capstone engineer - fall 2014

Transferring Ideas To Society To Benefit The College’s Educational Mission

EngineerCAPSTONE

Fall 2014

{ Capstone Engineer • Fall 2014 } 1

Features12 All Alone

Alabama Astrobotics design innovative robot

14 Engineering Inc. Transferring Ideas To Society To Benefit The College’s Educational Mission

20 A Strong Presence UA SWE growing as efforts to support women engineers continue

22 More than Power Through engineering , two UA alumni to spread light and hope

26 Distinguished Alumnus remembered for legacy of achievement, giving

Departments2 Dean’s Message

3 Surveying the College Noteworthy News and Research from UA Engineering

10 Currents Events from Around the College

28 Alumni Dynamics Items of Interest to Capstone Engineers and Computer Scientists

35 Bits and Bytes The College from Outside

36 End User Capstone Engineers and Computer Scientists

on Today’s Technology

37 Message from the CES

E N G I N E E R I N G H O M E C O M I N G 1 1 / 2 2 / 2 0 1 4

All engineering and computer science alumni and friends are

invited to join us as we carry on an engineering tradition of

the homecoming tailgate party. The College of Engineering

Tailgate Party will be Nov. 22 just south of Gorgas Library

on the main Quad. Join us as we cheer for the Crimson

Tide against the Western Carolina Catamounts. Roll Tide!

Visit eng.ua.edu/homecoming.

2 { The University of Alabama } { Capstone Engineer • Fall 2014 } 3

Surveying the CollegeNoteworthy News and Research from UA Engineering

Surveying the College

Dear Alumni and Friends,For more than a decade, The University of Alabama has inserted a phrase into nearly every marketing and public relations piece distributed. It has become part of the background of life at UA. The phrase designates us as a “student-centered research university.”

That is not just some PR jargon conjured up to make us look good. It is a belief that cuts to the core of our mission at the Capstone. Our primary product is educated students. Everything we do fits under that belief.

One of the skills we have to instill in our students is innovation. That is what engineers and computer scientists do. One of the ways to teach that outside the classroom setting is through research and the transfer of that research to industry. It is vital that the University provide solutions from our labs, devised by our faculty members and students, to society.

Again, everything at UA is student-centered, and technology transfer is no different. Besides students working in the labs on new discoveries and methods to tackle real-world problems, many of our students are involved in the process of taking UA-created technology to the market. Engineering and computer science students work alongside students from business and the sciences in taking intellectual property from an idea to a market-ready solution.

There is a lot of value for our students in participating in this process. It helps them get jobs, training them to be a part of the innovation culture that must be our nation’s future in a global economy. We are committed to be a student-centered research university, and we will continue to shape our students to be a positive force in society.

Dr. Charles L. KarrDean

Capstone Engineering Society 205-348-2452Milton A. Davis, Chair, Board of Directors • Charles L. Karr, PhD, Dean, College of Engineering • Nancy Holmes, Manager, Capstone Engineering Society • Adam Jones, Editor • Judah Martin, Writer • Issue No. 50 • Capstone Engineer is published in the spring and fall by the Capstone Engineering Society. • Natorio Howard, Designer • Benita Crepps, Proofreader • Jeff Hanson, Bryan Hester, Zach Riggins, Matthew Wood, Photography • Address correspondence to the editor: The University of Alabama, Capstone Engineering Society, College of Engineering, Box 870200, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200 • Visit the College of Engineering website at www.eng.ua.edu. • The University of Alabama is an equal-opportunity educational institution/employer. • MC8645

Dean’s Message


With patented technology, ECE professor hopes to improve electronic devicesElectronic devices could be made cheaper, smaller and more efficient by reducing the complexity of their internal method of converting and regulating energy, according to a patent by Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq, an associate professor of electrical and computer engineering.

An indispensable part of electronic devices, a power converter transforms incoming electricity to a form useable by the device. Increased sophistication of electronics, especially mobile technology, has required more complexity in power converters, driving up costs and energy used by the electronics.

However, Abu Qahouq developed a controller for power converters that does not need to sense the current traveling through the device in order to improve the way power is supplied to the device. This could eliminate existing methods used for the same function, reducing complexity, size, cost and the energy used to operate themselves.

“The current and future trends require smaller sizes of these power converters,” Abu Qahouq said. “Mobile devices and computing platforms, particularly, require accurate low voltages, high currents and/or stringent, dynamic performance in very small footprints.”

The patent covers what Abu Qahouq calls a sensorless adaptive voltage positioning controller, or SLAVP, to be used in DC-DC power converters, or those that transform one level of

direct-current electricity into the level of DC electricity needed for a device to function properly.

ME professor awarded NSF CAREER Award for robotic prosthesisThe National Science Foundation selected a University of Alabama mechanical engineering professor for a CAREER Award for his research into a robotic prosthesis that could help amputees walk better.

The CAREER Award is NSF’s most prestigious recognition of top-performing young scientists who are beginning their careers.

Dr. Xiangrong Shen, an associate professor of mechanical engineering in the UA College of Engineering, was awarded nearly $424,000 to assist his innovative work into a biologically-inspired- powered prosthesis that mimics natural joints.

Shen’s approach to robotic prostheses uses rocket fuel, the compound monopropellant, to power an artificial muscle. The pneumatic system replaces the motor used in current powered prosthetics. The system is proving to be lighter, more powerful and more compact than current designs.

For the amputee to control the artificial muscles, Shen is working on an electrical system that uses existing muscles to move the prosthesis. This electromyography neural interface reads the muscle-activating neural signal by placing electrodes on the surfaces of remaining muscles. Although the joints driven by these muscles have been removed for an amputee, the muscle signal is still there, which can generate the commands to drive the prosthesis.

UA selected for national vehicle contestStudents from several disciplines across The University of Alabama will compete nationally over the next four years to design an advanced, energy-efficient vehicle, the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Co. recently announced.

The University is one of 16 institutions selected for the EcoCAR 3 competition that challenges students to reduce the environmental impact of vehicles without compromising real-world performance or safety.

Students will conceive, design and integrate an innovative, state-of-the-art powertrain into a Chevrolet Camaro, donated by General Motors, with the objectives of maximizing vehicle fuel efficiency, maintaining federal emissions and safety standards, and improving vehicle performance, all while satisfying consumer demands for flawless drivability and affordable cost. The students’ success in meeting these objectives will be evaluated in yearly competitive evaluations before the final evaluation at the end of the contest.

The competition introduces students to industry-leading software tools and sophisticated powertrain components and challenges them to face similar engineering design constraints and technical issues that automakers face, resulting in a real-world training ground for automotive engineering students.

“The level of support and access to advanced technology this competition offers students is of a whole different caliber than existing engineering student-design competitions,” said Dr. Paul Puzinauskas, an associate professor of mechanical engineering and a team adviser.

During the multidisciplinary competition, engineering students will gain hands-on experience with state-of-the-art equipment through modeling, simulating, designing and testing vehicle components, including mechanical, electrical and controls systems. Business students engaging in the competition will receive a crash course in project management, serving roles in risk management, human resources, marketing, fundraising, budgeting and accounting. Opportunities also exist for communications majors in video production, media relations and public relations.

Besides Puzinauskas, other advisers include Dr. Hwan-Sik Yoon, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Dr. Tim Haskew, head of the department of electrical and computer engineering.

T h r e e CO E st u d e nt s awa rd e d national scholarshipsThree students from the College of Engineering were honored with prestigious, nationally competitive scholarships for students with technical career aspirations.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program selected Brian Goodell, a student majoring in chemical engineering and physics from Plattsburgh, New York, as a Goldwater scholar for 2014–15. This year, 282 Goldwater scholars were selected on the basis of academic merit from a field of 1,166 mathematics, science and engineering students, who were nominated by the faculties of colleges and universities nationwide. The one-year or two-year scholarships will cover the

Previous page: Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq has patented a technology that could improve the performance of electronic devices. Above: Dr. Xiangrong Shen researches biological and medical robotic systems.

Kaylie Crosby, left, a junior studying mechanical engineering from Katy, Texas, is presented a shirt by Dr. Ernest Moniz, U.S. Secretary of Energy, at the EcoCAR 3 announcement in Washington, D.C.

Surveying the College Surveying the College

Continued on page 6


cost of tuition, fees, books, and room and board up to a maximum of $7,500 a year.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded the Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship for 2014–16 to Jake Green, a student majoring in mechanical engineering from Spartanburg, South Carolina, and to Thomas Ludwig, a student majoring in chemical engineering from Brunswick, Ohio.

