Giving astronauts the tools to diagnose damage to their
spacecraft in flight and designing more efficient hypersonic
engines are among the research goals of the new National
Hypersonic Research Center, based in the Department
of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics. The center
is a partnership between the department and the Calspan-University
of Buffalo Center (CUBRC) in Buffalo, New York.
A formal dedication will be held Wednesday, August 11.
The center pools the talents of Distinguished McKnight
University Professor Graham
Candler and CUBRC's Michael Holden. Candler, the
center's principal investigator, is an expert in computer
simulations of air or other gases around or through
vehicle engines moving at hypersonic speeds. Holden
uses CUBRC's state-of-the-art wind tunnel facilities
to test Candler's simulations under flight conditions.
He and Candler will work with colleagues and graduate
students at both institutions. The center is funded
through September 2005 with an initial grant of $2 million
from the U.S. Air Force, whose Office of Scientific
Research will manage the center.
IT Dean Search Committee reviews applicants
The IT Dean Search
Committee carefully
reviewed the initial
pool of applicants for
the Dean of the Institute
of Technology and
contacted over a dozen
outstanding
candidates for more
information. The committee
will conduct initial,
confidential screening
interviews in early
September with 5-8 candidates. Find
out more...
ITAS committee and volunteers
receive UMAA awards
The K-12 outreach committee of the IT Alumni Society
(ITAS) and two outstanding volunteers have received
national awards from the University of Minnesota Alumni
Society (UMAA).
The K-12 committee was honored with the 2003–04
Program Extraordinaire Award for its creative partnership
with FIRST
Lego League (FLL), an international program
that engages young students in hands-on science
and technology
projects and sports-like competitions. With the
aid of a grant from 3M, ITAS sponsored four lower-division
teams (grades 4–9) and cosponsored the FLL
state high school tournament. IT alumni volunteered
as coaches,
mentors, and judges for the program.
Richard Westerlund (EE ’60),
director of academic affairs and program director for
technology programs at the University of Minnesota
Rochester,
was named 2003–04 Faculty/Staff Volunteer of
the Year for his work as a member of the ITAS board
of directors
and the Rochester Area Alumni and Friends of the
University.
Peri Periakaruppan received the 2003–04
Student Volunteer of the Year Award for his service
as IT Student Board representative to ITAS and for
his
work with the society's student relations and K-12
outreach committees.
U unveils sculpture of alumnus
Hoff Lu, Chinese physicist
A sculpture of Hoff
Lu (Physics M.S. ’38, Ph.D. ’41), a
nuclear physicist who is considered the "father
of nuclear energy" in China, was unveiled Thursday,
June 17, at a public ceremony in 131 Tate Laboratory
of Physics. Lu, who died in 1997, refused to use his
pioneering work in nuclear energy to help develop an
atomic bomb. Instead, he dedicated his work to scientific
research and educational work.
IT Mentor Program needs you
Share your knowledge and experience with IT students
who are looking for mentors. The IT Mentor
Program matches students with professionals in science,
math, and engineering fields.
You and your company will gain a closer connection
to the U as well as the opportunity to network with
other professionals. Best of all, you'll have the reward
of helping a student launch his or her professional
career.
Students meet with their mentors to prepare for the
transition from the academic environment to the professional
world. Activities include networking, sharing ideas,
touring a company, attending professional meetings,
discussing career strategies, and reviewing resumes.
Time commitment is two hours per month from October
through April. Training and guidance is provided. Registration
begins in early September. For more information contact
Sara Beyer at 612-626-8282 or sbeyer@umn.edu.
IREE names advisory council
The University’s Initiative for Renewable Energy
and the Environment (IREE),
funded with $20 million from the state and Xcel Energy,
has named 24 leaders from the business, nonprofit,
government,
and higher education sectors to serve as its advisory
council. The council will determine strategy and priorities
for developing renewable fuel sources—such as
biomass, hydrogen, wind, and solar energy—based
on Minnesota’s resources and needs. Members of
the advisory council range from 3M and Cargill executives
to heads of large state growers’ associations
to leaders of smaller rural and environmental organizations.
The council held its first meeting May 26.
IREE was created to address the urgent need to reduce
dependence on nonrenewable, fossil fuel-based energy
sources and to sustain global ecosystems. To date,
IREE has awarded more than $2
million in research grants to university faculty and
external
partners working
in these four areas.
Big Back Yard opens at Science Museum
of Minnesota
The Big Back
Yard, a new outdoor science park at the Science
Museum of Minnesota, opened June 26. The exhibit is
a cooperative educational program developed by partner
institutions in the NSF National
Center for Earth-surface Dynamics (NCED). The interactive
exhibit is designed to teach visitors about the processes
that shape the earth's surface. NCED scientists played
a major role in designing, prototyping and testing the
constituent exhibits. The St.
Anthony Falls Laboratory is the NCED's lead institution.
Honors
Victor
Barocas (biomedical engineering) has been promoted
with tenure to associate professor.
Professor Patrick
Brezonik (civil engineering) accepted a two-year
appointment as program director for environmental engineering
at the National Science Foundation beginning September
2004.
Paul
Crowell (physics), Tian-Jun
Li (mathematics), and Qian
Yong-Zhong (physics) are among 10 recently promoted
associate professors who received the McKnight Presidential
Fellow Award in recognition of research, scholarship,
and leadership in their fields. The awards, which provide
research funds for three years, complement the McKnight
Land-Grant Professorship for new assistant professors
and the Distinguished McKnight University Professorship
for new full professors. As a whole, the McKnight awards
identify and support promising faculty at critical stages
of their careers.
Bradley
Johnson (physics) is one of 34 graduate students
nationwide to receive a National Science Foundation
International Research Fellowship. Johnson, who studies
the cosmic microwave background, is expected to complete
a doctorate this month. He has accepted a three-year
position as a postdoctoral fellow at the University
of Wales, Cardiff.
Distinguished McKnight University Professor William
Tolman (chemistry) has received the prestigious
Alexander von Humboldt Research Award for Senior U.S.
Scientists. The award recognizes lifetime achievements
in science and includes a grant to conduct collaborative
research in Germany.
The University's concrete
canoe team won top honors for design at the 2004
National Concrete Canoe competition, held in Washington,
D.C., June 17-20. The U's entry, L'Etoile du Nord,
features an innovative double-sectioned hull with panes
cut out of the inner section to reduce weight. The University
team received the Tony P. Chrest Innovation Award and
placed 11th overall in the competition. The event is
sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers
and Master Builders Inc.
In memoriam
Regents Professor Emeritus Ernst R.G. Eckert, internationally
renowned pioneer in the fields of heat transfer and
thermodynamics, died of heart failure July 8 in St.
Paul, two months before his 100th birthday. Eckert was
noted for his research in heat transfer and for discovering
new methods of increasing rocket efficiency.
A native of Czechoslovakia, he studied at the German
Institute of Technology in Prague and worked as rocket
and jet engine scientist at the Aeronautical Research
Institute in Braunschweig, Germany, during World War
II. He emigrated to the U.S. after the war and joined
the University in 1951. He was a member of the National
Academy of Engineering and the recipient of several
honorary doctorates and prestigious awards.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering will honor
Eckert's life and contributions at a symposium in September
(see events section).
Events
August 26: The Digital Design Consortium
(DDC) will host an open house during which visitors
can learn how state-of-the-art digital technologies
are being used to advance architecture and related design.
The event features demonstrations of long-range laser
scanners, room-size tracking systems, and high-resolution
head-mounted displays. Visitors also can learn about
the benefits of the DDC's industrial affiliates program.
The consortium, a unique collaboration involving participants
from architecture and computer science, is part of the
Digital Technology Center. Register
online. For more information call 612-624-9510 or
email ddc-openhouse@dtc.umn.edu.
1:00–5:00 p.m., 107 Walter
Library.
September 10-11: The University of
Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA) will honor its outstanding
volunteers at the Volunteer Awards Ceremony and Appreciation
Reception on Friday, September 10. On Saturday, September
10, the UMAA is sponsoring a Volunteer Leaders Forum.
Saturday's events also include an optional Volunteer
Appreciation Lunch and the Gopher football game against
Illinois. Game tickets must be purchased separately
by calling 612-624-8080. To receive a group discount
on ticket purchases, request seating in the UMAA Volunteer
Group. Register online
for the UMAA events by September 1. McNamara
Alumni Center.
September 12–13: The Department
of Mechanical Engineering's Ernst
R.G. Eckert 100th Anniversary Symposium on Heat Transfer
will honor the life and contributions of the internationally
renowned regents professor emeritus, who died July 8.
The symposium begins September 12 with a welcome reception
hosted by Eckert's family. Technical sessions, a memorial
service, dedication of a memorial library, and a banquet
will be held September 13. For more information or to
register call 612-625-0705 or email Eckert2004@me.umn.edu.
September 21: The University community
and the general public are invited to attend the grand
opening of the Multi-Axial
Subassemblage Testing (MAST) facility, a new national
laboratory dedicated to large-scale testing and analysis
of structural systems research. The event includes a
reception and tours of the facility. Free. 5:00–6:00
p.m., 2525-4th
Street S.E.
