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Michigan E-News - November 2001

Welcome to Michigan E-News, a periodic update of happenings at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. It is published by the Office of College Relations, Media and Marketing.

If you wish not to receive future newsletters or if you would like to update or add an e-mail address, please scroll to the bottom of this issue.

In this issue :

1. Alumni Weekend a Success

Alumni, family and friends enjoyed a rainy-day football victory over Purdue. The College honored 14 distinguished alumni at the Alumni Society Dinner, dedicated the Class of 2000's Block M gift, celebrated the 70th reunion of the Class of '31E and more during Alumni Weekend. (See various weekend images, an awards recap and the Block M dedication.)

2. More Class Gifts Appear

The College is taking on a new look thanks to the generosity of several classes. In addition to the Class of 2000 Block M, other gifts now installed but yet to be dedicated are the Class of 2001's wolverine near the '47E Pool Plaza and the Class of 1950's emeritus gift, a sculpture by Kenneth Snelson, situated on the grass on Hayward at the end of Beal.

3. World Solar Challenge Is Here

Our solar car team is in Australia, competing against teams from around the globe in the World Solar Challenge, which began November 18 in Darwin. (See a recap of U-M's American Solar Challenge victory.)

4. Media Respond to Solar Car, Palm Pilots in Schools

The College received significant media exposure for the solar car team's victory in the American Solar Challenge and Professor Elliot Soloway's efforts to use Palm Pilots to improve middle-school science education. Following is a listing of national coverage since this spring (links are provided where available):

• Solar Car Team Wins
  • 7/14 Chicago Tribune
  • 7/15 CNN
  • 7/25 National Geographic (TV)
  • 7/26 CNN
  • 7/26 USA Today
  • 7/26 LA Times
  • 7/26 Wired
  • 7/26 MSNBC
  • 7/31 Discover
  • 8/2 Chicago Tribune
• Palm Pilots in Schools
  • 5/3 Business Week
  • 5/8 USA Today
  • 6/28 Wired
  • 8/23 New York Times
  • 8/23 Wired
• Human-Powered Sub Team Wins
  • 7/13 Chronicle of Higher Ed.
• China Degrees
  • 10/22 Chronicle of Higher Education
  • 11/9 Chronicle of Higher Education
• Comet LINEAR
  • 5/18 Science
• Deep Space 1
  • 9/26 New York Times
  • 10/1 Washington Post
• Cleaner Combustion Engine
  • 6/1 Scientific American

5. College Is First to Award American Degrees in China

The College has reached agreement with Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU), one of China's top engineering schools, to become the first non-Chinese academic institution to offer higher education degrees to students in China.

6. EECS Honors the Memory of Claude Shannon; Hosts Dow Lectureship

On November 9 outside of the EECS Atrium, EECS unveiled a statue of information theory founder, computing pioneer and U-M alumnus Claude E. Shannon (BSE EE '36, BSE Math '36).

On November 8 in Chesebrough Auditorium, Dr. Robert Lucky presented the William G. Dow Distinguished Lecture, "Disruptive Technologies Amidst the Storm in Telecommunications."

7. Undergrad Education Holds September 11 "Teach-In"

On November 8 in Chesebrough Auditorium, the office of Undergraduate Education and Center for Research on Learning and Teaching hosted a "teach-in" with College and University scholars to discuss various aspects of the tragedies of September 11: reasons for the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, environmental consequences, aircraft security, bioterrorism, ethical issues and, teaching in the tragic atmosphere that descended upon the nation on September 11.

8. AOSS Professor Receives International Prize; Leads Pioneering Comet Measurement Team

Professor David Young (AOSS) has received the Heinrich Greinacher Prize from the International Space Science Institute in Bern, Switzerland, for his study of dynamic processes in the Earth's magnetosphere, and for his work on new space-borne instrumentation for research into space plasmas. Professor Young also led the measurement team for Deep Space 1, which gave researchers the best look ever inside any comet.

9. EECS Professor Earns Outstanding Paper Honors

Professor Stephane Lafortune (EECS) has won the 2001 George S. Axelby Outstanding Paper Award from the IEEE Control Systems Society for "Decentralized Supervisory Control with Communicating Controllers," IEEE TAC 45 (September 2000).

10. New Center for Space Environment Modeling

An interdisciplinary group of faculty and students--building on their pioneering, high-performance computational models of the space environment--have formed the Center for Space Environment Modeling (CSEM). The director of this new center is Professor Tamas Gombosi (AOSS), assisted by co-directors Research Scientist Robert Clauer (AOSS), Professor Kenneth Powell (AeroE) and Professor Quentin Stout (EECS).

11. Faculty and Staff Moves

Professor Nikolaos D. Katopodes has assumed the chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Katopodes has been on the College's faculty the past twenty years. During his tenure, he has earned both Excellence in Teaching and Excellence in Research honors. He replaces Professor Dick Woods.

Eighteen new faculty joined the College this fall: seven in EECS; four in ME; two each in BiomedE and CEE; and one each in AeroE, MSE and NAME.

Jim Bean, associate dean for graduate education, has been appointed associate dean for academic affairs, pending regental approval, effective January 1, 2002. He replaces Linda Katehi, who will become the dean of engineering at Purdue University.

12. Graduate Student Recruiting Events Planned

To increase the quality and diversity of our graduate students, the College will sponsor various recruiting functions this year:

• November--pilot open house for prospective applicants (EECS, ME and InterPro focus)
• February--IMPACT, a weekend for the nation's top underrepresented minority engineering and science students
• March--special program for the College's top engineering undergraduates to promote graduate education

13. Graduate Student Mentors to Help Graduate Student Instructors

In order to help Graduate Student Instructors (GSIs) do a better job of teaching and supporting courses, the College has developed a program of Graduate Student Mentors (GSMs). A GSM is a graduate student with substantial experience and success at being a GSI. GSMs are trained by the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching, compensated by the College, and work with about 20 GSIs each. GSMs can help GSIs with mid-term course evaluations, issues that arise during a course, and pedagogic techniques.

14. Help Wanted: Technology Commercialization; Student Recruitment

If you would like to help the College evaluate commercialization of research opportunities, or would want to provide marketing, networking or funding support for such efforts, we need you. Respond to faley@engin.umich.edu or (734)647-7080. (See the College's technology transfer website for more information.)

Alumni also are needed to help recruit top high school scholars who are prospective Michigan Engineering students. Volunteers will be given 3-4 students to phone in January and February 2002. For more information, e-mail Engin.Alumni.Relations@umich.edu.

15. Tishman and Lurie Named Honorary Campaign Co-Chairs

Ann Lurie, president of Lurie Investments, Inc., and John Tishman (BSE EE '46, HDENG '00), chairman and CEO of Tishman Realty & Construction Company, have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs of the College's 150th anniversary campaign committee. Co-chairs of the committee are Jerry Levin (BSE EE '66, BSE EM '67), chairman and CEO of Sunbeam Corporation, and Kevin O'Connor (BSE EE '83), chairman of DoubleClick, Inc.

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