The scholarship provides each student $8,000 a year for full-time study during the junior and senior years and $6,500 for a 10-week internship at NOAA or an NOAA-approved facility during the summer between the junior and senior years.

Acoff recognized for diversity effortsDr. Viola L. Acoff, professor and head of the metallurgical and materials engineering department, is the inaugural recipient of the Ellen Swallow Richards Diversity Award given by the Minerals, Metals and Materials Society, or TMS.

The award recognizes an individual who reflects the remarkable pioneering spirit of Ellen Swallow Richards by overcoming personal, professional, educational, cultural or institutional adversity to pursue a career in minerals, metals or materials, or by helping others to overcome these challenges to pursue such a career, according to an announcement of Acoff ’s selection by TMS.

Acoff was one of the first two tenure-track, African-American faculty members in the College of Engineering. Later, she was

the first African-American to reach the rank of professor in the College.

Burkett receives UA engineering’s Hackney Leadership AwardDr. Susan L. Burkett, the Alabama Power Foundation Endowed Professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering, is the recipient of the 2014 T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award.

The award honors a faculty member who exemplifies the constant guidance and leadership necessary to make the College of Engineering exceptional. Burkett received her award at a ceremony in March at the NorthRiver Yacht Club.

Her research interests are electronic materials. In 1997, Burkett received the prestigious NSF Early Faculty CAREER Award to investigate materials reliability issues for information storage devices. At UA, she is a member of the Materials for Information Technology Center.

For the past 15 years, she has worked on 3-D integration schemes funded by NSF and the Department of Defense, specifically the development of low-resistance vertical interconnects to enable stacking of electronic devices to improve function in a reduced amount of space. Burkett has been awarded more than $10 million in external funding, has more than 110 refereed publications and is an inventor on four U.S. patents.

This award was created as a tribute to T. Morris Hackney and

was made possible by the contributions from John H. Josey and his son, Howard Josey.

CES honors outstanding seniorAlex C. Few, BSAE ’14, received the 2014 Capstone Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award.

Few received a $500 stipend to honor his achievements. A graduate of Oak Mountain High School in Shelby County, Alabama, Few now works with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.

The CES began the Outstanding Senior Award in 1986 to honor an exceptional student who deserves distinction among his or her peers. An outstanding student is selected from each of nine degree programs in the College, and the overall winner is determined by a selection committee after assessing each student’s academic performance, professional and technical activities, College leadership, external leadership and other activities.

“Over the course of my 20 years as an engineering educator, I have had the honor to work with some truly outstanding students,” said Dr. John Baker, head of the department of aerospace engineering and mechanics. “Among these, Alex Few easily stands out as one of the best students I have had the privilege to work with. Simply put, Alex Few is a premier student leader in the aerospace engineering program.”

UA recog nized by the American Concrete InstituteThe University of Alabama was selected by the American Concrete Institute as an ACI Outstanding University for 2013. UA is among 13 schools chosen for recognition.

The ACI is an international organization committed to dispensing consensus-based standards, technical resources and educational programs for individuals and organizations involved in concrete design, construction and materials.

Placement is based on points received by meeting criteria such as having a high number of student ACI members at the university. University chapters also earn points by attending ACI conventions, participating in local meetings or events and by having an active ACI committee leader.

UA was recognized during the ACI Spring 2014 Convention in Reno, Nevada, and was featured in the organization’s magazine, Concrete International.

The UA chapter of ACI began last spring and offers students a chance to network with professionals in construction and structural engineering fields at conventions and chapter meetings.

“Concrete is the most widely used building material in the world, and it can be quite complex,” said Stephanie Wood, chapter president and graduate student in civil engineering from Tuscaloosa. “The purpose of our chapter is to promote knowledge in the field of concrete so that our future engineers will be better equipped to design and rehabilitate such a vital part of our infrastructure.”

Dr. Susan Burkett, right, receives the T. Morris Hackney Endowed Faculty Leadership Award from Dean Charles Karr during a ceremony at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Alex Few, left, is handed the Capstone Engineering Society Outstanding Senior Award by Dean Charles Karr during a ceremony at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Surveying the College Surveying the College

8 { The University of Alabama }

MTE professor receives Oak Ridge Powe grantDr. Lin Li, an assistant professor of metallurgical and materials engineering, is one of 35 researchers selected nationwide to receive a competitive grant from Oak Ridge Associated Universities through the Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Awards program. Li received the grant for the 2014–15 academic year for her study on multi-scale modeling of shear banding in metallic glasses.

MTE students win metal-casting contestA team of University of Alabama engineering students won the 2014 Student Casting Competition for the Southeast organized by the American Foundry Society. This is the third time in four years UA students have won. The students used 3-D silica-sand-mold printing from ExOne Digital Part Materialization to create the molding for bells.

Two MTE students receive national scholarshipsTwo students studying metallurgical and materials engineering received prominent scholarships within the metal-casting industry. John Calhoun, BSMtE ’14 of Chelsea, Alabama, received the Loper Award, and David Fletcher, BSMtE ’14 of Huntsville, was selected for the Burleigh Jacobs Scholarship. Both students received the awards during the College Industry Conference held by the Foundry Educational Foundation.

ECE student chosen for national electrical engineering awardSamantha McPeak, BSEE ’14 of Key Largo, Florida, was one of seven students in North America to receive the John W. Estey Outstanding Scholar Award for 2013–14 by the Power and Energy Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, or IEEE. The scholarship recognizes undergraduate students studying in electrical and computer engineering who are high achievers with a commitment to exploring a career in the power and energy field.

Students win UA awards Joshua Moon, BSChE ’14 of Arlington, Tennessee, was awarded the Catherine Johnson Randall Award, which recognizes the most outstanding graduating senior at UA based on GPA, rigor of course study and extraordinary scholarly or creative endeavor. Other winners of campus awards include the following:• David Phelps, BSCE ’14 of New Orleans, Louisiana, was

selected as one recipient of the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, which recognizes excellence of character and service to humanity.

• Al-Karim Gilani, a senior studying chemical engineering from Flower Mound, Texas, received the William P. Bloom Scholarship Award that honors a junior who has improved intergroup relations within the University community.

• Kemar James, a graduate student in mechanical engineering from Columbus, Georgia, was recognized for Excellence in Research by a Master’s Student.

• Jaejin Lee, a doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering from Kimhae, South Korea, was recognized for Excellence in Research by a Doctoral Student.

In Brief

Surveying the College


Clockwise from top left: Dr. Lin Li, David Phelps, Joshua Moon and Al-Karim Gilani

Dr. Robert “Bob” E. Pitt, the Cudworth Professor of Urban Water Systems in civil, construction and environmental engineering, retired after 27 years in engineering education, including the last 13 years at UA. His major area of interest is in stormwater management, especially the integration of drainage and water-quality objectives. He has conducted research for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Environment Canada, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, states and local governments concerning the beneficial uses, effects, sources and control of wet-weather flows for more than 35 years. Pitt moved to UA in 2001 and was named the Cudworth Professor a year later. From 2004 to 2012, Pitt was the director of UA’s Environmental Institute. Prior to UA, he was at The University of Alabama at Birmingham from 1987 to 2001, entering engineering education after 16 years in industry and government. He continues to consult for many municipalities and engineering firms.

Roy Gregg retired after 36 years as director of The University of Alabama Cooperative Education and Professional Practice Program. In the spring, he was honored by the American Society for Engineering Education’s Cooperative Education and Experiential Education division with its annual Alvah K. Borman award, given to members who made exceptional contributions to the advancement of engineering cooperative education. Gregg worked with UA co-op since 1978 and, under his leadership, the program expanded from hosting about 100 students per year to now more than 1,600 students per year. He placed thousands of UA co-op students in positions nationwide, expanded the co-op office to include the professional-practice option and contributed significantly to growth of cooperative education in engineering and technology nationwide.

Retirements

Dr. Paul G. Allison, assistant professor, ME

Dr. Joshua Andrew Bittle, assistant professor, ME

Lt. Col. Richard Branam, Retired, USAF, PhD, assistant professor, AEM

Dr. Gary Cheng, associate professor, AEM

Dr. Alex Hainen, assistant professor, CCEE

Dr. Mike Kreger, professor and Drummond Chair of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Eric Marks, assistant professor, CCEE

Dr. Sameer Mulani, assistant professor, AEM

Dr. Charles O’Neill, assistant professor, AEM

Dr. Ryan Summers, assistant professor, ChBE

New to the College

Promotion and TenureTenure and promotion to associate professorDr. Dawen Li, ECE

Dr. Xiangrong Shen, ME

TenureDr. Steven Jones, CCEE

Promotion to professorDr. Jeff Gray, CS


Currents

CurrentsEvents from Around the College

Previous page and right top and bottom: The CES networking reception brought more than 160 students and 40 alumni to the Hotel Capstone. Left top and bottom: Students in the Alabama Robotics Competition prepare their robots in the Bryant Conference Center.

