March 26 - April 1, 2012

Newsletter

March 26, 2012

Faculty News

Research:

Prof. Jason Zara (ECE) and his collaborators,Prof. Michael Keidar (MAE) and GW Profs. Mary Ann Stepp and Dr. Nader Sadeghi, were selected to receive a 2012 Katzen Cancer Research Center Pilot Study Research Grant for their application, titled "Concurrent Imaging and Treatment of Epithelial Cancers Using Optical Coherence Tomography and Cold Plasmas." The one-year project has a budget of $75,000.

Books and Papers:

Prof. Ken Chong (MAE) and his former post-doctoral student, Prof. Kuruppu of Curtin University in Australia, published the following paper recently: Kuruppu, M. D., and Chong, K. P., "Fracture toughness testing of brittle materials using semi-circular bend (SCB) specimen" Elsevier Journal of Engineering Fracture Mechanics, 2012; DOI information: 0.1016/j.engfracmech.2012.01.013. The semi-circular bend (SCB) fracture specimen was invented by Prof. Chong and is now considered a world standard for fracture testing of brittle materials.

Members of the Institute for Magnetics Research recently published the following papers:

  • L. H. Bennett, V. Provenzano, and E. Della Torre, "Ferri- to ferro-magnetic transition in the martensitic phase of a Heusler alloy," Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 34-38, March 2012.
  • Y. Jin, E. Della Torre, L.H. Bennett, "Self-similarity in Curves for Magnetocaloric Materials," Journal of Applied Physics, 2012.
  • E. Della Torre, L. H. Bennett, Y. Jin, "An effect of particle size on the behavior of ferromagnetic materials," Journal of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, March 2012.
  • S. Gu, Y. Jin, G. Kahler, Zhang, P. Chen, M. Ghahremani, E. Della Torre. L. H. Bennett, "Interpretation of thermal dependence of magnetic aftereffect for magnetic nanocomposite with slow decay rates," International Journal of Smart and Nano Materials, 2012.

Conferences and Presentations:

Prof. Philippe Bardet (MAE) organized and moderated "Nuclear Policy Talks: Aftermath of the Fukushima Dai-ichi Accident" at GW on March 16. The panel discussion addressed the policies that nuclear safety agencies have adopted after the accident to keep the public safe, and the effect the accident will have on future construction of nuclear reactors. The panel was composed of international regulators who presented the initiatives taken by their agencies following the accident. Slides of the panel presentations are also available at the link above.

Prof. Jason Zara (ECE) gave an invited talk at the Northeast Bioengineering Conference at Temple University on March 17. The talk was titled "Optical and Mechanical Interrogation of Epithelial Tissues for Cancer Detection." He also gave an invited talk at the Metropolitan Biophotonics Symposium at Johns Hopkins University on March 18. The title of that talk was "Optical/Acoustic Radiation Force Imaging (OARI) Probe."

Other News:

GW's Office of the Vice President (OVPR) recently announced a series of video advertisements designed to highlight the work of GW researchers. The television ad campaign began airing on WJLA channel 7 this month with two ads. Prof. Azim Eskandarian (CEE) is one of the two GW faculty whose research was spotlighted in the campaign launch. His video spot is available on the OVPR website.

Prof. Taeyoung Lee (MAE) has been awarded the 2012 Air Force Summer Faculty Fellowship. Under the fellowship, he is invited to Kirtland Air Force Base at Albuquerque, NM, to conduct research on "Vision-Based Spacecraft Relative Attitude Control and Estimation for High-Precision Close-Proximity Missions."

Student News

Junfeng Wang, a Ph.D. student in Prof. Chunlei Liang's (MAE) research group, has received a Newkirk Fellowship from the National Center for Atmospheric Research. The Newkirk Fellowship is named in honor of Gordon A. Newkirk Jr., an astrophysicist and former director of High Altitude Observatory at the NCAR. The fellowship covers a stipend of $21,514, as well as tuition support for a year, beginning June 1. Extension will be made based on Mr. Wang's satisfactory performance at both the NCAR and GW.

Other News

SEAS is a sponsor of the 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival (April 27-29), a collaborative effort of the global STEM community to re-invigorate the interest of our nation's youth in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). As part of the Festival, SEAS will host a FREE, one-of-a-kind panel discussion and book signing with best-selling science author-pioneer, Robin Cook; Wolfram Mathematica co-founder and pictorial periodic table pioneer, Theodore Gray; engineer and practical pyromaniac, William Gurstelle; retired rocket scientist and author of October Sky, Homer Hickam; award-winning history and science storyteller, Joy Hakim; and physician, philanthropist, and writer, Pendred Noyce. Shawn Lawrence Otto will moderate the discussion. The discussion and book signing will take place on April 28, from 7:30 to 10:00 pm. To learn more details about the event and to register, please visit: http://bookfairevening.eventbrite.com/.

