MAE News

Mr. Emmanuel Fierro, currently completing his Masters degree under the supervision of Professor Kent Lawrence, was recognized as the “ASME North Texas Section 2013 Young Engineer of the Year” at the 2013 Engineers Week Awards Banquet on February 21. The Young Engineer of the Year Award recognizes both significant accomplishments and potential in the field of mechanical engineering.

Alumnus Emmanuel Fierro, BSME (With Honors in 2008), is a Production Support, Test, Design and Analysis Engineer for Raytheon. Mr. Fierro has received several Individual Achievement Awards through Raytheon and was part of a group which received an Excellence in Quality Award. He also has a pending patent for an optical mount.

MAE is proud of his accomplishment!

One of our MAE Senior Design Project teams, under the guidance of Mr. Nicholas Schroeder, Facilities Engineer w/UT Arlington’s Office of Facilities Management, and Professor Dereje Agonafer were recognized with the “Rising Star 2012 Student Design Project Competition HVAC System Design” (4th Place Award) by ASHRAE. Members of the team were Jahed Ahmed, Ben Engstrom, Paul Hudlow, and Omar Rosales. (all BSME 2012) Their project focus was the Chicago Library Renovation. Mr. Schroeder states "Considering UT Arlington does not offer any HVAC-specific curriculum and yet competes against universities with entire degree programs focused on facilities design, their accomplishment is particularly impressive!" We think so too! Congratulations team! For more information see: ASHRAE Student Design Competition

Dr. Moon has been selected as a 2013 NSF CAREER awardee. Her project is entitled "CAREER: Digital Microfluidics to Optimize and Screen 3-Dimensional Tissue-Based Analytical Processes". According to the NFS, "The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations."

Professor Robert Woods has received the prestigious "Triple E Award" from the Society of Automotive Engineers. The Excellence in Engineering Education Award is given to one person in the world each year at the SAE Annual Congress held in Detroit in the spring. He joins the ranks of Carroll Smith, Michael Royce, and numerous other professors that Woods admires.

He has been invited to serve on a ABET panel at the same conference in which they are considering making Automotive Engineering be a degree program just as Mechanical Engineering and Aerospace Engineering. Considering Dr. Woods’ "Arnold E. Petsche Center for Automotive Engineering", MAE’s Certificate in Automotive Engineering, the two Automotive Engineering courses offered, and MAE’s long history in FSAE, Woods thinks there is significant story to tell.

Dr. Woods gives credit for his recent successes stating that they are “an outgrowth of our banquet last fall to celebrate 30 years of FSAE. Dr. Armanios kept saying "great things are going to happen, you just watch". Well, he was right.”

The real spark for all of this came when MAE offered to name a Center for Arnold Petsche and he gave a $1M donation for an endowment that was matched by the university to make a total of $2M. This was a significant part of the university's overall donations last year. That donation inspired Woods to get approval for the named Center, get approval for a Certificate in Automotive Engineering to be awarded to selected students with their degree, and have an office and showcase room for the center's activities with huge glass doors off the lobby in Woolf Hall.

More donations are coming in growing our "Dr. Bob Woods Endowment for FSAE", and new significant sponsors are showing a high level of interest, especially in the electric race car.

Last year UTA was listed as number five in the "Top 10 Universities in Automotive Engineering". http://www.edmunds.com/car-reviews/top-10/top-10-automotive-colleges-and-universities-in-the-us.html

This year UTA is listed as number 4 in the World Ranking and number 1 in the USA Ranking of universities competing in Formula SAE. http://mazur-events.de/fs-world/?cl=1#

During the recent ABET accreditation program review, the Mechanical Engineering Program received a "program strength" for the Arnold E. Petsche Center for Automotive Engineering. They are allowed to list only one program strength.

Arnold was recognized at the recent "Spirit of Philanthropy" banquet held in Ft. Worth.

MAE’s FSAE team is currently entering a new car in FSAE that will have more power and a revolutionary active aero package. In 2014 we will build a FSAE car and a very innovative all-electric FSAE race car. Both will be entered in the USA and in Germany. Excitement and support for these cars are growing. We are also teamed with an off-road all-electric 4-wheeler company that will use the same technology as the FSAE electric race car to build a vehicle for the hunting market.

Drs. Alan Bowling and Kamesh Subbarao and two other UT Arlington faculty members comprise one of the 11 teams chosen to participate in the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Robotics Challenge. They are partnering with the Pittsburgh-based RE2 and Michigan-based Soar Technology to develop software that will run in a government-provided simulation environment. The program's goal is to develop, build and demonstrate innovative robotics technologies to aid in disaster response operations when conditions are deemed too dangerous for humans. UT Arlington's research will be done at the UT Arlington Research Institute. For additional information, see the DARPA Robotics Challenge

MAE congratulates Elizabeth Blaiszik and Sarah Hussein, students of Frank Lu, for winning second and third place, respectively, for engineering at the LSAMP conference! For more information on LSAMP, see http://grad.pci.uta.edu/programs/lsamp/.

Dr. Haiying Huang’s patent entitled: “ Optical Fiber Based Polymer Core Sensor” ( US 8,215,834 B2) was issued July 10, 2012. According to Dr. Huang, "The optical fiber based polymer core sensor can be used to detect mechanical parameters as well for bio-chemical sensing. The patent covers a fabrication technique that can produce the optical fiber based polymer core sensors at a low cost. The technique also enables precise control of the size and composition of the optical fiber polymer core sensor for various sensing purposes."

Prof. Cheng Luo is featured in the June 2012 issue of the Discovery Channel International Innovation. The article underscores UTA’s standing “An NSF-funded research project based at the University of Texas, Arlington is helping to build the nanotech of tomorrow for a whole range of industries”. It also highlights Prof. Luo’s innovative research “his micropunching lithography method could lead to a new generation of polymer-based microdevices.” Click here to listen to a brief interview on WBAP/News Talk 820 AM radio by Dr. Luo's Research Assistant, Dr. Anirban Chakraborty.

Congratulations to Monica Hew who was recognized as the Boeing/ Flightglobal's Undergraduate Engineering Student of the year during a ceremony in London. Monica was mentored by Dr. Haiying Huang and Dr. Wen Chan in her research work on wireless sensors and composites, respectively.

Among her numerous awards and recognitions, Monica was the recipient of the COE top student award and the Outstanding Student Leader Award for 2012. An all- around student, Monica's academic performance is paralleled by her community involvement and athletic prowess as member of the Mavs Badminton and Fencing teams. She is also a Black Belt 2nd degree in International Taekwondo!

Her winning work was judged as likely to impact the future of aerospace engineering in areas such as new or enhanced capabilities, systems, processes or tools; new levels of performance; and improved lifecycle costs. A befitting expression of her bright future is John Tracy's, Boeing Chief Technology Officer and Senior Vice President of Engineering, Operations & Technology, statement referring to both the Undergraduate and Graduate Engineering Students of the year:" These two individuals have demonstrated the achievements that are possible when students and professionals are committed to pursuing a career in science, technology and mathematics. They are off to a great start in making a difference through a career in engineering. In addition, they are role models for others pursuing this critically important and personally rewarding field."

This was the first time for this recognition to be awarded to an undergraduate student!

11 schools attended the 12 Annual Texas Autocross Weekend hosted by MAE's FSAE Team. MAE's team won the design competition. To see a video interview with Dr. Bob Woods, click here. To visit the team's Facebook page, click here. To see photos from the Autocross, click here.

Professors Luca Maddalena and Luca Mass have been awarded a 3-year $640,000 NASA National Research Award to study engine performance at hypersonic speeds. Their research centers on improving the effectiveness of new fuel injection schemes that might lead to enabling affordable access to space for large hypersonic vehicles. Hypersonic speed is that which reaches Mach 5, or 3,500 miles per hour and above. Hypersonic technology differs from rocket technology in that hypersonic engines pull oxygen from the surrounding air. Rocket propulsion engines carry their oxygen source on board which limits the payload. The challenge in achieving hypersonic speed is that the fuel and oxygen, at the typical speed inside the engine (supersonic), don’t have sufficient time to effectively mix and ignite. They believe that the key to achieve ignition and combustion at supersonic speed is a proper design of the injectors. They are investigating new configurations in collaboration with NASA’s Hypersonic Airbreathing Propulsion Branch at Langley Research Center.

May 28, 2012 – The UTA Rover team competed in the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage (RASC-AL) Exploration Robo-Ops Competition held at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Rock Yard. The task was to teleoperate a planetary rover, which the team designed and built, to retrieve rocks from the landscape using its robotic arm. A portion of the team transported the rover to JSC while the remaining members remained at mission control Arlington to command the mission. UTA’s rover ranked third place out of eight teams in the sample retrieval portion of the competition, but did not place in the overall competition. Yet, the high level of enthusiasm for, and interest in the UTA rover expressed by the organizers and other participants made up for not placing. This showing was the result of the team’s tremendous level of commitment, imagination, tenacity, and effort. All Mavericks can be proud of how this team represented UTA to the competition organizers from NASA and the National Institute of Aerospace (NIA).

June 1, 2012 - Prof. Alan Bowling, in collaboration with Profs. Samarendra Mohanty from the Department of Physics and Subhrangsu Mandal from Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, have been awarded an Early Concept Grant for Exploratory Research (EAGER) from NSF to study the molecular dynamics of motor proteins moving through a fluid environment characterized by a low Reynolds number. The work involves the further development and experimental validation of a new model of protein dynamics, based on multiscale analysis, that addresses the lengthy run times associated with molecular dynamic simulations, while remaining true to the underlying principles of Newtonian dynamics.

This year, the team entered the Formula Hybrid competition at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, N.H., overcoming mechanical issues in the first day and finishing fourth of 39 teams. It was their first foray into hybrid competition. “We had been thinking about a hybrid car for three years and developing it for two,” Woods explained. “The car is a very sophisticated combination of electrical and mechanical pieces and we had lots of gremlins before and during competition.” Technical issues led to a car that would not run on the first day of competition, but they were fixed for the second day, and UTA dominated the endurance competition, turning in the fastest lap by 10 seconds in an event where a difference of one-tenth of a second usually wins. For the complete story, see: http://www.uta.edu/engineering/news-events/news-archives/2012/fsae.php?utm_campaign=June%20E-Newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=Details

Graduating senior Eddie Beckwith was profiled in an article written by Bob Ray Sanders in the Star-Telegram. The article highlights Eddie's dedication and determination to accomplish his goals in life. Read the complete article here.

MAE extends sincere congratulations Aerospace Engineering Ph.D. student, Taleb Zeitouny upon being named Chief Engineer for Blackhawk! According to Dr. Wen Chan, "Taleb easily grasps new technical concepts well and has great communications skills. These skills should prove to be very helpful in his new position. He is a great leader." For the complete announcement from Blackhawk, see: http://www.blackhawk.aero/uploads/files/BMI_Chief_Engineer_News_Release_FINAL.pdf

Professors Maddalena and Massa have been awarded, from a field of highly qualified competitors, by NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) under NRA NNH10ZEA001N-HYP1 - Hypersonic Project. The UTA’s group will collaborate with NASA on the Hypersonic Project for fundamental air-breathing hypersonic technologies with specific focus on Hypervelocity (Mach 8+) Propulsion

MAE extends sincere congratulations to Dr. Dereje Agonafer for his 5-year appointment by President Spaniolo as a Jenkins Garrett Professor ! This award is a tribute to his excellence in teaching, research and service.

Congratulations to Ms. Monica Hew ! Monica placed first in the Region IV AIAA Student Paper Conference for the second time! She will now move on to represent Region IV at the AIAA National Conference in January 2013. Monica and her advisor, Professor Haiying Huang demonstrate the high standards of MAE!

MAE is delighted to announce that Dr. Heyjin Moon has been selected a 2012 winner of The University of Texas at Arlington President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching by an Untenured Faculty Member! “This honor is a clear indication of your devoted, enthusiastic and long-standing commitment to students and the teaching mission of the University,” to quote Dr. David Silva, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.

We salute our Rocket Mavericks 2012 team for their blazing learning spirit, dedication and perseverance! They came in second in the Altitude Competition. This year’s students formed a vibrant team, defined a competition focus and aligned their academic and personal growth towards this learning experience. To quote Jason Brown, past Rocket Mavericks team leader and currently Weight Engineer with Recaro, “Since the start, the Rocket Mavericks have always competed in ALL the events offered by the Battle of the Rockets EVERY year. No other team has ever even tried to compete in all the events and UTA does it every year. This year was no different and on top of that, they had to cram my 8+ years of rocketry knowledge into one year… The team has grown and learned so much this past year, its impressive and it doesn’t look like it’s going to stop any time soon!” Jason is volunteering this summer to get more members certified to larger rocket motors! A special thanks to Dr. Woods for supporting the hardware design and fabrication! The MAE Maverick spirit at work!

MAE congratulates Sarah Hussein and Elizabeth Blaiszik for their selection to attend the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summer Research Academy! This selection reflects their academic talents and dedication to learn, innovate and lead! We share Prof. Frank Lu’s pride in his students’ accomplishments and look forward to their promising contributions to aerospace engineering. LSAMP, founded in 1993, with the purpose of increasing the number of underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers. The Summer Research Academy is an intensive research experience giving students the opportunity to work alongside nationally and internationally recognized professors. Students conduct supervised research and learn about graduate school opportunities. Participants receive a stipend and travel funds. For further information about LSAMP, click here

Kudos to Wendy Okola for an award winning year ! She is recently was awarded the highly competitive Amelia Earhart Fellowship from Zonta International ! Wendy is the fifth MAE recipient of the award. Additionally, Wendy placed first in the Annual Celebration of Excellence by Students (ACES) symposium last week. Wendy has also been invited to return to the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio this summer. She and her supervising professor, Atilla Dogan, Ph.D., will continue their work on formation flight problems.

Congratulations to alumnus Jan Collmer, retired founder of Collmer Semiconduction, Inc. for publication of his book "Go Start Something !" Mr. Callmer received an Associate’s Degree in Science and Mechanical Engineering from Arlington State College (now UT Arlington) in 1954. He has 50 rules for entrepreneurship. His quick read guidebook is available from barnesandnoble.com and amazon.com. To read the entire Businessweel article please click here.

MAE offers our sincere congratulations to Ms. Erica Castillo for being selected as a 2012 Goldwater Scholar, the first in the history of UT Arlington! We also want to congratulate Mr. Elijah Stevens for being awarded a 2012 Goldwater Honorable Mention, another first for UT Arlington!
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Program was established in 1986 by Congress. The purpose of the scholarship is provide a continuing source of highly qualified scientists, mathematicians and engineers. Each scholarship covers eligible expenses for undergraduate tuition, fees, books, room and board . Junior level scholarship recipients are eligible for a maximum of two years of support and senior-level recipients are eligible for a maximum of 1 year of support. Candidates are nominated by their college or university.
Special thanks to Professors Wen Chan and Haiying Huang for their mentoring of Ms. Castillo and to Professor Stefan Dancila for his mentoring of Mr. Stevens.