College of Engineering University of Notre DameVolume 29, Number 1 Fall/Winter 2002-03

Student Awardsand

Honors

GE LearningExcellence Projects

Funded

10 13Women’s

Engineering Program Developed

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While groundwater is generally considered a safe source of drinking water, urban growth and development across the country have put a tremendous strain on natural waterresources. Pollutants from a variety of sources — such as hazardous waste sites, landfills, chemical storage tanks, mining operations, agricultural operations, road salt, andsewage spills — threaten to contaminate water supplies.

What Fein and his colleagues have found is that the nano- and microparticles present in watercan augment or retard the transport ofcontaminants. For instance, if lead isdumped at a particular location, it may be bound by the bacteria at that site,meaning that the lead would become attached to structures onthe cell walls of the bacteria. Once the metal attaches to thebacteria, it becomes as mobile as the bacteria. If the bacteriamove, they carry the contaminants with them. Such mobility is particularly important in light of the fact that 50 percent ofthe population of the United States depends solely on ground-water supplies for its drinking water.

This interaction, the process of bacteria binding heavy metals or actinides, is one of the three main focal points of theEMSI. The institute also concentrates its efforts on naturalorganic matter and mineral aggregates and their roles in theenvironment.

In addition to attempting to isolate the unique reactionsheavy metals — such as cadmium, copper, or lead — andactinides — such as uranium and neptunium — have with continued on page 3

lthough invisible to the human eye, nano- and microparticles — such as

bacteria, natural organic matter, and mineral aggregates — exist in

virtually all groundwater systems. More important, they affect the mobility

of contaminants in the subsurface. According to Jeremy B. Fein, associate

professor of civil engineering and geological sciences and director of the newly created

Environmental Molecular Science Institute (EMSI), “We’ve known for a long time that

there are nano- and microparticles in the ground, even to great depths under the earth’s

surface. What we’re finding is that these particles interact both with the minerals that

make up the geologic matrix and with dissolved contaminants. These interactions can

strongly influence how metals, organic solvents, and other contaminants are distributed

in soil and groundwater aquifers.”

In July Notre Dame created the Environmental

Molecular Science Institute (EMSI). Funded by the

National Science Foundation and the Department

of Energy, the goal of EMSI is to bring engineers

and scientists together in order to better under-

stand, model, and predict the interaction between

microparticles and heavy metals in the environ-

ment. Researchers, centered at the University, will

work closely with their counterparts at Argonne,

Oak Ridge, and Sandia National laboratories and

DuPont Engineering Technology. These collabora-

tive efforts pool expertise from a wide range of

environmental sciences, including aqueous and

organic chemistry, actinide chemistry, environ-

mental engineering, hydrology, microbiology and

geomicrobiology, mineralogy, molecular dynamics

modeling, physics, and surface chemistry.

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the last issue of this newsletter, I commented on an article in the June 7, 2002, edition, of the WallStreet Journal concerning the national decline in engineering enrollments. In the article the declinewas attributed to curricula that focused on mathematics and the basic sciences in the first twoyears of study and did little to convey a sense for the nature of engineering. In the newsletter Idescribed measures being taken at Notre Dame to address this issue.

My comments struck a nerve with some of you, and I received several letters taking me to taskfor my views. One alumnus said, “It has always been my experience that a command of (and comfortwith) fundamentals is what ultimately separates those who know ‘how to think’ from those who simply

are told ‘what to think’ – and regurgitate that as a matter of political correctness.” Another alum commented, “In my first two yearsin engineering, the studies were intense in mathematics, physics, and chemistry. ... In those days the idea was that one could proceed toany branch of engineering if the basics were understood. If you couldn’t ‘cut’ the basics, you transferred to commerce. I would hopeNotre Dame still emphasizes the basic sciences during the initial undergraduate years.”

Amen! Folks, you are preaching to the choir. To make room for our new first year courses, EG 111 and 112, we eliminated acomputer programming course and a physics course, reducing the physics requirement from four to three courses for an elec-trical engineer and from three to two courses for all other engineers. This change now puts us in line with virtually every otherengineering curriculum in the country. One might argue that wedid, in fact, reduce the basic sciences content of our curriculumwere it not for the fact that fundamental principles of chemistryand physics permeate EG 111 and 112. But, instead of stand-alone concepts, they are woven into engineering applications thatprovide context. I, for one, have been better able to assimilate fun-damental concepts when I could relate them to applications. Iguess that is why I became an engineer instead of a scientist.Perhaps that is what the source of the first quote had in mindwith his parenthetical statement, “(and comfort with).”

The source of the first quote also commented that, “with thedumbing down of society in full swing now, does that mean we have to ‘dumb down’ and ‘glitterize’ at least the introductory engineeringcourses in order to attract and keep engineering enrollments up — to offset the usual student migrations away from that which is difficultto that which is easier?” This sentiment was expressed in two otherletters, and while I would agree with the notion of declining stan-dards in our society, the sentiment is off the mark when it comesto EG 111 and 112. These are not pud courses, and they are atleast as demanding as those they replaced (for more informationon the courses, refer to http://www.nd.edu/~engintro/). Evenwith these courses, attrition from first-year engineering studiesremains significant, and the reason most frequently cited bydeparting students is that they “don’t want to work so hard.”As in the past, migration of the departed is principally to theCollege of Business. I guess some things will never change.

For engineering students things will soon become even morechallenging. Beginning next academic year, the two-course chem-istry sequence will be revamped, with the second course focusingon biochemical aspects of molecular and cellular biology. Thischange is motivated by the growing importance of biotechnologiesto the engineering profession.

Frankly, I have no doubt that the demands we now place on ourengineering students exceed those that were placed on me morethan 40 years ago. The biggest difference between now and thenmay be that, in general, students of today come from more afflu-ent backgrounds and may lack the drive for success that characterized previous generations. Having said that, however, let me assure alumni and parents that, in the main, those students who stay the course in engineering at Notre Dame combineexceptional aptitude with a traditional engineering work ethic and good citizenship. It is a pleasure for me to be associatedwith them.

On another matter, the College of Engineering has just completed a comprehensive and year-long strategic planning process,the results of which will be integrated with the University’s strategic plan to be completed in May of this year. We have setsome ambitious goals, which we will share with you in the next issue of this newsletter.

Until then, best wishes for a happy and healthy new year.

Frank P. IncroperaMatthew H. McCloskey Dean of EngineeringH.C. and E.A. Brosey Professor of Mechanical Engineering

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Frank P. Incropera, the Matthew H.McCloskey Dean of Engineering, presents Beth Klein, corporate vicepresident and GE health industry executive, with a token ofappreciation for her participation in the College of Engineering’sDistinguished Engineering Lecture Series, now in its third year. Klein’s November 1, 2002, lecture, titled “The Future of EngineeringApplications in Medicine,” was presented during the EG111/112course sequence for first-year engineering students. Like otherlectures in the series, one objective of her presentation was to provide students with an overview of technological trends while exposing them to opportunities in the field of engineering.

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nano- or microparticles in the environment, researchers in theEMSI are working to develop accurate models of the transportand fate of contaminants in the environment. “These models,”says Fein, “along with the other information we are gatheringcan then be used to make groundwater clean-up efforts moreefficient and to design more effective contaminant treatmentstrategies.”

For example, one of the projects currently underway withinthe institute investigates how neptunium is transported within natural systems. Chemically similar to uranium, neptunium is a by-product of the production of plutonium in nuclear reactors.Its potential mobility has been a source of concern for sometime, especially in light of President Bush’s February 2002 recommendation that Nevada’s Yucca Mountain facility becomethe national underground geologic repository for high-levelnuclear waste.

“We have been studying uranium mineral structures for several years,” says Peter C. Burns, Massman Chair of CivilEngineering and Geological Sciences, “and we have a very good understanding of how uranium functions within nature. We know its crystal structures, and we have sufficient under-standing of its solid phases to be able to predict the mobility of radionuclides in a geologic repository. That’s not the case with neptunium.” As it decays, the uranium in nuclear wasteeventually becomes neptunium. Since the government has tocertify the safety of any national underground facility for10,000 years, it is vital to understand the potential impact of neptunium in the environment.

Burns, Lynda Soderholm of Argonne National Laboratory,and several graduate and undergraduate students are studyingthe crystal chemistry of neptunium, comparing it to what isknown about uranium, and trying to identify the precursors forneptunium crystal growth so they can understand and modelhow it is transported in natural systems.

Organic/microbiological studies are also being conducted inthe institute. These investigations examine the interactionsbetween metals and naturally-occurring organic matter andbacteria. Graduate student Sarah Hepinstall is tracking howbacterially produced organic molecules known as siderophoresbind to metals such as lead and cadmium, changing theiradsorption to mineral surfaces and affecting their mobility.

Christina Progess, another graduate student in theDepartment of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, is studying how photoreactions affect the molecular weight distributions of the natural organic matter present in lakes andstreams, as well as if these photoreactions affect the matter’sability to bind metals and radionuclides.

Post-doctoral associate Michael Pullin is working withUniversity of Massachusetts microbiologist Derek Lovely tounderstand the mechanisms whereby natural organic mattershuttles electrons between bacteria and metals or radio-nuclides. Each of these projects is directed by Patricia A.Maurice, associate professor of civil engineering and geologi-cal sciences and director of the Center for EnvironmentalScience and Technology.

All activities in the institute, whether focusing on organic or inorganic systems, integrate traditional macroscopic andmicroscopic techniques with state-of-the-art molecular-scaleapproaches, such as X-ray absorption spectroscopy, atomicforce microscopy, and molecular dynamics modeling.

