Mechanical Engineering

News and Events Archives 2007

News and Events Archives
2007
2006
2005

ME Department showcased at NSBE conference career fair

The 2007 National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Regional Conference was held November 16–18 at the Microsoft Conference Center in Redmond, Washington. ME Professor Ann Mescher is shown talking with a student during the Career/Graduate School Fair. Approximately 700 attended the conference.












The Autumn 2007 MEssenger is available online

Contents: Boeing Rolls Out New Era With 787 Dreamliner; Bryan Speare Awarded Dean’s Medal; Martin Snoey Speaks at Graduation; Academic Spotlight: Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Research; Dr. Savio Woo to be inducted into ME Hall of Fame; Education Key to Good Life for “Just Plain Folks”; Nathan Sniadecki Joins ME Faculty; ME Students Participate in National Competitions; 2007 Enginering Lecture Series; Honors & Awards; Chair’s Corner.

Download the Autumn 2007 MEssenger HERE.

Nate Sniadecki appointed to ME faculty

sniadecki
The ME Department welcomes Nathan J. Sniadecki, who joined us as assistant professor in fall quarter 2007. Prior to UW, he was a post-doc at The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine’s Department of Biomedical Engineering. Sniadecki’s research is in the areas of mechanobiology, bioinstrumentation, and bioMEMS, with a specialty in the engineering of micro- and nanofabricated measurement tools for the understanding of cell mechanics and mechanotransduction. His long-term research goals include working towards fundamental advancements in the areas of tissue engineering, developmental biology, and the mechano-progression of disease in the cardiovascular, connective, and muscle tissues. He is eager to collaborate with researchers in UW’s School of Medicine, bioengineering and biology fields.

Prof. Ashley Emery named Fellow of ASHRAE

Professor Ashley Emery received the prestigious honor of Fellow of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. ME Visiting Committee member Rod Kirkwood was Emery's sponsor. The presentation will be made at AHRAE's Winter meeting in New York on January 19, 2008.

ME grad student helps Puget Sound officials harvest tidal energy

Brian Polagye was featured in an article on tidal energy that appears in the August 16, 2007 Seattle P-I. Brian works with Prof. Phil Malte on a variety of alternate energy sources, including tidal energy.

Prof. Mamidala Ramulu to receive the U.S. Waterjet Technology Association Award

We are pleased to announce that Professor Mamidala Ramulu will receive the U.S. Waterjet Technology Association "Technology Award" at an August 2007 ceremony in Houston. He will be the third U.S. faculty member to receive this award in its 26 years of existence.

ME students excel in 2007 submarine competition

The ME Human Powered Submarine Student Team, led by Capt. Adam Huxtable, had an outstanding performance during the 2007 competition. The results: 1st place–Technical Presentation; 1st place–Best Use of Composites; Honorable Mention–Best Overall Performance; 7th place–Single Person, Propeller-Driven category.

Prof. Albert Kobayashi receives prestigious medal

Prof. Albert Kobayashi received the Daniel C. Drucker Medal, which was conferred on June 5, 2007 in Austin, Texas at McMAT 2007, a meeting jointly sponsored by the ASME Applied Mechanics and Material Division. Established in 1997, the medal is bestowed in recognition of sustained, outstanding contributions to applied mechanics and mechanical engineering through research, teaching and/or service to the community. The citation for the 2007 Medal reads, "for seminal contributions to the fields of experimental and fracture mechanics." Also on June 7, a half-day symposium was held in Kobayashi’s honor. Receipt of the medal also will be announced at the ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress (IMECE), November 11–15, 2007 in Seattle.

ME student receives paper award

ME PhD student W. Jong Yoon received the 2nd best Student Paper Award in the ASME 2nd Frontiers in Biomedical Devices Conference held June 7–8, 2007 in Irvine, CA. The paper, “Steerable Guidewire with Eyes for Image-guided Intervention in the Upper Urinary Tract,” was co-authored with Profs. Per Reinhall and Eric Seibel.

Prof. Mamidala Ramulu elected Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers

We are pleased to announce that Professor Mamidala Ramulu has been elected as a Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, one of only nine named in 2007. Election as an SME Fellow is limited to a select group of individuals each year, making it one of the most prestigious honors presented by the Society. The 2007 Fellows installation ceremony is tentatively scheduled for November 12, 2007 in Chicago, Illinois.

