeur.

Little did she know that her passion for city and transportation infrastructure could turn into something more.

Fall 2013

WVU President James Clements

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“I love her story of being inspired by a civil engineering lecture and in that moment finding the passion that has taken her to the highest levels of national academic recognition. We are honored to have her as part of the WVU family, and excited to see her continue on this path of success.”

“It just really excited me,” she said, “and at that time, I didn’t recognize it could be a career.”

James was recently named the school’s 36th Goldwater Scholar. WVU has had at least one Goldwater Scholar in all but two of the past 21 years, and has had two 10 times.

When James applied to WVU, she didn’t know how she wanted to spend the rest of her life.

She started in pre-business and took a few political science classes because she thought perhaps law would be the right path for her.

Through her first semester, however, she wasn’t sure she had found what she loved.

In her search for a new major, she took various general elective courses during her second semester in an attempt to find something that captured her interests.

Additionally, she found out about “out-of-class experiences,” a requirement for freshman engineering students. She wound up in a civil engineering lecture.

She “completely fell in love” with the major based on that presentation.

“This achievement reflects Rachel’s hard work and the quality of the faculty and staff who have been a part of her journey here at WVU,” said President Jim Clements. “I love her story of being inspired by a civil engineering lecture and in that moment finding the passion that has taken her to the highest levels of national academic recognition. We are honored to have her as part of the WVU family, and excited to see her continue on this path of success.”

Despite a later than normal start to her civil engineering career, she has been able to reach some major milestones. This January, she was published for the first time. In addition, she’s had a good deal of research experience, specifically on network optimization and network flow models.

“I was completely lost when I came here.

As a high school senior, I was interested in everything and had no real direction,” she said.

“I’m so happy that I found something that I can see myself doing for the rest of my life.”

Her first experience came via the NASA Space Grant Program, to which she was selected last fall. She chose to work with her advisor,

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Assistant Professor in Civil and Environmental Engineering Avinash Unnikrishnan, and he introduced James to research on stochastic shortest paths, which deals with uncertainty in travel times.

the costs instead of assuming a definite value allows researchers to better characterize the uncertainty in travel time from changes in flow, road work bottlenecks, accidents, and similar unpredictable phenomena.

“I have mentored several graduate and undergraduate students in research at both University of Texas at Austin and West Virginia University, and Rachel is among the best students I have ever taught and mentored,” Unnikrishnan said. “She is a potent combination of intelligence, diligence, character, and humility. What makes her stand out is her commitment to education and gaining knowledge. She truly understands the value of education and the positive impacts it can have on her life as well as society.”

She’s also gained valuable knowledge from her participation in the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship from the civil and environmental engineering department and the McNair Scholars Program.

Abou t t h e

“When I was applying for the scholarship, I was surprised at the lack of civil engineers that have received it,” she said. “I thought that maybe we just weren’t what they were looking for, so when I submitted my application my hopes weren’t very high.

However, I think I was just unique. You don’t find a lot of undergrads doing the type of research that I’m doing, and I think that’s what made me stand out.”

Scholarship

“I

love this place. It’s become my home. I needed to leave my hometown to find myself. WVU really helped me to push myself out of my comfort zone and allowed me to actually start to explore,” she said. “I don’t know if I would’ve had that experience if I went somewhere else.”

James would like to obtain her doctorate and pursue a career in teaching and research at a university. She has gained a slew of experience with this including tutoring in the Student Support Services program and facilitating guided learning as a learning assistant with the Physics Department.

“I love this place. It’s become my home.

I needed to leave my hometown to find myself. WVU really helped me to push myself out of my comfort zone and allow me to actually start to explore,” she said. “I don’t know if I would’ve had that experience if I went somewhere else.”

Goldwater The Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education program is for college juniors and seniors with a demonstrated interest in a career in mathematics, the natural sciences, or engineering.

It covers eligible expenses for up to a maximum of $7,500 per year.

Junior scholarship recipients can expect to receive a maximum of two years of support, and seniors are eligible for one year.

Other recent recipients from the Statler College include Emily Calandrelli (2009) and Kerri Phillips (2006).

Volume 9 Issue 2

James’ research interests focus on the use of simulation techniques to efficiently solve networks in which only the probability distribution of the travel costs are known. She says that using the probability distribution of

Barry M.

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Student News

A DEEP SCIENCE TO

SPEED

By Mary C. Dillon

While Wheeling, W.Va., native Travis Braden isn’t 100 percent sure what his future holds, he is sure of one thing: it will involve a need for speed.

For as long as he can remember, Braden has been a racer. After racing four-wheelers and go karts “just for fun,” a third-place finish in a race made him hungry for more … hungry for a win.

Braden

Since that time, Braden has had success in late model racing, so much so that he was named Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA)/Champion Racing Association rookie of the year in 2012. With that came an opportunity to fulfill a dream few ever earn: the chance to drive at an ARCA testing event at Daytona International Speedway in December 2012.

Fall 2013

In his “spare” time in 2012, he was also a freshman in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, with an eye toward a dual major in mechanical and aerospace engineering.

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“An understanding of mechanical engineering is really what is most needed to improve a race car,” Braden said. “Most race teams hire many mechanical engineers, and I decided to dual major in aerospace engineering because of the growing role aerodynamics is playing in racing. Some people swear that aerodynamics is the biggest factor in making a car go faster.”

“

That understanding hasn’t always been a part of auto racing, however. The first collegedegreed engineer to be hired by a stock car team didn’t happen until 1988. Now, engineers are commonplace, as teams seek every advantage possible to succeed in the sport.

“There is a very deep science to speed,” said Braden. “When the rules get tighter and teams are forced to work in a much smaller box, they have to find speed on a much smaller scale. When the Daytona 500 comes around, there is usually only a .2 second difference between first place and 25th place in

Most race teams hire many mechanical engineers, and I decided to dual major in aerospace engineering because of the growing role aerodynamics is playing in racing. Some people swear that aerodynamics is the biggest factor in making a car go faster.

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Braden Secures 2013 ARCA/ CRA Super Series Title Travis Braden didn’t need a calculator to know his points lead in the Automobile Racing Club of America/Champion Racing Association (ARCA/CRA) Super Series was big. But on Sunday, September 22, it became bigger than big; it became insurmountable.

Just by starting the CRA Fall Brawl at Indianapolis’ Lucas Oil Speedway, Braden clinched the 2013 ARCA/CRA Super Series Powered by JEGS championship. But Braden did more than start the race; he won it.

“I never dreamed that at such an early point in my career I would be a champion driver in a national-level touring series of stock cars,” said Braden. “While I pushed the envelope as a driver this year, the results we achieved are due to the tremendous efforts put forth by every single person on my race team.”

Ever since the 19-year-old Wheeling, W.Va., native entered into an advertising agreement with his alma mater, which put the “Flying WV” and the “old gold and blue” on his race car for the 2013 season, he has been on a tear, winning five races and finishing in the top 10 nine times.

“

Read more at http://goo.gl/I5KmRz qualifying. That’s a very small margin over a distance of 2.5 miles. So when an engineer can make a small change to a car that equates to maybe .01 seconds per lap, it’s huge.”

“A race engineer can go as far as to plan out an entire weekend, down to the minute, from what the team wants to do in their practice sessions to what lap they want to pit on during the race,” Braden said. “Sometimes the fastest car with the best engineers can get beat by a better strategy; every

”

tiny factor is extremely big in today’s world of racing.”

I also saw it as another possible way to get myself into the top level of the racing industry.

Braden hopes his career is behind the wheel, but he’s also realistic about his chances.

“If I don’t make it as a driver, I think my passion, dedication, and my engineering education would make me a candidate for a race team as an engineer and/or specialist,” Braden continued. “My ultimate goal would be to become a team leader, like Chad Knaus, Jimmie Johnson’s crew chief. He is looked at as one of the best ever and has been given much of the credit for Johnson’s five consecutive NASCAR championships.”

“Racing is a tough sport to make it to the top level,” he said. “With only 43 spots open at a race on any given weekend and with a career spanning 10-plus years, it is very hard to come by an opening. While driving is my main focus, I still wanted to have some reassurance and security in my future, and I know the knowledge I would gain majoring in engineering would also benefit me as a driver.

Knaus is a mechanical engineer.

Volume 9 Issue 2

Now, according to Braden, there are almost no teams left in NASCAR without an engineer. And while they play a role in the mechanical operations of the car, they are becoming more specialized, playing a role in the overall race strategy.

If I don’t make it as a driver, I think my passion, dedication, and my engineering education would make me a candidate for a race team as an engineer and/or specialist.

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Student News

WVU Students Build Slow Sand Filters for Villagers in Fiji by naseem amini

Engineers Without Borders-WVU West Virginia University’s chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) was founded in 2007 by Victoria Wheaton, a civil and environmental engineering alum. EWB-WVU continually seeks involvement and international and local projects. Members from the chapter have volunteered with Habitat for Humanity, the city of Morgantown, WVU, and internationally in Mexico, Nicaragua, and Haiti.

Most students at West Virginia University spent their 2012 winter break catching up with family and friends back home. However, seven members of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) traveled to Fiji with one goal in mind: install seven slow sand filters that would greatly improve the quality of water in the remote village of Nakavika.

Fall 2013

Members of the team took an assessment trip earlier in 2012 that revealed the water in the village, located in the Namosi highlands on Viti Levu Island, was traced with high levels of fecal contaminants, which can be deadly when consumed. Outbreaks of typhoid fever in surrounding villages necessitated the installation of the filters, which are inexpensive to produce and install, and easy to operate. The slow sand filter is a mix of sand and gravel that will rid the water of particles, including pathogens. Over time, a biological layer is formed that filters out even more potentially harmful materials.

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This is not the first time the team, whose trip was sponsored by the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources,

Engineers Without Borders-USA

installed slow sand filters abroad. Lance Lin, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering and faculty advisor to EWB, has been working on this project with students since 2007.

“I took student teams to Nicaragua in 2008 and 2010 as well for a similar water filter project,” said Lin. “We also trained and educated the city staff on water treatment.”

Since their trip to Nicaragua, EWB members have modified the project to fit the needs of the village of Nakavika.

“The modifications for Nakavika were a bit more challenging because we had to install additional plumbing and storage tanks based on water use for that specific village,” said Zachary Watson, Morgantown, W.Va., native an electrical engineering major. “It was a great lesson for any engineer. You have to take what you have and work with it.”

In addition to completing their work, EWB members also had a chance to spend time with the villagers. “My favorite part of the

Since its incorporation in 2002, EWBUSA has grown from approximately eight engineering students and a civil engineering professor to an organization of more than 12,000 students, faculty, and professionals. With 350 projects in more than 45 developing countries, Engineers Without Borders USA has changed the lives of millions of people around the world.

EWB-USA has chosen the delivery of smaller scale infrastructure projects

experience was viewing a culture and lifestyle so unlike my own,” said Manassas, Va., native Aaron Deneau, a mechanical and aerospace engineering major. “When we weren’t working, we were socializing with the villagers. There were a few children, villagers, and staff members that each of us grew really close to and who we will remember forever.”

EWB is an international organization that aims to improve the standard of living in areas around the world through engineering projects.

But their work is also paying dividends locally as well. Their most recent local project was with the Boys Home in Chestnut Mountain Ranch, in Morgantown, W.Va., where they built a French drain system for their field.

Other members of the EWB team included petroleum and natural gas engineering majors Zachary Cesa, of Mt. Morris, Pa., and Chuck Ma, of Morgantown, W.Va.; chemical engineering majors Nicholas Horvath of Morgantown, W.Va., and Erika Allen, of Wheeling, W.Va.; and civil engineering major, Daniel Knight, from Wheeling, W.Va.

within an overall community program framework as its program delivery model.

At its core, the EWB-USA model is rooted in practical engineering solutions.

However, in order to be successful, program designers must consider a wide range of inputs from the sociocultural dimensions of the community to local project ownership and other requirements for long-term project viability. EWB-USA programs are full partnerships with a host community and

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Teams of student innovators got a leg up in their entry into West Virginia’s energy industry thanks to an entrepreneurship challenge sponsored by West Virginia University.

Energy Entrepreneurs Begin Careers Through Inaugural WVU Competition

By David Welsh

The inaugural West Virginia Technology Entrepreneurship Challenge, hosted by the WVU Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design with the support of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, awarded prize money to three student-driven technology enterprises.

The $20,000 first prize went to WINDPAX, LLC, created by Justin Chambers, a mechanical engineering student in the Statler College from Glen Dale, W.Va. WINDPAX is a design company that specializes in the development of recreational energy producing and energy storage devices. The core technology is based on portable power generating wind turbines for outdoor recreational use. The company currently has a patent pending unit and has other patentable units under development.

Third prize, $5,000, went to SoniWell, Inc., created by Matthew Boots of Fombell, Pa.; John Hailer of Duck, W.Va.; and Nathan Weese of Middlebourne, W.Va., all students in mechanical engineering. SoniWell is an ecofriendly, technology-based company that will design, test, patent, and market an innovative product that will remove dissolved methane from water. SoniWell ultrasonic agitators utilize high frequency sound waves to agitate the water and

Funded, in part, by a generous award from the Benedum Foundation and prize monies provided

by Chesapeake Energy, the competition encourages college students of all academic ranks in all majors and programs throughout the state of West Virginia to develop and commercialize technology in the fields of the environment, energy, engineering, medicine, and the natural and applied sciences.

Ten finalists were selected in December of 2012, and the teams spent the final four months of the competition refining their technology, preparing business plans, and honing their presentation skills, all leading up to the final competition.

These innovative and creative student teams presented their plans and pitches to a panel of judges from the venture capital, private industry, and academic sectors.

“These student innovators are now in conversations with investors to seek the funding necessary for the commercialization of their products,” said Fonda Holehouse, teaching associate professor of agricultural and resource economics in the Davis College.

“They were supported by various faculty and technical mentors as well as coaches throughout the process.”

Volume 9 Issue 2

one or more local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). EWB-USA members train local community members and local NGOs to successfully monitor and maintain the projects. It is these partnerships which form the basis of a long-term relationship in order to assure the basic infrastructure needs of the community are met and will remain sustainable long after direct chapter involvement ends.

The second prize of $10,000 went to METEOR Consulting, PLLC, created by Harold Vass of Sophia, W.Va.; Luke Bowman of Moatsville, W.Va.; and Matthew Schmidt of Fairmont, W.Va., all students in mechanical engineering.

METEOR Consulting provides a solution for companies in the natural gas industry who want to efficiently and effectively deal with unmarketable methane and similar byproducts, while allowing the extraction of the valuable Y-fluids within the shale layer. METEOR Consulting, through experience and dedication, will assist clients in securing the necessary hardware, software, and expertise to safely implement the use of technology for methaneenhanced oil recovery.

release the dissolved methane. It is SoniWell’s mission to ensure methane-free potable water for private well owners across the United States.

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Student News in Brief Michael Aniagboso, Dylan Curtis, Javier Velasco, Nathan Weimer, and Abdulrahman Yousef took top honors in the ENGR 101 Final Project Scholarship Competition. The team’s project on water desalinization earned each member a $200 scholarship. ________________________________________ Samantha Dolin, Nick Underwood, and Guy Cordonier were recognized at Undergraduate Research Day at the Capitol in March for being members of the College’s Microgravity Research Team.

graduate students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Lipscomb will receive $30,000 per year for three years to support her research to identify water pollution sources as well as additional provisions to cover her graduate school tuition.

She is pursuing her master’s degree at Virginia Tech.

Award. WiSE Awards support faculty initiatives and student scholarships with the goal of helping women successfully navigate careers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields. Sears will use the $1,250 award to attend the American Geophysical Union’s 46th Annual Fall Meeting in San Francisco. While attending the conference, Sears will deliver her research results targeting the improvement of water supply and land use of reclaimed surface mine sites in Appalachia.

lipscomb sears

House of Delegates member Joshua Nelson (R - Boone), left, presented a legislative citation to the trio on the senate floor. The students were joined by John Zondlo (third from left), professor of chemical engineering.

Fall 2013

________________________________________ Jacob Edmonds, a dual major in mechanical and aerospace engineering, was the first recipient of the Dr. Wils Cooley Study Abroad Scholarship. Edmonds spent the spring 2013 semester studying at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom. The scholarship was created in 2011 by Sarah (Lovell) Soliman, in honor of her former mentor Cooley, professor emeritus in the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

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________________________________________ Mohammad Fanaei, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering, earned a National Science Foundation fellowship to conduct research this past summer in Australia.

Fanaei worked in the Center of Excellence in Telecommunications at the University of Sydney, from June-August 2013, under the supervision of Abbas Jamalipour, leader of the Wireless Networking Group. Fanaei’s research was focused on wireless communication systems, which have military and civilian applications including border protection, smart homes, and remote habitat monitoring. ________________________________________ Emily Lipscomb, who graduated in May with a degree in civil and environmental engineering, was the recipient of a 2013 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship. The Fellowships, which are extremely competitive, are used to support the most promising

________________________________________ Kevin Luo and Eric Fabozzi earned fellowships through the National Energy Technology Laboratory’s University Turbine Systems Research (UTSR) Program. Luo worked for General Electric Power and Water in Schenectady, N.Y., while Fabozzi worked with Siemens Power Generation, in Orlando, Fla. This is the third straight year WVU has successfully placed students in positions in the gas turbine industry through the UTSR fellowship program.

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________________________________________ Mechanical engineering major Chas McFarland completed an internship this past summer with FCX Systems in Morgantown, W.Va. McFarland, who has experience in MATLAB C++ programming, used the internship as an opportunity to gain field experience in various departments across the company, which designs and manufactures solid-state ground support equipment for commercial, military, industrial, and ship-shore markets around the world. ________________________________________ Alison Sears, a graduate student in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was the recipient of a WVU Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE)

________________________________________ Cody White, a fourth-year mechanical engineering and Russian Studies doublemajor, was awarded the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, allowing him to travel abroad this past summer.

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors the scholarship, which gives students of limited financial means up to $5,000 to use toward study abroad costs.

White, who traveled to Bahrain in July, hopes to start a career in the oil and natural gas industry once he graduates from WVU. ________________________________________ Anthony Yost was awarded the Harold M. Gordon Hazard Control Management Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes students studying in West Virginia University’s safety management program who have exemplified academic success throughout the program. Yost completed his degree in safety management in May 2013. He completed his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from WVU in 2011. The scholarship, which was established by the International Board for the Certification of Safety Managers, honors Harold M. Gordon. Gordon established the certified hazard control manager credential in 1976 and served as the executive director of the Board of Hazard Control Management until his retirement in 2007.

Alumni News

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Academies Academy of

Aerospace Engineering

rodman

Rear Admiral James H. Rodman, Jr. earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from West Virginia University in 1984, his juris doctorate from the Villanova University School of Law in 1991, and his executive master’s in technology management from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and School of Engineering and Applied Science in 2005.

After receiving his direct commission into the engineering duty officer (EDO) program in 1985, Rodman reported to Philadelphia Naval Shipyard 104 as an EDO in training and assistant ship superintendent. In 1988, he reported to Naval Ship Systems Engineering Station 104 as a project officer and completed his EDO qualification. Rodman transferred to Naval Weapons Station, in Earle, N.J., in 1993, where he served as ordnance safety officer and commanding officer of WEAPSTA EarleDet601EOT. In 1996, he joined the Space and Naval Warfare Program and was assigned to Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) 0366 at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) serving as the gaining command liaison officer for NRO’s Operational Support Office.

In 2001, Rodman received orders to Naval Network and Space Operations Command (NNSOC) 0766, where he served as operations and executive officer. In 2003, he returned to the NRO as executive officer of SPAWAR0866. He assumed command of Naval Network Warfare Command (NETWARCOM) Network Engineering in 2004, providing architecture, systems engineering, and integration support to NETWARCOM’s worldwide space and terrestrial communications enterprise. In 2006, Rodman assumed command of SPAWAR0466, supporting program executive officer space systems and SPAWARPMW-146 in the assembly, integration, and testing of the Mobile User Objective System. In 2008, he served as space domain director on the national staff of the Navy Net-Centric Warfare Group (NNWG) and in 2009, was named NNWG’s vice commander. He returned to active duty in 2011 as SPAWAR’s chief engineer.

Alumni News in Brief David Linger, BS, AE ’89, was recently named chief executive officer of the University of Cincinnati (UC) Research Institute. The institute serves to connect UC experts to industry partners, facilitate commercialization of research, and enhance cooperative and experiential learning experiences for UC students. Linger previously held a number of leadership roles with GE Aviation.

She took a position as a quality engineer with Aerojet Corporation, working on solid propulsion systems for the MX missile. She also began work on her master’s in mechanical engineering, specializing in aerospace sciences, at the University of California, Davis. Upon completion of her degree in 1989, she began to perform research on the national aerospace plane (NASP) with the TechSystems division of Aerojet.

In 1991, Tramel moved to Sverdrup Technology Corporation and was assigned to the Arnold Engineering Development Center in Tennessee to continue work on the NASP. In 1996, she was promoted to analysis engineer and performed a variety of work, primarily with propulsion and turbine engines. In 1997, she began work on her doctorate at the University of Tennessee, focusing on laser processing of materials.

Her dissertation, completed in 2001, centered on laser surface alloying technologies for metals.

Since 2000, Tramel has been employed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. She has performed increasing levels of technical leadership within NASA over the past 12 years, including serving as the system management leader for the Aries Launch System, as project manager for the LOX/methane rocket engine development project, and currently as the technical specialist at the laboratory level for all materials and materials processing projects.

Tramel has made numerous presentations and published technical articles on laser alloying, cryogenic fluid management, various aspects of rocket propulsion and propulsion testing, and other technical- and management-related topics.

Benjamin M. Statler, BS, MinE ’73; ScD ’09, was one of three people inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame in May. Statler began his career as a laborer with Consolidation Coal (CONSOL) in 1969 and worked the night shift while pursuing his bachelor’s degree in mining engineering at West Virginia University. He rose through the ranks at CONSOL to become senior vice president of mining in 1996. He later started his own mining company, PinnOak Resources LLC, acquiring assets from U.S. Steel Corporation. He currently serves as co-founder and chief executive officer of Gulf Coast Capital Partners, a private investment firm founded in 2008, which is focused on acquiring and providing capital to middle market companies in special situations.

Volume 9 Issue 2

Rodman’s decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (two gold stars), Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three), and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

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Terri (Brock) Tramel earned her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from WVU in 1985. One of the first women to join a United States Air Force program designed to recruit more engineers, Tramel reported for officer training to Lackland AFB in Texas after graduation. While in the Air Force, she worked in turbine engine test data analysis until an injury forced her retirement from the military.

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Alumni News Academy of

Chemical Engineers G. Lansing Blackshaw earned a bachelor’s degree in physics from Hofstra College in 1958. Following graduation, he worked for Atomics International, where he supervised a water boiler reactor facility that conducted neutron physics experiments on sub-critical core assemblies to measure criticality blackshaw parameters for a wide variety of nuclear reactor concepts being considered at the time. He subsequently enrolled in North Carolina State University, where he completed his doctorate in nuclear engineering in 1966 and was awarded the Phi Kappa Phi Award for having the outstanding doctoral dissertation at the University.

In 1965, Blackshaw joined the West Virginia University Department of Chemical Engineering as a faculty member in its graduate program in nuclear engineering. His interests focused on reactor and neutron physics, and fostering relationships with faculty in the College of Arts and Sciences to develop mathematics and sciences instruction relevant for engineering students. When the nuclear engineering program was phased out in the early 1970s, Blackshaw remained with the Department and was appointed assistant dean of engineering, and later associate dean for academic affairs.

In 1983, Blackshaw became dean of science and engineering at Fairleigh Dickinson University and in 1989 assumed a similar position at the University of Bridgeport, where he later served as provost and vice president for academic affairs. He was named executive vice president and provost at New York Chiropractic College in 1995. Since his retirement, he has remained active in doctoral-level conservative healthcare education through service on accrediting agency boards and site visitation teams.

Fall 2013

Blackshaw, who has served as a volunteer with a number of community organizations, is currently a member of the board of the National Women’s Hall of Fame.

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martin

Julian W. Martin was the first in his family to earn a college degree, completing his bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering in 1959. During his tenure as a student at West Virginia University, he was elected to the student legislature, the Sphinx Senior Men’s Honorary, the Sigma Theta Epsilon Methodist fraternity, and served as president of the Wesley Foundation.

Inspired by then-President John Kennedy’s call to public service, Martin left the field of engineering and became West Virginia’s first Peace Corps volunteer. He went on to a career in teaching and become WVU’s first full-time foreign student advisor. Martin served as director of the Regional Council on International Education, the Committee of Returned Volunteers, the West Virginia Highlands Conservancy, and the Kanawha State Forest Foundation. He currently serves as director of the West Virginia Environmental Education Association, which recognized him in 2009 for Outstanding Achievement in Environmental Education; the West Virginia Labor History Association; and the West Virginia American Civil Liberties Union. He was also recognized as Grassroots Organizer of the Year in 1999 by the West Virginia Environmental Council.

Since graduating from West Virginia University in 1995 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering, William H. McCartney, Jr. has achieved great success in the dynamic energy trading sector.

McCartney began his career as a system planning engineer with CNG Transmission, and later began trading natural gas at CNG Energy Services. =--He moved to Houston, Tex., where he worked with some of the leading companies in energy trading, managing significant natural gas asset portfolios. While at El Paso Merchant Energy, he managed one of the largest storage and transportation trading books, worth more than $1 billion. During his nine years at Vitol Inc., he led the acquisition of natural gas assets and negotiated its sale for more than $250 million. He also managed the fuel oil portfolio for North and South America, transporting and blending crude oil barrels around the globe. McCartney recently retired from Vitol Inc. to pursue philanthropic interests in education, the arts, and medicine. mccartney

McCartney was elected to serve on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors in August 2010. He is also on the Governing Board of Directors of the Houston Symphony, and he and his wife, Christine, served as co-presidents of the WVU Alumni Lone Star Chapter of Houston, focusing the group on volunteering and capital contributions during their tenure.

mcgee

John C. McGee earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering from West Virginia University in 1955 and 1957, respectively.

After working at DuPont’s Belle Works facility and a brief stint of active duty in the United States Air Force, he enrolled as a part-time doctoral student at North Carolina State University, where he also served as an instructor.

Upon completion of his Ph.D., he joined Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (now Tennessee Technological University) to help begin its chemical engineering program. In 1967, he was named the department’s first chairman. McGee had a hand in virtually every aspect of forming the department, i.e., faculty hiring, curriculum development, course description creation. His efforts helped lead to the department’s initial accreditation in 1970. A new building and programs at the master’s and doctoral levels followed. After a 20-year career as chair, McGee returned to the classroom, retiring in 2000 with emeritus status.

McGee was a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers and past president of its Nashville section, a member of Phi Kappa Phi national honorary, Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi engineering honorary, Phi Lamda Upsilon chemistry honorary, Order of the Engineer, and Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Academy of

Civil Engineers Before beginning his engineering career in 1966, Richard G. Almes played professional baseball, served two years in the U.S. Army, and attended graduate school at West Virginia University during the off-season. He accepted an engineering position with D’Appolonia Consulting Engineers, where he almes progressed to regional vice president and project manager. His focus was on assisting the coal mining industry throughout Appalachia with the design and construction of large coal refuse dams and embankments. In 1986, he founded Almes and Associates, Inc. Consulting Engineers, a firm which grew to 80 employees in four regional offices. In 2012, he sold his interests in the firm, and has been working as an independent consultant to other engineering firms and law firms.

Prior to enrolling at West Virginia University in August 1968 for the doctoral program in civil and environmental engineering, Murali Atluru was an educator in India. Upon graduation from West Virginia University in 1972, Atluru founded Diversified Technology Consultants (DTC), a multidisciplinary atluru engineering firm headquartered in Hamden, Conn., with a branch office in Andover, Mass. Atluru serves as DTC’s chairman and CEO. Atluru is the recipient of numerous local, regional, and national business and community service awards. He served on several boards and committees over the years, including an appointment to Connecticut’s Board of Trustees for its community and technical college system. He served as chairman of the standing committee on finance, budget, and facilities, which was responsible for its $468 million annual operation budget and nearly $800 million capital budget over a 10-year period.

Atluru currently serves on the advisory board of the College of Engineering at University of New Haven and as chairman of the technical education task force in the city of New Haven.

In 1984, Gupta founded Soils Southwest, Inc., a corporation providing geotechnical engineering and geological services in Los Angeles, San

Gupta is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering, and the Geo-Institute. He is a registered professional engineer in California, Arizona, and Oregon.

Morgantown, W.Va., native John Muth earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering, with an emphasis on transportation, from West Virginia University in 1981 and 1985, respectively.

As a graduate student, he taught in freshman engineering. Upon graduation, Muth worked with muth the consulting firm of Vanasse Hangen Brustlin in Boston, Mass. From 1988-2000, he worked for the Charlotte (N.C.) Department of Transportation, where he helped lead the development of the 2025 Transit/Land Use Plan for the CharlotteMecklenburg, N.C., area. This resulted in public approval of a dedicated sales tax for public transportation, which led to the formation of the Charlotte Area Transit System or CATS. After joining CATS in 2000, Muth, who serves as its deputy director, led the development of the 2025 Corridor System Plan for light rail, commuter rail, streetcar, and bus rapid transit. Charlotte’s 9.6 mile LYNX Blue Line light rail project opened in November 2007, and a 9.3 mile extension is entering construction with an opening date of spring 2017.

Muth is a registered professional engineer in North Carolina and is a member of the American Society of Civil Engineers and a fellow in the Institute of Transportation Engineers.

Volume 9 Issue 2

Moloy Gupta earned his master’s degree in civil engineering from West Virginia University, where he served as a research assistant from 1970-1972.

He specialized in structural engineering under the guidance of the late Lazlo Krestezy. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Judavpur University GUPTA in India and obtained a second master’s degree in the discipline from UCLA, specializing in geotechnical engineering.

Bernardino, Riverside, San Diego, and Ventura counties in California.

Gupta served as the president and CEO of the firm, growing it from a one-man operation to a professional services firm with more than two dozen professionals. The company provides professional evaluations and recommendations in the areas of subsurface explorations and material testing, along with evaluations for earthquake fault studies for commercial/industrial structures, medical clinics, family theme parks, hillside developments, hillside stabilization, and windmills/wind farms.

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Academy of the Lane Department of

Academy of

James R. Haney is the vice president of compliance and regulated services of FirstEnergy, based in Akron, Ohio. He previously served as president of West Virginia HANEY Operations for FirstEnergy.

FirstEnergy is the fifthlargest investor-owned electric generation company in the United States.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Virginia Tech in 1966, Thomas Watson completed his master’s degree in the watson discipline from West Virginia University in 1969.

He served in the United States Army as an ordnance officer until 1972, when he joined McQuay International at its Staunton, Va., facility.

Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Haney earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from WVU in 1978, after which he joined the engineering staff of Allegheny Energy. He was named division manager for the Elkins Service Center in 1990. In 1996 he was appointed director of transmission projects in the corporate office. In 1998, he was promoted to vice president of customer operations, and in 2005, vice president of transmission and distribution.

Fall 2013

Haney serves as director for the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation and the Reliability First Corporation. Haney has served on the Lane Department’s Industrial Advisory Committee since the 1990s, and also serves on the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources Visiting Committee.

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Frances Van Scoy joined the faculty at West Virginia University in 1979. An Ohio native, she considers herself a semi-native of West Virginia because of van Scoy family roots in the South Branch Valley extending for more than 270 years. Van Scoy received a bachelor of science degree in mathematics from Michigan State University in 1970 and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Virginia in 1976. She was a faculty member at Old Dominion University from 1975-1979.

During her 30-plus years at WVU, Van Scoy has re-invented herself professionally several times to meet the changing needs of the computer science program, the University, and the state. Her major activities have moved from parallel graph algorithms, to software development tools such as language sensitive editors, to Ada and software engineering, to computational materials science, to virtual environments and multisensory computing, to vision enhancement technology, to her current work in electronic game development.

At each transition, part of her function was to learn a new specialty well enough to teach others and to instigate research projects. As one example, Van Scoy’s work helped to lay the foundation for the master’s program in software engineering, and she was the first person in West Virginia with external funding to do research in verification and validation.

She worked in economic development during the early days of Software Valley and during the administration of Governor Cecil H. Underwood, for whom she served as coordinator for advanced scientific computing initiatives. As part of her work, she made multiple trips to Japan, Brazil, and Scotland, and worked in Japan at Gifu University and at the Governor’s Office of Technology branch office in Kakamigahara.

Van Scoy’s students have gone on to successful careers in various industries. Some have pursued academic careers, with two of them serving as department chairs. Others have worked as defense or space contractors.

Still others have worked in entertainment technology and are named in the credits for major motion pictures (i.e., Shrek2 and Madagascar) and for AAA video games.

Mechanical Engineering

Watson has worked his way up the ranks at McQuay, providing technical and management leadership in the design and manufacture of refrigeration and air conditioning equipment, including several generations of controls.

Initially, he worked as a product engineer, responsible for both reciprocating and centrifugal chillers. His responsibilities included work on pressure vessel codes, electrical controls, and refrigerant controls.

He was promoted to senior design engineer, performing research and development on centrifugal compressors, including rotor dynamics, lubrication, bearing design, and compressor aerodynamics. He also worked on solid state controls and microprocessor controls for centrifugal chillers. In 1980, Watson was promoted to manager of product engineering, and in 1984 he became engineering manager, responsible for all engineering and laboratory functions in the Staunton facility.

Since 1997 Watson has served as chief engineer, involved in global new product development, supporting facilities in China, Japan, Italy, and North America. He holds five patents related to refrigerant, gas, and chiller compressors and is a licensed professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Watson also has a long and distinguished record of service to the primary professional society in his field, the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). A member since 1972, Watson now serves as president of ASHRAE, a building technology society founded in 1894 with more than 50,000 members worldwide.

En route to the presidency, he served on and chaired more than a dozen technical committees, served on the Board of Directors, and was elected to the rank of Fellow in the society in 2008.

Bennett Elected to Foundation Board

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

George Bennett, BSIE ’67, was elected to the WVU Foundation Board of Directors at its annual meeting August 10. He will serve a three-year term.

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Early in his career, Bennett co-founded Bain and Company and Braxton Associates, two highly regarded international strategy consulting firms that have dramatically impacted Fortune 500 scale firms around the world. Later, he co-founded Symmetrix, a management consulting firm that specializes in helping large firms translate innovative strategies into cost-effective operating practices. The last firm he co-founded, Health Dialog, is an international healthcare services company. He served as both the CEO and chairman of the firm’s board of directors from 1997 until 2008, when the firm was sold to Bupa. Bennett currently serves as the company’s board chair.

In 2010, Bennett donated $1 million to WVU to support research in energy, nanotechnology, biomedical sciences, and biometrics in WVU’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. The donation was eligible for matching funds from the state Research Trust Fund.

In 1982, Bennett was inducted into the WVU Academy of Industrial Engineers, and in 2010, he was inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

New Scholarships and Endowments We are grateful to our alumni and friends who have generously established endowments for student scholarships and to support our departments in teaching, research, and service. The following individuals and organizations have recently established new scholarships or other endowed funds:

Maggie LeMaster Memorial Scholarship Faculty and staff in the Statler College created the scholarship in honor of LeMaster, who spent 25 years in the College, all with the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. She passed away unexpectedly in her home in October 2012. The scholarship will be awarded to a West Virginia resident enrolled as an undergraduate in the Lane Department.

Bennett earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon.

Yassini-Fard Inducted Into Academy of Distinguished Alumni Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard, BSEE ’81, ScD ’03, founder of the cable modem, was one of three extraordinary Mountaineers to be inducted in the University’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni on Friday, February 22.

Yassini-Fard is founder and CEO of YAS Capital Partners LLC. He is well known in industry circles as the “father of the cable modem.” CED Magazine named him “1998 Man of the Year” for creating and fostering the multibillion-dollar cable modem broadband industry.

Volume 9 Issue 2

Yassini-Fard is the author of Planet Broadband, a humanized look at broadband technology. The National Cable and Telecommunications Association awarded him with a 2004 Vanguard Award, one of the Cable Industry’s highest honors, in recognition of his contributions and dedication to the industry. The Cable Television Pioneers also inducted Yassini into the Class of 2012 for his tremendous contributions to the cable industry.

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WVU President Jim Clements congratulates this year’s inductees into the University’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni. Pictured, from left, are Clements, K.W. Lee, Joel Newman, and Rouzbeh Yassini-Fard.

As founder of YAS, he has served as a board member on a number of privately and publicly held companies. He has served as a senior executive consultant with CableLabs, Comcast, Cablevision, and as a member of the LGI Advisory Technology Board.

In 2008, Yassini-Fard opened the Yassini Broadband Knowledge Center in Boston (Broadband Center for Excellence), offering research grants and facilities to investigate fresh ideas in broadband technology that will improve the way we work and live.

Support As time passes, memories often fade. But for Tom and Sharon DeWitt, the memories of their parents are still very fresh, with adjectives such as hard working, proud, and selfless quickly coming to mind. The couple decided to honor these memories through a series of charitable gifts made to the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

“We reached the end of our active business careers in late 2012, and my wife, Sharon, and I were finally able to give back,” said Tom, who served as president and CEO of Swanson Industries, a worldwide supplier of hydraulic, machining, and plating services.

“West Virginia University was and is an important part of our lives, and we wanted to give something back to the College and the University.”

For Tom, his earliest career roots are tied closely to his father, Harry, for whom he worked upon completion of his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from WVU, in 1971 and 1972, respectively.

Fall 2013

“My father began working in the hydraulics business as a laborer in 1955 and progressed to become vice president and general manager of Morgantown Machine in the early 70s,” Tom said. “Although he only had a high school education, my father was one of the best practical engineers I have ever been around, and he greatly influenced my decision to study engineering at WVU. He was a great mentor to me and many other employees at Morgantown Machine, many of whom still work there.”

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Tom created the Harry E. DeWitt Scholarship in his father’s honor. The scholarship will benefit students in the Statler College, with first preference given to students majoring in mechanical or aerospace engineering.

“I was fortunate enough to have a scholarship from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation and from Hope Gas Company and would not have been able to attend WVU if it were not for those scholarships,” said Tom. “It is my hope that this contribution will help others to do the same.”

“New generations of highly motivated students will now be able to benefit from the Harry E. DeWitt Scholarship, very much like

Mr. DeWitt benefited from the scholarships that he received,” said Jacky Prucz, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. “Some of these students may follow in Mr. DeWitt’s tracks and be one day inducted in our Academy of Distinguished Alumni.”

While his father built his career and traveled a great deal, his mother, Mary, stayed home to raise Tom and his four sisters. In her honor, Tom created the Mary Josephine DeWitt Endowment, funds from which will be used to support student design teams and projects within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

He retired from Mathies Mine in 1971 as a mine foreman. In addition to his dayto-day work at the mine, Contenti served as a member of the mine’s first aid team, traveling to other towns and states to attend and participate in mine rescue competitions, a practice that continues to this day for the current generation of miners.

Sharon’s gift created the John Contenti, Jr. Endowment, which will provide funds to support mine safety and rescue training in the Department of Mining and Industrial Extension in the Statler College.

“My mother quit school in the eighth grade to take care of her six younger brothers and sisters after her mother passed away,” Tom said. “She was a stay-at-home mother and I cannot remember a day that she was not there when I left for school and also there when I came home from school.

“My father took great pride in his job as Mathies Mine’s foreman and in his role on the mine first aid team,” Sharon said. “He would come back with stories about his trip and experiences and always bring his favorite, and only, daughter some special present. My father would be pleased that I have chosen to honor his memory in this manner and that is important to me.

“She helped each and every one of us with our homework and school projects,” Tom added. “She would be happy to know that this endowment will help others achieve their goals as well.”

“Tom and I visited the Academy and received a briefing on its activities and a first-class tour of the facility,” Sharon said.

“We were greatly impressed by the staff and with all that is being accomplished there.”

“The Mary Josephine DeWitt Endowment will boost the ability of the Department to support a growing need to offer opportunities to our students to engage in team design projects and competitions,” said Prucz. “These opportunities provide a highly stimulating and effective learning framework in which our students gain valuable skills and abilities for successful practice of the engineering profession.

I would like to thank Mr. DeWitt for his generosity to the Department and our students.”

“The DeWitts’ gift to support mine safety and rescue training is critical to maintaining the quality of our programs, which truly have the potential to affect our trainees’ lives,” said Jim Dean, director of mining and industrial extension. “On behalf of our instructors and staff, we are grateful to them for recognizing and supporting our efforts in mine rescue and safety training.”

When Sharon, who earned her master’s degree from WVU in elementary education, was looking for a way to honor her father, John Contenti, Jr., she sought guidance from Statler College Dean Gene Cilento.

“Dean Cilento told me about the College’s Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies and its program for promoting mine safety training,” Sharon said. “It was a perfect fit for what I wanted to do.”

“Perfect” because Sharon’s father spent his entire career working for CONSOL Energy.

The donation was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

DeWitts Honor Parents Through Endowments, Scholarships

By Mary C. Dillon

Volume 9 Issue 2

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Support News in Brief

For Bart Aitken, BSIE ’81, the decision to make two gifts to West Virginia University’s Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering was rooted in his desire to perpetuate a spirit of support that was instilled in him by his parents.

“My parents made it possible for their four sons to earn undergraduate degrees at West Virginia University, three of which were earned in the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources,” said Aitken. “While neither of my parents earned such a degree, they knew how important it would be for each of us to gain this valuable education and earn a degree at a time in our lives when we may not have had the same understanding or placed the same value on it.”

Fall 2013

Aitken and his wife, Tamara, pledged $100,000 to the Department to create the Robert L. and Pauline Aitken Scholarship. The scholarship will be awarded to two students annually who have completed at least 75 percent of their junior industrial engineering courses and have demonstrated a commitment to excellence, achievement, and hard work.

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An alumnus of the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and his wife have endowed a scholarship to support undergraduates studying in his home department.

F. Gail Gray and his wife, Caryl, have donated $26,000 to fund the Caryl and Gail Gray Scholarship. First preference will be given to West Virginia residents with demonstrated financial need.

Gray earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electrical engineering from WVU in 1965 and 1967, respectively. After completing his doctorate at the University of Michigan in 1971, he went on to an illustrious career, serving as a member of the faculty at the Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Virginia Tech. He retired as professor emeritus after 32 years of service.

Read more at www.goo.gl/vd1UYk

Clarksburg, W.Va., native Maurice Wadsworth, BSCE ’51, and his wife, JoAnn, have endowed the Wadsworth Graduate Fellowship, which will benefit doctoral candidates studying in the discipline. The fellowship is expected to be awarded to at least three students per year, with at least one fellowship being given to a resident of West Virginia and/or a graduate of an accredited college or university in the state.

Read more at www.goo.gl/9QoUuX _________________________________________

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In a separate gift, the coupled pledged $50,000 to create the Bart A. and Tamara Aitken Endowment. Funds from the endowment will be used at the discretion of the Department chair.

Read more at www.goo.gl/gZq15u

The owners of McKamish, Inc., a mechanical contractor based in Pittsburgh, have endowed a scholarship to benefit students studying engineering at West Virginia University. Funds from the McKamish Endowed Scholarship will provide undergraduate scholarships for students in all disciplines in the Statler College.

Read more at www.goo.gl/1DmRPg

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The Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources received a software bundle donation from ANSYS Inc., a global innovator of simulation software and technologies designed to optimize product development processes.

The technology is being used for research and teaching in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

Students in West Virginia University’s the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and the College of Education and Human Services will benefit from a $330,000 donation from alumni orders Robert “Bob” Orders, Jr., BSCE ’72, and his wife, Ann. The Charleston couple is creating the Bob and Ann Orders Civil Engineering Scholarship and the Ann and Bob Orders STEM Teaching Scholarship in the colleges where they earned degrees.

Read more at www.goo.gl/584hFU

ANSYS’ Academic Partnership Program is designed to provide students, faculty, and educational institutions access to advanced simulation software. Students gain hands-on, real-world experience that can help jumpstart their careers, while at the research level, faculty and graduate students will be able to solve the same complex problems as those in the industry.

Read more at www.goo.gl/AHM4Do

wadsworth

A loyal alumnus and his wife have continued their history of giving to the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University with a gift of stock valued at $209,243.

richards

In September 2012, representatives from West Virginia University and the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources broke ground on the Advanced Engineering Research Building. A gift from alumnus J. Wayne Richards, BSME ’81, and his wife, Kathy, will be used to help make the building a reality.

The Richards, natives of South Charleston, W.Va., pledged $250,000 to the Statler College Building Fund to help fund construction of the new facility, which is expected to open in 2014.

It will house offices, classrooms, computer classrooms, a learning center, and graduate student space, as well as a clean room to meet the needs of high-technology learning and discovery.

Read more at www.goo.gl/uLs2Yl

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Honor Roll of Donors We would like to thank our benefactors who have generously contributed to the programs and departments of our College.

We are grateful for your support, as we could not accomplish what we do without your help. Listed below are individuals and organizations who contributed to a program or department in our College from July 1, 2012, through June 30, 2013.

$100,000 & up

Mr. H. Leo Mehl

Mr. Kenneth R. Gosnell

Prof. Brian D. Woerner

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory S. Babe

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Messmore

Mr. Suyoun Won

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. DeWitt Mr. Earl F. Morton, Jr.

Ms. Rhonda L. Radcliff & Mr. Robert Mullenger

Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Haden, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert O. Orders, Jr.

Col. & Mrs. R. Michael Ruppert

Donal S. & Amy J. Hall

Mrs. Lora V. Richards

Mr. R. Patrick Simms

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Haney

Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin M. Statler

Mr. Tommy L. Stuchell

Mr. & Mrs. Dean W. Harvey

Mr. & Mrs. Maurice A. Wadsworth

Mrs. Joy M. Teske

Mr. & Mrs. Richard D. Haynes

Mrs. Hilda R. Warner

Mr. & Mrs. John S. Hill

Capt. & Mrs. Douglas E. Arnold, USN (Ret.)

Mr. & Mrs. Charles I. Homan

Mr. James L. Bero

Dr. John W. Zondlo

Mr. & Mrs. James B. Haines $500 to $999 Mr. & Mrs. Steven W. Alford Mr. & Mrs. Mark K. Angelelli

Mr. & Mrs. William H. McCartney, Jr. Dr. Kenneth H. Means & Dr. Carol D. Means Dr. & Mrs. James E. Mitchell Mr. Stephen R. Montagna Mack Timothy Moore Mr. & Mrs. Alan P. Moran Mr. Michael D. Morse & Ms. Cynthia J. Brandt Mr. Kenneth C. Mundell

$25,000 to $99,999

$1,000 to $4,999

Mr. Michael E. Householder II

Mr. Tim Bielawa

Mr. & Mrs. Bart A. Aitken

Mrs. Joyce B. M. Allen

Mr. & Mrs. Elmo J. Hurst

Mr. & Mrs. John L. Broschard III

Mrs. Dianne D. Anderson

Mr. & Mrs. Larry J. Argiro, Sr.

Mrs. Nancy L. Ireland

Mr. & Mrs. Tom C. Burlas

Mr. Roy H. Bucklew & Ms. Rena A. Cyphert

Mr. & Mrs. C. Ben Arney

Mr. & Mrs. Paul J. Jameson

Mr. Andrew K. Butcher

Dr. & Mrs. Steven R. Auvil

Dr. & Mrs. Edwin C. Jones, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Corsi, Jr.

Mr. Gary Christopher

Dr. Christopher J. Bise

Mr. Bob Keith

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Craig

Mr. & Mrs. Dean D. DubbĂŠ

Dr. & Mrs. Daniel D. Bonar

Dr. & Mrs. George E. Keller II

Christine & Aaron Cropp

Mr. & Mrs. F. Gail Gray

Mr. & Mrs. George E. Booth, Sr.

Dr. & Mrs. James A. Kent

Ms. Mary C. Dillon

Dr. John F. Hall & Dr. Nancy Lan

Mrs. Kathleen Y. Borkowski

Mr. & Mrs. Floyd E. Leaseburg II

Mr. & Mrs. Dale W. Dodrill

Dr. & Mrs. Samuel J. Kasley

Mr. Raymond A. Bradbury

Mr. & Mrs. Dale W. Linaweaver

Mr. & Mrs. James G. Faller

Mr. & Mrs. James L. Laurita, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. William S. Britt

Dr. & Mrs. John L. Loth

Dr. & Mrs. L. Tseng Fan

Mr. Verl O. Purdy

Mr. & Mrs. Porter A. Lyon

Mr. & Mrs. John R. Farina

Mr. & Ms. J. Wayne Richards

Mr. & Mrs. Jackson B. Browning, Sr.

Mr. Bret A. Marks

Mr. Richard E. Fletcher

Mr. & Mrs. Ashok M. Sanghavi

Mr. Paul D. Browning

Mr. Edgar R. McHenry

Mr. & Mrs. Richard V. French

Mr. & Mrs. Royce J. Watts

Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Burchett

Mr. Gerard F. McQuade

Mr. John W. Campbell

Ms. Betty L. Miller

Rev. James E. Galford & Mrs. Sheila E. Galford

$10,000 to $24,999

Dr. & Mrs. James M. Carrier

Mrs. Margarette E. Offutt

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Gingerich

Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. DiPaolo

Dr. & Mrs. Raymond W. Chafin II

Mr. & Mrs. Raman L. Patel

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth W. Goff

Drs. Peter L. & Cheryl L. Perrotta

Mrs. Sheila K. Gorgonio

Mr. Jozef M. Petrak

Mr. & Mrs. James Griffin

Dr. Jacky C. Prucz

Mr. & Mrs. Lewis G. Grimm

Mr. & Mrs. Alan S. Pyle

Ms. Emer O. Gunter

Mr. & Mrs. Robert H. Quenon

Mr. Benjamin R. Hardman

Mr. Jon H. Rateau

Mr. & Mrs. M. Masood Hassan

Mr. & Mrs. Walter J. Scheller III

Mr. & Mrs. Gary B. Herrington

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph T. Skinner

Mrs. Jennifer L. Hornsby-Myers

Mr. John P. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Horvath

Mr. & Mrs. Richard N. Smith

Mr. Ryan S. Hunter

Mr. & Mrs. Vincent J. Stricker

Jay & Linda Snider Family

Mr. Patrick A. Jackson & Ms. Dayna L. Doricich

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Strohmeyer Mr. Robert O. Thoman

Mr. Richard J. Kacik

Dr. & Mrs. Curtis J. Tompkins

Mr. John L. Kalkreuth

Dr. Richard E. Walters

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Katlic

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth A. Ward

Dr. James A. Keenan

Dr. Karen E. Warden

Mr. William C. Turley, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory A. Kozera

Mr. & Mrs. Richard M. Whiting

Dr. & Mrs. Charles M. Vest

Mr. David M. Krovich

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph J. Wright

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Walter

Mr. Junior H. Landes II

Dr. Ann S. Zirkle

Dr. W. Scott Wayne

Mr. & Miss Kristopher C. Lilly

Mr. William S. Wayne

Ms. Susan A. Luerich & Mr. Lawrence E. Leise

Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Ellis Dr. & Mrs. William L. Fourney Mr. & Mrs. James W. Harvey Dr. & Mrs. Ray E. Martin Mr. & Mrs. Lemuel S. Menear Dr. Alfred H. Stiller Mr. & Mrs. George B. Taylor Mr. & Mrs. James E. Taylor $5,000 to $9,999 Dr. David W. Baker Mr. & Mrs. Frank Cerminara Dr. Eugene V. Cilento Mr. Jacob S. Freshwater Ms. Devon L. Gosnell Mr. & Mrs. Walter R. Haddad Mr. & Mrs. George Harrick Mr. Mark A. Kovalan Mr. & Mrs. James H. Laughlin, Jr. Mrs. Elizabeth Lorraine Mrs. Rose Ann Maloy

Lenore McComas Coberly Mr. James E. Conklin Dr. Wils L. & Mrs. Jane Yohe Cooley Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Dado Mr. & Mrs. John C. Day Dr. & Mrs. J. Reginald Dietz Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Doeffinger, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Dunn Dr. & Mrs. W. Samuel Easterling Ms. Marsha H. Fanucci Mr. Barton R. Field Dr. Addison M. Fischer Mr. Walter J. Fitzgerald Dr. Hubert L. Fleming Mr. & Mrs. Michael D. Flowers Mr. & Mrs. Philip M. Formica Mr. & Mrs. Stuart N. Goodman Mr. & Mrs. Barry A. Goodwin Mr. & Mrs. Douglas K. Gosnell

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph J. Stark, Jr. Larry & Lydotta Taylor Mr. & Mrs. Douglas P. Terry Capt. Charles H. Tilton, USNR (Ret.)

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Wiebe

Mr. Nathan J. Nicol Dr. & Mrs. Roy S. Nutter, Jr. Mr. John Olashuk Mr. & Mrs. Marion Parsons, Jr. Mr. Gregory D. Patterson Drs. Syd S. & Felicia F. Peng Mr. & Mrs. Harold L. Phillippi Mr. William N. Poundstone Dr. & Mrs. Michael E. Prudich Dr. & Mrs. J. Mark Pullen Mr. & Mrs. Fred Rine Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Robertson Mr. Richard C. Rockenstein Mr. & Mrs. Roy H. Rogerson Mr. & Mrs. Frank W. Schneider Dr. Carolyn C. Seepersad Mr. & Mrs. Barrett L. Shrout Ms. Jennifer L. Smith Mr. Smith & Ms. Kniska Mr. & Mrs. Richard K. Smith Dr. & Mrs. James E. Spearman Mr. & Mrs. Ronald W. Staib Dr. James B. Stenger Dr. & Mrs. Charter D. Stinespring Mr. & Mrs. John R. Stoehr

Volume 9 Issue 2

Ms. Helen M. Pace

Ms. Anesa T. Chaibi

Dr. & Mrs. Warren R. Myers

45

Honor Roll of Donors $250 to $499

Mr. Lee T. Paules

Mrs. Marie R. Fumich

Dr. & Mrs. Leroy C. Reid, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Basinger, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Richard E. Cline

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Alex

Mr. Robert A. Clise

Dr. Peter D. Gall

Mr. James V. Alford II

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Ritz

Lt. Col.(Ret.) Randall E. Beaty

Mr. August D. Coby

Mr. Robert L. Garbart

Mr. & Mrs. Chester L. Allen

Mr. & Mrs. James J. Rusenko

Mr. David A. Bednarczyk

Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Cochenour

Mr. Michael J. Garska

Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Alvarez

Ms. M. Christine Savage

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Coffman

Mr. Donald J. Gay

Mr. & Mrs. Tony A. Angelelli

Mr. Bryan N. Schwalm

Lt. Col.(Ret.) & Mrs. Paul G. Bellia

Mrs. Teresa A. Cole

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Gay

Mr. & Mrs. Walter S. Arceneaux

R. Lennie & Diana Scott

Mr. & Mrs. A. Michael Collins

Mr. Kevin N. George

Mr. & Mrs. C. Edward Ashby, Jr.

Dr. Rohit I. Seshadri

Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Collins

Mrs. Laura E. Gergen

Dr. & Mrs. Jimmy P. Balsara

Mr. W. David Shinn

Mr. Bradley R. Bane & Dr. Danielle J. D. Bane

Mr. Kenneth K. Sitar

Mr. Charles E. Battleson

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey D. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey W. Bell Mr. & Mrs. Dennis E. Bibbee

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Smith Mr. Randolph C. Smith Mr. Peter L. Spence

Ms. Kunnigunda M. Biener

Mrs. Amy M. Staud

Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Bragg

Mrs. Marcella P. Steerman

Maj. Gregory D. Brown

Dr. Alan D. Stemple

Mr. Wallace M. Cackowski

Mrs. June D. Swartwout

Mr. & Mrs. Henry E. Cicci

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Tallman

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Clark

Mr. & Mrs. Robert K. Tinney

Capt. & Mrs. H. Ward Conaway

Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Tupes

Mr. Charlie L. Cornett

Mr. Jay J. Turner

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth W. Cutright

Mr. Kelles L. Veneri

Mr. & Mrs. Barry Dangerfield

Mr. & Mrs. Ken P. Vitaya-Udom

Mrs. Debbie Davis-Waltermire

Mr. & Mrs. Edward A. Ward

Mr. & Mrs. Dale T. Deem

Mr. George A. Waters

Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Dever

Mr. Daniel A. Weber

Mr. Gilbert W. DeVine Dr. Dianne Dorland

Mrs. Deborah A. & Mr. Kevin West

Mr. & Mrs. Darryl L. Duncan

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald C. Whigham

Mr. Samuel T. Dusi

Mr. Henry M. Word

Mr. Harold G. Fisher

Dr. Chaojin Xu

Fall 2013

Mr. George B. Flegal, Jr.

46

Mr. David R. Glass

$100 to $249

Mrs. Patricia A. Goldie

Dr. Venkata B. Achanti

Mr. Scott A. Hair

Mr. Michael J. Akers, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel L. Harman

Dr. & Mrs. M. Dayne Aldridge

Mr. Kevin M. Hatfield

Ms. Nancy Aldridge

Mr. & Mrs. Roy A. Heidelbach

Mr. Randy L. Allison

Dr. Garry C. Hess

Mr. & Ms. Samuel Ameri

Mr. & Mrs. Brian D. Inman

Mr. & Mrs. Edward C. Anderson

Mr. Pravin M. Khandare

Ltc. Olga M. Anderson

Mr. Jacob King

Mr. Steven T. Andraka

Mr. James H. Kirwin

Mr. Brian C. Andrews

Dr. & Mrs. John M. Kuhlman

Mr. Jeffrey L. Andrews

Mr. & Mrs. James A. Kutsch, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Larry J. Andrews

Mr. Richard W. Lee

Mr. Ajith Antony

Mr. Andrew B. Leimer

Mrs. Rita A. Bajura

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Luchini

Mr. Narayan Balachandran

Dr. & Mrs. Peter S. Maa

Mr. & Mrs. Steven C. Ball

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur M. McClain

Mr. Ralph L. Ballard III

Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Mitchell

Mr. Theodore C. Barker

Mr. Thomas A. Musser

Mr. & Mrs. David N. Barrett

Mr. Leonard S. Nicholson

Mr. Brett S. Barthelmess

Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Palmer

Mr. Charles R. Bartlett

Mr. & Mrs. Terrence L. Parsons

Mr. James V. Bartlett, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Clarence E. Bennett Mr. & Mrs. Duane T. Bernard Dr. & Mrs. Navinchandra B. Bhatt Mr. & Mrs. Stephen M. Billcheck, Jr. Randy Blackburn, DO Dr. & Mrs. G. Lansing Blackshaw Mr. & Mrs. John L. Blair, Jr. Mrs. Jackalie L. Blue Mr. Jerry D. Blue Mr. & Mrs. Mark S. Boggs Mrs. Irene F. Bohuslavsky Mr. Matthew L. Bonnell Mr. & Mrs. John W. Botts Mr. & Mrs. Richard C. Bourne Mr. & Mrs. Timothy Z. Bower Mr. & Mrs. William E. Bowling Mr. John W. Boyle Mr. Michael E. Brennan Mr. & Mrs. Arnold L. Brewer Mr. & Mrs. James M. Bright Mr. Charles C. Brown Mr. & Mrs. Keith Browning Mr. & Mrs. Kurt A. Brungard Mrs. Barbara H. Brygider Ms. Dolly L. Buckles Mr. & Mrs. Donald L. Bunch Mr. David R. Bungard Mrs. Kendra L. Burch Ms. Vickie L. Burns Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Burton Mr. & Mrs. Howard J. Bussey, Jr. Mr. Christopher S. Butler Mr. John W. Byrd Mr. & Mrs. Charles M. Byrnside Mr. & Mrs. Mark Campbell Mr. & Mrs. Overton H. Caperton Mr. & Mrs. Larry K. Carpenter Mr. Michael J. Carter Mr. Anthony J. Castronovo Mr. Ryan D. Cavallo Dr. & Mrs. William R. Cawthorne Mr. & Mrs. Dennis C. Chambers Mr. & Mrs. Timothy D. Chasey Mr. Chuan P. Chou Dr. David A. Cicci Mr. Steven B. Clagett James M. Clark Mr. Kenneth J. Claudio Mr. William B. Clelland

Mr. Forrest D. L. Coontz

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy M. Gessner

Mr. & Mrs. Bernard C. Corker

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander H. Ghiz, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Correll

Ms. Sheree L. Gibson

Mr. & Mrs. Russell V. Costanza

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph M. Giordano

Mr. & Mrs. Mark W. Cottrill CPA

Dr. & Mrs. William M. Glazier

Mr. Ted B. Cranmer

Ms. Tirzah Y. Glebes

Mr. Gaylord Cumberledge

Mr. Gus T. Glyptis

Mr. Alva R. Cummings

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew G. Goff

Miss Cassie A. Cunningham

Dr. & Mrs. Robert A. Gore

Mr. Lawrence E. Cunningham

Mr. & Mrs. Matthew C. Gosnell

Mr. & Mrs. Gene P. Current

Mr. & Mrs. Leonard E. Graham

Dr. Kenneth R. Currie

Dr. Donald D. Gray

Ron & Jayne Cutright

Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey G. Gray

Mr. Joshuah W. Dalton

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Gray, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Steven K. Darnell

Mr. & Mrs. John H. Graybill

Ms. Dianne C. Davidson

Mr. & Mrs. Garret W. Green

Dr. Paul C. Davis

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Gribschaw

Mr. Adam Day

Mr. Curtis M. Griffith, Jr.

Mr. Leonard J. DeCarlo

Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Griffith

Mrs. Benita Depriest

Mr. & Mrs. Surender K. Gupta

Mrs. Mattie R. Dicarlo

Mr. Ronald A. Hahn

Mr. Wayne R. Doverspike

Dr. & Mrs. George A. Hall

Mr. & Mrs. Randall K. Drazba

Mrs. Margaret M. Hall

Mr. Steven E. Easley

Mr. Robert L. Halstead

Ms. Joan D. Easton

Mr. John F. Halterman

Mr. & Mrs. Charles A. Ellis

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel R. Hamric

Mrs. Cherryll M. Ellis

Mr. & Mrs. Roger Hankey

Mr. & Mrs. Victor R. Ellis

Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Hanko

Mr. & Mrs. Clifford W. Essig

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Hardy

Mrs. Catherine E. Everitt

Mr. James C. Hare

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Faini

Mr. & Mrs. Gordon P. Harlow

Miss Susan M. Falck

Mr. & Mrs. John C. Harman

Mr. Richard L. Falkenstein

Mr. & Mrs. Samuel R. Harman

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Farmer

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Harris

Mr. & Mrs. Lionel R. Farr

Maj. Gerhard B. Hartig

Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Ferda

Mr. Richard F. Hashinger

Mrs. Annette R. Ferrell

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Haynes

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Figurski

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Heathcote

Mr. & Mrs. Earl M. Fisher

Mr. & Mrs. Marc Heffner

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Fleek

Mr. William D. Hegener

Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Fleischer Mr. Timothy K. Fleming

Mr. Wayne M. Henshaw & Ms. Deborah S. Joyce

Mr. & Mrs. J. Roger Floyd

Mr. Christopher Herbert

Mr. Paul E. Foucaud

Mr. & Mrs. John R. Hess

Mr. & Mrs. B. Kenneth Fouts

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Higginbotham, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. T. H. Frantz Mr. & Mrs. Douglas W. Frost

Mr. & Mrs. Raymond R. Hill Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Hill

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Mr. & Mrs. Eric D. Himler

Ms. Amy E. Lyons Dr. Donald W. Lyons

Mr. & Mrs. Vijendrakumar C. Patel

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Schumacher

Mr. & Mrs. Todd J. Urness

Mr. James D. Hinkle III Mr. & Mrs. John A. Holmes

Mr. & Mrs. Neal R. Lyons

Mr. & Mrs. Harold R. Payne

Mr. & Mrs. Gary J. Schweitzer

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Vaughn

Mr. & Mrs. William H. Hoover

Mr. & Mrs. Bryce L. Maddox

Mr. Richard B. Pellegrino

Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert T. Seese

Mrs. Patricia W. Vetter

Mr. & Mrs. Keith D. Horton

Mr. Matthew M. Madurski

Mr. Richard J. Perin

Mrs. Tracie L. Seivertson

Mr. Les A. Viegas

Mr. James J. Howard

Ms. Nancy H. Marsh

Mr. Charles H. Perry, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Seknicka

Mrs. Trina K. Wafle

Mr. & Mrs. Victor W. Huang

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas M. Marshall

Mr. & Mrs. Edward L. Perry

Mr. Santino T. Serpento

Mr. William D. Walko

Mr. Daniel H. Hugh

Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Martin

Dr. Kerri B. Phillips

Mr. David W. Shaffer

Mr. Earl L. Walls

Mr. & Mrs. Hugh B. Humbert, Jr.

Dr. David R. Martinelli

Paul & Kathy Phillips

Mr. Charles A. Shaver

Mr. Leason W. Walters

Mr. & Mrs. Ervin J. Hunter

Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Martinez

Mr. & Mrs. W. Scot Phillips

Mr. David E. Sheets

Mr. & Mrs. Julian W. Ware

Mrs. Kaye I. Hutter

Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Marushi

Mr. & Mrs. Michael T. Shook

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth M. Ware

Mr. & Mrs. Jan C. Hutwelker, Sr.

Mr. James L. Mason

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew D. Pickens, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Morris M. Shor

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Watson

Mr. John B. James

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Mason

Mr. John A. Pirraglia

Mr. Mark A. Shroyer

Mr. James M. Weaver

Mr. Brian E. Johnson

Mrs. Millicent N. Mason

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Pizatella

Mr. Frank J. Shuler

Mr. & Mrs. Gene R. Weekley, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. David L. Johnson

Mrs. Christine S. Mayernik

Mr. Harold D. Poplawski, Jr.

Mrs. Susan K. Siebken

Mrs. Amy H. Wen

Mrs. Erlice G. Johnson

Mr. Richard E. McAllister

Mr. Trevor M. Poquette

Mr. & Mrs. William F. Simmons

Prof. & Mrs. John E. McCray, Jr.

Mr. Martin Potts

Mr. Yian Wen

Mr. Roderick N. Johnson

Mr. & Mrs. Wilbur T. Simon

Mr. & Mrs. Donald G. Jones

Mr. Jason P. McDonald

Mr. Timothy J. Poulin

Mr. & Mrs. Dwain M. Sims

Mr. & Mrs. George T. Westbrook, Jr.

Mr. Charles F. Kazienko

Mr. & Mrs. S. Fenton McDonald

Mr. & Mrs. Victor D. Proietti

Mr. Mark F. Sindelar

Mr. Duane E. Westfall

Dr. & Mrs. Gary Keefer

Mr. Joseph K. McFadden

Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Prunty, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Sirk, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Westfall PE

Mr. & Mrs. W. Lee Kelvington

Ms. Jennifer R. McGee

Mr. Walter J. Ramsey

Mrs. Jennifer L. Sivak

Ms. Alice L. Kerns

Mr. & Mrs. George D. Six

Mr. Robert W. Whipp & Mrs. Beverly K. Whipp

Mr. Mark D. Kessinger

Ms. Mary E. McGivern & Mr. Bill Jones

Mr. Herbert S. Rawlings Mr. Bradley R. Reed

Mr. Robert D. Skelton

Mr. Norman W. White

Dr. & Mrs. Mohamad A. Khalil

Dr. & Mrs. Ronald B. McPherson

Mr. & Mrs. Mark F. Reeder

Mr. Brett W. Smith

Mr. Chester L. Whitehair

Mr. Garry R. Kilmer

Mr. & Mrs. David L. McQuaid

Mr. James B. Reese

Dr. Jason R. Smith

Mr. Bernard W. Whittington

Mr. John J. Klim III

Mr. & Mrs. W. Scott Mease

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph E. Reger

Mr. & Mrs. Harold J. Snyder, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Paul J. Wielgus

Drs. Michael J. & Lesley A. Klishis

Ms. Annamaria Medvid

Mr. & Mrs. John F. Rentschler, Jr.

Mr. Phillip L. Stalnaker

Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Wiercinski

Ms. Elizabeth Merricks

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Reynolds

Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Stemple

Dr. & Mrs. F. David Wilkin

Mr. Andrew R. Knapp

Dr. & Mrs. Paul G. Migliore

Mr. & Mrs. William S. Rice

Mr. Harry L. Stemple

Mr. & Mrs. Cyril H. Williams, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Sudhir V. R. Koka

CDR J. Larry Miles, Jr.

Mr. Herbert L. Ridder

Dr. Larry E. Stewart

Mr. J. Eldon Williams

Mr. George J. Kostelnik

Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Miller II

Mr. & Mrs. Jon M. Ridgway

Mr. Daniel L. Stickler

Mr. & Mrs. Donald P. Wilson

Dr. Ellen M. Kraft

Paul & Jacqueline Mills

Mrs. Annetta R. Riekel

Mr. John M. Stickler

Dr. & Mrs. James D. Wilson

Mr. John A. Kulmoski, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert D. Mills

Mrs. Ashley B. Rine

Mr. & Mrs. Lester W. Stone

Dr. & Mrs. John S. Wilson

Mrs. Vicki R. Kurrle

Dr. Chinnarao Mokkapati

Mr. Terry D. Rings

Mr. & Mrs. George L. Stover

Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Wilson

Mr. Nagi A. Lam

Mr. & Mrs. Guy E. Mongold, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Carl T. Ripberger III

Mr. Charles E. Stricklin

Mr. & Mrs. Steven F. Wilson

Mr. David P. Moon

Mr. & Mrs. Brad J. Roberts

Mr. Corey M. Strimer

Mr. Thomas E. Winans

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Lange II

Mrs. Kim M. Morgan

Mrs. Margaret A. Roberts

Mr. & Mrs. William H. Stroup

Mr. & Mrs. Marvin C. Woodie, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Richard E. Lantzy

Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Morris

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Roberts

Mr. John M. Svedman

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey T. Woods

Mr. & Mrs. John C. LaPorta

Mr. Cleveland G. Mosby, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. James P. Robison

Mr. & Mrs. David L. Swearingen

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. Wright

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas L. Lapp

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Mullett

Dr. & Mrs. William H. Robison

Mr. & Ms. Nathan G. Sypolt

Mr. Gasir Larhart

Dr. Richard P. Mullin

Mrs. Lisa C. Rohan

Mrs. Cynthia D. Tanner

Mr. Yunqing Wu & Ms. Lei Huang

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Latham III

Mr. & Mrs. Vicente S. Munoz, Jr.

Mr. Anthony D. Rossetti

Mr. & Mrs. Caleb A. Tarleton

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Lawson III

Mr. & Mrs. Clyde B. Musick

Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Taylor

Mr. Loren L. Lazear

Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. Napier

Lt. Cmdr. Thomas C. Rowan, USN (Ret.)

Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas M. Lengyel

Mrs. Jane H. Nicholson

Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Lenhart

Mr. & Mrs. Randy A. Nicholson

Dr. Jonathan M. Lester

Mr. Robert A. Novotny

Mr. Edward G. Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. George J. Oberlick

Mr. Paul J. Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel R. Olds

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen C. Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. Art Oliver, Jr.

Mr. Hailin Li

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Oliveto

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Linger

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin F. Owsiany

Mr. Michael S. Lotito

Mr. & Mrs. Allen S. Pack, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Lunden

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald K. Parrish

Dr. Yi Luo

Mr. Thomas H. Parsons

Mr. Craig A. Lynch

Mr. Richard G. Pass

Mr. Jens H. Lange

Ms. Rosamond A. Rutledge-Burns Mr. Terrence R. Ryan Dr. & Mrs. Ziad A. Sabra Mr. Phillip M. Sabree Ms. Sharon L. Salisbury Dr. Simsek Sarikelle Mrs. Piper S. Sarver Mr. & Mrs. William A. Savage Mr. Richard C. Schoppert Mr. Arthur K. Schuler

Mr. Samson Tesfaselassie Dr. Douglas L. Timmons Mrs. Nicole M. Tingler Mr. & Mrs. Stephen W. Tippett Mr. & Mrs. Dennis P. Townsend Dr. & Mrs. George E. Trapp, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. William D. Trimbath Mr. & Mrs. Brian A. Truman Ms. Rebecca Tuell Ms. Cynthia L. Turco Mr. James R. Turner, Jr. Mr. & Mrs. Roy M. Turner Mr. & Mrs. Lionel J. Updyke

Mr. & Mrs. William D. Wyant Mr. & Mrs. Stephen A. Yano Dr. Siamak Yassini Mr. & Mrs. Otis R. Yeater

Volume 9 Issue 2

Mr. Meredith B. Royce, Jr.

Mr. Thomas E. Urquhart

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Young, Jr. Mr. Richard Yungwirth Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Zachar Mrs. Hao Zhang Mr. & Mrs. George T. Zimmerman PE

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Corporations, Associations, and Trusts $100,000 and up Alpha Natural Resources, Inc. Ansys Inc. Arch Coal, Inc. McKamish, Inc. Schlumberger Technology Corporation $25,000 to $99,999 American Association of Drilling Engineers Andrew L. Clark Sr. Estate Chesapeake Operating, Inc. CONSOL Energy, Inc. ExxonMobil Foundation Matching Gift Program GE Foundation John L. Kirkland Trust Massey Foundation Michael Baker Corporation Nason P. Pritchard Trust NGE Peabody Investments Corp WV Coal Mining Institute

Fall 2013

$10,000 to $24,999 Chesapeake Energy Corporation Chevron Products Company Dominion Foundation FMC Technologies General Electric Company Halliburton Leviton MEPCO, Inc. North Carolina Coal Institute, Inc. Peter’s Creek Coal Association The Boeing Company Payment Services The Williams Companies, Inc. ZMM, Inc.

