Faculty News
Research:
Prof. Philippe Bardet (MAE) has received a one-year, $415,646 DURIP grant from the Office of Naval Research to acquire instruments for very high-speed three dimensional velocity and profilometry measurements. The instrumentation will be used to develop diagnostics to instrument capillary waves: 3D + time surface profile and velocity fields.
Prof. Claire Monteleoni (CS) has been awarded a one-year, $90,000 NSF grant to support research on the design of machine learning algorithms. The title of her grant is “EAGER: Novel sampling algorithms for scaling up spectral methods for unsupervised learning.” Prof. Monteleoni is the sole PI on the grant.
Intel awarded Prof. Tarek El-Ghazawi (ECE) a gift of $250,000 in addition to software and hardware to establish an Intel Parallel Computing Center (IPCC) at GW. The GW-IPCC will focus on advancing parallel programming for many-core chips, including locality-aware optimizations and new programming paradigms such as PGAS for many-core chips. Many-core chips include the Xeon Phi or MIC (Many Integrated Core Architecture). The Knights Landing version of this many-core chip is built with 14nm process technology, has up to 72 processor cores, and can reach 3 TFLOPS (3 trillion calculations per second). They are used to build some of top supercomputers in the world as well as powerful servers.
Prof. Megan Leftwich (MAE) is the sole PI on a recently awarded NSF grant for her project “Bio-inspired efficient pulsatile locomotion.” The three-year, $288,377 grant will support research into the fluid dynamics of sea lion locomotion. Prof. Leftwich’s team will investigate the three-dimensional kinematics of free swimming sea lions, while simultaneously using robotic platforms to investigate the details of the resulting flowfields.
Prof. Suresh Subramaniam (ECE) is the lead PI on a $500,000 NSF collaborative grant awarded to GW and MIT for the project “WDM-based ultra-scale data center networks: architectures and control algorithms.” Conventional data center network architectures use power-hungry electronic switches and struggle to keep up with bandwidth demands as data centers scale in size to hundreds of thousands of servers. This project aims to explore novel alternative architectures for data center networks that are based on several optical switching technologies. The project also involves two key (unfunded) partners, Microsoft—which will share its expertise and data from operating large data centers—and Infinera, a company that designs and manufactures optical components and systems. GW and MIT will each receive $250,000 from the grant.
Media Mentions:
Prof. Santiago Solares (MAE) was quoted in the August 10 Chemical & Engineering News article, “AFM tips on demand.” grant.
Publications:
Prof. Lorena Barba's group (MAE) has published the following paper: C. Cooper, N. Clementi, G. Forsyth, and L. Barba. “PyGBe: Python, GPUs and boundary elements for biomolecular electrostatics,” The Journal of Open Source Software, vol. 1(4) doi:10.21105/joss.00043.
Prof. Edward Della Torre (ECE) and his Ph.D. student Ali Jamali have been collaborating with colleagues from the University of Perugia, Italy, to develop a model for the off-axis vector magnetization of a distribution of uniaxial particles. The formulation of the new anisotropy field (AF) model is derived and its results are discussed considering oscillation and rotational modes, lag angle, and unitary magnetization. The advantages of the model are outlined by comparing its results to the results of the classical Stoner-Wohlfarth model. The work was published in Physica B: Physics of Condensed Matter, and the citation is: A. Jamali, E. Della Torre, E. Cardelli, H. ElBidweihy, and L. H. Bennett. “A Vector Model for Off-axis Hysteresis Loops Using Anisotropy Field,” Physica B: Physics of Condensed Matter, DOI information: 10.1016/j.physb.2016.08.026.
Research Prof. Morton Friedman (MAE) has published a paper that is a discussion of a paper that earlier appeared in the ASME Journal of Biomechanical Engineering: H. A. Himburg, D. M. Grzybowski, A. J. Hazel, J. A. LaMack, and M. H. Friedman. “Discussion of ‘Comparison of Statistical Methods for Assessing Spatial Correlations between Maps of Different Arterial Properties’: An Alternative Approach Using Segmentation Based on Local Hemodynamics,” Journal of Biomechanical Engineering. 2016;138(9):095501-095501-2. doi:10.1115/1.4034217.
Three papers co-authored by Research Prof. Ashraf Imam (MAE) were recently published in the Proceedings of the 13th World Conference on Titanium. The papers are: 1) M. A. Imam, B. Y. Rock, R. Rowland, T. F. Zarah, and K. Akhtar. “Consolidation of Cristal Metals Powder of Titanium and Its Alloys by Microwave Energy to Near-Net Shape;” 2) D. S. Van Vuuren, M. A. Imam, S. J. Oosthuizen, B. Y. Rock, T. F. Zahrah, H. Chikwanda, and L. Mahlatji. “Characterization of CSIR-Ti Powder and Its Consolidation by Microwave Sintering;” and 3) N. R. Neelameggham, B. R. Davis, and M. A. Imam. “Sustainable Low Cost Titanium Oxide Production - A Concept.”
Prof. Tianshu Li (CEE) has published the following paper with his doctoral student Yuanfei Bi and undergraduate student Anna Porras: Y. Bi, A. Porras, and T. Li, “Free energy landscape and molecular pathways of gas hydrate nucleation,” Journal of Chemical Physics 145, 211909 (2016).
Research Prof. Dave Nagel (ECE) recently published two papers: 1) D. J. Nagel and A. E. Moser. “High Energy Density and Power Density Events in Lattice-Enabled Nuclear Reaction Experiments and Generators,” Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science, vol. 19, pp 219-229; and 2) F. Scholkmann and D. J. Nagel. “Is the Abundance of Elements in Earth’s Crust Correlated with LENR Transmutation Rates?” Journal of Condensed Matter Nuclear Science, vol. 19, pp. 281-286.
Prof. Suresh Subramaniam (ECE) has published the following paper: F. Ahdi and S. Subramaniam. “Capacity enhancement of RF wireless mesh networks through FSO links,” IEEE/OSA Journal of Optical Communications and Networking, vol. 8, no. 7, pp. 495-506.
Conferences & Presentations:
On August 12, Prof. David Broniatowski (EMSE) presented a paper at the Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society in Philadelphia, PA. The name of his talk was “Process Modeling of Qualitative Decision under Uncertainty.” At the conference, he also chaired the Judgment and Decision Making 3 session.
On August 22, the SEAS Environmental and Energy Management Institute (EEMI) hosted the seminar “The Carbon Exchange in China” here in the SEH. EMSE Profs. Jonathan Deason, Joe Cascio, and Alex Beehler organized the event with the International Fund for China’s Environment. The main speakers at the event were Mr. Dewen Mei, president of the Beijing Environmental Exchange (CBEEX), and Dr. Ping He, president of the International Fund for China’s Environment (IFCE). The Chinese government is making major headway in implementing the Paris Agreement of April 2016, which so far has been signed by 180 nations. The EEMI is establishing partnership arrangements with the CBEEX and IFCE in conjunction with its new online graduate certificate program in Greenhouse Gas Management, scheduled to be launched in January 2017.
At the 24th International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, held August 21-26 in Montréal, Canada, Prof. James Lee (MAE) and his former students, Dr. Jiaoyan Li, Dr. Zhen Zhang, and Dr. Leyu Wang, made a presentation of their work, “Sequential and Concurrent Multiscale Modeling: from Molecular Dynamics to Continuum Mechanics.”
On August 1, Prof. Tianshu Li (CEE) gave an invited talk, “The Duality of Ice Nucleation: Thermodynamically ‘Simple’ Yet Molecularly Complex,” at the Gordon Research Conferences on Water & Aqueous Solutions, held in Holderness, NH.
Student News
A poster titled “Enhancing Patient Safety and Improving Use of Resources during Hospital Evacuations: Patient Evacuation Resource Classification System (PERCS) for Residential Healthcare Facilities,” by Ph.D. student Gustavo Ventura (EMSE) and Dr. Joseph Barbera, MD (EMSE), won the “Best Scientific Presentation” at the Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness Conference, held July 27-29 in Rockville, MD.
Other News
This summer five Fourth Grade students from Aidan Montessori School in Washington, DC toured the SEH nanofabrication lab under the guidance of Patrick Johnson. Yianni Tousimis, a manufacturer of semiconductor support equipment, and Patrick arranged the tour for the students. It included a look at the clean room nanofabrication lab and scanning electron microscope and a question and answer period.
The Faculty Assembly will meet at 10:00 am on September 9 in the Jack Morton Auditorium. Election of faculty members to the Presidential Search Faculty Consultative Committee will be conducted. All full-time faculty (including non-tenured, research, and teaching faculty) are encouraged to participate and can vote. Please come and support our SEAS candidate. Also, there is likely to be discussion on the presidential search process and how the Faculty Consultative Committee will interact and advise the Board in its election of the next GW president.
GW and the European Energy Center will offer five professional short courses, beginning this fall. The courses will be conducted through GW’s Environmental and Energy Manage Institute:
Renewable Energy Management & Finance
Thursday and Friday, October 27-28
Taught by: Michael Ware & Scott Sklar
Environmental Management Beyond Compliance (Implementing an ISO 14001 System)
Monday and Tuesday, November 14-15
Taught by: Joe Cascio
Distributed Generation and Storage
Thursday and Friday, December 8-9
Taught by: Scott Sklar
Circular Economy
Thursday and Friday, March 16-17, 2017
Taught by: Roger Feldman and Ed Pinero
Multi-Aspect Introduction to Solar Photovoltaics
Dates TBA
Taught by: Scott Sklar
SEAS Events
Workshop: Integrated Photonics Design with INTERCONNECT
Monday, September 19
9:30 am – 4:00 pm
For more information, and to register, please contact: [email protected]
MAE and SEAS Computing Facility Workshop: 2016 GW Software Carpentry Workshop: Teaching Basic Lab Skills for Research Computing
Friday and Saturday, September 23–24
9: 00 am – 4:00 pm
411 Tompkins Hall
This workshop is for graduate students, postdocs, and faculty who want to become more productive with lab skills for scientific computing. Space is limited to 40 seats, and we expect a waiting list. For more information about the Software Carpentry program. Lorena Barba.
Entrepreneurship News & Events
SEAS Innovation & Entrepreneurship Minor: Faculty from across SEAS have joined together to create an Innovation & Entrepreneurship academic minor. In this program, students will learn and engage in cross-departmental courses and hands-on projects, using their engineering skills and building business and management skills. The program starts this fall with an pre-minor cohort. All interested students should contact Prof. Volker Sorger (ECE) or Prof. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) for further details.
DC I-Corps Information Session
Thursday, September 1
12:30 – 1:30 pm
Funger Hall, 320
More information
Get up to $50,000 and free lean startup training to commercialize cutting-edge research or inventions! Join the National Science Foundation's Innovation Corps™ Information Session. Jim Chung, GW associate vice president for innovation and entrepreneurship and co-PI for the NSF DC I-Corps Node, will provide information on how faculty, graduate students, and post-docs can benefit from participation in the NSF I-Corps.
2017 GW New Venture Competition Kickoff
Wednesday, September 7
5:30 – 9:00 pm
SEH, B1270
Register
Be a part of history at the George Washington University and participate in one of the top 5 business plan competitions in the country! The GW New Venture Competition offers numerous opportunities to help grow and financially support your business ideas and ventures. Last year's finalists competed for cash and in-kind prizes that totaled more than $260,000! To learn how you can be a part of this exciting program, join us for our kick-off event. Tim Hwang, founder and CEO of FiscalNote, will be the guest speaker.
Social Entrepreneurship with Tom Raffa
Wednesday, September 21
5:00 – 7:00 pm
1957 E St NW, Suite 214
Register
Join the GW Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship & Social Impact 360 for a great talk on social entrepreneurship featuring guest speaker, Thomas J. Raffa.
Introduction to I-Corps @ GWU
Thursday, September 22 - Thursday, October 6
9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Marvin Center
More information
We are now accepting applications for the "Introduction to I-Corps @GWU" workshop in the DC metro area. Preference will be given to teams with two or more members, an Entrepreneurial Lead (EL) and a Principal Investigator (PI). An Industry Mentor (IM) is recommended but not required.
Where Do I Start? Workshop with Lex McCusker
Wednesday, September 28
5:30 – 7:00 pm
Funger Hall, Room 103
Register
This workshop is designed for the aspiring entrepreneur who has an idea for a new venture but does not know where to start. If you have an idea for a product or a service that you believe could have a big impact in the “real world” and you think that a new entrepreneurial venture, a startup, might be the best way to move it from being just an idea into a successful implementation, then this workshop is for you.