May, 2006: Drexel University: College of Engineering: CoE Research Newsletter

Drexel University is an institution deeply committed to excellence in education, research, and service to the engineering community. Through these pages you’ll meet some of our outstanding faculty members and learn about their cutting-edge research.

Visit our site www.drexel.edu/coe/graduate/internal-fellowships.asp

to find out funding opportunities for graduate studies

- Dr. Mun Choi, Associate Dean

Research and Graduate Studies

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“NASA New Investigator” In ECE

Dr. Adam Fontecchio (Ph.D. Brown University) is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department and an Affiliated Faculty member of the Materials Science and Engineering Department. His research area is electro-optics, particularly focusing on thin films and liquid crystals. He is currently working on the project, “Lightweight Mirror with Electronically Switched Focal Point for Remote Sensing,” for which he received the NASA New Investigator award. On this project he is engaged in developing a large area thin film holographic mirror, which will have useful applications in remote sensing and optical filtering. His work also includes projects on liquid crystal alignment layers, conductive organic polymers, and carbon nanotube dispersions.

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Army Research Laboratory to Fund Over Seven Million for Advance Polymer Systems

Dr. Giuseppe Palmese (Ph.D. University of Delaware), Department Head and Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering was recently awarded a Materials Center of Excellence from the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) for a total of more than seven million dollars to be used over nine years. Drexel will work in cooperation with the ARL under the protective polymer systems thrust focusing its efforts on three main areas: synthesis of multiscale polymer structures, design of multifunctional polymers and multiscale modeling and simulation.

The main objective is to provide advancement in the field of polymer technology as it is applied to vehicle durability and lethality. The department will also focus on the development of lightweight vehicles by researching fundamental aspects of the physical and mechanical response and energy absorption of polymer materials.

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Conlee to Study at University of Tokyo
Civil, Architectural & Environmental Engineering graduate student Carolyn Conlee will be spending her summer at the University of Tokyo as part of the East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute (EAPSI) sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. EPSI provides U.S. graduate students in science and engineering the opportunity to gain research experience in Australia, China, Japan Korea or Taiwan.

The goal of the program is to develop international research relationships that will enable foreign collaboration in the future. Carolyn’s research with Professor Touhata, University of Tokyo, will include shaking table tests of model scale embankments overlying liquefiable soil; in some tests, soil will be treated with colloidal silica to mitigate liquefaction.

Carolyn’s research at Drexel University is on the mitigation of liquefaction risks at developed sites under the advisement of Dr. Patricia Gallagher.

Three GAANN Proposals Awarded
Drexel’s College of Engineering is proud to announce it has received three GAANN (Department of Education Graduate Assistantship in Areas of National Need) site awards, including:

Educating Renaissance Engineers
CAEE Department (PI: Dr. Chuck Haas, Department Head). This program offers several doctoral fellowship positions, which are aimed at redeveloping urban infrastructure and creating a new category of engineers who are capable of educating future infrastructure managers.

Drexel Research & Education in Advanced Materials
MSE Department (PI: Dr. Surya Kalidindi, Department Head). This program will provide need-based graduate fellowships in nanomaterials, biomaterials, design of materials, particulate processing and electronic and photonic materials.

Biomedical Applications in Engineering
MEM Department (PI: Dr. Mun Choi, Department Head). Due to the interdisciplinary nature of bioengineering research this fellowship spans all biomedical applications throughout the College of Engineering. Sample research areas include Medical Robotics, Multifunctional Hydrogels for Therapeutic Proteins and Nano-Tools for Sub-Cellular Delivery and Interrogation.

This is one of the highest numbers of GAANN grants among engineering colleges across the country. Drexel is offering up to 30 fellowships for American students through the GAANN program this year.

Please contact Katie Gibson, kgibson@drexel.edu for further information regarding the GAANN Fellowships.

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Students Receive NSF Graduate Fellowships

The following CoE students received 2006 National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships:

Anna Fox (faculty advisor: Dr. Adam Fontecchio),

Electrical and Computer Engineering doctoral student was recently awarded a prestigious NSF Fellowship. The research project Anna will pursue over the next few years is entitled, “Electrically Controllable Photomask for Fabrication of Nanoscale Devices.” The goal of this project is to create a computer-controlled photomask that can be reconfigured during photolithographic exposure. Anna has a B.S. in Physics from Bates College and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Columbia University. She also has an M.S. in Engineering Science from the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and four years of experience working in industry for Internet Photonics. Anna’s areas of expertise were network design, optical systems engineering and building optical telecommunications equipment. Anna is a member of the Optical Society of America as well as the Society of Women Engineers.

John Chmiola (faculty advisor: Dr. Yury Gogotsi),

Materials Science and Engineering doctoral student, received his B.S. from the same department in 2004. As a graduate student, Chmiola is the recipient of GAANN, NSF-IGERT and Dean’s fellowships. Chmiola largely contributes to materials science and engineering education through his development of the week-long summer Materials Camp for high school students sponsored by ASM International. He is also involved with Drexel’s NSF-sponsored Research Experience for Undergraduates site DREAM: Drexel Research Experience in Advanced Materials. The title of his project is “Tunable Nanoporosity in Carbon Materials for Supercapacitors and other Energy-Related Applications.”

Lisa Chen (faculty advisor: Dr. Jin Wen),

Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering doctoral student, graduated from Drexel University in 2003 with a B.S. in Architectural Engineering with a concentration in mechanical. After working for two years in Taipei, Taiwan at J.J. Pan and Partners, Chen moved back to Philadelphia to pursue her Ph.D at Drexel with a focus on indoor air quality and sensor networks. The title of her research is “A Smart Indoor Air Quality Sensor,” which means developing a methodology for designing sensor systems for common contaminates such as particulates and gas vapors, and for chemical/biological warfare agents.

The NSF Fellowship provides more than $125,000 in stipend and tuition support. Drexel has had 16 NSF Graduate Fellowship recipients over the past four years.

Approximately 250 NSF Graduate Fellowships in engineering disciplines awarded this year, out of more than 2,500 applicants. The following Drexel students received Honorable Mention. These students will have an opportunity to apply for next year's competition: Charles Avila, Quincy Brown, Joshua Freedman, Frank Prihoda, Craig Schroeder, Kara Spiller, Ed Steager, Evan Sultanik and Leonard Urbano.

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Drexel Ph.D Students Accept Positions at Top Engineering Institutions

Tom Dziubla, Ph.D student in the department of Chemical and Biological Engineering accepted a position as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Kentucky. At Drexel, he worked under the guidance of Dr. Tony Lowman.

Binil Starly, Ph.D. student in Mechanical Engineering, recently accepted a tenure-track faculty position in the Industrial Engineering department at the University of Oklahoma. Starly worked under the guidance of Dr. Wei Sun on the topic of computer-aided tissue engineering.

Miladin Radovic, Ph.D. student in Materials Science and Engineering just accepted a tenure-track faculty position with the Mechanical Engineering department at Texas A&M University. Miladin worked under the guidance of Dr. Michel Barsoum.