Engineering students design super-efficient vehicles
 Marshall, MI – The Society of Automotive Engineers’ Supermileage competition challenges engineering and technology students to design, develop and construct a single-person, super-fuel-efficient vehicle. Vehicles are powered by a small four-cycle engine donated by Briggs and Stratton. The vehicle that combines high gas mileage with design points wins the event.
The top three overall winners were: first place, Université Laval (Quebec, Canada); second, Michigan Tech University (Houghton, MI); third, California State University, Los Angeles. The University of Massachusetts, Amherst team was recognized for most visually appealing vehicle. The University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati, OH) came closest to its predicted fuel economy and Michigan Tech submitted the best design report.
For more information on the event, see students.sae.org/competitions/supermileage
President honors outstanding science, math, engineering teachers and mentors
Washington, DC – In July 2009 over 100 STEM teachers, mentors and organizations received the Presidential award for excellence in science, mathematics and engineering mentoring. The award recognizes the crucial role that mentoring at all levels plays in the academic and personal development of STEM students who belong to underrepresented groups.
A panel of scientists, mathematicians and educators selects the winners from those chosen at the state level.
“There is no higher calling than furthering the educational advancement of our nation’s young people and encouraging and inspiring our next generation of leaders,” says President Obama.
Individuals and organizations receiving 2009 Presidential awards include Laura Lynne J. Bottomley, North Carolina State University; Benjamin C. Flores, University of Texas-El Paso; and Ashanti Johnson, University of South Florida and Institute for Broadening Participation. Recipients of the teaching award include Mary Black (Dubuque, IA), Mildred Marin-Torres (Yauco, PR), Susan Naylor (Parkersburg, WV), Patia Rountree (Brooklet, GA), Pamela Thompson (Madison, ME) and Seanyelle Yagi (Honolulu, HI).
HENAAC 2009 awards
Los Angeles, CA – At its October national conference HENAAC recognized an Engineer of the Year and STEM pros in a number of other categories, plus twenty-nine Luminary Award honorees. The Luminary program was established in 2003 to honor STEM professionals for contributions to the Hispanic technical community as leaders and role models.
Pedro Suarez of Dow Chemical Co, president of Dow Latin America, is the engineer of the year. Among the other awardees are Carlos L. Aguilera, Chevron; Maria E. Ruess, Lockheed Martin; Alejandro (Alex) M. Lopez, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems; Thomas L. Paez, PhD, Sandia National Labs; Emilio A. Sovero, PhD, Northrop Grumman; Hector M. Reyes, Raytheon; Hector M. Lopez, NAVSEA; Yazmin Seda-Sanabria, PhD, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Jesus J. Corral, Lockheed Martin.
For a complete list of 2009 STEM awardees and Luminary honorees, go to www.henaac.org.
Purdue researcher receives Presidential award
 West Lafayette, IN – Purdue University researcher and assistant professor of engineering education Monica Cox received a Presidential early career award for scientists and engineers in the fall of 2009. Cox’s research focuses on preparing engineering grad students for careers in academia and industry.
“I am honored to receive this Presidential award and am excited that our nation’s top thinkers recognize the importance of engineering education research, particularly research exploring the diverse experiences of doctoral engineering students,” says Cox.
Cox came to Purdue with a 2005 PhD in leadership and policy studies from Vanderbilt University, a 2000 masters in industrial engineering from the University of Alabama and a 1998 math BA from Spelman College.
Cox also was among nine Purdue faculty members who won the 2008 National Science Foundation’s faculty career development program award for research in engineering education. The federal agencies involved in nominating the award winners include the NSF; the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services and Veterans Affairs; and NASA.
Smith College announces new engineering BA
Northampton, MA – Smith College’s engineering program for women has a new academic option: a bachelor’s degree in engineering arts. The new degree is based on the idea that engineering concepts can enhance the pursuit of such varied interests as architecture, landscape studies, education, public policy, economics, energy policy and ethics.
“The new degree is designed for students who recognize the increasing importance of science and technology in all facets of life in today’s world yet don’t want to specifically become engineers,” says Linda Jones, Rosemary Bradford Hewlett ’40 professor of engineering and director of the Picker engineering program.
This year, the Picker engineering program will mark its tenth anniversary and the completion of Ford Hall, a state-of-the-art building that will be the new home for engineering as well as the molecular sciences.
When Smith launched the Picker engineering program, it was the first in the nation just for women and one that sought to position the study of engineering in a liberal arts context. To date, 138 students have graduated from Smith with a BS in engineering. To learn more about the program, see www.science.smith.edu/departments/Engin/index.php.
FEAsy makes designs from raw sketches
West Lafayette, IN – Going back to the drawing board is much easier now that researchers have developed a new type of design program. The program allows the designer to sketch a rough concept of the part and then analyze the part’s characteristics while it is still only a drawing, says Karthik Ramani, Purdue ME professor.
The software transforms informal and ambiguous freehand inputs to more formalized and structured representations. “The computer has to do what we call sketch understanding,” Ramani explains. “If I don’t close a circle completely, the computer knows I mean to draw a circle and completes it. If I don’t draw lines exactly horizontal or perpendicular, the program recognizes these flaws and corrects them.” The program then displays a formal version of the sketch and several alternatives for the designer to choose from, and it also saves the original rough sketch.
Doctoral student Sundar Murugappan named the new design program FEAsy: “finite element analysis made easy.”
Findings were detailed in a paper presented in September 2009 at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers design engineering technical conference. Videos on YouTube show FEAsy at work.
Dr Jose Cruz receives IEEE education award
 Cleveland, OH – In the spring of 2009 Dr Jose B. Cruz, Jr received the 2009 IEEE James H. Mulligan, Jr education medal for excellence in engineering education. Cruz was lauded for creative leadership, innovative textbooks, inspirational mentoring and research contributions to circuits, controls and systems.
An IEEE life fellow, Cruz is a distinguished professor of engineering at Ohio State University (Columbus, OH), where he has also served as dean of the college of engineering.
During his forty-five-year career, Cruz has fostered technical excellence in research and teaching and inspired professional service. He established strong ties with industry in developing manufacturing systems research, and supervised PhD students incorporating feedback from industry. Many of his grads have become academic leaders or hold prominent positions in industry.
As a consultant on the engineering and science education project of the Philippine Department of Science and Technology from 1993 to 1998, Cruz helped establish a practice-oriented ME program focused on an industry-linked project in several Philippine universities. Early in his career he co-authored textbooks on pioneering ways to introduce advanced concepts at an elementary level.
The IEEE education award is sponsored by the MathWorks, Pearson Prentice Hall, the National Instruments foundation and the IEEE life members committee.
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