CS hosts robotic contestNearly 300 students from across Alabama, from third graders to seniors in high school, came to The University of Alabama April 5 to program robots, hoping their instructions would be good enough to win the Alabama Robotics Competition.

The competition, which is in its fourth year, is hosted by the UA College of Engineering’s department of computer science. The goal is to spur interest in computer science among the state’s primary and secondary education students, said Dr. Jeff Gray, professor of computer science.

Started in 2011 with 25 students, the competition has grown each year. This year’s contest saw 69 teams participating from 47 different schools with 290 students competing. Nearly 450 teachers, volunteers and family accompanied the students.

Unlike other robotics competitions, students were not judged on building the robot but rather on how the robot performed in obstacle courses set up in the Bryant Conference Center. Students programmed the robots at a computer before watching the robots autonomously carry out their instructions on the playing field.

CES hosts networking receptionThe networking reception hosted by the Capstone Engineering Society continues to grow as more than 160 students came to the Hotel Capstone to network and seek career advice from 40 alumni and 10 faculty members. The CES board designed the reception to help upperclassmen transition to the engineering and computer science professions by engaging students with alumni in their particular disciplines and fields of interest.

Currents


W hen humans begin to explore other planets, such as Mars, or return to the moon, their trusty robots will have to be more than remote-controlled hunks of metal. Much like NASA

rovers that have explored the Martian surface, robots will have to think for themselves, at least in some aspect.

“Autonomy is a big deal for NASA because astronauts can’t be expected to perform repetitive tasks for long hours,” said Dr. Kenneth Ricks, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering. “Just like jobs on earth, NASA wants as much autonomy as possible to allow humans to perform higher-level tasks.”

Ricks is the adviser to Alabama Astrobotics, a team of students from The University of Alabama College Engineering and Shelton State Community College who compete in the NASA Robotic Mining Competition, which challenges collegiate engineering and computer science students to build a robot capable of navigating and excavating simulated Martian soil.

During the competition held in May in Florida, the team’s robot completed the first and only intelligent, fully autonomous run in the contest’s history, Ricks said.

“Being the first team to complete this autonomous milestone was quite rewarding for a team that has sacrificed countless hours in the lab designing, building, testing, debugging and developing this robot,” said team leader Caleb Leslie, a graduate student in computer engineering and mathematics from Enterprise, Alabama. “Autonomous operation is something we like to hang our hat on.”

As part of the competition, students build robots designed to excavate simulated Martian regolith, or a layer of loose material that covers a solid rock. The robot is allowed two windows of 10 minutes to move through obstacles across a small arena and excavate as much regolith as possible.

Alabama Astrobotics Design Innovative RobotBy Adam Jones

This year, the team focused primarily on building a completely autonomous robot that could navigate the arena by itself. To accomplish this, the team implemented onboard intelligence.

“While it is instinctive for humans to see a rock as they walk and avoid it, the robot can only do those things through sensors and lots of software algorithms that interpret sensor data and translate the data into drive commands,” Ricks said.

The UA robot is equipped with a laser scanner and inertial measurement unit, or IMU, to scan and track the robot’s position and orientation. The path-planning algorithm uses that information to drive the robot. While digging, the robot uses a load cell to measure how much dirt it has collected. When the threshold is met, the robot stops digging and returns to dump the dirt.

“All the onboard sensors allow the UA robot to sense its environment and make real-time decisions about what to do next,”

Ricks said. “Nothing is predetermined, which is what separates the UA robot from the others trying autonomy.

“The other approaches are much simpler and less realistic measures such as using the arena walls as bumpers or ignoring

obstacles and hoping they don’t hit anything,” Ricks said. “While these approaches are within the rules, they do not translate to the real world.”

Besides the mining contest, teams were judged on an oral presentation, a written systems-engineering paper, educational outreach and team spirit. Alabama Astrobotics placed third in the amount of soil mined and collected and first for its presentation, technical paper and team spirit.

Along with Ricks, Renea Randle, mathematics instructor at Shelton State Community College, served as an adviser for the team.

Team members, from left, Jake Webster, Michael Carswell and Caleb Leslie with the astrobot in a sand pit located in space devoted to student projects in Hardaway Hall.


“Being the first team to complete this autonomous milestone was

quite rewarding for a team that has sacrificed countless hours in the lab

designing , building , testing , debugging and developing this robot.”

— Caleb Leslie


Transferring Ideas To Society To Benefit The College’s Educational Mission

By Adam Jones

Natalie Anderson comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Her parents own and manage their own company, but she came to The University of Alabama to study chemical

engineering, not business.Now, though, the third-year student is coupling her science and

engineering studies with a crash course in business development as an intern for the UA Office for Technology Transfer, or OTT. There, Anderson works to determine if intellectual property from the academic research at the University can be protected and result in a marketable product for a specific industrial need.

“It has been an eye-opening experience seeing the business side of science and engineering ideas,” she said. “I have been able to witness how certain scientific innovations have the potential to enter market and become commercial.

“I now realize that there are various factors, in addition to the more scientific variables that are taken into consideration when deciding to invest in an idea,” Anderson said. “I am more aware of how much business can affect and intertwine with engineering through my experiences with OTT.”

Anderson, a native of Kingwood, Texas, is part of the growing side of UA and the College of Engineering devoted to taking ideas percolated in an academic lab and transferring them to industry and society. In the past eight years, for instance, patent applications coming from the College have increased twentyfold. Intellectual property disclosures, which were afterthoughts decades ago, have increased, and real, licensed businesses have sprung from the College.

“Intellectual property is a byproduct of the education process,” said Dr. John Wiest, associate dean of research and graduate studies. “We have a lot of smart people in the College and the entire University who

{ Capstone Engineer • Fall 2014 } 15 14 { The University of Alabama }

Continued on page 16

can help solve a lot of the problems society faces, so it behooves us to use that intellectual capital to try and better society.”

OTT was created in 2006 from an emphasis from the President’s Office on down to make economic development a priority for the University, said Dr. Rick Swatloski, OTT director. “As part of UA’s research mission, we seek to develop solutions to improve the quality of life and solve major problems that confront society while simultaneously expanding the base of knowledge and technologies available,” he said.

The office exists, in part, to help secure funding to get ideas to the market and does not compromise the fundamental, academic research of the University, he said.

“You need the basic research, but there is a gap there between basic research and the applied research,” Swatloski said. “Many of the things we do try to make that gap more narrow.”

A recent example of OTT working with the College is a company called e-Electricity, which was a winner in the Alabama Launchpad Start-Up Competition a year ago. The business contest, which is sponsored by the Economic Development Partnership of Alabama Foundation, provides money to young businesses.

OTT was able to take intellectual property disclosed by Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, run it through a development research and market analysis process and pair the technology with two students from UA’s

Culverhouse College of Commerce who now manage and market the company.

With money from Launchpad and other ventures, e-Electricity managed to demonstrate the concept by Abu Qahouq.

“Investors are not willing to put money into a theory,” Swatloski said. “One has to clearly demonstrate the value proposition and remove as many of the risks as possible.”

Besides professors, OTT can also work with students. Ben Bickerstaff, BSCE ’13, was recommended to Swatloski’s team after coming up with an idea to improve bidding on construction projects through Internet-based social media software.

An Anniston, Alabama, native, Bickerstaff worked with OTT staff to focus his product and find funding, and he was able to win money from the Alabama Launchpad contest in the spring. In early June, he launched Bidsters.com, an online interactive database that businesses in the construction industry can use to manage and advertise both sides of the project-bidding process.

“The support I have received from that office is unparalleled, and, without them, I would not be going to market,” Bickerstaff said of OTT.

Besides turning intellectual property into startup companies, UA OTT can also license technology to other companies to be further developed, but, for Swatloski, tech transfer is more than just money.

“I don’t want licensing royalty to be the determining success factor,” he said. “It’s important, but it should not be the only driver.”

“We have a lot of smart people in the College and the entire University who can help solve a lot of the

problems society faces, so it behooves us to use

that intellectual capital to try and better society.”

—Dr. John Wiest, associate dean of research and graduate studies


Natalie Anderson, a junior majoring in chemical engineering, talks with Dr. Rick Swatloski, director of the Office of Technology Transfer.

Tech transfer is part of the University’s student-centered research mission, touching every side of that process, he said. Tech transfer creates complementary experiences for students in business and specialized scientific research areas that help with getting jobs or starting their own companies. For professors, it develops portfolios in certain areas that help the University with industrial collaborations and sponsored research. It is all part of the cycle of new knowledge.

