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CoE Home | momentum | issues |
April 2004 -- VOLUME III, ISSUE IV
R E S E A R C H @ OSU Engineering
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RESEARCH CLUSTER PROFILE: INFORMATION USABILITY--
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 This is the fifth in a six-part series that profiles the College’s six signature research clusters--unique entities that span traditional departmental boundaries and are distinguished by their dynamic teams of researchers and students. At the link below, you'll read about the research cluster called Information Usability, where OSU researchers are analyzing the computer habits of millions of users, then building software that draws on this collective history to help future users more efficiently find and use information on the Internet and elsewhere. This cluster’s work is impacting everything from the spread of SARS to the growth of e-commerce. http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/277 |
S T U D E N T S @ OSU Engineering
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HUMAN-POWERED VEHICLES AND MINI-BAJA CARS GO THE DISTANCE!-- |
 This weekend, the College hosts two unique vehicle races that pit student-designed and built vehicles against one another in grueling endurance and obstacle courses. In Corvallis, human-powered, aerodynamic vehicles will be zipping along racecourses on campus and through town. In Portland, more than 100 mud mini-Baja racecars will maneuver over logs, boulders, and through mud. Photos and details at: http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/278 |
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CEM STUDENTS PLACE 1ST AT NATIONALS--
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 OSU Construction Engineering Management (CEM) students continued their winning tradition at both the regional and national Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) Competitions held in Reno, NV and Orlando, FL. The Heavy/Civil Team (Justin Brady, Ryan Knox, Joe Hampton, Trevor Spires, Jason Perrott, and Seth Williamson) won 1st place at the regional competition in Reno, then went on to take the 1st place national title in Orlando. The Mechanical Team (Jason Amato, Ryan Brown, Scott Daly, Justin Esperance, Simon Peters, and Aaron Van Dyke) won 2nd place at the national competition, and the Residential Team (Scott Baisinger, Jake Barker, Cory Coleman, Randy Phillips, Zach Roether, and Luis Umana) took 2nd place regionally. All the teams are coached by Assistant Professor and Construction Education Foundation Chair Greg Baker. http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/279 |
I N D U S T R Y C O L L A B O R A T I O N @ OSU Engineering
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"EE TIMES" & "ELECTRONIC NEWS" TALK UP ONAMI--
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 As the May 27 official grand opening of the Oregon Nanoscience & Microtechnologies Institute (ONAMI) nears, national news media are taking notice. ONAMI, Oregon’s first signature research center, is operated by Oregon State University, Portland State University, and the University of Oregon in collaboration with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and other industry partners. Officials say ONAMI is ideally positioned to provide economic impact for Oregon and beyond. Read the stories:
Breakfast in Silicon Forest: Nano Comes to Life (Electronic News)
http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/280
Oregon Boosts Nanotechnology Funding (EE Times)
http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/281 |
K – 1 2 T E A C H I N G A D V E N T U R E S @ OSU Engineering
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ENGINEERING BETTER BABY DIAPERS!--
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 Here's a great classroom or home project that involves a well-known product: baby diapers! How do they absorb so much liquid? How can they be improved? What makes one brand absorb more than another? Explore the science of acrylic gels, and polymers. Find out how engineers are making diapers more comfortable for the baby and more environmentally friendly for the planet. It's an engineering design problem for students from first grade up through college. This inquiry-based experiment combines engineering. chemistry, environmental science, and connects to everyday applications. Definitely science we can use! Find out more at: http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/282 |
B U I L D I N G @ OSU Engineering
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WORLD TRADE CENTER DESIGNER DISCUSSES ITS STRUCTURE, 9/11--
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Les Robertson, the EERI Friedman Visiting Professional at OSU, was the structural engineering designer of the World Trade Center. Robertson was on campus this month to discuss the design and his reaction when he heard planes had hit the towers. A member of the National Academy of Engineering and founder and principal of Leslie E. Robertson Associates, Robertson is currently at work on the Shanghai World Financial Center, a soaring 1,500-foot tower complete with a unique 164-foot spherical hole near the top. Read about his OSU presentation: “The Twin Towers: Spires of Innovation.” http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/283 |
F U N D R A I S I N G @ OSU Engineering
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BREAKFAST WITH CLASSMATES.COM FOUNDER--
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OSU Engineering alumni in the Seattle and San Francisco Bay areas are invited to connect with other engineering and business alumni at roundtable breakfasts. In Seattle, join OSU alumnus Randy Conrads ’72, founder of Classmates.com, for breakfast and his presentation, “Is Success All About Luck, Brains or Training?” (Wednesday, April 28, 7:30 to 9 a.m., Bellevue Club, 11200 SE 6th, Bellevue, WA, $25/person, register online at http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/284). In San Francisco, join OSU president Ed Ray for breakfast and his presentation, “The Business of Running a Top Research University.” (Tuesday, May 4, 2004, 7:30 to 9 a.m., San Ramon Marriott Hotel, 2600 Bishop Drive, San Ramon, CA, $25/person, register online at http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/285) For more information, contact Vicky Heintzman at (800) 354-7281 or by email vicky.heintzman@oregonstate.edu.
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F A C U L T Y & S T A F F @ OSU Engineering
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FACULTY WIN PRESTIGIOUS INTEL GRANTS--
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 Six OSU Engineering faculty have been awarded prestigious Intel Grants to support innovative academic programs in engineering that will help students gain the skills necessary to succeed in the fast-changing technology industry. Professors David Porter, Ben Lee, and Thanit Puthpongsiriporn will use a $30,000 Broadband Wireless Technology grant to expand BS and MS level curriculum in Wireless and Mobile Computing Engineering by adding a new course and campus lab on Broadband Wireless Technology. Professors Milo Koretsky, Erin Jones, and Sho Kimura will use a $30,000 Virtual Process Engineering grant to develop a prototype virtual reactor to provide chemical engineering students with hands-on experience using the design of experimental methodology for process improvement. http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/286 |
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WALKER AWARDED WIND AWARD AT GLOBAL WINDPOWER CONF.--
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 Stel Walker, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering and a leader in the development of wind energy, was honored by the American Wind Energy Association with the organization’s Academic Achievement Award at Global Windpower 2004, the first worldwide wind industry event to be held in the United States.
http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/287
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I N N O V A T I O N S @ OSU Engineering
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NEW MS DEGREE BLENDS BUSINESS, CONSTRUCTION MGMT--
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The only one of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, a new graduate program that combines the skills of construction engineering with business management, is up and running at the College. The new degree, a master’s of business and engineering, or MBE, will help meet a growing need for more graduates with a background in both business and the construction industry, and is uniquely designed for both traditional students and working professionals. Read more: http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/288
http://engr.oregonstate.edu/momentum/news/m/289
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A L U M N I @ OSU Engineering
H E A R D O N C A M P U S @ OSU Engineering
"I was very impressed with the OSU Department of Nuclear Engineering & Radiation Health Physics. I've interviewed engineering students at nine universities over the past year, and the quality of the students at Oregon State University was probably the best of the bunch."
--Dr. David Poston, leader of the Space Fission Power Team in Los Alamos' Nuclear Design and Risk Analysis Group, Los Alamos National Laboratory
U P C O M I N G E V E N T S @ OSU Engineering
April 23-25, West Coast Human-Powered Vehicle Challenge. Come watch engineering students from 20 universities descend on Corvallis to race their people-powered, aerodynamic vehicles through town. For more information, contact Kalan Guiley at 541-740-6821, or visit: http://www.asme.org/hpv/
April 24-25, SAE Mini-Baja West Competition, featuring 100+ student-designed mini-Baja racecars capable of maneuvering over logs, through mud bogs, and over huge boulders. Begins 8 a.m. on Saturday at the Portland Expo Center, 2060 North Marine Dr, and continues Sunday at the Washougal MX Park, 40205 NE Borin Rd., Washougal, WA. For more information: http://www.oregonsae.org.
May 3, Sustainable Engineering Expo, students and faculty will showcase a wide range of sustainable technology/research topics including biodiesel, wind power, landfill fuel cells, energy from ocean waves, and more. LaSells Stewart Center, 1 to 4:30 p.m. To participate or learn more, contact Denise Lach at the Center for Water & Environmental Sustainability (CWESt), denise.lach@oregonstate.edu, 541-737-5471.
May 5, EECS Engineering Expo, Owen Hall, OSU Campus, free. Watch student-built robots compete in the TekBots™ Triathlon and see demonstrations of product prototypes designed and built by Electrical Engineering & Computer Science seniors. For more information, call 541-737-3617, or email eecs.relations@oregonstate.edu.
May 9-15, Intel International Science & Engineering Fair (ISEF), the world's largest pre-college celebration of science brings together more than 1,200 students from 40 nations to compete for scholarships, tuition grants, internships, scientific field trips, and the grand prize: $50,000 college scholarship and a high-performance computer. Portland, Oregon.http://www.sciserv.org/isef/
July 28, 29, Micro-Nano Breakthrough Conference 2004, Sheraton Portland Airport, A meeting of researchers, technology developers, industrialists, venture capitalists, and others to share ideas, build collaborative networks, create working groups, and set agendas for developing new microproducts http://www.pnl.gov/microproducts/conferences/
I M P O R T A N T L I N K S @ OSU Engineering
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OSU Electrical Engineering alumnus Walter Plywaski was on campus this month as part of the university’s Holocaust Memorial Program. A survivor of a Polish ghetto and Nazi concentration camps, Plywaski described his extraordinary survival at Dachau, his escape, and how he came to this country. Read his story:
