Me Newsletter Fall Winter 2010 11

8/7/2019 Me Newsletter Fall Winter 2010 11

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Mechanical Engineering DepartmentCOLLEGE OF ENGINEERINGUNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MAD

MEMEA newsletter for alumni, students and friends of the ME department

www.engr.wisc.edu/me

FALL / WINTER 2010-11

merican naval ships usually conjureimages of aircraft carriers or otherlarge vesselsfar out to sea. TheUSS

Freedom (LCS 1), however, is able to enter wateras shallow as 14 feet, giving sailors unprecedented access to regions where the U.S. military ispresent, such as the Persian Gulf.

trio of mechanical engineering professors has launched a newhigh-performance computing center. With a broad range ofindustrial and research partnerships, the center will leverage the

capabilities of a unique computer cluster and more generally expand accessto and applications for supercomputing resources.

The Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Center will combine the expertiseof Bernard A. and Frances M. Weideman Professor Vadim Shapiro,Associate Professor Krishnan Suresh and Assistant Professor Dan Negrut.

Modeling essentially means reducing a problem, such as the mobility ofa vehicle or robot, to a seriesof equations. Simulation is theprocess of using a computer tosolve these equations, which are too complex to do by hand. Visualizationis turning the solution data into usable information via animations or graphs.

The heart of the center is a computer cluster composed of 5,760 scalar processors split across24 graphics processing units (GPUs). Negrut, who is the current center director, compares theGPUs to a group of jugglers. This is like 5,760 jugglers split into 24 groups of 240, he explains.For them to work together, you have to have some type of protocol and understand whos passingthe sticksor datato whom, how often and how many, he says.

A

Friction stir welding fuses engineering research and Wisconsin industry

If the team can establish a protocol to allow all 24 GPUs to work in tandem, the resultwill be tremendous computational power.The cluster handles very complex problems,such as determining

Negrut (center) with students Andrew Seidl (left) and Hammad Mazhar.

(Continued on back page)

In addition to its extreme shallow-waterabilities, theFreedom , which was built by theWisconsin shipyard Marinette Marine, isunique in another way: Its the rst naval vessel to substantially include friction stir-weldedcomponents. The components, which directlycontribute to theFreedoms stealth and speedcapabilities, came from Brook eld, Wisconsin-

based Friction Stir Link Inc. (FSL), which hasclose ties to the College of Engineering.

Those ties include a research partnershipwith a team of mechanical engineering facultyand students that is yielding insight into thefriction stir-welding process. Those insightshave broad applications for transportation andmanufacturing companies, both in Wisconsinand beyond.

The connection between UW-Madisonand FSL started in the 1970s, when FSLvice president of technology John Hinrichs (Continued on page 4)

(who earned a masters degree in metallurgical engineering from UW-Madison in 1964)worked at A.O. Smith Corporation, which hadpartnered with college faculty on robotics-related research. Hinrichs collaborated closelywith then-student Neil Duf e, who went on tobecome an ME professor.In the mid-1990s, oneof Duf es students, Chris Smith, worked on

advanced robotics with Hinrichs and eventualljoined A.O. Smith after graduating with amasters in mechanical engineering in 1995.

Smith is now the FSL vice president ofengineering and operations. Shortly afterstarting at A.O. Smith, he and Hinrichsdeveloped techniques for robots to performfriction stir welding. In 2001, the pair foundedFSL, which is the only company in the worldthat uses standard industrial robots for frictionstir welding.

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Computers and people work in parallel at new center


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very fall semester, the departmenthosts and participates in tworelatively large events, Engineers

Day and Scholarship Night. On EngineersDay, we honor former students that haveexcelled in their careers, recognizing theircontributions to the engineering profession,the college and society as a whole. This year,ME alumni Chad Sorenson and Show-ChungHo were presented with the Early CareerAward and the Distinguished AchievementAward, respectively, at the Engineers Day

E banquet held in October. As you read about thehighlights of their careers on p. 3, please joinme in congratulating these outstanding alumni.Alternatively, we honor our current ME

students on Scholarship Night. This yearthe department awarded $324,000 to 139undergraduates, which is roughly 27 percentof our enrollment. More than 200 students,family, friends and donors attended the awardsceremony in September. This was followed bya reception where many award recipients hadthe opportunity to meet with their respective

Chairs Message Phone: 608/262-5745 Fax: 608/265-2316 [email protected]

Michael D. Graham CHAIRS MESSAGE

Roxann Engelstad

www.engr.wisc.edu/me

3065 Mechanical Engineering Bldg.1513 University Ave.Madison, WI 53706

uring a long bike ride, its not unusual for cyclists to experience hand or ngernumbness, a very common condition known as cyclists palsy. The condition rangesfrom mild tingling to, sometimes, long-term nerve damage and hand muscle atrophy

over time.A team of UW-Madison engineers has scienti cally measured hand pressure during cycling

and studied potential solutions to reduce that pressure, which can cause problems like cyclistspalsy, a condition that Wisconsin-based Trek Bicycle Corporation estimates affects as much as70 percent of cyclists. Trek has incorporated the UW-Madison ndings into the design of a newBontrager cycling glove that it will release this winter.

Associate Professors Heidi-Lynn Ploeg and Darryl Thelen led theUW-Madison team, which studied the effects of seven glove (or noglove) types and three hand positions on the hands of 36 experiencedcyclists. Ploeg and Thelen found that much of the pressure on cyclistshands is concentrated over the ulnar nerve and gloves with proper pad-ding density, thickness and placement are able to reduce pressure over

this region of the hand. Also, the team found certain hand positions can alleviate pressure, suchas holding the part of the brake attached to the handlebars, a position known as hoods.

The glove project, which began in fall 2008, is the second time Ploeg and Trek have partnered tounderstand how cyclists bodies interact with bikes. Prior to the glove study, Ploeg and Trek studiedhow bike saddle design affects pressure. That project determined saddle design should be basedona riders size and sex, and Trek introduced new ergonomic products based on the research.When Trek decided to update its glove line, it quickly decided to again approach UW-Madison.There are a lot of claims out there about cycling gloves. We wanted to see what was real, saysTreks Bontrager product manager Jennifer Retzlaff. Based on the success Trek had with UWduring the saddle project, we decided to go ahead with a similar process so we would have hardscienti c evidence that we were doing the right thing for cyclists.

The UW-Madison team worked with a German-based company, novel gmbh, to nd a pressuremat that was the right size and could be worn under a glove while a subject rode a bike. Theteam also performed laser scanning to relate the measurements from the mats more than200 sensors to the subjects hand anatomy. This determined that pressure concentrations werelocated over the three muscles below the pinky nger that make up the hypothenar region ofthe hand, which is the source of cyclists palsy.

Ploeg, a biomechanics expert and an avid cyclist, says partnering with Trek was a uniqueopportunity to look at the potential of cycling research. Cycling is a really accessible activity for

Engineersteam up with Trek for cycling research

Dpeople. Itssomething a

lot of people cando and could use

to improve theirhealth, she says.

Cycling also is a relativelysimple model for biomechanical analysis.Cycling is repetitive and predictable, so thereare some basic questions you can ask abouthuman motion and neuromuscular controlof motion by using cycling as a model,Ploeg says.

For Trek, the bene ts of gaining a scienti cunderstanding of hand pressure outweighedthe risk that the study could have determinedcycling gloves dont actually make a differencWe approached it from a point of truly tryingto learn what happens at the intersection of thehand and the bike, says Trek designer RyanGallagher.

Bontrager brand manager Tom Kue er saysthe study evokes Treks Midwest roots. Werea Wisconsin company, and one of our corecompany values is to have unyielding integrityand honesty in everything we do. Having ascienti c understanding of how glove designaffects pressure on a cyclists hands allows usto create better products, he says.

In addition to Ploeg and Thelen, theUW-Madison team included School ofMedicine and Public Health Clinical AssistantProfessor Mark Timmerman, ME PhD studentJosh Slane, undergraduate students CaitlynCollins and Yvonne Schumacher, and MadisonMemorial High School student Jane Lee.

donors. A listing of the individual scholarshipand recipients can be found on p. 7, and a slidshow of the awards ceremony can be found awww.engr.wisc.edu/me/. On behalf of the entfaculty, I want to sincerely thank our alumni,family of alumni, and friends of the departmefor their generosity in supporting our under-graduate students through this program.

Finally, I would like to encourage our alumto attend the upcoming events in the springsemester, speci cally our 3rd Annual Under-graduate Research and Design Symposium,which will be held in April. Please watch theME website for details on the date and locatioThank you for your continued support of theDepartment of Mechanical Engineering.

Thelen Ploeg


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had Sorenson, a passionate innovator and entrepreneurwho converts smart ideas into real products, has receivednumerous innovation and business planning awards, holds

two U.S. patents, and has an active passion for teaching collegestudents about new product development and entrepreneurship.

Born in Blaine, Minnesota, Sorenson now resides in Oregon,Wisconsin. He earned bachelors and masters degrees in mechanicalengineering and a masters degree in business administration fromUW-Madison. By 2002, he had begun his rst of three businesses.

Sorenson founded Fluent Systems, an agricultural technologycompany based on his invention, a wireless uid level monitoringsystem for fertilizer application. He managed all stages of company

development from formation throughproduct development, manufacturingscale-up, and market introduction.

Fluent Systems founding invention,the TankMate, placed rst in both theUW-Madison Schoofs Prize for Creativityand the Tong Prototype Prize and second inthe G. Steven Burrill Technology BusinessPlan competitions. Sorenson sold Fluentafter 18 months for $1.5 million to RavenIndustries, a public corporation involved inagricultural ow control technologies.

In 2004, Sorenson started MendotaResearch, a new-product consulting rm.With Bose Corporation as an anchor client,the company focused its market researchand technology assessments on active

suspension systems for the trucking and agriculture industries anddeveloped business plans and strategies for other new ventures.

In 2005, Sorenson and his business partners created Sologear LLC,after inventing the FlameDisk, an eco-friendly, non-charcoal grilling fuelthat emits 92 to 99 percent fewer known air pollutants than charcoal.He is growing his latest business with a new product, which has beenreleased recently.

Sorenson also is active in the education community at UW-Madison.He has served as a judge for the UW-Madison Innovation Dayscompetitions and now teaches a seminar series on creativity, innovationand entrepreneurship.

C had M.S orenSon

BSME 99, MSME 01Early-Career Achievement

Award Recipient

C

n 1969, Show-Chung Ho enrolled as a PhD candidate atthe Appleton Institute of Paper Chemistry; however, shortlythereafter, he instead decided to enter the paper industry

as an entry-level engineer to help his family business, Yuen Foong YuPaper Manufacturing (YFY), in Taiwan.

He became chairman and chief executive of cer of YFY in 1972.Under Hos administration, YFY has become the leading papercompany in Taiwan and has gained a high-quality reputation in thegreater China region. In 1992, YFY established Prime View Internationthe rst thin- lm transistor company in Taiwan. Hos interest in e-paptechnology developments led YFY to be one of the few pulp and papefactories that can manufacture no-carbon-required paper and capsule ink. In 2009,with its joint venture with the AmazonKindle, YFY embarked on its transition frompaper-maker to e-paper-maker.

Ho also inherited Taiwans rst privatebank from his father, Chuan Ho, in 1986.After 63 years of development, the business,SinoPac Financial Holdings Co., hasbecome the third largest nancial holdingsorganization in Taiwan. As chairman, Hohas expanded its scale to 34 subsidiaries,including banking, securities, venturecapital, and leasing, to name a few.

Ho received a bachelors degree inmechanical engineering from NationalCheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan,in 1968, and a masters in mechanical engineering at UW-Madison in1969. He has been af liated with many organizations: From 1985 to1991, he was director of the Pulp and Paper Technical Association ofTaiwan. In 1987, Ho became the rst president of National Cheng-Ku

University Alumni Association of Taipei. He received the EisenhowerFellowship in 1990 and that year was alsoone of the founding membersof the Epoch Foundation, an organizationestablished to introduce theMassachusetts Institute of Technology to Asia. From 2006-2009, Howas director of the Taiwan Biotech Association, which unites memberin industry and academia to build connections worldwide.

In 1974, Ho married Sing-Ju Chang, and the couple founded Hsin-YiOrganization three years later to research and promote preschooleducation. Today the organization bene ts more than 80,000 families bydistributing gifts and reading materials. Hsin-Yi Organization is also amajor donor to the UW-Madison mechanical engineering building proje

Ho has two children, Felix and Stephanie, and four grandchildren.

MSME 69Distinguished Achievement

Award Recipient

I

S how -C hungH o

Ho (right) with ME chair Roxann Engelstad, Dean Paul Peercy and Daisy Wu, wife of the late Professor Sam Wu, who was honored in April with a lecture hall dedicated in his name. Ho was a signi cant supporter of the lecture hall.

At Engineers Day, held Oct. 14, eightUW-Madison engineering alumni wererecognized for their signi cant career

achievements. Two ME alumni wereamong them. Chad M. Sorensonreceived the Early-Career AchievementAward and Show-Chung Ho receiveda Distinguished Achievement Award .

ME hosted a special reception for the pair on Oct. 7 .

ME alums honored


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A custom friction stir-weld machine at Friction Stir Link.

The connection to UW-Madison resurfaced in 2003 when Duf eintroduced Smith and Hinrichs to Associate Professor Frank Pfefferkorn,who now leads a team including Duf e, Professor Nicola Ferrier andAssistant Professor Michael Zinn in studying the fundamental sciencebehind friction stir welding and the robotics used in the process. The

team collaborates with FSL to better understand the production realitiesof developing and implementing friction stir-welding technologies. Itreally is a team effort, Hinrichs says. Its exciting to be involved in this.

Friction stir welding is an alternative to traditional fusion-weldingtechniques, where metals are heated to their melting point and fuse togetherasthey cool and re-harden. Instead, friction stir welding is a solid-statewelding technique, where thousands of pounds of pressure are applied via arobotic tool to stir metals close to, but below, their melting point. The pressureand heat create atomic-level contact between the metals, and they form new bonds,or weld, without melting. This isnt newpeople have done this since the rst ironsmithsfolded metal over and over again and hammered it together to make swords, says Pfefferkorn.The idea is to apply temperature and pressure to bond the metal together.

As traditional fusion-welded parts cool, the metals around the weld area contract at different

rates, which can cause signi cant structural distortions. Those distortions have to be straight-ened, and in addition to the time and cost associated with straightening, fusion-welded partsoften have weld beads protruding from the surface that must be ground down.

The lower temperatures in friction stir welding mean smaller temperature differences andthermal stresses occurring as the metals cool. Usually, the result is limited distortions in thesurrounding metal, eliminating the need for costly straightening. Additionally, friction stir weldsare smooth, meaning no weld beads form.

The lack of distortion makes friction stir welding a valuable cost- and time-saving processfor large-structure construction, such as ships, railroad cars and semi-trailer truck beds.Currently, friction stir welding is commercially viable for low melting point metals, such asaluminum and magnesium, and research is ongoing to develop processes to friction stir weldsteel and other ferrous alloys.

The UW-Madison team has demonstrated promising new methods to monitor and controlfriction stir-weld temperature. ME PhD student Axel Fehrenbacher has developed a wirelessdata acquisition system to measure the temperature exactly where the stir-weld tool touchesthe joining materials. Those measurements can be monitored to develop predictive models tocontrol the process temperature.

The UW-Madison team is also working on weld quality. Fehrenbacher and PhD studentsEdward Cole and Ted Shultz have developed experiments and process models for a weld-process control interface for people and computers. The team is studying how to allow FSLto weld together parts that may not be exactly the same size (or t-up), which could preventscrapping many expensive, large components that dont perfectly match.

Additionally, the team is studying methods to allow robots to perform friction stir weldingon site. Right now, large panels have to be friction stir-welded together by custom-engineeredmachines at FSL. The panels then are shipped for assembly at, for example, Marinette Marine.By working so closely with Friction Stir Link, weve learned what the biggest challenges arewhile using friction stir welding in actual production, says Pfefferkorn.

Friction stir-welded components are an integral part of theUSS Freedom design. Madisonnative Bruce Halverson is a quality assurance manager at Marinette Marine. The biggest reason

Friction stir welding(Continued from front page) we came to Friction StirLink wasthe limiteddistortion, which wascritical for radar signatureand weight, he says.

The smoothness offriction stir welds means

the aluminum deckhouseof the almost 400-footlongFreedom is very at,which, combined with anangular design, makes itdif cult for radar systemsto spot. (Radar waves

can pick up at surfaces onlywithin a very narrow range of degrees close to90 degrees.) This stealth capability is crucialfor theFreedom as it navigates a variety ofwater environments.

Additionally, weight is critical for littoral

(shallow-water) combat ships, and theespecially thin structure of theFreedom means traditional fusion welding would distort itterribly, says Halverson. Friction stir weldingwas a huge advancement in technology thatwas critical for us to be able to build the littorcombat ship structure.

TheFreedom completed its maidendeployment in April 2010, which, among othemissions, involved capturing drug-runnerboats carrying several tons of cocaine acrossthe Gulf of Mexico. TheFreedom can also beused to quickly deliver humanitarian aid toareas in crisis around the world.

The U.S. Navy is planning to commission 1additional littoral combat ships from MarinettMarine, which will yield a signi cant numberof jobs in Wisconsin over the next couple ofdecades. Its why I do what I do, saysPfefferkorn of working on research withreal-world applications. Next to seeing studentsgraduate and be successful, the best thing is tosee technology you work on applied in industryIts even better if its in a Wisconsin company.

Innovation is whats going to createjobs and foster industry, and if we can getcompanies in Wisconsin to implement thesetechnologies, theyll have an advantage and beable to do something others cant, he says.

Duf e Ferrier Pfefferkorn Zinn


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earing a UW-Madison faculty member talk to a crowd about theWisconsin Idea may not be unusual. However, Bob Lorenz had theopportunity to be among the rst to do so in northern Romania.

In late May, the Universitatea Stefan cel Mare Suceava (Steven the GreatUniversity-Suceava) presented Lorenz, the Mead Witter Foundation/ConsolidatedPapers Professor of Controls Engineering in mechanical engineering, with anhonorary doctorate and faculty appointment. The degree symbolizes a long-termrelationship between Lorenz and his Romanian academic colleagues, includingProfessor Adrian Graur, the university rector (the title equivalent to chancellor).By honoring such a man, Stefan cel Mare University honors itself, Graur saidin Romanian at the ceremony.

Founded in the early 1960s, Stefan cel Mare has grown into a quality researchinstitution with innovative science and engineering programs and more than14,000 students. The universitys success is related in no small part to Graurstireless efforts, according to Lorenz, who has enjoyed brainstorming with therector about courses, programs, facilities and research areas for the faculty toexplore. We have a wonderful rapport, he says.

While the honorary degree is a notable honor, its only the latest example ofLorenzs extensive network of international relationships. As co-director of theWisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) andof cer of IEEE and other professional societies, Lorenz frequently travels, and hisexperiences bene t both his local and global colleagues.

The idea of building global connections is something WEMPEC has done agood job of, and its the way we should work. These connections are a powerful

way to open the eyes of our students, he says. There are some very good ideasout there that they need to know about, and we have some very good ideas herethat we need to share.

Read more about Lorenzs international connections at www.engr.wisc.edu/ news/archive/2010/Jun15.html.

Grainger Professor of SustainableEnergyJaal Ghandhi has beennamed an SAE fellow for hisachievements and contributions

in applying optical diagnostics to studycombustion and mixing phenomena inengines. Ghandhi will be honored at the SAE2011 World Congress and Exhibition, whichwill be held April 2011 in Detroit, Michigan.

Ouweneel-Bascom ProfessorSanford Klein has been awardedthe 2010 Achievement Awardfrom the International Building

Programs Simulation Association. The awardis presented annually to those individuals

who have made outstanding contributions tobuilding energy simulation.

A series of UW-Madison summercamps, Exploration by Designis aimed at helping high schoolstudents with disabilities and their

parents understand the transition to college.The camps are organized by the MidwestAlliance, headed by ProfessorJay Martin , andemphasize possibilities for these students inscience, technology, engineering and math.Read more at www.news.wisc.edu/18292.

Bernard A. and Frances M.Weideman ProfessorVadimShapiro has received a year-long,approximately $70,000 Early-

Concept Grant for Exploratory Research fromthe National Science Foundation (NSF) tosigni cantly extend the eld of computationaldesign to new application areas. Shapiro willinvestigate dramatic technological advancesfor, initially, conserving and safely installingsculptures, with broader applications toanalyze a variety of natural and man-madestructures. Shapiro has also received a three-year, $40,000 NSF grant to extend geometricand solid modeling to con guration spacemodeling, which could lead to advances incomputational design and a new generationof computational tools.

FACULTY NEWS

With an extensive international network,Lorenz is Wisconsin Idea ambassador

Assistant ProfessorKevin Turner willreceive a 2011 outstanding young manufacturing engineer award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. The awardrecognizes manufacturing engineers under age 35 who have made exceptional contributions to manufacturing engineeringand industry. He is one of 12 recipients of the 2011 awards.

HLorenz (center) with faculty at Stefan cel Mare.


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hrough the summer and fall, the ve UW-Madison hybridvehicle teams have hosted multiple outreach events.In August, the EcoCAR, hybrid snowmobile and hybrid

Formula racecar projects were on display at the state Capitol atan event co-hosted with the American Le Mans Series. The eventemphasized the parallels between technologies and alternative fuelsbeing researched at UW-Madison and other universities and thosebeing developed by Le Mans Series manufacturers and teams.

In September, thehybrid vehicle teamchecked and in atedtires, pit-stop-style,for patrons of aparking ramp locatedadjacent to the MEbuilding. The eventwas part of an effortto raise awareness ofways to increase vehi-cle fuel ef ciency, and

students distributedtire pressure gauges,information packetsand tire-shapedcookies at the event.

The events wereconcurrent with an initiative to raise funds to endow the vehicleteams. Learn more about the teams and the Undergraduate StudentAutomotive Excellence Fund atwww.vehicles.wisc.edu/ .

T

STUDENT NEWS

A team including studentsNathan Armstrong,Matt Carlson, Nathan Ip, Sunho Baik, KennethRoggow, Fred Tsai and Jared Van Dam wasselected as a nalist in the RehabilitationEngineering Society of North America (RESNA) Student Design Competition. The studentscreated an advanced powered wheelchairsystem as part of a class taught by ProfessorJay Martin. The team was recognized at theRESNA annual conference in Las VegasJune 27-29. For more about the UW-Madisonteams project:http://bit.ly/fqpoBL.

Undergraduate studentJohn Kenney represented UW-Madison as one of 30students worldwide invited to attend theG8 University Summit in Alberta, Canada,held May 20-22, 2010. The theme of thesummit meeting was Universities andCommunities: Transition to a SustainableFuture, with a focus on sustainable health,energy and higher education. A videoabout the summit is available to view at:tinyurl.com/298bpnm.

Undergraduate studentAaron Olson is partof an interdisciplinary UW-Madison teamthat will participate in the rst NASA andNational Space Grant Foundation in atable loftcompetition, called the eXploration HabitatAcademic Innovation Challenge. During acourse led by Engineering Physics andME Adjunct Professor Fred Elder, the teamwill design and build an in atable habitat thatwill integrate with an existing NASA prototype.Read more atwww.engr.wisc.edu/news/ headlines/2010/Sep10.html.

Vehicle teams reach outto Madison community

Above: A student gives out tire-shaped cookies to raise awareness about fuel ef ciency. At right: The EcoCAR on display at the Wisconsin state Capitol.

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(Continued from front page)

Department of Mechanical Engineering1513 University Ave.

Madison, WI 53706

Send address changes and other correspondence to:

is published twice a year for alumni and friends of the UW-Madison Department of Mechanical Engineering.Editor: Sandra Knisely / Design: Phil Biebl, Engineering External RelationsPaid for with private funds.MENEWS

Modeling, Simulation & Visualization Center(Continued from front page)

which of one million bodies (such as grains of sand) collide witheach other. The cluster calculated this dynamics problem, with 15million total unknown variables, in around three minutes. The clusterhas also solved a collision detection problem with six billion contacts,approximately the number of contacts in 35 cubic feet of sand.

As the team continues to increase the number of GPUs thatcan be used in parallel (four is the current maximum), Negrutexpects that similar complex problems will be solved an orderof magnitude faster than can be done with current technologies.

Similar clusters exist at nancial institutions, and GPUcomputing is common in the oil industry and elsewhere, but theUW-Madison center is unique in its breadth of applications. Several industrial and federal research partners already are interested; National Science Foundationresearch grants support Shapiro, Suresh and Negrut, and NVIDIA donated half of the clusterhardware. Microsoft has funded educational initiatives and provided the underlying operatingsystem for the cluster. The U.S. Army; NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory; FunctionBay, asimulation company in South Korea; Mihai Anitescu of Argonne National Lab; and ProfessorAlessandro Tasora from the University of Parma, Italy, are also involved.

This broad range of partnerships expands on the interdisciplinary nature of the three foundingprofessors. Shapiro studies computer-aided design and computational geometry. Sureshfocuses on nonlinear nite element analysis, and Negrut researches computational multibodydynamicsa range of complementary topics that each rely on high-performance computing.

Were leveraging this hardware asset and trying to team up and combine our knowledgeto answer challenging problems that people in industry might have, Negrut says.

The centers outreach extends beyondindustry and other universities. Since 2008,Negrut has organized a weeklong summercamp called Promoting the ComputationalScience Initiative, or ProCSI, for under-represented high school students interestedin computational science, engineering andcollege in general. Additionally, high schoolstudents from a Madison high school haveattended lectures at UW-Madison by centerpartners, and two students worked at thecenter for a month during the summer of 2010.

Inside one of the clusters 5,760 scalar processors.

Me Newsletter Fall Winter 2010 11

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