College of Engineering
The University of Akron
www.uakron.edu
A newsletter for alumni and friends
of the College of Engineering
3
Fall 2012
Photo © Robert Story
Fall 2012
Published by the College of Engineering
The University of Akron
Dean’s Message
As the College of Engineering’s centennial approaches in 2013-14, we
celebrate a rich history of excellence and look forward to an exciting future.
As I look toward the centennial celebration, I am
proud of our many accomplishments that have
positioned us to make a significant impact on the
lives of our students, Northeast Ohio and the
world.
The last decade has been a time of tremendous
growth, innovation and student success for the
College.
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•
Approximately 2,700 undergraduate students
in Fall 2012, nearly doubling enrollment since
Fall 2004
Approximately 90 percent of our graduates
begin jobs in their fields within the first three
months after graduation
9x increase in research activity in 2012
compared to 2007
50,000 square feet of new research space
at the newly constructed UA Engineering
Research Center, and an additional 30,000 in
the recently renovated Auburn Science and
Engineering Center (ASEC) West Tower
For more information, contact:
The University of Akron
College of Engineering
Akron, OH 44325-3901
1
Phone: 330-972-6978
www.engineering.uakron.edu
•
•
Establishment of the National Center for
Education and Research on Corrosion and
Materials Performance (NCERCAMP) and
the first baccalaureate degree in corrosion
engineering in the U.S.
Innovative partnership with The Timken
Company brought the Timken Engineered
Surfaces Laboratories to campus
Propelled by the dedication of our students,
faculty and - in large part - alumni, friends and
industrial partners, we are making extraordinary
progress as the 100th anniversary of the College
draws near.
Thank you for your continued support. It is
indispensable in our quest to provide the best
possible academic experience to our students.
Dr. George K. Haritos
Dean
Join the College of
Engineering Alumni
LinkedIn group!
We’re on
Facebook!
Find us by searching for
“The University of Akron
College of Engineering.”
Building Room for More Research
The College of Engineering is home to a new, globally distinct research facility that features innovative
partnerships and one-of-a-kind laboratories. The University of Akron Engineering Research Center located
on Wolf Ledges Parkway integrates industrial research space within the academic environment, yielding
discoveries to fuel innovation for Ohio and the world. Research Centers include:
National Center for Education and Research on
Corrosion and Materials Performance (NCERCAMP)
Established by Congress and the Department of
Defense in 2010, NCERCAMP incorporates the
nation’s first baccalaureate degree in corrosion
engineering in the U.S., world-class research in
corrosion and materials performance as well as
workforce training. UA is creating
a pipeline of critical resources that
will ensure that future public and
private investments in equipment
and infrastructure revitalization are
designed and implemented in a manner
that minimizes the impact of corrosion.
Institute for Biomedical Engineering Research
The Institute for Biomedical Engineering Research
(IBER) is home to the Conquer Chiari research
laboratory. Funding from the Conquer Chiari
Foundation supports the work of UA engineers
working to develop new diagnostic methods to
detect Chiari malformation in the spine.
Timken Engineered Surfaces
Laboratories (TESL)
The Timken Company and UA have joined
forces to accelerate the commercialization
of specialized research in a novel openinnovation agreement. TESL is the only
university laboratory in the U.S. that
houses commercial scale topographical
modification and tribological coating
equipment. In addition to surface
The University of Akron Engineering Research Center
engineering and tribology research, the lab
will continue to service existing Timken product lines.
Center for Advanced Vehicles and Energy Systems
NSF IUCRC Center for Tire Research
The Center for Advanced Vehicles and Energy
The NSF Center for Tire Research (CenTire) is a multi- Systems (CAVES) engages local companies in
site Industry University Cooperative Research Center
the area of energy storage, electric vehicles, and
(IUCRC) hosted at UA and Virginia Tech. The focus of
energy harvesting. This includes research in filters,
research at the Center is the tire-road interface and
CO2 capture, fuel cells, water purification, green
improving safety, reliability and fuel efficiency.
materials, smart grids and transportation safety.
CAVES also houses the Wright Center for Sensor
Systems Engineering: Ohio’s Third Frontier program
has provided $1.67 million for equipment to support
the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering’s
3,000 square feet of lab space. The Center’s
laboratories support sensor conceptualization,
development and testing for companies engaged
with the College.
Research Growth
2007 - 2012
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9x
4x
increase in
research funding
growth in
research expenditure
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Professor Puskas Receives National
GE Healthymagination Award
The development of a safer breast
implant that could actually help detect
and destroy cancer cells is the focus
of research that has won international
recognition as one of the most
exciting and innovative ideas in the
battle against breast cancer.
A research team from The University
of Akron, led by Judit E. Puskas,
Ph.D., professor of chemical and
biomolecular engineering, was among
five innovation award winners in
the GE Healthymagination Cancer
Challenge. Winners received $100,000
to further develop their ideas.
The GE Healthymagination Cancer
Challenge is a $100 million open
innovation challenge that seeks to
identify and bring to market ideas that
advance breast cancer diagnostics.
The challenge generated more than
500 ideas from 40 countries and more
than 200 academic institutions and
researchers.
Dr. Puskas received funding from the
National Cancer Institute/National
Institutes of Health in 2010 to further
develop the technology to create a
safer breast implant, one that is less
likely to leak silicone. The polymer
material also reduces the risk of
inflammation in the tissue surrounding
the implant, which often leads to
painful tissue contraction and rupture
of the implant.
Illinois-based Austin Venture Partners,
LLC, owns the patent to the polymer
developed by Dr. Puskas. She has
been collaborating for seven years
with Steven P. Schmidt, Ph.D, Summa
Health System in Akron, in the clinical
application for the invention.
“This has been a winning combination
of talents,” said Dr. Schmidt.
Even more intriguing to cancer
researchers is the possibility of
embedding drugs in the polymer
coating to fight infection and
inflammation, and target and destroy
cancer cells. Dr. Puskas and her
team developed a process by which
specific drugs can be synthesized and
embedded in the polymer material
and released in the body after a
mastectomy or reconstruction.
“The ability to locally target drug
delivery has the potential to
dramatically improve the course of
treatment for breast cancer patients,”
said Dr. Schmidt.
New Biomedical Engineering Chair Named
Brian L. Davis, Ph.D., has been named chair of the department of
biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering. Davis, previously
the vice president and director of the Medical Device Development
Center at the Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron (ABIA), began his
new duties this fall.
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Brian L. Davis, Ph.D.
Chair, Department of
Biomedical Engineering
“Dr. Davis is a world class researcher and one of the country’s leading
visionary and strategic leaders in medical device innovation and
technology commercialization,” said Dr. George K. Haritos. “Throughout
his career he has demonstrated the vision, creativity and drive needed
to lead in a world-class academic and research environment. With Brian
leading our exceptional biomedical engineering faculty and staff, the
Department will be well positioned to continue and even accelerate its
positive momentum.”
Anton Scholarship Makes a Difference
In the summer of 2011, Mr. Art Anton and Mrs.
Carol Anton established the Art and Carol Anton
Scholarship Fund for the purpose of attracting highly
qualified students from ethnically underrepresented
groups to The University of Akron to study
engineering. The Anton Scholarship provides
students with up to $6,000 during their first year at
The University of Akron, and at least four scholarships
are awarded annually.
The students awarded an Anton Scholarship
will also be eligible for an Increasing Diversity in
Engineering Academics (IDEAs) Scholarship offered
by the College of Engineering starting in their
second semester, as well as a tutoring/mentoring
assistantship with the IDEAs program beginning in
their sophomore year.
Ana Bacco, one of last year’s scholarship recipients,
is a real role model for engineering students —
she maintained a 4.0 GPA during her freshman
year, became an undergraduate researcher under
Dr. Castaneda-Lopez’s supervision in Corrosion
Engineering, was elected as the vice president of the
Society of Hispanic
Professional Engineers
(SHPE) and mentored
children from local
communities.
“This scholarship has
encouraged me,” said
Ana. “I love to learn,
and it’s a relief not to
worry about paying to
learn.”
Another eight
outstanding freshmen
have been awarded
and accepted this
scholarship for the
2012-2013 academic
year.
Ana Bacco, Corrosion Engineering
student and Art and Carol Anton
Scholarship recipient
BP Continues Support of Corrosion Program
Energy industry giant BP has once again provided
support to UA’s Corrosion Engineering program. BP’s
$100,000 donation supports the Corrosion Squad,
a multidisciplinary student group dedicated to the
professional and social development of students
interested in corrosion engineering. The support
from BP provides resources for students to attend
NACE conferences, host industry leaders on campus,
attend industry site visits, conduct student research
and participate in other opportunities beyond the
baccalaureate academic classes and co-op program.
“The College is grateful for BP’s ongoing support of
the corrosion program,” said Dr. George K. Haritos.
“Corporate support enables the College to perform
ground-breaking research and also produce the
skilled work force needed to tackle this national
problem.”
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BP donated $500,000 to the Corrosion Engineering
program in 2010. That support is used to develop
curriculum, deliver courses to undergraduate
and graduate students, and advance work force
development, particularly as it relates to the gas and
oil industry.
Inaugural Corrosion Forum
On September 20-21, UA hosted the inaugural Corrosion
Forum to address key issues in corrosion and materials
performance, reliability, safety, and the cost of corrosion.
The following honorees received recognition for their
commitment to the field of corrosion engineering:
Visionary Leaders in Corrosion
Daniel J. Dunmire, director of Corrosion Policy and
Oversight for the Department of Defense, Stafford,
VA
Mike Baach, president and CEO, The Philpott Rubber
Company, Brunswick, OH
NCERCAMP Fellows
Aziz Asphahani, director,ASM-Materials Education
Foundation and chairman, Advanced Motion
Technologies, Ottowa, IL
Joe Payer, chief scientist, National Center for
Education and Research on Corrosion and Materials
Performance, The University of Akron, Akron, OH
Mike Baach, president and CEO, The Philpott Rubber
Company, Brunswick, OH
Neil Thompson, founder, chairman, and CEO,
DNV Columbus, Inc.; segment director of Onshore
Pipelines, Dublin, OH
Richard Kinzie, chief engineer, OSD Office of
Corrosion Policy and Oversight, Macon, GA
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Student Design Teams Finish Strong
SAE Team Takes the Competition to Austria, Germany
Student engineers fabricate more than 90 percent of
the components for the Formula Society of Automotive
Engineers (SAE) race car each year, spending around
25 hours a week in the Margaret F. Donovan Student
Design Center in Auburn Science and Engineering
Center.
“The team’s success was a result of careful project
planning, talented cross-functional team leaders and
complete dedication to success,” said Dan Lough,
recent UA graduate and 2011-2012 team captain.
“It’s really a comprehensive test of a team’s ability to
design, build, race and market a car, essentially from
scratch,” said Michinari Limbacher, a senior mechanical
design engineering student and a three-year member
of the team. “It’s been enormously valuable to me
as a student because it gives me a taste of what the
industry is really like and allows me to apply what I’ve
learned in the classroom in a real-world environment.”
After suffering a clutch problem that significantly
impacted their performance, the Zips Racing team
bounced back and finished 13th out of more than
120 schools competing at the Michigan International
Speedway in May.
This summer, the team traveled to Austria and
Germany, finishing strong in both competitions - fifth
out of 42 teams in Austria and 12th out of 77 teams in
Germany.
“It’s a privilege to compete in Germany, especially as
they allow only a select amount of North American
teams to compete,” Limbacher said. “Usually, it is a
matter of several seconds that determines who gets
the chance to go.”
Mighty Mini Cars Operate on Chemical Reaction
In April, a team of chemical engineering students
participated in the Chem-E-Car competition that took
place during the 2012 North-Central Regional American
Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Student
Conference, hosted by UA at the John S. Knight
Center.
The UA team finished fourth in the performance
competition, first in the poster competition and
qualified for the national competition in October.
Carrying a 0-500 mL payload in the form of a filled
water bottle, the cars move at about two feet per
second on a 15- to 30-meter course. The cars run using
environmentally friendly green methods, which do
not emit liquid or gas pollution, such as exhaust. UA's
Chem-E-Car, Spontaneous Combustion, for example, is
powered by an alkaline fuel cell and stops by way of an
electrochemical cell.
5
The student team will compete again at the 2012 AIChE
Student Conference in Pittsburgh in October.
From left, UA AIChE faculty adviser Dr. Chelsea Monty,
assistant professor of chemical and biomolecular
engineering; Bradford Vielhaber, Chem-E-Car team
co-captain; Paul Young, Chem-E-Car co-captain; and
Marcus Grimm, conference chair
UA Team Wins National Robotics Challenge
For a third consecutive year, The University of
Akron Robotics Team won the 120-pound Sumobot
Competition at the National Robotics Challenge held
in April in Marion, Ohio.
Robotics team members
from left, Nick Lach,
Alex Russell and Duncan
Campbell
The team of student-engineers, led by freshman Alex
Russell, constructed the autonomous sumobot and
became the Postsecondary Division Champions.
College of Engineering senior technician Dale Ertley
served as the team’s adviser for this competition,
and Dr. Tom Hartley, professor in the department
of electrical and computer engineering is the team’s
faculty adviser.
Steel Bridge Team Finishes Strong at Nationals
The University of Akron’s Steel Bridge Competition
Team placed first for the fourth year in a row at the
regional competition and fifth out of 46 teams in the
national 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers/
American Institute of Steel Construction Steel Bridge
Competition.
UA placed second, fourth and seventh, respectively, in
the bridge stiffness, economy and display categories
at the May 25-26 competition at Clemson University in
South Carolina.
Assistant professor of civil engineering Dr. Stephen
Duirk shared insight on the team’s success. “The team
has significantly matured in its design approach and
methodology that will ensure its success for many
years to come,” he said. “Their revised design strategy
allows them to adapt to annual build-criteria changes
while still producing a highly competitive structure,
evident by their recent success at Clemson.”
UA Director is Elected President of
Ohio Cooperative Education Association (OCEA)
As the Director of Cooperative Engineering
Education for The University of Akron, Deanna
Dunn knows the importance of the student co-op
experience. Dunn has placed thousands of students
into co-op positions throughout her 33 years with UA
and has seen the results of the program firsthand.
“The practical, hands-on work experience our
students receive when they participate in the co-op
program is invaluable,” said Dunn. “Our students
who co-op already have a full year of real work
experience by the time they graduate.”
Now Dunn is using her experience and expertise as
the President of OCEA, a non-profit organization
with a mission to support cooperative education in
Ohio.
During the 2011-2012 academic
year, Dunn and her staff helped
place 766 students into coops in 376 different companies
throughout 19 U.S. states,
Sweden and France. Ninety
percent of engineering students
are placed into co-ops, and nearly
50 percent of students who co-op
are hired by the company upon
graduation.
Deanna Dunn
Director, Cooperative
Engineering Education
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Nonprofit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
The University of Akron
College of Engineering
Akron, OH 44325-3901
12
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UA Selected to Help Establish National Manufacturing Institute
The University of Akron has been selected as a key
collaborator in the launch of a new public-private
institute for manufacturing innovation that is part of the
Obama Administration’s effort to revitalize the American
manufacturing industry and encourage companies to
invest in the United States.
The winning proposal for the National Additive
Manufacturing Innovation Institute (NAMII) was selected
through a competitive process, led by the Department of
Defense, to award an initial $30 million in federal funding,
matched by $40 million from the winning consortium,
which includes manufacturing firms, universities,
community colleges, and non-profit organizations from
the Ohio-Pennsylvania-West Virginia ‘Tech Belt.’
The TechBelt Regional Additive Manufacturing Innovation
Institute will focus on additive manufacturing, a rapidly
growing, cost-saving technology for building parts, and
potentially entire systems, in a layer-by-layer fashion,
placing material precisely as directed by a 3D digital file.
“I’m pleased that we are taking steps to strengthen
American manufacturing by launching a new
manufacturing institute in Ohio,” said President Obama
in a statement from the White House. “This institute will
help make sure that the manufacturing jobs of tomorrow
take root not in places like China or India, but right here
in the United States of America.“
3
UA's strengths in various engineering disciplines –
particularly the "multi-layering" of polymer films and
multiple electronic printing technologies available in its
National Polymer Innovation Center (NPIC), corrosion
engineering and finishing the surfaces of materials –
make it uniquely positioned to play a major role.
Members of Congress announce etablishment of the NAMII. From left,
Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council; Sen. Sherrod
Brown; Frank Kendall, Under Secretary of Defense; Rebecca Blank,
Acting Secretary of Commerce; U.S. Representative Tim Ryan; Ralph
Resnick, President and Executive Director of National Center for Defense
Manufacturing and Machining; Jeanette Garvey, M-7 Technologies;
Mike Garvey, President, 7-M Industries
"Three of our centers – NPIC, the Center for Surface
Engineering Research and the National Center for
Education Research on Corrosion and Materials
Performance – are well-aligned to bring together the
University's expertise in critical areas being addressed by
this initiative," said College of Engineering Dean, George
K. Haritos.
The TechBelt regional AMII is made up of seven research
universities. Participating educational institutions from
Northeast Ohio include UA, Case Western Reserve
and Youngstown State universities, and Lorain County
Community College, along with numerous industry
partners, government agencies and service providers
throughout Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.
Those institutions include Carnegie Mellon University,
the University of Pittsburgh, Penn State and Lehigh
universities.
The University of Akron is an Equal Education and Employment Institution © 2012 by The University of Akron / E-0912-31764