Category: News
New Digital Design Center Aids U.S. Army Vehicle Production
The Digital Design Research, Analysis, and Manufacturing (D2REAM) Center aims to support advanced structural digital design and manufacturing, and discovery of novel metamaterials.
UConn Triumphs with Fastest Formula SAE Car
During the Formula SAE intercollegiate competition in May, the student-run motorsport club placed in the top 10% of 120 teams.
Senior Design Project Becomes Budding Business for Bronen ’20
Jeremy Bronen ’20 (ENG) invented a toilet lift assist to help older adults and those with disabilities get a lift on and off the latrine.
UConn Mechanical Engineering Student Accepted into NASA Program
This past semester, Marwan Ghellai transferred to the University of Connecticut from Manchester Community College. But, even though he’s brand new, he’s already had experience beyond the classroom, and beyond our world. Gellai, a sophomore in Mechanical Engineering, when he was still a student at MCC, was accepted into the NCAS (NASA Community College […]
New Advanced Manufacturing Program Aims to Develop The Next Generation of Engineering Leaders
In a nationally-competitive proposal process, UConn School of Engineering was one of only two schools in the country to receive funds to train the next generation of advanced manufacturing leaders. As a result of this funding, the School of Engineering will start a master’s-level Advanced Manufacturing for Energy Systems (AMES) program, with classes commencing in the fall 2018 semester.
New Materials Testing Apparatus Could Mean Money, Time Saved for Manufacturers
Dr. Pettes’ invention could change the way manufacturers test materials in the hybrid and all-electric car industries.
Alumni News
An update on our Engineering Alums from around the country.
From the SoE Archives: Pioneering ME Prof. John N. Fitts
Yes, we’re “engineering the future,” but we also occasionally look back
Eight Questions With: Joseph M. Kostoss (B.S., M.S. Mechanical Engineering, ’64, ‘65)
We talk to alumnus Joe Kostoss about how he got into engineering and working in South Korea.
Alumni News
John Krenicki, Wade Moore and Manuel A. Santos all make this issue’s Alumni News
Tiny Heart Valve Has Big Potential for UConn Startup
From UConn Today An unlikely combination of biomedical engineering and meticulous sewing skills has led to an innovative heart valve replacement that could save countless lives. Its maker, Dura Biotech, is a UConn Technology Incubation Program (TIP) participant. Its CEO, Eric Sirois, received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering at UConn earlier this year. This summer, […]
Alumni News
Catch up with alumni who are making news and spearheading innovation
Alumni News
Robert R. Banning ’11, Anne Bartosewicz-Mele ’81, Richard P. Broderick ’81, John J. Legato ’86, Thomas W. Prete ’85 and Glenn T. Selby ’03 are all featured in this issue’s Alumni News
Faculty News
With NSF funding, the UnderWater Sensor Network Lab is developing a network in the Arctic, with colleagues from the University of Delaware who are interested in sea ice changes and ocean acoustics.
Alumni Invited to Tour Senior Design Day Exhibition on May 2nd
Do you remember your senior-year engineering project? Chances are, if you graduated ten or more years ago, today’s Senior Design, a two-semester course where student project teams solve real-life engineering problems for industry and government sponsors, is a far cry from your experience.
Student Spotlight: MSE Undergraduate Gabrielle Charno
Balancing rigorous academic work and an involved extracurricular life can be a difficult task for any college student. Excelling under these circumstances is an even rarer find.
Engineering Startups Capture $10k Grant Funding
Secor Water, LLC and Dura Biotech, two student-led startup businesses based on technologies developed at UConn and nurtured through UConn Engineering’s Experiential Technology Entrepreneurship course, were awarded $10,000 grants from the inaugural CTNext Entrepreneur Innovation Awards(EIA) managed by Connecticut Innovations.
Faculty & Staff Notes
Read about recent honors and activities of our engineering faculty, who are respected leaders in research, instruction, mentoring and professional societies.
Alumni Notes
What are UConn Engineering graduates up to? Read about the recent career highlights of alumni like Larry Acquarulo, John Carrington, Lon Hultgren and George Kruk Philbrick .
Dr. Lykotrafitis Receives NSF CAREER Award
Dr. George Lykotrafitis has been awarded a coveted NSF CAREER Award for research that may ultimately help researchers better understand how signals propagate in neurons and pathways, leading to epilepsy and neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
Multidisciplinary Team to Develop Smart Building HVAC Model
A team of researchers from the School of Engineering and the UConn Health Center has received $1.09 million in NSF funding in support of their research aimed at developing a scalable and universal model for fault detection, diagnosis and prognosis of heating, ventilation and air conditioning, or HVAC, systems in buildings of differing sizes and functionalities.
Faculty Honored
Six faculty were recognized for excellence in graduate student advising and faculty peer mentorship. Outstanding Faculty Advisor Awards were presented to Drs. Pamir Alpay (MSE), Reda Ammar (CSE), Wei Sun (ME), and Shengli Zhou (ECE). Outstanding Faculty Mentoring Awards went to: Drs. Jun-Hong Cui (CSE) and Ranjan Srivastava (ChE).
Alumni News
Stay in touch with fellow UConn engineering alumni by visiting our website. Following are briefs covering recent activities of some graduates. We look forward to hearing your news!
Pratt & Whitney Engineering Extends Relationship with UConn
Pratt & Whitney made another generous annual gift to the University of Connecticut School of Engineering and the Mechanical Engineering Department aimed at further strengthening the collaboration with its Center of Excellence at UConn for engineering students and faculty.
Faculty and Grad Student News
Our engineering faculty and graduate students are respected leaders in research, instruction, mentoring and professional societies who regularly receive honors and awards. Read about some recent honors here.
Alumni News
Stay in touch with fellow UConn engineering alumni by visiting our website. Following are briefs covering recent activities of some graduates. We look forward to hearing your news!
School Honors Top Scholars (VIDEO)
On the evening of March 22nd, the School of Engineering celebrated the academic achievements of outstanding undergraduate and graduate students during the annual Awards Reception and Ceremony held at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.
Faculty News
Our engineering faculty members are respected leaders in research, instruction and professional societies who regularly receive honors and awards. Some recent laurels are described here.
BRIDGE Program: 25 Years of Success
On March 21, the School of Engineering celebrated the 25th anniversary of the BRIDGE Program, an intensive, residential summer preparedness program for entering freshmen from populations traditionally underrepresented in engineering, who have been admitted for the fall term.
Castleman Term Professors Named
The School of Engineering has named five outstanding faculty members as inaugural Castleman Term Professors in Engineering Innovation.
ARPA-E Director to Speak at Commencement 2012
A highlight of this year’s commencement ceremonies on May 5th will be guest speaker Arunava Majumdar, the nation’s first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E). He was appointed to the post in 2009 by President Barack Obama, and ARPA-E is the nation’s only agency devoted to transformational energy research and development.
Student News
At the School of Engineering, we are proud to showcase several of our engineering students from our various departments and programs.
D.E. Crow Innovation Prize Competition Announced
The School of Engineering is pleased to announce, for the second consecutive year, the D.E. Crow Innovation Prize competition aimed at encouraging and rewarding creative ideas and entrepreneurship by UConn students. This “innovation stimulus” program is made possible through the generous support of Dr. David E. Crow, professor emeritus of Mechanical Engineering (ME).
Dr. Amir Faghri Receives Coveted ASME Award
Amir Faghri, Ph.D., a professor of engineering at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, and leading researcher in the field of advanced energy systems, has been honored jointly by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).
Dr. Lykotrafitis Scores Journal Cover
A graphical image developed by Dr. George Lykotrafitis, an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, appears on the cover of the January 4, 2012 issue of Biophysical Journal.
Innovators: Networking Function in February
Innovative students, faculty and friends, mark your calendars: on Thursday, February 16, the School of Engineering and Springboard will host another in the popular Innovation Connection functions at the Storrs campus.
About Drs. Mun Choi and Kazem Kazerounian: Brief Bios
Dr. Mun Choi joined UConn as Dean of Engineering and Professor of Mechanical Engineering in 2008, and Dr. Kazerounian joined the Mechanical Engineering Department in 1984 after completing his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Illinois, Chicago in 1984.
Dr. Sun Receives AHA National Scientist Development Grant
Wei Sun, an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering, was recently awarded an American Heart Association National Scientist Development grant of more than $300,000 in support of his work aimed at developing accurate biomechanical models that depict how human hearts respond to a heart valve repair procedure called percutaneous transvenous mitral annuloplasty. The […]
UConn EWB Provides Assistance In Thailand
Two members of the UConn chapter of Engineers Without Borders spent three weeks last May and June applying engineering principles to relief projects in the hill country of northern Thailand. Chapter president Robert Yau and former president Nathan Barlow, both Chemical Engineering seniors, engaged in a number of tasks intended to improve the lives of […]
Alumnus John Krenicki an Energy Leader
Reliable, reasonably-priced energy has reemerged in the last year as among the greatest needs facing the nation, and aligned with it are complex questions about environmental degradation, global climate change, economic disparities and limited water resources. GE is among the industrial titans committed to developing an integrated approach to these challenges. In July 2008, GE […]
Nano-scale Instrument Aids in Transfer of Genetic Material
Dr. Nejat Olgac, professor of Mechanical Engineering and head of UConn’s Advanced Laboratory for Automation, Robotics & Manufacturing (ALARM), and his team are developing a microscopic device called the Ros-Drill© that can transfer genetic material into cells with greater accuracy and effectiveness than ever before achieved. This novel microinjection method – made possible through nanotechnology […]
Government-Industry-Academic Collaboration Improves Jet Engine Performance
Faculty from the Mechanical Engineering Department are conducting research that will improve flame stability in fighter jet afterburners, which are used to attain greater thrust during critical combat exchanges or during short-distance take-offs, such as those from an aircraft carrier. With approximately $200,000 in funding from the National Science Foundation, paired with personnel and equipment […]
Mechanical Engineering – News
The Mechanical Engineering Department welcomes four new faculty members who will join the department in fall ’08. Dr. Robert Gao will join the department as the Pratt and Whitney Endowed Chair. He is currently a professor of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Dr. Gao has extensive experience in sensors and […]
Andrew Lysaght Admitted to Prestigious Harvard-MIT Ph.D. Program
Andrew C. Lysaght (B.S. ’06, M.S. ’08), who completed his accelerated master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering in May, will soon begin his Ph.D. studies at the highly regarded Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology program at the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology. Fewer than 10 students worldwide are accepted each year into this […]
Dean’s Page
I am honored and excited to join the School of Engineering this month as Dean. It is a privilege to lead this historic institution into a new era of innovative, strategic research and dynamic teaching and outreach to train a new generation of engineering leaders. Before joining UConn, I was Associate Dean for Research and […]
Provost Names Choi as Dean of Engineering
The School of Engineering is delighted to welcome Dr. Mun Choi as Dean, effective January 2008. UConn Provost Dr. Peter Nicholls announced Dr. Choi’s appointment, the culmination of an extensive national search, in early July. Dr. Erling Smith will continue as Interim Dean through the end of 2007. During interviews and campus visits, Dr. Choi […]
UConn Honors Engineering Alumnus John Krenicki
School of Engineering alumnus John Krenicki, Jr. (B.S.E. Mechanical Eng. ’84) was presented an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Connecticut during the May 2007 commencement ceremonies. UConn President Philip Austin presented the honorary degree, lauding Mr. Krenicki for his impressive career accomplishments and international recognition as one of the nation’s top […]
Dr. Ilies Captures NSF CAREER Award
Dr. Horea Ilies, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, was named aNational Science Foundation Early Career Development (CAREER) Award winner in 2007. The five-year $400,000 award will support his investigation into ways to improve the design and manufacture of mechanical systems whose function depends on inherent contact between moving geometries. Such systems are typically encountered in […]
Student Profile: Colette Opsahl
Mechanical Engineering senior Colette Opsahl (’08) considered lots of other schools before choosing UConn. High School: Westover School, Middlebury, CT Reason for Coming to UConn: “I had a scholarship to RPI. But I visited UConn with my parents and fell in love with the campus and the breadth of opportunities. Even at a big university, […]
New Head for Mechanical Engineering
The Mechanical Engineering Department welcomed a new Department Head, Professor Baki M. Cetegen, who began his three-year term in September. He succeeded former Department Head and professor Ranga Pitchumani. Dr. Cetegen joined the department in 1987 and conducts research in the areas of combustion and fluid dynamics with emphasis on laser diagnostics and optical imaging. […]
Jordan Scholarship Honors Sacrifice of Brother
Dr. Eric Jordan, professor of Mechanical Engineering, and his family have pledged over $25,000 to establish a new undergraduate scholarship in the School of Engineering. They conceived of the scholarship, named the Lieutenant Allan Jordan Veterans Scholarship, as a way to honor and assist military veterans in securing a college education. Allan Jordan was Dr. […]
Kazerounian Honored with ASME Mechanisms and Robotics Award
In September, 2006, professor of Mechanical Engineering Kazem Kazerounian was awarded the Mechanisms & Robotics Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Design Division. He received the award, presented once every two years for cumulative career contributions to the profession, in recognition of “cumulative contributions to the field of mechanisms design and theory.” The […]
Wilson Chiu Receives ASME Bergles-Rohsenow Young Investigator Award
Dr. Wilson K.S. Chiu, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering, was awarded the 2006 ASME Bergles- Rohsenow Young Investigator Award in Heat Transfer for “research in computational and experimental heat transfer, particularly chemical vapor deposition systems.” The award recognizes young engineers who are committed to pursuing research in heat transfer, with the potential to make significant […]
Dean Faghri Awarded ASME’s 2005 James Harry Potter Gold Medal
Dean of Engineering Amir Faghri, who is the United Technologies Endowed Chair Professor of Thermal-fluids Engineering, was presented the American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME’s) James Harry Potter Gold Medal for “significant and innovative research contributions to the field of thermodynamics of multiphase systems, with application to heat pipes, fuel cells and phase-change energy storage […]
GE Advanced Materials Establishes $500,000 Scholarship For African American Engineering Students
In early April, the School of Engineering received a cash endowment of $500,000 for establishment of the GE Advanced Materials Endowed Scholar Program Fund, focusing on African American students. GE Advanced Materials, based in Pittsfield, MA, is a world leader in providing material solutions through engineering thermoplastics, silicon products and technology platforms, and fused quartz […]
Students Shine at Design Expo
At the most basic level, engineers are innovators: people who approach a problem from an analytical viewpoint, assess variables and how they interact, design possible solutions, select materials and construct prototypes. A controlled, condensed version of this process consumes senior engineering students each year as they tackle the culminating test of their undergraduate years in […]
Wilson Chiu Captures Three Major Awards
Dr. Wilson K.S. Chiu, assistant professor of Mechanical Engineering, recently received an Army Research Office (ARO) Young Investigator Award. Dr. Chiu won the $150,000 three-year award for his proposed work in the area of optimization of solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) for field use by Army personnel. He explained that the Army is keenly interested […]
