College of Engineering

The Higher Education Research Council of the StateBoard of Education has awarded funds through the IdahoGlobal Entrepreneurial Mission (IGEM) initiative to threeprojects at the state’s research universities.

The three winning proposals were selected by areview committee comprises business and industry andhigher education representatives.

Boise State University will receive $700,000 toenhance its Computer Science program to help meetcompelling state economic development, research andworkforce needs.

“Boise State is investing the IGEM funding into itscomputer science program to address the needs of Idaho

industries by increasing its number of graduates in software development,” said Mark Rudin,Boise State vice president for research and economic development. “The university recognizes itsessential role in supporting our high-tech industry. New faculty members will result in morecomputer science research, stronger business ties and more students in the pipeline fortechnology careers.”

Idaho State University was awarded $670,700 for development of commercially-viable,accelerator-produced materials for medical and semiconductor industry applications. Universityof Idaho will use its award of $640,200 for a multidisciplinary cyber-security faculty cluster hire.The grant will fund new faculty to support cyber-security research and education in computerscience, electrical and computer engineering, civil engineering and sociology.

The vision of IGEM is to leverage private-industry guidance and the talent and expertise ofIdaho’s research universities to commercialize innovative and viable technologies that willstrengthen Idaho’s economy. The 2012 Idaho Legislature appropriated $2 million through theIGEM initiative for research funding for Idaho’s universities.

NewsletterNewsletter

continued on page 2

Number of Graduates26 undergraduates received a Bachelor ofScience (B.S.) Degree in Computer Sciencefrom Boise State University betweenDecember 2011 and May 2012.

Employment RatesFollowing graduation, 21 of the CS graduateswere employed in Idaho and 4 were pursuinggraduate degrees.

EmployersThe Computer Science students who receivedtheir B.S. degrees went on to work at thefollowing companies: Acquity Group,Clearwater Analytics, Hewlett Packard,MarkMonitor, Micron Technology, MoonExpress, Pazzles.com, and Sybase.

InternshipsOf these graduates, over 90% held aninternship prior to job placement, working atthe following companies: ClearwaterAnalytics, Hewlett Packard, MarkMonitor,Micron Technology, Personal Shopper, NASA(Langley) and Sybase.

Fall 2012

A new Boise State Universitystudy has found that a warmingclimate could impact the aquifer forboth the Spokane River and BoiseRiver basins, which provide water formuch of Idaho and parts of EasternWashington.

Boise State civil engineeringresearchers Venkataramana Sridharand Xin Jin simulated more than100 different climate changemodeling scenarios to evaluate how

changes in precipitation, temperature, soil moisture, and timing of snow meltwould affect the aquifers over the next 50 years.

The modeling results made a number of interesting predictions.Average temperatures could increase by 2 to 4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2060.Models predicted potential change to annual precipitation rates rangingfrom a 3 percent decrease to a 36 percent increase for the Boise River Basin.A narrower range (6 percent decrease to 17 percent increase) was predictedfor the Spokane River Basin.

Although a 2 to 4 degree temperature increase over 50 years may seeminsignificant at first glance, researchers remind us that it takes more extremedaily temperatures occurring more frequently to raise the averagetemperature by even one degree.

In addition, the models predicted that peak snow melt could shift fromMay to April, altering stream flows and aquifer recharge.

"Warmer temperatures might cause more precipitation to fall as raininstead of snow in the mountains. In this case, you have more run off to

Boise State Study Finds Warming Climate Could Significantly Change Aquifer

Computer Science Proposal Approved by HERC for IGEM FundingBy Frank Zang

From the Dean’s Desk

There's an element ofnostalgia in the start of everynew school year. The campuscomes alive again after thequiet summer months.Students and faculty rush toclasses, cars circle theparking lots looking forelusive spaces, andexcitement builds for every

home game day as the air turns cooler and theleaves start to turn color.

Here in the College of Engineering, ourhallways and classrooms are bustling with morestudents than ever - 2,200 undergraduate andgraduate students now call Engineering their homecollege at Boise State. Some departments aregrowing more rapidly than we could have evenimagined or predicted just a few years ago. Over thepast four years, Civil Engineering majors haveincreased by almost 25 percent, Computer Scienceenrollment has grown by 43 percent, andMechanical and Biomedical Engineering majors areclose to doubling their numbers from 319 to morethan 550.

