Lehigh News

Lehigh Engineering Update - July/Aug 2010

Faculty
  • Edwin Kay, associate chair of the computer science and engineering department, has been named a 2010 Fulbright Visiting Scholar. In this capacity, he is heading to Ashesi University College in Ghana this Fall, where he will help develop the university's curriculum in computer science and mathematics. Kay has served during his Lehigh tenure as a Peace Corps volunteer and later a Rotary Scholar in Cameroon, where he taught mathematics and computer science at the University of Buea. In 2001, Kay led a group of Lehigh students to Kenya to set up computer classrooms in remote villages at the base of Mount Kenya.
  • A team of Lehigh researchers -- faculty, students, and alumni -- have reported significant progress in efforts to track the so-called evolution of nanoparticles as they decontaminate groundwater. In early June, Environmental Science and Technology (ES&T), the premier journal in its field, reported on research conducted by Weile Yan, a Ph.D candidate in civil and environmental engineering, with Andrew Herzing '07 Ph.D., a materials research engineer with the National Institute of Standards and Technology; Xiao-Qin Li, who received a Ph.D. in civil and environmental engineering in 2008; Christopher Kiely, professor of materials science and engineering; and Wei-xian Zhang, professor of civil and environmental engineering. The nanoparticles, which were invented by Zhang, average 50 nanometers in diameter (1 nm equals a billionth of a meter). The particles have removed pesticides, vinyl chloride, TCE and other contaminants in 10 states and in Europe and Asia.
  • The Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) Division of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers has recognized two Lehigh faculty members for outstanding achievement. William Schiesser, professor of chemical engineering, has been awarded the 2010 Computing Practice Award for pioneering the application of computational methods in chemical engineering and through widespread dissemination of simulation software to universities, government laboratories, and industry. The Computing Practice Award recognizes outstanding contributions in the practice or application of chemical engineering to computing and systems technology, and is sponsored by Aspen Technology, Inc. and ExxonMobil Chemical Company. Mark Snyder, the P.C. Rossin Assistant Professor of Chemical Engineering, has received the CAST Division's 2010 W. David Smith, Jr. Graduate Publication Award based on his 2003 work Mesoscopic Modeling of Transport and Reaction in Microporous Crystalline Membranes. The award recognizes this work as a foundational computational contribution to the fields of membrane science and multiscale modeling. This work was also recognized with a Chemical Engineering Science Most Cited 2003-2006 Paper Award.
  • Wojciech Misiolek, Loewy Chair of materials forming and processing at Lehigh and professor of materials science and engineering, and his team of researchers in Lehigh's Institute of Metal Forming (IMF) are using the university's renowned electron microscopy labs to study alumina for improved dialysis. They are also studying magnesium as a means of producing lighter, faster, more efficient vehicles. Misiolek is working on these projects with visiting professor Dr. Alejandro Toro, professor of materials science and engineering at the National University of Colombia, William Van Geertruyden '04 Ph.D, general manager of EMV Technologies LLC in Bethlehem, and M. Kylan McQuaig '10G, Lehigh's first Loewy Graduate Fellow, who received an M.S. in May.

Students
  • Students Greg Capece '10, Mike Pankey '10 and Ben Thomas '10 competed in the IIE Student Simulation Competition sponsored by Rockwell Automation at the annual IIE Conference in Cancún, Mexico. The team took second place in the competition, winning cash prizes for the team and for the IIE student chapter club at Lehigh this week.
  • Joe Manganelli '10, Megan Kelleher '10 and Mikell Groover, professor of industrial engineering, were featured in an Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM) video titled Manufacturing the Future of America. This promotional video, geared toward students and other interest groups, focuses on the importance of a revitalized manufacturing base to the American economy.

Alumni
  • Kenneth R. French '75 has received the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the Simon Graduate School of Business at the University of Rochester. A faculty member at Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College, French is an expert on the behavior of security prices and investment strategies, French graduated from Lehigh with a Bachelor's in mechanical engineering. He and co-author Eugene F. Fama are well known for their research into the value effect and the three-factor model, including articles such as The Cross-Section of Expected Stock Returns and Common Risk Factors in the Returns on Stocks and Bonds.
  • Washington, D.C.-based developer Edens & Avant announced today the hiring of Josh Dix '95 as Director of Development. With 15 years in the real estate development and construction industry, Dix, who earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Lehigh has a wealth of experience working on large scale development, construction and finance projects in D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
  • The NanoSteel Company, a leader in nanostructured steel alloy surface technologies, announces the addition of Ken Grieshaber '77 as vice president, sales and business development. Grieshaber will lead all sales activities for the company's first generation Super Hard Steel® alloys for thermal spray coating and weld overlay applications, and contribute to the continued development and future introduction of the company's second and third generation alloy products. Grieshaber earned his Bachelor of Science degree in metallurgical engineering from Lehigh.

Programs
  • Lehigh University's new Office of International Affairs was covered at length in the June 13, 2010 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education. Provost and Dean Emeritus and professor of chemical engineering Mohamed S. El-Aasser was interviewed about the goals and objectives of the new office. The international plan is not about new courses, as important as they may be, he says in the article. It's not about more students. It's about, How do we get them integrated into campus life? How do we get them to teach each other, so that the international students will learn about the American culture and vice versa?
  • The Lehigh Nanotech Network (LNN) held its third Nano for Business conference in latye may, drawing more than 100 representatives of industry, education, and science to Lehigh University's Iacocca Hall. The conference explored nanotechnology market trends, commercial applications such as clean tech and life sciences, funding mechanisms, and partnership opportunities.Also featured were panels on topics such as alternative energy, health and safety, research and education resources, financing, training, workforce development, and partnerships.
  • The 40th annual Lehigh Microscopy School took place June 6-18, 2010, in Whitaker Laboratory at Lehigh University. Engineers, scientists, technicians, and others gathered forhands-on experience and instruction in microscopy, microanalysis, and top-of-the-line instruments. The School was founded by Lehigh faculty member Joe Goldstein in 1970. Four decades later, the School is widely recognized as the largest and best in the world. Over that time, some 5,000 professional microscopists have attended the School, coming from 50 states and 33 countries.

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Wednesday, June 30, 2010