Awards, Honors and Achievements
From the Naval Officer Education Program:
“Faculty Excellence Award is presented to
Professor Robert Stephens, Department of Mechanical Engineering, for demonstrating superior professionalism and commitment to the academic development and success of your students. You have been nominated for this award by the students of the University of Idaho and Washington State University Naval ROTC Battalion in recognition of your dedication to the academic and personal growth of your students. Your contributions significantly enriched the future leaders of the Navy and Marine Corps and therefore, will have an enduring impact for years to come.” Signed by Captain G.T. Eaton, USN on April 28, 2011
Bob Stephens has been named Faculty Advisor for the new COE Engineering Scholars Program. This program is designed to help recruit and retain COE engineering students. It is primarily geared toward providing high-achieving engineering students a more enriched learning environment. Engineering Scholars' students will have the opportunity to participate in a number of structured student activities and projects, engineering honors classes, student mentoring, and more.
Mechanical Engineering and Physics undergraduate
Sarah Lynn was recently appointed to a two year NOAA program called the
Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program which provides academic assistance of up to eight thousand dollars per year. The first summer the only requirement is a week-long orientation in Maryland. The second summer Sarah will participate in a 10-week full-time paid internship after which she will attend a conference and present her work. The program covers her travel costs as well as housing. Sarah has requested to intern with the National Ocean Service (NOS), but does not yet know where she’ll go or what she will be doing.
Maziar Rostamian was honored as NSBE Alumni Extension Technical Scholar by the National Society of Black Engineers, the premier organization serving African Americans in engineering and technology. As a technical community service association, NSBE is the connector between the African American community and the world of technology.
The 14th Annual Golden Torch Awards link the accomplishments of distinguished African-American engineers and technical professionals with college-bound dreams of pre-college students. Since its inception GTA has served to honor the best and the brightest in technology. Among the honorees, we are proud to announce, is Maziar Rostamian, Ph.D. student in the University of Idaho, Department of Mechanical Engineering, working with Dr. Akira Tokuhiro. Maziar has been honored with a Golden Torch Award as the Outstanding Graduate Student 2011, presented at the NSBE Convention in March.
The Annual Convention is the premier event for the organization which encompasses members from around the world. The theme for the 37th Annual Convention in St. Louis, MO, was “Engineering the Gateway to Success.” During the convention various programs and workshops were held that benefit grade school, collegiate, graduate, technical professional, and international entities of the Society. The convention was a showcase of NSBE culture, highlighting achievements of the membership, local and nationwide talent, and black-owned businesses in the St. Louis Area. The goal of the convention is to provide members with the pipeline to continue to strive for success in one’s academics, profession, and community.
(Information about the organization taken from the NSBE website)
Ahmed Abdelnaby, Ph.D. student working under the advising of
Dr. Gabriel Potirniche, received a Student Travel Award at The Ninth Annual IEEE Workshop on Microelectronics and Electron Devices in April for the paper “Finite Element Modeling of a Back Grinding Process for Through Silicon Vias.” The paper was co-authored by Dr. G.
Potirniche (ME), Dr. F.
Barlow (ECE), and Dr. Aisha
Elshabini (ECE). Ahmed’s doctoral research is sponsored by the Micron Foundation.
Papers accepted by the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society
Two papers from ME 430 Senior Lab were accepted for the 55th Annual Meeting of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) in Las Vegas, NV, Sept. 19-23, 2011.
Accepted in the Safety Technical Group of HFES, "Forward trunk lean: a study of the effect of backpack weight and position on the human body and forward trunk lean" was submitted by Kysen Palmer, Alec Bowen, and Justin Magleby along with Dr. Denise Bauer. The project/paper will be presented and published in the conference proceedings.
A paper on the "Seeing with Sound" project was submitted by Curtis Bower, Carlos Duarte, Lucas Reid, Jared Garrison, Joseph Seegmiller, and Aaron Wilson along with Dr. Denise Bauer, Dr. Mike Anderson, and Andy Wixom was accepted in the Perception and Performance Technical Group of HFES.
KOGETO DOT! WHAT IS IT?
Recent graduate
Josh Hartung is the lead designer on an exciting new consumer product!
The Kogeto Dot is the smallest and most advanced panoramic video system in the world. It quickly snaps on to any iPhone 4 and allows you to capture high quality 360º video and share it with your friends and family. Kogeto's recent Kickstarter campaign generated over $120K in initial investment.
Look for launch in late Fall at major retail outlets.
COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AWARDS
Becky Schoenberg, the friendly face in the ME office who sets incoming students on the right track, was recognized with an outstanding engineering staff award. Becky is a vital member of the mechanical engineering staff and her friendly attitude and helpfulness are noticed by fellow staff, faculty, students and parents. Becky’s knowledge and guidance are appreciated by anyone who interacts with her.
Mechanical Engineering selects two Outstanding Seniors
Curtis Bower has just graduated summa cum laude and will present his paper, “Seeing with Sound,” at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society’s 55th Annual Meeting in September. Throughout his college years he was staunch supporter of the Student Chapter of the Associated Society of Mechanical Engineers. After an internship this summer with Intel, Curtis will return to the University of Idaho to pursue his master’s degree under
Dr. Eric Wolbrecht.
Alec Bowman completed degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Mathematics in May. In addition to academics, he was active on campus as a member of the executive board of the U-Idaho chapter of the Associated Society of Mechanical Engineers, member of the Ballroom Dance Team, and President of the Honors Student Advisory Board. In the fall he will enter graduate school at the University of Kansas to earn his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering.
Twins Kacey, 4 lb 12 oz, and Claire, 5 lb 8 oz, were born to
Jay and Marcie McCormack on July 5. The twins join sisters Ren, Jane and Sunni.