Prof. Martin Berg selected as a 2007 Boeing Welliver Faculty Fellow

We are pleased to announce that Professor Martin Berg has been selected as a 2007 Boeing Welliver Faculty Fellow. During summer 2007, he will be working with many Boeing engineers and other Welliver Faculty Fellows at Boeing facilities across the country.

Prof. Ann Mescher selected as the Puget Sound Engineering Council's 2007 Academic Engineer of the Year

The Puget Sound Engineering Council Awards Nominating Committee is pleased to announce that Professor Ann Mescher, Ph.D has been selected as the Academic Engineer of the Year for 2007. She was awarded this honor at the PSEC Formal Annual Awards Banquet on February 24, 2007.

Mechanical Engineering Leadership Seminar Series

2007 Series
A Mechanical Engineering Leadership Seminar series is scheduled for every Tuesday afternoon throughout Winter Quarter 2007. All seminars are held from 3:30–4:20 p.m. in Room 238 of the ME building, followed by pizza and soft drinks. Seminar speakers are shown below. A list of seminar speakers from Winter Quarter 2006 is available HERE.

The primary goal of the Leadership Seminar Series is to demonstrate the depth and breadth of career opportunities available to mechanical engineering graduates. Note that collectively our seminar speakers represent a broad range of interests, industries, and professions. Also note that most speakers are graduates of the UW-ME Department and hence, a secondary goal of the series is to more fully involve our alumni in the life of the department and curriculum and to provide opportunities for current ME students and alumni to connect.

Each speaker is free to use the seminar as he or she chooses. For example, some speakers recount the evolution of their professional career since completing their degree, speculate on what they see as the future of a specific area or profession, or describe details of a particular technical topic. An informal dialogue between speaker and attendees occurs in all cases.

Date Speaker(s) Grad Year Title, Company/ Organization Industry Affiliation
1/9/07 Mark Tuttle; John Kramlich Non-Alums Professors, Dept Mechanical Engineering, UW Academia
1/16/07 Teodora Schuman MSME 1994;
PhD, 2000		 Assistant Professor, College of Science & Engineering, Seattle University Academia
1/23/07 Michael Redenbaugh BSME 1971 CEO, Bell Helicopter Textron Aerospace
1/30/07 Doug Graesser BSME 1986; MSME 1988;
PhD 1993		 Co-Owner, NSE Composites Consulting/Advanced Composite Structures
2/6/07 Alex Kunzler Non-Alum Founder, Spinal Dynamics Corp. (Retired) Biomechanical Devices
2/13/07 Steve Pratt BSME 1970 Chairman, President and CEO, ESCO Corp. Manufacturing
2/20/07 Kelly McGee BSME 1968 Director, Test Engineering, Lockheed Martin Aerospace
2/27/07 Larry Anderson MSME 1961;
PhD 1966		 Group Vice President, Exponent, Inc. Consulting/Forensic Engineering
3/6/07 Peter Marguglio BSME 1968 President, Eatec Corporation Software


2007 Diamond Award winners include ME alums

The 2007 UW College of Engineering Diamond Award winners have been announced and will be presented on May 18, 2007. Three of the four individual winners are ME alums:
Also, this year a special group Distinguished Achievement Award will be presented to a team of College of Engineering alumni for their leadership at The Boeing Company in the development of the passenger jet age. This group includes ME alum John Roundhill (’67 BSME, ’73 MSME).

Center of Excellence continues in 3rd year

amtas
In December 2003, the Mechanical Engineering Department led the successful effort to establish an FAA-sponsored Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures (AMTAS). AMTAS is one of two centers that comprise the FAA Joint Advanced Materials and Structures Center of Excellence (JAMS). The second center is led by Wichita State University and is called the Center of Excellence for Composites and Advanced Materials (CECAM).

AMTAS' mission is to lead the aviation community by researching new ideas in advanced materials, educating and training aviation professionals, and facilitating knowledge transfer among industry, government, and academia.

AMTAS academic participants include faculty from across the UW College of Engineering plus Washington State University, Oregon State University, and Edmonds Community College. Industry partners include: Bell Helicopter, The Boeing Company, C&D Zodiac, Composite Solutions, Cytec Engineered Materials, HEATCON® Composite Systems, Hexcel, Integrated Technologies (Intec), Stoddard International, Toray Composites (America), and Triumph Composite Systems. The mailing list has grown to 550 and increases weekly.

AMTAS-sponsored activities are grouped into the following three areas: Progress thus far in each of the three areas is as follows:

More information can be found on the AMTAS website at http//depts.washington.edu/amtas.