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THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA FALL 2009 ISSUE
CUA Members of Engineers Without Borders Chapter
participate in a freshwater project in El Salvador

Table of Contents
New Faculty and Staff.............................inside front cover
Dean’s Message ...............................................................1
Original “Wireless” Communicators
Key Kilic Research .......................................................2
Inspired by the Past
Professor Aims for the Future .....................................3
CUA Engineers Use Robotic Technology
to Help Stroke Patients ................................................4
Research Provides Basis for
More Efficient Rehabilitation.......................................5
Sloan Scholar Faculty Mentors Connect in Tampa.........6
Showing How It’s Done....................................................6
Diet Coke and Mentos Takes Off as Yearly Event ...........7
Celebrating Engineering CUA Style .................................7
Steel Bridge Competition Tests Students’ Mettle ...........8
Wall of Fame Unveiled......................................................9
Reinstituting NSBE at CUA...............................................9
International Programs Going Strong ...........................10
First Graduate Students from Vietnam Join CUA..........11
Engineers Without Borders Returns to El Salvador ......12
Biomedical Engineering Spearheads
New Collaborations with FDA....................................14
Electrical Engineering to Offer New Concentration
on Alternative and Renewable Energy......................14
School of Engineering Hosts
Metropolitan Biophotonics Seminar ........................15
Engineering Establishes Collaborative Agreements
with Local Community Colleges................................15
Alumna Works on Earth so
Others Can Work in the Heavens...............................16
CUA Engineering Dean Recognized for
Achievements in Robotics .........................................16
2009–2010 Nagel Scholars:
A List of Who’s Who in CUA Engineering ..................17
CUA Biomedical Engineering Major Awarded
Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship...........................17
Sixteen Hennessy
Distinguished Scholars Named .................................17
Faculty Awardees Honored at
School’s Year-End Luncheon .....................................18
Alumni Career Updates ..................................................18
Faculty Scholarly Activity ..............................................20
Student Awards..............................................................27
Pao Retires After 45 Years of
Service at CUA.....................................inside back cover
Strategic Plan 2012:
Engineering Exceeding Targets..........inside back cover
Congratulations to the
Class of 2009.................................................back cover
Ph.D. Dissertations and Advisers .....................back cover
School of Engineering
Administration...............................................back cover
New Faculty and Staff
Rene D. Gabbai, Ph.D.
Rene D. Gabbai, Ph.D., comes to CUA as an assistant professor of
mechanical engineering from a position as an engineer with 2H
Offshore, Inc. of Houston, Texas. Gabbai earned his doctoral degree in
2005 in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey, Piscataway. He received his B.S. and M.S.
degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami.
Before joining 2H Offshore in 2007, Gabbai was a National Research Council postdoctoral
research associate in Wind Engineering at the Building and Fire Research Laboratory of
the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research interests include reducedorder
models that capture structural response to vortex shedding, structural response to
extreme environmental events and wind energy.
Tobias Nef, Ph.D.
Tobias Nef, Ph.D., joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering
as an assistant professor in January 2009. He is also currently a
senior research scientist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Nef
received his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland,
in 2007, and M.S. in electrical engineering, from the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2002. His research interests are robotaided
neurorehabilitation of the upper and lower extremities, and robot-supported training
of activities of daily living and patient-cooperative control strategies. He is internationally
well-known for the development of the arm therapy robot ARMin.
Class of 2009 at E-Week Engineering Ball.

Dean’s Message
June 1, 2009, marks the
completion of my second
term as dean of the School
of Engineering. Looking back
on those eight years, I can
say that we started with a lot
of uncertainties in 2001 but
that the school has been
transformed into a very stable
one with excellent faculty
morale, high faculty productivity,
clear expectations for
faculty performance, low
faculty turnover rate, stable
enrollment at both undergraduate
and graduate levels,
and significant achievement
in alumni relations and
development. This success
is thanks to the cooperation
of faculty, students, staff and alumni with the strong support of the CUA administration.
As in past years, in 2008–2009 the school achieved significant
milestones in all aspects, including faculty research productivity, enrollment,
accreditation and development. I am excited about reporting them to you.
■ Our faculty continued to be very active and successful in journal publication,
extramural research funding and service to professional societies.
According to data provided by the CUA Office of Sponsored Research,
the total new research funding for the academic year 2008–2009 was
more than $2.5 million. Put another way, for 23 research faculty members,
we have obtained an average of $85,000 per faculty member per
year for external research funding.
■ In the fall 2008 semester, the school welcomed 91 new undergraduate
students, including two transfer students. Thirty-five new graduate
students joined the school. These figures represent a 27.47 percent
increase from last year’s new undergraduate students of 66 and a 5
percent increase from last year’s new graduate students of 33. During
2008–2009, the school granted 53 bachelor’s degrees, 60 master’s
degrees and three doctoral degrees. The list of graduates is on the back
cover of this issue.
■ In August 2008, the school received the Final Statement of the Accreditation
Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) confirming that all
weaknesses had been resolved and that all engineering programs are
fully accredited for six years until Sept. 30, 2014. The Accreditation Handbook
is being revised to establish a multi-year calendar for accreditation
activities to prepare for the next re-accreditation visit to take place in
October 2013.
■ The school welcomes two new faculty members — an assistant professor
of biomedical engineering who joined the school in January 2009 and an
assistant professor who joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering
in September 2009.
■ Under the existing student exchange program between Hong Kong Polytechnic
University (PolyU) and CUA, eight students from PolyU came to
study at CUA during the spring semester 2009. We received one student
from the International University of the Vietnam National University-Ho Chi
Minh City (HCMIU) for the 2+2 program and two graduate students from
Danang University of Technology who came to CUA to pursue doctoral degrees
in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
■ In June 2008, I visited the University of Technology of the Vietnam National
University System in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to explore research and
educational opportunities with this university. The School of Engineering
also signed a general Memorandum of Understanding with the Danang
University of Technology for the two institutions to start exploring research
and educational collaboration.
■ In January 2009, I traveled to Vietnam and attended the Conference of
Higher Education in Vietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships, sponsored
by the U.S. Embassy, and met with numerous Vietnamese academic and
government leaders and American university administrators that have
educational programs in Vietnam. During this trip I also visited the Danang
University of Technology in Danang, Vietnam and signed an agreement with
that university for a 2+2 program to bring undergraduate students to CUA.
■ In February 2009, I received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award from
the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural Societies
for research work in robotics and automation. See the article, page 16.
■ In October 2008, we officially inaugurated the Wall of Fame located in
the Pangborn Alumni Garden and entered the names of three prominent
alumni of the School of Engineering on the wall. During the Wall of Fame
inauguration, we also revealed the Wall of Benefactors and the Wall of
Alumni Awards. For more details, please see the associated article, page 9
in this issue.
■ In May 2009, we launched a new project called Wall of Achievements to
list the names of students graduating from the School of Engineering.
Graduating students in a particular year can have their names engraved
on this wall with a donation to CUA.
The progress and success the School of Engineering achieved over the
last eight years have made me very proud as its dean. I am very happy to
announce that the president of The Catholic University of America, Very Rev.
David M. O’Connell, C.M., offered me an opportunity to serve a third term as
dean and I gladly accepted his offer. I began my third term on Sept. 1. I am
grateful to you for your continuing support and look forward to working with
you in the next four years.
Regards,
Charles Cuong Nguyen
Dean, School of Engineering
nguyen@cua.edu
fall2009 | 1

cuaengineer
Original “Wireless” Communicators
Key Kilic Research
When it comes to sophisticated communications, it’s hard to beat bees and
ants. Bees rapidly communicate to the hive where the best sources of nectar
can be found, as well as flowers that have been tapped out; ants quickly
form ant supply lines along the shortest distance between newly found food
and their nest, despite being almost blind.
These time-tested patterns of communication are now being used to
design and optimize smart antennas and advanced rf material in Ozlem
Kilic’s research for the U.S. military. With the support of grants from the Army
Research Office and the Office of Naval Research, Kilic, assistant professor
of electrical engineering and computer science, implements these and other
algorithms derived from nature on a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-
based computer platform, which offers more speed and flexibility than a
regular PC. “It’s like a custom chip that you can wire yourself to do a specific
task very efficiently,” she says, “But the beautiful thing is that it can be
rewired in milliseconds to perform a different task each time.” And she’s
finding success on all fronts. “Recently in a very nice finding,” she says,
“we ran our ant colony optimization algorithm to design a phased array
antenna and achieved significant improvement in speed (over 60,000 times
faster) compared to conventional programming techniques on a regular PC.
Something that would normally take weeks was taking seconds to run on
this system.”
The combination of an extremely flexible computer platform that enables
parallel computing for numerically intensive computations and nature-inspired
optimization algorithms that can be parallelized is a winning one for
the military. “The military deals with many challenging problems. One of the
Faculty Profile
main drivers is to be able to operate under any circumstances,” says Kilic.
Operation here means being able to simultaneously establish high data rate
communication links, and carry out target acquisition and detection and
missile guidance with a single antenna. “They want to do all that, of course,
without being detected and while mobilized,” says Kilic. That means using
smart antennas that receive and send a multitude of messages. Designing
and simulating the performance of these antennas within their operation
environment is a very difficult task. “With the nature-based algorithms and
the FPGA, one can enable solutions which would otherwise be impossible.”
At this point in her research, Kilic is simulating optimization, amassing
information about how such systems behave in order to be able to manufacture
smart antennas and rf material that function as they are expected to.
“You need sophisticated tools to simulate these systems. But with such
complex information, so many layers, it’s difficult to do.”
“With the system I have—fast and adept—we can do things otherwise
not possible with regular PCs.”
“Why not use supercomputers” Kilic asks. “They come at too high a
price. My system is more affordable, deployable and energy efficient; it
offers the best option now and for the future.
Kilic is also investigating genetic and immune system algorithms in parallel
to the ant and bee systems. “We have been implementing all of these algorithms
to optimize antennas and other devices for electromagnetics applications,”
she says. “They will enable us to solve those challenging problems
and optimize for desired performance in a reasonable amount of time.”
Professor Ozlem Kilic
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cuaengineer
Inspired by the Past
Professor Aims for the Future
Faculty Profile
Professor Zhaoyang Wang
Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Zhaoyang Wang has been
inspired to higher levels of innovative thinking by the model of the late A. J.
Durelli, Ph.D., a CUA professor of mechanical engineering from 1969 to his
retirement in 1975, who has often been called “the most outstanding 20th
century experimental stress analyst in the world.”
Durelli died in 2000, just shy of his 90th birthday, but his legacy lives on
through the Society of Experimental Mechanics’ A. J. Durelli Award. Presented
every other year, the award recognizes young experimental mechanics
researchers who “have introduced or helped to introduce an innovative
approach and/or method into the field of experimental mechanics.” A member
of the Society of Experimental Mechanics and co-chair of the society’s
Electronic Packaging Committee, Wang has his eye on this prize as a goal
for himself and for CUA’s storied Department of Mechanical Engineering.
“Professor Durelli set the bar very high and it’s very questionable whether
anyone can reach that standard,” Wang says. “But I want to try.”
Wang is making good progress. One of his innovations, a random phase
shifting algorithm, “has fundamentally changed the way phase shifting technique
can be implemented, making implementation much more accurate
and extremely convenient,” says Wang. Software developers have already
adopted the algorithm. He has received grants from the Air Force Office of
Scientific Research for work on nanomechanics. For another project funded
by the National Science Foundation, Wang and his students are working to
establish an open-source Internet platform that enables the experimental
mechanics and optics communities to share resources and collaborate at
the forefront of research and education. “Although it will take some time to
complete,” Wang says, “we will devote whatever time is necessary to get it up
and running.”
Over the past three years, Wang, with students John Barnes, B.M.E.
2009, and Dung Nguyen, B.M.E. 2011, have developed a low-cost, real-time,
noncontact 3D imaging system, funded in part by a $14,500 grant from the
National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Barnes, Nguyen and
Wang demonstrated the prototype this spring at March Madness for the
Mind, held at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (See
story, page 6.)
Wang explains that the limits of existing 3D imaging systems impelled
him to search for a new technique. “For maximum accuracy in existing
structure-light based 3D imaging systems, components must be specifically
located and oriented and geometrical and other parameters must be precisely
determined in advance.” Real life, however, presents many uncertainties in
those parameters, so measurement accuracies are substantially limited.
Wang’s imaging system uses a light pattern and a single camera to
preserve the integrity of the object and, he says, “to allow the system components
to be arbitrarily positioned with no need to measure the geometrical
and other parameters.”
He concludes, “Overall, the technique is very fast, very accurate, low
in cost, broad in range, full-field, and easy to implement. It is significantly
superior to existing 3D imaging systems.”
fall2009 | 3

cuaengineer
CUA Engineers Use
Robotic Technology to Help Stroke Patients
Stroke, caused by a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain, affects more
than 780,000 people in the United States each year. The body can be disabled
in a variety of ways, including the inability to move the limbs on one side of
the body, understand or formulate speech, see one side of the visual field,
or a combination of these. Rehabilitation organizations such as the National
Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) treat patients through a combination of one-onone
physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy.
Robotics to the Rescue
Occupational therapy focuses on exercises and training of everyday activities
known as Activities of Daily Living (ADL) such as eating, drinking, dressing,
cooking, reading and writing. To be most effective, movement training must
be intensive, repetitive and of long duration. However, one-on-one manual
therapy is often not long and intensive enough to achieve optimal therapeutic
outcome. Robotic technology can help.
Under the direction of CUA Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Peter Lum, the Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Research
at NRH is investigating robot-supported training of the upper and the lower
extremities. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
and the University of Zurich, Switzerland, the center recently received an
ARMin arm therapy robot, developed by Assistant Professor of Biomedical
Engineering Tobias Nef. The ARMin device consists of a robotic arm that
connects to the affected arm of the patients. Its six electrical motors support
and guide the patient’s shoulder, elbow, lower arm and wrist.
The ARMin allows control of the position and orientation of all joints of the
human arm, unlike other rehabilitation robots, where the feasible arm movements
are limited. This broad spectrum of control makes the device well
suited for the training of ADL movements with many involved joints. Current
research focuses on training patients to eat, drink, wash and perform other
ADL activities. The scientific challenge, however, is to find optimal training
paradigms to determine how and how much the robotic device should support
the patient.
The photo below shows the research work that CUA graduate student in
biomedical engineering Elizabeth Brokaw is working on. This work extends
the device with a hand module that supports the opening and closing of the
hand. The device senses how much force and torque the patient can deliver,
and “patient-cooperative control strategies” support the patient as much as
needed. In other words, the ARMin-robot measures the contribution of the
patient to the movement and provides the remaining part required to
complete the desired motion so that the training is as intensive as possible,
which enhances the patient’s active participation.
Integral to the system is a computer monitor that presents different
movement tasks to the patient. Game-like training scenarios, including ball
games, labyrinths and ping-pong, motivate the patient to perform repetitive
training of long duration. In clinical tests with chronic stroke patients, it has
been shown that the combination of motivating games and patient cooperative-controllers
that support the patient only as much as necessary led to
very active participation of the patient and thus to a highly intensive training.
In a pilot study, eight chronic stroke patients, whose progress in recovering
lost abilities had reached a plateau, received ARMin training sessions
over eight weeks.
Results Hold Promise
The research showed that most participating stroke patients experienced
important improvements in motor performance. Ongoing clinical studies at
the NRH and in several clinics in Switzerland aim to confirm these findings.
Arm therapy with the ARMin device.
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cuaengineer
Research Provides Basis for More Efficient Rehabilitation
Editor’s Note: Over the last academic year, Lindsey Bellini, M.B.E. 2009, and Anthony Metzger, M.B.E. 2009 and currently a Ph.D. candidate, conducted research
at the National Rehabilitation Hospital gathering data to make rehabilitation for stroke patients and amputees more efficient and effective.
Reaching Behaviors and Robotics
by Tony Metzger
Whether shaking someone’s hand or bringing a
spoonful of cereal to your mouth, controlling your
arm is critical to performing everyday tasks.
Some people who have suffered neurological or
orthopedic injuries find completing those simple
reaching movements difficult if not impossible.
Working with CUA Associate Professor Peter
Lum and Dr. Alex Dromerick of the National
Rehabilitation Hospital, we examined reaching
behaviors of stroke patients, who have intact
arms but damaged neurological systems, and
those of upper extremity amputees, who have
intact brains but damaged arms. Both groups
experience problems reaching.
Stroke Patients
We analyzed stroke patients’ arm motions in
three dimensions through ultrasound markers
placed on the joints, examining the exact arm
configuration and trajectory during simple reaching
tasks. Patients performed five reaching
movements: reaching to a target, reaching from
their nose to a target, bringing their hand to their
mouth, reaching to their opposite shoulder, and
tapping their finger. We made observations when
patients were admitted and at discharge to identify
how their reaching behavior changed during
the recovery process. We hope to be able to
draw conclusions on how the brain restructures
its neuromuscular control strategies after a
severe injury.
Prosthetic Users
Many patients can be fit with a prosthetic device
to replace their native limb after an upper-extremity
amputation. However, these devices are
not able to restore arm functionality to its previous
state. Understanding the existing reaching
capabilities of prosthetic users can provide direction
toward the development of newer prosthetic
devices and improved rehabilitation training
strategies. In a study examining the reaching
behavior of prosthetic users in a horizontal plane
only, the task required proper shoulder and elbow
Study of patient’s reaching movements.
rotation in order to successfully reach to a desired
target. We used a shoulder-elbow robot to
eliminate visual feedback on the location in
space of our subject’s arm. The robot provided
gravity compensation and recorded kinematic
(ie. motion) data on the speed and location of the
subject’s hand as it reached toward targets on a
computer monitor. Eliminating visual feedback to
the patients of their arm locations enabled us to
examine the feed-forward control and motor
planning aspect of reaching.
Healthy Adults Provide Baseline for Gait Rehab
by Lindsey Bellini
By definition, walking upright involves not only
two legs but also an upright trunk. In the vast
literature on how body weight support influences
leg movements, muscle activity and muscle
forces, few studies examine trunk movement
Fig. 1
during body-weight-supported (BWS) walking.
We undertook this study to address that lacuna
and provide a comprehensive report on the
effects of reduced weight bearing on walking
patterns in healthy subjects, examining the
movements of their trunks and lower limbs as
well as the firing patterns of subjects’ muscles
while they walked on a treadmill with different
levels of body-weight support.
Study Details
Body-weight support was provided to subjects
using a harness as they walked on the treadmill,
ranging from 0 to 70 percent in increments of 10
percent. Subjects’ leg and trunk movements were
tracked by infrared markers attached to their
limb segments, while forces under their feet
were measured using a sophisticated, split-belt
treadmill (Fig. 1). We also recorded activity from
eight leg muscles using sensors attached to skin.
For each subject, we then created 3D musculoskeletal
dynamic models that allowed examination
of changes in movement patterns, muscle
forces and muscle activity at different levels
of BWS.
New Data, New Questions
Our original hypothesis — relieving a portion of
a subject’s body-weight results in smaller forces
exerted by the subject on the ground and leads to
alterations in muscle activation patterns, muscle
forces and movement patterns — was confirmed.
The knowledge gained from this study will provide
therapists with quantitative data of how healthy
subjects respond to different levels of BWS.
The question remains of whether the changes
observed during body-weight supported walking
are unfavorable for gait recovery and whether
these changes will hinder an individual’s ability
to transfer improvements to over-ground walking
without BWS. The next research phase will examine
the influence of body weight support during overground
walking in healthy subjects and in subjects
with gait impairments resulting from stroke and
spinal cord injury.
fall2009 | 5

cuaengineer
Sloan Scholar and Faculty Mentors Connect In Tampa
by Robert Silva, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engineering
Last fall, doctoral student and Sloan Scholar
Roberto Silva and biomedical engineering faculty
mentors Binh Tran, chair and associate professor,
and Otto Wilson, associate professor, connected
with a diverse group of students and professors
at two separate but related conferences in
Tampa, Fla.
Sponsored by The Compact for Faculty Diversity,
the 15th Annual Institute on Teaching and
Mentoring, with more than 1,000 student attendees,
is the largest gathering of minority doctoral
scholars in the country. The conference highlights
the best and brightest scholars from diverse
backgrounds and as well as named scholars
from the Southern Region Educational Board,
the National Institutes of Health, the National
Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
and the United States Department of Education
Ronald E. McNair Program. The institute
was created to provide scholars with the skills
to succeed in graduate study and to prepare
them for success as faculty members at colleges
and universities. At the same time, scholars and
attending faculty members share their academic
and research knowledge. In general it’s an excellent
networking experience for both students and
faculty mentors.
During the first two days, Silva attended a
session covering such topics as how to present
research papers, how to write papers, how to
network with people, as well as motivational
sessions on continuing with one’s doctoral
education. He met other graduate students from
across the United States, including New York,
Arizona and North Carolina, and also engaged
professors in conversations that ranged from
casual ones to those about research-related topics.
Taking part in the institute was quite an experience
for Silva, who left the conference inspired
by ideas and dreams of teaching and making a
difference in the lives of other students someday.
Tran and Wilson attended the Sloan Foundation
Faulty Mentors Conference, held concurrently
with the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring.
The Sloan Mentor meeting is held semi-annually
and highlights progress in diversity issues related
to higher education as well as best practices and
effective strategies to make higher education
accessible for all. With a grant from the Sloan
Foundation, CUA’s Department of Biomedical
Engineering is working to increase the number of
historically under-represented minorities in the
Ph.D. pipeline.
Showing How It’s Done
by John Barnes, B.M.E. 2009
Over the last two years mechanical engineering major John Barnes, B.M.E.
2009, electrical engineering major Dung Nguyen, B.E.E. 2011, and faculty
director Zhaoyang Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering,
have been working on a high-speed, high-accuracy 3D imaging system.
This system provides full-field, 3D information about objects including their
dimensions, shapes, location and distances between one another with high
accuracy and in real-time. A $14,500 grant from National Collegiate Inventors
and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), helped to cover costs associated with
the system.
This system has several advantages over current designs — speed,
accuracy and reasonable cost. The system has a projected frame rate of 20
frames per second and an accuracy of 100, or the thickness of a sheet of
paper. Because the system uses a light pattern and a single camera, there is
no contact with the object being measured, preserving the object’s integrity.
(From left) John Barnes, B.M.E. ‘09, Professor Wang, Dung Nguyen, B.E.E. ‘11.
Professor Wang and his students display their research at the Smithsonian National
Museum of American History.
Utilizing a single camera and projector, this imaging system is also low cost
to set up and operate.
The team was invited to participate in March Madness of the Mind at the
Smithsonian National Museum of American History, which took place on
March 20, 2009. This conference, sponsored by NCIIA, included 14 other
schools from across the nation. The event was a great success. Barnes and
Nguyen explained their invention to both the public and to prospective investors
throughout the day, generating a lot of interest. This conference was successful
not only because it provided an opportunity to demonstrate the invention but
also to see what other schools around the country are working on.
This new 3D imaging system can be used in many different industries,
including entertainment, rapid prototyping, manufacturing (in-line inspection
or quality control), and equipment repair. In fact, a local museum expressed
interest during the March Madness demonstrations. Their hope is to take an
image of one of their museum pieces, render it in 3-D and then place that
image on their Web site so that people could inspect the museum piece from
every angle and get new perspectives of the piece without handling it.
6 | cuaengineer

Diet Coke and Mentos Takes Off as Yearly Event
by Vinny Caruso, B.E.E. 2009
Perhaps you’ve seen Diet Coke and Mentos being combined to create a
geyser of shooting soda. Chemistry explains how that effect is achieved
(thanks to Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters for this breakdown): The chemicals
caffeine, potassium benzoate and aspartame (the key ingredient found
in diet but not regular soda), react with the gelatin and gum arabic in the
Mentos to create millions of carbon dioxide bubbles that create the familiar
jet. However, only mint Mentos will do because their surface is rougher,
cratered with more tiny crevices and indents than any other flavor. These
crevices create more surface area and therefore many more nucleation sites
for the bubbles to form on.
To make a truly record-breaking geyser, however, takes engineering
knowhow. On Nov. 7, 2008, 20 participants and 35 spectators from the
CUA School of Engineering gathered in the back of Pangborn Hall for the
3rd annual Mentos Challenge to demonstrate and witness CUA engineering
students’ prowess. Competitors could use two unadulterated bottles of soda
and one roll of mint-condition candy in any combination, with their own
geyser-enhancing nozzle, not to exceed the size of the bottle in any dimension,
except height. Competitors’ nozzles ranged from several inches to
more than 30 feet high. Geyser height measurements were recorded on a
long piece of brown paper hung from a second floor window, which bore
height markings as well as the trails of previous competitors’ Mentos/Diet
Coke geysers.
The record to beat was the 33-foot geyser of the challenge’s 2007 winner
Joe Cochrane, B.E.E. 2009. Nicole Ildefonso, B.E.E. 2010, and Fran Corso
B.E.E. 2009, both achieved a height of 34-foot geysers—a tie that led to a
suspenseful side-by-side contest to see which nozzle reigned supreme. In
the end, Cochrane relinquished his crown to Ildefonso, whose second geyser
beat Corso. Ildefonso received a $40 gift card to Best Buy and Corso, a $20
Celebrating Engineering CUA Style
by Nicole Ildefonzo, B.E.E. 2010
One week in February each year engineering students take the time to celebrate
and share their interest in engineering with the rest of the university
during Engineering Week, commonly called E-Week.
During this weeklong celebration, held across the country, students,
professional engineers and engineering firms hold conferences, fairs and
exhibitions to commemorate the importance of engineering in society today
and for the future and educate non-engineers about the focus and value
of engineering, while also raising money to help jumpstart engineering programs
for young people.
The various engineering clubs at Catholic University—EWB, IEEE, ASCE,
SWE, ASME, NSBE, and BMES—host an event that allows all students,
regardless of their major, to get involved and learn what engineers do and
how engineering impacts their everyday lives. This year the events included
building spaghetti and marshmallow bridges, propelling water balloons and
tennis balls with a catapult, designing and building dancing robots, and
dropping eggs with paper parachutes off the second floor of the Edward J.
Pryzbyla University Center.
The week concludes at CUA with the Engineering Ball at Maggiano’s, a
dressy event that includes a talk by Dean Nguyen, a five-course meal and
lots of dancing. During E-Week students celebrate engineering in many
Students look in amazement at the diet coke geyser.
cuaengineer
card. The third place team of Ed Dawson, B.E.E. 2010, and Stephen Roscher,
B.E.E. 2010, walked away with a $10 gift card.
IEEE President Vinny Caruso, B.E.E. 2009, and IEEE faculty adviser Scott
Mathews led the event, which was planned and run by CUA’s IEEE student
chapter. All sodas and Mentos were provided by the IEEE, as was plenty of
food to go around. The overwhelming success of this third annual event, as
well as its popularity among faculty and students alike, has earned The
Mentos Challenge a spot as a fall activity for upcoming years.
ways, honoring innovations of the past, demonstrating the value of engineering
to society, and coming together at the end of the week for some well-earned
food and fun.
Participant catapults water balloons during E-Week.
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Steel Bridge Competition Tests Students’ Mettle
by Chris Scotti, B.C.E. 2010
In deciding to compete in the ASCE Steel Bridge Competition sponsored by
the American Society of Engineers, the team from The Catholic University of
America seemed to face insurmountable odds. With no returning members,
the team had no experience with the inner workings of the competition. It had
no metalworking shop suitable for construction of the bridge. The contest’s
67 pages of rules were accompanied by an equal number of pages of amendments.
The budget was tight, with no established sponsors. Finally, the team
had to work feverishly to meet the looming deadline.
But when the odds are unfavorable, you stand up and fight. Eager junior
civil engineering students Chris Scotti and Chris Ridgeway took on the task
with vigor and determination. “It was something I have always been interested
in,” says Scotti. “When Dr. Lucko told Ridgeway and me that the club had no
leadership and was not participating that year, we jumped at the opportunity.”
The two co-captains recruited a diverse collection of civil and mechanical
engineering students, as well as English and politics majors, to aid them in
their mission to compete in the 2009 Regional Competition in Virginia Beach.
That diversity brought a wide variety of skills, talents and knowledge to the
otherwise inexperienced team. “We had no idea what to expect and what
challenges we faced. Every person brought something unique, something
we would eventually need,” says Ridgeway.
The steel bridge competition is an annual event involving engineering
students from hundreds of universities who design, construct and assemble
a 1/10th-scale bridge made entirely of steel. The goal is to design and fabricate
a steel bridge that is lightweight, stiff enough to support 2,500 lbs.,
and quick to assemble in competition. Teams compete regionally, with the
top three winners moving on to the nationals.
The co-captains approached the competition as a real-world project,
establishing a schedule and a budget, delegating responsibilities and duties,
holding regular meetings and evaluating progress. Working closely with
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Scott Mathews, Ph.D., they
renovated a section of the McCarthy Building into an OSHA-compliant welding
shop. Team members experienced in working with metal educated the others.
While designing and redesigning the initial bridge, the team searched for
and found steel and tool providers. Balancing coursework, sports and social
lives, the team still spent countless hours in computer labs and the metal
shop, committed to what became known as The Bridge.
The process was grueling. Delays and changes to the design caused the
construction time to run longer than expected; the team had a little over a
week to practice construction and make the final aesthetic touches. Travelling
to Virginia Beach for the conference, the team was less than confident. “We
wanted to construct the bridge in under 30 minutes. At that point our best
time was about 34,” says Scotti.
With adrenaline, a little rehearsal, and their smooth functioning as a team,
they managed to construct the bridge in just over 27 minutes. Out of 11
competing teams, CUA’s bridge was one of only four that held the entire
2,500 lb. load, with the total deflection measure 1.6 inches over 3 points.
That put them in 4th place out of 11 competing teams, one place out of a
trophy position. But their accomplishment did not go unrecognized, with
congratulations coming in from faculty, students and staff in the School of
Engineering and across campus.
What’s next With this positive experience under their belts, the team is
looking forward to next year’s competition and the new challenges it will bring.
The CUA Steel Bridge Team in action at the 2009 ASCE competition.
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Wall of Fame Unveiled
The Catholic University of America School of
Engineering proudly unveiled the newly instituted
Wall of Fame, on Oct. 9, 2008. The wall was
created to recognize CUA engineering alumni
with excellent credentials, who also have established
national reputations and reached the
pinnacle of their careers. The ceremony included
approximately 100 Catholic University faculty,
staff, students and alumni who watched as
Matthew Burns, chairman of the School of Engineering
Executive Development Board, revealed
the beautifully engraved Corian stone wall.
The inaugural inductee was Michael Griffin,
former NASA administrator, who was named in
April 2008, prior to the wall’s completion. He was
specifically recognized for extraordinary achievement
in space research and exploration. Griffin
received his M.S.E. in 1974 from CUA.
Three additional honorees were inducted during
the unveiling ceremony in October.
Paul Gaffney, M.S.E. 1970, current president of
Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.,
and former president of the National Defense
University located in Southwest Washington, D.C.,
was recognized for exemplary contributions to
national security and higher education.
Michael Michalak, M.S.E. 1973, presently
(From left) U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam M. Michalak, Dean C. Nguyen, Former CEO of Washington Metropolitan
Airports Authority J. Wilding and Monmouth University President P. Gaffney.
serving as United States Ambassador to Vietnam,
was acknowledged for a lifelong career in foreign
service. He was sworn in as ambassador on Aug.
10, 2007, having previously served as the U.S.
senior official to A.P.E.C., Bureau of East Asia
Pacific Affairs.
James Wilding, B.C.E. 1959, former president/
CEO of Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority,
was recognized for exceptional leadership in the
aviation industry. Wilding, who attended the ceremony
with his wife, Marcella, also serves on the
school’s Civil Engineering Advisory Council.
The Engineering Alumni Homecoming Luncheon
in Pangborn Hall’s Scullen Room followed the
ceremony.
Reinstituting NSBE at CUA
by Adrian Davis, B.E.E. 2011
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) was founded in 1975 at
Purdue University by Edward Barnette and Fred Cooper, who wanted “to
increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel
academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”
NSBE began with with six inaugural members; now NSBE members in number
more than 30,000 in more than 233 chapters on college and university campuses,
65 alumni extension chapters nationwide and 89 precollege chapters.
Now CUA has its own chapter of NSBE, reactivated in February 2009. The
student-run organization consists of 10 members, with goals to enhance the
leadership skills of members and to ensure they succeed academically and
professionally through activities and events directed toward their selfenhancement.
In addition, CUA chapter strives to increase the number of
minority students studying engineering at the undergraduate and graduate
levels and promote public awareness of engineering and the opportunities
for blacks and other minorities in that profession.
We are optimistic about the future. We hope through the deep history of
NSBE to gain knowledge that will help members develop an intense desire
to achieve success in this competitive society and to influence a positive
change in the quality of life for all people. Our members will participate in
community service projects that will help inform middle school and high
school students of the many opportunities to become an engineer.
The future of the National Society of Black Engineers at CUA is unlimited.
As the NSBE chapter at CUA grows, we will obtain and maintain a stable
foundation through intelligent students, a wide variety of intellectually stimulating
projects and events, and most important, the world of engineering.
With the support and dedication of its members and supporters, NSBE at
CUA will reach its potential and be active at for years to come.
Members of the CUA National Society of Black Engineers Chapter.
fall2009 | 9

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International Programs Going Strong
10 | cuaengineer
Dean Nguyen and Nam Tran, Ph.D., president of Danang University of Technology, at the signing ceremony.
Dean Nguyen and faculty and staff of Danang University of Technology.
The School of Engineering’s international programs
with foreign universities continue to strengthen.
Four students entered CUA’s 2+2 program established
with the International University of the
Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City. In
this group, Trang Dinh earned a Bachelor of Electrical
Engineering in May 2009, two students are
expected to graduate in October 2009 and one
student is a rising senior. The cumulative grade
point averages of the IU students at the conclusion
of the spring 2009 semester range from 3.589 to
3.977; all have been on the dean’s list since joining
CUA and all have also been accepted to the
accelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree program
at the school. Trang Dinh plans to pursue her
doctoral degree in electrical engineering at CUA
while serving as a research assistant with Ozlem
Kilic, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical
engineering and computer science.
In the student exchange program with the
Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), the
school welcomed eight students from PolyU to
CUA during the spring 2009 semester. The dean
promoted the exchange program to sophomores
at CUA in November 2008 and as a result four to
five CUA students are expected to travel to Hong
Kong PolyU during the 2009–2010 academic year.
In June 2008, Dean Nguyen and Uyen Nguyen,
Ph.D., director of international programs in Asia,
visited the Danang University of Technology (DUT)
in Danang, Vietnam, where they signed a memorandum
of understanding (MOU) to explore research
and educational collaboration. In January 2009,
the CUA delegation returned to Danang and
signed an agreement for the 2+2 program with
DUT. Also during the trip, the dean and the director
attended the “Conference of Higher Education in
Vietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships,” in
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, organized by the U.S.
Embassy in Vietnam. There they met numerous
administrators and professors of Vietnamese universities
as well as those from American universities
that have academic programs in Vietnam.
The dean also visited with the rector and administrators
of the College of Engineering of the
Vietnam National University to discuss potential
collaboration. As a result of this visit, an agreement
for the 2+2 program was signed between
the college and the School of Engineering.
Dean Nguyen welcomed officials of several
universities from around the world to the School
of Engineering over the last year. In June 2008,
Rosa Marina Meyer, Ph.D., associate vice-president
of Pontificia Universidade Catolica of Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, visited CUA and signed an MOU
with the School of Engineering. During the 2008
NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo held in Washington,
D.C., representatives of foreign universities
visited the CUA campus through an event sponsored
by the CUA Center for Global Education.
Among the visitors, representatives from Korea,
universities showed special interest in collaborating
with CUA. Two officials from Korea University
visited the School of Engineering and met with
Dean Nguyen and the department chairs. In July
2008, a delegation from Danang University of
Technology and University of Danang comprising
several vice presidents, deans and program
directors visited the School of Engineering to
learn about the administration of an American
university. Dean Nguyen and several CUA program
chairs gave presentations about financial
planning, program development, accreditation
and more. The delegation visited the facilities of
the School of Engineering and chatted with CUA
Provost James Brennan, Ph.D. In January 2009,
Phong Thanh Ho, Ph.D., president of the International
University-Vietnam National University-Ho
Chi Minh City visited Dean Nguyen and the 2+2
program students from this school studying
at CUA.

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First Graduate Students from Vietnam Join CUA
In January 2009, Vietnamese graduate students
Hoi Nguyen and Anh-Thu Nguyen came to CUA to
pursue doctoral degrees in electrical engineering
at the School of Engineering. Their arrival is the
fruitful outcome of a trip Dean Charles Nguyen
made in June 2008 to their hometown university,
Danang University of Technology (DUT).
During a presentation about CUA and the
School of Engineering at DUT, Dean Nguyen met
Anh-Thu Nguyen, who was interested in pursuing
a doctoral degree in the United States and
wanted to explore educational opportunities at
CUA. Upon returning to the United States, Dean
Nguyen learned that the newly wed Anh-Thu and
her husband, Hoi Nguyen, had received scholarships
from the Vietnamese government to pursue
doctoral degrees at a university in the United
States. Their scholarship — a very competitive
one — was contingent on passing an interview
conducted by the representatives of the U.S.
National Academy of the Sciences, as required
by the U.S. Vietnam Education Foundation for its
fellows. However, the financial level of their
scholarship enabled them only to attend a public
university in the United States, with lower tuition
than CUA.
Knowing the excellent quality of both students,
who ranked top in their classes, the dean and
faculty of the School of Engineering quickly
developed and offered them a Dean of Engineering
Merit Graduate Assistantship to supplement
funding they receive from their country, making
their graduate education at CUA possible.
“This financial arrangement is a good example
of a win-win situation — international students
can afford to attend CUA while CUA is able to
attract top-notch students who could potentially
serve as productive research assistants for our
faculty,” says Dean Nguyen. “Considering the
return of improved research productivity for our
school, the investment in these students is very
worthwhile.”
The newlyweds, in addition to coping with a
very rigorous engineering graduate program at
CUA, had to adjust to a new environment with a
new language, radically different weather and
American culture. Despite those challenges,
both students achieved perfect 4.0 grade point
averages for the semester, while taking a course
load that exceeded the normal full-time load.
Hoi and Anh-Thu Nguyen say the courses at
CUA are balanced between the theoretical and
practical and that coordination between courses
is good. “The friendly study environment and the
CUA landscape really made us fall in love with
this place,” says Anh-Thu. Their excellent academic
performance and friendliness quickly
caught the attention of faculty who have been
looking for graduate research assistants. Jessica
Ramella-Roman, Ph.D., assistant professor of
biomedical engineering, recently hired Anh-Thu
to be her research assistant in the area of optics.
In December 2009, Hoi Nguyen will serve as a
research assistant for Tobias Nef, Ph.D., assistant
professor of biomedical engineering, to work in
the area of rehabilitation robotics.
A visit by the Vietnamese students to the office of CUA Provost James Brennan (middle).
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Engineers Without Borders Returns to El Salvador
The CUA student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) returned to El
Salvador during the first week of March 2009 to begin construction on a
project to bring fresh water to the small village of Santa Clara in rural Usulután.
Eight engineering undergraduates, accompanied by John Judge, Ph.D.,
assistant professor of mechanical engineering, spent their spring break
surveying, digging, bending and tying steel rebar, and pouring concrete,
working alongside volunteers from the community to kick off the project.
For the past three years, CUA students have worked closely with members
of the Washington, D.C., professional chapter of EWB and students in
the school of public health at George Washington University to design a
pumping system, 50,000-gallon storage tank, several miles of pipes for
distribution to more than 250 houses, and a building to serve as a water
office and health clinic for the village. Since Santa Clara is in a seismologically
active area, near the San Miguel volcano, the building is being
constructed with an earthquake-isolation system in its foundation, designed
by students in two disaster mitigating courses in civil engineering, CE 434
and CE 435, taught by professors Gunnar Lucko, Ph.D., and Panos Tsopelas,
Ph.D. Four of the eight students on this year’s trip were returning to Santa
Clara for the second time, having accompanied Professor Lucko to Santa
Clara in January 2008 for a site assessment.
After arriving at the airport in San Salvador, seniors Kathryn Kazior, and
Erica Gonzalez; juniors Theresa Murray, Evan Heisman, Anthony Rennekamp,
and Andrew Smith; sophomore Andy Urcinas; freshman Brandon Olley; and
Professor Judge took the two-hour minivan ride to Santa Clara and moved
into accommodations in one of the villager family’s homes. Over the course
of the week, they helped level the site for the water tank, marked out the
course of the distribution system, and constructed the earthquake-isolation
foundation for the water office and health clinic building. They worked side
by side with local volunteers. This provided giving a few of the students
the chance to practice their Spanish. The success of the trip was greatly
enhanced by Emily Putzer, a Peace Corps volunteer who has lived in Santa
Clara for the past two years. The group also met with the president of the
National Water Development Board and introduced themselves at a village
meeting attended by more than 200 community members.
Now that the construction of the project is under way, villagers will continue
working on it over the next several months, with additional assistance
from a team from the Washington, D.C., professional chapter of EWB, who
visited Santa Clara in April. Meanwhile, the CUA students are reflecting on
everything they learned, exploring options for their next project, and hoping to
return to Santa Clara next year to see the project’s completion.
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Biomedical Engineering
Spearheads New Collaborations with FDA
A longstanding informal collaborative relationship
between CUA’s Department of Biomedical Engineering
and the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) was formalized and extended in 2009
through an official memorandum of understanding
(MOU), approved by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services and CUA.
The MOU includes extended collaborations with
and access to FDA faculty and staff for research
and academic offerings, shared research equipment
and facilities at FDA, opportunities for graduate
student internships and fellowships, and
mentorship of undergraduate research activities.
The effort was spearheaded by Isaac Chang,
Ph.D., deputy director of the Division of Physics
within the Office of Science and Engineering
Laboratories at FDA, and Binh Tran, chair of biomedical
engineering. CUA is one of only 13 universities
in the United States with MOU agreements
with FDA. The MOU between CUA and FDA will
strengthen an already exceptional relationship,
particularly with the recent relocation of FDA’s
core laboratories to White Oak in Silver Spring,
Md., about seven miles from the CUA campus.
Even before the founding of the biomedical
engineering department in 1998, CUA faculty
collaborated with research being conducted at
the FDA, beginning with the formative Home
Care Technologies Workshop in 1999 and continuing
with many exchanges throughout the past
10 years. Prior to the signing of the memorandum,
for example, FDA and CUA co-hosted the
first Metropolitan Biophotonics Symposium on
April 6, which brought to campus nearly 80 researchers
in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan
area and neighboring institutions, such as NIH’s
National Cancer Institute, Georgetown University,
George Washington University, Howard University,
University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins University
and others. The symposium was organized by
Jessica Ramella-Roman, assistant professor of
biomedical engineering, and Josh Pfefer, Ph.D.,
from the FDA. (See related story, page 15).
In addition, in spring 2009, former FDA researcher
Carl DeMarco, Ph.D., worked with faculty
of biomedical engineering to design, develop
and present a new graduate-level course called
Medical Device Design and Regulation. In addition
to the benefit of DeMarco’s many years
of experience at FDA in device regulation, this
unique course offered students specialized
insight into regulatory aspects of medical device
design and monitoring.
With the MOU, co-sponsored opportunities and
courses are anticipated.
Electrical Engineering to Offer
New Concentration on Alternative and Renewable Energy
Energy is the lifeblood of our modern, technological
world. And it’s beginning to look as if we’re going
need a transfusion soon. According to the Energy
Information Administration, global energy consumption
is expected to grow by about 70 percent
in the next 20 years. Much of that additional energy
is expected to come from energy sources that are
described as “green,” “renewable,” or “alternative.”
The June 2008 issue of The Economist
reported that global investment in sustainable
energy grew from about $90 billion in 2006
to about $150 billion in 2007. Investment in
sustainable energy is predicted to grow at an
increasing rate over the next decade.
With all the investments in alternative energy
and the predictions of a “green energy revolution,”
it is clear that the next decade will demand
a new generation of scientists, engineers and
technicians.
With that green future in mind, the School of
Engineering recently endorsed a new track on
Alternative and Renewable Energy. This curriculum,
offered by the Department of Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science, will not constitute
a new degree, but rather lead students to a Bachelor
of Electrical Engineering degree, with a concentration
on alternative energy systems.
The approved curriculum consists of an “engineering
core” (taken by all engineering students
during the first four semesters), an “electrical
engineering core” (including all the most important
topics in modern electrical engineering), and five
upper-level courses that are specific to alternative
and renewable energy. These courses include:
• An Introduction to Alternative Energy
• The Theory of Photovoltaics
• The Applications of Photovoltaics
• Batteries, Fuel-Cells, and Energy Storage
• Gas-Electric Hybrid and Electric Vehicles
If all goes as planned, these new courses will
be shared among several departments, including
physics, chemistry, electrical engineering and
mechanical engineering. In addition to having
students enrolled in the alternative energy track,
organizers of this new program hope to attract
students from a variety of disciplines to enroll in
these courses as program electives. The first
course, An Introduction to Alternative Energy, will
be offered in fall 2009. The school hopes to begin
officially enrolling students in the program then,
with the full curriculum being offered every year
beginning in the fall of 2010.
If you have any questions about the alternative
energy track, please feel free to contact Associate
Professor Scott Mathews at mathewss@cua.edu.
Professor Scott Mathews
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School of Engineering Hosts
Metropolitan Biophotonics Symposium
In recent years, research in biophotonics — the science of generating and
harnessing light (photons) to image and detect diseases such as cancer —
performed in the Washington, D.C., region has increased dramatically. At this
one-day symposium, chaired by Catholic University’s Jessica Ramella-Roman,
assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and Josh Pfefer, optical diagnostics
laboratory leader at the Food and Drug Administration, more than 20
experts from CUA and other D.C. area colleges and universities and several
federal agencies came together to discuss important issues in the field.
In two morning and two afternoon sessions, four scientists in the field
gave 15-minute presentations on aspects of light-tissue interaction, microscopy
and optical coherence tomography, nanophotonics and molecular
imaging, and macro imaging. Among the presenters were Paul Lemaillet,
postdoctoral fellow, and Baohong Yuan, assistant professor of biomedical
engineering, both from Catholic University.
Experts gather at CUA for biophotonic symposium.
Engineering Establishes Collaborative Agreements
with Local Community Colleges
More and more engineering students are choosing
to attend community college to complete preengineering
studies, with the intent of transferring
to university engineering programs to complete
their upper-division training. Recognizing this
trend in education, the School of Engineering
began discussions to establish transfer agreements
with local area community colleges this year.
“Within biomedical engineering, we’ve seen
an increase in transfer students joining our biomedical
engineering program in recent years,”
said Professor Binh Q. Tran, Ph.D., chair of the
Department of Biomedical Engineering. “Working
closely with transfer coordinators at local community
colleges will only improve the process,
benefit students joining our programs and better
prepare transfer students for success at CUA.”
Tran and Colleen Sullivan, enrollment coordinator
for biomedical engineering, are working
with transfer coordinators at community colleges
to evaluate and develop course mappings to
CUA’s own curricula in order to facilitate the student
transfer process. A transfer agreement was
formalized during the summer of 2009 with Anne
Arundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) is in
place for academic year 2009–10. Negotiations
with Howard County Community College (Columbia,
Md.) are underway.
Each year, transfer students comprise approximately
10 percent of CUA’s new enrollment.
Professor Jessica Ramella-Roman gives opening remarks.
Plenary speaker Robert Nordstrom, Ph.D., program director of the Cancer
Imaging Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health,
gave an overview of new biophotonics imaging techniques and their utility.
Compared to more established techniques such as MRI, X-ray and ultrasound,
biophotonics, which uses nonionizing radiation, is high resolution and
noninvasive and offers definite advantages.
As an emerging area of scientific research that uses light and other forms
of radiant energy to explore the inner workings of cells and tissues in living
organisms, biophotonics enables researchers to see, measure, analyze and
manipulate living tissues in ways that have not been possible before. It is
used in medicine to study tissue and blood at the macro (large-scale) and
micro (very small-scale) organism level to detect, diagnose and treat diseases
in ways that are noninvasive to the body.
“Articulation agreements with local community
colleges will help the School of Engineer, CUA as
a whole and individual students,” said Erin Zimmerer,
associate director of undergraduate admissions.
“With a blueprint in place for students,
they can see ahead of time which courses they
need to take at their school and where those will
fit in if they transfer to CUA. By doing this, the
School of Engineering makes the process more
transparent and easy for everyone to understand.
The ability to see an academic track as a transfer
student cannot be underestimated as part of a
student’s decision in what school to attend.”
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Alumna Works on Earth so
Others Can Work in the Heavens
Daniela Monterrubio, a project engineer for MEI
Technologies, helps sustain life on the International
Space Station — ensuring that water is
safe to drink and providing astronauts opportunities
to exercise to counteract the loss of muscle
density that occurs in microgravity. “Water is one
of the limiting factors in sustaining life in outer
space because it’s so heavy to bring into space,”
explains Monterrubio, biomedical engineering
2006, who works at the Johnson Space Center.
“Once it’s in space, it needs to be recycled. …
Obviously, there’s a lot of concern about whether
water is safe.” She works with a total organic
carbon analyzer, which checks samples of recycled
water for quality.
Monterrubio also supports experiments on a
harness that will make it easier for astronauts to
use a treadmill while in space. “I love that I can
directly see how engineering is applied to solve
problems in the human body,” she says. “I can
see how this harness, if it works well, is going to
keep crew members from losing muscle tone.
Then they can stay in space longer.”
Monterubbio, 24, is no stranger to serving
others. Before joining MEI Technologies, a subcontractor
for NASA, she volunteered for two
CUA Engineering Dean
16 | cuaengineer
years at Amigos de Jesús, an orphanage for boys
in northwest Honduras, where she taught math
and science. She credits the volunteer experience
with helping her secure her job. “Working
with the International Space Station, an awareness
for cultural sensitivities and the ability to
work with people of different backgrounds are
essential.” Since becoming a project engineer,
she has been involved with a chapter of Engineers
without Borders. “As engineers, we’re
called to use our talents in ways that benefit
society,” she says.
A native of Houston and the eldest of six children,
Monterrubio attended CUA at the urging of
her father, a former chemical engineer who is
now a full-time deacon. It wasn’t much of a
stretch: Her father’s nine brothers are engineers,
and Monterrubio’s brother, Omar, is a CUA graduate
engineering student. In fact CUA’s “family
environment” was a draw for Monterrubio as
were opportunities to work closely with faculty
members. “Since Catholic’s engineering school
is small,” she says, “it did a great job of having
us work in multidisciplinary teams. And that to
me has been very useful in the workplace.”
Her advice to new students: Focus on learning
Recognized for Achievements in Robotics
Dean Nguyen at the award ceremony.
Daniela Monterrubio, B.B.E. 2006, with orphan in
northwest Honduras.
rather than studying. “Make sure that you’re not
working for a grade but for knowledge, an understanding
of a concept and how you’re going to
apply it.” CUA instilled in her a love of lifelong
learning, Monterrubio says. Earlier this year, she
volunteered as a test subject for astronauts in
training. “I’ve had astronauts practice giving
eco-cardiograms on me, and they’ve practiced
drawing blood on me,” she says, laughing. With
seriousness, she adds: “I get to learn about the
new experiments they’re preparing to do on the
space station.”
On Feb. 19, the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural
Societies named Charles C. Nguyen, dean of CUA’s School of Engineering,
the recipient of its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.
Said Ruplu Bhattacharya, president of the D.C. council, “Each year, DC-
CEAS recognizes outstanding engineers and architects who have distinguished
themselves among their peers. The Lifetime Achievement Award is
our highest honor, and is bestowed to those who have made deep, meaningful
contributions throughout their lifetimes.”
Nguyen’s area of research is robotics. The award recognizes him for
“outstanding contribution to the field of engineering, to academia, and to the
profession in the areas of medical robotics, space robotics, linear time-varying
systems, decentralized control, intelligent systems, robotics, fuzzy-logic
control and robot vision.”
Chairman of CUA’s Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science from September 1997 to June 2001, he was named dean of the
school in 2001. He is the first Vietnamese American dean at a major university
in the United States.
In addition to his research, Nguyen has published more than 100 technical
and scientific papers in the area of control and robotics, co-edited three
books and guest-edited 10 special issues in major journals. He was the
chairman of the Robotics Committee of the Fifth International Symposium
on Robotics and Manufacturing (ISRAM ’94) and program vice-chair of the
IEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1997 (ICRA ’97).
He is the recipient of many awards and honors from around the globe.
He received his award at the DCCEAS Awards Banquet in Silver Spring, Md.,
on Feb. 28, 2009.

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2009–2010 Nagel Scholars:
A List of Who’s Who in CUA Engineering
Through annual funding from the Edward M. Nagel Foundation, CUA’s biomedical engineering department
identifies and recognizes the program’s top students, its Nagel Scholars, for their excellence in the
classroom, service, active involvement in the CUA community, potential for entrepreneurial success and
leadership in the field of biomedical engineering. This year’s Nagel Scholars at The Catholic University of
America include a prestigious national Goldwater Scholar, a national Tau Beta Pi Scholar, a Landmark
Conference Academic Honor Roll student athlete and Dean’s List members.
The 2009–2010 Nagel Scholars are Megan Jamiolkowski (2010), Theresa Murray (2010), Katherine
Rucky (2010), Jenna Graham (2011), Andrew Gravunder (2011), Patrick Noonan (2011), Timothy
Mierzwa (2012) and Joseph McAnaney (2012). Jamiolkowski received a prestigious national Goldwater
Scholarship in 2009 for her academic achievement and research potential, only one of 278 students
nationwide to receive this honor (see story below). Murray was one of 234 students selected to be
named a Tau Beta Pi Scholar for 2009-2010 by the national engineering honor society. For her athletic
as well as academic achievement, Graham was named to the Landmark Conference’s Academic Honor
Roll. All Nagel Scholars have been on the Dean’s List for their academic success.
Edward M. Nagel was an entrepreneur and businessman who co-founded the Oroweat TM Baking
Company. As a result of his immigrant experience during the Great Depression, Nagel developed a
strong desire to support hard-working, enterprising students seeking to get an education. In 1992, he
founded the Edward M. Nagel Foundation to provide scholarships for exceptional students. CUA is one
of only six universities in the United States funded by the foundation.
CUA Biomedical Engineering Major Awarded
Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship
Award Is Third for School of Engineering and 15th for CUA
Catholic University junior biomedical engineering
major Megan Jamiolkowski of McKees Rocks,
Pa., has been named a Barry M. Goldwater
Scholar, one of 278 undergraduates — and 115
women — to receive the prestigious award
nationwide.
Jamiolkowski is the first CUA biomedical engineering
student to be named a Goldwater Scholar
and the third from the School of Engineering.
Catholic University graduates Sarah Eddy, who
earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in
2001, and Kealy Rudersdorf, who graduated in
2005, also with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering
degree, received Goldwater Scholarships in 2000
and 2003, respectively.
In the course of the last 19 Goldwater competitions,
CUA has had 15 students named scholars
from physics, biology, math, chemistry and engineering.
“Megan Jamiolkowski’s recognition as a Goldwater
Scholar reflects well on her achievements
and CUA’s academic support. Most important,
this award offers positive affirmation of the
faculty of biomedical engineering and its deep
commitment to undergraduate excellence,” said
CUA Provost James Brennan, Ph.D.
The Goldwater scholars were selected on the
basis of academic merit from a field of 1,100
mathematics, science and engineering students
who were nominated by the faculties of colleges
and universities around the country. Goldwater
scholars often go on to prestigious postgraduate
fellowship programs, including the Rhodes Scholarship
and Marshall Award.
Established by Congress in 1986, the scholarship
program honoring the late Sen. Barry M.
Goldwater was designed to foster and encourage
outstanding students to pursue careers in the
fields of mathematics, the natural sciences and
engineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is the
premier undergraduate award of its type in these
fields.
As a Goldwater Scholar, Jamiolkowski, who
is president of CUA’s chapter of the Tau Beta Pi
Engineering Honor Society, is receiving up to
$7,500 next year toward the cost of tuition, fees,
books, and room and board.
Sixteen Hennessy
Distinguished Scholars Named
In 1992, while a member of CUA’s Board of
Trustees, Edward L. Hennessy Jr. established the
Hennessy Distinguished Scholarship Program,
designed to support outstanding graduate scholars
in the School of Engineering. Chosen annually by
the dean of the school from a pool of students
nominated by faculty of their respective departments,
Hennessy Distinguished Scholars are
selected based on their high levels of academic
achievement and potential to conduct useful and
groundbreaking research. The Hennessy scholars
also receive $5,000 each to be applied toward
their studies. “Mere words can only begin to
express the gratitude I have for Edward and Ruth
Hennessy for their commitment to this program.
They are a shining example of how philanthropy
enriches the experience of our students,” says
Very Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., president of
Catholic University.
The 2008–2009 Hennessy
Distinguished Scholars and their
nominating faculty (in parentheses)
are as follows:
Biomedical Engineering
Ali Basiri (Professor Ramella)
Yuan Liu (Professor Yuan)
Anthony Metzger (Professor Lum)
Seema Swaminathan (Professor Wilson)
Civil Engineering
Mostafa Ardakani (Professor Sun)
James Cooper (Professor Lucko)
Hamid Karimpour (Professor Lade)
Chen Wang (Professor Sun)
Electrical Engineering
Mikhail Gorbachev (Professor Chang)
Chien-Hung Lai (Professor Chang)
Chin-Yu Amy Lin (Professor Regalia)
Jing Wang (Professor Regalia)
Mechanical Engineering
Patrick O’Malley (Professor Judge)
Nitin Sawant (Professor Nieh)
Richard Scenna (Professor Nieh)
Teresa Woods (Professor Vignola)
fall2009 | 17

cuaengineer
Faculty Awardees Honored at School’s Year-End Luncheon
The CUA School of Engineering honored four faculty
members with the 2008–2009 Kaman awards
and Burns faculty fellowships at a year-end
luncheon in May. The annual event was held in
the Anthony T. Scullen Memorial Room. Attendees
included SOE faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, students
and members of the university administration.
Lin-Ching Chang, assistant professor of electrical
engineering and computer science, and Baohong
Yuan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering,
received the Burns Faculty Fellowship. This
award was established by the Robert Burns
family in 2007, to support junior faculty members.
The Charles H. Kaman faculty excellence
awards are presented once a year to faculty
members in two categories: research and teaching.
The Kaman Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award
recipient this year was George Mavroeidis, assistant
professor in civil engineering. This award is
a special honor, because faculty candidates are
nominated directly by their students and their
colleagues.
There were two recipients of the Kaman Faculty
Excellence in Research Award this year, Zhaoyang
Wang, assistant professor of mechanical engineering,
and Baohong Yuan, assistant professor
of biomedical engineering. Wang received the
award for his research involving a broad range of
topics in solid mechanics, optics, nanotechnology,
microelectronics, computer vision and image
processing. Yuan is developing a new imaging
(From left) Professors B. Yuan, L. Chang, G. Mavroeidis, Z. Wang
technique that can potentially improve sensitivity
and specificity of cancer diagnosis, improve the
accuracy of evaluating cancer treatment efficacy,
and enable detection of tumor metastasis via
lymphatic system.
Alumni Career Updates
1950s
Ross B. McMullen, B.A.E. 1955, retired in 1993
from Model Aviation Magazine, where he was
publisher and managing editor.
Jim Mullally, B.M.E. 1959, worked in the aerospace
and nuclear industries for 35 years. Among
his career highlights are working at the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. preparing
the Viking Orbiter’s propulsion system; being
selected in 1980 by Westinghouse Electric to manage
mechanical functions of the Waste Isolation
Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M.; and then transferring
in 1985 to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.
1960s
Mel P. Oommen, M.C.E. 1963, retired in 1990
as chief engineer in Kerala, India, where he participated
in 2,000 housing projects in Greater
Cochin Kerala from 1964 to 1989.
William M. “Bill” Carey, B.M.E. 1965, Ph.D. 1974,
received the Pioneers of Underwater Acoustics
ASA Silver Medal in 2007. He is a professor in the
College of Engineering at Boston University.
John J. Mecholsky, Jr., B.C.E. 1966, M.C.E.
1968, Ph.D. 1973, was appointed chair of
Faculty Senate at the University of Florida in
May 2009. He is a full professor and associate
chair of the Department of Materials and Science
Engineering.
Donald A. Lamontagne, B.S.E. 1969, retired as
a Lt. Gen. from the United States Air Force in
2004. He is currently the president of Star Mountain
Consulting, Inc.
1970s
Tom Milos, B.C.E. 1971, is the project executive
for Jacobs Engineering in Arlington, Va.
Guillermo Gaunaurd, B.M.E. 1972, retired as a
senior physicist at the Army Research Laboratory
in the Sensors and Electron Devices Directorate
in October 2008. He is presently a private consultant
working on contracts with various organizations
related to the Navy or Army.
Bob Fitzmyer, B.M.E. 1975, sells industrial
pumps for Robert J. Fitzmyer Company, Inc., in
Conshohocken, Pa. The family-owned company
celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.
Joe Ricci, B.Ch.E. 1975, retired from federal
service in 2008 and is now a coordinator for a
small nonprofit company in Maryland.
Philip A. Stevens, B.C.E. 1976, spent 40 years
with Philip Stevens & Associates. For the last 10
years, he has been working with his sons under
the new company name of Stevens Builders Inc.
1980s
Santi Tisayakorn, B.M.E. 1980, serves as the
provost of Darunsikkalai School for Innovative
Learning of King Mongkut’s University of Technology
Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand.
Sapre Sudhirkumar, M.C.E. 1981, is a senior
professor with the Faculty of Technology, at CEPT
University in Ahmedabad, India.
18 | cuaengineer

Alumni Career Updates cont.
Jim Giglio, B.M.E. 1982, joined Draper Laboratory
in Cambridge, Mass., as a senior packaging
engineer in August 2008.
Carlos Ostria, M.S.E. 1983, is the senior vice
president for Loiederman Soltesz Associates,
Inc., in Rockville, Md.
Larry Schuette, B.E.E. 1983, M.E.E. 1985, Ph.D.
1995, has been the director of innovation for the
Office of Naval Research since July 2007. He is
also an adjunct professor in the School of Engineering
at CUA.
Col. Efren V.M. Garcia, B.C.E. 1984, is assigned
to the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Security
Administration as the executive director for
nuclear safety and operations, within the Office of
Defense Programs.
Buncha Rajtboriraks, B.S.C.S. 1986, owns An
Xiem jsc. Export Worldwide, based in Vietnam.
Mark Giarratana, B.M.E. 1987, is currently partner
at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Conn.
He specializes in intellectual property law.
1990s
Dave and Sheila (Carmody) Palmer, B.M.E.
1990, received their Ph.D.s from Georgia Tech
in 1995. Dave is the manager of the Technical
Support Group at Simulia (formerly Abaqus), and
Sheila teaches math and science at Barrington
Christian Academy.
Azuki Bin Tahir, B.E.E. 1990, started with
Penang Seagate in Oct. 1992. He is now a senior
manager of the R&D Engineering Team.
Mamoun Alaoui, B.M.E. 1993, M.M.E. 1995,
is the director and designer of the Forensic
Acoustics Laboratory, with the Royal Gendarmerie,
in the Kingdom of Morocco.
Sarah Kamal Hagi, B.B.E. 1995, is an assistant
professor in the College of Medical Physics, at
King Abdulaziz University.
Matt Kaness, B.M.E. 1995, is director of business
development and strategy for Urban Outfitters, Inc.
Alvaro Lizarraga, B.M.E. 1995, is a service
manager at Liebher Iberica, in Madrid, Spain.
John Durcan, B.C.E. 1996, currently works at
Gilbane, Inc.
Bryan Walsh, B.M.E. 1997, works full-time for
Duke Energy Corporation as technical manager
of the Marshall Steam Station. He also works
part-time as an engineering consultant for
Technology Inc.
Patrick Hatch, B.C.E. 1999, manages his own
immigration law office in Durham, N.C.
2000s
Carissa Debra Tudryn, B.M.E. 2000, is presently
working at NASA Ames Research Center. She
applied for the first time to the 2009 Astronaut
Corps Class, and was given the honor of making
the “highly qualified round.”
Melissa (Currie) Impastato, B.C.E. 2002, of
Clark Construction Company, is now the project
manager of an office building on Andrews Air
Force Base.
John Ting Myauo, B.M.E. 2002, is employed by
the Parsons Corp., and is currently the supervising
engineer for the Department of Homeland
Security’s Advanced Spectroscopic Portal-Cargo
Variant Project.
Chris Teddy, B.C.E. 2003, currently is a project
manager for JEDunn Construction. He married
Jessica (Cisper) Teddy, B.B.E. 2003, a lab technician
at Stowers Medical Research Institute.
Adam Spisak, B.M.E. 2006, of Lockheed Martin,
was just accepted into the Operations Leadership
Development Program.
Christopher Ratto, B.E.E. 2007, completed his
master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering
at Duke University in May 2009, and is
continuing studies towards his Ph.D.
Azuki Bin Tahir, B.E.E. 1990 and his family in January 2009.
cuaengineer
Col. Efren V.M. Garcia, B.C.E. 1984 and his wife,
Carmen “Dominguez” Garcia B.A. 1984, at the CUA
2009 Sweethearts Reception.
Dave and Sheila (Carmody) Palmer, B.M.E. 1990.
John Ting Myauo, B.M.E. 2002 and his wife, Michele
Lynn-Moore Myauo.
fall2009 | 19

cuaengineer
Faculty
Grants
■ Brown, J.S., Judge, J., Vignola, J., and Wang,
Z., “Development of STEM Workforce in Mechanical
Engineering at The Catholic University
of America in Support of NASA’s Strategic
Goals”, DC Space Grant Consortium (NASA),
May 1, 2008–April 30, 2009, $30,573.
■ Brown, J.S., “Research on Automated Planning
and Programming for Intelligent Systems,”
National Institute of Standards and
Technology, April 1, 2008–March 31, 2009,
$286,642.
■ Brown, J.S., “Research on Automated Programming
and Planning for Automated Manufacturing”,
National Institute of Standards and
Technology, April 1, 2009–March 31, 2012,
$960,147.
■ Choi, J.J., “Image-Guided Transbronchial
Biopsy with Novel Biopsy Device,” U.S. Army
Medical Research and Materiel Command
Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research
Center (USAMRMC-TATRC), April
2009–Dec. 2010, $252,254.96.
■ Vignola, J.F. (PI) and Judge, J.A. (Co-PI),
“Synthetic Aperture Acoustics (SAA) Detection
of Camouflaged IEDs,” Army Research Office,
Jan. 2009–Dec. 2011, $320,448.32.
■ Brown, J.S. (PI), Judge, J.A., Vignola, J.F. and
Wang, Z. (Co-PIs), “Development of STEM
Workforce in Mechanical Engineering at The
Catholic University of America in Support of
NASA’s Strategic Goals,” DC Space Grant
Consortium, May 2008–April 2009, $30,537.
■ Judge, J.A. (PI), “CAREER: Dynamics of
Micro- and Nanomechanical Resonator
Arrays,” National Science Foundation, May
2008–April 2013, $409,287.
■ Judge, J.A. (PI) and Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI),
“Fabrication and Testing of a Blast Concussion
Burst Sensor,” U.S. Army CDMRP, June 2008–
Nov. 2009, $190,920.
■ Kilic, O. (PI), “Hardware Accelerated Reconfigurable
Programming for Electromagnetic
Simulations and Optimization of Advanced
Material Design,” Office of Naval Research,
addendum July 2008, $25,000.
■ Lade, P.V. (PI), “Instability of Geological Materials
Under Three-Dimensional Stress Conditions,”
American Chemical Society (The Petroleum
Research Fund), May 1, 2004-Aug. 2009,
$80,000.
■ Lade, P.V. (PI), “Experimental Study of Stress
Rotation Effects in Cross-Anisotropic Sand,”
National Science Foundation, May 2008–April
2011, $290,982.
■ Lucko, G. (PI), “Enabling higher dimensionality
20 | cuaengineer
of temporal-spatial analysis applied to linear
scheduling of construction operations based on
singularity functions in structural engineering,”
National Science Foundation, July 2007–June
2009, $67,571 + $50,000 tuition remission.
■ Lucko, G. (PI), Tsopelas, P. (Co-PI), “Teaching
structural design, construction practices, and
sustainable technologies for mitigation of natural
disaster damages in coastal and fault
areas of developing regions.” National Collegiate
Inventors and Innovators Alliance, July
2006–July 2009, $42,450.
■ Lum, P.S. (PI), “Extension of the MIME robotic
system for stroke rehabilitation,” VA Merit Review
Award, July 2007–July 2011, $730,400.
■ Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Homebased
automated therapy of arm function
after stroke via tele-rehabilitation (PI:
Uswatte),” NIH R01 Award, April 2008–
April 2012, $442,270.
■ Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “A Robotic
Exoskeleton for Post-stroke Hand Neuro-rehabilitation
(PI: Healton),” U.S. Army Medical
Research and Materiel Command, Nov. 2006–
Nov. 2009, $250,000.
■ Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Neuroscientific
aspects of upper extremity amputation
(PI: Healton),” U.S. Army Medical Research
and Materiel Command, Nov. 2006–Nov. 2009,
$50,000.
■ Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Assessment
of Motor System Function in the First
Days after Brain Injury (PI: Healton),” U.S.
Army Medical Research and Materiel Command,
Nov. 2006–Nov. 2009, $50,000.
■ Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI), “A Practical Enhanced-
Resolution Integrated Optical-Digital Imaging
Camera (PERIODIC),” Defense Microelectronics
Activity (DMEA), 2007–2009, $2,699,907.
■ Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI), “Fabrication and
Testing of a Blast Concussion Burst Sensor,”
Congressionally Directed Medical Research
Program (U.S. Army Medical Research Acquisition
Activity), June 1, 2008–Nov. 30, 2009,
$190,920.
■ Namazi, N.M., “Archival Data Extraction, Assessment,
and Preservation Infrastructure,”
National Science Foundation, application.
■ Ramella-Roman J.C. (PI), “Measurement of
autonomic dysreflexia on the rat model,”
Christopher Reeve Foundation, 2008–2009,
$5,000.
■ Ramella-Roman J.C. (Co-PI), “Novel Assessment
of Early Changes in Diabetic Retinopathy,”
NIH-NEI, RO1 grant, 2008–2011, $1,775,811.
■ Ramella-Roman J.C. (Co-PI), “NEED NAME
OF PROJECT HERE,” Defense Microelectronics
activity contracting division, subcontract from
CUA electrical engineering, 2007–2009,
$40,000.
■ Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Two Problems in Multiuser
Communications over High Occupancy Channels,”
National Science Foundation, Jan.
2007–Dec. 2010, $120,000.
■ Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Distributed Estimation in
Wireless Sensor Networks via Expectation
Propagation,” National Science Foundation,
Sept. 2007–Aug. 2010, $194,016.
■ Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Minefield Detection for Airborne
Minefield Data: Belief Propagation and
Minefield Geometry Compatibility Functions,”
Alion, May–July 2009, $50,245.
■ Tran, B.Q., “Evaluation of MRI magnetic fields
on implanted medical devices,” Food and
Drug Administration, April–Dec. 2008,
$62,142.
■ Tran, B.Q., “Laboratory evaluation of MRI
safety on implanted medical devices,” Food
and Drug Administration, Jan.–Dec. 2009,
$89,042.
■ Vignola, J.F. (PI) and Judge, J.A. (Co-PI),
“Synthetic Aperture Acoustics (SAA) Detection
of Camouflaged IEDs,” Army Research Office,
Jan. 2009–Dec. 2011, $320,448.32.
■ Brown, J.S. (PI), Judge, J.A., Vignola, J.F. and
Wang, Z. (Co-PIs), “Development of STEM
Workforce in Mechanical Engineering at The
Catholic University of America in Support of
NASA’s Strategic Goals,” DC Space Grant
Consortium, May 2008–April 2009, $30,537.
■ Wang, Z. (PI), “Whole-field experimental
nanomechanics characterization of nanomaterials
and nanostructures,” AFOSR, April 2009–
April 2010, $101,950.
■ Wang, Z. (PI), “Universal, automatic, and accurate
interferogram analysis for optics-based
experimental mechanics and its open source
implementation,” NSF, Oct. 2008–Sept. 2010,
$124,248.
■ Wang, Z. (PI), “Real-time, high-Accuracy 3D
imaging system,” NCIIA, April 2008–Sept.
2009, $14,500 (+$2,500 travel support).
■ Wang, Z. (PI), “Fabrication of highly ordered
monolayer nanoarrays,” Argonne National
Laboratory, January 2009-December 2009,
(user project without funding support).
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone Inspiration in Research
and Education,” National Science
Foundation Faculty Early CAREER Award,
March 2007–Feb. 2012, $450,000.
■ Yuan, B. (PI), “Imaging of tumor fluids including
blood, interstitial fluid and lymph as a unity,”
Department of Defense (DOD) breast cancer
research program, to be submitted on April 6,
2009, $350,000.
■ Yuan, B. (PI), “Three-dimensional optical-ultrasound
sectioning of breast tumors for functional
imaging,” DOD breast cancer research program,
submitted in Nov. 20, 2008, $100,744.

cuaengineer
Presentations and
Publications
■ Brown, J.S., “Potential R-114 replacement
refrigerants.” 2008 ASHRAE Summer Meeting,
Salt Lake City, June 2008.
■ Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Estimations
of the thermodynamic and transport
properties of R-1234yf using a cubic equation
of state and group contribution methods,”
Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Thermophysical
Properties and Transfer Processes
of Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Simulation
of R-1234yf performance in a typical
automotive system,” Proceedings of the 3rd
Conference on Thermophysical Properties and
Transfer Processes of Refrigerants, Boulder,
Colo., June 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Domanski, P.A., and Lemmon,
E.W., “CYCLE_D Version 4.0: Theoretical
vapor compression cycle design program,”
Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Thermophysical
Properties and Transfer Processes
of Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Estimations
of the thermodynamic and transport
properties of R-1234yf using a cubic equation
of state and group contribution methods,”
Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Thermophysical
Properties and Transfer Processes
of Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Domanski, P.A., and Lemmon,
E.W., “CYCLE_D Version 4.0: Theoretical
vapor compression cycle design program,”
Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Thermophysical
Properties and Transfer Processes
of Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “The
fluorinated olefin R-1234ze(Z) as a high-temperature
heat pumping refrigerant,” accepted
for publication in International Journal of Refrigeration,
2009.
■ Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Thermodynamic
properties of eight fluorinated
olefins,” submitted to International Journal of
Refrigeration, 2009.
■ Brown, J.S., “Potential R-114 replacement
refrigerants,” ASHRAE Transactions, Vol. 114,
No. 2, 2008.
■ Chang, L-C, Koay, C.G., Basser, P.J., and
Pierpaoli, C., “A Linear Least Squares Method
for Unbiased Estimation of T1 from SPGR
Signals,” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine,
Vol. 60, pp.496–501, 2008.
■ Koay, C.G., Nevo, U., Chang, L-C., Pierpaoli,
C., and Basser, P.J. “The elliptical cone of
uncertainty and its normalized measures in
diffusion tensor imaging,” IEEE Transaction on
Medical Imaging, Vol. 27, Chapter 6, pp. 834-
846, 2008.
■ Chang, L-C, Walker, L., and Pierpaoli, C.,
“Making the Robust Tensor Estimation Approach:
‘RESTORE’ more Robust,” in Proc.
Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17, May 2009,
pp. 3558.
■ Walker, L., Chang, L-C., Kanterakis, E., Bloy,
L., Simonyan, K., Verma, R., and Pierpaoli, C.,
“Statistical Assessment of the Effects of Physiological
Noise and Artifacts in a Population
Analysis of Diffusion Tensor MRI Data,” in
Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17, May
2009, pp. 459.
■ Chang, L-C., Koay, C.G., Basser, P.J., and Pierpaoli,
C., “A New Linear Least Squares Method
for T1 Estimation from SPGR Signals with Multiple
TRs,” in Proc. SPIE Medical Image, Feb.
2009, Vol. 7258.
■ Wu, M., Chang, L-C., Walker, L., Lemaitre, H.,
Barnett, A.S., Marenco, S., and Pierpaoli, C.,
“Comparison of EPI Distortion Correction
Methods in Diffusion Tensor MRI using a Novel
Framework,” in Proc. the 11th International
Conference on Medical Image Computing and
Computer Assisted Intervention, Sept. 2008,
pp. 321-329.
■ Wu, M., Chang, L-C., Walker, L., Lemaitre, H.,
Barnett, A.S., Marencom S., and Pierpaoli, C.,
“Comparison of B0 field mapping method and
B-spline image registration method in EPI
distortion correction in Diffusion Tensor MRI,
CDMRI’08,” MICCAI Workshop on Computational
Diffusion MRI, Sept. 2008.
■ Chang, L-C., Koay C.G., Basser, P.J., and Pierpaoli1,
C., “Accurate Estimation of T1 from
SPGR Signals,” in Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson.
Med. 16, May 2008, pp.1775.
■ Choi, J., Popa, T. and Gruionu, L., “Transbronchial
Needle Aspiration with a New Electromagnetically
Tracked TBNA Needle,” in
Proceedings of Medical Imaging 2009, Lake
Buena Vista, Fla., 2009, 7261, forthcoming.
■ Wong, K, Choi, J., Wilson, W., Berry, J. and
Henderson, F., “Spinal Cord Stress Injury
Assessment (SCOSIA): Clinical Applications of
Mechanical Modeling of the Spinal Cord and
Brainstem,” in Proceedings of Medical Imaging
2009, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., 2009, 7261,
forthcoming.
■ Choi, J., “Path Generation to the Lesion Based
on Virtual Bronchoscopy,” Computer Assisted
Radiology and Surgery, Berlin, Germany,
2009, forthcoming.
■ Huang, G., Govoni, S., Choi, J., Hartley, D., and
Wilson, J., “Geovisualizaing Data with Ring
Maps,” ArcUser, pp. 54-55, Winter 2008.
■ Kim, T., Chung, H., Yu, W., Kim, J., Kim, G.,
Choi, J., Cleary, K., and Mun, S., “Localization
of Gastric Cancer by CT Gastrography: A
Prospective Study,” Annals of Surgery, forthcoming.
■ O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., and
Judge, J.A., “Surface-normal vector velocity
measurement using a five-axis contour scanning
laser vibrometry system,” in Proceedings
of the Eighth International Conference on
Vibration Measurements by Laser Techniques:
Advances and Applications, Ancona, Italy,
2008, Proc. SPIE 7098, 70980D.
■ O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., and
Judge, J.A., and Jarzynski, J., “Contour
scanning laser vibrometry characterization
of Caribbean steelpan,” in Proceedings of the
Eighth International Conference on Vibration
Measurements by Laser Techniques: Advances
and Applications, Ancona, Italy, 2008,
Proc. SPIE 7098, 709818.
■ Vignola, J.F., and Judge, J.A., “Architectural
considerations of MEMS resonators for mass
detection in the presence of a fluid,” Journal
of Applied Physics, Vol. 104(12): 124305,
Dec. 2008.
■ Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA Accelerated
Ant Colony Optimization for Phased Array
Design,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, Monterey,
Calif., March 2009, invited paper.
■ Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA Accelerated
Phased Array Design Using the Ant Colony
Optimization,” (abstract and presentation)
USNC URSI, Boulder, Colo., Jan. 2009.
■ Kilic, O., “Interference Analysis for Spot Beam
Partitioning in Cellular Satellite Communication
Systems,” Proc. IEEE AP-S/URSI Intl Conference,
San Diego, Calif., July 2008.
■ Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA Accelerated
Ant Colony Optimization for Phased Array
Design,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, Monterey,
Calif., March 2009, invited paper.
■ Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA Accelerated
Phased Array Design Using the Ant Colony
Optimization,” (abstract and presentation)
USNC URSI, Boulder, Colo., Jan. 2009.
■ Kilic, O., “Interference Analysis for Spot Beam
Partitioning in Cellular Satellite Communication
Systems,” Proc. IEEE AP-S/URSI Intl Conference,
San Diego, Calif., July 2008.
■ Kilic, O., “Comparison of Nature-Based Optimization
Methods for Multi-beam Satellite
Antennas,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, Niagara
Falls, Canada, March 2008, invited paper.
■ Kilic, O., “Modeling Electromagnetic Wave
Interactions with Sea Spray,” ACES Journal
2008 Special Issue, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2008.
■ Kilic, O., and Zaghloul, A., “Antenna Aperture
Size Reduction Using Sub-Beam Concept in
Multiple-Spot-Beam Cellular Satellite Systems,”
accepted for publication in Radio Science, Feb.
2009, forthcoming.
fall2009 | 21

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■ Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for Engineers:
Fundamentals, Evaluations and Calibration,”
two-day short course presented for
ASCE in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., “Analysis and Prediction of Shear
Banding Under 3D Conditions in Granular Materials,”
presented at Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State
University, Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 18, 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for Engineers:
Fundamentals, Evaluations and Calibration,”
two-day short course presented for
ASCE in Denver, Colo., May 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for
Engineers: Fundamentals, Evaluations and
Calibration,” two-day short course presented
at ExxonMobil Research and Engineering,
Annandale, N.J., Oct. 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., “Assessment of test data for
selection of 3-D failure criterion for sand,”
Haythornthwaite Distinguished Lecture
presented at Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering, Temple University,
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., “Failure Criterion for Cross-
Anisotropic Soils,” Journal of Geotechnical
and Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE,
Vol. 134, No. 1, pp. 117-124, 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., Nam, J. and Hong, W.P., “Shear
Banding and Cross-Anisotropic Behavior
Observed in laboratory Sand Tests with
Stress Rotation,” Canadian Geotechnical
Journal, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 74-84, 2008.
■ Gdela, K., Pietruszczak, S., Lade, P.V., and
Tsopelas, P., “On Colles’ Fracture: An Experimental
Study Involving Structural and Material
Testing,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol.
75, pp. 031002-1-10, May 2008.
■ Wood, F.M., Yamamuro, J.A., and Lade, P.V.,
“Effect of Depositional Method on the
Undrained Response of Silty Sand,” Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 45, No 11, pp.
1525-1537, Nov. 2008.
■ Yamamuro, J.A., Wood, F.M., and Lade, P.V.,
“Effect of Depositional Method on the
Microstructure of Silty Sand,” Canadian
Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 45, No. 11,
pp.1538-1555, Nov. 2008.
■ Lade, P.V., Nam, J. and Hong, W.P., “Interpretation
of strains in torsion shear tests,” Computers
and Geotechnics, Vol. 36, No. 1-2, pp.
211-225, Jan./March 2009.
■ Lucko, G., “A new paradigm for modeling,
analysis, and optimization of linear scheduling
method,” invited lecture, Department of Civil
and Environmental Engineering, University of
Maryland, College Park, Md., 2009.
■ Lucko, G., “Calculating float in linear schedules
with singularity functions,” 2008 Winter
Simulation Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008.
■ Lucko, G., Benjamin, P. C., and Madden, M. G.,
“Harnessing the power of simulation in the
project management/decision support aspects
of the construction industry,” 2008 Winter
Simulation Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008.
■ Lucko, G., “Analysis of linear schedules with
singularity functions versus critical path
method,” 2008 5th Project Management
Institute College of Scheduling Annual
Conference, Chicago, Ill., 2008.
■ Lucko, G., and Rojas, E.M., “Research validation
in the construction domain,” Proceedings
of the 2009 Construction Research Congress,
Seattle, Wash., 2009, pp. 1449-1458.
■ Lucko, G., and Mitchell, Z.W., “Preparation of
incongruous economic datasets for regression
analysis,” Proceedings of the 2009 Construction
Research Congress, Seattle, Wash., 2009, pp.
1115-1124.
■ Lucko, G., and Peña Orozco, A., “Calculating
float in linear schedules with singularity functions,”
Proceedings of the 2008 Winter Simulation
Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008, pp.
2512-2518.
■ Lucko, G., Benjamin, P. C., and Madden, M. G.,
“Harnessing the power of simulation in the
project management/decision support aspects
of the construction industry,” Proceedings of
the 2008 Winter Simulation Conference,
Miami, Fla., 2008, pp. 2479-2487.
■ Lucko, G., “Analysis of linear schedules with
singularity functions versus critical path
method,” invited paper (peer-reviewed),
Proceedings of the 2008 5th Project Management
Institute College of Scheduling Annual
Conference, Chicago, Ill., 2008.
■ Lucko, G., and Rojas, E.M., “Research validation
in the construction domain: challenges and
opportunities,” invited technical paper (peerreviewed),
in print, Special Issue on Research
Methodologies in Construction Engineering
and Management, Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, 2009.
■ Lucko, G., and Peña Orozco, A.A., “Float types
in linear schedule analysis with singularity
functions,” in print, Journal of Construction
Engineering and Management, May 2009.
■ Lucko, G., “Productivity Scheduling Method:
Linear Schedule Analysis with Singularity
Functions,” Journal of Construction Engineering
and Management, Vol. 135, No. 9, pp. 246-253,
April 2009.
■ Brennan, D., Lum, P.S., Gilmore, B., Tran, B.,
Taub, E., and Uswatte, G., “Developing a platform
for home-based upper extremity stroke
rehabilitation,” Platform presentation at the
14th Annual International Meeting and Exposition
of the American Telemedicine Association,
Las Vegas N.V., 2009.
■ Metzger, A., Lum, P.S., Schabowky, C., Holley,
R., Monroe, B., and Dromerick, A., “Upper
extremity amputees adapt to their prostheses
during reaching movements, but exhibit
abnormalities with their intact arm,” in Proc.
22 | cuaengineer

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Society of Neuroscience Annual Conference,
Washington, D.C., 2008, pp.15-19.
■ Dromerick A., Metzger A., Monroe B., Edwards,
Pehlinova, and Lum, P.S., “Kinematic Predictors
of Upper Extremity Recovery during Inpatient
Rehabilitation,” in Proc. International
Stroke Conference, San Diego Calif., 2009.
■ Schabowsky, C.N., Dromerick, A.W., Holley,
R.J., Monroe, B., and Lum, P.S., “Trans-radial
upper extremity amputees are capable of
adapting to a novel dynamic environment,”
Exp Brain Res, Vol.188, Chapter 4, pp. 589-
601, July 2008.
■ Dromerick, A.W., Schabowsky, C.N., Holley,
R.J., Monroe, B., Markotic, A., and Lum, P.S.,
“Effect of Training on Upper-Extremity Prosthetic
Performance and Motor Learning: A
Single-Case Study,” Arch Phys Med Rehabil,
Vol. 89, pp. 1199-204, June 2008.
■ Nef, T., and Lum, P., “Improving backdrivability
in geared rehabilitation robots,” Med Biol Eng
Comput, Vol. 47, Chapter 4, pp. 441-7, April
2009.
■ Piqué, A., Auyeung, R. C. Y., Metkus, K., Kim,
H., Mathews, S.A., Bailey, T., Chen, X., and
Young, L. J., “Laser decal transfer of electronic
materials with thin film characteristics,” Proc.
of SPIE, 2008, Vol. 6879, pp. 687911-687919.
■ Mait, J.N., Wikner, D., Mirotznik, M.S., van
der Gracht, J., Mathews, S.A., and Good, B.,
“Extended Depth-of-Field Imaging at 94 GHz,”
Proceedings of the SPIE, 2008, Volume 6948,
pp. 69480C-69480C-8.
■ Piqué, A., Auyeung, R. C. Y., Kim, H., Metkus,
K.M., and Mathews, S.A., “Digital Microfabrication
by Laser Decal Transfer,” Proc. of
LPM2008-the 9th International Symposium on
Laser Precision Microfabrication, June 2008,
Paper #8-34
■ Mait, J.N., Wikner, D., Mirotznik, M.S., van
der Gracht, J., and Mathews, S.A., Good, B.,
“Extended Depth-of-Field Imaging at 94 GHz,”
accepted for publication by IEEE Trans on
Antennas and Propagation, Sept. 2008.
■ Mathews, S.A., “Design and fabrication of
a low-cost, multispectral imaging system,”
Applied Optics, Vol. 47, No. 28, pp. F71-F76,
Oct. 2008.
■ Mavroeidis, G.P., Zhang, B., Dong, G., Papageorgiou,
A.S., Dutta, U., and Biswas, N.N.,
“The Great 1964 Prince William Sound,
Alaska, earthquake (Mw=9.2): Estimation of
strong ground motion,” in Proceedings of the
Fourteenth World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering (14WCEE), Beijing, China, Oct.
2008.
■ Mavroeidis, G.P., and Papageorgiou A.S.,
“Near-fault ground motion and its relation to
the fault rupture process,” in Proceedings of
the Fourteenth World Conference on Earthquake
Engineering (14WCEE), Beijing, China,
Oct. 2008.
■ Mavroeidis, G.P., Zhang, B., Dong, G., Papageorgiou,
A.S., Dutta, U., and Biswas, N.N.,
“Estimation of strong ground motion from the
Great 1964 Mw 9.2 Prince William Sound,
Alaska, earthquake,” Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, Vol. 98, pp. 2303-
2324, Oct. 2008.
■ Halldorsson, B., Mavroeidis, G.P., and Papageorgiou,
A.S., “Near-fault and far-field strong
ground motion simulation for earthquake engineering
applications using the specific barrier
model,” Journal of Structural Engineering—
ASCE (accepted for publication).
■ Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M., Huber,
D., and Obermark, J., “Frame-to-Frame Pixel
Motion Detection and Classification in the
Presence of Noise,” in preparation for submission
to Optical Engineering.
■ Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M.,
Huber, D., and Obermark, J., Progress Report,
“Frame-to-Frame Pixel Motion Detection and
Classification in the Presence of Noise,” Naval
Research Laboratory, Summer 2008.
■ Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M., Huber,
D., and Obermark, J., “Frame-to-Frame Pixel
Motion Detection and Classification in the
Presence of Noise,” SPIE, San Diego, Calif.,
July 2009.
■ Nef, T., “Robot-aided Neurorehabilitation of
the Upper Extremities,” University of Florida,
Department of Physical Therapy, Gainesville
Fla., Nov. 2008.
■ Nef, T., “Robot-Supported Arm Therapy: Technical
Challenges and Clinical Application in
Stroke Rehabilitation,” Northwestern University,
Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.,
May 2009.
■ Nef, T., and Riener, R., “Shoulder actuation
mechanisms for arm rehabilitation exoskeletons,”
in Proc. IEEE International Conf. on
Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics,
Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 2008, pp. 862-868.
■ Guidali, M., Buechel, M., Klamroth, V., Nef, T.,
and Riener, R., “Trajectory Planning of ADL
Tasks for an Exoskeletal Arm Rehabilitation
Robot,” International Conference on Technically
Assisted Rehabilitation, Berlin, Germany,
March 2009.
■ Guidali, M. Duschau-Wicke A., Buechel, M.,
Brunschweiler, A., Nef, T., and Riener R., “Path
Control – A Strategy for Patient-Cooperative
Arm Rehabilitation,” Automed Conference,
Berlin, Germany, March 2009.
■ Nef, T., and Lum, P., “Improving backdrivability
in geared rehabilitation robots,” Medical and
Biological Engineering & Computing, Vol.
47(4), pp. 441-447, April 2009.
■ Serebryany, A.N. and Pao, H.P., “Transition of
a nonlinear internal wave through an overturning
point on a shelf,” Doklady Earth Sciences,
Vol. 420, No. 4, pp. 714-718, 2008.
fall2009 | 23

cuaengineer
■ Pao, H.P., “Stratified flows and nonlinear internal
waves,” Keynote paper, Proceedings of the
12th Cross Strait Water Resources Engineering
Conference, Beijing, Oct. 2008, pp. 87–97.
■ Pao, H.P., “Precision water-level and sediment
monitoring system,” 12th Cross Strait Water
Resources Engineering Conference, Beijing,
Oct. 2008.
■ Pao, H.P., “Intense nonlinear internal waves,”
invited paper presented at Taiwan Ocean
Workshop 2008, Tainan, Taiwan, Oct. 2008.
■ Pao, H.P., and Ling, S.C., “Long-term monitoring
of sea level and marine pollution in the Taiwan
sea area,” invited paper presented at Taiwan
Ocean Workshop 2008, Tainan, Taiwan, Oct.
2008.
■ Ling, S.C., and Pao, H.P., “Effects of latent
heat transfer process over the ocean under
typhoon conditions,” invited paper presented
at Taiwan Ocean Workshop 2008, Tainan,
Taiwan, Oct. 2008.
■ Pao, H.P., and Ling, S.C., “A new view concerning
suspended-sediment flows and a
new suspended sediment-load monitoring
system,” invited paper presented at the International
Workshop on Sediment Transport in
Taiwanese Rivers—Coastal Seas and other
Coastal Systems, National Central University,
Jhongli, Taiwan, Nov. 2008.
■ Pao, H.P., “Intense nonlinear internal waves
in oceans,” invited lecture at Department of
Mechanical/Ocean Engineering, UC Berkeley,
Berkeley, Calif., March 2009.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Optical properties of
a new inorganic liquid crystal,” invited paper,
IEEE Advances in Nanobiophotonics, Mexico,
2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Polarized fluorescence
for skin cancer diagnostic with a multiaperture
camera,” SPIE—Photonic West, San
Jose, Calif., 2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “A fiber optic probe
for measurement of an autonomic dysreflexia
event on SCI patients,” SPIE—Photonic West,
San Jose, Calif., 2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Calibration of a retinal
oximeter with a dynamic eye phantom,” SPIE—
Photonic West, San Jose, Calif., 2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “The impact of Autonomic
Dysreflexia on SCI patients skin and its
role in skin ulcer formation,” Christopher and
Dana Reeve Foundation Meeting, Atlanta, Ga.,
2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Introduction to biophotonics,”
The Johns Hopkins University,
2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Measurement of an
autonomic dysreflexia event on SCI patients,”
Oregon Health and Science University, 2008.
24 | cuaengineer
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., Wilson, O., “Optical
properties of a new inorganic liquid crystal,”
invited paper, IEEE Advances in Nanobiophotonics,
Mexico, 2008.
■ Gupta, N., and Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Detection
of blood oxygen level by noninvasive passive
spectral imaging of skin,” Proceedings of
SPIE—Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics
IV, Nikiforos Kollias, Bernard Choi, Haishan
Zeng, Reza S. Malek, Brian J. Wong, Justus F.
R. Ilgner, Kenton W. Gregory, Guillermo J. Tearney,
Henry Hirschberg, Steen J. Madsen, eds.,
2008, 68420C.
■ Kandimalla, H., Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Polarized
fluorescence for skin cancer diagnostic
with a multi-aperture camera,” Proceedings of
SPIE—Photonic Therapeutics and Diagnostics
IV, Nikiforos Kollias, Bernard Choi, Haishan
Zeng, Reza S. Malek, Brian J. Wong, Justus F.
R. Ilgner, Kenton W. Gregory, Guillermo J. Tearney,
Henry Hirschberg, Steen J. Madsen, eds.,
2008, 68420J.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., Hidler, J.M., “A fiber
optic probe for measurement of an autonomic
dysreflexia event on SCI patients,” Proceedings
of SPIE—Optical Fibers and Sensors for
Medical Diagnostics and Treatment Applications
VIII, Israel Gannot, ed., 2008, 685202.
■ A. Nabili, A., Bardakci, D., Helling, K., Matyas,
C., Muro, S., and Ramella-Roman, J.C.,
“Calibration of a retinal oximeter with a dynamic
eye phantom,” Proceedings of SPIE—
Design and Performance Validation of
Phantoms Used in Conjunction with Optical
Measurements of Tissue, Robert J. Nordstrom,
ed., 2008, 6870N.
■ Lemaillet, P., Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Calibration
of a retinal oximeter with a dynamic eye
phantom,” accepted to The Journal of Biomedical
Optics, 2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., Hidler, J.M., “The impact
of autonomic dysreflexia on blood flow
and skin response in individuals with spinal
cord injury,” Advances in Optical Technologies,
ID 797214, 2008.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., Mathews, S.A., Kandimalla,
H., Nabili, A., Duncan, D.D. D’Anna, S.A.,
Shah, S.M., Nguyen, Q.Q., “Measurement of
oxygen saturation in the retina with a spectroscopic
sensitive multi aperture camera,”
Optics Express, Vol. 16, pp. 6170-6182, 2008.
■ Regalia, P.A., “Cryptographic secrecy of
steganographic matrix embedding,” IEEE
Trans. Information Forensics and Security,
Vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 786–791, Dec. 2008.
■ Regalia, P.A., “Information projection algorithms
and belief propagation,” Int. Workshop
in honor of P. Dewilde, Wassenaar, The
Netherlands, June 2008.
■ Regalia, P.A., “Belief propagation and network
applications,” presented during the SDE Monthly
Seminar, Northrop Grumman, Linthicum, Md.,
Aug. 2008.
■ Regalia, P.A., and Walsh, J. M., “Iterative
decoding algorithms and convex optimization
problems,” AFOSR Conf. Mathematical Foundations
of Machine Learning, Air Force Office
of Scientific Research, Arlington, Va., Jan.
2009.
■ Regalia, P.A., “Cumulant signal processing,
tensor, and some recurring problems,” NSF
Worshop on Future Directions in Tensor-Based
Computation and Modeling, National Science
Foundation, Arlington, Va., Feb. 2009.
■ Regalia, P.A., “Belief propagation and network
applications,” presented during the
DESE Seminar, Universidade de São Paulo,
Brazil, March 2009.
■ Wang, J., and Regalia, P.A., “Sensor network
localization via boundary projections,” IEEE
Conf. Information Systems and Sciences,
Baltimore, Md., March 2009.
■ Walsh, J. M., Ramanan, S., and Regalia, P.A.,
“Optimality of expectation propagation based
distributed estimation for wireless sensor network
initialization,” IEEE Workshop on Signal
Processing Advances in Wireless Communications
(SPAWC 2008), Recife, Brazil, July 2008;
pp. 620–624.
■ Regalia, P.A., and LeBorne, R. C., “Numerical
Stability Properties,” Chapter 8 in: QRD-RLS
Adaptive Filtering, J. A. Apolinário, ed.,
Springer, Seacaucus, N.J., 2009.
■ Sun, L., Gu, W., and Luo, F., “Steady state
response of multilayered viscoelastic media
under a moving dynamic distributed load,”
Journal of Applied Mechanics, ASME, Vol. 75,
2009.
■ Sun, L. and Luo, F., “Steady-state dynamic
response of a Bernoulli-Euler beam on a viscoelastic
foundation subject to a platoon of
moving dynamic loads,” Journal of Vibration
and Acoustics, ASME, Vol. 130, No. 5, 2008.
■ Wang, S.Y., Sun, L., Tang, C.A. and Yang, T.H.,
“Numerical study of hydraulic fracture initiation
and propagation around injection cavity in
stiff soil,” Construction and Building Materials,
in press.
■ Tran, B.Q., “Clinical eStorefront @ CPDC…
and Telerehabilitation Applications,” American
Society on Aging, Las Vegas, Nev., March 15–
18, 2009.
■ Brennan, D., Lum, P.S., Gilmore, B., Tran, B.,
Taub, E., Uswatte, G., “Developing a platform
for home-based upper extremity stroke rehabilitation,”
American Telemedicine Association,
Las Vegas, Nev., April, 2009.
■ Buckley, K., Tran, B., Agazio, J., Wuertz, E.,

cuaengineer
“A community-based telehealth program for
elderly low-income African Americans,” J. Info
Tech in Healthcare, Vol. 6, Chapter 6, pp. 400-
412, 2008.
■ O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., and
Judge, J.A., “Surface-normal vector velocity
measurement using a five-axis contour scanning
laser vibrometry system,” in Proceedings
of the Eighth International Conference on
Vibration Measurements by Laser Techniques:
Advances and Applications, Ancona, Italy,
2008, Proc. SPIE 7098, 70980D.
■ O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., Judge,
J.A., and Jarzynski, J., “Contour scanning
laser vibrometry characterization of Caribbean
steelpan,” in Proceedings of the Eighth International
Conference on Vibration Measurements
by Laser Techniques: Advances and
Applications, Ancona, Italy, 2008, Proc. SPIE
7098, 709818.
■ Kim, W., Kurdila, A.J., Stepanyan, V., Inman,
D.J., and Vignola, J.F., “Averaging Models for
Linear Piezostructural Systems,” SPIE Smart
Structures/NDE, San Diego, March 2009.
■ Vignola, J.F., Judge, J.A., “Architectural
considerations of MEMS resonators for mass
detection in the presence of a fluid,” Journal
of Applied Physics, Vol. 104, Chapter 12, pp.
124305, Dec. 2008.
■ Xiao Liu, Haucke, H., Vignola, J.F., Simpson,
H.J., Baldwin, J.W., Houston, B.H., Photiadis,
D.M., “Understanding the internal friction of a
silicon micromechanical oscillator,” Material
Science and Engineering A, published online
March 2009.
■ Vignola, J.F., Judge, J., Kurdila, A. J., “Shaping
a system’s frequency response using an array
of subordinate oscillators,” Journal of the
Acoustical Society of America, accepted for
publication, March 2009.
■ Wang, Z., “Theory and applications of random
phase shifting technique,” The International
Conference on Experimental Mechanics,
Nanjing, Nov. 2008.
■ Wang, Z., and Han, B., “Vapor pressure modeling
for plastic electronics subjected to leadfree
solder reflow profile,” in Proc. of the SEM
XI International Congress and Exposition on
Experimental and Applied Mechanics, Orlando,
June 2008.
■ Wang, Z., Du, H., and Barnes, J., “Fast and
accurate 3D inspection technique,” in Pro. of
the SEM XI International Congress and Exposition
on Experimental and Applied Mechanics,
Orlando, June 2008.
■ Pan, B., Xie, H.,Wang, Z., and Qian, K., “Study
on subset size selection in digital image correlation
for speckle patterns,” Optics Express,
Vol. 16, pp.7037-7048, May 2008.
■ Pan, B., Xie, H., Yang, L., and Wang, Z., “Accurate
measurement of satellite antenna surface
using 3D digital image correlation technique,”
Strain, Vol. 45, pp.194-200, April 2009.
■ Wang, Z., “Vapor pressure modeling for plastic
encapsulated microelectronics subjected to
lead-free solder reflow profile,” Strain, scheduled
in Vol. 45, online early view available,
Jan. 2009
■ Hu, Z., Xie, H., Hua, T., and Wang, Z., “Advanced
intensity correlation method for evaluating
Poisson’s ratio of fiber-like material,” Review
of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 80, pp. 013105,
Jan. 2009.
■ Wang, Z., Du, H., Park, S., and Xie, H., “Threedimensional
shape measurement with a fast
and accurate approach,” (featured on cover)
Applied Optics, Vol. 48, pp.1052-1061, Feb.
2009.
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone-Inspired Nanocomposites,”
Virginia State University, June 26,
2008.
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., “Surface Modification of
Hydroxyapatite: A Review,” presented at
Materials Science and Technology (MS&T
2008), Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 8, 2008.
■ Ayikoe, K., Moore, L., Stubbs III, J., Wilson Jr.,
O.C., and Raghavan, D., “Nanoparticle Encapsulated
Biodegradable PHBV for Bone Tissue
Engineering,” poster presented at Second
Howard University Nanotechnology Symposium,
Washington, D.C., Nov. 2008.
■ Mehl, P., Helling, K., Merkerson, J., Kapoor, V.,
and Wilson Jr., O.C., “BSA-Silver nanoparticle
toxicity for Jurkat and normal T-cells,” Second
Howard University Nanotechnology Symposium,
Nov. 2008.
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., Mehl, P., Gugssa, A., Silva, R.,
and Anderson, W., “Bone Inspiration and
Biomineralization in Nanocomposite Design,”
Second Howard University Nanotechnology
Symposium, Nov. 2008.
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., “Surface Modification of
Hydroxyapatite: A Review,” Ceramic Transactions,
in press, 2008.
■ Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone Inspired Nanocomposites,”
in New Research on Nanocomposites,
Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 57-
78, 2008.
■ Yuan, B., “A confocal microscope-based
optical tomography technique for 3-dimensional
in vivo imaging,” Chesapeake Society
for Microscopy, The Catholic University of
America Washington, D.C., May 2008.
■ Biswal, N. C., Yuan, B., Gamelin, J. K., and
Zhu, Q., “In-vivo Small Animal Near Infra-red
Fluorescence Imaging with Prior Anatomical
Information,” DOD Era of Hope, Baltimore,
Md., June 2008.
■ Yuan, B., “Sensitivity of fluorescence lifetime
to external pressure in a fluorophore-quencher
labeled microbubble system,” Frontiers in
Optics, Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2008.
■ Yuan, B., “Radiative transport in the delta-P1
approximation for optical tomography with
small source-detector separations,” Frontiers
in Optics, Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2008.
■ Yuan, B., “Ultrasonic modulation of fluorescence
in turbid media,” SPIE, San Jose, Calif.,
Jan. 2009.
■ Yuan, B., “Applications of delta-P1 and delta-
P3 approximations to optical tomography in
small imaging volumes,” SPIE, San Jose,
Calif., Jan. 2009.
■ Yuan, B., “Ultrasound-modulated fluorescence
based on a fluorophore-quencher labeled microbubble
system,” Metropolitan Biophotonics
Symposium, The Catholic University of America,
Washington, D.C., April 2009.
■ Xu, C., Yuan, B., and Zhu, Q., “An optimal
probe design for breast imaging using near
infrared diffused light,” Journal of Biomedical
Optics, Vol. 13(4), pp. 044002-1, 2008.
■ Yuan, B., Gamelin, J., and Zhu, Q., “Mechanisms
of the ultrasonic modulation of fluorescence
in turbid media,” Journal of Applied
Physics, Vol. 104(15), pp. 103102, 2008.
■ Burgess, S.A., Bouchard, M.B., Yuan, B.,
Hillman, E.M.C., “Multi-Wavelength Laminar
Optical Tomography,” Optics Letters, Vol. 33
Chapter 22, pp. 2710–2712, 2008.
■ Yuan, B., Burgess, S A., Bouchard, M.B.,
Lehrer, N., Iranmahboob, A., Hillman, E.M.C.,
“A system for high-resolution fluorescence
and absorption contrast depth-resolved optical
imaging,” Review of Scientific Instruments,
2009, in press.
■ Yuan, B., “Radiative transport in the delta-P1
approximation for laminar optical tomography,”
Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences,
2009, in press.
■ Yuan, B., “Ultrasound-modulated fluorescence
based on a fluorophore-quencher labeled
microbubble system,” Journal of Biomedical
Optics, Vol.14, Chapter 2, 2009, in press.
■ Yuan, B., “Sensitivity of a fluorophore-quencher
labeled microbubble system to externally
applied static pressure,” (revised manuscript
has been submitted to Medical Physics under
the 2nd round review).
■ Biswal, N.C., Gamelin, J.K., Yuan, B., Backer,
M.V., Backer, J.M., and Zhu, Q., “Fluorescence
Imaging of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor
in Tumors for Mice Embedded in a Turbid
Medium,” (Submitted to Journal of Biomedical
Optics).
fall2009 | 25

cuaengineer
Activities
■ Chang, L-C., electrical engineering and computer
science, served on academic advisory
board, the DC Association for Computing
Machinery (ACM), 2008. She also was a reviewer
for the International Journal of Biomedical
Imaging (IJBI), 2008.
■ Kilic, O., electrical engineering and computer
science, was nominated and elected in March
2009 to serve as a member of the Board of
Directors for the Applied Computational
Electromagnetics Society (ACES). She has
also been serving as an elected member of
the AdCom Committee for IEEE Antennas and
Propagation Society, and the chair for Commission
A (Electromagnetic Metrology) and
a full member for Commission B for the U.S.
for the International Union of Radio Science
(URSI). She serves on the Education Committee
of IEEE AP-S society, and oversees the
annual student design contest. She has served
as a reviewer for the ACES (Applied Computational
Electromagnetics Society) URSI and IEEE
AP-S since 2006. She has organized and participated
as a speaker in numerous special
sessions in IEEE AP-S and ACES conferences.
■ Lade, P.V., civil engineering, began serving as
editor-in-chief (for the Americas) for Geomechanics
and Engineering, An International
Journal, published by Techno-Press, Korea in
2009. He has been a member of the editorial
board of Engineering Geology, published by
Elsevier—Chemistry, Earth and Environmental
Sciences Department, since 2007; a member
of the editorial board of International Journal
of Geomechanics, published by CRC Press
LLC, 2001-2002, by ASCE’s G-I Institute, since
2003; a member of the International Editorial
Committee of Soils and Foundations, published
by the Japanese Geotechnical Society, since
1998; a member of the editorial board of
Geotechnical Testing Journal, published by
ASTM, since 1988; a member of the Editorial
Advisory Board for International Journal of
Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics,
published by Wiley, since 1984; and
a member of the editorial board of Computers
and Geotechnics, published by Elsevier
Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., London,
England, since 1984. In addition, Lade reviewed
48 manuscripts in 2008 submitted to the
above journals as well as to many other
journals.
■ Lucko, G., civil engineering, served as member
of the 2008 best paper awards committee of
the Journal of Construction Engineering and
Management and as reviewer for several
scholarly journals, including Journal of
Construction Engineering and Management,
Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering,
Construction Management and Economics,
Automation in Construction, and Computer-
Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering,
2008–2009. He was a lead mentor of the
Career Directions for Students in Architecture,
Construction, and Engineering (ACE) program,
Washington, D.C., 2008–2009. Throughout
2008, Lucko served as assistant specialty
editor of the project planning and design specialty
area of the Journal of Construction Engineering
and Management. At the 2008 Winter
Simulation Conference held in Miami, Fla.,
Lucko was session chair in the Construction
Engineering and Project Management track.
■ Lum, P.S., biomedical engineering, served on
the NIH study section entitled National Institute
of Child Health and Human Development
Study Section: Function, Integration and Rehabilitation
Sciences Program, Washington D.C.,
June and Oct. 2008 and March 2009. He was
on the Review Committee for the International
Stroke Conference, and as reviewer for the International
Conference on Rehabilitation Robotics,
both in 2009.
■ Mavroeidis, G.P., civil engineering, served as
a reviewer for the Journal of Structural Engineering—ASCE,
Bulletin of the Seismological
Society of America, and Soil Dynamics and
Earthquake Engineering. In addition, he chaired
the “Technical Session 03: Engineering Seismology”
at the Fourteenth World Conference
on Earthquake Engineering (14WCEE), Beijing,
China, Oct. 12–17, 2008.
■ Nguyen, C.C., dean, visited the Danang University
of Technology (DUT), Danang, Vietnam,
June 2008 and signed an MOU to explore
research and education collaboration between
CUA and DUT. He attended the Conference of
Higher Education in Vietnam: American-Vietnamese
Partnerships, sponsored by the U.S.
Embassy in Vietnam, January 15–16, 2009,
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The dean was
interviewed by SBTN (Saigon Broadcasting
Television Network) on Feb. 27, 2009, about
his Lifetime Achievement Award from the District
of Columbia Council of Engineering and
Architectural Societies (DCCEAS) and the 2+2
collaborative educational program with the
International University-Vietnam National
University, Vietnam. He was also interviewed
about these topics by VOA (Voice of America)
on March 31, 2009, and by Tuoi Tre Online
Newspaper, Tien Phong Online Magazine and
Calitoday.com in Feb. 2009. Nguyen attended
the alumni reception and briefing for architects
and engineers on Sept. 25, 2008, in New
York City, where he gave a presentation about
the state of the School of Engineering and
talked with numerous engineering alumni
about the school’s progress. On May 3, 2009,
he delivered the keynote speech at the luncheon
of the Symposium, Journey to Freedom:
A Boat People Retrospective at the Library of
Congress.
■ Pao, H.P., civil engineering, served as session
chairman at the 12th Cross Strait Water Resources
Engineering Conference, Beijing and
presented a keynote paper. In October 2008,
he served as one of the organizing chairs for
the Taiwan Ocean Workshop 2008 in National
26 | cuaengineer

cuaengineer
Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. In
October-November, 2008, Pao visited National
SunYat-sen University, National Taiwan University,
Chung Yuan Christian University, Fu Jen
Catholic University, National Central University
and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan
for international collaboration. In November, he
visited UC Berkeley in California for potential
collaboration.
■ Ramella-Roman J.C., biomedical engineering,
chaired the Organizing Committee for Topics in
Biophotonics Conference, Washington D.C.,
2009. She was a member of the program
committees at the 22nd Annual Meeting of
the IEEE Photonics Society (formerly LEOS),
Belek-Antalya, Turkey, 2009, and the Inter-
Institute Workshop on Optical Diagnostic and
Biophotonic Methods from Bench to Bedside,
Bethesda, Md., 2009. Ramella-Roman served
as Program Committee member and session
chair at the Photonics in Dermatology and
Plastic Surgery, Photonics West SPIE, and the
Optical Interactions with tissue and cells XVIII,
Photonics West SPIE, in San Jose, Calif., 2009.
In 2008, she reviewed grants for the Material
Command, Congressionally Directed Medical
Research Program (CDMRP). Also in 2008,
she was also the organizing committee
member for IEEE Advances in Nanobiophotonics
Conference, Mexico.
■ Regalia, P.A., electrical engineering and
computer science, serves as the Editor-in-
Chief of the EURASIP Journal on Advances in
Signal Processing; on the editorial boards of
the IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, Signal
Processing (Elsevier), and EURASIP Journal on
Wireless Communications and Networking. He
is the America Liaison for the IEEE Workshop
on Statistical Signal Processing, Cardiff,
Wales, UK, held in Sept. 2009.
■ Sun, L., civil engineering, serves as a paper
reviewer for a dozen technical journals, including
Journal of Sound and Vibration, International
Journal of Physics and Chemistry in
Solids, International Journal of Vehicle Design,
Vehicle Dynamic Systems, Nonlinear Dynamics,
Mechanics Research Communication, European
Journal of Mechanics: Part A/Solids,
Applied Mathematical Modeling, Probabilistic
Engineering Mechanics, Proceedings of the
Institution of Mechanical Engineers: Part D,
Journal of Automobile Engineering, Computers
and Mathematics with Applications, and International
Journal of Structural Health Monitoring.
■ Tran, B.Q., biomedical engineering, served in
as reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Information
Technology in Biomedicine 2008–09,
the Institute of Physics’ Physiological Measurement
Journal, 2009, and the National Institute
of Health Challenge Grants Panel, 2009.
Tran was president of the Washington Academy
of Biomedical Engineering from 2008 to 2009.
■ Wang, Z., mechanical engineering, was appointed
as the co-chair of the Electronic Packaging
Committee of SEM. He chaired three
sessions in two international conferences in
2008. He co-organized the International Symposium
on Electronic/MEMS Packaging and
Reliability in SEM international conference in
2008. Wang served as a reviewer for Experimental
Mechanics, Optics Express, Journal of
the Optical Society of America A, Optics Letters,
Optics and Lasers in Engineering, Optics
and Laser Technology, IEEE Transactions on
Instrumentation and Measurement, Journal of
Machine Vision and Applications, 2008-2009.
■ Yuan, B., served as a reviewer for Optics
Letter, Applied Optics and Optics Express,
2008–2009.
Awards and Honors
■ Judge, J.A., Charles H. Kaman Award for
Excellence in Research, The Catholic University
of America School of Engineering, 2008.
■ Lucko, G., Charles H. Kaman Award for
Teaching Excellence, The Catholic University of
America School of Engineering, 2008.
■ Lucko, G., Finalist for Provost Award for Excellence
in Teaching, The Catholic University
of America, 2008.
■ Lucko, G., Outstanding Young Alumnus
Award, Myers-Lawson School of Construction,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University, 2008.
■ Mathews, S.A., Provost Award for Excellence
in Research and Scholarship, The Catholic
University of America, 2008.
■ Nef, T., Hans-Eggenberger award for young
investigators, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008.
■ Nguyen, C.C., dean, Lifetime Achievement
Award, District of Columbia Council of Engineering
and Architectural Societies, Feb. 2009.
■ Ramella-Roman, J.C., Provost Award for
Excellence in Research and Scholarship, The
Catholic University of America, 2008.
■ Vignola, J.F., Burns Fellow, The Catholic
University of America School of Engineering,
2008.
Student Awards
■ Mostafa Ardakani, Ph.D. candidate, civil
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Nicholas Backert, B.C.E. 2009, Dennis McCahill
Award for Service in Civil Engineering, Civil
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ Ali Basiri, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engineering,
Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Nicholas Berg, B.M.E. 2009, American Society
of Mechanical Engineers Award
■ Vincent Caruso, Master’s student, electrical
engineering/computer science, The George
McDuffie Award for Excellence in Electrical
Engineering
fall2009 | 27

cuaengineer
■ Joseph Cochrane, B.M.E. 2009, Mechanical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ James Copper, Master’s student, civil engineering,
Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Patrick Dickey, B.M.E. 2009, Mechanical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ Trang Dinh, Master’s student, electrical
engineering/computer science, The George
McDuffie Award for Excellence in Electrical
Engineering
■ Thomas Giuliani, Master’s student, biomedical
engineering, The H.B. Atabek Award, The
Anthony J. Scullen Award, Biomedical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ Aldo Glean, B.M.E. 2010, Mechanical Engineering
Senior Design Project Award
■ Mikhail Gorbachev, Ph.D. candidate, electrical
engineering/computer science, Hennessy
Distinguished Scholar
■ Jenna Graham, B.B.E. 2011, biomedical engineering,
Landmark Conference’s Academic
Honor Roll, Edward M. Nagel Scholar
■ Jonathan Gravina, B.B.E. 2009, Biomedical
Engineering Society Award
■ Andrew Gravunder, B.B.E. 2011, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ Megan Jamiolkowski, B.B.E. 2010, Barry M.
Goldwater Scholarship, Edward M. Nagel
Scholar
■ Hamid Karimpour, Ph.D. candidate, civil
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Kathryn Kazior, B.C.E. 2009, American Society
of Civil Engineers National Capital Section
Award, Timothy Kao Award for Excellence in
Civil Engineering
■ Kristen Kennedy, B.B.E. 2009, Biomedical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ Michael Kuklinski, B.C.E. 2009, Civil Engineering
Senior Design Project Award
■ Chien-Hung Lai, Master’s student, electrical
engineering/computer science, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Chin-Yu Lin, Master’s student, electrical engineering/computer
science, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Yuan Liu, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engineering,
Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Rose Lucas, B.C.E. 2009, Civil Engineering
Senior Design Project Award
■ Sarah Luffy, B.B.E. 2009, Biomedical Engineering
Senior Design Project Award
■ Joseph McAnaney, B.B.E. 2012, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ James McMahon, B.M.E. 2009, Mechanical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ John Stuart McMurray, B.E.E. 2009, The
John N. Welch Award for Excellence in
Computer Science
■ Timothy Mierzwa, B.B.E. 2011, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ Anthony Metzger, Master’s student, biomedical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Omar Monterrubio, B.M.E. 2009, Mechanical
Engineering Senior Design Project Award
■ Theresa Murray, B.B.E. 2010, Tau Beta Pi
Scholarship, Big Y Scholarship, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ Patrick O’Malley, Ph.D. candidate, mechanical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Patrick Noonan, B.B.E. 2012, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ Kalin Petersen, Master’s student, mechanical
engineering, The C.C. Chang Award, The Benjamin
T. Rome Award, Mechanical Engineering
Senior Design Project Award
■ Katherine Rucky, B.B.E. 2010, Edward M.
Nagel Scholar
■ Nitin Sawant, Ph.D. candidate, mechanical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Richard Scenna, Master’s student, mechanical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Jason Shao, Hong Kong exchange student
Spring 2009, mechanical engineering, Mechanical
Engineering Senior Design Project
Award
■ Andrew Smith, B.E.E. 2009, Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science Senior Design
Project Award
■ Seema Swaminathan, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Chen Wang, Master’s student, civil engineering,
Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
■ Jing Wang, Ph.D. candidate, electrical engineering/computer
science, Hennessy Distinguished
Scholar
■ Teresa Woods, Ph.D. candidate, mechanical
engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar
28 | cuaengineer

Pao Retires After 45 Years of Service at CUA
From left: Professor Pao, Father O’Connell, Provost Brennan and Dean Nguyen in Taiwan in
June 2009.
Hsien Ping Pao, Ph.D., professor of civil engineering, joined the faculty
in 1964 and for the past 45 years has served the university in numerous
capacities. Pao's research areas include fluid mechanics and heat transfer
and clean combustion of solid fuels and wastes. His research has been
supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Office of Naval
Research, Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and other agencies.
Among other achievements, Pao developed a fast-response, fourelectrode
conductivity sensor for use in rivers and oceans; an automated
bubbler tide-gauge system; and a shaped-charge clean-combustion system
for which two U.S. patents have been granted.
CUA delegation visits Chung Yuan Christian University.
Pao was also appointed the director of international program development
in 2008, and will continue in this position after his retirement on
September 1, 2009. “In addition to his longtime contribution to the School
of Engineering as a faculty member, in the role of director of international
program development, Dr. Pao has been traveling with me extensively in
Asia and Europe and has been instrumental in setting up academic and
research programs with several universities around the world. I look
forward to continuing working with him to expand our international programs,”
said Dean Charles Nguyen.
Pao received the Benemerenti Medal from His Holiness, Pope John Paul II,
in 1995.
Strategic Plan 2012: Engineering Exceeding Targets
Developed in 2006 by the School of Engineering’s
Executive Committee, the 2012 Strategic
Plan established a detailed growth plan with
measurable targets and major milestones to
be achieved between 2007 and 2012. The fiveyear
strategic plan listed desired goals in the
areas of research pre-eminence, undergraduate
education and professional training. This year,
a strategic plan review committee consisting of
representatives from each undergraduate and
graduate program and co-chaired by professors
Jeff Giangiuli and Binh Tran assessed progress
toward engineering’s plan. The committee found
that engineering was ahead of schedule in many
of the desired areas outlined in the plan.
The committee found that faculty research
productivity in terms of publications and research
funding increased dramatically since the start
of the plan. Extramural funding and research
expenditures increased by 56 percent and 72
percent, respectively, over the past two years. As
a result, there was a 70 percent increase in the
number of full-time doctoral students enrolled in
the school over the same period.
In recent years, engineering has developed
several new academic programs at both the
undergraduate and graduate levels in the areas
of bio-optics, acoustics and alternative energy.
These new programs, combined with the recent
study abroad and student exchange initiatives
with international universities in Vietnam and
China, have helped provide exciting opportunities
for current and future students.
Undergraduate and graduate enrollment has
continued to climb in recent years. In fall 2009,
engineering will exceed 300 undergraduate
students, a 33 percent increase since the start
of the strategic plan. Likewise, graduate enrollment
has climbed 37 percent in the same period
due to accelerated growth in engineering management
and biomedical engineering over the
past five years, as well as the joint electrical and
mechanical engineering off-campus program
at the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors
Directorate at Ft. Belvoir, Va.
While key challenges remain ahead, the
committee was optimistic that the School of
Engineering will successfully achieve and
exceed the major milestones set forth in the
2012 Engineering Strategic Plan.
Professor Jeff Giangiuli
Professor Binh Tran

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA
School of Engineering
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Charles C. Nguyen, Dean
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Jeffrey Giangiuli, Director
Engineering
Managment Program
202-319-5191
Binh Q. Tran, Chair
Department of
Biomedical Engineering
202-319-5181
Lu Sun, Chair
Department of
Civil Engineering
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Philip Regalia, Chair
Department of
Electrical Engineering
and Computer Science
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Sen Nieh, Chair
Department of
Mechanical Engineering
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CUA Engineering: Cutting-edge Research Driving Superb Education
Master of Biomedical
Engineering
Deniz Bardakci
Lindsey Bellini
Elizabeth Brokaw
Emre Genca
Brendan Matthew Gilmore
LaKisha Guinn
Kristen Michelle Kennedy
Mohammad Ahmed Maghrabi
Anthony James Metzger
Bradley James Miller
Afshin Nabili
Marjan Nabili
Amritha Nayak
Farshad Negarestan
Colin John O’Neill
Seema Swaminathan
Master of Civil Engineering
Chen Wang
Maduabuchi Livinus Udeh
Wengang Zhang
Master of Electrical Engineering
Ali Basiri
Brandon Good
Chin-Yu Lin
Eric Laumbach Luft
Laurel Louise Martin
Ana M. Rosas
Master of Science in
Computer Science
Suliman Abualhamaiel
Chia-Hsiang Chen
Congratulations to the Class of 2009!
Fahad Ali Milaat
Ammar Hassan Zarei
Master of Mechanical
Engineering
Michael Cullen
Hua Du
Patrick Fry
Teresa Woods
Master of Science in Engineering
Ziad A. Albudaiwi
Faisal Saad Aldhfayan
Abdulelah A. Abed Al-Thakafi
Mohammed Abdulrahman Alghaseb
Mohmmad Ghaleb Almashyakhi
Ali Dagash AlKahtani
David Leonard Augustin
Baboucarr Cham
Jonathan Edward Crittenden
John Lee Croghan
Scott Robert Delwiche
Matthew Gingras Horton
Chen-Yu Hsieh
Kevin Thomas Karow
Rinwah M. Kattan
Mohammad Ahmed Maghrabi
Christopher Newport
Alexander O. Okechukwu
Jennifer Anderson Peoples
Andrew Nicholas Riel
Peter Ringenberg
Wigdan Habib Saber
Sandeep S. Sekhon
Jason E. Small
Jared Christopher Smith
Richard Clemens Thompson
Lyndon F. Wrighten Sr.
Bachelor of Biomedical
Engineering
Obinna Agubuzo
Bandar Faisal Al-Mifgai
Jeffrey T. Burkey
Jonathan A. Gravina
Emily Ann Growney
Thomas A. Giuliani III
Hoda Iravani
Kristen Michelle Kennedy
Sarah Anne Luffy
Samantha R. McClellan
Michael J. McCoy
Allison Lee Pfeffer
Gerard Ryan III
Aaron Joshua Shapiro
Bachelor of Civil Engineering
Nicholas Justin Backert
Cesar Jose Diogo Casanova
Anthony DeSantis
Erica Catherine Gonzalez
Michael William Goodman
Boshra Iravani
Andrew Ryan Kalna
Kathryn Florentyna Kazior
Michael James Kuklinski
Thomas Mahlon Lee Jr.
Trevor Karl Mackessy-Lloyd
Rose Lucas
Matthew Joseph McElhare
David Moore
Kevin T. Picken
Ph.D. Dissertations and Advisers
Amitai P. Rozmaryn
Christopher Saxton
Sarah Margaret Taylor
Bachelor of Electrical
Engineering
Paul J. Becker
Vincent J. Caruso
Trang T. Dinh
Christopher M. Nicklas
Patrick Hale Stack
Bachelor of Science in
Computer Science
John McMurray Jr.
Bachelor of Mechanical
Engineering
John Charles Barnes
Nicholas William Berg
Alison M. Buchler
Joseph R. Cochrane
Francis G. Corso
E. Jeffrey DeSipio
Patrick Dickey
Adam Lawson
Joseph Edward Loeffler
James William McMahon
Omar Monterrubio
Kalin Rebecca Petersen
Stephen R. Prieur
Matthew David Valerio
Adam Wise
Liliang Chen, Dissertation: Seismic Performance of Shear Walls Utilizing Cellular Material Adviser: Associate Professor Panagiotis Tsopelas
Alper Ucak, Dissertation: Instabilities in Thin Walled Steel Columns Under Three Dimensional Non-Proportional Cuclic Loading. Adviser: Associate Professor
Panagiotis Tsopelas
Gregory P. Behrmann, Dissertation: Fiber Optic Micro Sensor for the Measurement of Tendon Forces. Adviser: Associate Professor Mark Mirotznik