As we welcome our record number of studentsthis fall, it is sobering to consider the growing cost ofa college education that they must bear. BoiseState's Financial Aid and Scholarships Office nowestimates that it will cost an Idaho resident almost$20,000 to attend Boise State full-time for just oneyear. Only $5,884 of this cost is tuition; the rest isspent on increasing costs for room and board,transportation, books, and other personal expenses.No wonder students today struggle to stay ahead ofthe financial burden of obtaining college education.

Boise State students work hard for theireducation and they excel. Nearly half of our students(46%) have GPAs over 3.0 and easily qualify forscholarships...when scholarships are available. The426 students in Computer Science must compete forjust $14,000 in scholarships - not even enough tosupport just one student for one year. Now morethan ever we have a critical need for morescholarship money for our students. Our endowedscholarship donors recognize that a scholarship fundis a lasting legacy, providing much-needed money forstudent education year after year. Healthyscholarships also help attract and reward theoutstanding students who are the foundation of ourstrong, diverse, and vital college community.

As the hallways of our college fill again this fall,it is my priority to also fill our scholarship funds sothat by next fall, we can not only report record-breaking enrollment, but also record-breakingscholarship awards.

Amy Moll

Dean and ProfessorCollege of Engineering

College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012

There is no more pressing need at Boise State University than funding for scholarships.

Scholarships ensure that the best and most deserving students become and remainBroncos, that they have the means to reach their goals and that they succeed to theirfullest ability.

In short, scholarships change lives.

Financial concerns are the top reason students leave Boise State before earning theirdegree. Others, including local students who identify closely with Boise State and want tobecome Broncos, are lured to other universities by scholarship offers that Boise Statecannot match at present. And many, who may be unlikely to leave the area for financial orcultural reasons, opt out of college altogether due to their inability to pay.

Many of these students would become and remain Boise State students and,ultimately, Boise State graduates if more scholarship dollars were available. Boise Statemust compete to recruit and retain the best and most deserving students no matter theirbackground or area of study.

Private gifts are an irreplaceable element of that effort.

Last year, only one quarter of highly qualified College of Engineering (COEN)students received scholarships, simply because there weren’t enough funds available tomake awards. We want to change that statistic by doubling the amount of scholarshipsavailable for future engineering students. Please consider making a contribution to theCollege of Engineering Scholarship Fund. For more information about establishing aCOEN scholarship, or contributing to an existing scholarship, please contact: MaryRutherford, Director of Development, via email maryrutherford@boisestate.edu, or byphone (208) 426-2022.

By giving in support of Boise State scholarships, donors help students bear escalatingcosts, pursue their degree unhindered by financial uncertainty and understand that theyare valued as a part of the Bronco family. Boise State strives to be the school of choice forstudents who need or want a scholarship, and will compete for the best, most deservingstudents.

As future Boise State graduates and successful alumni, their loyalty and pride asBroncos reinforces the foundation for our university’s bright future and enrich its traditionsfor generations to come.

Scholarships Change LivesBy Mary Rutherford

surface water and less gets into the groundwater to recharge the aquifer," said Sridhar,assistant professor of civil engineering. "In terms of peak flows, we expect that in thefuture, the high flows will be higher and earlier, and the low flows will be lower thanthe historic highs and lows."

To conduct the study, the researchers used the Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT), a public domain model used to evaluate large, complex watersheds. Thetemperature and precipitation data used in the study came from many global climatemodels.

The researchers hope that the results of their study will help policy makers betterunderstand the implications of climate change on regional hydrologic patterns so thatthey can make informed land use decisions.

The study was funded by the National Science Foundation Experimental Programto Simulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) in Idaho, as well as seed funding providedby the U.S. Geological Survey through the Water Resources Research Act.

The results of the study appear online in the Journal of the American WaterResources Association.

Warming Climate Could Significantly Change Aquifer continued from page 1

“

2

Working for

N

Scott lives in

B

Lena is

e

Brianm

He is licensed in Idaho and

C

'04h

He has a 6 year oldd

C

and is currentlys

Linda has worked on

p

She can’t wait

t

R

Then found a full time

p Rick passed the PE exam

i InM where he currently work as

a

Joe

w He is part of

a

He is in the

D

COEN Faculty in Action

CS Faculty Member is Part of Award-Winning 3D GameLab Development Team

Alark Joshi, CS, is part of a team of BoiseState faculty who developed an award-winning research project in Boise State’sDepartment of Educational Technology(EdTech) called 3D GameLab – a “stage3 winner” in the Digital Media andLearning Badges for Life Competition,which offers awards up to $200,000.

3D GameLab is an online learningplatform that engages learners with

game mechanics such as experience points, levels and badges. With a simple click, teachersand students can see the quests, projects and other work required to earn recognition fornew skills, competencies, knowledge and achievements. Badges offer a digital alternative totraditional ways of validating accomplishment, skill, quality or interest in a field.

Partnered with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 3DGameLab’s project won for their proposal called Planet Stewards, a personalized high schoolenvironmental literacy curriculum and Mozilla badge system inside 3D GameLab. Highschool students would be able to create their own personalized learning pathways in ocean,coastal and atmospheric science education. Their learning would be recognized as an officialachievement of the National Science Education Standards.

The Digital Media and Learning Badges for Life Competition is a joint effort with the MozillaFoundation. The competition had three stages:

• In stage one, individuals, for-profit companies, universities and community organizationsproposed possible content, programs or activities.

• In stage two, individuals, teams or organizations such as EdTech, skilled in the design ofbadge systems, proposed the system they wanted to build.

• In stage three, the final stage, the winners from stage one were matched with thewinners from stage two to form teams to make final badge proposals.

The team included: Lisa Dawley (EdTech, Boise State); Chris Haskell (EdTech, Boise State);Andy Hung (EdTech, Boise State); Alark Joshi (Computer Science, Boise State); Peg Steffen(NOAA). Work began on April 1 and will last for 12 months.

College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012

Miller, CE, Named 2012 Foundation Scholar atBoise State

Boise State Universityhas named faculty membersSondra Miller, Heidi Reederand Nancy Napier 2012University FoundationScholars.

The annual awardshonor faculty members whohave demonstrated ongoingcommitment, expertise and

accomplishment in teaching, research/creativeactivity, or professionally related service. Awardsare presented by the Office of the Provosttogether with the University Foundation.

Sondra Miller, assistant professor of civilengineering, is the recipient of the FoundationScholars Service Award that celebrates a facultymember who has made substantial professionallyrelated service contributions. The selectioncommittee members were especially impressed byher enthusiastic and selfless devotion to studentservice while also providing exemplary service toher department, college, university, profession andcommunity. As the first Faculty-in-Residence forthe Engineering Residential College, sheestablished a tradition of excellence for theprogram that has greatly contributed to itsongoing success. As the lead faculty adviser,professor Miller helped the 2010-2011 NASAMicrogravity University team successfully designexperiments and instrumentation

3

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute awards $4,000 to Elisa Barney SmithResearch Project

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at BoiseState University has announced the recipients of thefirst Osher Institute faculty grants. The grantees andtheir projects were selected from a field of 23proposals submitted by faculty members fromdepartments across disciplines.

The $16,000 in grants ($4,000 to eachrecipient) was made possible by generouscontributions of Osher members and Oshercommunity partners. They recognize the scholarship

of Boise State faculty and serve to promote research and as a means ofthanking the university for years of support for the Osher Institute, saidOsher Director Ellie McKinnon.

Elisa Barney Smith, Department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering, and Steven Olsen-Smith, Department of English, receivedfunding for their collaborative project involving the implementation ofoptical character recognition software that will transform static images ofdocuments to searchable text files, including marginalia notation.

Also receiving awards were: Phil Atlakson, Department of TheatreArts; Jesse Barber, Department of Biological Sciences, and GregKaltenecker, Idaho Bird Observatory; and Juliette Tinker, Department ofBiological Sciences.

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Boise State features short,non-credit classes, lectures and field trips designed for intellectuallycurious adults over the age of 50. This year the institute provided 39courses, two lecture series and numerous field trips and special events forits 800 active members.

Presenters are drawn primarily from Boise State faculty, but alsoinclude faculty from sister institutions in the region and communityexperts. For more information, visit www.boisestate.edu/osher.

4 College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012 C

Going Places

This spring, seventeen residents from Boise State University’sEngineering Residential College, a Living Learning Community, plantedhundreds of sagebrush and bitterbrush seedlings in an area east of Boise,where a human-caused fire last summer burned critical winter range forbig game. Civil engineering sophomore Jacob Norris organized andcoordinated the volunteer activity through the Idaho Department of Fish& Game. The group received an award for their service to the community.The 2011-2012 Engineering Residential College includes sixteen

freshmen, four sophomores, program assistant Jacob O’Brien and alsofaculty in residence professor Janet Callahan and teen in residence Ben(who also volunteered that day).

Other service activities that the 2011-2012 Engineering ResidentialCollege have enjoyed include a wide variety of hands-on activities, fromoutreach with hundreds of young people during Discover EngineeringDay, to helping build for a day for Habitat for Humanity and readying theBogus Basin Nordic trails lighting system for the season.

A Boise State student team recently joined groups from MIT, Yale, Purdue and 10 other universitiesat the competitive Microgravity University program in Houston, Texas.

The group’s project, titled “Calcium Flux in Osteocytes and Osteoblasts Due to GravitationalManipulation,” was chosen by NASA from more than 60 proposals. The experiment tested calciumsignaling in bone cells during parabolic flight. Data from the experiment will further research on boneloss in astronauts and also apply to the chronic disease of osteoporosis.

The Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program (RGEFP) gives undergraduate students theopportunity to propose, build and fly experiments in reduced gravity. Teams performed experimentsaboard a microgravity aircraft that produces periods of weightlessness for up to 25 seconds at a time byexecuting a series of approximately 30 roller coaster-like parabolas over the Gulf of Mexico. During thefree falls, the students were able to gather data in the unique environment that mimics space.

S

Engineering Residential College Students Complete Fire Restoration Planting

Boise State Team Experiments with Zero GravityBy Kathleen Tuck

Brian Crucian (NASA immunology lab),Eugene Castro, Marie Tharp, Lindsey

Catlin, Audra Phelps, Matt Dolan, ReillyClark, Jason Archer, David Connolly and

Sarah Haight (faculty advisor)

5 College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012

Places

Students in Boise State’s College of Engineering are celebratinga first-place overall win in the advanced category of the 2012 SAEAero Design West competition held in Van Nuys, Calif. It is the firsttime Boise State has won after competing for the past six years indesigning, building and flying a remotely piloted aircraft capable ofcarrying a high payload while meeting strict competitionspecifications.

The competition featured 65 teams from around the world andis intended to provide undergraduate and graduate engineeringstudents with a real-life engineering challenge. After months ofgrueling work, Boise State’s student team built the competition’s onlyfully composite aircraft and the only aircraft to fly with 55 poundsgross weight. In addition to being evaluated on a design report and adesign presentation, the team also was evaluated on flightcharacteristics such as weight carrying capabilities and reliabilitythrough multiple flight rounds.

“I think the reliability of performing successfully was the factorthat put us ahead of the rest,” said Boise State student Mallory Yates, the team’s captain. “The design was a result of advanced aerodynamicoptimization and iterative structural weight savings. It was a neck and neck calculation near the end and it was a bit nerve racking, but I thought thatwe probably had it.”

The first-place win earned the Boise State team a trophy and $1,000 in prize money, which will help build a base for future contest submissions.Advised by Don Plumlee, an assistant professor of mechanical and biomedical engineering, the team included Jordan Anderson, Kelci Parrish,Brendan Healy, Michael Large, Zach Harris, Tom Green, Phil Rodman, Nate Phillips, James Carrillo, Josh Brookshire, Matt McCrink and Yates.

SAE International is the premier membership society dedicated to advancing mobility engineering worldwide. It has more than 121,000 membersfrom more than 97 countries — engineers, business executives, educators and students who share information and exchange ideas for advancing theengineering of mobility systems.

Boise State Engineering Students First at International Aero Design CompetitionBy Matt Pene

Construction Management Club Rebuilds Pedestrian Bridge in Park By Sherry Squires

A partnership between Boise State’s student Construction ManagementClub and the City of Boise has improved access to the Discovery Center ofIdaho from Julia Davis Park.

The club just completed reconstruction of the aging wooden footbridgethat links the two using funds provided by NASA grants. The clubobtained its own contractor license and has managed and completed thestructural work for the city, including removal of wood decking and stairtreads, installation of new decking, replacing chain link fencing onhandrails with pickets, cleaning and sealing all wood understructures andreplacing two beams.

The project provided students with hands-on experience and greatlyimproved access to and from the park.

Despite economic weak spots in the construction industry, Boise State’s

CM students receive great job offers upon graduation, said facultymember and project organizer Casey Cline, thanks in part to experienceslike the bridge project.

6 College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012

John Wagstaff, ME, '01 lives in Mt. Vernon, IL. Working forNational Railway Equipment Co.John has 5 children and one due inSeptember.

Scott Shadley,EE, '02 is a SolidState Drive(SSD)TechnicalMarketingExpert atMicronTechnology,since July2011. Scottformerly

worked with STEC Inc, Santa Ana,CA 2007 – 2011. Scott lives inBoise with his wife, son (11), anddaughter (8).

Lena (Hall) Gandiaga, CE, '03, and Kris Gandiaga, ME, '04welcomed newbaby HenryJamesGandiaga bornon April 24,2012,weighing 7 lb5 oz and was20.5” inlength. Lena isemployed atCH2M Hill, and Kris at Motive Power.

Shaun Greer, ME Dec. '03is a project manager and operationleader at CH2M HILL in Boise, ID. Inaddition to enjoying his wife andtwo wonderful girls, Gracie(4) andMonroe(2), he is enjoying operatingtwo internet lead generationcompanies that he founded and isnow back in the classroom at BoiseState enrolled in the MBA program.

Brian Kibler, EE, '03 works at Motorola Solutions, in FortLauderdale, Florida, in Productmanagement/Development GlobalASTRO Product Solutions. Brianmanages and develops MissionCritical two way radios for Police,Fire Fighters, Military and Federalgroups world wide.

Matthew Leslie, EE, '03is a Senior Engineer at MarvellTechnology Group in Boise. Matthewworks with DDR interfaces andsignal integrity.

Jeff Ward, CE, '03was elected an AssociateStockholder position with CSHQA.Ward has been with the firm since2004. He is licensed in Idaho andColorado and is a member of theNational Council of Examiners forEngineering and Surveying (NCEES).

Joel Ayers, ME, '04has been working with URS, formerlyWashington Group, since graduation.He spent the last 7 years living inPaducah, Kentucky working at theOlmsted Dam Project in Olmsted,Illinois. Joel recently relocated backto the URS Boise office working forthe Energy and Construction group inthe Engineering and Estimatingdepartment. He has a 6 year olddaughter, and his oldest daughter willgraduate high school this year andwill attend Boise State in the fall.

Christian Bramwell, ME, '04works for Polaris Industries as aquality engineer in Spirit Lake, IA.It's fun, challenging and he gets tomake really cool toys!

Lucas Dennison, ME, '04works for the US Navy as aSubmarine Officer, and is currentlyserving as Weapons Officer. He isStationed in Bangor, Washingtonwith his wife Julianne and theirthree children.

Zakeyo Ngoma, CE ‘04is a Senior Civil Engineer with PugetSound Energy in Bellevue, WA. He is

married with 9-year-old identicaltwin daughters and lives in Kent, WA

Linda Peters, CE, '04is a Structural Engineer atMartin/Martin ConsultingEngineers. Linda has worked onprojects such as the addition to theDenver Museum of Nature andScience, the Ralph Carr ColoradoJudicial Center, a new facility at theNational Renewable EnergyLaboratory (NREL), renovation of theNational Institute of Standards andTechnology (NIST) and currently theadditions to the New BelgiumBrewing Company -- She can’t waitto make the first site visit!

Rick Kidneigh, EE, '05 worked as an engineering intern atIdaho Power from May 2004 to May2005 in the Reliability Engineeringgroup. Then found a full timeposition with Idaho Power as theeastern region Field Engineer inPocatello. Rick passed the PE examin 2009 and is licensed in Idaho. InMay 2011 he and his family returnedto Boise where he currently work asa senior engineer in the Idaho PowerReliability Engineer group.

Thomas Holman, CE, '06is a Structural Project Manager atDCI Engineers in Spokane,Washington.

Eric Ketelhut, ME, '07 works at Commissioning Agents, Inc.in San Diego, CA, as a MechanicalEngineer.

Joe Lane, CE, '07lives in Spokane, WA, and recentlygot engaged to fiance, Ashley. Joeworks for DC Engineering (based outof Meridian) managing commercialand industrial projects. He is part ofa team that has started thestructural division at DC

Engineering.

Mike McKee, EE, '07 worked at Eaton Corporation since2008. In March 2012 he acceptedan internal offer with the EatonAsheville, NC plant as a productapplications engineer with the lowvoltage assemblies product line. TheMcKee family (2 daughters ages 7and 9 and my wife) relocated toAsheville in March.

Amrita Jashnani,EE, '09 works at MicronTechnology as aProduct Engineer,and recently gotmarried.

Ben Taylor, CE '09is working as a Civil Engineer for theBureau of Reclamation's regionaloffice here in Boise. He is in theDesign Group; primarily working onsalmon recovery projects. His kidsare getting big fast... son Alex is 7and in second grade, daughterZahna is turning 4 next week.

R U Following Us?

http://twitter.com/BSUEngineering

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=95564512914

Boise State College ofEngineering Alumni

BSUEngineering

http://coen.boisestate.edu/blogs/

Boise State College ofEngineering Related Blogs

Alumni NotesWe want to stay in touch.Please send your updates toLeandra Aburusa-Lete atlaburusa@boisestate.edu

Alumni News

P

7College of Engineering Newsletter | Fall 2012

Boise State

m

We want to change that statistic by doubling the amount of scholarshipsa Please consider making a contribution to theC For more information about establishing aC M

Boise State University Graduate Livingon Martian TimeBy KATY MOELLER — kmoeller@idahostatesman.com

Dan Isla, a 2009electrical engineeringgraduate, is part of ateam of Earthlings whoare now syncing theirwork schedules to theMartian day — going towork 39 minutes later.

To read the whole story, visithttp://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/08/09/2223831/bsu-grad-living-on-martian-time.html

Two Engineering Students Named to2012 Class of Boise State’s Top 10Scholars By Matt Pene

Two engineering students were among ten outstanding Boise Stategraduating seniors who were recognized for their exceptional academicsuccess at the annual Top Ten Scholars reception in April. Theengineering scholars were Jessica Minick, materials science andengineering, and Aaron Smith, mechanical engineering.Top Ten Scholar is one of the highest honors awarded to a Boise Statestudent. To qualify for consideration a student must have a 3.85 orhigher grade point average. Qualified students are then reviewed basedon academic breadth of coursework, research, creative works andpublications, presentations at professional meetings or conferences, andextra curricular community and campus service.

Jessica MinickMinick, from Boise, is a materials science and engineeringmajor and a recipient of the full-ride Thelma and DeanBrown Honors scholarship. She worked as a researchassistant with the Nanoscale Materials and Device Groupfor three years and led the DNA Chemical NetworksTeam in studying the operation of a DNA-based

nanomachine in biological media toward early diagnosis of cancer. In2010, she earned an IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence(INBRE) summer fellowship and in 2011 she received honorable mentionfor student posters at FNANO as one of a handful of undergraduatestudents. During her junior year, the Idaho Society of ProfessionalEngineers recognized her as the Outstanding Junior in MSE. Minick hasbeen highly involved in community activities, including DiscoverEngineering Days, World Relief, Special Olympics, Project Angel Tree,Race to Robie Creek, Discovery Center of Idaho, MSE Club andInternational Students Inc. After graduating from the Honors College,she will begin the biomedical master’s program at the University ofOxford in fall 2012.Honored Faculty: Dr. Elton Graugnard, assistant research professor,Department of Materials Science and Engineering

Aaron SmithSmith, from Meridian, will graduate from the HonorsCollege with a bachelor of science in mechanicalengineering and minors in biomedical engineering anddance. He is the recipient of several scholarships,including the National Science Foundation Scholarship,the National SMART Grant, the Mechanical EngineeringDepartment Scholarship and the Kathy Troutner Dance

Scholarship. His creativity, enhanced through dance, benefited hisresearch on developing an application for Ni-Mn-Ga, a magnetic shapememory alloy. Using this unique material, his research ultimately led tothe invention of a micropump (patent pending), which will be used inmicrofluidics and biological applications. Along with his research, he hasvolunteered and performed with several local dance organizations,including Idaho Dance Theatre, Off Center Dance and USA Dance. Smithwill travel to Savonlinna, Finland, after graduation where he willcontinue researching and developing applications for Ni-Mn-Ga whilepursuing a Ph.D. at Lappeenranta University of Technology.Honored Faculty: Dr. Caile Spear, professor, Department of Kinesiology

“The Alumni Association is proud to honor theseTop Ten Scholars for their academic success andvolunteer service on campus and in the community,”said Mark Arstein, executive director of the AlumniAssociation. “After hosting these awards for morethan two decades, we continue to be inspired by thecommitment and dedication of the recipients.”

Will the average person be able to afford space travel in the nextcentury?

Technologically, there are no major hurdles that could not beovercome in the next 100 years to prevent the average person fromtraveling beyond the confines of our atmosphere. The real answer liesin our collective vision for human space travel. When the first poweredhuman flight occurred in 1903, a European vacation would only havebeen available to our wealthiest citizens. What compelling reason willhumans have in the future to leave our planet and venture into space?Will there be lunar resorts for weekend getaways? Will there be orbitingEarth observation platforms? Will there be novel microgravity therapiesfor debilitating diseases? If so, space travel will become available andaffordable, almost like a quick trip to Paris.

Dr. Don Plumlee, assistant professor, Department of Mechanical &Biomedical Engineering

Faculpedia: The Art of Knowing Stuff

College of EngineeringDean: AMY MOLL(208) 426-1153

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs: JANET CALLAHAN(208) 426-1153

janetcallahan@boisestate.edu

Assistant Dean for Research & Infrastructure: REX OXFORD

(208) 426-5744roxford@boisestate.edu

Development Director:MARY RUTHERFORD

(208) 426-2022maryrutherford@boisestate.edu

Civil EngineeringChair: MANDAR KHANAL

(208) 426-3743mkhanal@boisestate.edu

Computer ScienceChair: MURALI MEDIDI

(208) 426-2283mmedidi@boisestate.edu

Construction ManagementChair: TONY SONGER(208) 426-3716

tonysonger@boisestate.edu

Electrical & Computer EngineeringChair: SIN MING LOO

(208) 426-2283smloo@boisestate.edu

Instructional &Performance Technology

Chair: DON STEPICH(208) 426-1312

dstepich@boisestate.edu

Materials Science & EngineeringChair: DARRYL BUTT

(208) 426-5640darrylbutt@boisestate.edu

Mechanical & Biomedical EngineeringChair: MICHELLE SABICK

(208) 426-4078msabick@boisestate.edu

companies: Acquity Group,C

CM Students Meet Star of Campus Read SelectionBy Sherry Squires

One group of Boise Statestudents got a jump start on the storyline in the 2012-13 Campus Readselection, “The Last Flight of theScarlet Macaw: One Woman's Fight toSave the World's Most Beautiful Bird.”

Students in professor TonySonger’s Social Responsibility inConstruction Management classspent their spring break in the smallvillage of Bella Vista, Belize, working

with third- and fourth-grade classrooms and building a playground for pre-K and kindergartenclasses at Our Lady of Bella Vista Primary School. Prior to the in-country projects, the class spenttime studying social responsibility and cultural aspects specific to Belize, and designing andplanning the construction of the playground.

One highlight of the trip was a visit to the Belize Zoo, where zoo director Sharon Matola spentseveral hours sharing her knowledge and passion for environmental responsibility with the students.Matola, a former circus performer turned Belize zoo owner, is the unlikely hero in “The Last Flight ofthe Scarlet Macaw.” She is a true eccentric, riding around on a motorcycle and keeping a three-legged jaguar as a pet. But when a web of corporations, CEOs, banks and bureaucrats conspired topurchase and destroy one of the great rivers of Central America — and one of the final habitats ofthe scarlet macaw — she banded together a ragtag army of local villagers and started a campaignto save the remaining birds.

Her dramatic struggle brings alive the worldwide battle over globalization, demand for energy,environmental destruction, the fate of the planet’s species, and the realities of economic survival ina tiny Third World country.

Matola will personally share her story on campus Oct. 2; author Bruce Barcott will visit campusMarch 5, 2013. Each of their presentations will begin at 7 p.m. in the Student Union SimplotBallroom.

“The Last Flight of the Scarlet Macaw” was named one of the best books of 2008 by LibraryJournal. Barcott is an environmental journalist and a 2009 Guggenheim Fellow in nonfiction. Hisprevious book, “The Measure of a Mountain: Beauty and Terror on Mount Rainier,” was a recipientof the Washington State Governor’s Award and was recently re-issued in a 10th anniversary edition.Barcott lives in Boulder, Colo. His articles appear in Outside Magazine, National Geographic, TheNew York Times Magazine and numerous other publications.

To learn more about the student trip to Belize, visit http://cmbelizetrip2012.blogspot.com.