In the Zotlight 2009
Samueli School faculty, staff, and students are frequently recognized with honors of distinction. We are pleased to announce and congratulate the following noteworthy achievements.
Awards, grants and other honors can be sent to eknapp@uci.edu to be considered for publication.
DECEMBER 2009
Chancellor Drake Honors 2009 Living Our Values Award Recipients
At a Dec. 9 Tierney University House luncheon, Chancellor Michael Drake saluted the recipients of the 2009 Living Our Values Awards, including the Samueli School's retired former director of finance, Rachel Maus. The annual award program honors UCI faculty, staff and students whose actions best embody the university’s values of respect, intellectual curiosity, integrity, commitment, empathy, appreciation and fun.
See the complete list of 2009 Living Our Values Award recipients.
Professor Abraham Lee Honored with Prestigious "Lab on a Chip" Prize
Abraham Lee, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and director of the Micro/Nano Fluidics Fundamentals Focus (MF3) Center, was awarded the prestigious “Pioneers of Miniaturization Prize,” for his excellent research, academic achievements, and major contributions to moving the "Lab on a Chip" community forward. This award was given at the 13th International Conference on Miniaturized Systems for Chemistry and Life Sciences (µTAS 2009), held in Jeju Island (ICC Jeju), Korea from Nov. 1 - 5, 2009. The prize is supported by Corning Incorporation, and co-sponsored by the Lab on a Chip journal.
Lab on a Chip, from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Publishing, is a prominent journal highlighting advances in microfluidic and nanotechnologies for chemistry, biology, and bioengineering.
Professor Jean-Luc Gaudiot Elected to IEEE Computer Society Board of Governors
Jean-Luc Gaudiot, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has been elected by his peers to the prominent Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Computer Society Board of Governors for a three-year term, beginning in January 2010. The Board of Governors sets the direction and determines the strategy for the Computer Society, and provides guidance at the policy level to all society orgnizational entities.
The IEEE Computer Society is the world’s leading organization of computing professionals with nearly 85,000 members. Founded in 1946, and the largest of the 39 societies of the IEEEs, the Computer Society is dedicated to advancing the theory and application of computer and information-processing technology, and is known globally for its computing standards activities.
NOVEMBER 2009
Samueli School Undergraduate Student Selected as Research Challenge Finalist
Clara Druzgalski, a materials science engineering and mechanical engineering undergraduate student in the laboratory of Professor Farghalli Mohamed, Ph.D., has been selected as a finalist by the Department of Energy (DOE) in the Science and Energy Research Challenge (SERCh), which showcases the research projects of DOE-funded undergraduate students and interns at the national laboratories. Her poster, "Thin Film Graphene for Next-Generation Solar Cells," which highlights research she conducted at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was part of the competition at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Oak Ridge, Tenn., from Nov. 8-9, 2009.
ITS Researchers Win Pyke Johnson Outstanding Paper Award
A team of Institute of Transportation Studies researchers has won the prestigious Pyke Johnson Outstanding Paper Award from the U.S. Transportation Research Board (TRB). The award is given annually for the best paper presented at the TRB annual meeting in the area of planning and environment and is subsequently published in the TRB Transportation Research Record. The 2009 winning paper is “Environmental Impacts of a Major Freight Corridor: A Study of I-710 in California,” co-authored by Gunwoo Lee, Soyoung (Iris) You, Stephen Ritchie, Jean-Daniel Saphores, Mana Sangkapichai and R. Jayakrishnan. The award will be presented at the TRB 89th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., in January.
OCTOBER 2009
Professor William Cooper Recognized for Contributions to Education
William Cooper, Ph.D. professor of civil and environmental engineering and director of the Urban Water Research Center at UC Irvine, has been selected to receive the Outstanding Contributions to Education Award from the Orange County Board of Education and Superintendent of Schools. Cooper was nominated for his work on the Water Innovation Now (WIN) project, which charged Orange County school children to come up with innovative ways to solve water use and availability concerns. Winning entries were presented by students to international delegates at the UCI-United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) water conference, “Water Unifies,” on December 3, 2008. WIN is also supported by the Orange County Department of Education, UNESCO, the Ocean Institute, Disney’s Environmentality Challenge, the Wyland Foundation, and Inside the Outdoors.
Professor Abe Lee Featured in Nature Methods
Abraham Lee, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, mechanical and aerospace engineering, and director of the Micro/Nano Fluidics Fundamentals Focus (MF3) Center, was featured in the Sept. 15, 2009 edition of Nature Methods, a prominent science journal. The article titled, “Microfluidics: the great divide,” describes the MF3 Center at UC Irvine in detail, highlighting collaborative research in microfluidics, as well as the center’s mission, goals, and unique industry involvement.
2009 Radiation Instrumentation Early Career Award Bestowed to EECS Professor
Stuart Kleinfelder, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has been selected for the prestigious 2009 Radiation Instrumentation Early Career Award "for pioneering contributions to the development of monolithic sensors and instrumentation for Nuclear Science, Particle Physics, Particle Astrophysics and Radiation Imaging."
This award is given to an individual early in their career who has made significant and/or innovative technical contributions to the fields of radiation instrumentation and measurement techniques for ionizing radiation.
Kleinfelder will be recognized at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Nuclear and Plasma Sciences Society meeting in Orlando, Fla., Oct. 25 - 31, 2009.
SEPTEMBER 2009
IEEE Honors Andrei Shkel with 2009 Technical Achievement Award
Andrei Shkel, Ph.D., professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, has received the prominent Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Sensors Council 2009 Technical Achievement Award in honor of his outstanding technical contributions within the scope of the IEEE Sensors Council, as documented by publications, including patents. The award is: "For pioneering developments in the area of MEMS Gyroscopes, including the invention of micro-machined rate integrating gyroscopes," and is based on the general quality and originality of contributions.
Shkel will be recognized at the 8th annual IEEE Conference on Sensors in Christchurch, New Zealand, Oct. 25 - 28, 2009.
Syed Jafar Recognized with Three Outstanding Honors
Syed Jafar, Ph.D., associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, received the prestigious Information Theory Society Best Journal Paper Award for the year 2009, in honor of the paper: Viveck R. Cadambe, Syed A. Jafar, “Interference Alignment and the Degrees of Freedom for the K User Interference Channel,” IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Aug. 2008, Vol. 54, Issue 8, Pages: 3425-3441. This award is given annually for an outstanding publication in the fields of interest to the Information Theory Society, appearing in any publication during the preceding two calendar years.
Jafar has also been invited to be an Erskine Fellow by the University of Canterbury, awarded to select individuals from around the world to give specialty lectures to students at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand. An Erskine Fellow must be nominated by the involved Department, and recognized distinguished academics in their fields are selected for the Visiting Erskine Programme.
Finally, Jafar was awarded the 2009 EECS “Professor of the Year” award given by the Engineering Student Council for his excellence in teaching.
Bone Cement Discovery Lands Professor on 'Most Influential' List
Image, a weekly magazine for radiology professionals, has named UC Irvine's Joyce Keyak, Ph.D., to its 2009 "25 Most Influential in Radiology" roster. Keyak, an orthopedic surgery, biomedical engineering, and mechanical and aerospace engineering associate professor who will be joining the radiological sciences department, was selected for helping create radioactive bone cement that targets cancerous tumors in the bone without damaging surrounding healthy tissue. The product, called Bone-Rad, could reduce cancer patients' exposure to radiation and the cost of treatment. "Radioactive bone cement is likely to have a profound impact on the treatment of cancer that spreads to bones," says the magazine. "Combining her varied experiences in other disciplines, such as engineering and orthopedics, with radiology gives her a fresh perspective and an innovative style." Read more >>
Michael McCarthy, Ph.D., professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and co-director of the Center for Engineering Science in Design, has been named the 2009 recipient of The Machine Design Award by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The award, established in 1958 by the Machine Design Division (now Design Engineering Division), recognizes McCarthy "for breakthrough contributions in kinematic theory of machine design that expanded classical theory of linkage synthesis to robot manipulators; for excellence in engineering design education; and for distinguished service as technical editor of two ASME journals."
AUGUST 2009
BME Graduate Students Appointed to NIH-Supported Systems Biology of Development Training Program
Sameeran Kunche and Peng Zhang, both biomedical engineering graduate students under the advisement of Arthur D. Lander, Ph.D., professor of developmental and cell biology and biomedical engineering, were among seven students selected for appointment to the National Institute of Health (NIH)-supported training program in Systems Biology of Development for one year, with the possibility of a second-year renewal. The purpose of this program is to support advanced graduate students studying developmental biology using an interdisciplinary, systems biology approach.
Kunche studies mathematical models of cells organized into lineages, where cells can self-replicate or differentiate at each stage, to better understand how feedback regulation within this progression can be used to give control to the process of tissue growth.
Zhang researches Drosophila melanogaster wing vein development to better comprehend the effects of noise and multiple morphogens on pattern formation by using a combination of experimental work and mathematical modeling.
Team ZeroWatt Named One of 16 Finalists for Global Business Plan Competition
Team ZeroWatt, who took first place and best concept paper at the 2009 Business Plan Competition at UC Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business, was also selected as one of 16 finalists from six countries for the Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco 2009 Global Business Plan Competition this summer.
Groups were reviewed on the management team, technical innovation, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency, and financial projections. Team ZeroWatt’s plan revolved around technology allowing for a significant reduction in the power consumption of analog-to-digital converters, a key component of essential devices such as cell phones, laptops and biomedical implants. Team members included: Payam Heydari, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Fred Tzeng and Vipul Jain, Ph.D. students in Heydari’s Nanoscale Communication IC (NCIC) Laboratory, and Team Coach Goran Matijasevic, Ph.D., director of research development for the Samueli School.
Jafarkhani Named Chancellor's Professor
Hamid Jafarkhani, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and computer science, has been awarded the title of Chancellor's Professor. The designation recognizes scholars who have demonstrated unusual academic merit and whose continued promise for scholarly achievement makes them of exceptional value to the university. Jafarkhani's research involves communication theory, with emphases on coding and wireless communications and networks. He is addressing the theoretical and practical challenges of designing communication systems and networks that use multiple antennas.
Graduate Students Meet With State Senator
UC Irvine doctoral students and Public Impact Fellows Shane Stephens-Romero and Mary Amasia discussed their groundbreaking research with State Senator Tom Harman, as part of the legislator’s campus visit August 6.
Harman, who represents the people of Irvine and more than a dozen other cities in the 35th Senate District, met with the students and Acting Graduate Dean Frances Leslie over lunch to discuss the environment, healthcare, and the importance of graduate education. Read more >>
Stephens-Romero also recently met with Washington, D.C.-based Legislative Assistant Danica Dawson, an education advisor to Congressman John Campbell, whose district includes such cities as Irvine, Newport Beach, Tustin, and Lake Forest. He presented his research on the use of hydrogen as an alternative to gasoline. Read more >>
Dean Bras Elected to National Academy of Arts and Sciences of Puerto Rico
Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., distinguished professor and dean of The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, has been elected to the Academia de Artes y Ciencias de Puerto Rico in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments and “for lifetime contributions to the arts, sciences and literature.”
Bras is also a member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering, a corresponding member of the National Academy of Engineering of Mexico, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Society of Civil Engineers, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Meteorological Society.
JULY 2009
Professor Glenn Healey Named SPIE Fellow
Glenn E. Healey, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and computer science and director of the UC Irvine Computer Vision Laboratory, was named one of 59 new SPIE Fellows this year in honor of his achievements in multispectral and hyperspectral imaging.
SPIE, an international society promoting an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light, distinguish Fellows as members who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. Fellows are recognized for their numerous technical accomplishments, their service to the general optics community, and to SPIE, in particular.
Healey is interested in machine vision, computer engineering, image processing, computer graphics, and intelligent machines.
California Governor Appoints CEE Professor to Western States Water Council
Betty H. Olsen, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering, was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to serve on the Western States Water Council, an organization designed to advance the cooperation of regional water resource management and conservation policies of 18 western states. Olson is also a member of the Santa Margarita Water District board of directors.
The Western States Water Council was established in 1965 to foster cooperation among western states in the conservation, management and development of water resources. California currently has six members on the council.
JUNE 2009
Calit2 Projects Impress State Assemblywoman
Source: Calit2
UCI alumna Diane Harkey, state assemblywoman from Dana Point, returned to her alma mater last week, touring some Calit2 labs while familiarizing herself with the university’s graduate students and programs. Read more >>
SPIE Names Professor Zhongping Chen New Fellow
Zhongping Chen, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering, electrical engineering and computer science, and chemical engineering and materials science, joined an elite group of colleagues as one of 59 new 2009 SPIE Fellows, in honor of his achievements in biomedical photonics and optical coherence tomography.
SPIE, an international society promoting an interdisciplinary approach to the science and application of light, distinguish Fellows as members who have made significant scientific and technical contributions in the multidisciplinary fields of optics, photonics, and imaging. Chen’s research primarily focuses on optical coherence tomography (OCT). His group pioneered the phase-resolved method that has been used in imaging reconstruction for functional OCT, including Doppler OCT, polarization-sensitive OCT, phase contrast OCT, and second harmonic OCT.
UC Irvine Receives U.S. Department of Energy Infrastructure Support Grant
UC Irvine was recently awarded an infrastructure support grant for up to $300,000 from the U.S. Department of Energy to purchase equipment for nuclear energy research. The effort was initiated and led by Mikael Nilsson, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science. Nilsson, together with Russell Detwiler, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering and George Miller, Ph.D., senior lecturer in the Department of Chemistry and director of the UC Irvine TRIGA reactor facility, will use the grant money to structure a nuclear science and engineering education and research program at UC Irvine. Using the current UC Irvine TRIGA reactor facility as a foundation, they plan to increase the research scope and student pool by acquiring instruments for training students and supporting cutting-edge research in nuclear technology.
UC Irvine’s Henry Samueli School of Engineering has named Steven C. George, M.D., Ph.D., as the founding director of The Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology. George, who is currently The William J. Link Chair and Professor of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at UC Irvine, will begin this new position effective July 1, and will spearhead the development of a strategic plan to lead the center’s initiatives in cardiovascular research and training.
Maria Feng Receives Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research
Maria Q. Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and director and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, has been named the 2009-2010 recipient of the Distinguished Mid-Career Faculty Award for Research on behalf of UC Irvine’s Academic Senate, honoring her significant contributions to scholarship through distinguished research. This recognition is among the most prestigious awards University of California faculty members can receive from their colleagues.
As part of this distinction, Feng will be invited to present a Distinguished Faculty Lecture during the 2009 fall quarter.
Brett Sanders Honored with Celebration of Teaching Award
Brett Sanders, Ph.D., associate professor of civil and environmental engineering (CEE), was honored for excellence in undergraduate teaching in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering at this year's UC Irvine Celebration of Teaching Awards, presented by the Division of Undergraduate Education, The Council on Student Experience and The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center. Sanders research focuses on environmental hydrodynamics, and his specialty is numerical modeling of free surface flow and transport in rivers and the coastal zone (estuaries, harbors, and bays). Undergraduates are introduced to this field in CEE 20 (Engineering Problem Solving with Matlab), taught by Sanders, where computational methods are presented in the context of civil and environmental engineering analysis and design problems. This year, students developed a Matlab computer code which applied Newton's method for solving non-linear systems of equations to design the expansion of a pressurized water distribution network.
MAY 2009
Samueli School Communications Director Garners TIPping Point Award
Christy Boyer, director of communications for The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, received the TIPping Point Award, presented at the UC Irvine University Advancement Team Meeting in May. Boyer was recognized for her teamwork, initiative and performance, which have been critical to the success of the Office of Development and External Relations, and for her initiative and proactive approach to her work.
Professor Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award, Invitation to World Economic Forum
Fadi J. Kurdahi, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and computer science and associate director of the Center for Embedded Computer Systems, was recognized with a Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut (AUB). Every year, the engineering school at AUB honors alumni who have achieved distinction in their field. Kurdahi, whose research focuses on Computer Aided Design of VLSI circuits, high level synthesis, and design methodology of large scale systems, was recognized for his contributions to design automation of digital systems.
Kurdahi was also named to a group of 20 scientists from numerous fields who participated in the World Economic Forum on the Middle East - held at the Dead Sea, Jordan, May 15-17, 2009, under the sponsorship of King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan - to engage top executives, science and technology ministers, and leading decision-makers in a dialogue on a long-term strategy for higher education, science and research in the Middle East.
EECS Professor Receives 2009 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research
Mark Bachman, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science, received the 2009 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research, which acknowledges excellence in mentoring undergraduate students engaged in research.
Bachman is an avid supporter and regular participant in undergraduate research programs, and undergraduate students in his lab work on projects in telemedicine, human sensing, environmental monitoring, biomedical microdevices, energy monitoring, and micro-robotics. Bachman’s philosophy for undergraduate research is to provide young people with training on advanced projects with a safe harbor for making mistakes, trying new things, and thinking independently. Through his commitment to undergraduate research, Bachman is helping UC Irvine create the innovative technology leaders of tomorrow.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Receives Two Prestigious Awards
William Sirignano, The Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering and Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has been selected to receive the prestigious American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Wyld Propulsion Award for 2009, which is presented for outstanding achievement in the development or application of rocket propulsion systems. His award citation states, "For extensive and fundamental contributions to the advancement of chemical rocket propulsion through theories of nonsteady combustion and fluid dynamics." Sirignano has contributed several monographs and hundreds of papers that have relevance to aerospace propulsion.
Sirignano has also been named a Fellow of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM), a prominent honor recognizing him for his exceptional contributions to the fields served by SIAM. The citation reads "For contributions to fluid dynamics, combustion theory, and their applications to propulsion." Sirignano is among the distinguished initial class of Fellows in this organization, whose mission is to build cooperation between mathematics and the worlds of science and technology through publications, research, and community.
Sirignano’s research activities have included spray combustion; turbulent combustion and ignition; aerospace propulsion; rocket combustion instability; automotive combustion; energy conversion and air pollution; fire research; noise suppression; and applied mathematics.
UC Irvine Receives Substantial Software Donation from MSC.Software to Advance Engineering Education
Students to benefit from leading industry simulation software
The Henry Samueli School of Engineering has received a donation of 50 software seats from leading enterprise simulation software provider MSC.Software Corporation that will provide students the opportunity to become proficient in industry-standard simulation software, while enabling them to participate in cutting-edge research that enhances technology and benefits industry. Read More>>
Calit2 Director Recognized by Local Organization
G.P. Li, Ph.D., professor of electrical engineering and computer science, biomedical engineering, and chemical engineering and materials science, and director of the Irvine division of the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2) and the Integrated Nanosystems Research Facility, was named this week as one of 14 outstanding Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Leaders and Role Models by the Asian Business Association of Orange County. Read more >>
APRIL 2009
CHEMS Professor Receives Two Major Funding Awards 
Daniel Mumm, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science, is the recipient of two major federal research awards for his work in advanced materials for energy and propulsion applications. In the area of solid oxide fuel cells, Mumm received a prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) for $400,000 over five years. The CAREER award funds research on the failure mechanisms of electrodes in solid oxide fuel cells - a crucial roadblock to the commercialization of this environmentally-friendly and fuel-efficient mode of energy generation. The second award from the Office of Naval Research, which is for $355,000 over three years, funds research on the failure of thermal barrier coatings in ship-board and aircraft turbines.
Invited keynote focuses on feedback in MIMO wireless communications and networks
Professor Hamid Jafarkhani, Ph.D., of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, was an honored keynote speaker at the 2009 World Congress on Computer Science and Information Engineering (CSIE 2009) on March 31, 2009. He addressed recent progress and opportunities in wireless communications and networking.
CSIE 2009, held at the Wilshire Grand Los Angeles from March 31 - April 2, was comprised of a series of technical symposiums that focused on numerous areas of expertise, including the Communications and Mobile Computing Symposium, the Computer Applications Symposium, the Computer Design and VLSI Symposium, the Data Mining and Data Engineering Symposium, the Intelligent Systems Symposium, the Multimedia and Signal Processing Symposium, and the Software Engineering Symposium.
Lab on a Chip Publication Names Professor Abe Lee New Editorial Board Member
Chosen for his extensive knowledge and expertise in microfluidics and nanotechnology
Abe Lee, Ph.D., professor of biomedical engineering and director of the Micro/Nano Fluidics Fundamentals Focus (MF3) Center was recently appointed a new editorial board member for the prominent publication, Lab on a Chip, from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Publishing. This well-known journal focuses on microfluidic and nanotechnologies for chemistry, biology, and bioengineering. Lee is one of only nine editorial board members.
April 8, 2009 Interview: "Seeking the Killer Application" (Chemical Technology) [Chemical technology news from across RSC Publishing]
MARCH 2009
Maria Feng Elected to Prominent ASCE Fellow, Wins Best Paper
Recognized for her exemplary leadership and expertise in civil engineering
Maria Feng, Ph.D., professor of civil and environmental engineering and director and endowed chair for The Center for Diversity in Engineering Education, was recently elected to Fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers, a prestigious recognition exemplifying her outstanding contributions to civil engineering.
Feng also was bestowed with the Best Paper Award by The Society of Instrument and Control Engineers, Japan in 2008 for "Robust Joint Torque Estimation and High-Speed Calibration for EMG Sensor Suits,” published in the Transactions of Society of Instrument and Control Engineers in 2007. The paper was co-authored by one of Feng’s former students, S. Moromugi, Ph.D., and is based on his Ph.D. dissertation at UC Irvine. Moromugi is currently an assistant professor at Nagasaki University, Japan.
Regina Ragan Receives Prominent NSF Faculty Early Career Development Award
Five-year grant bestowed for research in the integration of biological systems with a nano electronic platform
Regina Ragan, Ph.D., assistant professor of chemical engineering and materials science, has been honored by the National Science Foundation with a prestigious Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award and a $590,000 grant, over five years, in recognition of her research in designing robust molecular scale devices.
Ragan’s project titled “A Fundamental Study of Biological/Inorganic Interfaces: Understanding Mechanisms for Probing Biomolecular Interactions Using Nanostructures,” will analyze how structure, interfaces and materials affect signal transduction in nanosystems that are designed to measure interactions between molecular systems. Read More>>
Outstanding Professors and Students Recognized and Honored by the Engineering Student Council
"Professor the of the Year" and "Engineer of the Year" Awards given during E-Week celebration
Five professors across all engineering disciplines were honored with a “Professor the of the Year” award for their exceptional contributions to teaching, given by the Engineering Student Council at their annual awards banquet held on Feb. 20, 2009, as part of the campus’ 36th celebration of National Engineers Week, or E-Week.
- Bernard Choi, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering;
- William J. Cooper, Ph.D., Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Urban Water Research Center;
- Ali Mohraz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science;
- Syed Jafar, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; and
- Derek Dunn-Rankin, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Regional Director of the California Alliance for Minority Participation
Outstanding undergraduate engineering students were also recognized with “Engineer of the Year” awards in their respective fields of study:
- Reshma R. Patolia, Biomedical Engineering
- Andy Verdin, Civil and Environmental Engineering
- Christopher B. Basco, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science
- Christopher Dao, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
- Spencer P. Dahm, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Samueli School Students Win Microscopy Awards
Anh Duong and Shehreen Dheda receive awards for the best student platform presentation and the best student poster
Two Samueli School students working in the Carl Zeiss Center of Excellence for Electron Microscopy won awards at this year's Southern California Society for Microscopy and Microanalysis Symposium held at UCLA on March 4, 2009. The awards were given for the best student platform presentation and the best student poster.
Anh Duong, a student in Professor Daniel Mumm's research group, received a $500 check for her presentation, "3-D Reconstruction of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell Cathodes using FIB/SEM." Shehreen Dheda, a student in Professor Farghalli Mohamed's research group, received a $300 check for her poster, "The Application of Electron Backscatter Diffraction to Study Abnormal Grain Growth and Twinning in Nanocrystalline Nickel." The prizes are to support travel to this year's Annual Meeting "Microscopy and Microanalysis 2009," to be held this July in Richmond, VA. Duong and Dheda competed with students from our major local universities (UCLA, Caltech, UC Riverside, USC), and are to be congratulated for the high quality of their research.
FEBRUARY 2009
UC Irvine’s Annual Stewardship Star Bestowed to Samueli School Assistant Dean
Pamela Gesme Miller congratulated for her outstanding contributions to university donor stewardship
The UC Irvine Foundation Donor Relations Committee honored Pamela Gesme Miller, assistant dean of development and external relations, as the university’s “Annual Stewardship Star,” a prestigious campus-wide award recognizing her commitment as an outstanding leader in donor stewardship at UC Irvine.
Miller, who manages and oversees development, stewardship, alumni and community relations, and marketing and communications for The Henry Samueli School of Engineering, was applauded for her continual effort and dedication in building lasting and effective relationships between the university and those who become its most passionate and long-term advocates.
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Bestows Fellow Distinction to Associate Dean Papamoschou
Papamoschou recognized for his outstanding contributions to aeronautics
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) recently elected Dimitri Papamoschou, Ph.D., associate dean for academic affairs and professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, to the grade of AIAA Fellow, a prestigious distinction awarded to those who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics. Read more >>
CEE Distinguished Professor Receives Four Prominent Honors
Soroosh Sorooshian honored nationally and locally for atmospheric research, dedication to education, public leadership
Soroosh Sorooshian, Ph.D., distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering and Earth system science and director of the Center for Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing at UC Irvine, was honored recently for his outstanding atmospheric research contributions, his continued dedication to engineering education, and his leadership in science and technology public policy.
The 2009 Walter Orr Roberts Lecturer in Interdisciplinary Sciences by the American Meteorological Society (AMS), the Orange County Engineering Council 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, as well as the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Orange County Chapter 2009 Distinguished Engineering Educator, were bestowed to Sorooshian for his outstanding accomplishments. Read more >>
Study Links Amazon Deforestation to Cloud Cover
Samueli School Distinguished Professor and Dean Rafael L. Bras co-authored Amazon deforestation study
Shallow clouds are prone to appear over deforested surfaces whereas deep clouds tend to favor forested surfaces, finds a study co-authored by Rafael L. Bras, Sc.D., dean and distinguished professor of civil and environmental engineering at UC Irvine's Henry Samueli School of Engineering. Researchers analyzed satellite cloud maps and performed local measurements in the Amazon region to determine shallow clouds follow deforestation, but deep clouds do not. The study appeared online the week of Jan. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Read more >>
JANUARY 2009
Edison International Scholars Honored
Anthony M. Saweres and Michael Q. Nguyen recognized for their excellent potential
Two outstanding engineering students new to UC Irvine, Anthony M. Saweres, a first-year computer engineering student, and Michael Q. Nguyen, a first-year biomedical engineering premed student, were recognized as part of the 2008 Edison Scholars Program, a scholarship that rewards public and private high school students who show potential for a successful college career and who have a financial need.
They will each receive a $10,000 scholarship toward their bachelor’s degree in increments of $2,500 over four years. The scholarship is part of Edison's 47-year tradition of investing in the future by making the dream of a college education a reality for deserving students.
Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Recognized for Water Contamination Research
Hanoz Santoke receives ARCS fellowship to study pharmaceuticals in the water supply
Hanoz Santoke, a third-year environmental engineering Ph.D. student, received the prestigious 2008-2009 ARCS Foundation Fellowship from the Orange County chapter of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, Inc., in recognition of his outstanding research in pharmaceutical compounds in water supplies.
Read more >>