OTT has several students each semester who work alongside UA faculty and staff to transfer technology. Anderson, for example, began as triage intern, part of a group of students from across campus who are the first to study disclosed intellectual property. Can it be protected? Is there a market?

This past summer, she moved into a venture-development internship, answering questions about what is needed to get the idea to market by examining things such as cost benefit. Engineering and computer science students work with peers from business and the sciences in OTT.

“We need students who speak both languages,” Swatloski said. “The science and engineering students have a technical jargon, and the business side has its own language. The idea with the team approach is business students teach the science and tech students and vice versa.”

There is also opportunity for students to work with intellectual property in the lab, using the experience to land jobs within the industries they were hoping to improve while students.

For Jordan Baer, a senior in chemical engineering from Fort Worth,

Texas, UA’s culture of innovation and entrepreneurship resulted in her being the first hire for a UA startup company, Graphenics, based off technology developed by Dr. Rachel Frazier, research engineer for Alabama Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs center, or AIME, a technology incubator at UA.

The company provides engineering services and materials to enhance the properties of plastics by a patented process to produce graphene, a flat, two-dimensional version of the graphite used in pencils. The material is stronger than steel and better at conducting electricity than copper, and it can conduct heat better than other materials.

“I never thought that I would be working for a startup company in a million years,” Baer said. “I accepted my job at AIME and thought of it as a way to make money and get job experience. I acquired and demonstrated lab experience, but, more importantly, I had the opportunity to network with and learn from other students, the research engineers at AIME and the founders of Graphenics.”

Engineers tackle society’s problems, and being part of lab-developed technology, whether on the research or business side, is valuable to the University, its students and its faculty, Wiest said.

“You can tell someone how to innovate, or you can include them in the process of innovation,” he said. “That’s what we try to do at the University.” Judah Martin, a senior from Foley, Alabama, studying journalism, contributed to this report.

“Investors are not willing to put money

into a theory. One has to clearly demonstrate the value proposition

and remove as many of the risks as possible.”

—Dr. Rick Swatloski, OTT director

Jordan Baer, a senior studying chemical engineering, was the first employee hired by Graphenics, a promising startup company housed in UA’s Innovation and Mentoring of Entrepreneurs, or AIME, building.


College of Engineering Intellectual PropertySeveral technologies and businesses have come from the College of Engineering in recent years. The Office for Technology Transfer and AIME have worked heavily with four College-affiliated companies and recently licensed three technologies.

College Companies Launched in June, Bidsters is the brainchild of Ben Bickerstaff, BSCE ’13, who worked with UA OTT to ready his company for launch. A winner in a 2014 round of Alabama Launchpad, Bidsters hopes to fill a need Bickerstaff found while tasked with filling out bids as a cooperative education student for a large general-contracting firm.

Found at bidstersusa.com, the company plans to be an online, interactive database that businesses in the construction industry can use to manage and advertise both sides of the project-bidding process. It is designed to help large contractors submit competitive bids while helping subcontractors grow by finding more projects.

Based off technology developed by Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, e-Electricity offers the promise of wireless charging, specifically for mobile phones.

Using a triceiver system, cellphone antennas could convert radio-frequency waves from any source into energy available for immediate use or storage in a battery. The company was a winner in a 2013 round of Alabama Launchpad and has received other funding as well. It is currently seeking other investors or licensing opportunities.

MagnnPro LLC is the only company with a patent for a nanowire-based solution to address health and quality concerns with current contrast agents used in magnetic resonance imaging. Dr. Yuping Bao, associate professor of chemical and biological engineering, has shown through

groundbreaking research that ultrathin, magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles formed into a wire shape can enhance MRIs.

Led by Thomas Macher, one of Bao’s former graduate students, the company received a federal Small Business Innovation Research grant in 2013 to help further development. The potential commercialization of such an MRI contrast agent offers a solution to patients with liver and kidney diseases. The targeting capability of the nanoparticles will significantly improve the imaging efficiency at a much lower dose. This contrast agent will ultimately improve disease detection, therapeutic monitoring and treatment efficacy, potentially leading to the advancement of human health.

Hoping to enter the estimated $16.7 billion orthopedic-device market, Surface Integrity LLC is a research and development company developing custom surfaces for a wide variety of industries and applications, including controlling the surface of degradable metal implants by surface treatments.

Based off research by Dr. Yuebin Guo, professor of mechanical engineering, and led by Michael Sealy, a doctoral student in mechanical engineering, the company hopes to license a unique method of controlling the degradation of a medical implant, allowing individuals to have implants that degrade at the rate their bones heal. Success would likely eliminate the risk of a second surgery to remove the implant.


College TechnologiesCarbon CaptureTwo patents from work done at UA by Dr. Jason Bara, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, have been licensed to Ion Engineering in Boulder, Colorado. Bara helped found ION Engineering and continues as a science adviser with the company.

Bara researches different, and possibly better, ways to capture harmful greenhouse gas emissions, namely carbon dioxide, from industrial emissions such as coal-fired power plants. Bara’s patents show that by swapping current chemicals used to scrub emissions with novel solvents such as ionic liquids and a class of low-volatility organic molecules, carbon capture could be potentially cheaper and more efficient than current methods. Quiet CombustionA patented-technology developed by Dr. Ajay K. Agrawal, professor and the Robert F. Barfield Endowed Chair in Mechanical Engineering, has been licensed to Zyxogen, a business-development company in Nashville, Tennessee. This technology decreases the noise generated by combustion systems at the source by placing a spongelike material directly in the flame, possibly making work environments safer and extending the life of equipment. The initial effort of commercialization will focus on industrial applications.

Public SafetyBuilt from a prototype system produced by the UA Center for Advanced Public Safety, or CAPS, 10-8 CAD is a simple, cost effective computer aided dispatch system for small-sized to medium-sized law-enforcement and other first‐responder agencies. The system uses smartphones or tablets, along with geographic information systems and digital-status indicators of officers and responders, to allow dispatchers to more effectively respond to emergencies and service calls. The 10-8 CAD technology allows smaller agencies without IT expertise to set up their own sophisticated dispatch system in hours rather than months taken by traditional software approaches.

A grant from the Alabama Innovation Fund, an initiative of Gov. Robert Bentley, helped get a prototype developed by CAPS ready for market. The technology was licensed to Robertson and Associates, a public-safety-technology firm in Huntsville, Alabama. The firm plans to market 10-8 CAD through a product-focused company called Emergency Technologies Inc.

Continued from page 17


Dr. Yuping Bao works on improving medical imaging.

College faculty and students who are part of tech transfer include, from the top, Ben Bickerstaff with Bidsters; Sloan McCrary, Dr. Jaber Abu Qahouq,

middle, and Will Sanders with e-Electricity; Dr. Jason Bara with carbon-capture technologies; and Dr. Ajay

Agrawal, right, with a quiet-combustion technology.


The awards have piled on recently for The University of Alabama chapter of the Society of Women Engineers as the group continues to focus on supporting and advancing women in engineering.

In the past two years, the chapter has received the gold and silver level Outstanding Collegiate Society Award from the national SWE organization, hosted a regional conference and was one of four sites nationwide to hold an event for girls in middle school to learn more about science and engineering through hands-on activities.

Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering and adviser to UA SWE, was recognized with the Distinguished Engineering Educator Award by the SWE national organization. Since 2009, seven UA students have been selected as Outstanding Collegiate Members by SWE, the most from any campus during that time. They include Grace Guin, BSCE ’14; Alexander Romine, BSChE ’14; Rachel Hughes, BSChE ’13; Elizabeth Junkin, BSChE ’12; Jill Hershman, BSME ’12; Sarah Grano, BSME ’09; and Martha Addison, BSAE ’09.

All this comes at a time when the UA SWE chapter has reached its highest membership rate to date.

The benefits of a robust chapter for female students in the College of Engineering are numerous, Todd said. It allows them the opportunity to talk to other female students studying engineering and provides a broader view of the profession by connecting students from across engineering disciplines.

“The biggest advantage of having an active SWE chapter is that students get a lot of opportunities to do things outside of the classroom,” Todd said.

At the SWE regional conference hosted on campus in March, Region D Gov. Michele O’Shaughnessy praised the UA chapter for encouraging females of all ages to pursue engineering.

“UA has had a very active outreach program this year,” said O’Shaughnessy, who works for the U.S. Department of Energy at the Savannah River Site in Aiken, South Carolina.

