coen newsletter spring 2011
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Boise State College of Engineering Alumni NewsletterTRANSCRIPT
College of EngineeringEngineering and Technology Building1910 University DriveBoise, Idaho 83725-2100126A100004
Non-Profit Organ.U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDBoise, IdahoPermit No. 1
College of EngineeringInterim Dean: AMY MOLL
(208) 426-1153
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs:JANET CALLAHAN(208) 426-1450
Assistant Dean for Research & Infrastructure:REX OXFORD
(208) [email protected]
Development Director:MELINDA SEEVERS(208) 426-5470
Civil EngineeringChair: ROBERT HAMILTON
(208) [email protected]
Computer ScienceChair:MURALI MEDIDI
(208) [email protected]
Construction ManagementChair: TONY SONGER(208) 426-3716
Electrical & Computer EngineeringInterim Chair: NADER RAFLA
(208) [email protected]
Instructional &Performance Technology
Chair: DON STEPICH(208) 426-1312
Materials Science & EngineeringChair: DARRYL BUTT
(208) [email protected]
Mechanical & Biomedical EngineeringChair: JAMES FERGUSON
(208) [email protected]
College of Engineering NewsletterNewsletterInanc Senocak ReceivesNSF Early CAREER AwardBy Erin Ryan
Inanc Senocak, an assistant professor inthe Department of Mechanical and
Biomedical Engineering, hasreceived the National ScienceFoundation’s most prestigious awardfor early career faculty. The$400,000 CAREER Awardrecognizes individuals whoexemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstandingresearch, excellent education andthe integration of education andresearch within the context of themission of their organizations.
Senocak is the seventh professorever to receive a CAREER Awardwhile at Boise State,
“Dr. Senocak is an exemplaryfaculty member, combiningimpressive work in the lab withengagement of students and
community members in technical subjects that affect our lives and will shape the future,” said College of Engineering Interim Dean Amy Moll. “The CAREERAward is a fitting acknowledgement of his outstanding qualities and growing reputation in the field.”
Senocak completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey and earned his master’s and Ph.D.in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida. Before joining the Boise State faculty in 2007, he held postdoctoral research positions at the Centerfor Turbulence Research (jointly operated by NASA and Stanford University) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Senocak’s research long has been focused on the atmosphere, from using supercomputers to simulate the physical processes that take place in its boundarylayer to reconstructing the dispersion of airborne threats. With the CAREER Award funding, Senocak will apply his expertise to increasing the utilization ofwind energy resources for electricity production. This issue is especially relevant in Idaho, which lacks the short-term forecasting and grid integrationcapabilities that would allow residents and neighboring states to take full advantage of vast wind energy potential.
Spring 2011
CM Celebrates 30 YearsBy Margaret Scott
For three decades, the Department of ConstructionManagement (CM) has been strongly tied to the constructionindustry. In fact, construction management education beganat the urging of the Idaho branch of the Associated GeneralContractors of America (AGC) who approached Boise StateUniversity in 1976 about the need for a constructionmanagement program.
The AGC group was so supportive of the proposed newprogram that they donated money to help with first yearfunding of construction management faculty salaries, operating expenses and capitalexpenses. During the following year a curriculum, patterned after other establishedconstruction management programs, was developed and approved by the State Board of
Continured on page 2
$500,000 – $1,000,000Micron Technology Foundation Inc.
$50,000 – $499,999International Society forTechnology in Education & Hewlett-Packard, Inc.MetaGeek, LLC
$25,000 – $49,999Eileen BarberHarry W. Morrison Foundation
$10,000 – $24,999The Comprehensive Group
$5,000 – $9,999Edithe BarclayC-2 ConstructionRobert R. DargatzPOWER Engineers Inc.SPF Water Engineering, LLCURS Corporation
$2,500 – $4,999Builders Mechanical, Inc.Norman F. DahmGeneral Electric FoundationRobert & Anne HayVanessa HutchisonIdaho Concrete MasonryAssociationMarCon, Inc.McMillen, LLCPerkins Construction, Inc.George W. PomeroyStaker Parson Companies
$1,000 – $2,499Aviation Specialties Unlimited, Inc.Barbara Bowling & John GardnerJim J. Browning, Ph.D.Forest Auto and Truck PartsAdriana L. GroffMary Anne E. Hartman-CunninghamJason HynesThe John William JacksonPhilanthropic Gift FundDean KleinKnife River Corp.
MCM Foundation, Inc.Amy Moll & Bill KnowltonSusan & Arlen PlantingWeyerhaeuser CompanyFoundation
$500 – $999R. Jake BakerCentral Paving Company, Inc.Fengyi Chen & Wei ZhangSeung Y. ChyungColeman Homes, LLCWilliam & Carol DeasyGoodfellow Bros, Inc.John H. GriffinCarol L. MacGregorMaria MitkovaOrmaza Construction, Inc.Society of Women EngineersStarr Corporation
$250 – $499Blue Arc ElectricDarryl P. ButtChuck's Gear, Inc.Casey ClineEric R. CutbirthMelissa L. ElkintonMolly GribbHeery International, Inc.Valerie J. HenningKevin F. KleinFrank W. LeonardLochsa Engineering of IdahoLaila E. MaqboolGarry C. MattsonMonte C. McClureBill MincksClay & Barbara MorganGeorge A. MurgelQuality Thermistor, Inc.Dick & Carol SevierAngelica M. YouHouse
$100 – $249Patrick & Bobbie AllaireMichele Y. ArmstrongRobert D. BarclayJoseph D. Borelli
Linda A. BurnettBuss Mechanical ServicesRussell & Virginia CentanniCloverdale PlumbingRobert J. CluneJohn L. CristobalIvan & Elizabeth CusterTricia A. DavisShaun H. DevineJudith & Richard DicksonLinda & Rudy EggertGary J. EricksonMarilyn P. FarnemanPat D. GeertsonPete & Connie GriesmyerHardrock Excavating, Inc.Eamonn T. HarterRandall R. HayesMandar KhanalCheryl & Daniel KnightonTracy & Hans KorsvallDavid & Lori KunzBrandon M. LoganAnthony W. MarkerJane M. MasonSteven G. MillardKelly NewtonRex J. OxfordPremier Technology, Inc.The Russell CorporationJayne SalbMark B. SamsMargaret M. ScottScott R. SiewertSteven P. SpragueBrandy StemmlerRobert & Melanie StohnerSunshine Sports and Marketing, LLCValley Cold Storage andTransportation, Inc.Brad A. VawterSteve VillachicaBrenda WadeWashington Group FoundationThad & Donna WelchWestern Construction Inc.Richard L. WoodThomas J. Woodall
Honor Role of Givers 2010(Donations received Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2010) With thanks to our donors:
2
From the Dean’s Desk
Spring is one of my favoritetimes of year. The first bravebulbs and plants start to sendout new shoots of growth andthe weather starts to warm up.Spring also bringscommencement, one of myfavorite events. It is a time theuniversity stops and celebrates
the students who havesuccessfully completed their academic studies (morethan 2300 so far). It is a real pleasure to celebrate withthe students and their families and friends forachieving a milestone they have been working towardsfor years.
The success stories are wide and varied from thetraditional aged student who discovered her passionfor research by working alongside a faculty member intheir laboratory and is now headed to Cal Tech for aPh.D. to the non-traditional student who spent morethan ten years pursuing their degree part time whileworking a full time job and supporting their family.You can read about some of these success stories inthis newsletter and for every student we highlight herethere are hundred’s more who will graduate and moveon to new things this May.
The college remains focused on providing a highquality education to all of our students. It continues tobe our highest priority as we face tough budgetarytimes. The economic challenges also have a significantimpact on our students as tuition costs continue to rise.In addition to support from generous donors, over thelast 6 years, the college has been successful in winninggrants totaling nearly $2 million from the NationalScience Foundation for scholarships for undergraduatestudents. These awards have provided financialsupport for our neediest students helping them tofocus on their academic studies. Yet many of our bestand brightest students still struggle to afford college.