Guest Vignette

On February 22, 17 SEAS undergraduates taking the course "Fundamentals of Systems Engineering" spent the afternoon at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. Systems engineering as a discipline is taken very seriously at NASA, due to the complex design and operational requirements of space missions, which involve the close coordination of hundreds of engineers and scientists from widely diverse, specialized fields. Students first met with Christyl Johnson, Goddard's Deputy Director for Science and Technology, who has been a part time doctoral student in EMSE and will graduate this May. Johnson encouraged the students to submit applications to Goddard's newly expanded summer internship program.

They then met with system engineers working on the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), who showed them the enormous clean room where telescope and instrument subsystems are being integrated and tested. Much of the systems documentation for the JWST is publicly available online, and students have been using it as a case study. EMSE Professors Michael Duffey and Zoe Szajnfarber (whose research has addressed innovation at Goddard and other NASA Centers) have been working with the students to develop engineering projects for public spaces on the GW campus, applying systems concepts adapted from their study of NASA practices. (Provided courtesy of Prof. Michael Duffey of the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering)

SEAS Events

ECE Seminar: "Imaging the Developing Brain . . . From Signals and Images to Early and Accurate Diagnosis"
Drs. Catherine Limperopoulos, Iordanis Evangelou, and Cedric Clouchoux; Advanced Pediatric Brain
Imaging Laboratory, Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Children's National Medical Center
Monday, March 26
1:00 - 2:00 pm
640 Phillips Hall

MAE Seminar: "Exploring Hypersonic Flow using Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence"
Dr. Paul M. Danehy, NASA Langley Research Center
Monday, March 26
2:30 pm
771 Academic Center

Panel Discussion: "After the Earthquake and Tsunami: Japan's Nuclear, Economic, and Political
Challenges-One Year Later"
Wednesday, March 28
12:00 - 1:30 pm
Lindner Family Commons, Room 602
1957 E Street, NW

Free COMSOL Multiphysics Workshop at GW
Tuesday, April 3
AM Session: (The AM and PM sessions are identical)
9:30 - 11:00 am: Intro and Live Demo
11:00 - 12:30 pm: Hands-on Session
PM Session: (The AM and PM sessions are identical)
1:30pm - 3:00pm Intro and Live Demo
3:00pm - 4:30pm Hands-on Session
736 Phillips Hall

ECE Colloquium: "Memory System for Extreme-Scale Computing"
Professor Xian-He Sun, Illinois Institute of Technology
Friday, April 6
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
640 Phillips Hall

Frank Howard Distinguished Lecture: "Why We Won't Solve the Cybersecurity Problem"
Professor Eugene Spafford, Purdue University
Wednesday, April 11
6:30 pm
B07 Media & Public Affairs Bldg

SEAS Faculty Awards Presentation
Thursday, April 12
3:00 - 5:00 pm
310 Marvin Center

MAE Seminar: "Imaging Tissue Optical Properties Using the Interaction of Light and Sound"
Ronald A. Roy, Boston University, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
Thursday, April 19
2:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall

GWIN Seminar: "Deduction of Mechanical Properties of Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene Sheet from
Molecular Statics/Dynamics Simulations"
R. C. Batra, Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, Virginia Polytechnic
Friday, April 27
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
640 Phillips Hall

Save the Date: SEAS Graduation Celebration
Friday, May 18
7:30 pm
Smith Center (a reception in the Marvin Center Ballrooms precedes the event)

Entrepreneurship Events

The Dolphin Tank: We Swim Alongside You
Wednesday, March 28
6:00 - 8:00 pm
108 Funger Hall

The Power of Angel Investing: Become a Mentor Capitalist
Thursday, March 29
3:00 - 7:30 pm
Virginia Science and Technology Campus, 20101 Academic Way, Ashburn, VA

Entrepreneurs on the Potomac (a cruise on the Potomac River)
Saturday, March 31
5:30 pm
Note: GW students receive a special discount for this event. RSVP online and email your student
status to receive the discount.

Business Plan Competition Finals
Friday, April 13
9:30 am - 6:30 pm
Duques Hall 6th Floor
More details to come