I’m writing to share information regarding new awards in SoE. Please join in me in congratulating our faculty for their accomplishments.

Best regards,

Mun Choi

Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering

* Mark Aindow, UTC-Pratt and Whitney, Formation of Martensite and Reversion to Austenite in Maraging Steel 250, 9/09-1/10, $7,000.

* PuXian Gao (PI) and Yu Lei, DoE/National Energy Technology Laboratory, Multifunctional Nanowire/Film Composites based Bi-Modular Sensors for In-situ and Real-Time High Temperature Gas Detection, 10/09-9/12, $795,607.

* PuXian Gao (PI), S. Pamir Alpay and Ramamurthy Ramprasad, DoE/National Energy Technology Laboratory, Three-Dimensional Composite Nanostructures for Lean NOx Emission Control, 10/09-9/12, $1,248,242.

* Prabhakar Singh, DoD/ONR/D-Star Engineering Corporation, Advanced Materials for Micro Generators, 7/09-10/09, $24,344.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

* Nicholas Lownes (PI) and Eric Jackson, DoT/Federal Highway Administration/CT Department of Transportation, Design and Feasibility Study: Connecticut Transportation Planning Data Phase II, 10/09-9/10, $63,003.

Computer Science and Engineering

* Steven Demurjian (PI) and Dong-Guk Shin, CT Department of Insurance, Feasibility Study of Information System Reengineering, Part XIII, 6/09-6/10, $235,230.

* Alexander Russell, DoD/Army Research Laboratory/University of California at Santa Barbara, Quantum Algorithms on the Algebraic Frontier, 9/09-5/12, $191,415.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

* Yaakov Bar-Shalom, DoD/Office of Naval Research, Information Extraction and Fusion, 2/10-9/12, $567,000.

* Steven Boggs, UtilX Corporation, Effect of Silicone Rejuvenation on Cable Properties Relevant to Diagnostic Tests, 9/09-8/10, $45,000.

* Steven Boggs, UtilX Corporation, Effect of Silicone Rejuvenation on the Resistivity of Water Trees Grown Through XLPE Cable, 9/09-5/10, $45,000.
kirmak, NSF, GOALI: Side gated ultra narrow channel silicon MOSFETs and transport studies at nanometer scale, 8/09-7/11, $31,831.

* Ali Gokirmak, NSF, GOALI: Side gated ultra narrow channel silicon MOSFETs and transport studies at nanometer scale, 6/09-7/11, $12,000.

* Mohammad Tehranipoor, Semiconductor Research Corporation, Reliable Systems Design at Below 45nm Technologies, 10/09-9/10, $53,076.

Mechanical Engineering

* Wilson Chiu, DoE/University of South Carolina, Science Based Nano-Structure Design and Synthesis of Heterogeneous Functional Materials for Energy Systems, 8/09-7/10, $164,598.

* Hanchen Huang, DoE/University of Florida, Multiscale Simulation of Thermo-Mechanical Processes in Irradiated Fission-Reactor Materials, 9/09-8/10, $63,939.

* Shiva Kotha, NIH/National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, Device for Tooth Cleaning in Special Needs and Older Populations, 9/09-8/11, $451,862.

* Kamal Kumar (PI) and Chih-Jen “Jackie” Sung, NASA/Case Western Reserve University, Comprehensive Chemical Kinetics of Conventional and Alternative Jet Fuels for Aeropropulsion and Combustion Modeling, 11/09-11/10, $105,001.

* Wei Sun, CT Department of Public Health, Biomechanical Study to Host Tissue-Implant Interactions in Minimally Invasive Aortic Valve Replacements, 7/09-2/11, $290,304.

Please explore these exciting opportunities.

Thank you

Mun

Office of Naval Research Summer Faculty Research Program - Deadline – December 4

Expected benefits of the Summer Faculty Research Program:

1. Broaden the scope and horizon of faculty member’s research interests and provide a foundation for future research collaborations.

2. Access to equipment and other resources not available at their home institution.

3. Provide an understanding of the Department of the Navy research interests and the technological implications thereof, thus enhancing the abilities of Fellows to pursue and obtain funding for research at their home institution.

4. Foster lasting relationships between Fellows and the researchers at the Navy laboratories.

Levels of Appointment

1. Three levels of appointment are available: Summer Faculty Fellow, Senior Summer Faculty Fellow, and Distinguished Summer Faculty Fellow.