Over the next few months, I will focus on findingadditional resources for our students includingadditional scholarship funds, research experiences andinternships. Research experiences and internships notonly provide financial resources but also valuable skillsand experience that will benefit their careers. We takegreat pride that here in COEN, 82% of ourundergraduates either work in our research labs orhave an internship.
I am continually amazed by the dedication and successof our students, alumni, staff and faculty. Take sometime to read through this newsletter and find out moreabout many of their accomplishments. I look forwardto working together towards the continued growth ofthe college.
Amy Moll
Interim Dean and ProfessorCollege of Engineering
7College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
Engineering drugs to fight diseaseBoise State University researchers havecreated a novel software application thatcould be a powerful tool in the process ofdesigning drugs to fight disease.
Owen McDougal, an associate professor in theDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry,and Tim Andersen, a professor in theDepartment of Computer Science, are co-inventors of the application. CalledDockoMatic, it is a user-friendly interface that
eases and automates the creation andmanagement of scientific experiments runthrough an existing software program calledAutoDock.
“Our research team uses AutoDock to modelthe binding interactions that indicate theefficacy of certain molecules in attackingdiseased cells, but it requires some technicalexpertise and considerable time to run jobsand interpret results,” McDougal said.“DockoMatic streamlines the process,
allowing scientists to focus on the science.”
The science of drug design involves identifyingand testing materials against biologic threats from cancer to braindiseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. McDougal is conductingresearch on Parkinson’s that involves the special venom of the marinecone snail, which shows promise in the development of a new treatment.Using DockoMatic in combination with the power of a computing cluster,he can get more results faster than with AutoDock alone.
“DockoMatic does more than make running experiments easy fornovices,” said Andersen. “It can take almost 30 hours for AutoDock tocomplete one experiment. DockoMatic allows you to run thousands ofexperiments simultaneously and summarizes the results.”
Andersen and McDougal developed DockoMatic to be open source,meaning it will be available for anyone to download and use at no cost.Chemistry student Reed Jacob and computer science students CaseyBullock, Nathan Schmidt and Luke Hindman also contributed to whatcould be a key tool in the science community’s efforts to create new waysto combat threats to human health.
Education.
In the fall of 1979, the first construction managementclasses were offered to BSU students. For the firstseven years, the CM program was housed in thePhysics Department within the College of Arts &Sciences.
In 1986, the Department of ConstructionManagement and Pre-Engineering was created withinthe College of Arts and Sciences. In 1990, after the
new Engineering and Technology building wascompleted, the Department of Construction Management and Engineering was transferred tothe College of Technology. Finally in 1997, Construction Management became a separatedepartment within the newly-formed College of Engineering.
Over the years, a very active student group developed –the Construction Management Association (CMA). Thismotivated group of future construction managers hashelped many Treasure Valley nonprofit groups fromZooBoise to the Idaho Botanical Gardens, severalelementary schools and the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge withconstruction projects.
In the past 30 years the program has graduated 521students who work on engineering projects around the world. For the future, ConstructionManagement Chair Tony Songer sees an increased emphasis on the Department's newinitiatives which include developing a Masters in Construction Management and launching aprogram called Idaho Green. “The graduate program will focus on leadership andsustainability. Idaho Green is a comprehensive learning, engagement, and outreach programfocused on sustainability in the built environment,” Songer said.
CM timeline1980s’78 Program approved by Idaho State Board of Education
’79 Program established in Department of Physics
Marv Gabert hired as first CM faculty
’81 Construction Management Association established as AGC student chapter
’84 13th program nationwide to receive ACCE accreditation
2 full time faculty, 89 students
’85 Renamed Dept. of Construction Management and Pre-Engineering
’85 & ’89 CMA honored as National Outstanding AGC student chapter
1990s’93, ’94, ’97, & ’99 CMA honored as national Outstanding AGC student chapter
’94 Department grows to 4 full time faculty
’95 Receives full six-year reaccreditation
’96 Materials and Methods Lab breaks ground
’97 College of Engineering established with Construction ManagementDepartment
2000s’00, ’02, ’08, & ’09 CMA honored as National Outstanding AGC student chapter
’02 Student Honor Society, Sigma Lambda Chi established
’02 National Association of Home Builders student chapter established
Construction Management alumni chapter established
’09 CM Certificate Program initiated
’10 Program has graduated 521 students to date
A scholarly publication on DockoMatic is featured in BioMed Central’sBMC Research Notes, an open access journal publishing research acrossall fields of biology and medicine. Read it herehttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/3/289/abstract.
Learn more about the DockoMatic project athttps://sourceforge.net/projects/dockomatic
Going InternationalMechanicalEngineering seniorCharles Adams,spent time in Marchas part of a panel onCloud Computing inEducation at the2011 HP CatalystWorldwide Summit inNew Delhi, India. Hewas part of the CloudComputing inEducation groupalong with National
Chung Cheng University of Taiwan and the Galicia SupercomputingCenter in Spain.
Adams said he was chosen because of his work with mechanicalengineering professor Joe Guarino in creating Virtual LearningEnvironments via Hewlett-Packard Remote Graphics Software (RGS) aspart of the Hewlett-Packard Innovations in Education grant.
“I presented during the panel about the Rising Cloud Project, and sharedinformation about the University's HP Blade Workstation Cloud (16workstations) which included a live demonstration of the Cloud itself,”Adams said. “We were able to establish many contacts for futurecollaboration domestically & internationally, and the EngineeringLearning Community of Idaho team is very excited for the future.”
A native of Orting, Washington, Adams is due to graduate in May 2012with a major in mechanical engineering and a minor in appliedmathematics.
Cheryl Schrader Named AVP for Strategic Research Initiatives at Boise StateCheryl Schrader has been appointed to the new position of Associate Vice President for Strategic Research Initiatives at BoiseState University, effective Feb. 15. She has served on Boise State’s faculty as dean of the College of Engineering since 2003.
“Dr. Schrader has been invaluable in creating an outstanding educational experience for our students in the College ofEngineering,” said President Bob Kustra. “The university is now fortunate to have her leadership in a major initiative that iscritical to our role and outreach as a metropolitan research university.”
Schrader will lead a campuswide effort to improve the way the university administers its research and academic centers,institutes and core facilities as part of the Division of Research. With more than 50 of these units on campus, she is chargedwith reviewing and managing existing centers and institutes while developing a strategic process and investment focus fornew entities. Schrader also will work as the Boise State liaison to the Boise Valley Economic Partnership, connecting the
university as an integral partner in the region’s economic development.?
“Dr. Schrader’s excellent technical and administrative skills make her ideally suited for this important endeavor,” said Vice President for ResearchMark Rudin. “She will be a key individual for Boise State to administer its research centers and institutes in a highly effective and efficient mannerin the future, benefiting both the university and the region.”
Schrader moves to Boise State’s Division of Research, which currently operates the offices of Sponsored Programs, Research Compliance andTechnology Transfer. Her coordination of these interdisciplinary centers and institutes will better support the instruction, research and outreachmission of the university.
CM Celebrates 30 Years continued from page 1
Owen McDougal
Tim Andersen
6
sequencing for forensics,” Senocak said. “Ourvision is to develop and apply advanced numericalmethods and computational algorithms toapplications in science and engineering andbroaden GPU computing research in modelingand simulation within the state of Idaho.”
To learn more about the CUDA Research Centerprogram, visithttp://research.nvidia.com/content/cuda-research-center-crc-program.
Environmental ResearchBuilding (ERB)The Environmental Research Building — located
along
University Drive next to the engineering complex— is nearing completion and will open thissummer.
The departments of Geosciences, CivilEngineering, Public Policy and Administration andPolitical Science will begin moving into thebuilding near the end of the spring semester.
College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 3
1990sMay Ji, CS ‘93is a Lead Program Managerat the MicrosoftCorporation in Washington.
Brian Ellway, CM ‘94has joined Wright Brothers,the Building Company, ageneral contracting/construction managementfirm, as a lead estimator. Heis a LEED-accreditedprofessional and a longtimeleadership volunteer for theKuna chapter of DucksUnlimited.