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$5,000 to $9,999 AIST Foundation Appalachian Log Structures, Inc. Apricus, Inc. DirecTV E. I. DuPont De Memours & Company Eaton Corporation Eco-Roofs, LLC Lockheed Martin Martin Marietta Materials Our Community’s Foundation Pearson Education Penn Virginia Operating Co. LLC

PPG Industries Southeastern Assoc. of State Highway & Transportation Officials The Cliffs Foundation The Hershey Company Matching Gift Program Triad Engineering, Inc. Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation WVU Alumni Association - Mineral Resources Chapter $1,000 to $4,999 Air Products Foundation, Inc. Alcoa Foundation Alpha Associates, Inc. American Council of Engineering Co. of WV Bayer Material Science Boeing Company Matching Gift Program Boyles & Hildreth Consulting Engineers Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation CAS Structural Engineering, Inc. Chevron Corporation Matching Grants Program Copart Inc. Dow Chemical Company FirstEnergy Foundation Gimme Foundation Inc. IEEE Power & Energy Society Ingersoll Rand Company Johnson Mirmiran & Thompson, PA Joy Mining Machinery Keylogic Systems, Inc. Mack Trucks, Inc. Maryland Association of Engineers Math Energy LLC Michael Baker Corporation National Coal Transportation Association, Inc. Northern WV Section of SPE Northrop Grumman Corporation Siemens US - Matching Contributions Program for Employees Southern Coals Conference Swedish Match North American Division SWIFT Thermal Energy System Specialists UBS Foundation USA Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. West Virginia Desk and Derrick Club WV Coal Association, Inc. $100 to $999 Abbott Fund Accenture

AeroJet American Electric Power Matching Gift Program Bechtel Matching Gift Program BK Technologies, Inc. Book Mart Corp Caterpillar Foundation Matching Gift Program ConocoPhillips CONSOL Energy Inc. Dominion Foundation Matching Gift Program Dominion Resources Duke Energy Corporation Elite Motors Inc. Employees Charity Organization Environmental Science Applications, Inc. Gannon International Glen Arm Building Company, Inc. H.J. Heinz Company Foundation Harris Foundation Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. IBM International Foundation Matching Gift Program Ingersoll-Rand Charitable Foundation International Industries, Inc. JoGar Energy & Utility Services, Inc. Johnson Controls Foundation Juniper Networks’ Company Kinder Morgan, Inc. Lincoln Electric Lockheed Martin Corporation Foundation Lubrizol Foundation Matching Gift Program Lutheran Community Foundation McCulla Funeral Home Metso Monsanto Fund Mountaineer Mine Rescue Association, Inc. Mountaineer Mine Safety & Training, Inc. Olashuk Environmental, Inc. P&G Fund PDC Energy Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program Pickering Associates Poquette Construction LLC Raytheon SABIC Innovative Plastics Texas Instruments Foundation Textron, Inc. Verizon Foundation Wells Fargo Educational Matching Gift Program

Irvin Stewart Society:

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Walter J. Hansen

Betty L. Miller

William A. Simms

Garnet B. Browning

Lawrence C. Hays

Toni R. Morris

James M. Smith

Stanley Browning

Gregory L. Herrick

Betty Ann Morton

Roy H. Bucklew

Sheila G. Herrick

Earl F. Morton

John E. Sneckenberger

John W. Campbell

Glen H. Hiner

Jean H. Orders

Mary S. Sneckenberger

Frank Cerminara

Betty J. Hurst

Robert O. Orders

J. Robert Stockner

Susan Cerminara

Elmo J. Hurst

Alice Poindexter

Tommy L. Stuchell

Vudara Chuop

Robert S. Jacobson

John M. Summerfield

Rena A. Cyphert

H. Emil Johnson

William N. Poundstone

Robert D. Bewick

Making a Difference for Years to Come To the right you will find a list of thoughtful and generous alumni and friends who have become members of the Irvin Stewart Society by including our College in their estate plans. These individuals are helping students of the future through gift provisions in their wills, life insurance, or gifts of real estate with a retained life state.

We are forever grateful to them.

Please consider joining the Irvin Stewart Society by including our College in your estate plans. For more information please contact Garth Lindley at 304.293.4156 or garth.lindley@mail.wvu.edu or Robert Bragg at 304.293.4036 or robert.bragg@mail.wvu.edu.

Irene V. Desmond Robert M. Desmond Irma McGinnis Dotson James M. Dotson

Robert E. Pyle James B. Reese Lora V. Richards

Penelope C. Johnson James A. Romano Joan L. Kelvington Jacqulyn Smith Sample W. Lee Kelvington Genevieve C. Koepfinger

Paul E. Sample John T. Samsell

Joseph L. Koepfinger Melody L. Samsell Margaret B. Fitzgerald Anthony E. Licata Charles M. Schaeffer Kathleen J. DuBois

Walter J. Fitzgerald

M. Dale Martin

Shirley C. Schaeffer

Alfred F. Galli

Alice P. May

Barrett L. Shrout

Beatrice Galli

Allan S. May

Nancy S. Shrout

Donald J. Gay

Mildred L. McFarland Kathryn A. Simms James R. McQuay R. Patrick Simms

Margaret M. Hall

In Memoriam Bonnie J. Burchinal

JOseph dzuris Joseph Lawrence Dzuris, 22, from Harpers Ferry, W.Va., passed away on September 15, 2013, in Morgantown, W.Va. A graduate of Jefferson High School, where he ran track, played baseball, and became an Eagle Scout, Dzuris began his studies at WVU as a civil engineering student.

Most recently, he was working toward a degree in exercise physiology.

He is survived by his parents, James and Joan Dzuris; two brothers, James II and Joel; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

W. David Teter Charles M. Vest Jo Ann Wadsworth Maurice A. Wadsworth Betty S. Watkins W. Richard Watkins Ronald A. Weaver Frank T. Wheby Erna F. Wilkin F. David Wilkin Donald W. Worlledge Mary S. Worlledge Eugene M. Zvolensky

Robert O. Orders Robert O. Orders, 87, of Charleston, W.Va., passed away on July 4, 2013. After serving a stint in the Army, Orders went on to study civil engineering at West Virginia University, graduating in 1951. He returned to Charleston and built bridges with his father around the state under the name of W.R. Orders & Son. In 1964, he formed Orders Construction Company, Inc., which has grown to be a major highway and utility construction firm in West Virginia and Virginia. He is survived by his wife, Jean; his children, Bob Orders, Jr., and Kathy Lane; and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Lawrence H. Ostrye Lawrence H. Ostrye, 92, passed away on March 30, 2013, at his home in Martinsburg, W.Va. Ostrye earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from WVU in 1943 and, after a stint in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he worked as a structural design engineer at Parkersburg Rig & Reel. He spent the majority of his career with Parkersburg-Aetna Construction Company, which later became Textron and then Walker/ Parkersburg. He was a joint designer in patenting a metal panel in 1969 that was used in the construction of metal buildings. He is survived by his sister, three daughters, and two sons.

Andrew James Streicher Andrew James Streicher, 18, of Gaithersburg, Md., passed away on April 21, 2013. Streicher was a freshman at WVU in the general engineering program. He is survived by his parents, Kevin and Margarita Streicher; his older brother, Matthew; and his grandmother, Maria.

Volume 9 Issue 2

Bonnie Burchinal passed away on June 8, 2013, at her home in Point Marion, Pa., after a short illness. A graduate of Morgantown High School and the Laurel Business Institute, she was employed as an administrative assistant to the associate dean of academic affairs in the Statler College.

She was active in Rotary International, was a Paul Harris Fellow, a Charter Member of the Paul Harris Society, and participated in the team that traveled to the Dominican Republic to help with and observe the building of sand filters to provide fresh drinking water. She was also a member of the Friendship Hill Association. She is survived by her two daughters; their husbands; and her grandson, Dusty.

Charles E. Swing

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Retirements The following people have officially retired from the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, effective August 2013. We thank them for their years of service.

Donald D. Gray Civil and Environmental Engineering

Job search websites for students and alumni MountaineerTRAK is WVU’s job search portal for students and alumni. www.careerservices.wvu.edu/mountaineertraklogins If you are looking for opportunities, or would like to post opportunities for students and alumni, please send an e-mail to Lloyd.Ford@mail.wvu.edu.

John L. Loth Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering J.D. Mooney Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Joseph A. Shaeiwitz Chemical Engineering

Another resource is the WVU Statler Group at LinkedIn www.statler.wvu.edu/linkedinwvucemr If you have any questions, please contact Lloyd Ford at 304.293.4370.

Your News Send your professional news, photos, and/or contributions to engineeringwv@mail.wvu.edu, or to Alumni Notes, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, PO 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070. You also may give online at www.statler.wvu.edu/contribute.

Name_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Fall 2013

Address______________________________________________________________________________________________________

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City/State/Zip__________________________________________________________________________________________________ E-mail_______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Graduation Year_______________Degree(s)_____________________________________________________________________________ q Yes, I want to support the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Enclosed is my contribution of: $___________________ Thank you for your support.

My news_____________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ EWV2013FALL

WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and mineral resources

Alumni: We Need Your Help!

The WVU Alumni Association and the Office of Admission jointly coordinate an international network of volunteers that assist the University with the recruitment of prospective students. We would like to invite you to join the National Alumni Recruiting Network (NARN) to help spread the word that WVU offers a unique, student-centered educational environment. As a NARN member, you will be invited to participate in various recruitment activities. You can also identify prospective students in your area and help to influence their decision to make WVU their college of choice.

If you are interested in joining our volunteer network, please visit narn.wvu.edu and complete the membership form. For more information, contact Danielle Linsenbigler at 304.293.8629.

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/wvucemr

Watch us on YouTube www.youtube.com/wvucemr

Follow us on Twitter www.twitter.com/wvustatler

Volume 9 Issue 2

Connect with us on LinkedIn

www.statler.wvu.edu/linkedinwvucemr

Blog with us on Tumblr www.wvustatler.tumblr.com

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Non-Profit Organization US Postage PAID Morgantown, WV Permit No. 34

West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources PO Box 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070 Address correction requested

Save the Dates Gochenour Lecture: Cynthia Atman, BSIE 1979 October 25, 2013 67th Annual Mountaineer Week November 1-10, 2013

December Convocation Reception December 20, 2013 Honors Day April 4, 2014

Football Tent WVU vs. Texas November 9, 2013

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Academy April 11-12, 2014

Capitol Classic December 14, 2013

Spring Family Weekend April 11-13, 2014 Civil and Environmental Engineering Academy May 1-2, 2014 Chemical Engineering Academy April 24-25, 2014 Commencement May 10, 2014

Faculty Hiring 2013–2014 The Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is recruiting for open faculty positions in the 2013-2014 academic year. For more information visit: www.statler.wvu.edu/news/jobs.php