2. To qualify for appointment as a Senior Summer Faculty Fellow, the applicant must have at least six years (preferably more) of research experience in his/her field of expertise after earning a Ph.D. or equivalent degree. The applicant must present a substantial, significant documented record of research accomplishments and publications, particularly in refereed journals and books.

3. A limited number of appointments as Distinguished Summer Faculty Fellow are available for faculty members who are preeminent in their field of research. Successful applicants will hold a senior appointment at a leading research university and be internationally recognized for their research achievements.

4. Levels will be determined by a committee of scientists and engineers. Decisions of the committee will be final. Participants will be evaluated each year.

Additional details can be found at: http://onr.asee.org/about_the_summer_faculty_program/detailed_application_instructions

Summer Faculty Fellowship Program at AFOSR - The application to the 2010 Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship Program closes December 1, 2009.

NEW TO PROGRAM: Fellows have an opportunity to bring a graduate student with them.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research Summer Faculty Fellowship Program (SFFP) provides an opportunity for hands-on exposure to Air Force research challenges through (8) eight to (12) twelve week research residencies at participating facilities for full-time science and engineering faculty at U.S. colleges and universities. The Air Force SFFP offers a competitive stipend, relocation allowance, and a daily expense allowance for faculty and their graduate students who qualify.

To apply today, go to http://asee.org/applysffp/ .

Please explore this opportunity.

Washington Internship for Students of Engineering (WISE) (http://students.sae.org/awdscholar/internships/) - Deadline Dec 31

Apply for this nine week internship to learn how engineers can contribute to legislative and regulatory public policy decisions.

Best regards,

Mun Choi

Are you interested in starting your own tech business?

Do you have a great idea that you’d like to develop into something profitable?

Interested in knowing how to patent and market your clever ideas?

Bring your great ideas, questions and enthusiasm to the School of Business Café on Wednesday, November 4th from 5-7 PM for the third seminar in this exciting new series intended just for you. The interactive panel discussion will be followed by a networking session and refreshments.

Guest speakers:

* Dr. Richard Parnas & Eric Bernstein (UConn), UConn BioDiesel
* Gilman Callsen (Yale 2008) – MC10 – high performance flexible CMOS electronics
* Luke Weinstein, UConn CCEI Professor

Read about this event and the series at http://ccei.business.uconn.edu

I want to share with you an interesting article from the National Assn of Colleges and Employers.

Best regards,

Mun Choi

Interns Fare Better in the Job Market

Experience does matter: NACE’s 2009 Student Survey found that graduates who had taken part in an internship fared far better in the dismal job market than their peers who didn’t.

Overall, just 19.7 percent of the Class of 2009 who had applied for jobs had one by the end of April, but grads with an internship under their belt beat that average–23 percent had a job in hand. For those who didn’t do an internship, the job market was especially unwelcoming: Just 14 percent of those who hadn’t been interns landed jobs.

NACE’s 2009 Student Survey was conducted from February 19 through April 30, 2009; more than 35,000 students from more than 840 colleges and universities nationwide–including more than 16,500 graduating seniors–participated. Moving On 2009, the report based on results of the survey, is now available. For details, see www.naceweb.org/products/info_pages/gradstud.htm.

During the past year the faculty in the School of Engineering have dramatically increased submission of interdisciplinary proposals. To further encourage and reward the formation of new faculty teams, I am pleased to announce a new research initiative, the Novel Interdisciplinary Partnerships Initiative. The primary purpose of this program is to encourage the development of large, multi-investigator, interdisciplinary proposals in exciting new areas. To facilitate the interaction, each department will organize a Research Presentation day for their faculty members to provide brief 5 minute research presentations to the School of Engineering and UConn community. In the meantime, you can also search for faculty research interests and expertise in our database (http://www.engr.uconn.edu/researchdb/) – please contact Orlando Echevarria if your database needs to be updated.

Following is a brief summary of the NIPI process:

• During the next three years, new teams comprising Engineering faculty members who have not previously collaborated will submit their proposals to the funding agency — Engineering faculty are also encouraged to seek research collaborators beyond the School of Engineering;
• At that time, teams will submit to the Office of the Dean (along with the internal routing forms) a one-page summary containing a project abstract and a justification articulating how each collaborator will contribute in a unique way to the project;
• This summary will be filed in the Office of the Dean;
• Teams that successfully garner support will conduct their research and will receive half (5%) of the Deanery’s customary 10% portion of the overhead return. This means that faculty members will receive their normal percentage return (5%) from the overhead plus 5% from the Deanery – which can be used to further support their scholarly activities.