Matt Cooley, CS ‘97is the VP for InformationSystems at Scentsy, Inc. inMeridian.
Brandon McKee, CS ‘99is a Software DevelopmentEngineer in Test II atMicrosoft in Redmond WA.
2000sMonica Crider, CE ‘00, PE,MBA, is an AssistantRoadway Design Engineerfor the Idaho TransportationDepartment. She is anactive member in Women inTransportation Seminar,Treasure Valley chapter-current role as Secretary.
Scott Harper, CE ’00is working as a designengineer/project managerat EHS-Alaska, Inc. Herecently passed his PEexam.
Scott Walters, CM ‘00has worked at OklandConstruction for 10 years asa Project Manager, currentlyworking on the WelltonBorder Patrol Station inWellton, AZ as the PM andthe QC for civil, arch, andstructural.
Liz Adams, CE ’01
married Rory Martin onDecember 31, 2010. Liz isfinishing up coursework forPhD in Civil Engineering(Water Resources andSustainability focus) thissemester. She is teachingEngineering Science coursesat Mesa Community Collegeand tutoring students withdisabilities through theState of Arizona'sVocational Rehabilitationprogram.
Richard Hansen, CE ‘01has spent the past yearworking on the I-15; UtahCounty Corridor Expansionproject. Two of the bridgeshe designed are due to bemoved into place in March.Both bridges are two-spancontinuous steel girderbridges and will be movedon self-propelled modulartransports (SPMTs). This isthe first time in the U.S. thatthis type of bridge has beenmoved on SPMTs.
Shannon Whitmore Kegel,ME ‘01, works for BDMedical in Sandy, Utah as aSenior Quality Engineerwhere she has worked for4.5 years. Shannon ismarried and has three kidsKonnor(8), Mason(6) andQuincy(2).
Brian Warrick, ME ’02
recently joined QualityThermistor, Inc. as a ProcessDevelopment Engineer inFebruary 2011.
Matthew Leslie, EE ‘03is a Senior Engineer withMarvell Semiconductor. Helives in Meridian, and heand his wife, Lindsey, areexpecting a baby girl inMay.
Laila Maqbool, CE ‘03is the Energy Efficiency Leadfor Alloway Electric Co., Inc.She markets to clients,designs the retrofit andoversees the installation.She has worked on projectsfor Micron, the OwyheeCounty Courthouse, and anumber of public schoolsthrough the Lighting forSchools project.
Richard Newman, CS ’04
is the Chief TechnologyOfficer at H&W ComputerSystems, Inc. in west Boise.Richard completed an MBAin 2008 from Univ. of Wash.through their NorthAmerican program underthe Executive MBAprogram. Richard and hiswife Jodi, are the parents ofAlec (16) who attendsCapital High and TreasureValley Math and ScienceCenter; and son, Jared (13)who attends RiverglenJunior High and TVMSC.
Brad Huttash, EE '05is a test developmentengineer at Aptina, LLC inBoise.
Manuel Rauhut, CE ‘05is an Assistant ProjectManager at HDR in Boise.
Don Tibbets, CE ’06is working at RepublicServices as the operationsmanager of the Ada CountyLandfill.
Jean Margulieux, EE ’09is working as a hardwareengineer at Cradlepoint Inc.
Chris Raymes, EE ’07is currently a SystemsEngineer at ApexManufacturing Solutions inBoise. Chris and his wifehave a 3 year old daughterand a 1 year old son, andlives in Eagle.
Darrin Reed, EE ‘07
started working on hisPh.D. in January 2011, atCarl-von-OssietzkyUniversity in OldenburgGermany. His field of studyis "neuro-sensory scienceand systems". The researchinvolves developingperceptually andphysiologically basedcomputer models of thehuman auditory system.The attached picture wastaken in the anechoicchamber. Behind the blackfabric is an array of 32speakers used forperceptual listeningexperiments.
TJ Anderson, MSE ‘09
and Haley Adams, ME, ‘09,TJ is a Materials ScienceEngineer for GE HealthcareX-ray tubes division. TJ andHaley live just outsideMilwaukee, WI, and have a3 month old son BrantleyGolden Anderson.
Dustin Gorseth, ME, ‘09 ,isa Mechanical DesignEngineer at MotivePowerInc. in Boise. He has a twoyear old daughter and a onemonth old son.
Sharla Hopkins, MSE '09is a Quality AssuranceEngineer at Black DiamondEquipment in Salt Lake City,UT.
Cole Smith, MSE ‘09is a Ph.D. candidate atDrexel University studyingcondensed matter physics.
Nihan Darnall, CE ’10is a Geotechnical Engineerat CH2M HILL in Boise.
Alex Miller, MSE ‘10is a Process IntegrationEngineer at Transform Solarin Boise.
Sandeep Shende, EE ‘10
is living in New York, and isan RF Engineer at AmiritTechnologies. He works oncellular/wireless systemdesign, implementation andenhancement of wirelessnetworks. He recentlypublished a book: AMatlab-based FMDemodulator for the RadioBroadcast Data System.Sandeep is engaged to bemarried to RudraneeDeshpande, a lawyer.
Boise State University recently garnered designation as one of20 CUDA Research Centers worldwide from NVIDIA, a worldleader in visual and parallel computing using graphicsprocessing units (GPUs). Boise State is the only CUDAResearch Center in the Pacific-Northwest and one of only eightin the United States.
The designation came from Boise State’s groundbreaking workin parallel computing, and puts it in the company of such U.S.universities as Clemson, Johns Hopkins and UCLA, as well as anumber of international research centers, including TechnischeUniversität München in Germany and Nanyang University inSingapore.
GPUs have traditionally been used primarily for renderinggraphics in personal computers and video game consoles. Today,
GPU computing is increasingly being adopted by leading software developers, academics andresearchers worldwide to dramatically accelerate the processing of a wide range ofcomputationally intensive data. Boise State was an early adopter of GPU computing for bothresearch and teaching, and the CUDA Research Center designation aligns the university withtop technical institutions that are utilizing GPU computing to solve some of the world’s mostchallenging computational problems.
“From world-changing scientific discoveries to commercial products that impact our everydaylives, the potential of this area of technology cannot be overstated,” said Boise State VicePresident for Research Mark Rudin. “To be recognized as a leader in developing that potentialdemonstrates Boise State’s commitment to drive innovation that is shaping the future.”
Proposals for acceptance into the CUDA Research Center Program were evaluated based on thequality of current GPU-enabled research, the vision presented for furthering the application andtechnology of GPU computing, and the opportunity for broad impact. Boise State’s winningproposal is attributed to principal investigator and assistant professor Inanc Senocak in theDepartment of Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering, and co-principal investigators professorJodi Mead and assistant professor Grady Wright in the Department of Mathematics, assistantprofessor Hans-Peter Marshall in the Department of Geosciences, and associate professor TimAndersen in the Department of Computer Science.
“GPU computing with CUDA has tremendously advanced Boise State research projects innumerical simulations of mantle convection, wind energy forecasting, remote sensing of snowdepths for water resources, threat reduction in chemical and biological defense, and DNA
Excellence in IPT Practice Award for spring 2011The "Excellence in IPT Practice Award" is presented twice a year to a student in the IPT master's degree program who is an exemplarylearner, has used evidence-based practices in his/her work, and has made important contributions to the IPT professional communitybeyond the classroom. The recipient of the Excellence in IPT Practice Award for spring 2011 is Christin Lundberg.
Selecting a winner from among these individuals was not an easy task because each is an exemplary learner, uses evidence-based practices, and makesvaluable contributions to the IPT community. In the end, however, the IPT Program Committee selected Christin because of her leadership on courseprojects and the variety of her published contributions (which were co-authored with other IPT students), including:
Two PerformanceXpress articles --
Needs assessment on service center technicians billable hours (April, 2010)
Evaluating a retail management operations training program (September, 2010)
An article published in Performance Improvement Journal --
Data gathering and analysis for needs assessment: A case study (September, 2010)
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Alumni NotesWe want to stay in touch.Please send your updates toLeandra Aburusa-Lete [email protected]
Alumni News
Christin Lundberg
The following individuals were nominated for the award:
1. Leslie, Harper – Denver, CO
2. Perri Kennedy -- Silver Spring, MD
3. Ayanne Levy -- Portland, OR
4. Christin Lundberg – Eden Prairie, MN
5. Kris Marchini -- Stansbury, UT
6. Chester Stevenson -- Columbia, GA
7. Julie Thomas -- Roswell, GA
NVIDIA Names Boise State One of 20 CUDA Research Centers
4 5College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
Students Partner with the Boise VAby Ryan White
Area veterans have a unique new tool for improving their fine motor skills,thanks to a partnership between the Boise VA Medical Center andengineering students at Boise State University.