“One of the most exciting things we’ve found as a result of our investigations,” says Fein, “is that all the bacteria we have tested behave in the same way. There is a commonstructure to the bacterial cell wall that makes predicting bacte-ria-metal interactions much easier.” Fein stresses that these

A University facility made possible through a grant from the National ScienceFoundation, the Environmental Molecular Science Institute (EMSI) is maintained bythe Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences. It is one of two suchinstitutes founded in the United States in 2002. There are only six similar facilitiesin the country. Faculty and staff in EMSI include director Jeremy B. Fein, associateprofessor of civil engineering and geological sciences; Peter C. Burns, MassmanChair of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences; Patricia A. Maurice, associateprofessor of civil engineering and geological sciences and director of the Center forEnvironmental Science and Technology; Benjamin Turner, research associate;Jennifer Brown, education and outreach administrator; Jennifer Schaefer, researchtechnician; Jennifer Forsythe, research technician; and Hope Clippinger,administrative assistant.

experiments, although the first to quantify the effect of bacteriaon aqueous metal, organic adsorption, and mineral dissolution,are not the end goal of the institute. “We anticipate that theinsights we have already gained and the information we haveyet to uncover can provide clues to responsible and economicalways to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations.”

In addition to its research activities, EMSI will provide anumber of innovative educational opportunities for studentsstudying environmental molecular science. For example, somestudents will intern at DuPont Engineering Technology, apply-ing the results of their research to help solve problems in thetreatment and disposal of industrial waste streams and theremediation of contaminated groundwater systems. Others willwork as interns on a variety of projects within Department ofEnergy laboratories.

The proximity between the Advanced Photon Source atArgonne National Laboratory and the University also affords a great opportunity for students and faculty alike. In fact, Drew Gorman-Lewis, a graduate student in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, is currently working with Fein to measure the adsorption of neptuniumonto bacterial surfaces. Gorman-Lewis and Fein are attemptingto model what would happen if nuclear waste, at a facility suchas Yucca Mountain, would leach into the ground. Although astudent, Gorman-Lewis is conducting these studies in theActinide Facility at Argonne National Laboratory using theAdvanced Photon Source.

EMSI will also play a key role in increasing the number of underrepresented minorities in the field of environmentalengineering and science. Working with the National Consortiumfor Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering andScience, Inc. (the GEM Consortium), EMSI is developing a master’s program specifically for talented undergraduateminority students.

In many ways the range of opportunities being offeredthrough EMSI are manifestations of the vibrant environmentalengineering and geosciences teaching and research programswithin the College of Engineering. As the program and theinstitute continue to develop and stress the importance ofquantitative research within the collaborative framework ofacademic institutions, industry, and government, it is easy toenvision the future: one where the probability of engineeringpractical and earth-friendly solutions to environmental issues isvery promising.

The Environmental Molecular Science Institute (EMSI) has partnered withthe National Consortium for Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineeringand Science, Inc., the GEM Consortium, to provide a master’s program inenvironmental molecular science. Formed in 1976, GEM is comprised ofmore than 60 corporations and national laboratories and more than 80universities. Its goal is to increase the recruitment and retention of AmericanIndian, African-American, Mexican-American, Puerto Rican, and otherHispanic-Americans pursuing graduate degrees in the fields of engineeringand natural science. Since its inception, more than 2,100 students havegraduated with a GEM fellowship.

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Most people don’thave to think aboutmoving an arm or legor even cutting a birth-day cake. People whohave Parkinson’s dis-ease think about it allthe time. The move-ments that 299 out of every 300 peopleaccomplish “automati-cally” become great

endeavors for the individual withParkinson’s.

First diagnosed in 1817 and currentlyaffecting approximately 1.2 million people inthe United States and Canada, Parkinson’sdisease is a degenerative neurological disor-der. It attacks a section of the midbraincalled the substantia nigra and is character-ized by four principal symptoms: rigidity,tremors, slowness or incompleteness ofmovement, and postural instability, the

inability to move or change positions abruptly.No one knows the cause of Parkinson’s. However, it has

been linked to a depletion of the neurotransmitter dopamine.Generated by cells in the substantia nigra, dopamine is essentialfor the normal movement of muscles. Parkinson’s isn’t necessarily terminal; most people with the disease live almostas long as they would without it. But eventually they lose most or all of their ability to move.

Since Parkinson’s cannot be cured or reversed in its course,the long-term goal of most healthcare givers is to manage its symptoms. Treatment options include drug therapy; trans-plantation — the replacement of damaged tissue withfragments of tissue rich in dopamine cells; thalamotomy/pallidotomy — surgical procedures that destroy parts of the thalamus/pallidum in order to control tremors and rigidity;and deep brain stimulation (DBS) — the use of a pacemaker-like device, which is attached to a probe implanted under the scalp, to stimulate synaptic activity.

Depending on the medication or combination of medicationsprescribed, drug therapy can be used to replace the missingdopamine, provide a different substance that mimics dopamine,help nerve cells release stored dopamine, adjust the level ofacetylcholine — another neurotransmitter — to restore thedopamine/acetylcholine balance in the brain, or conserve thedopamine already in the brain.

Attempts to replace damaged tissue with dopamine-produc-ing tissue, transplantation, are still in the experimental stages.Although there has been limited success with this type of pro-cedure, many people prefer drug therapy to surgery. Anotherfactor is the nature of the surgery, since the substantia nigra is difficult to reach.

Thalamotomies or pallidotomies, procedures used to controltremors and dyskinesia, also involve surgery. In a thalamotomythe surgeon drills a small hole in the skull and passes a metalelectrode (probe) through the hole. The probe pierces the brain,

which is impervious topain, and travels to thethalamus. After depolariz-ing the region around theprobe, the surgeon heats the area, producing a per-manent lesion. The lesioninhibits tremors.

The procedure for a pallidotomy is similar but targets thepallidum instead of the thalamus. Complications from both procedures include stroke and hemorrhages. Additionally,lesions have to be created on each side of the brain in order tocontrol tremors on both sides of the body. So a patient mustundergo two surgical procedures, in which case the risks forcomplications during or following the second surgery are signif-icantly higher.

An alternative to this type of surgery is deep brain stimula-tion (DBS). Electrodes are placed in the thalamus, globus pal-lidus, or subthalamic nucleus of a patient choosing this option,but no brain tissue is destroyed. A wire, connected to the probe(electrodes), runs under the scalp and down a patient’s neck toa battery-powered pacemaker-like implant, which is placedunder the skin of the patient’s chest. The patient can turn thepower on or off at any time. When “on” the probe stimulatesthe brain, just as dopamine would, and reduces tremors.

Safer than transplantation, a thalamotomy, or a pallidotomy,DBS can also be applied to other regions of the brain, including those in which surgery would be extremely difficult or dangerous.

The drawbacks of DBS include its hardware and cost. The stimulator implant is very expensive. It can also becomeinfected, wires can break, and the battery can fail. To addressthese issues, Gary H. Bernstein, professor of electrical engi-neering, and graduate student Jayne Wu are developing aninductively-coupled deep brain stimulator that is much smallerthan a pacemaker and can be implanted under the scalp insteadof in the chest.

Bernstein, whose other biomedical research activitiesinclude collaborative efforts to develop an inductively-poweredwireless system for monitoring blood flow, has demonstratedthe basic operation of the stimulator. In short, a small genera-tor sends radio pulses to the electrodes and pickup coil whichare located on a microchip located under the scalp.

Bernstein and his colleagues are working to miniaturize thesystem and the substrate to allow attachment of the generatorto a hat, a patient’s shirt, or a belt. “We’re very excited aboutthis project. But we still have a lot of work to do,” saysBernstein. “There are many factors to consider. For instance,batteries need to be easy to handle and replace, especially forParkinson’s patients. The unit needs to be as inexpensive aspossible, and we need to determine if there is any possibility of interference from radio waves or wireless signals that couldaffect the system’s performance.”

As a Parkinson’s treatment option, deep brain stimulation (DBS) preserves braintissue, and its effectiveness can be adjusted to match the severity of tremors byvarying the level and number of the stimulator’s pulses. In the past disadvantages ofDBS have included the size and expense of the pacemaker-like hardware and wires,which had to be surgically implanted beneath the skin of a patient’s chest. Gary H.Bernstein, professor of electrical engineering, is working to develop a new type ofDBS device, one that doesn’t require implantation in the chest. Instead, a singlemicrochip would be placed just under a patient’s scalp. A miniaturized systemgenerator could then be easily attached to a belt, shirt collar, or hat.

Although the cause or causes of Parkinson’s disease are unknown, studies of the brain implicategenetics as well environmental toxins. Three different gene mutations suggest that the disease isfamilial in nature. Two of the discovered mutations occur in the genes which encode the proteinsparkin and ubliquitin. The third affects the gene for synuclein, a synaptic protein. Current thinkingalso includes the theory that Parkinson’s is caused by an as yet unknown environmental agentinfecting genetically susceptible individuals, again supporting the familial tie. However, there arejust as many cases where Parkinson’s occurs among a group, or cluster, of unrelated people whospend a great deal of time together. This was the case with actor Michael J. Fox, who wasdiagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991. He and three other of the 125 people who worked at aVancouver, British Columbia, TV studio in the 1970s have been diagnosed with the disease. Fox isthe founder of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He and other celebritiesstricken with the disease, such as legendary boxer Muhammad Ali, often work together to raisenational awareness and funds for Parkinson’s research.

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A College of Engineering team led by Peter M. Kogge, the Ted H. McCourtney

Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and associate dean for research,

received a $1-million grant to explore the design of computers using alternative

technologies. He and his team, which includes Patrick J. Fay, assistant professor

of electrical engineering; Craig S. Lent, professor of electrical engineering; Alexei

Orlov, research associate professor of electrical engineering; and Gregory L. Snider,

associate professor of electrical engineering, will focus on Quantum Cellular Automata (QCA). Invented at Notre Dame, QCA does not rely on flowing

electrons to transmit a signal. No electric current is produced using QCA, thus thermal management problems are avoided.

The second University team to receive a nanoscale grant is being led by Boldizsar Janko, assistant professor of physics. With a $1.8-million grant, this team will

be attempting to develop materials aimed at performing extremely fast functions for the next generation of computers and focusing its efforts on diluted magnetic

semiconductors, which possess magnetic, optical, and semiconductor properties. Janko and his team, which includes Malgorzata Dobrowolska-Furdyna, professor of

physics, and Jacek Furdyna, the Aurora and Thomas Marquez Professor of Information Theory and Computer Technology, are collaborating with researchers from

Argonne National Laboratory, Purdue University, and the University of Illinois-Chicago.

Both teams received the award as part of the National Science Foundation’s Nanoscale Interdisciplinary Research Team program. The process was extremely

competitive, and only eight percent of the interdisciplinary teams submitting proposals received funding.

Two TeamsReceive NSFNanoscaleScience Grants

Part of the Biomechanics and Biomaterials in Ortho-paedics Group at Notre Dame, Ryan K. Roeder, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, is studyingthe mechanical aspects of bone — its composition, its loadcapacities, and its ability to heal itself. “Bone, in my opinion, is the most original and most incredible composite materialaround. It’s tremendously strong, and it heals itself,” saysRoeder. “There has been a great deal of excitement surround-ing tissue engineering today, but we have yet to produce a synthetic material that mechanically functions identically to

bone. If we could do thatalone, the implications tohealthcare and quality of life would be staggering.”

Bone is a natural polymerthat is reinforced with aceramic known as bone mineral. Although a livingmaterial, bone is actually similar to fiberglass in that itconsists of several layers ofinterlocking fibers, composedmostly of the biopolymer collagen. The collagen is rein-forced with elongated parti-cles of bone mineral, whichare calcium phosphates witha complex composition andcrystal structure. The verticalalignment of the bone “fibers”is what gives bone itsstrength and the ability tohold weight. Consider an egg.It’s very difficult to crack anegg on its end. However, itbreaks easily when rotatedhorizontally. Because of itsvertical orientation, it’s alsoextremely difficult to break abone by applying pressurefrom top to bottom. Mostbreaks occur when pressureis applied from the side.

Using hydroxyapatite, the synthetic material that most close-ly resembles the calcium phosphates in bone mineral, Roederhas been successful in getting synthetic fibers to line up thesame way the mineral crystals do in real bone, but his work isfar from finished. He and Glen L. Niebur, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, are also studying themicrodamage often found in bone, because these microcracksare believed to signal bone cells to remodel or “heal” damagedareas of bone.

In order to better understand the correlation between theamount and nature of microdamage in bone and the strengthand healing capacity of bone, Niebur and Roeder are developingtechniques to better image the microscopic cracks. They arealso developing “stains” which will allow them to better see the calcium atoms which are exposed on the surface of themicrocracks, allowing them to label the damaged bone andimage the microcracks in 3-D via micro-CT or MRI scanners.

The goals of this project, which is funded by the NationalInstitutes for Health, are to identify one or more metal chelating agents that will attach to both calcium in bone andone or more heavy metal ions, which will act as radio-opaquemarkers; to determine the optimum stain chemistry, technique,and exposure time for labeling microdamage in bone; and todetermine optimal scanning parameters for imaging microdam-age in bone. The project, once complete, is expected to opennew avenues in the study of how bone heals itself, assistingRoeder in the development of a synthetic bone substitute. It could also lead to a new clinical imaging technique for bone quality.

Glen L. Niebur, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, uses a micro-CT system to scan normal and osteoporotic bone. Although similar to the CTscanners in many hospitals, the University’s micro-CT scanner is able to image features100 times smaller than a typical hospital unit. The machine shown here is one of 20 ofits kind in the United States.

In the Biomaterials Processing and Characteriza-tion Laboratory Ryan K. Roeder, assistantprofessor of aerospace and mechanicalengineering, prepares the Parr hydrothermal reactorto synthesize hydroxyapatite particles. The particleshe creates will be used in additional studies,through which Roeder and fellow researchers arehoping to develop biomaterials that closely mimicthe mechanical properties of bone.

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An interdisciplinaryteam of Universityresearchers, in conjunc-tion with the University of Minnesota-Duluth, havereceived a grant from

the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to investigate how global climate changes affect aquatic ecosystems. “Byunderstanding how global changes affect these systems,” saysPatricia A. Maurice, associate professor of civil engineeringand geological sciences and director of the Center for Environ-mental Science and Technology, “we hope to be able to developstrategies to reduce or avoid damage in the future.” Only fouruniversities were awarded grants, which were issued throughthe EPA’s Science to Achieve Results (STAR) program.

The team will be studying the Ontonagon River in northernMichigan. Team members include Scott D. Bridgham, associateprofessor of biological sciences; Carol A. Johnston, seniorresearch associate, Natural Resources Research Institute,University of Minnesota-Duluth; Gary A. Lamberti, professor of biological sciences; Boris A. Shmagin, research associate,Department of Geological Sciences, University of Minnesota-Duluth; Maurice; andDavid M. Lodge, pro-fessor of biologicalsciences.

University TeamReceives EPA STARGrant

The Supercomputing 2002 Convention (SC ’02) held in Novemberat the Baltimore Convention Center teamed the top research schools inIndiana for a third consecutive year. According to Peter M. Kogge, theTed H. McCourtney Professor of Computer Science and Engineering and associate dean for research, the shared booth, titled “Research inIndiana,” was very successful. “SC is the largest and perhaps most influ-ential information technology (IT) conference emphasizing high-perform-ance computing, networking, and data/information technologies in theworld,” says Kogge. “This year there were a record number of attendees,and being just a few miles from Washington meant that many governmenttechnology program managers also attended the convention.”

The Research in Indiana booth was the only booth that represented anentire state. More than 75 faculty members, staff, and graduate studentsfrom the University of Notre Dame, Indiana University, Purdue University,

and the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology worked the booth, demonstrating and describing the technology originating in Indianaand highlighting the collaborative efforts among the state’s top research institutions. The technologies featured at the booth haveapplications in engineering, science, medicine, the arts, and informatics.

SC is sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Computer Society and the Association for ComputingMachinery’s Special Interest Group on Computer Architecture. Research in Indiana is sponsored in part by the Pervasive TechnologyLabs at Indiana University and the Indiana Technology Partnership.

For information specific to the unique IT-related efforts at Notre Dame, visit http://www.cse.nd.edu/it@nd.

Indiana’s Top ResearchInstitutions Team Up for SC ’02

The Research in Indiana booth at the 2002Supercomputing Convention showcased technologicaldevelopments within the state, while focusing on themultidisciplinary efforts occurring among Indiana’sleading academic institutions.

A University team has received a grant from theEnvironmental Protection Agency to study the effect of global climate changes on aquatic ecosystems. While teammembers — comprised of faculty and students from thecolleges of engineering and science — are focusing theirefforts on Michigan’s Ontonagon River, tests are also beingconducted at the University of Notre Dame EnvironmentalResearch Center (UNDERC) in Wisconsin. Graduate studentChristina Progess, above, takes a sample from Brown Creek,one of the three test sites on UNDERC property.

The University of Notre Damebegan a five-year research alliancewith the South Bend, Ind.-basedHoneywell Aircraft Landing

Systems in April 2001. In addition to establishing a researchinitiative focusing on high-temperature composites, the collabo-ration and accompanying grant funds five Honeywell GraduateFellows within the aerospace and mechanical engineering and chemical engineering departments. Each of the fellows presented a 20-minute update of his/her research project onSeptember 19, 2002.

The presenters were Lin Yuan,“Tribological Investigation of the Carbon-Carbon CompositeBrake System”; John Kamel,“CVI/CVD of Pyrocarbon in PorousCarbon”; Xiangning Li, “ThermalCharacterization of Carbon BrakeMaterials”; Chris Norfolk,“Processing of MesocarbonMicrobeads to High-toughnessMaterials for Friction Appli-cations”; and Javier Guzman,“Blocking and CatalyticMechanisms for Oxidation ofCarbon-Carbon Composite Friction Materials.”

“What is perhaps most reward-ing,” says Arvind Varma, theArthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical Engineering and director of the Center for

Molecularly Engineered Materials, “is that, in addition toimpressive progress toward research alliance projects, each of these students is taking significant coursework.”

The next round of project presentations is scheduled forFebruary 2003.

Honeywell FellowsPresent Projects

The Honeywell Fellows and faculty are, leftto right, Yuan Lin; Arvind Varma, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of ChemicalEngineering; Chris Norfolk; John Kamel;Javier Guzman; Xiangning Li; and DanielHayes, research professor and aerospacefellow in high-temperature materials.

For the past 12 yearsJoannes J. Westerink,associate professor of civilengineering and geologicalsciences, and studentresearchers in the EnvironmentalHydraulics Laboratory (EHL) have beendeveloping methods to more accurately modelstorm surges due to tidal waves and hurricanes, as well as predicting the impact of sewage outfall on coastal regions. Areas they have studied includethe western North Atlantic, the Gulf of Mexico andCaribbean Sea, the Eastern Pacific Ocean, the NorthSea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Persian Gulf, andsouthern Louisiana.

With the advent of hurricanes like Isidore and Lili in fall 2002, Westerink and his students werebusy producing storm surge forecasts — using Department of Defense supercomputing centers —for the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center and the Army Corps in New Orleans.

According to Westerink, “September was a very active month. We spent many weeks workingaround the clock to produce accurate surge forecasts. As Lili was heading toward the Louisianashoreline, we were calculating 259 billion equations using our software model.”

It’s important to remember that the path, track, and expected wind velocities of all storms arebased on meteorological forecasts and are, therefore, subject to change, but not even the NationalWeather Service Hurricane Center can make storm surge predictions as quickly, as accurately, orwith as much detail as the Notre Dame model.

For more information on the EHL, visit http://www.nd.edu~coast.

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Last November when a team of University researchersreported the results of a studyof roadside contamination bycatalytic converters, they hadsimply completed one phase oftheir research. At that time the

team, led by Clive R. Neal, associate professor of civil engi-neering and geological sciences, presented data which showedthat automotive catalytic converters were spewing potentiallytoxic elements along roadsides, as far as 55 meters from theroads.

Catalytic convertershave been used to removegaseous pollutants fromautomotive exhaust since1975. Although the devicesreduce noxious emissions,such as carbon monoxide

ResearchersContinueRoadsideContaminationStudies

University researchers have proven thatcatalytic converters from automobilesdistribute platinum-group elements asfar as 55 meters from the roads onwhich the vehicles travel. What they are now investigating is if those toxinscan leach into groundwater or beassimilated by food supplies. As part of their study, they will determine if and how corn and soy beans incorporatethe platinum-group element particlesinto the plant material.

Led by Associate Professor Joannes J.Westerink, researchers in the EnvironmentalHydraulics Laboratory employ high-levelcomputations to evaluate the flow andtransport of waters along shelves, coasts, andwithin estuaries. Their most recent effortsfocused on predicting the flood surges ofHurricane Lili — a Category 4 hurricane —and involved a collaboration with theDepartment of Defense, the Louisiana StateUniversity Hurricane Center, and the ArmyCorps in New Orleans. Models, like the onesshown here depicting Lili’s surge “path,” areused for a variety of applications, fromcalculating real-time storm surges toassessing sediment and pollutant transportalong the continental shelf. The darkest redindicates the most intense area of the surge.

and unburned hydrocarbons, they emit microscopic particles ofplatinum-group elements (PGEs) such as platinum, palladium,and rhodium.

Earlier this year the multidisciplinary team received a two-year grant from the American Chemical Society to more closelyexamine the environmental impact of catalytic converters anddetermine whether the PGEs dispersed by the devices couldactually enter groundwater supplies or food chains. This is of particular interest since many U.S. roads run through agricul-tural areas.

The team — Neal; Charles F. Kulpa, professor and depart-ment chair of biological sciences; and James C. Ely, researchassociate of civil engineering and geological sciences — isusing a field site located next to the WNDU television studioson Indiana 933. Over the next two years of the study, they willbe testing food crops, such as corn and soybeans, for uptake ofthe PGEs and determining the extent of penetration of watersupplies. They will also assess the economic benefits of “min-ing” the PGEs. Initial results indicate that soil immediatelyadjacent to the road contains PGEs at a ratio of 1.8 parts permillion, making it a deposit economically suitable for mining.“The question now,” says Neal, “is ‘How renewable is thisdeposit?’”

For more information on this project, visithttp://www.nd.edu/~cneal/petrol.html.

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arlier this year Frank P. Incropera, the MatthewH. McCloskey Dean of Engineering, announcedthe creation of the Women’s Engineering Program(WEP) and the appointment of Cathy Pieronek,formerly director of law school relations at theUniversity, as director of the program. Like otherrecent educational initiatives in the college, theWEP focuses on meeting the needs of students,as well as society, and stresses the importance

of collaborative multidisciplinary activities.“The college has long recognized the important role played

by women in engineering,” says Incropera, “but at Notre Dameand nationally, they continue to be an underrepresented group.It is for this reason that we have decided to implement awomen’s engineering program.”

In fact, only 19 percent of the engineering degrees earnedtoday are earned by women. And, only nine percent ofAmerican engineers are women. The numbers are shockinglylow, especially considering how women are contributing in amultitude of other fields.

One example of the many opportunities for engineering undergraduates,mechanical engineering students Kara Bucci, left, and Annie Cienianassemble hip implants for testing. While Bucci has recently joined theBiomechanics and Biomaterials in Orthopaedics team, Cienian has beenworking with Associate Professors Steven R. Schmid and James J. Mason and Zimmer, Inc., to develop a minimally invasive hip implant for more than a year. In addition to her work on campus, which has focused on theexothermic properties of the implant material, Cienian has also interned at Zimmer in Warsaw, Ind., one of the nation’s largest manufacturers oforthopedic implants and fracture management products. As womenengineering students, Cienian and Bucci represent approximately 21 percent of the college’s total undergraduate enrollment, a figure slightly higher than the national average.

In July 2002 Cathy Pieronek was appointed director of the new Women’sEngineering Program at the University. She also serves as an academic adviser for undergraduate students within the College of Engineering.

Pieronek graduated cum laude from the University in 1984 with a bache-lor’s degree in aerospace engineering. She then joined the systems engineer-ing staff of TRW’s Space and Defense Sector in Redondo Beach, Calif. Herwork at TRW encompassed all areas of spacecraft design, development, integration, test, and early on-orbit operations.

While at TRW Pieronek earned her master’s degree in aerospace engineer-ing and worked on NASA’s second “Great Observatory,” the Compton GammaRay Observatory, which launched with the Space Shuttle Atlantis in April1991. Her duties on the observatory project involved the communicationssubsystem, although she was also responsible for overall systems engineer-ing support. During the project she interacted with specialists from theJohnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and Goddard SpaceflightCenter.

After the successful launch of the Compton spacecraft, she worked for ayear on the preliminary design phase of NASA’s third observatory

project, the Chandra X-ray Observatory. Before its launch, however, Pieronek returned to Notre Dame, and in 1995

she graduated magna cum laude with a degree in law. Upon graduation she accepted a position in the Notre

Dame Law School as director of law school relations.She worked in the Law School for six years, developinga comprehensive alumni relations program, managingthe Law School’s publications, and developing, writing,and editing the Law School’s alumni magazine.

A member of the Society of Women Engineers(SWE) since 1980, Pieronek served as treasurer andpresident of the Notre Dame student section as an undergraduate. She is still active in SWE and is look-ing forward to developing a program that will drawupon the strengths of the Notre Dame educationalexperience and community to provide a challengingcurriculum for its women students.

ENotre Dame and other universities are working to under-

stand the reasons that women stay away from technology-oriented majors, such as engineering, while gravitating towardother equally demanding majors in ever-increasing numbers.The most pressing concern, according to Pieronek, revolvesaround young women who have pursued challenging curriculain high school but opt out of what would be the logical nextstep — studying engineering or the “hard” sciences in college.

“What we know about our own students,” says Pieronek, “is that the men enter the program because they are interestedin the field. The women who enter the engineering programhave usually been advised to do so. A counselor or a parent hassuggested that they’d ‘be good at it.’ To the extent women doexpress a personal interest in the field, it is much less likelythe call of a particular technology than it is an interest in find-ing a way to use their science and math skills to make theworld a better place in which to live.”

Although this seems to perpetuate the stereotype that girlsdon’t like technology, the fact is girls are just as intrigued withexploring how and why something works but are typically notencouraged to consider technology as an appropriate course ofstudy. Cultural differences in how girls and boys are treated,particularly in middle school and high school, can also limit theexperiences girls have with certain types of technologies. Forexample, young men typically come into engineering programswith more experience in working on car engines, dismantlingand repairing small appliances, and operating computers.

Another misconception Pieronek hopes to address throughthe WEP is the belief that women have a much tougher timesucceeding in a profession that is still male-dominated, such asengineering.“One of the most important things we can do forthe young women in our program is to share success storieswith them,” says Pieronek. “Our alumnae have accomplishedremarkable things using their engineering degrees, whetherthey’ve remained in the profession or moved into other fields.Upper-level and graduate students can also serve as modelsand mentors for other students.”

Enrollment and retention are two key areas on which theWEP is focusing. Currently, 21 percent of the engineeringmajors at Notre Dame are women, a figure slightly higher thanthe national average. Pieronek wants to grow that number to alevel that would create a strong community of support forwomen students, perhaps even approaching 30 or 35 percent.“When we have more women students here,” explainsPieronek, “they should feel more connected to each other andto the college. These personal connections and support canmake the difference in whether a student decides to continue in the program or not.”

It is, in fact, vital for Notre Dame and other universitiesacross the country to attract young women to engineering andother technology-driven fields and keep them engaged. Why?Current work force projections indicate that unless women andminorities are actively engaged in fields such as engineering,technology, and science, the United States will not have thenecessary personnel trained to meet the needs of society.

The importance of technology in relationship to our nation’ssocial, political, and economic future has never been moreapparent. Many emerging technologies have been broughtabout through collaborative efforts and by employing “new”perspectives to problem solving: traditionally “feminine” attributes such as listening, empathizing, and developingstrong interpersonal relationships have been acknowledged as part of the collaborative and multidisciplinary process thatenhances discovery and innovation. “Women bring these skillsto our campus,” says Pieronek, “and we need to work withthem to show them how these skills, together with the techni-cal competencies they develop through the curriculum, willhelp them succeed.”

The primary goals of the program are to develop activitiesthat encourage young women in the study of engineering, tosupport first-year women engineering students as they enterthe college’s program, to provide opportunities for all womenengineering students to develop leadership skills, and to estab-lish and maintain communications with alumnae and theiremployers, whose support is crucial to the program’s success.

Although still in development, elements of the program willinclude a mentoring program, career information programming,leadership training, alumnae seminars and lectures, peer groupdevelopment, and pre-college opportunities. Pieronek will beworking closely with alumnae, graduate students, and under-graduates in the Notre Dame student section of the Society of Women Engineers.

For more information on the WEP, visithttp://www.nd.edu/~engwomen.

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KATHY LAURINI graduated fromthe University in 1982 with adegree in electrical engineering

and a desire to work in the space industry. When shejoined the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration (NASA) almost 20 years ago,there were fewer women than there are today,but she explains “it’s not the boy’s club peo-ple might think.” In fact, she credits NASA fordoing a tremendous job of hiring and promoting women.

Laurini most recently served as manager of NASA’s office in the Netherlands,where she was responsible for the integration of the Automated Transfer Vehiclethat will travel to the International Space Station (ISS). Her husband DanieleLaurini managed the Cupola Project for the European Space Agency. Laurini, herhusband, and their three trilingual children are in the process of relocating to

Houston, Texas, where she will continue her work on the ISS.

DestinationOuter Space

Most college faculty spend their days in the classroom or theresearch lab. However, for the past year DAVA NEWMANhas been working as the educational director aboard the

Galatea. She is sailing around the world with other leading educators in an effortto promote educational ideas on science and technology while also helpingschool-age children around the world participate, via an educational web site, in the circumnavigation of the globe. During December and January, the ship was scheduled to sail around the tip of South Africa on its way to Brazil.

A 1986 graduate of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering,Newman is an associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)and an affiliate of the Harvard-MIT faculty inhealth science and technology. Her researchefforts combine aerospace bioengineering,human-in-the-loop dynamics and control model-ing, biomechanics, human interface technology,life sciences, and systems analysis and design.After her voyage on the Galatea, she may havesome tall fish stories to add to her numeroustechnical articles and engineering textbook.

A Whale ofa Tale

JESSICA RANISZESKIROSEMURGY’S first job, after graduating cum laude

from Notre Dame in 1993 with a bachelor’s degree inmechanical engineering, was as a process engineer.Later she earned her Wisconsin teaching licenses inphysics, chemistry, and physical sciences and taughtat the high-school level for several years.

Today, Rosemurgy owns her own company,Pinnacle Learning, which provides tutoring services for students from gradeschool through college levels. She believes the challenges she faced as an engi-neering student not only help her to better share her understanding of math andscience with today’s students, but that they also prepared her for the challengesshe faces daily as a small-business owner.

The Businessof Learning

The Women’s Engineering Program and the Notre Dame sectionof the Society of Women Engineers welcome alumnaeparticipation in various programs designed to encouragewomen to enter and succeed within the field of engineering.

We need women engineers who are willing to:

• speak with prospective students in your local area aboutengineering;

• mentor current students;

• serve as a networking resource for current students, forboth internships and full-time employment upongraduation;

• host current and prospective students at your place ofemployment for a day during one of the University’sscheduled breaks; and

• speak to students on campus about youreducational/career paths and about your work inengineering. Both technical topics and work/life topics are welcome.

Contact the Women’s Engineering Program via e-mail atengwomen@nd.edu or visit the Web site at the address listed on this page.

MARIA PANEQUE WAGNER graduated from the University in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering.Specializing in logistics engineering, she worked at companies like Pratt &Whitney and TRW. While working as an engineer, she was asked to speak tolocal elementary children about engineering and the importance of developingstrong math, reading, and writing skills, vital elements for any career. Wagner

enjoyed the experience so much that she worked to earn her teaching certificate. When the U.S. State Departmenttransferred her husband to Saudi Arabia, she put her teach-ing skills to work as an instructor for the sixth-grade class atthe Dhahran Academy of the Saudi Arabian Internal Schools.

She now teaches fourth-grade students at St. GregorySchool in Plantation, Fla. Although she did not re-enter thefield of engineering after returning to the United States, shebelieves her decision an excellent one. “I use my engineeringbackground on a daily basis and in many ways, especiallywhen talking to students about the practicality of mathemat-

ics, science, and communicating properly.” In essence, she’s a constant reminderto her students of the importance of the ability to solve problems and work as a team.

Show and Tell

Call for WEPVolunteers

Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, was one of the four finalistsfor the 2002 Philip E. Rollhaus Jr. Roadway Safety Essay Contest, alsosponsored by ARTBA. His essay, titled “Appreciating, Identifying, andRemoving Driver Distractions,” discussedthe distractive and potentially destructivenature of many driver “amenities” and howthey need to be engineered, regulated, orreduced to improve safety on the roads.

On an annual basis organizations, such as the National Association of Graduate andProfessional Students (NAGPS), also honorstudents for their accomplishments. Forexample, as a group the University’sGraduate Student Union was recently honored with the Organization of Graduateand Professional Students of the Year Award.Two Notre Dame students were singled outfor individual honors. Gabriela Burgos,a doctoral candidate in the Department of Chemical Engineering, received the NAGPS 2002 President’s Award foroutstanding service at the local, state, andnational levels. Her research focuses on the use of supercritical fluid technology for pollution prevention. Burgos is the NAGPS Midwest representative for International StudentConcerns. Adrienne Minerick, also a Ph.D. candidate in chemical engineering and a Bayer Scholar in the Center for EnvironmentalScience and Technology, receivedthe NAGPS Health Care ProgramAward. Her research focuses on microfluidic devices and the physiological aspects ofblood flow.

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A leading provider of IT infra-structure, personal comput-ing and access devices, andimaging and printing, Hewlett-Packard often encourages

students to push their own boundaries of invention and creativ-ity through design competitions such as the upcoming contestfor Notre Dame engineering students enrolled in senior design

courses. Students in the computerscience and engineering and electricalengineering departments are eligibleto participate. During the two roundsof competition, students will first berequired to submit proposals for theirprojects, requesting funding just as ifthey were professional engineers. Apanel of Hewlett-Packard researchersand University faculty will then revieweach proposal based on its merits andpotential benefit. Those proposalswhich merit “funding,” according tothe panel, will proceed to the secondround during which the students will“create” the product or process out-lined in the proposal. The final entrieswill be reviewed by the panel and winners determined. The winners,along with details of their projects,will be announced in a future issue of Insights.

Hewlett-Packard toSponsor UndergraduateDesign Contest

Representatives from the Departmentof Computer Science and Engineeringaccept a check from Hewlett-Packard foran upcoming student design contest.Pictured are, left to right, Kathy Zerda,Hewlett-Packard’s College StationResearch Park site manager; CurtFreeland, associate professionalspecialist of computer science andengineering; Kevin Bowyer, Schubmehl-Prein Chair of Computer Science andEngineering; Sandy Kovar, Hewlett-Packard Human Resources CollegeRelations; and Dan Marcek, Hewlett-Packard University Relations.

orporations and other institutions often sponsor nationaldesign competitions. It’s good public relations, and if thecompany designs the competition around a specific productor process, the students can often provide the impetus for anew or improved product. Most important, according tomany executives and association directors, is the challengeand real-life experience these competitions offer students.

For example, the “Flip for Design” national engineering competition sponsored by Parametric Technology

Corporation (PTC), a leading provider of CAD software, and Motorolawas part of an initiative to encourage “today’s students to become theinnovators of tomorrow.” “Just as companies are defined by their prod-ucts, engineers are defined by their ideas,” said John Stuart, senior vicepresident of education and community relations at PTC. “The outstand-ing competition entries we received show that industry can look forwardto the contributions of a talented pool of young engineers who willdevelop groundbreaking new products.”

Engineering undergraduates Scott Sherwin and John Ryan were one of 35 teams from 26 universities who participated in the PTC contest, which asked students to design a new pocket-sized communica-tion device using the company’s Pro/ENGINEER® and Pro/COLLABO-RATE™ software packages. Design requirements specified that eachdevice feature a clamshell-type hinge mechanism, that each device bepocket-sized, and that each device be made of materials strong enoughto withstand a “user’s drop,” such as an accidental fall from a shirtpocket or purse. Although they did not win the competition, Sherwinand Ryan were named semi-finalists.

Another event is the biennial student design competition sponsoredby the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). EricShearer, a 2002 graduate of the Department of Aerospace andMechanical Engineering, won top honors during the most recent con-test, which was part of the ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Conferenceheld in Quebec in October. Shearer, one of the five national finalists topresent a prototype mechanism during the conference, was awardedfirst place for his design of a humanoid shoulder mechanism.

Other types of student “competitions” are also quite common, particularly among professional associations. The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) sponsors an annual student paper competition. Participating students are required to submit a paper that thoroughly examines a transportation related problem. One of the winners for 2002 was Judy Abid, a recent gradu-ate of the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. Abid was honored for her paper “Emerging Road Practices in Winter RoadMaintenance.” Daniel Buonadonna, a senior in the Department of

On Thursday, October 31,James Crook, Ph.D., P.E., DEE,presented the first KappeLecture at the University ofNotre Dame. Crook, an interna-

tionally recognized expert in the area of water reclamation andreuse and the principal water reuse technologist for CH2MHILL, discussed “Indirect PotableReuse: Status, Health Aspects,and Research Needs.” During thelecture Crook documented the his-tory of potable reuse in the UnitedStates, summarized the recom-mendations made in the 1998National Research Council’sreport on potable reuse, examinedhealth issues, reviewed researchactivities addressing treatmenttechnology, and commented oncurrent regulations addressingindirect potable reuse, as well asthe problem surrounding publicacceptance of potable reuse.

The lecture was sponsored bythe University, the Department ofCivil Engineering and GeologicalSciences, and the American Academy of EnvironmentalEngineers (AAEE). The Kappe Lectures are named for StanleyE. Kappe, P.E., DEE, a environmental engineer who served asthe executive director of the AAEE from 1971 to 1981.

DepartmentSponsorsKappe Lecture

James Crook, Ph.D., P.E., DEE, gave the first Kappe Lecture at Notre Dame in October.As the 2002 Kappe Lecturer his goal, whichmirrors the goal of the series, is to “sharethe knowledge of today’s practitioners withtomorrow’s engineers.”

C

Scott Sherwin, a junior in theDepartment of Aerospace andMechanical Engineering, andJohn Ryan, not pictured, werehonored as semi-finalists in thePTC/Motorola “Flip for Design”competition for their innovativeflip-phone design.

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Maurice, Joan F. Brennecke, professorof chemical engineering, and Jennifer A.Tank, the Ludmilla F., Stephen J., andRobert T. Galla Assistant Professor ofBiological Sciences, planned the event,which featured speakers from theDepartment of Economics as well as the newly created EnvironmentalMolecular Science Institute. “As we wereplanning the symposium and receivingspace reservations and confirmations from our speakers,” says Maurice, “itbecame more and more apparent thatUniversity efforts relating to environmen-tal issues touch more than engineering orscience faculty. The symposium was a

great success, not only because of attendance but also becauseit helped develop closer ties among a multidisciplinary group of faculty focused on a single issue. We hope that Notre Dame’semphasis on the environment and environmental issues continues and that similar events will occur often in the years to come.”

On August 1 and 2, the Department ofCivil Engineering and Geological Sciencessponsored the 2002 ResearchExperiences for Undergraduates (REU)Forum. Funded in part by the NationalScience Foundation (NSF), the eight-weekREU program provides undergraduates

from throughout the United States the opportunity to work withprofessional engineers, faculty, and other students on collabo-rative, multidisciplinary teams. While many of this year’s REUstudents came from Notre Dame, a significant number werefrom other institutions. Among the schools represented this

year were Princeton University, Universityof California-Los Angeles, MichiganTechnological University, the University of New Mexico, Taylor University, theUniversity of Virginia, and the University of Nevada-Reno.

The department has sponsored an REUprogram since 1988. This year the programrevolved around three primary themes —water resources in developing countries,such as Benin, Chile, Haiti, and Honduras;the development and operation of smallcommunity mentoring centers; and struc-tural analysis/engineering challenges —and provided opportunities for students towork in University research laboratoriesand with local water industry professionalsand to travel internationally. In addition to their REU experience, students wererequired to present a 15-minute review of their research during the forum.

Water Resources in DevelopingNations: Additional NSF support for theREU program this year sparked expansionof the water resources opportunities avail-able to students. Faculty advisers from the University of Nevada-Reno and the

University of New Mexico were added, and the number of inter-national field experiences in developing countries — ranging

REU ForumShowcasesSummerExperiences

Students from acrossthe country participatedin the Research Experi-ences for Undergraduates(REU) program. At theend of the eight-weeksession, they sharedtheir experiences with other students and faculty throughindividual presentationsand group discussions.This year’s forum alsofeatured keynoteaddresses frominternationally recognized waterresources professionals.Scott Tyler, director of the HydrologicalSciences Program at the University of Nevada-Reno discussed his workin the mountains ofnorthern Chile, andMichael Campana,director of the WaterResources Program atthe University of NewMexico, described hiswork in Honduras.

The College ofEngineering,the College ofScience, theGraduateSchool, and theCenter forEnvironmental

Science and Technology sponsored theinaugural Symposium on Notre DameEnvironmental Education and Research(NDEER). Held on November 13, the sym-posium featured faculty presentations, astudent poster session, and a keynoteaddress, “The McMurdo Dry Valleys,Antarctica: Hydrologic and EcologicalResponses to Climate Variability,” which was presented byDiane McKnight, professor of civil, environmental, and archi-

tectural engineering at the University ofColorado. More than 120 students and faculty attended.

According to PatriciaA. Maurice, associateprofessor of civil engi-neering and geologicalsciences and director of the Center forEnvironmental Scienceand Technology, “Thepurpose of NDEER wasto highlight the depthand diversity of environ-mental research occur-ring throughout theUniversity.”

College Co-sponsorsSymposium onEnvironmentalEducation andResearch

On November 13, 2002, Diane McKnight,professor of civil, environmental, andarchitectural engineering at the University ofColorado, presented the keynote address atNotre Dame’s inaugural symposium onenvironmental education and research.

More than 120 students and faculty attended the firstSymposium on Notre Dame Environmental Education andResearch. Many of them also participated in the poster session,which highlighted individual and team projects.

from geochemical analysis of groundwater in Benin, to waterresources development in Honduras, to arsenic monitoring andevaluation of evapotranspiration in Chile — were increased.

For more information on the individual projects and opportu-nities for students in water resources in developing countries,visit http://www.nd.edu/~reuwater.

The Development and Operation of Small CommunityMentoring Centers and Related Work: In conjunction withthe Indiana Department of Environmental Management andElkhart, Ind., and with funding from the U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency, the University formed the Small CommunityMentoring Center (SCMC). Now in its third year, SCMC REUstudents work closely with city professionals and with nearbysmall-community wastewater and water treatment plant operators to improve plant operation and prepare for expectedchanges in regulatory requirements. This process benefits boththe operators and the students.

Elkhart has supported two students each summer since1989. Over the past several years the work of the REUstudents with Sequencing Batch Reactors (SBRs) has resultedin a totally new way of operating Elkhart’s water treatmentplant, and modifications suggested by the students have savedthe city approximately $50,000 per year. Nitrogen removal inthe sludge has improved, and phosphorus reduction has beenaccomplished using substantially fewer chemicals.

Structural Analysis/Engineering: This year REU studentsworked on the development of non-rigid joints designed toallow large structures to survive heavy motions, such as mightoccur during an earthquake, with less damage than traditionalconstruction methods.

As part of their REU field work,students Sara Schooley, left, ofMichigan Technological University,and Matthew Bussman, center, ofPrinceton University, worked withProfessor Moussa Boukari of theUniversity of Abomey-Calvai, locatedin Benin, Africa, to collect samplesfrom hand-pump wells in northernBenin. While they tested the waterfor temperature, pH, and conductivityon-site, a portion of each samplewas also sent back to Notre Damefor advanced analytical analysis.

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Published by Prentice Hall in November 2002,Clark Equipment Professor of Aerospaceand Mechanical Engineering Thomas C.

Corke’s textbook on the design of aircraft divides the concep-tualization and design process into 14 elements. In the bookCorke demonstrates how the historical aspects of aircraft systems — structure, stability, control, propulsion, and com-pressible flows — provide the necessary parameters for theearly stages of design while allowing for innovations. A casestudy of a supersonic business jet runs throughout the book to illustrate each step in the process.

Corke, who is also the director of Notre Dame’s Center forFlow Physics and Control, joined the University in 1999. His research interests are in the area

of fluid mechanics, specifically hydrodynamic sta-bility; transition of laminar flow to turbulent flow;

computational fluid dynamics; aeroacoustics; turbu-lence; and applications of flow control related to

these topics.

Faculty Member Pens Book onAircraft Design

Robert C. Nelson,professor of aerospaceand mechanical engineer-ing, has been awarded aFulbright Scholar grant

from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William FulbrightForeign Scholarship Board. Nelson is one of approximately 800U.S. faculty and professionals who will travel to some 140countries during this academic year. He will be conductingresearch and lecturing on aviation safety in Göttingen,Germany.

The Fulbright program was established in 1946 in order to build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries.Recipients of the award are selected annually basedupon their academic and professional achievementsas well as leadership skills demonstrated in theirrespective fields.

A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1975,Nelson’s research includes aircraft stability andcontrol, fluid mechanics, and aerodynamics.

Nelson ReceivesFulbright ScholarAward

Robert C. Nelson

Arvind Varma, the Arthur J. Schmitt Professor ofChemical Engineering, has been elected to serve asorganizer and chair of thenext biennial InternationalSymposium on Chemical

Engineering. Themed “From Molecular to Product and ProcessEngineering,” the symposium will be held in Chicago in June2004. He also recently delivered the endowed Paul C. WilberLecture, titled “Combustion Synthesis of Advanced Materials,”to the Department of Chemical Engineering at Rice University and chaired the American Society for Engineering Educationcommittee to select the recipient of the 2002Chemical Engineering Lectureship Award.

A faculty member since 1975, Varma also serves as director of the Center for MolecularlyEngineered Materials. His research expertise andinterests deal with the combustion synthesis ofadvanced materials, inorganic membranes and reac-tors, and chemical and catalytic reaction engineer-ing. He is the coauthor and editor of five books.

Varma Selected to ChairInternationalSymposium

Arvind Varma

Yahya C. Kurama, assistant professor of civil engineering and geological sciences, along with graduate student Michael Allen,received the Precast/Prestressed

Concrete Institute (PCI) Martin P. Korn Award for bestresearch and design paper published in the PCIJournal during 2002. Their paper, which was titled“Design of Rectangular Openings in Precast Wallsunder Combined Vertical and Lateral Loads,” considered the effects of opening length, openingheight, wall length, and initial stress from an event such as an earthquake on unbounded, post-tensioned precast concrete walls, and a design approach addressing lateral and vertical loads was proposed.

Kurama joined the faculty in 1998. His researchinterests include concrete structures, steel/concrete hybrid and composite structures, and earthquake engineering andstructural dynamics. In addition to his teaching duties, he isthe director of the Structural Systems Laboratory and the director of graduate studies for the department.

KuramaReceivesKorn Award

Yahya C. Kurama

Martin Haenggi, assistant professor of electrical engineering, has received a Junior Faculty EnhancementAward from Oak Ridge AssociatedUniversities (ORAU), a private, nonprofit

corporation consisting of 86 doctoral-granting colleges and universities. ORAU grants, which are matched by individualuniversities, are awarded annually to faculty members at participating institutions in the early stages of their careers.

A faculty member since 2000, Haenggi is also a member ofthe Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, a reviewer

for several international journals, andcoauthor of the book “Cellular NeuralNetworks: Analysis, Design, andOptimization.” His research interestsinclude wireless communications, net-works, and nonlinear dynamics.

Haenggi ReceivesJunior FacultyAward

Martin Haenggi

Raymond M. Brach has been named professoremeritus. A member of the Department ofAerospace and Mechanical Engineering since 1965,Brach’s areas of expertise encompass engineering

mechanics, dynamics, vibrations, acoustics, engineering design,impact theory, and the application of statistics. His currentresearch includes vehicle dynamics with particular application

to crashes and accident reconstruction.In fact, he is coauthoring a book enti-tled “Vehicle Accident Analysis andReconstruction.” Brach is alsoresearching the dynamics of microparti-cles as they attach to and are removedfrom surfaces with applications to fil-tration, spray coating, and the environ-mental problems of fine particles.

Brach NamedEmeritus

Raymond M. Brach

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Aerospace and Mechanical EngineeringScott C. Morris, assistant professor

Civil Engineering and Geological SciencesLynn A. Salvati,

Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor

Wilasa Vichit-Vadakan,Clare Boothe Luce Assistant Professor

Computer Science and EngineeringSurendar Chandra, assistant professorMaria K. Michael, assistant professor

Electrical EngineeringNicholas Laneman, assistant professor

Meet the New Faculty

As part of a$300,000 GeneralElectric Fund grantto the University in sup-port of the developmentof innovative, interdisci-plinary curricula andteaching methods, three

undergraduate learning modules were developed for the 2001-02 aca-demic year. Completing the requirements for the grant, a second setof projects is being developed for 2002-03. Each module will providestudents with interactive experiences that highlight the multidiscipli-nary nature of engineering and better prepare them for careers in thefield. The modules that are being developed this year include:

Remote Sensing and Data Acquisition Using a Microprocessor-based System: Microcontrollers are traditionally used as a means ofcontrol, i.e., controlling a robot or the mixing of chemicals in accu-rate proportions. The focus of this module is for students to learnhow to use microcontrollers for data acquisition. This is especiallyimportant since many computer controlled systems can only functionif they have good data. Through this module students will explore the data acquisition process and learn how to analyze data and draw meaningful conclusions. Initially designed for aerospace and mechanical engineering students, the module will eventually be adapted for students in thedepartments of electrical engi-neering and computer scienceand engineering.

Patrick F. Dunn, professorof aerospace and mechanicalengineering; Jay B.Brockman, associate profes-sor of computer science andengineering; Gregory L.Snider, associate professor ofelectrical engineering; andgraduate student Thomas R.Szarek are developing thismodule.

Building CompleteAutonomous Robots: Thedevelopment of an autonomousrobot involves mechanical,electrical, and computer engineering, as well as hard-ware and software. Integratingthese disciplines is the focusof this three-in-one module. It is designed so that students will beable to rely on the functional implementations of the other disciplines— a means of navigation/robotics, a control architecture/ artificialintelligence, and a perceptual system/vision — which are being prepared by faculty and will be stored in the Engineering LearningCenter. The module will allow students to experiment with a robot at various stages of its development as a complete system while also exploring the variety of tasks which can be assigned to the mechanism.

Alan P. Bowling, assistant professor of aerospace and mechanicalengineering; Patrick J. Flynn, associate professor of computer sci-ence and engineering; and Matthias J. Scheutz, assistant professorof computer science and engineering, are collaborating to create themodule on autonomous robots.

Satellite Communications: The goal of this module is to create a bidirectional — satellite-earth — communication link that will provide hands-on activities for undergraduates in the electrical engineering and aerospace and mechanical engineering departments.Although geared toward students taking courses in electromagneticfields and waves, communications systems, and orbital mechanics,any undergraduate using the module will learn how to map antennapatterns and take field measurements. He or she will also gain practical experience in developing communication link budgets and estimating orbital elements from acquired signal parameters.

Professors Eric J. Jumper, aerospace and mechanical engineering,and Thomas E. Fuja, electrical engineering, are working to developthe satellite communications module.

Second Phase ofGE LearningExcellenceProjects Funded

Students from the departments ofaerospace and mechanical engineeringand computer science and engineeringwill be able to specify functions withinthe autonomous robot moduleaccording to their particular discipline.The six-legged mechanism shown herein the Engineering Learning Center isone of the robots they will be using.

Thomas J. Mueller, the Roth-GibsonProfessor of Aerospace and MechanicalEngineering, has been elected to the gradeof fellow in the Royal Aeronautical Society

of London. Cited for his “outstanding contributions to the aero-nautical sciences,” Mueller is the first member of the NotreDame faculty to be elected a fellow in the Society. The Societywas founded in 1866 to further the science of aeronautics.Today, it is comprised of 18,000 members from more than 100countries.

A member of the Notre Dame facultysince 1965, Mueller began his research inlow Reynolds number aerodynamics, withapplications to the design of small aircrafttraveling at low speeds, in 1976. Thesestudies, which were funded by the Office of Naval Research, the Naval ResearchLaboratory, and NASA’s Langley ResearchCenter, produced results which led to animproved understanding of the complexflow phenomena present at low Reynolds

numbers, where the aerodynamic performance of wings deterio-rates because of flow separation.

This work also led to improved design methods forunmanned air vehicles with wing spans less than 20 ft. that fly at low altitudes and less than 60 m.p.h. Unmanned vehiclesperform a variety of tasks for military and civilian purposes.During the past several years, Mueller has been studying the aerodynamics of smaller vehicles, micro-air-vehicles with maximum dimensions of six inches. He is a leadingresearcher in this area and has hosted three international conferences atNotre Dame on the subjectof low Reynoldsnumber aerodynamics.

Mueller NamedRAeS Fellow

Thomas J. Mueller

edit

or’s

note

:

Comments, suggestions, and news about student oralumni achievements, honors, etc. are always welcome.To submit materials send hard copy or an e-mail to:

EditorEngineering Graphics & Publications357-B Fitzpatrick HallNotre Dame, IN 46556-5637

e-mail: nwelding@nd.edu

Mueller and students in the Department of Aerospace andMechanical Engineering have been studying the aerodynamics ofmicro-air-vehicles, aircraft with wingspans of six inches or less, forsome time. The micro-air-vehicle shown here was designed andtested by students Gabriel Torres, Michael Burgart, Chiara Kruse,and Jason Miller.

14

Two U.S. Air Force F-16fighter jets piloted byNotre Dame alumni flew

over the Notre Dame stadium to signal the start of the September 14football game between the Fighting Irish and the University ofMichigan Wolverines. Two of the four participating pilots were engi-neering alumni. Captain MarcD’Auteuil (’93, AME) and MajorDudley Kelsey (’86, AME),along with Captain Pat Hundand Major Tom Stewart, arebased at Luke Air Force Basenear Phoenix.

One leg of a cross-countrytraining mission, the flyby wasalso part of the national obser-vance of POW/MIA Day,September 20, 2002.

Since 1979, POW/MIA Dayhas honored repatriatedsoldiers and those still missingor unaccounted for duringAmerican wars abroad. In addition to the on-campus flyby,

ceremonies wereheld on military

installations andvessels, with nation-

al veterans and civicorganizations, at statecapitols, schools,churches, and at police

and fire departmentsthroughout the United States

and around the world.

After participating in the flyby at the start of the game, NotreDame alumni Tom Stewart, topleft, Dudley Kelsey, top right, Pat Hund, bottom left, and MarcD’Auteuil were able to enjoy theSeptember 14 contest betweenNotre Dame and the University of Michigan. D’Auteuil and Kelseyare graduates of the Departmentof Aerospace and MechanicalEngineering.

Even after they retire engi-neering faculty members stillteach and are still acknowledgedfor their accomplishments, inside

and outside of the classroom. Professor Emeritus Edward W.Jerger was named Health Nut of the Month by the Sun City HiltonHead Community Association. A faculty member in the Department ofAerospace and Mechanical Engineering for 44 years, Jerger teachescourses at the CreativeRetirement Center in Sun Cityand is a member of the WoodWorker’s Guild and theComputer Club. The Health Nutof the Month Award was pre-sented to Jerger this summer in recognition of his fitnesswalking accomplishments andsimilar achievements duringlocal and state 1.5K and 5Krace walks, the most recent of which garnered him a silvermedal in the 1.5K race walk at the South Carolina SeniorSports Classic in Florence, S.C.

While at the University, Jerger taught thermodynamics and served as a department chair and an associate dean. He also taught a course on engineering and technology in the global economy. Jerger, along with John W. Lucey, associate professor of aerospace and mechanical engineering, started the College’s summer program in London in 1988.

Active EmeritusReceives Health Award

Engineering students who attended the University’s summer session in London were

guests of GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) at Farnborough International 2002, which ran from

July 22 through July 28. They were part of a visitor’s program to promote the aerospace

industry to future engineers.

“It was great to have the Notre Dame students as our guests at Farnborough,” said

Rick Stanley, general manager of GE’s CF6 engine program and Notre Dame alumnus. “It

was an opportunity for the students to attend one of the world’s most recognized aero-

space events and see firsthand how classroom work is applied to real-life applications.”

While at the show, students visited GEAE’s exhibit and chalet and were able to wit-

ness several GE-powered aircraft in action, including the CF34-powered EMBRAER 170

regional jet and the F110-powered F-16 fighter. The students also had the opportunity to

speak with GE leaders about GEAE products, their design, and in-service capabilities.

“We hope this experience will further their interest in aviation and contribute to

their engineering education,” said Stanley. “There really is no better place to see

commercial, military, and business aircraft in action, and we enjoyed having them at

Farnborough.”

GEAE is the world’s largest manufacturer of jet engines for commercial and military

aircraft. And, the company often recruits at Notre Dame, interns and full-time

employees alike. The air show is just one example of GEAE’s commitment to engineering

education. Over the years the company has hosted a number of engineering education

programs, the most recent of which was a series of luncheons for Notre Dame interns

featuring GEAE executives and recent

University graduates who shared their

experiences in engineering with the

students.

For more information on GEAE

visit, http://www.geae.com. To learn

more about GE careers, visit

http://www.gecareers.com/notredame.

Edward W. Jerger

Rick Stanley (’80, AME) escorted NotreDame students through the GE AircraftEngines (GEAE) exhibit at the 2002Farnborough International Air Show. He andseveral GEAE executives and Notre Damealumni — including Tom Brisken (’71, AME),Tom Wygle (’81, AME), and Ron Hutter (’85,AME) — hosted the group during their tour of the show. Organized by the Society ofBritish Aerospace Companies, FarnboroughInternational is one of the largest air showsin the world. This year the aerospaceexhibition and flying display, which is heldbiennially, hosted 1,260 exhibitors from 32 countries. Attendance of the event,including the five trade and two public days,exceeded 290,000.

Notre Dame Pilots“Buzz” Stadium

When Joe Longo Jr., a 1984 gradu-ate of the Department of ElectricalEngineering, was installed as presi-dent of Longo Industries, an electro-mechanical equipment firm inWharton, N.J., he was stepping intosome very big shoes ... his father’s andhis grandfather’s.

John Longo founded LongoIndustries in the basement of hisMorristown, N.J., home in 1945.Within a year his 19-year-old son, Joe,started working at the company.

Over the years as the companygrew, it expanded into new areas.Traditional activities included rewind-ing motors and generators and designing power delivery and relatedsystems. Today, Longo Industries alsoinstalls and services solid-state VFDs,and it has ventured into the field ofpredictive maintenance.

Longo Jr. became president of thecompany on his 40th birthday, some-thing he’d been carefully preparing forover the years. Recalling his days atthe University, he remembers the many nights he spent as a teachingassistant correcting papers for Professor Arthur J. Quigley’s electro-mechanical devices course.

After he graduated from Notre Dame, he went to work for GeneralElectric in the company’s technical marketing program. He joined LongoIndustries in 1986, working as a customer service representative, plantmanager, and later as vice president of operations.

As president of Longo Industries, Longo Jr. finds himself in the role ofexpanding the business into new areas. Why? Because “a business mustexpand and revise its products if it expects to last many decades” or gen-erations. According to Longo Sr., “The business has never been run solelyfor profit or personal gain but for the establishment of a family successioninto several generations.”

Another reason Longo Industries is constantly looking for ways to better itself, says Longo Jr., is that “Longo deals with people that havebeen customers for 30 or 40 years. ... so you have to live up to the samestandards year in and year out. Our associates are just as important.Even with 130 people, Longo Industries is still a family business. We’vetried to maintain that family business environment.”

Will Longo Industries stay in the family for another generation? “Ifthey [his children] want to do it, they’re welcome to,” says Longo Jr.“They’re going to have to make their own decisions.” Whatever theydecide, Longo Industries will be waiting, a healthy operation with brightprospects.

Editor’s Note: This story was provided by Tom Gibson, the publisherand editor of Progressive Engineer with assistance from Longo Industries.Progressive Engineer is an on-line magazine covering all disciplines ofengineering. It features profiles of engineers and stories on projects thatdetail the accomplishments of engineers from a human perspective. Toview the magazine, visit http://www.ProgressiveEngineer.com.

Photos were provided courtesy of Longo Industries. 15

Gerald M. Belian, P.E., (’62, CEGEOS) received the 2002 SteinmanAward from the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers. Belian isvice president and principal at Soil and Materials Engineers, Inc., inPlymouth, Mich., and serves on the board of directors for the NotreDame Club of Detroit.

Jose H. Bedoya (’78, AME) was elected an independent director ofthe SurModics, Inc., board. SurModics is a leading provider of surfacemodification coatings for medical devices. Bedoya is currently presidentof Otologics LLC, a Colorado-based technology company he founded todevelop implantable devices for the hearing-impaired.

Alan Bonn, P.E., (’65, AME) has joined the Weeks Group, Inc., ofMelbourne, Fla. He will manage the company’s technology practice.

Jeffrey M. Brennan (’88, AME) was named vice president of theCommercial Software Products business unit of Altair Engineering, aleading provider of high-end, open CAE software solutions for modeling,visualization, optimization, and process automation. Brennan joinedAltair in 1992. His previous title was director of commercial software.

Bradley Pattelli (’88, EE) was appointed to the new corporate boardof Dade Behring, a leading clinical diagnostic company. Pattelli is currently a director with Angelo, Gordon & Co.

Diane L. Peters, P.E., (’93, AME) was presented with theDistinguished New Engineer Award from the Society of WomenEngineers at the annual meeting in October 2002. Peters is a projectengineer at Western Printing Machinery Company in Schiller Park, Ill.

Jill Reinauer (’98, CSE) is working as a software test engineer atMicrosoft’s Seattle office. She is also pursuing a master’s degreethrough the University of Washington’s Professional Master’s Programin Computer Science & Engineering.

Barbara Stefl, P.E., (’83, CHEG) has been named North Americanbusiness director for Cognis, an AgroSolutions business unit. Shejoined Cognis in 1997 with a research and development background,including 12 years with Union Carbide.

Patrick Toole (’84, EE), an 18-year veteran at the IBM Corporation,will now lead a 1,000-person design services unit for the company. Theunit will provide design, test, certification, manufacturing, and prototyp-ing services to all sectors of the company, beginning with the communi-cations, consumer electronics, and networking units. Toole’s previousposition with IBM was vice president for worldwide sales and servicesin the company’s Technology Group.

Alumni Updates

Joe Longo Sr., chairman ofLongo Industries, left, and JoeLongo Jr., president, representthree generations of engineeringknow-how and making qualitycount. “Long ago,” says LongoSr., “we determined that Longoshould be engineering driven. Itadds cost to the process, butwe feel the value it produces iswell worth it for our customers.”More than 15 percent of thecompany’s 130 employees areengineers. In addition, Longo Sr.holds a degree in electricalengineering from Newark Collegeof Engineering, now New JerseyInstitute of Technology. His sonreceived a bachelor’s degree inelectrical engineering from NotreDame in 1984. Recently, inaddition to his duties aspresident and father to thefourth generation of Longos, Longo Jr. attended a familysuccession program at theHarvard Graduate BusinessSchool.

The evidence is in. Personal contact from alumni dramatically increases

the University’s chances of enrolling accepted students. It makes perfect

sense; the people who do the best job of conveying the unique spirit of

Notre Dame — elements such as scholarship, community, service, and

faith — are those who have already experienced Notre Dame. No one

can describe the opportunities available to engineering undergraduates

or better list the benefits of a Notre Dame engineering education than

engineering alumni. That’s why the College of Engineering is asking

for your assistance in its efforts to enroll a motivated, academically

talented first-year class.

Specifically, we’re looking for volunteers to contact admitted

students in February, after the early admission candidates have received

their letters of acceptance from the University, and in April, when the

regular admission candidates are notified.

Since we expect to enroll 400 engineering intents in fall 2003,

we’d like to have 400 volunteers from around the country, from

every state and major metropolitan area. For more information

or to volunteer, contact Cathy Pieronek at (574) 631-4385 or

via e-mail at pieronek.1@nd.edu.

AlumniAre Notre Dame’s Best Representatives

Longo Industries can rebuildgenerators, motors, and pumps, up to 30 tons in their 70,000-sq.-ft.Wharton facility. Serving much of thenortheastern portion of the country,Longo Industries rebuilds and sellselectrical and mechanical equipmentand design systems for utility,commercial, institutional, andindustrial applications. A subsidiary ofLongo Industries, Longo EngineeredSystems Company specializes inturnkey projects such as installingvariable-frequency drives for pumpingand HVAC applications; transformer,switchgear, circuit breakers, andgenerator retrofitting; and designingpower systems and controls formotors, generators, pumps, and fans.

Longo Industries:A Family Affair

Reunion ’03 is scheduled for June 5-8, 2003. For more information, visit

http://alumni.nd.edu/reunion/reunion2003.html.

Nonprofit Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Notre Dame, Indiana

Permit No. 10

University of Notre Dame

College of Engineering

Notre Dame, IN 46556-5637

Volume 29, Number 1, Fall/Winter 2002-03

Editor: Nina Welding

Graphics: Joanne Birdsell, Marty Schalm

Contact Engineering Graphics at nwelding@nd.edu

b a c k p a g et

he

Any executive looking at the Capstone®Business Simulation software (CAPSIM)used by undergraduates in the Advanced Topics inIntegrated Engineering and Business Practice course

would be impressed. It’s more than a sophisticated computer game, although stu-dents are as enthusiastic about it as they are about many of the most popular videogames available today. Perhaps that’s why more than 200 universities and corpora-tions use the program in executive education and management training sessions.

CAPSIM offers student teams the opportunity to run their own $100-million companies risk-free. They learn about a company’s inner workings — how individual departments integrate into the whole corporation — and how to developan effective business strategy. They become familiar with the forces of marketdemand, the fickle nature of customer confidence and buying criteria, and the pressure that can be applied to the bottom line of a corporation by competing product lines. The beauty of CAPSIM is that students can see in a matter of seconds the impact their decisions may have on their “company’s” position in

the marketplace and its profitability.“Knowing the responsibilities and major

functions of a company is the basic level of understanding that we cover in the first course of the pro-gram,” says Robert M. Dunn, director for the integrated engineering and business practice curriculum.“The simulation used in the second course takes students to the next level where they experience thedynamic interactions of a company’s operations. Through the simulation students experience ‘real’ company situations such as running out of cash, pricing too low for profitability, and having the wrongproducts for the market. Student reaction to both courses has been incredible. It excites me as theirinstructor. I also enjoy it when students return from an interview to tell me about their experiencesspeaking with a manager or interviewer about how a specific company performed during the previousquarter. That type of conversation — coming from an engineering student — is a real eye-opener for a prospective employer.”

Another benefit of the program is that it encourages teamwork. Mimicking the roles of executives,students find themselves filling different positions on their teams. For example, one student might function as the product manager and another one a competitive intelligence officer. A third student might act as the manager responsible for research and development, marketing, finance, and humanresources. The point is students learn to work together in a variety of ways. They learn to assess a multitude of situations and respect the animated team discussions that ultimately lead to more informeddecisions. According to Dunn, team meetings to discuss all the elements of a CAPSIM run and to makedecisions typically last three hours. The simulation is run every week for a total of eight weeks, andeach week corresponds to a year’s worth of business. So, at the end of each week, teams receive an “annual report” describing the performance of the company. The most successful team grew its “company” from a $100-million to a $300-million operation.

The Business Sideof Engineering

Students in the Integrated Engineering and Business Fundamentalscourse, left to right, Meghan Roe, Katie Remenih, and Liesa Bednar,get a preview of the Capstone® Business Simulation software fromRobert M. Dunn, director of the integrated engineering and businesspractice curriculum. The program, typically used in the AdvancedTopics in Integrated Engineering and Business Practice course,provides a realistic environment in which groups of students cansimulate their own company from research and development,marketing, and production schedules to cash flow, stock price, and quality control issues.

The Integrated Engineering and Business Fundamentalscourse introduces students to income statements andbalance sheets, as well as the role and responsibility of marketing, procurement, finance, and human resourcesin a corporation. In addition to classroom instruction, thecourse features teleconferences with industry executives,guest speakers who are professional engineers andmanagers, corporate field trips, and student presentations.