December 6 - 12, 2010

Newsletter

December 6, 2010

Faculty  News

Media Mentions:

Prof. Lance Hoffman, CSPRI director, and Prof. Diana Burley, a CSPRI researcher in the Graduate School of Education and Human Development are quoted (along with other cyber security experts) in the December 3 issue of Science Careers in an article about "Battling Cyber Threats" and the cyber security job market.  The GW scholarship program that Prof. Hoffman describes in that article is now recruiting students for fall 2011; details about it are at www.seas.gwu.edu/cybercorps.

Awards & Honors:

Visiting professor Ken Chong (MAE) has been selected to receive the 2011 Ted Belytschko Applied Mechanics Award from ASME.  The award is given to an outstanding individual for significant contributions in the practice of engineering mechanics.

Papers:

Prof. Tianshu Li (CEE) has co-authored the following paper with his collaborators at UC Berkeley: D.C. Chrzan, M.P. Sherburne, Y. Hanlumyuang, T. Li, and J.W. Morris, Jr. "Spreading of dislocation cores in elastically anisotropic body-centered-cubic materials: The case of gum metal" in Physical Review B.

Conferences & Presentations:

Prof. Michael Plesniak (MAE chair) attended the 63rd annual meeting of the American Physical Society (APS) Division of Fluid Dynamics in Long Beach CA, November 21-23.  He chaired the Biofluids: Physiological Respiratory session and made three presentations with his students and collaborators, including MAE post doctoral scholars, Byron Erath and Kartik Bulusu;  MS student Autumn Glenn; and National Cathedral School high school intern, Penelope Seagrave.  The presentations were as follows: "The impact of asymmetric flows on pathological speech ," "Secondary flow structure from stent-induced perturbations in a bent pipe model for curved arteries," and "Secondary flow structures under simple harmonic inflow in a bent pipe model for curved arteries."  Prof. Plesniak also participated in the meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics executive committee.

Other:

Prof. Lijie Zhang (MAE) has the most downloaded article from the journal NanoToday (impact factor: 13.237). The article is entitled "Nanotechnology and nanomaterials: Promises for improved tissue regeneration " and covers recent advancements in the use of nanotechnology to improve tissue growth for numerous implant applications.

Student News

ECE doctoral student Chia-Pin Chang and her advisors, Profs. David Nagel and Mona Zaghloul, have recently had two papers published:  1) "Computational Methodology for Absolute Calibration Curves for Microfluidic Optical Analyses", Chia-Pin Chang, David J Nagel, and Mona E Zaghloul, Sensors. 2010; 10(7):6730-6750; and 2) "Irradiance Dependance of Photobleaching of Resorufin", Chia-Pin Chang, David J Nagel, and Mona E Zaghloul, Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology A: Chemistry, (In Press).

CS doctoral candidate Erhan Guven won third place for best paper at the 20th annual ANNIE (Artificial Neural Networks in Engineering) Conference in November.  ANNIE is a strictly refereed, highly respected conference in the field of machine learning and AI.  Erhan's paper, entitled "Recognition of Emotions in Human Speech," was the only student paper (out of 80) in the top three.  His doctoral research is being directed by Prof. Peter Bock.

The Washington DC Post of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) has presented Allison Hogarth, a junior in mechanical engineering, with a 2010 SAME Award.  The award includes a $2,500 grant.

Other News

The SEAS 5th Annual Student Research & Development Showcase will be held during Engineers Week this year (on Wednesday, February 23), and all SEAS students - graduate and undergraduate - are invited to participate. 

Prizes for the Showcase are as follows:

  • 1st Place-$5,000
  • 2nd Place-$4,000
  • 3rd Place-$3,000

In addition, mentors of the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will each receive $1,000 to be used toward research.

Prize winners will attend a VIP reception following the event.  They will also show their research at the Business Alliance's Mid-Atlantic Innovation Showcase in April 2011.

As information becomes available, it will be posted in the newsletter and on the R&D Showcase web page, www.seas.gwu.edu/RDShowcaseRegistration for the Showcase is due to Mike Veedock (106 Tompkins Hall) by Wednesday, December 22, 2010.  Please visit the link above to download the registration form.

The Cyber Security Policy and Research Institute (CSPRI) of SEAS has awarded 59 full-ride scholarships to GW students since 2002 to study computer security and is now recruiting applicants for 2011-2013.  Rising juniors, seniors, and graduate students who are U. S. citizens can apply.  

Guest Vignette

Professor James Lee conducts research, and has published more than 150 technical articles, in several fields, including solid mechanics, microcontinuum physics, nanoscience, robotics, control theory, molecular dynamics, finite element method, meshless method, fracture mechanics, etc.  His recent research focuses on multiscale material modeling, micropolar fluid dynamics, and molecular dynamics simulation.

In the area of multiscale material modeling, Professor Lee and his research group are using atomistic field theory to bridge the gap between atoms and continua. Recently, he received a $1 million dollar research grant, along with Professor Azim Eskandarian (CEE), from the U.S. Department of Transportation to study "Nano Material Modeling and Simulation by New Multiple Length/Time Scale Theories and Algorithms."  Three of his doctoral students are now working on this project, while another of his doctoral students is developing finite element computer software to study micromorphic elasticity.

In the area of micropolar fluid dynamics (MFD), Professor Lee, Professor Chunlei Liang (MAE), and their doctoral student are developing numerical methods to explore the feasibility of applying MFD to microfludics.  In the area of molecular dynamics simulation, Professor Lee and his research group work on the mechanics of materials at the nano scale. His doctoral students are contributing on composite materials, impact, cutting, heat transfer, and electro-mechanical coupling. In applications, he and his research group extend their theoretical studies to practical problems, including energy, biomaterials and biophysics. They have published several journal articles and conference papers in the fields of nano-piezoelectricity, bone fracture and biosensors.

Professor Lee has published two textbooks:  Elasticity in Engineering Mechanics, with Professor Arthur Boresi (University of Wyoming) and Professor Ken Chong; and Meshless Methods in Solid Mechanics, with Professor Youping Chen (University of Florida) and Professor Azim Eskandarian. (Provided courtesy of Prof. James D. Lee of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

Upcoming

MAE Seminar: Biological Micro-Fluidics: Lessons from Insects
David Hu, Georgia Institute of Technology
Monday, December 6
11:00 am - 12:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall
 

Entrepreneurship Events

SEAS Entrepreneurship Seminar Series
Entrepreneurship within a Corporate Environment: Lessons from SAIC
Tuesday, December 7
5:30 - 7:30 pm
103 Funger Hall
 

ACTiVATE at GW: Women's Entrepreneurship
Information sessions: December 9 and 14
6:00 - 9:00 pm
 

GW Business Plan Competition
Materials due: Monday, January 31, 2011

 

SEAS Career Services Office

Clark Construction Group
Information Session
Monday, December 6
4:30 - 5:30 pm
Dean's Conference Room, Tompkins Hall
*RSVP required by Friday, December 3 to: [email protected].  Please put "RSVP Clark Construction Information Session" in the subject line of the email.

Kiewit Building Group
Information Session
Monday, December 6th
6:00 - 8:00 pm 
Marvin Center, Room 302
Note: On campus interviews will take place on Tuesday, December 7 from 8:00 am - 9:00 pm.

 

Dissertation Defenses

Name of Student Defending:  Chia-Pin Chang
Title of Dissertation: "Design, Development and Testings of a Fluorescence-based Microfluidic System for Uric Acid Analysis of Clinical Samples"
Department: ECE
Advisors: Profs. David Nagel and Mona Zaghloul
Tuesday, December 7
2:00 - 4:00 pm
309 Tompkins Hall