Four Boise State freshmen: Michael Reynolds, Jason Mumford, Bill Adams,and Joseph McCormick from the school’s College of Engineering ServiceLearning Program designed and built a functional tasks activity bench forthe VA’s Occupational Therapy Department.
When Carol Sevier, Freshman Engineering Coordinator at Boise State, firstcontacted Lisa Denmark, an Occupational Therapists’ Assistant at the BoiseVA, she said her students wanted to design something to improve the livesof our veterans.
Over the course of a few weeks, Denmark and Kristen Schultz, a Boise VAOccupational Therapist, corresponded with the students several timesabout project ideas. They asked the students to create a lightweight,portable workbench that would focus on common fine motor activities thatveterans do in their daily lives.
“‘Daily tasks’ was the coin phrase we used,” said Mumford. “A lot of thingsthat you don’t normally think about like holding a pen, picking up a coin,using a screwdriver – we all take those for granted, but people who haveburn injuries for example lose a lot of dexterity and feeling in their handsthat prevents them from picking up a coin or threading a bolt or anythinglike that, so we put a lot of those tasks on there and a lot of repetition.”
Choosing veterans as the focus for their project was an easy decision forthe team of students. “I was pretty excited to start working on a projectwhere I could actually see development in the community and actually behelping people,” said Reynolds.
As experts in occupational therapy, Denmark and Schultz were very happywith the final product. Mumford said at the students’ presentation the VAOccupational Therapists “could not stop touching it and looking at it.” Hesaid the bench exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“This combined a lot of functional tasks and I haven’t seen anything likethis,” said Schultz. According to her, there are similar products availablethrough catalogs, but they usually have only one working element and arevery expensive.
“This is something I think they could even sell on the open market,” saidDenmark. “I was very impressed.”
To nominate a project for engineering students contact Carol Sevier bycalling (208) 426-1089. More information can also be found online athttp://coen.boisestate.edu/students/service_learning.asp
Boise State Research Team Among 14Nationwide Selected for NASA’sMicrogravity University 2011By Erin Ryan
Some members of the Microgravity University 2011 team. Left to right, theyare Barbara Morgan, David Connolly, Robert Hay, Jake Forsberg, BenDavis, Dawn Mikelonis, Stephanie Frahs, Sondra Miller and EllenRabenberg.
Boise State students and faculty are gearing up for one of the greatesteducational adventures on the planet — or off, as the case may be.
An interdisciplinary research team representing several departments in theCollege of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering has beenaccepted into NASA’s Microgravity University 2011. The foundation of theirstudy is the serious issue of bone density loss suffered by astronauts whoendure long periods of weightlessness. Using the fluctuation of calciummolecules in bone cells as a real-time indicator, the team will collectinformation on the body’s response to the environmental stress ofmicrogravity.
This is the third consecutive year Boise State teams have participated inMicrogravity University and the first time one has been selected for thehighly competitive, traditional undergraduate program, which challengesstudents to propose, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a reduced gravityexperiment that aligns with NASA’s mission.
The experiments will be conducted June 2-11 during Flight Week at theJohnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Boise State team will bejoined by peers from Yale University, California Institute of Technology,California Polytechnic University, George Washington University, UtahState University, University of Washington, West Virginia University,University of Florida, Lehigh University, State University of New York atBuffalo, Oklahoma State University, Dartmouth College and PurdueUniversity.
The Microgravity Universityexperience includes hands-onexperimental research,educational outreach,interaction with some of theworld’s top technical minds,and test operations onboardthe “Weightless Wonder.”
It is the culmination of nearlytwo years of work, particularlyby team leader and senior Jake
Forsberg (computer science), 2010graduate Ben Davis (biology), and faculty advisors Robert Hay(electrical and computer engineering), Julie Oxford (biology) and SondraMiller (civil engineering).
For more about the team and project, visit the blog.http://microgravityu2010.blogspot.com/ For a list of all 14 selectees,project abstracts and links to other Microgravity University programs,visit the NASA site.
NSF Awards to Advance Innovationsin Engineering EducationLeading the Way in STEM Education
Building support for innovations in teaching the next generation ofengineers is the focus of two grants totaling nearly $300,000 awardedto Boise State by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“Re-energizing the education system for engineers will have broadimpact, profoundly affecting economic prosperity and quality of life forfuture generations,” said Susan Kemnitzer, deputy director of the NSF’sDivision of Engineering Education and Centers. “To address the challengeof creating a dynamic new system, we sought proposals this year fromleading engineering schools across the country to support exemplary
models of studentlearning. Only 15grants were awardedthrough this program,and two of them werewon by Boise State!This is outstandingrecognition for thecommitment toeducational excellenceby the students, facultyand leadership of theuniversity.”
One grant of more than$144,000 will allow aninterdisciplinary team of researchers in the colleges of Engineering andEducation to examine how faculty members can move from thetraditional lecture model to incorporating more innovative knowledge-building and problem-solving techniques.
“Our ultimate goal is to support innovative engineering teaching thatsends graduates into the workplace well prepared to solve real-lifeproblems,” said principal investigator Kirsten Davis, an assistantprofessor of construction management and the first in the department’shistory to be recognized with a grant from the NSF. “From the conditionsof the work environment to the demands of the tenure process, we’relooking at potential motivations and barriers to the adoption of newteaching methods.”
Davis’ co-principal investigators on the project are Sondra Miller, anassistant professor of civil engineering, and Ross Perkins, an assistantprofessor of educational technology.
“In addition to investigating the barriers to implementing variousclassroom innovations, we hope to make suggestions as to how thosemight be mitigated,” Perkins said.
A second grant of $150,000 will allow another research team in theCollege of Engineering to seek broad university support for the adoptionof teaching innovations, bringing together expertise in engineering,workplace learning and performance improvement. The team includesprincipal investigator and assistant professor of mechanical engineeringDon Plumlee, and co-principal investigators Linda Huglin and SteveVillachica, assistant professor and associate professor of instructionaland performance technology.
“Relying on our colleagues across campus as a sounding board, we’ll belooking at how to incorporate problem- and project-based learning intoengineering courses in ways that will help faculty use these strategies,”noted Huglin.
“Together, these two NSF-funded projects will aid in the realignment offaculty and institutional priorities with those of the larger engineeringcommunity as well as provide insight into the continuing transformationof education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),” saidPlumlee.
These projects represent just a small slice of Boise State’s efforts in theadvancement of STEM education. A separate $1.25 million NSF grantawarded in August is funding the university’s new STEM CentralSTATION. This project is dedicated to research and development ofemerging STEM education best practices to help overcome a nationaldearth of qualified teachers in STEM-related subjects and entice morestudents to pursue those critical areas of study.
College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
BSU Engineering students and Boise VA Occupational Therapists posewith functional activities bench designed and created for veterans.Pictured left to right are: Jason Mumford; Wendy Cary; Joseph
McCormick; Lisa Denmark; Michael Reynolds (in back); and Bill Adams
“Our 2011 MicrogravityUniversity team is looking at
some basic biological questionsin a new way, and a lot will belearned from their exploration.Like any good science, I hope itleads to more questions and
opens doors for these studentsand those who will follow intheir powerful footsteps.”
– Barbara MorganFormer NASA Astonaut and
Distinguished Educator in Residence
4 5College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
Students Partner with the Boise VAby Ryan White
Area veterans have a unique new tool for improving their fine motor skills,thanks to a partnership between the Boise VA Medical Center andengineering students at Boise State University.
Four Boise State freshmen: Michael Reynolds, Jason Mumford, Bill Adams,and Joseph McCormick from the school’s College of Engineering ServiceLearning Program designed and built a functional tasks activity bench forthe VA’s Occupational Therapy Department.
When Carol Sevier, Freshman Engineering Coordinator at Boise State, firstcontacted Lisa Denmark, an Occupational Therapists’ Assistant at the BoiseVA, she said her students wanted to design something to improve the livesof our veterans.
Over the course of a few weeks, Denmark and Kristen Schultz, a Boise VAOccupational Therapist, corresponded with the students several timesabout project ideas. They asked the students to create a lightweight,portable workbench that would focus on common fine motor activities thatveterans do in their daily lives.
“‘Daily tasks’ was the coin phrase we used,” said Mumford. “A lot of thingsthat you don’t normally think about like holding a pen, picking up a coin,using a screwdriver – we all take those for granted, but people who haveburn injuries for example lose a lot of dexterity and feeling in their handsthat prevents them from picking up a coin or threading a bolt or anythinglike that, so we put a lot of those tasks on there and a lot of repetition.”
Choosing veterans as the focus for their project was an easy decision forthe team of students. “I was pretty excited to start working on a projectwhere I could actually see development in the community and actually behelping people,” said Reynolds.
As experts in occupational therapy, Denmark and Schultz were very happywith the final product. Mumford said at the students’ presentation the VAOccupational Therapists “could not stop touching it and looking at it.” Hesaid the bench exceeded everyone’s expectations.
“This combined a lot of functional tasks and I haven’t seen anything likethis,” said Schultz. According to her, there are similar products availablethrough catalogs, but they usually have only one working element and arevery expensive.
“This is something I think they could even sell on the open market,” saidDenmark. “I was very impressed.”
To nominate a project for engineering students contact Carol Sevier bycalling (208) 426-1089. More information can also be found online athttp://coen.boisestate.edu/students/service_learning.asp
Boise State Research Team Among 14Nationwide Selected for NASA’sMicrogravity University 2011By Erin Ryan
Some members of the Microgravity University 2011 team. Left to right, theyare Barbara Morgan, David Connolly, Robert Hay, Jake Forsberg, BenDavis, Dawn Mikelonis, Stephanie Frahs, Sondra Miller and EllenRabenberg.
Boise State students and faculty are gearing up for one of the greatesteducational adventures on the planet — or off, as the case may be.
An interdisciplinary research team representing several departments in theCollege of Arts and Sciences and the College of Engineering has beenaccepted into NASA’s Microgravity University 2011. The foundation of theirstudy is the serious issue of bone density loss suffered by astronauts whoendure long periods of weightlessness. Using the fluctuation of calciummolecules in bone cells as a real-time indicator, the team will collectinformation on the body’s response to the environmental stress ofmicrogravity.
This is the third consecutive year Boise State teams have participated inMicrogravity University and the first time one has been selected for thehighly competitive, traditional undergraduate program, which challengesstudents to propose, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a reduced gravityexperiment that aligns with NASA’s mission.
The experiments will be conducted June 2-11 during Flight Week at theJohnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Boise State team will bejoined by peers from Yale University, California Institute of Technology,California Polytechnic University, George Washington University, UtahState University, University of Washington, West Virginia University,University of Florida, Lehigh University, State University of New York atBuffalo, Oklahoma State University, Dartmouth College and PurdueUniversity.
The Microgravity Universityexperience includes hands-onexperimental research,educational outreach,interaction with some of theworld’s top technical minds,and test operations onboardthe “Weightless Wonder.”
It is the culmination of nearlytwo years of work, particularlyby team leader and senior Jake
Forsberg (computer science), 2010graduate Ben Davis (biology), and faculty advisors Robert Hay(electrical and computer engineering), Julie Oxford (biology) and SondraMiller (civil engineering).
For more about the team and project, visit the blog.http://microgravityu2010.blogspot.com/ For a list of all 14 selectees,project abstracts and links to other Microgravity University programs,visit the NASA site.
NSF Awards to Advance Innovationsin Engineering EducationLeading the Way in STEM Education
Building support for innovations in teaching the next generation ofengineers is the focus of two grants totaling nearly $300,000 awardedto Boise State by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
“Re-energizing the education system for engineers will have broadimpact, profoundly affecting economic prosperity and quality of life forfuture generations,” said Susan Kemnitzer, deputy director of the NSF’sDivision of Engineering Education and Centers. “To address the challengeof creating a dynamic new system, we sought proposals this year fromleading engineering schools across the country to support exemplary
models of studentlearning. Only 15grants were awardedthrough this program,and two of them werewon by Boise State!This is outstandingrecognition for thecommitment toeducational excellenceby the students, facultyand leadership of theuniversity.”
One grant of more than$144,000 will allow aninterdisciplinary team of researchers in the colleges of Engineering andEducation to examine how faculty members can move from thetraditional lecture model to incorporating more innovative knowledge-building and problem-solving techniques.
“Our ultimate goal is to support innovative engineering teaching thatsends graduates into the workplace well prepared to solve real-lifeproblems,” said principal investigator Kirsten Davis, an assistantprofessor of construction management and the first in the department’shistory to be recognized with a grant from the NSF. “From the conditionsof the work environment to the demands of the tenure process, we’relooking at potential motivations and barriers to the adoption of newteaching methods.”
Davis’ co-principal investigators on the project are Sondra Miller, anassistant professor of civil engineering, and Ross Perkins, an assistantprofessor of educational technology.
“In addition to investigating the barriers to implementing variousclassroom innovations, we hope to make suggestions as to how thosemight be mitigated,” Perkins said.
A second grant of $150,000 will allow another research team in theCollege of Engineering to seek broad university support for the adoptionof teaching innovations, bringing together expertise in engineering,workplace learning and performance improvement. The team includesprincipal investigator and assistant professor of mechanical engineeringDon Plumlee, and co-principal investigators Linda Huglin and SteveVillachica, assistant professor and associate professor of instructionaland performance technology.
“Relying on our colleagues across campus as a sounding board, we’ll belooking at how to incorporate problem- and project-based learning intoengineering courses in ways that will help faculty use these strategies,”noted Huglin.
“Together, these two NSF-funded projects will aid in the realignment offaculty and institutional priorities with those of the larger engineeringcommunity as well as provide insight into the continuing transformationof education in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM),” saidPlumlee.
These projects represent just a small slice of Boise State’s efforts in theadvancement of STEM education. A separate $1.25 million NSF grantawarded in August is funding the university’s new STEM CentralSTATION. This project is dedicated to research and development ofemerging STEM education best practices to help overcome a nationaldearth of qualified teachers in STEM-related subjects and entice morestudents to pursue those critical areas of study.
College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
BSU Engineering students and Boise VA Occupational Therapists posewith functional activities bench designed and created for veterans.Pictured left to right are: Jason Mumford; Wendy Cary; Joseph
McCormick; Lisa Denmark; Michael Reynolds (in back); and Bill Adams
“Our 2011 MicrogravityUniversity team is looking at
some basic biological questionsin a new way, and a lot will belearned from their exploration.Like any good science, I hope itleads to more questions and
opens doors for these studentsand those who will follow intheir powerful footsteps.”
– Barbara MorganFormer NASA Astonaut and
Distinguished Educator in Residence
6
sequencing for forensics,” Senocak said. “Ourvision is to develop and apply advanced numericalmethods and computational algorithms toapplications in science and engineering andbroaden GPU computing research in modelingand simulation within the state of Idaho.”
To learn more about the CUDA Research Centerprogram, visithttp://research.nvidia.com/content/cuda-research-center-crc-program.
Environmental ResearchBuilding (ERB)The Environmental Research Building — located
along
University Drive next to the engineering complex— is nearing completion and will open thissummer.
The departments of Geosciences, CivilEngineering, Public Policy and Administration andPolitical Science will begin moving into thebuilding near the end of the spring semester.
College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 3
1990sMay Ji, CS ‘93is a Lead Program Managerat the MicrosoftCorporation in Washington.
Brian Ellway, CM ‘94has joined Wright Brothers,the Building Company, ageneral contracting/construction managementfirm, as a lead estimator. Heis a LEED-accreditedprofessional and a longtimeleadership volunteer for theKuna chapter of DucksUnlimited.
Matt Cooley, CS ‘97is the VP for InformationSystems at Scentsy, Inc. inMeridian.
Brandon McKee, CS ‘99is a Software DevelopmentEngineer in Test II atMicrosoft in Redmond WA.
2000sMonica Crider, CE ‘00, PE,MBA, is an AssistantRoadway Design Engineerfor the Idaho TransportationDepartment. She is anactive member in Women inTransportation Seminar,Treasure Valley chapter-current role as Secretary.
Scott Harper, CE ’00is working as a designengineer/project managerat EHS-Alaska, Inc. Herecently passed his PEexam.
Scott Walters, CM ‘00has worked at OklandConstruction for 10 years asa Project Manager, currentlyworking on the WelltonBorder Patrol Station inWellton, AZ as the PM andthe QC for civil, arch, andstructural.
Liz Adams, CE ’01
married Rory Martin onDecember 31, 2010. Liz isfinishing up coursework forPhD in Civil Engineering(Water Resources andSustainability focus) thissemester. She is teachingEngineering Science coursesat Mesa Community Collegeand tutoring students withdisabilities through theState of Arizona'sVocational Rehabilitationprogram.
Richard Hansen, CE ‘01has spent the past yearworking on the I-15; UtahCounty Corridor Expansionproject. Two of the bridgeshe designed are due to bemoved into place in March.Both bridges are two-spancontinuous steel girderbridges and will be movedon self-propelled modulartransports (SPMTs). This isthe first time in the U.S. thatthis type of bridge has beenmoved on SPMTs.
Shannon Whitmore Kegel,ME ‘01, works for BDMedical in Sandy, Utah as aSenior Quality Engineerwhere she has worked for4.5 years. Shannon ismarried and has three kidsKonnor(8), Mason(6) andQuincy(2).
Brian Warrick, ME ’02
recently joined QualityThermistor, Inc. as a ProcessDevelopment Engineer inFebruary 2011.
Matthew Leslie, EE ‘03is a Senior Engineer withMarvell Semiconductor. Helives in Meridian, and heand his wife, Lindsey, areexpecting a baby girl inMay.
Laila Maqbool, CE ‘03is the Energy Efficiency Leadfor Alloway Electric Co., Inc.She markets to clients,designs the retrofit andoversees the installation.She has worked on projectsfor Micron, the OwyheeCounty Courthouse, and anumber of public schoolsthrough the Lighting forSchools project.
Richard Newman, CS ’04
is the Chief TechnologyOfficer at H&W ComputerSystems, Inc. in west Boise.Richard completed an MBAin 2008 from Univ. of Wash.through their NorthAmerican program underthe Executive MBAprogram. Richard and hiswife Jodi, are the parents ofAlec (16) who attendsCapital High and TreasureValley Math and ScienceCenter; and son, Jared (13)who attends RiverglenJunior High and TVMSC.
Brad Huttash, EE '05is a test developmentengineer at Aptina, LLC inBoise.
Manuel Rauhut, CE ‘05is an Assistant ProjectManager at HDR in Boise.
Don Tibbets, CE ’06is working at RepublicServices as the operationsmanager of the Ada CountyLandfill.
Jean Margulieux, EE ’09is working as a hardwareengineer at Cradlepoint Inc.
Chris Raymes, EE ’07is currently a SystemsEngineer at ApexManufacturing Solutions inBoise. Chris and his wifehave a 3 year old daughterand a 1 year old son, andlives in Eagle.
Darrin Reed, EE ‘07
started working on hisPh.D. in January 2011, atCarl-von-OssietzkyUniversity in OldenburgGermany. His field of studyis "neuro-sensory scienceand systems". The researchinvolves developingperceptually andphysiologically basedcomputer models of thehuman auditory system.The attached picture wastaken in the anechoicchamber. Behind the blackfabric is an array of 32speakers used forperceptual listeningexperiments.
TJ Anderson, MSE ‘09
and Haley Adams, ME, ‘09,TJ is a Materials ScienceEngineer for GE HealthcareX-ray tubes division. TJ andHaley live just outsideMilwaukee, WI, and have a3 month old son BrantleyGolden Anderson.
Dustin Gorseth, ME, ‘09 ,isa Mechanical DesignEngineer at MotivePowerInc. in Boise. He has a twoyear old daughter and a onemonth old son.
Sharla Hopkins, MSE '09is a Quality AssuranceEngineer at Black DiamondEquipment in Salt Lake City,UT.
Cole Smith, MSE ‘09is a Ph.D. candidate atDrexel University studyingcondensed matter physics.
Nihan Darnall, CE ’10is a Geotechnical Engineerat CH2M HILL in Boise.
Alex Miller, MSE ‘10is a Process IntegrationEngineer at Transform Solarin Boise.
Sandeep Shende, EE ‘10
is living in New York, and isan RF Engineer at AmiritTechnologies. He works oncellular/wireless systemdesign, implementation andenhancement of wirelessnetworks. He recentlypublished a book: AMatlab-based FMDemodulator for the RadioBroadcast Data System.Sandeep is engaged to bemarried to RudraneeDeshpande, a lawyer.
Boise State University recently garnered designation as one of20 CUDA Research Centers worldwide from NVIDIA, a worldleader in visual and parallel computing using graphicsprocessing units (GPUs). Boise State is the only CUDAResearch Center in the Pacific-Northwest and one of only eightin the United States.
The designation came from Boise State’s groundbreaking workin parallel computing, and puts it in the company of such U.S.universities as Clemson, Johns Hopkins and UCLA, as well as anumber of international research centers, including TechnischeUniversität München in Germany and Nanyang University inSingapore.
GPUs have traditionally been used primarily for renderinggraphics in personal computers and video game consoles. Today,
GPU computing is increasingly being adopted by leading software developers, academics andresearchers worldwide to dramatically accelerate the processing of a wide range ofcomputationally intensive data. Boise State was an early adopter of GPU computing for bothresearch and teaching, and the CUDA Research Center designation aligns the university withtop technical institutions that are utilizing GPU computing to solve some of the world’s mostchallenging computational problems.
“From world-changing scientific discoveries to commercial products that impact our everydaylives, the potential of this area of technology cannot be overstated,” said Boise State VicePresident for Research Mark Rudin. “To be recognized as a leader in developing that potentialdemonstrates Boise State’s commitment to drive innovation that is shaping the future.”
Proposals for acceptance into the CUDA Research Center Program were evaluated based on thequality of current GPU-enabled research, the vision presented for furthering the application andtechnology of GPU computing, and the opportunity for broad impact. Boise State’s winningproposal is attributed to principal investigator and assistant professor Inanc Senocak in theDepartment of Mechanical & Biomedical Engineering, and co-principal investigators professorJodi Mead and assistant professor Grady Wright in the Department of Mathematics, assistantprofessor Hans-Peter Marshall in the Department of Geosciences, and associate professor TimAndersen in the Department of Computer Science.
“GPU computing with CUDA has tremendously advanced Boise State research projects innumerical simulations of mantle convection, wind energy forecasting, remote sensing of snowdepths for water resources, threat reduction in chemical and biological defense, and DNA
Excellence in IPT Practice Award for spring 2011The "Excellence in IPT Practice Award" is presented twice a year to a student in the IPT master's degree program who is an exemplarylearner, has used evidence-based practices in his/her work, and has made important contributions to the IPT professional communitybeyond the classroom. The recipient of the Excellence in IPT Practice Award for spring 2011 is Christin Lundberg.
Selecting a winner from among these individuals was not an easy task because each is an exemplary learner, uses evidence-based practices, and makesvaluable contributions to the IPT community. In the end, however, the IPT Program Committee selected Christin because of her leadership on courseprojects and the variety of her published contributions (which were co-authored with other IPT students), including:
Two PerformanceXpress articles --
Needs assessment on service center technicians billable hours (April, 2010)
Evaluating a retail management operations training program (September, 2010)
An article published in Performance Improvement Journal --
Data gathering and analysis for needs assessment: A case study (September, 2010)
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Alumni NotesWe want to stay in touch.Please send your updates toLeandra Aburusa-Lete [email protected]
Alumni News
Christin Lundberg
The following individuals were nominated for the award:
1. Leslie, Harper – Denver, CO
2. Perri Kennedy -- Silver Spring, MD
3. Ayanne Levy -- Portland, OR
4. Christin Lundberg – Eden Prairie, MN
5. Kris Marchini -- Stansbury, UT
6. Chester Stevenson -- Columbia, GA
7. Julie Thomas -- Roswell, GA
NVIDIA Names Boise State One of 20 CUDA Research Centers
2
From the Dean’s Desk
Spring is one of my favoritetimes of year. The first bravebulbs and plants start to sendout new shoots of growth andthe weather starts to warm up.Spring also bringscommencement, one of myfavorite events. It is a time theuniversity stops and celebrates
the students who havesuccessfully completed their academic studies (morethan 2300 so far). It is a real pleasure to celebrate withthe students and their families and friends forachieving a milestone they have been working towardsfor years.
The success stories are wide and varied from thetraditional aged student who discovered her passionfor research by working alongside a faculty member intheir laboratory and is now headed to Cal Tech for aPh.D. to the non-traditional student who spent morethan ten years pursuing their degree part time whileworking a full time job and supporting their family.You can read about some of these success stories inthis newsletter and for every student we highlight herethere are hundred’s more who will graduate and moveon to new things this May.
The college remains focused on providing a highquality education to all of our students. It continues tobe our highest priority as we face tough budgetarytimes. The economic challenges also have a significantimpact on our students as tuition costs continue to rise.In addition to support from generous donors, over thelast 6 years, the college has been successful in winninggrants totaling nearly $2 million from the NationalScience Foundation for scholarships for undergraduatestudents. These awards have provided financialsupport for our neediest students helping them tofocus on their academic studies. Yet many of our bestand brightest students still struggle to afford college.
Over the next few months, I will focus on findingadditional resources for our students includingadditional scholarship funds, research experiences andinternships. Research experiences and internships notonly provide financial resources but also valuable skillsand experience that will benefit their careers. We takegreat pride that here in COEN, 82% of ourundergraduates either work in our research labs orhave an internship.
I am continually amazed by the dedication and successof our students, alumni, staff and faculty. Take sometime to read through this newsletter and find out moreabout many of their accomplishments. I look forwardto working together towards the continued growth ofthe college.
Amy Moll
Interim Dean and ProfessorCollege of Engineering
7College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011 College of Engineering Newsletter | Spring 2011
Engineering drugs to fight diseaseBoise State University researchers havecreated a novel software application thatcould be a powerful tool in the process ofdesigning drugs to fight disease.
Owen McDougal, an associate professor in theDepartment of Chemistry and Biochemistry,and Tim Andersen, a professor in theDepartment of Computer Science, are co-inventors of the application. CalledDockoMatic, it is a user-friendly interface that
eases and automates the creation andmanagement of scientific experiments runthrough an existing software program calledAutoDock.
“Our research team uses AutoDock to modelthe binding interactions that indicate theefficacy of certain molecules in attackingdiseased cells, but it requires some technicalexpertise and considerable time to run jobsand interpret results,” McDougal said.“DockoMatic streamlines the process,
allowing scientists to focus on the science.”
The science of drug design involves identifyingand testing materials against biologic threats from cancer to braindiseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. McDougal is conductingresearch on Parkinson’s that involves the special venom of the marinecone snail, which shows promise in the development of a new treatment.Using DockoMatic in combination with the power of a computing cluster,he can get more results faster than with AutoDock alone.
“DockoMatic does more than make running experiments easy fornovices,” said Andersen. “It can take almost 30 hours for AutoDock tocomplete one experiment. DockoMatic allows you to run thousands ofexperiments simultaneously and summarizes the results.”
Andersen and McDougal developed DockoMatic to be open source,meaning it will be available for anyone to download and use at no cost.Chemistry student Reed Jacob and computer science students CaseyBullock, Nathan Schmidt and Luke Hindman also contributed to whatcould be a key tool in the science community’s efforts to create new waysto combat threats to human health.
Education.
In the fall of 1979, the first construction managementclasses were offered to BSU students. For the firstseven years, the CM program was housed in thePhysics Department within the College of Arts &Sciences.
In 1986, the Department of ConstructionManagement and Pre-Engineering was created withinthe College of Arts and Sciences. In 1990, after the
new Engineering and Technology building wascompleted, the Department of Construction Management and Engineering was transferred tothe College of Technology. Finally in 1997, Construction Management became a separatedepartment within the newly-formed College of Engineering.
Over the years, a very active student group developed –the Construction Management Association (CMA). Thismotivated group of future construction managers hashelped many Treasure Valley nonprofit groups fromZooBoise to the Idaho Botanical Gardens, severalelementary schools and the Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge withconstruction projects.
In the past 30 years the program has graduated 521students who work on engineering projects around the world. For the future, ConstructionManagement Chair Tony Songer sees an increased emphasis on the Department's newinitiatives which include developing a Masters in Construction Management and launching aprogram called Idaho Green. “The graduate program will focus on leadership andsustainability. Idaho Green is a comprehensive learning, engagement, and outreach programfocused on sustainability in the built environment,” Songer said.
CM timeline1980s’78 Program approved by Idaho State Board of Education
’79 Program established in Department of Physics
Marv Gabert hired as first CM faculty
’81 Construction Management Association established as AGC student chapter
’84 13th program nationwide to receive ACCE accreditation
2 full time faculty, 89 students
’85 Renamed Dept. of Construction Management and Pre-Engineering
’85 & ’89 CMA honored as National Outstanding AGC student chapter
1990s’93, ’94, ’97, & ’99 CMA honored as national Outstanding AGC student chapter
’94 Department grows to 4 full time faculty
’95 Receives full six-year reaccreditation
’96 Materials and Methods Lab breaks ground
’97 College of Engineering established with Construction ManagementDepartment
2000s’00, ’02, ’08, & ’09 CMA honored as National Outstanding AGC student chapter
’02 Student Honor Society, Sigma Lambda Chi established
’02 National Association of Home Builders student chapter established
Construction Management alumni chapter established
’09 CM Certificate Program initiated
’10 Program has graduated 521 students to date
A scholarly publication on DockoMatic is featured in BioMed Central’sBMC Research Notes, an open access journal publishing research acrossall fields of biology and medicine. Read it herehttp://www.biomedcentral.com/1756-0500/3/289/abstract.
Learn more about the DockoMatic project athttps://sourceforge.net/projects/dockomatic
Going InternationalMechanicalEngineering seniorCharles Adams,spent time in Marchas part of a panel onCloud Computing inEducation at the2011 HP CatalystWorldwide Summit inNew Delhi, India. Hewas part of the CloudComputing inEducation groupalong with National
Chung Cheng University of Taiwan and the Galicia SupercomputingCenter in Spain.
Adams said he was chosen because of his work with mechanicalengineering professor Joe Guarino in creating Virtual LearningEnvironments via Hewlett-Packard Remote Graphics Software (RGS) aspart of the Hewlett-Packard Innovations in Education grant.
“I presented during the panel about the Rising Cloud Project, and sharedinformation about the University's HP Blade Workstation Cloud (16workstations) which included a live demonstration of the Cloud itself,”Adams said. “We were able to establish many contacts for futurecollaboration domestically & internationally, and the EngineeringLearning Community of Idaho team is very excited for the future.”
A native of Orting, Washington, Adams is due to graduate in May 2012with a major in mechanical engineering and a minor in appliedmathematics.
Cheryl Schrader Named AVP for Strategic Research Initiatives at Boise StateCheryl Schrader has been appointed to the new position of Associate Vice President for Strategic Research Initiatives at BoiseState University, effective Feb. 15. She has served on Boise State’s faculty as dean of the College of Engineering since 2003.
“Dr. Schrader has been invaluable in creating an outstanding educational experience for our students in the College ofEngineering,” said President Bob Kustra. “The university is now fortunate to have her leadership in a major initiative that iscritical to our role and outreach as a metropolitan research university.”
Schrader will lead a campuswide effort to improve the way the university administers its research and academic centers,institutes and core facilities as part of the Division of Research. With more than 50 of these units on campus, she is chargedwith reviewing and managing existing centers and institutes while developing a strategic process and investment focus fornew entities. Schrader also will work as the Boise State liaison to the Boise Valley Economic Partnership, connecting the
university as an integral partner in the region’s economic development.?
“Dr. Schrader’s excellent technical and administrative skills make her ideally suited for this important endeavor,” said Vice President for ResearchMark Rudin. “She will be a key individual for Boise State to administer its research centers and institutes in a highly effective and efficient mannerin the future, benefiting both the university and the region.”
Schrader moves to Boise State’s Division of Research, which currently operates the offices of Sponsored Programs, Research Compliance andTechnology Transfer. Her coordination of these interdisciplinary centers and institutes will better support the instruction, research and outreachmission of the university.
CM Celebrates 30 Years continued from page 1
Owen McDougal
Tim Andersen
College of EngineeringEngineering and Technology Building1910 University DriveBoise, Idaho 83725-2100126A100004
Non-Profit Organ.U.S. POSTAGE
PAIDBoise, IdahoPermit No. 1
College of EngineeringInterim Dean: AMY MOLL
(208) 426-1153
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs:JANET CALLAHAN(208) 426-1450
Assistant Dean for Research & Infrastructure:REX OXFORD
(208) [email protected]
Development Director:MELINDA SEEVERS(208) 426-5470
Civil EngineeringChair: ROBERT HAMILTON
(208) [email protected]
Computer ScienceChair:MURALI MEDIDI
(208) [email protected]
Construction ManagementChair: TONY SONGER(208) 426-3716
Electrical & Computer EngineeringInterim Chair: NADER RAFLA
(208) [email protected]
Instructional &Performance Technology
Chair: DON STEPICH(208) 426-1312
Materials Science & EngineeringChair: DARRYL BUTT
(208) [email protected]
Mechanical & Biomedical EngineeringChair: JAMES FERGUSON
(208) [email protected]
College of Engineering NewsletterNewsletterInanc Senocak ReceivesNSF Early CAREER AwardBy Erin Ryan
Inanc Senocak, an assistant professor inthe Department of Mechanical and
Biomedical Engineering, hasreceived the National ScienceFoundation’s most prestigious awardfor early career faculty. The$400,000 CAREER Awardrecognizes individuals whoexemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstandingresearch, excellent education andthe integration of education andresearch within the context of themission of their organizations.
Senocak is the seventh professorever to receive a CAREER Awardwhile at Boise State,
“Dr. Senocak is an exemplaryfaculty member, combiningimpressive work in the lab withengagement of students and
community members in technical subjects that affect our lives and will shape the future,” said College of Engineering Interim Dean Amy Moll. “The CAREERAward is a fitting acknowledgement of his outstanding qualities and growing reputation in the field.”
Senocak completed his undergraduate studies in mechanical engineering at the Middle East Technical University in Turkey and earned his master’s and Ph.D.in aerospace engineering from the University of Florida. Before joining the Boise State faculty in 2007, he held postdoctoral research positions at the Centerfor Turbulence Research (jointly operated by NASA and Stanford University) and the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Senocak’s research long has been focused on the atmosphere, from using supercomputers to simulate the physical processes that take place in its boundarylayer to reconstructing the dispersion of airborne threats. With the CAREER Award funding, Senocak will apply his expertise to increasing the utilization ofwind energy resources for electricity production. This issue is especially relevant in Idaho, which lacks the short-term forecasting and grid integrationcapabilities that would allow residents and neighboring states to take full advantage of vast wind energy potential.
Spring 2011
CM Celebrates 30 YearsBy Margaret Scott
For three decades, the Department of ConstructionManagement (CM) has been strongly tied to the constructionindustry. In fact, construction management education beganat the urging of the Idaho branch of the Associated GeneralContractors of America (AGC) who approached Boise StateUniversity in 1976 about the need for a constructionmanagement program.
The AGC group was so supportive of the proposed newprogram that they donated money to help with first yearfunding of construction management faculty salaries, operating expenses and capitalexpenses. During the following year a curriculum, patterned after other establishedconstruction management programs, was developed and approved by the State Board of
Continured on page 2
$500,000 – $1,000,000Micron Technology Foundation Inc.
$50,000 – $499,999International Society forTechnology in Education & Hewlett-Packard, Inc.MetaGeek, LLC
$25,000 – $49,999Eileen BarberHarry W. Morrison Foundation
$10,000 – $24,999The Comprehensive Group
$5,000 – $9,999Edithe BarclayC-2 ConstructionRobert R. DargatzPOWER Engineers Inc.SPF Water Engineering, LLCURS Corporation
$2,500 – $4,999Builders Mechanical, Inc.Norman F. DahmGeneral Electric FoundationRobert & Anne HayVanessa HutchisonIdaho Concrete MasonryAssociationMarCon, Inc.McMillen, LLCPerkins Construction, Inc.George W. PomeroyStaker Parson Companies
$1,000 – $2,499Aviation Specialties Unlimited, Inc.Barbara Bowling & John GardnerJim J. Browning, Ph.D.Forest Auto and Truck PartsAdriana L. GroffMary Anne E. Hartman-CunninghamJason HynesThe John William JacksonPhilanthropic Gift FundDean KleinKnife River Corp.
MCM Foundation, Inc.Amy Moll & Bill KnowltonSusan & Arlen PlantingWeyerhaeuser CompanyFoundation
$500 – $999R. Jake BakerCentral Paving Company, Inc.Fengyi Chen & Wei ZhangSeung Y. ChyungColeman Homes, LLCWilliam & Carol DeasyGoodfellow Bros, Inc.John H. GriffinCarol L. MacGregorMaria MitkovaOrmaza Construction, Inc.Society of Women EngineersStarr Corporation
$250 – $499Blue Arc ElectricDarryl P. ButtChuck's Gear, Inc.Casey ClineEric R. CutbirthMelissa L. ElkintonMolly GribbHeery International, Inc.Valerie J. HenningKevin F. KleinFrank W. LeonardLochsa Engineering of IdahoLaila E. MaqboolGarry C. MattsonMonte C. McClureBill MincksClay & Barbara MorganGeorge A. MurgelQuality Thermistor, Inc.Dick & Carol SevierAngelica M. YouHouse
$100 – $249Patrick & Bobbie AllaireMichele Y. ArmstrongRobert D. BarclayJoseph D. Borelli
Linda A. BurnettBuss Mechanical ServicesRussell & Virginia CentanniCloverdale PlumbingRobert J. CluneJohn L. CristobalIvan & Elizabeth CusterTricia A. DavisShaun H. DevineJudith & Richard DicksonLinda & Rudy EggertGary J. EricksonMarilyn P. FarnemanPat D. GeertsonPete & Connie GriesmyerHardrock Excavating, Inc.Eamonn T. HarterRandall R. HayesMandar KhanalCheryl & Daniel KnightonTracy & Hans KorsvallDavid & Lori KunzBrandon M. LoganAnthony W. MarkerJane M. MasonSteven G. MillardKelly NewtonRex J. OxfordPremier Technology, Inc.The Russell CorporationJayne SalbMark B. SamsMargaret M. ScottScott R. SiewertSteven P. SpragueBrandy StemmlerRobert & Melanie StohnerSunshine Sports and Marketing, LLCValley Cold Storage andTransportation, Inc.Brad A. VawterSteve VillachicaBrenda WadeWashington Group FoundationThad & Donna WelchWestern Construction Inc.Richard L. WoodThomas J. Woodall
Honor Role of Givers 2010(Donations received Jan. 1 – Dec. 31, 2010) With thanks to our donors: