UT Arlington College of Engineering
UT Arlington

College of Engineering Highlights

Summer 2008

  • A total of 266 students received degrees this summer: 74 bachelor’s, 168 master’s and 24 doctorates. The Charge to Graduates was delivered by Dianna Noble, P.E. (’84 BSCE), director of the Environmental Affairs Division of TxDOT.
  • The University of Texas System approved changes to the titles of undergraduate and graduate degrees offered by the Computer Science & Engineering Department. Effective in the fall 2008 semester, degree programs at the bachelor’s and master’s levels provided by the department will be in three areas: Computer Science, Computer Engineering and Software Engineering. At the Ph.D. level, the department will offer Computer Science and Computer Engineering programs. There will be no changes in degree requirements in any of the programs.
  • Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Bumsoo Han and his associates, Bioengineering Professor C. J. Chuong, Dr. Fred Grinnell at the UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and Dr. Craig Dutton of the Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, received a four-year, $1.26 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study the effects of preservation methods on engineered human tissue functionalities and to design reliable preservation protocols for various types of engineered tissues without losing their functionality.
  • Computer Science & Engineering Professor Roger Walker is using two TxDOT grants totaling more than $970,000 to devise a new mobile system and evaluation methods to efficiently determine roadway surface conditions. He will design a scaled-down, portable version of the specially-outfitted vans containing different types of sensors and recording devices he had previously created and provide technical support in methods for measuring pavement smoothness and other vehicle-related characteristics that affect pavement performance and ride.
  • Aerospace Engineering Professors Frank Lu and Don Wilson secured an 18-month, $650,000 grant to work with researchers at the National University of Singapore to perfect new forms of energy conversion and power generation.
  • Computer Science & Engineering Professor Mohan Kumar and Assistant Professor Yonghe Liu have secured a three-year, $336,817 grant from the National Science Foundation’s Office of International Science and Engineering for this collaborative project with the Curtin University of Technology in Perth, Australia. In their project, titled “Collaborative Virtual Observation in Dynamic Environments,” they are developing a program that gathers information from various sensors and devices and combines them to create a virtual observation. The research will lead to new insights in the areas of manufacturing, education, defense, entertainment and the security of public places.   of events occurring in changing environments.
  • Electrical Engineering Professor Wei-Jen Lee and Computer Science & Engineering Assistant Professor Heng Huang received grants totaling $170,000 from the Consolidated Edison Company (ConEd) to develop algorithms that detect potential failures, reducing the chances of a power outage by identifying service problems before they cause a system shutdown.
  • Computer Science & Engineering Drs. Gautam Das and Nan Zhang received a $120,000 grant from the National Science Foundation for their project “Data Analytics over Hidden Databases.” A hidden database is one that is only accessible to external users by way of a web form. For example, an airline reservation system uses a database, but users cannot directly write programs to access hidden information.
  • Civil Engineering Professors Sia Ardekani and Stefan Romanoschi received a $120,000 grant from the Ready Mixed Concrete Research & Education Foundation to conduct a two-year study of how different pavement surface materials relate to changes in vehicle fuel consumption and emissions.
  • A team of industrial and civil engineers received another $100,000 grant from Luminant (formerly the generation division of TXU) to enhance the capabilities of a software package that optimizes the management of emission controls at Luminant’s existing and proposed coal-fueled power plants. The team consists of Industrial Engineering Drs. Jay Rosenberger, Victoria Chen and Seoung Bum Kim and Civil Engineering’s Dr. Melanie Sattler.
  • Dr. Gautam Das has received another $50,000grant from Microsoft Research’s data mining group to continue his research in data mining and data base technologies. This is Dr. Das’ fourth grant from the software developer; he has collaborated with them continually for four years.
  • The Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center joined with Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas, the Manufacturing Skill Standards Council (MSSC), the Dallas County Community College District and the Community Learning Center of Fort Worth in a project to develop a stable, skilled workforce across North Texas. The team received a $240,000 grant from the Texas Workforce Commission to promote the benefits of skills certification to students, employees and employers.
  • Automation & Robotics Research Institute Faculty Associates Drs. Wooho Lee and Jeongsik Sin received a US Patent for their “Optical Fiber Polishing and Finishing System, Device and Method.” 
  • Two long-time faculty members in the Electrical Engineering Department announced their retirements – Professors Wiley Kirk and Vasant Prabhu. Dr. Kirk came to UT Arlington in 1999 and was instrumental in the development of the Nanotechnology Research & Teaching Facility. Dr. Prabhu came to UT Arlington in 1977; he plans to complete a book he is authoring and will continue to shepherd the progress of two Ph.D. students after he retires.
  • Electrical Engineering Professor K. R. Rao delivered a keynote address titled “Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding” at the International Conference on Audio, Language and Image Processing 2008 on July 7 in Shanghai.
  • Electrical Engineering Professors K. R. Rao and Soontorn Oraintara helped organize the International Conference on Audio, Language and Image Processing 2008 to be held July 6-9 in Shanghai. Dr. Rao is an International Steering Committee Co-chair and will deliver a keynote address on “Digital Video Image Quality and Perceptual Coding.” Dr. Oraintara is an International Program Committee Co-chair for the conference.
  • Electrical Engineering Professor Frank L. Lewis was notified that he will receive the International Neural Network Society’s Gabor Award for 2009. The Gabor Award recognizes individuals who have made outstanding contributions in the field of neural networks.
  • Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Professor Kent Lawrence received a Kalpana Chawla STAR Award presented by the Office of University Advising and Student Success. The award recognized Dr. Lawrence’s contributions to the academic successes of students in the Living and Learning Program at KC Hall. STAR comes from four aspects of outstanding instruction: Service, Teaching, Advising and Role-modeling. This is not the first teaching recognition he has received. In 2005, Professor Lawrence received the Piper Professor Award, presented to professors in Texas for superior teaching at the college level.
  • The Texas Manufacturing Assistance Center conducted a seminar in association with Carter Blood Care on methods to improve collecting, processing and distributing blood components. Attendees included blood services executives from across the U.S., Canada and Australia.
  • Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor Babak Fahimi and his students completed an uninterruptable power source. A combination of wind, solar, fuel cell and battery sources result in a self-contained, multipurpose package that can continuously supply five kilowatts of electricity.
  • Findings of a study led by Civil Engineering Associate Professor Ali Abolmaali have led to the adoption of new national design specifications for certain types of concrete bridges. The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials updated the Load and Resistance Factor Design Specifications for both Concrete Design and Culvert Structures.
  • A student team from the Autonomous Vehicles Laboratory received first place in several categories and third place overall at the Student Unmanned Aerial System Competition held at the Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center’s Webster Field Annex in Maryland. The team won first place for their written project report, first place for their oral presentation, third place for mission performance, prizes for autonomous takeoff and landing, and the NAVAIR “Logistician’s Award” for Best Design for Supportability. For their efforts, the team received $5,250 in prize money.
  • Aerospace Engineering senior Andrew Carr has received a 2008-2009 Columbia Crew Memorial Scholarship from the Texas Space Grant Consortium. Established in memory of the Space Shuttle Columbia astronauts by the Consortium, the Aviation Foundation of Texas and NASA, the scholarship honors outstanding students who have demonstrated skill and excellence in undergraduate academics.
  • Ka Yaw Teo, a Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering graduate research assistant and Bioengineering BS/MS fast-track student, took first place in the Student Paper Competition at the 2008 American Society of Mechanical Engineers Summer Bioengineering Conference, the highly-competitive main conference of the Bioengineering Division of ASME. The paper, co-authored with MAE Assistant Professor Bumsoo Han, was titled “Freezing-assisted Intracellular Drug Delivery to Multi-drug Resistant Cancer Cells” and was based on research conducted while Teo was an undergraduate mechanical engineering student.
  • Collegiate racing teams gathered on the South 40 parking lot on July 26 and 27 for the 8th Annual Texas Autocross Weekend, testing their skills in a challenging autocross competition. Approximately 20 cars from 10 universities will be speeding through a twisting path, each driver trying to achieve the lowest time around the course.
  • The College of Engineering was the site of six residence or day camp summer programs:
    • Engineering and Computer Science Camps (students entering grades 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) – three one-week sessions

    • RoPro College Challenge Camp (high school juniors and seniors and recent graduates) – one three-day session
    • SciTech2020 (Hispanic sophomores; conducted by the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers)
    • Autonomous Vehicle Lab Summer Workshop for Students (high school juniors and seniors) – two one-week sessions
    • Girlgeneering Camp (middle school young women) – one one-week session
    • Materials Camps for Kids (students entering 4th or 5th grade; junior high and high school students) – two one-day