The Spring 2009 MEssenger is available online

Contents: Riley Collaborates with Top Researchers at Isaac Newton Institute; Bioengineering Pioneer Honored for Life's Work; ME Research Group Develops Inexpensive 3D Printing Materials for Ceramics; ME Leadership Seminar Series 2009; CAREER Awards; Alumni Corner; Academic Spotlight; Scholarship and Fellowship Recipients; SAE 2009 Formula Car Rollout; Honors & Awards; Chair's Corner.

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Junlan Wang Joins ME faculty

Junlan Wang

Prof. Junlan Wang joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in December 2008 after serving as an Assistant/Associate Professor at the University of California, Riverside from 2003 to 2008. Prof. Wang's research is in the area of nanomechanics of complex material systems such as thin films/multi-layer structures and devices, nanoporous materials, cells and bio-inspired materials. She is particularly interested in developing novel experimental techniques to study the mechanical, interfacial and surface properties under various temporal and length scales. Her research aims to reveal the fundamental structure-property relationship and the deformation mechanisms of these advanced materials for applications in aerospace, semiconductor, biomedical, energy, environmental, and defense applications. Wang credits the dynamic research environment and the strong tradition in experimental mechanics as some of the major reasons that helped draw her to the ME department.

2009 Mechanical Engineering Leadership Seminar Series

The 2009 Mechanical Engineering Leadership Seminar series is scheduled for every Tuesday afternoon throughout Winter Quarter 2009. All seminars are held from 3:30-4:20 p.m. in Room 238 of the ME building, followed by pizza and soft drinks.

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.

Nate Sniadecki receives prestigious NSF CAREER award

Assistant Professor Nathan Sniadecki has been awarded the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Award for studying the mechanics of vascular smooth muscle cells. The NSF CAREER Award is a prestigious award for junior faculty who integrate outstanding research efforts and excellence in education. The award, $400,000 over five years from the Nano and Bio Mechanics Program, will support Professor Sniadecki's research in the areas of cell biomechanics and nano-mechanical instrumentation and his outreach in building an educational pathway between mechanical engineering and the biomedical fields.

The UW leads tidal-power research

Energy generated from the ocean's waves and tides might be the next source of "green" power in our region, but the technology demands more study. A new marine renewable-energy research center has been launched, giving the University of Washington the lead for tidal-power research. ME Professor Phil Malte is a co-director of the center. See 11/17/08 Seattle Times article, "Concerns emerge about environmental effects of wave-energy technology."

Jiangyu Li awarded ASME's first Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Medal

Prof. Jiangyu Li was awarded the first Sia Nemat-Nasser Early Career Medal from the ASME Materials Divisions at the 2008 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress in Boston, Oct. 31-Nov. 6. This award is given to recognize research excellence in the areas of experimental, computational, and theoretical mechanics and materials by young investigators who are within 10 years after their Ph.D. degree, with special emphasis placed on under-represented minorities and women. Li was awarded a plaque, certificate, a medal, and an honorarium of $5,000.

The Autumn 2008 MEssenger is available online

Contents: Energy in Washington State and the Pacific Northwest; ME in the News; Experience is Key Product in Instructional Shops; Environmentally Sensitive Energy Conversion; Alumni Corner: Henry Schatz Urges Alumni to End Campaign UW with a Bang; Transitions: Alberto Aliseda Wins NSF CAREER Award, ME Welcomes Two New Research Faculty, Colin Sandwith Retires; Honors & Awards; Chair's Corner.

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Amy Shen appointed to ME faculty

Associate Professor Amy Q. Shen joined the faculty on September 1, following six years as assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis. Prof. Shen's research program centers on complex fluids and the processing of these materials to create morphologies and structures that can find application in nanotechnology, biotechnology, microelectronics, and energy-related materials. Within this broad area, her laboratory takes advantage of the coupling of complex fluid microstructures with spatial confinement that is possible by using microfluidic flow methods to offer morphological control of soft materials. These strategies lead to flow-induced nano-materials useful in energy applications, biomimetics, biosensors/actuators, and bio-MEMS.

Jim Riley lands prestigious fellowship

Professor Jim Riley has been invited as a senior visiting fellow at the prestigious Isaac Newton Institute for Mathematical Sciences in Cambridge, UK.

ME faculty receive SAE's 2007 Arch T. Colwell Merit Award

The technical paper, "Artifact vs. Anatomy: Dealing with Conflict of Geometric Modeling Descriptions," was selected to receive the 2007 Arch T. Colwell Merit Award. The paper was written by ME faculty — Professors Duane Storti and Mark Ganter, Research Associate Professor Randal Ching, and Affiliate Associate Professor William R. Ledoux — and co-authored with Professor David R. Haynor and Patrick Hu, former Post-Doctoral Fellow, both in Radiology. The award, to be presented at the April 21, 2009 awards ceremony during the SAE 2009 World Congress in Detroit, MI, was established by Arch Colwell to recognize authors of outstanding papers presented at SAE meetings. Papers are judged for their value as contributions to existing knowledge of mobility engineering, and primarily with respect to their value as an original contribution to the subject matter. The paper was selected from the thousands of papers that were published for SAE meetings during 2007.

Mark Tuttle to be honored by SEM

Professor Mark Tuttle will receive the 2009 Tatnall Award from the Society for Experimental Mechanics at SEM's Annual Conference in June 2009.

Eric Seibel and student receive UW TechTransfer award

Research Associate Professor Eric Seibel and PhD student Woon Jong Yoon received an award from UW TechTransfer to build a working prototype of a unique remote-controlled cytoscope for scanning the interior surface of the bladder for cancerous tumors.

ME professors win DOT award

Per Reinhall and Peter Dahl won a Washington State Department of Transportation award to make pile driving in water less noisy and to prevent fish kills.

Eric Seibel's scanning fiber endoscope research continues to be recognized

Research Associate Professor Eric Seibel's breakthrough research on flexible capsule endoscopes has been received much publicity in a variety of sources, both locally and nationally.

Various press articles and/or news stories can be found at the links below: