Tennessee Engineer Fall 2005 - College of Engineering - The ...

HONORS& awardsGroup Receives $825,000 DOE Hydrogen Research GrantFour professors from the COE’s Department of Chemical Engineering workingwith a colleague from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) havereceived an $825,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)for their project “A Unified Computational, Theoretical and ExperimentalInvestigation of Proton Transport through the Electrode/Electrolyte Interfaceof Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Systems.” The team consistsof Principal Investigator Dr. David Keffer, and Dr. Brian Edwards, associateprofessors in chemical engineering; Shengting Cui, ChE research professor;Dr. Bill Steele, ChE adjunct professor and staff scientist with ORNL’sNuclear Science & Technology Division; and Dr. Costas Tsouris, ORNLstaff scientist and joint professor at Georgia Tech’s School of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering.DOE has approved $64 million over the next three years for 70 hydrogenresearch and development grant recipients. By participating in the hydrogenresearch development projects, Keffer’s research group will be contributingto the DOE’s ultimate goal of making hydrogen fuel cell vehicles and refuelingstations accessible and practical for Americans by 2020.Hydrogen research group discussion—team members (left to right) Dr. Brian Edwards, Dr. David Keffer, and Dr. BillSteele meet with ChE graduate students Carrie Gao and Junwu Liu and ChE research professor Dr. Shengting Cui tobegin investigation of a hydrogen fuel cell system. Also in attendance was ChE graduate student Johanna Santiago(not pictured).Paper Earns Liu American Institute of Physics AwardDr. C.T. Liu, Distinguished Research Professor in materialsscience engineering at ORNL’s Metals and Ceramics Division,has received one of the American Institute of Physics’“Top Physics Stories of 2004” awards. The paper, titled“Structural Amorphous Steels,” addressed the fabricationof amorphous steel, with large cross-sections, thathas a hardness and strength more than twice that of thebest ultra-high-strength conventional steel—long a goalof metallurgists.The paper was coauthored by Zhou Ping Lu, ORNL’s Metals and CeramicsDivision; J. R. Thompson, ORNL’s Condensed Matter Science Divisionand the UT Department of Physics; and W. D. Porter, ORNL’s Metals andCeramics Division.Dr. C.T. LiuUhrig Awarded ASME MedalDr. Robert E. Uhrig, a Distinguished UT/ORNL ScientistEmeritus and professor of nuclear engineering, is therecipient of the 2005 American Society of MechanicalEngineers (ASME) Medal, awarded “for more thanfive decades of high achievement and leadership inthe power field, resulting in safer and more effectivepower generation.” The award includes a $15,000Dr. Robert Uhrighonorarium, gold medal and certificate.Uhrig’s work at both UT and ORNL concerns the application of artificialintelligence methods, primarily expert systems and neural networks, tonuclear materials and systems. Uhrig has authored over 150 technical andprofessional publications and two books.Bhat Elected Fellow of The Textile InstituteDr. Gajanan Bhat, professor of materials science andengineering, has been elected as a Fellow of The TextileInstitute in recognition of his contributions to the field oftextiles. This honor is an outstanding career accomplishmentin the field of textile science. The TextileInstitute was incorporated in 1925, is a registeredcharity, has members in more than 90 countries and isone of the premier organizations for textile scientists allover the world.Dr. Gajanan BhatFord Appointed Performance Excellence ExaminerDr. Robert Ford, research assistant professor in industrialand information engineering, has been appointedto the Tennessee Center for Performance Excellence’sBoard of Examiners for its 2005 Awards Programwhich recognizes organizations demonstratingexcellence in business operations and results.As an examiner, Ford is responsible for reviewingand evaluating applications submitted in the awardDr. Robert Fordprocess. The Board of Examiners comprises experts from all sectors,including business, industry, education and health care organizations,professional and trade associations and government. Those selectedmeet the highest standards of achievement and peer recognition in theirfields. All members of the board must complete extensive training in theBaldrige Criteria for Performance Excellence.MS-MBA Program to Benefit from $600,000 GrantDr. Arnold Lumsdaine, associate professor in mechanicalengineering, has received the National ScienceFoundation Partnership for Innovation grantfor $600,000 over the next two years to enhancethe developing MS-MBA degree program throughthe initiative “Innovation and Entrepreneurship inProduct Development and Commercialization.”Others involved in the project include Dr. BillieDr. Arnold LumsdaineCollier, professor in materials science and engineeringand Associate Vice Chancellor; Dr. Frank H. Speckhart, professor inmechanical, aerospace and biomedical engineering; Dr. Kenneth Kahn,associate professor in marketing and logistics; and Dean Way Kuo.The overall goal of the project is to develop the entrepreneurial focus,increase recruiting efforts and move toward expansion of the new MS-MBA program. The main focus of the program is to equip graduate andundergraduate engineering students with the skills to initiate technology-basedcompanies.TENNESSEE engineer • Fall 200511