It is all part of SWE’s effort to bridge the gap between male and female engineering students, a continuing challenge for universities. At UA and nationally, roughly one in five engineering students are women. Todd and the UA SWE chapter she guides enjoy the challenge of helping find creative solutions to help more women study engineering.

It starts from the ground up with numerous community outreach programs designed to get girls in middle school and high school interested

A Strong PresenceUA SWE growing as efforts to support women engineers continue

By Judah Martin

in the field. In September 2012, UA SWE was one of four sites nationally to host “Wow! That’s Engineering,” an event created and sponsored by the national organization that reaches out to girls in middle and elementary schools in an effort to spark an interest in engineering and technology through hands-on opportunities. More than 140 girls came to UA for the event.

Besides hosting the national outreach program, the UA chapter took an active role when the University hosted the regional Science Olympiad competition. Science Olympiad is an international nonprofit organization that promotes teamwork in the disciplines of life science, earth and space science, physical science, chemistry, technology and engineering. It targets students in elementary, middle and high schools. The event attracted more than 400 students from across the community.

“If you work with girls in middle school, they have all taken the same classes up until that point, and it is easier to get them on the right academic plan to study engineering,” Todd said. “Middle school is the time when students begin choosing the path that they will take through high school, and studies done with girls and engineering show that if you wait until high school, many of the girls have already opted out of the track that they would need to prepare for engineering.”

Todd, who helped revive a dormant SWE chapter when she came to UA, has steered the campus group successfully for more than 20 years. After hosting its first regional conference in 1999, the chapter was able to start an endowed scholarship for the College of Engineering.

In the last three years alone, the chapter’s membership increased 80 percent, and Todd expects another surge over the course of the 2014–15 academic year. This expansion, thanks largely to recruitment efforts by the chapter and by the University, made it possible for the group to receive a bid at the 2012 SWE National Convention to host another regional conference in March 2014. It is the chapter’s third regional conference to host on campus, and it is no small feat.

Getting approved to host a regional conference can be a challenge, and planning the conference can take a year of systematic planning by the group, Todd said.

“For students who haven’t done this before, it gives them an opportunity to put a larger project together,” Todd said. “That experience can translate into different engineering and management positions in the future.”

Over the years, Todd’s dedication to UA SWE has been met with frequent recognition from the national organization. In 2004 she was named a SWE fellow, and in 2008 she received the Outstanding Faculty Advisor award. Last year she received the Distinguished Engineering Educator award.

“Our chapter’s success is a direct result of the commitment of our adviser, Dr. Beth Todd; our officers; and our members,” said Hughes, 2012–13 UA SWE president. “Also, we have a leadership pipeline so that when people move up, they are prepared for the experience in advance. So that helps the chapter to maintain a strong presence each year.”

Members of SWE include Katie McCoy, a junior majoring in civil engineering; Dr. Beth Todd; Catherina Atalaia Santos, a sophomore majoring in electrical engineering; and Brandy Edwards, BSChE ’13.


Chris Bond can remember the time he watched an old man smile from ear to ear as the man lit his home for the first time.

Just before, the two stood under the thatch roof of the man’s small mud home. The man plugged his lamp into the battery pack Bond had engineered, and the room was illuminated.

“He paused a minute, raised his hands in the air and gave me a hug,” Bond said.

More than three years ago, Bond, BSME ’98, came up with the idea of transferring the energy from a moving bicycle into a battery pack. The design inspired Bond to team up with his brother-in-law, Matthew Michalke, BSCE ’06. Working together, they used their engineering skills to launch Designs for Hope, a nonprofit organization devoted to design solutions for people living in developing countries.

“I’ve been able to use my education and my understanding of problem solving to be able to solve the needs of others who don’t have the resources to solve them themselves,” Bond said.

He had always had a knack for design. After graduating from The University of Alabama with a mechanical engineering degree in 1998, Bond took a job as a research and development engineer at Fontaine International, where he designed and modified products for the heavy trucking industry. He spent eight years there.

“I was getting unsatisfied with what I was doing, and so I began to see what else there was to do,” he said.

He soon left the plant to accept a teaching position at Hewitt-Trussville High School in Trussville, Alabama. Around that time he began traveling overseas to help with missionary efforts in developing countries.


More than P wer

Through engineering , two UA alumni spread light and hope By Judah Martin



Uganda, one of the places he has worked, where only 15 percent of the population has access to electricity, is one of Africa’s least powered nations, according to the latest estimates from the International Energy Agency. In rural areas, only 7 percent of Uganda’s people have access to electricity, the IEA estimates.

“They sit at home. They’re in the dark, and they can’t even see their family,” Bond said. “You can’t do chores, you can’t read, and you can’t study. Not only does everything stop when it gets dark, but it also becomes dangerous. They don’t typically go outside because of snakes and other nocturnal animals.”

As part of a class project where groups had to solve a real-world problem, ideas were being generated. Then it hit him: What if he could harness the energy from a bicycle to create a rechargeable battery for those who have no access to the electrical grid?

Taking the project on himself, he took an AC generator and applied the principles of Faraday’s Law that states any change in the magnetic environment of a coil of wire will cause a voltage to be induced in the coil. Using this principle, he used the rotation of the bicycle wheel to generate electrical currents that then travel through a custom circuit and safely into the battery pack.

“People in Africa are already pedaling their bicycles every day,” Bond said. “Now they can harness their energy to be used later on.”

Not only does their product provide lights to a once dark region, it is a great way to charge cellphones. Thanks to investments made by cellphone-service providers, developing countries now

have unprecedented access to mobile phones. For instance, nearly 60 percent of Ugandans own a mobile phone, according to a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center. An analysis of data collected by the World Bank shows people in Uganda have greater access to mobile phones than sanitation or electricity.

“There are actually more cellphones in sub-Saharan Africa than there are toilets, so the need to charge cellphones is a really big deal,” Bond said.

During his trips, he noticed keeping phones charged could be a burden. Typically, people living in rural areas of Uganda travel

miles by foot or bicycle to pay about 20 cents to use a charging station in an urban area. The trip can take days.

“Most of these people make about a dollar or a dollar fifty a day, so that 20 cents is a pretty significant cost for them,” Bond said. “They’re mostly farmers or laborers of some sort, so they lose a day or two working when they make the trip.”

Previous page: Chris Bond, BSME ’98, shows a group of men how to use a new water filter to remove harmful bacteria from their drinking water. Above: Samah Ogwang, a Ugandan, installs the bicycle-powered electricity kit.

A man from a rural Ugandan village demonstrates how his water filter turns dirty water into clean drinking water.

“People in Africa are already pedaling their

bicycles every day. Now they can harness their

energy to be used later on.” —Chris Bond

While most in Uganda and other developing countries cannot afford a monthly subscription, street vendors offer mobile access on a per-call basis, Bond said.

“Using this product will provide them the ability to charge not only their phones but the phones of the people in their community, and it will cut down their need to travel into the cities, wasting their time and resources,” Bond said.

Today, Designs for Hope is funded by donations and grants and has supplied more than 100 battery packs to the developing world. The energy harnessed from bicycles is capable of lighting a single home for up to 18 hours, and a single battery pack can charge up to nine cellphones, Bond said.

Designs for Hope now works in an additional six regions including, Nicaragua, Niger, Sudan, Zambia, Madagascar and India. Since missionary work is a key function of the organization, it maintains partnerships with established churches in each country.

“Typically, people and organizations will approach us about a region of the world they are working in that has needs similar to those we have encountered,” Bond said. “We mostly work with missionaries, churches and other grass-roots organizations that have an established connection with the people of those regions. We will offer our product to them, train them to use it effectively and then they take it to those they work with.”

In addition to the bicycle battery packs, Designs for Hope has since introduced water-filtration systems. Bond estimated that roughly 70 percent of a village in a country like Uganda is usually sick

with a water-borne illness. According to Bond, the filtration systems provided by Designs for Hope can filter up to a million gallons of water at a time, and he estimated that one filter can serve about 100 people for a span of five years.

“We’re using our engineering skills to tackle these problems,” Bond said. “If I wasn’t an engineer, this would never have happened.”

To learn more about Designs for Hope and its sustainable solutions, visit designsforhope.org.



Distinguished Alumnus remembered for legacy of achievement, giving

By Adam Jones

Image used with permission of Robert E. Tanenbaum Inc.

John McKinley chose to study chemical engineering at The University of Alabama, a choice that reaped benefits for him and his alma mater.After graduation, McKinley went on to lead Texaco Inc., which

at the time was the third-largest oil company in the nation.“He’s the star of our program,” said Dr. Gary April, professor

emeritus who was head of the chemical engineering department from 1995 to 2007. “Over the years, we always pointed to him as an example of what hometown Alabama kids could do if they put their minds to it.”

McKinley, 94, died in his home in Dallas, Texas, on June 12. Besides his professional achievements, McKinley leaves behind a legacy of philanthropy at UA where he, his late wife, Helen Grace, and his family have funded scholarships and initiatives across campus.

“John McKinley loved The University of Alabama, and The University of Alabama returned the feeling,” said Dr. Judy Bonner, president of UA. “John lived his life with purpose and meaning, providing both the example and the resources for so many others to achieve the success he worked hard to accomplish in his own life.

“His generosity has meant so much to so many students and educators for more than three decades, and it will continue to serve as a lasting memorial to a man who put service to others first.”

Born in Tuscaloosa in 1920, McKinley graduated from Tuscaloosa High School. At UA, he earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering in 1940 and a master’s degree in organic chemistry in 1941. While in college, he was a cadet in ROTC, earning the rank of brigade commander, and was also inducted into Tau Beta Pi.

“John McKinley is not just one of the College of Engineering’s most distinguished alumni but an exemplary alumnus for the entire University,” said Dr. Chuck L. Karr, dean of the College of Engineering. “The College has benefited greatly from his generosity, and we are grateful for his support.”

Immediately after receiving his master’s degree, he joined Texaco as a chemical engineer engaged in grease research at the Port Arthur refinery in Texas. However, he was called into active service by the U.S. Army a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor.

During World War II, he saw action in numerous battles, including the Battle of the Bulge as the Allied troops advanced through Western Europe. As a result of his valor in a pivotal battle

for the Roer River, he received the Bronze Star and eventually rose to the rank of major.

Upon returning to Port Arthur and Texaco, he met the love of his life, Helen Grace Heare. After only one date, he proposed and soon after they married on July 19, 1946. They had two sons, John Key McKinley Jr. and Mark Charles McKinley.

Over the next 45 years, McKinley held positions worldwide with Texaco. As a research and development engineer, he held more than a dozen patents for petroleum additives and grease components. He also continued his education, graduating from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard University in 1962.

In 1971, he was elected president of Texaco, and in 1980, the board of directors elected him as chairman, president and CEO. He served in that capacity until he retired from Texaco in 1986, and he later served as a consultant to ChevronTexaco Corp.

University of Alabama trustees awarded McKinley an honorary doctorate in 1972. He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Alabama Academy of Honor the following year. In 1988, he was named a Distinguished Chemical Engineering and Distinguished College of Engineering Fellow, and in 1992, he was selected as a member of the State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

In 1987, McKinley established the Merrymac McKinley Foundation Inc., a charitable organization designed to benefit charities and educational institutions as well as provide scholarships and awards to

individual students, educators and non-faculty members. Annual endowments and donations that created more than 30 scholarships and recognition awards have been made to UA, Troy University, Shelton State Community College, Southern Methodist University, Texas A&M Foundation, Trinity University and a host of other worthy causes.

While a student at UA, McKinley completed research that earned a patent. Hoping to reproduce that adventure for others, he set up the John K. McKinley Creativity Scholarship that provided a stipend to students who used their engineering and scientific knowledge to explore creative and innovative ideas addressing technical and socioeconomic problems.

The son of a school teacher and a professor, McKinley was always trying to teach those around him, according to his obituary. “He was a proud American patriot, a teacher, a mentor, a gentle giant, and he always noticed the efforts of others,” the obituary read.

“John McKinley loved The University of

Alabama, and The University of Alabama

returned the feeling.”—Dr. Judy Bonner, president of UA


Alumni DynamicsItems of Interest to Capstone Engineers and Computer Scientists

Alumni Dynamics

UA honors five Distinguished Engineering FellowsThe University of Alabama College of Engineering honored five alumni by inducting them into its 2014 class of Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

Each year, the College of Engineering inducts a select group of alumni and friends as Distinguished Engineering Fellows. Recognition as a Distinguished Fellow is the highest commendation given to graduates and others who have strengthened the reputation of the College of Engineering through their efforts.

Since the recognition’s inception 25 years ago, fewer than 400 individuals out of an estimated 27,000 alumni and friends have been recognized as Distinguished Engineering Fellows.

The 2014 class includes Jerry Cook, of Huntsville, Alabama; Russell S. Hager, of Jasper, Alabama; Rear Adm. Charles A. “Chas” Richard, of Saint Mary’s, Georgia; J. Michael Silva, of Los Gatos, California; and Michael C. Simmons, of Overland Park, Kansas.

The inductees were honored March 8 at a ceremony at the NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. For complete biographies of this year’s Distinguished Engineering Fellows, visit eng.ua.edu/awards.

Jerry R. Cook, deputy director of Stennis Space Center, has devoted nearly 30 years to the country’s space program. Cook received a degree in mechanical engineering from the University in

1985. Afterward, he joined NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, where he was eventually appointed to the Senior Executive Service in 2007. That same year, he was also named manager of the Space Shuttle Main Engine Project Office and was on flight console for the final 18 shuttle missions. In December 2012, he was selected as deputy director of Stennis. He is responsible for implementing NASA’s mission in the area of rocket-propulsion testing, developing and maintaining NASA’s world-class rocket-propulsion test facilities and ensuring Stennis serves as the systems-engineering center for applied-science activities assigned by the agency.

Russell S. Hager, former president of Hager Oil Inc., hails from a proud family of University of Alabama engineers. After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the University in 1973, he soon took over his father’s company, Hager Oil Inc. Nearly 40 years later, he has transformed the company into one of Alabama’s premier petroleum distributors, serving more than 700 customers with millions of gallons each month. Today, Hager Oil Inc. sells more than 34 million gallons of petroleum products, with revenues of more than $100 million, serving the mining, steel, timber, natural gas, railroad and agriculture industries. The company supplies all of north-central Alabama and areas in the surrounding states of Mississippi, Tennessee and Georgia.

Rear Adm. Charles A. Richard, commander for Submarine Group 10, has had a distinguished career in national defense. He has risen to command all of the United States Navy’s ballistic-missile and

The 2014 Distinguished Engineering Fellows include, from left, Russell S. Hager, Michael C. Simmons, Jerry R. Cook, J. Michael Silva and Rear Adm. Charles A. Richard. Dean Charles Karr stands on the right.



Alumni Dynamics

guided-missile submarines in the Atlantic fleet, including more than a quarter of the nation’s strategic nuclear-deterrent force. Originally from Decatur, Alabama, Richard graduated from UA in 1982 in electrical engineering and went on to serve on nuclear-attack submarines for the U.S. Navy, including command of the USS Parche. He has held a variety of positions, including executive assistant and naval aide to the undersecretary of the Navy. Since November 2013, Richard has commanded Submarine Group 10 in Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Georgia.

J. Michael Silva, president and research engineer for Enertech Consultants, led his business to become internationally recognized for its capability to manage, engineer, research and provide scientific consulting. Today, Enertech Consultants provides engineering consulting services, performs applied research and develops and markets software and instrumentation systems to serve clients throughout the United States and in 59 countries around the world. A native of Eutaw, Alabama, Silva earned a degree in civil engineering from the University in 1971 and began his career designing high-voltage transmission lines for Alabama Power Co. After stints at the Electric Power Institute and GAI Consultants, he founded Enertech Consultants in 1982. He has advised the federal Department of Energy on research projects and spoken across the country and world about this research.

Michael C. Simmons has been an entrepreneur and innovator of small businesses for more than three decades. He is

owner and president of Quality Air Solutions, Express Scale Parts and Manufacturing, and VIC Systems. He earned a degree in civil engineering from the University in 1973 and soon began working as a sales engineer for American Cast Iron Pipe Co. near Kansas City, Missouri. In 1981, he and a partner purchased Quality Industrial Products, a distributor of industrial, pharmaceutical and food-handling piping systems. Simmons sold his ownership in the company 29 years later and opened Quality Air Solutions with two product lines dealing with compressed air filtration and nitrogen generation. Express Scale Parts and Manufacturing makes equipment for weighing, bagging and conveying. In August 2013, Simmons purchased the assets of VIC Systems International Inc., forming a new company, VIC Systems International LLC.

Nail receives the UA engineering Outstanding Alumni Volunteer AwardIn 1995, The University of Alabama College of Engineering began a yearly tradition of recognizing alumni who provide excellent volunteer assistance to the College. The Outstanding Alumni Volunteer award recipient for 2014 is Richard A. “Rick” Nail II.

Nail is an active member of the Capstone Engineering Society, serving on its board of directors since 2011. He has served on the CES Golf Tournament committee and has donated his time to talk

Alumni Dynamics

with students during the CES networking receptions. A member of the advisory board for Mentor UPP: Undergraduate and Professional Partnering, Nail volunteers as an alumni mentor to current students in the College.

He has been a member of UA’s civil, construction and environmental engineering advisory board for the last eight years. In 2009, Nail was named a UA department of civil, construction and environmental engineering fellow. He teamed with the department in 2003 to help develop and implement a new concept for the senior design class, where he served as project director in 2004 and 2005. In 2013, Nail received the Keith-Woodman Award from the department.

Nail graduated from the Capstone with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1994. He is executive vice president for LBYD Inc. A registered professional engineer in five states, Nail is also a LEED accredited professional. Nail and his wife, April, reside in Gardendale, Alabama, and they have a daughter.

Endowed scholarship funded through an alumnus’s boyhood jobIn 1933, when Vincent D. Lauria was 12, his father moved the family from their humble home in southern Italy to New York City to escape a growing fascist party conscripting children into their fold. Lauria’s father was a shoemaker, and Lauria worked as a shoeshine boy or in his father’s shop while in school to

help the family.After graduating from high school in Queens, Lauria decided

he needed to leave New York to focus on his studies. Determined to succeed, he chose The University of Alabama.

But, like many his age, he was drafted into the U.S. Army during World War II, serving in the Corps of Engineers. After the war, he returned to UA, graduating in 1947 with a degree in industrial engineering.

He joined A.I.L., an electronics defense contractor in Deer Park, New York. He later became vice president of manufacturing and product support, managing several military contracts. He retired in 1985 and continued as a consultant for companies and educational institutions.

In 1952, he married Margaret LaFata, and Lauria’s mother gave him the money he had earned as a boy shining shoes. It was $400, money she never spent, rather saving it for a special occasion. However, Lauria never spent it either.

When Lauria died on Sept. 18, 2013, at the age of 92, the account had grown to nearly $5,000. In a letter to the College earlier this year, Lauria’s son and estate executor, Vincent A. Lauria, wrote the account would fulfill his father’s promise to UA to fund a scholarship. “Thank you for helping us honor his memory in this way,” the younger Lauria wrote.

Richard A. “Rick” Nail II receives the Outstanding Alumni Volunteer Award from Dean Charles Karr.The Distinguished Engineering Fellows banquet was held at NorthRiver Yacht Club in Tuscaloosa.


Alumni Notes Jobs. Promotions. Awards.

Alumni Dynamics

1962Leroy McAbee Sr., BSME, was inducted into the Alabama Construction Hall of Fame. He is the founder of McAbee Construction Inc., one of the largest heavy-industrial and fabricating contractors in the Southeast.

1979Jay Farrington, BSEE, was named planning, compliance and regulatory manager at PowerSouth. 1984Clyde Ashley Jr., BSCE, was promoted to section chief of the architectural, structural and center of standardization section in the engineering division at the Mobile district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Jimmy Cochran, BSCE, was ordained as a minister of the gospel and earned a master’s degree in theological studies from Liberty Baptist

Theological Seminary. He is the founder and chairman of Fireproof Ministries, a nonprofit that serves teens and young adults. He is also a design engineer at Covenant Steel Warehouse.

John Hall, BSME, joined Venturi Aerospace in Huntsville, Alabama, in business development.

1986Steve Cornelius, BSME and a 2011 Distinguished Engineering Fellow, was appointed vice president of Kord Technologies, headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama. He is the former senior executive service director of Weapons Development and Integration for the U.S. Army. Kord Technologies delivers advanced engineering, training and management services to federal agencies.

1989Otis Spencer Jr., BSIE, became operating partner of GenNx360 Capital Partners, a New York private-equity firm investing in middle-market, business-to-business industrial and business-service companies..

1997Joe Armstrong, BSCE, was promoted to superintendent of Transmission O&M and assumed responsibility for fleet services with PowerSouth.

2005Dr. Heath Thomas Martin, BSME and MSME ’06, had his award-winning paper, “Interior Ballistics of Mortar Systems,” published in the Journal of Applied Mechanics. He is a thermal analyst with Jacobs Engineering in Huntsville.

2007Glenn Kelly, BSChE, earned his doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware in

August 2013 and joined Air Products and Chemicals Inc. in Allentown, Pennsylvania, as a senior research engineer.

2008Joan Reichwein Smith, BSMtE, received the Young Engineer of the Year Award from the Engineering Council of Birmingham. Smith is a systems integration lead engineer for the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development Center.

2012Lindsay Pharis Thompson, MSAE, became a manufacturing engineer on the Airbus assembly line in Mobile, Alabama, after spending nine months training in Germany.

Something we missed? Please send us your professional achievement and

recognitions for inclusion in Alumni Notes by visiting eng.ua.edu/alumni/update.

Alumni Dynamics

Robert A. CubbedgeRobert Allen “Bob” Cubbedge died March 13, 2014, in Toledo, Ohio. Cubbedge enlisted in the Army Air Corps Cadet program in high school and was called into active duty during World War II after graduating. When he returned, he obtained a private pilot’s license and, in 1949, received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University. He then returned to Toledo, where he worked as a sales engineer for Acklin Stamping and for Leake Stamping and Engraving Co. Later, he served as general sales manager for Kiemle Hankins Company before starting his own business, Cubbedge Controls, in 1971. Additionally, Cubbedge served as chairman of the board for Toledo YMCA Storer Camps, chairman for the Eagle Scout Board of Review, president of the Institute of Industrial Engineers, president of the Toledo Technical Council and chairman of the Robotics and Smart Automation Conference at the University of Toledo.

Thad Jackson GomillionThad Jackson Gomillion, a resident of Mountain Brook, Alabama, died March 23, 2014. After serving in the United States Air Force, Gomillion earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University in 1963. Afterward, he took a job as a salesman for Thompson Tractor Co. and was soon promoted to general sales manager. In 1970, he left the company and started Poe Coal Co., where he operated a strip-mining facility.

Kenneth Edwin HarwellKenneth Edwin Harwell died April 4, 2014, in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating first in his class from Wetumpka High School, Harwell received a congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. Instead, he chose to join the U.S. Army Reserve, where he eventually advanced to sergeant first class. In 1959 he earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University, again graduating first in his class, and he received the Most Outstanding Engineering Senior Award for 1958-59. Harwell later took a job as a professor at Auburn University, where he was instrumental in developing graduate programs in aerospace engineering and also designed and implemented the university’s doctoral program in aerospace engineering. Next, he served as a dean from 1982 through 1989 at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. In 1989, he was named senior vice president for research and associate provost for The University of Alabama in Huntsville. There, he helped to form the Global Hydrology and Climate Center and the Space Science and Technology Alliance. After retiring from UAH, he was appointed first chief scientist of the Air Force Research laboratory. In 1988, he was named an inaugural Distinguished Engineering Fellow by UA. He also established the Drs. Kenneth and Sharon Harwell Scholarship Endowment Fund for Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics at UA.

In Memory

From left to right: Robert Allen “Bob” Cubbedge, Kenneth Edwin Harwell, and Robert Eugene Moseley

From left to right: Jay Farrington, Jimmy Cochran, Steve Cornelius, Otis Spencer Jr., Joe Armstrong, Glenn Kelly and Joan Reichwein Smith.



Alumni Dynamics

In Memory Continued

Jack D. Alford, BSCE ’49

Ralph E. Bice Jr., BSEE ’55

Robert L. Body, BSIE ’47

A.G. Bridges Jr., BSME ’57

David Eugene Buttram, BSME ’56

Gregory Michael Cercy, BSCS ’95

John A. Colburn, BSCE ’63

Willie Glenn Creswell, BSIE ’50

Robert Irwin Dees, BSME ’49

Dwight Lyman Evans Jr., BSME ’48

Howard Thomas Forster, BSME ’42

Ed Grover, BSCE ’59

Robert J. Guin, BSCE ’66

Joseph Eve Harbuck Jr., BSIE ’54

James Arthur Hill, BSME ’43

Walter Lewis Jones Jr., BSCE ’64

Frank Joseph Krupp, BSAE ’39

Jack Quarles Lewis, BSME ’43

Philip Royce Mann, BSCE ’63

Arthur Julius Miller, BSME ’48

Steven J. Morin, BSCE ’76

William Perry Nichols, BSEE ’63

William Reuben Perry, BSME ’59

E.C. Powell Jr., BSCE ’69

Arthur D. Quackenbush Jr., BSCE ’33

Carl Edward Roberts Jr., MSE ’69

Robert Till Spann, BSCE ’63

Cecil Royce Stapleton, MSE ’69

Bobby Gerald Staton, BSAE ’50

Edward A. Street, BSEE ’62

Jerry Ray Thrasher, BSAE ’58

Henry Addison Van Hala, BSME ’49

Charles R. Weeks, BSAE ’64

Marcus Whitefield, BSCE ’49

James Morgan Wilkins, BSME ’63, MSME ’65

Tweetgineering — Because engineers use Twitter, too

“It’s not too often that we have engineering kids announce their school on ESPN.” —Dean Charles L. Karr, on touted football recruit Da’Shawn Hand picking UA, on a segment aired on WVTM Alabama’s 13.