To begin with, I suggest that the teams consider submitting to:

• Interdisciplinary Research (IDR) — Due December 7th

  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503439&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund

• Building Engineered Complex Systems — Due December 14th

  http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2009/nsf09610/nsf09610.htm

• Solar Energy Initiative — Due December 8th

  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503298&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund

• Discovery Research K-12 — Due January 7th 2010

  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=500047&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund

• World Materials Network — Due November 11th

  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12820&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund

• Biosensing — Due Feburary 1st 2010

  http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=503353&org=NSF&sel_org=NSF&from=fund

This initiative begins effective immediately. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Mun Choi

UConn engineering alumnus and Connecticut native Richard Mastracchio (Electrical Engineering/Computer Science ‘82) will fly aboard the space shuttle Discovery in March 2010 on his third shuttle mission. Discovery will ferry a payload destined for the International Space Station, as well as a commemorative pennant designed by UConn engineering students. Upon its safe return to terra firma, the well-traveled pennant will be displayed in a glass case for all to see.

The choice of a pennant design will be voted on by students, according to Assistant Dean for Undergraduate Education & Diversity Marty Wood, who announced the kickoff of a contest to come up with alternate designs. “We’re very excited by the opportunity to have students design a pennant and have a piece of UConn engineering accompany Rick on his journey,” said Mr. Wood.

The contest will begin immediately and follow the schedule and terms below:

Size and design specs:
2′ x 3′ overall. Designs should represent UConn Engineering in the theme or text and adhere to the values of the University and School of Engineering.

Who:
All engineering students may participate; team collaborations are encouraged.

Process:

• Contestants will develop electronic designs using a software program of their choice. Please consult the University’s standards manual regarding the use of University symbols (”signature,” etc.): http://www.uconn.edu/info/manual.php.
• All entries will be submitted to Chris LaRosa (larosa@engr.uconn.edu) in either PDF or JPG format, no later than November 2, 2009.
• All entries will be posted on our Facebook and web pages for easy viewing.
• Students may vote on their favorite entry until November 20, 2009.
• The winning entry will be announced December 1 at a pizza party hosted by Engineering Dean Mun Choi and Assistant Dean Marty Wood, and a fabric pennant will be produced and sent to NASA for the journey aboard Discovery.
• When the pennant returns to Storrs, it will be permanently displayed in a glass case in the Information Technologies Engineering (ITE) building.

Thank you

Mun Choi

I’m writing to encourage you to participate in these important Metanoia events:

Tuesday, October 6, 12-1 p.m., “Why Women Stay.” This interactive brown bag luncheon session for faculty and staff will provide participants with information on how to recognize abuse and reasons why women stay in abusive relationships. We will also let you know about resources that are available. Speakers: Anne Schick, Director of Graduate Medical Education, University of Connecticut School of Medicine and Edward Koistinen, Manager of the Domestic Violence Program, United Services. (Student Union Theatre)

Wednesday & Thursday (or any day of the week for once-per-week classes): In class discussions. See http://www.metanoia.uconn.edu/resources_inclass.html for workshops, lesson plans, and resources.

Wednesday, October 7, 12-1 p.m., “Working Together to End Violence Against Women,” Keynote Presentation by Tonya Lovelace, Project Manager of the Women of Color Network, a project of the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, This keynote presentation will talk look at the violence against women’s movement and ways that prevention of violence work has evolved, with women as the pioneers and men as newer and exciting partners in the work. There will also be an exploration of the intersections of race, class, gender and other identities within the movement and how we can work collectively to bring all marginalized voices to the center of the movement. (Student Union Theatre)

Thursday, October 8, 7-9 p.m., “A Call to Men: Breaking Out of the Man Box,” Keynote Presentation by Tony Porter, Founder of A CALL TO MEN: The National Association of Men and Women Committed to Ending Violence Against Women. This presentation will challenge many of the social norms that define manhood, particularly those that support a culture of violence against women. Special musical performances will open and close the event. (Jorgensen Auditorium)

Thank you

Mun

The School of Engineering has always prided itself on the quality of its faculty. Our faculty members, at all ranks, have distinguished themselves as leaders in research and education initiatives and in professional organizations. With the recent retirement of several faculty members, we have an opportunity to continue to recognize outstanding colleagues who make significant contributions to the academic and research missions of the School of Engineering. For this reason, I have assembled a committee of distinguished faculty to review internal candidates for the following positions:

1. UTC Professorship in Materials Science — the incumbent will be a renowned researcher and teacher in an area of materials science and engineering who will provide leadership and vision toward the development of advanced technologies and processes, the enhancement of graduate and undergraduate education, and the elevation of UConn’s reputation for excellence in materials science and allied areas.

2. Northeast Utilities Chair in Environmental Engineering — the incumbent will be a renowned researcher and teacher in an area of environmental engineering who will provide leadership and vision in the development of advanced technologies and processes, the enhancement of graduate and undergraduate education, and the elevation of UConn’s reputation for excellence in environmental engineering. The chair will also oversee the award of scholarship to meritorious students, coordinate the Northeast Utilities Foundation Distinguished Seminar Series, and support K-12 outreach efforts aimed at enhancing interest in environmental engineering careers.

Comprising the committee will be:

• Dr. Robert Gao, Pratt & Whitney Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering (Chair)
• Dr. Sanguthevar Rajasekaran (”Raj”), UTC Chair Professor in Computer Science and Engineering
• Dr. Yaakov Bar-Shalom, Marianne E. Klewin Professor of Electrical Engineering
• Dr. Prabhakar Singh, UTC Chair Professor in Fuel Cell Technologies
• Dr. Michael Ahern, Vice President of Utilities Services, Northeast Utilities
• Dr. Frank Preli, Director of Materials Processing Laboratory, Pratt&Whitney/UTC

Engineering faculty are encouraged to submit nominations and self-nominations to Ms. Donna Thibault (thibault@engr.uconn.edu). Please include a detailed CV and a cover letter describing the potential for the nominated individual to fulfill the requirements of the professorship and to enhance the reputation of the School of Engineering. The closing date for the nominations is October 15, 2009. The committee will provide me their recommendations by December 15, 2009. I will review the recommendations and make the final selections in keeping with the best interests and strategic focus of the School of Engineering and the donors.

Best regards,

Mun

I’m writing to share information regarding new awards in SoE. Please join in me in congratulating our faculty for their accomplishments.

Best regards,

Mun Choi

Chemical, Materials & Biomolecular Engineering

• C. Barry Carter, European Union/FP7, MACAN: Merging Atomistic and Continuum Analysis of Nanometer Length-Scale Metal-Oxide Systems for Energy and Catalysis Applications, 7/09-6/13, $65,708.
• Jeffrey McCutcheon (PI) and Baikun Li (Civil and Environmental Engineering), NSF, Wastewater Treatment Using Microbial Fuel Cells: Enhanced Anodic Conductivity Using Activated Carbon Nanofiber Biofilm Substrates, 9/09-8/10, $94,391.
• Leon Shaw (PI) and Yong Wang, NSF, Functionally Graded Orthopedic Implants via the Slurry Mixing and Dispensing Process, 9/09-8/12, $330,000.
• Montgomery Shaw, Gerber Scientific, Inc., Stability of a Binary Polymer Mixture, 7/09-12/09, $41,367.
• Mei Wei, DoD/Army/University of Connecticut Health Center, Improving Soldier Recovery from Catastrophic Bone Injuries: Developing an Animal Model for Standardizing Bone Reparative Potential of Emerging Progenitor Cell Therapies, 8/09-7/10, $47,647.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

• Emmanouil Anagnostou, NASA, Investigating the Impact of Improved Model Error Characterization on the Assimilation of Remotely Sensed Soil Moisture in a Land Data Assimilation System, 9/09-8/12, $90,000.
• Richard Christenson, DoT/Federal Highway Administration/CT Department of Transportation, Development and Evaluation of a Dual Purpose Bridge Health Monitoring and Weigh-in-Motion System for a Steel Girder Bridge, 8/09-6/10, $140,062.
• Norman Garrick (PI) and Nicholas Lownes, DoT/Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Case Studies of the Access and Mobility Impact of Freeway Removal, 9/08-8/11, $96,864.
• Mekonnen Gebremichael, NSF, US-Ethiopia: Enhancing Collaborations in Sustainable Water Resources Development and Management, 9/09-8/10, $47,625.
• Ramesh Malla, GM2 Associates, Inc., Investigation on Mechanics of Longitudinal Joint Failure in Pavement: Effects of Joint Density and Temperature, 8/09-7/10, $15,000.

Computer Science and Engineering

• Reda Ammar, Akhbar El-Yom Academy, Developing and Reviewing the Nanotechnology Undergraduate Program of the Akhbar El-Yom Academy, 7/09-7/14. $195,000.
• Reda Ammar, Akhbar El-Yom Academy, Developing and Reviewing the Computer Science Undergraduate Program of the Akhbar El-Yom Academy, 7/09-7/13. $145,000.
• Jun-Hong Cui, NSF, Fourth ACM International Workshop on Underwater Networks (WUWNet’09) Student Travel Awards, 9/09-8/10, $5,000.
• Yoo-Ah Kim, PHS/SAMHSA/Center for Mental Health Services/CT Department of Children and Families, Web Application Server Development and Management for Youth Services Survey, 1/09-11/09, $19,800.
• Ion Mandoiu (PI) and Yufeng Wu, NSF, III: Small Collaborative Research: Reconstruction of Haplotype Spectra from High-Throughput Sequencing Data, 9/09-8/12, $275,257.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

• John Chandy, NSF, Active Object Storage to Enable Scalable and Reliable Parallel File Systems, 8/09-7/12, $525,000.
• John Enderle, Massachusetts General Hospital, Clinical Engineering Internship Program at Massachusetts General Hospital, 8/09-5/14, $146,892.
• Yunsi Fei, NSF, CAREER: Architectural Enhancement and Design Methodologies for Secure Processing in Embedded Systems, 9/09-8/14, $405,000.
• Faquir Jain, DoD/Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Process Development for TB33, 9/09-9/10, $10,872.
• Krishna Pattipati (PI) and Swapna Gokhale (Computer Science and Engineering), NSF, CPS: Small Collaborative Research: Fault Diagnosis and Prognosis in a Network of Embedded Systems in Automotive Vehicles, 9/09-8/12, $550,000.
• Helena Silva, NSF, Fundamentals and Applications of Thermoelectric Transport in Nanometer Scale Phase-Change Bridge Memory Devices, 9/09-8/12, $302,079.
• Quing Zhu, DoD/Army Medical Research and Material Command, Photoacoustic-Guided Diffuse Optical Tomography for Breast Cancer Detection and Diagnosis (Postdoctoral Award for Chen Xu), 9/09-9/12, $293,570.

Mechanical Engineering

• Baki Cetegen, DoD/AFOSR/Innovative Scientific Solutions, Inc., Investigations on Continuous Rota, 9/09-8/10, $60,389.
• Hanchen Huang, NSF, A New Characteristic Length Scale on Surfaces, 8/09-7/12, $280,000.
• Horea Ilies (PI), Kazem Kazerounian (Mechanical Engineering), Kerry Marsh (Psychology), Kristine Nowak (Communications Sciences) and Amy Anderson (Pharmaceutical Sciences), NSF, MRI: Development of a Gesture Based Virtual Reality System for Research in Virtual Worlds, 7/09-6/12, $782,039.
• Shiva Kotha (PI) and John Enderle (Electrical and Computer Engineering), NSF, Device for Tooth Cleaning in the Disabled, 9/09-8/11, $220,000.
• Tianfeng Lu, NSF, Collaborative Research: Petascale Computing, Visualization and Science Discovery of Turbulent Sooting Flames, 9/09-8/12, $262,437.
• Wei Sun, NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Engineering Analysis of Minimally Invasive Mitral Valve Repair (Pre-doctoral Fellowship for Thuy Pham), 8/09-9/13, $123,584.
• Chih-Jen Sung, NSF, Autoignition Chemistry of Gasoline Surrogates Relevant to HCCI Operating Conditions, 9/09-8/12, $299,999.
• Chih-Jen Sung, DoD/AFOSR/Princeton University, MURI: Generation of Comprehensive Surrogate Kinetic Models and Validation Database for Simulating Large Molecular Weight Hydrocarbon Fuels – UConn Component, 8/09-4/12, $761,500.
• Chih-Jen Sung, DoE/Princeton University, EFRC for Combustion Science – UConn Component, 8/09-7/14, $900,000.
• Jiong Tang (PI) and Robert Gao, United Technologies/Pratt & Whitney, Dynamic Analysis of IBR-type Structures, 6/09-12/09, $20,000.

Deanery

• Mun Choi (PI) and Reda Ammar (Computer Science and Engineering), Future University, Curriculum Development and Assessment for Engineering Undergraduate Programs of the Future University, Egypt, 9/09-9/13, $275,000.