“This is one of the best things that I could’ve possibly done to get the experience in how to design, fabricate and test something that is our own. It’s an incredible education experience, and it’s also an incredible amount of fun.” —Alex Few, BSAE ’14, on a hovercraft built by a team of engineering students that raced against a craft built by Auburn University students, in The Opelika-Auburn News.

“The Gulf states depend on offshore drilling, and no one would tolerate an end to it. Fishermen work on the rigs so they can pay for their fishing boats. California doesn’t allow new offshore drilling, but their economy doesn’t depend on it.” —Dr. Philip Johnson, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering , in the article, “Gulf Oil Feeding Frenzy,” in Business Alabama.

“People do not want to leave the safety of their homes, regardless of how safe their homes may be. Even if they are aware that they should not stay in their homes, they will tend to hope that it won’t get them this time.” —Dr. Laura Myers, senior research social scientist at the Center for Advanced Public Safety, in the article, “Tornado psychology after April 27, 2011: Persuading people to act,” on Al.com.

Bits and BytesThe College from Outside

Bits and Bytes

“I would be ashamed to let an employer log-in to my twitter just because they would finally understand how much of a nerd I am.” —Josh Sharpe, senior in computer science and STEM Path to MBA program.

“Late to class because I got caught up playing with my biolumine scent algae #oops.” —Kimberly Triplett, senior in chemical and biological engineering.

“Running into Dr. (Keith) Williams in the Starbucks line measuring 2nd order system responses with his iPhone app #favoriteteacher #AlabamaEngineering.” —Ashley Elliott, BSME ’14.

Dr. Andrew Graettinger, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering , on NBC Nightly News discussing tornado damage in Moore, Oklahoma.

Friends we will missJames Victor HastingsJames Victor Hastings died April 5, 2014, in Scottsboro, Alabama. Hastings joined the Army Air Corps following the attack on Pearl Harbor. After the war, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mining engineering and geology in 1950. Afterward, he spent 22 years working in the seismology and geomagnetism fields for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Additionally, he operated his family farm and a land-surveying business. He served on several boards, including the Jackson County Economic Development Board and the Jackson County Equalization Board. .James Harvey Honeycutt Jr.James Harvey Honeycutt Jr. died Feb. 4, 2014. Honeycutt received a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University in 1947. He also served in the Marine Corps during World War II and again in the Korean War, where he received a purple heart and a bronze star. Honeycutt spent 31 years working at Alabama Power Co. before retiring in 1988.

Roland Eugene Moseley Ronald Eugene Moseley died March 9, 2014, in Melbourne Beach, Florida. Moseley enlisted in the Air Force in 1946 and was later promoted to staff sergeant. In 1955, Moseley earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from UA. Later, he moved with his family to Brevard County, where he worked as an electrical engineer at Harris Corp. While there, he designed the NASA Tracking, Data Relay and Satellite system, which was used for every manned spaceflight from NASA’s Mercury project.


CE: What can we learn from studying tornado damage that we do not already know?

Graettinger: We need to consider the building components that are the starting points for damage that lead to loss of life, injuries and economic loss during a tornado. If we engineer for these weak areas, we can start keeping these buildings together during all but the strongest winds a tornado can produce.

CE: What are those weaker areas observed during post-tornado research?

Graettinger: Garages are one of the first things we can see fail. Once you open it up, it’s like you have a big parachute that captures even more air that can lead to more damage. The roof can come off. The walls can come down.

What we see in our research are simple nails holding the roof on the house, and you’d expect the weight of that roof to keep it intact. In a tornado, though, there’s such uplift force that the roof can just get pulled off.

CE: So what can people with older homes do to protect against tornados?

Graettinger: Retrofitting older homes is not cost-effective, but everyone should consider getting a safe room or storm shelter either in their home or in their local area. In Moore, we observed 75 shelters in the path of the storm, and they all performed well.

That’s important because while progress is made toward crafting building codes to protect against smaller tornadoes, in large storms or when retrofitting existing homes, a safe room is the best option to save lives.


After a powerful tornado struck Moore, Oklahoma, in May 2013, researchers from six institutions traveled there as part of the National Science Foundation grant awarded to UA to investigate and gather data about the damage to, and performance of, wood-frame structures in the affected areas due to strong winds.

Their findings were presented at the 2014 Structures Congress in Boston, Massachusetts, held by the Structural Engineering Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Dr. Andrew J. Graettinger, associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and lead author of a report by the team of researchers, said the findings from Moore are part of a broader effort to better understand the forces generated by large tornadoes and the distribution of wind force across a tornado’s path as well as to make recommendations for design-code improvements and general safety guidelines. Much of the team also worked together to study damage in the wake of strong tornados that hit Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Joplin, Missouri, in 2011.

End User

End UserCapstone Engineers and Computer Scientists on Today’s Technology

Dear Members of the Capstone Engineering Society,When I began as the manager of the CES nearly six years ago, there were approximately 920 active alumni members and 28 alumni serving on the CES board of directors. Our primary focus was on alumni relations, annual giving and raising funds to support the Capstone Engineering Society Endowed Scholarship Fund. Additionally, the CES produced the Capstone Engineer magazine, sponsored alumni events, supported the Ambassadors for the College of Engineering and recognized many of the College’s outstanding students and alumni with yearly awards. This model continues to be notable, as it has served a significant purpose since the CES was founded in 1973.

Currently, the CES has more than 1,250 members, 42 board members and more than $1.375 million in the Capstone Engineering Society Endowed Scholarship Fund that supports several students with four-year scholarships. The CES assists in recruiting efforts for the College and UA, is on the cutting edge with the Capstone Engineer and interacts with alumni and friends at events like the CES golf tournament and UA homecoming. There have been great efforts to connect with alumni through various mediums, including social media. The CES LinkedIn group, for instance, has grown to more than 1,200 members.

Today, the CES is still the alumni association for the College, but our vision and programming continue to expand. As time and the

College have changed, it became essential for our students to learn the importance of collaboration, partnerships and networking, so the CES sought opportunities to fill this void.

The first opportunity was the Mentor UPP Program. The CES collaborated with UA career services to partner with our alumni, the College’s departmental advisory boards, UA’s Office of Veteran and Military Affairs and others in the Mentor UPP: Undergraduate Professional Partnering program. The students benefit from the best teachers — our alumni — those who have gone before them and who are giving of themselves and teaching our students to pay it forward.

Our second opportunity came unexpectedly last summer when the CES was given space in Paty Hall by Dean Charles L. Karr. The idea of an interactive environment for collaboration, innovation and exploration was conceived, and the ENGenuity Lab came to fruition. The ENGenuity Lab provides a place for students to meet individually or in groups or for programs like Mentor UPP or tutoring. The ENGenuity Lab provided the perfect space for a free, walk-in, Collegewide tutoring program and for more partnerships as the College of Arts and Sciences provides graduate teaching assistants to tutor math. The ENGenuity Lab is not limited to students; alumni in the Mentor UPP professional program are invited to use the lab to meet their mentees. Also, companies are welcome to use the ENGenuity Lab for information sessions and for meeting with targeted groups of students.

As we look to the future, the possibilities are endless. You are invited to share in the CES vision with your ideas and participation.

Roll Tide!

Nancy N. HolmesManager, Capstone Engineering Society

CES Message

Capstone Engineering SocietyCollege of EngineeringBox 870200 Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0200

“The CES gives us exposure to students. I feel I can contribute by being down here and talking directly with students, interacting with them so they can put a face with a name. It’s an opportunity I didn’t have when I was here, and that one-on-one interaction with students gives them the opportunity to ask me questions about whatever.” — Mark Cooper, MD, BSChE ’83, and CES member

The Capstone Engineering Society gives members the opportunity to help today’s students realize their career aspirations. Tell a friend or colleague about the help you provide the College of Engineering through the CES.

eng.ua.edu/alumni

Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage

PAIDThe University

of Alabama

capstone engineer - fall 2014

Documents

ua alumni

computer science students

ua engineeringsurveying

engineering tradition

university of alabama

computer science alumni

n e e r i n g h o

cese n g