Michigan E-News
March 2004
Welcome to Michigan E-News, an update of happenings at the University of Michigan College of Engineering.
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IN THIS ISSUE:
RESEARCH AND NEWS UPDATES
NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute Awarded to CoE and U-M
Handheld Device Helps Older Adults Remember
Biomedical Engineering Building Under ConstructionBITS--brief stories from the College
Matt O'Donnell Reappointed Biomedical Engineering Chair
Yoram Koren Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Noboru Kikuchi Appointed Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering
ScholarPOWER Honors 200+ Minority Academic Achievers
Regents Recognize 150th AnniversaryALUMNI AND GIVING
We Need Your Help
Something Old, Something New
Double Your GiftRECENT MEDIA COVERAGE
National media responded to the College's work.
NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute Awarded to CoE and U-M
Competing among nearly two dozen proposals from 40 top institutions, U-M and the CoE have been awarded the NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute. The $6.4 million, interdisciplinary award represents NASA's goal "to develop a new generation of space bioengineers" to identify the bioengineering technologies of the future, according to Jim Grotberg, Biomedical Engineering professor and principal investigator. Recognizing the rare combination of research talent, interdisciplinary study and large-scale research environment offered by the College and the University, NASA funded the U-M proposal. Projects will involve molecular biophysics and bioengineering, tissue bioscience and engineering, transport phenomena in biology and devices, and bioMEMS and biomaterials. In addition to Biomedical Engineering, research units will include Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Materials Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, the Medical School, the Dental School, Public Health, Physics, Chemistry and Kinesiology. The Institute also will include a curriculum component.
Handheld Device Helps Older Adults Remember
As baby boomers become senior citizens and health care costs continue to escalate, assistive technologies that enable greater self regulation will become more prevalent. Martha Pollack, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, demonstrated her handheld, artificial-intelligence device designed to assist the elderly with memory tasks at the Future of Aging Services Conference on Tuesday, March 16 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C.
Biomedical Engineering Building Under Construction
Work has begun on the new Biomedical Engineering building to be located just south of Bonisteel Boulevard and west of Beal Avenue. A program and reception to celebrate the start of construction will take place at the Gerald R. Ford Library on Thursday, April 1 at 2 p.m.
Matt O'Donnell Reappointed Biomedical Engineering Chair
Matt O'Donnell, Jerry W. and Carol L. Levin Professor of Engineering, has been reappointed chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering for a five-year term effective September 1, 2004, pending Regental approval. Under O'Donnell's leadership the department has grown significantly. Research funding has increased from $2.1M to $6.9M, an undergraduate degree program has been launched and the department has moved into the new Carl A. Gerstacker Building. A second Biomedical Engineering building is under construction, and the department has helped U-M secure the NASA BioScience and Engineering Institute.
Yoram Koren Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Yoram Koren, Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, has been elected to the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for his "contributions to the science, education, and practice of manufacturing through innovations in reconfigurable manufacturing systems, robotics and manufacturing system control."
Noboru Kikuchi Appointed Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Noboru Kikuchi has been appointed Roger L. McCarthy Professor of Mechanical Engineering, pending Regental approval. Kikuchi serves as chair of the board of the Japan Association for Nonlinear Computer Aided Engineering, director of Toyota Central R&D Laboratory and associate technical advisor, Production Division, Toyota Motor Corporation. This newly endowed professorship is made possible through the generosity of Roger L. McCarthy, who graduated with an AB in Philosophy and a BSE in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 1972. McCarthy is chairman of Exponent Failure Analysis Associates, Inc.
Regents Recognize 150th Anniversary
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| Stephen W. Director, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, accepted the resolution from Regent Andrea Fischer Newman |
The Board of Regents commemorated the sesquicentennial of Michigan Engineering by reading a resolution at the January 15, 2004 Regents meeting at the Lurie Engineering Center. It read in part: "Today the University of Michigan College of Engineering occupies a position of preeminence among the finest schools...Men and women, from all nations, on campus and as alumni, are bettering lives, every day." See more on the event in the University Record.
ScholarPOWER Honors 200+ Minority Academic Achievers
High-achieving underrepresented minority students--224 in all--received recognition at the third annual ScholarPOWER Academic Awards Banquet.
We Need Your Help
Join the Alumni Society Recruiting Committee. Help recruit top high-school students to your alma mater. Each volunteer is assigned three or four students to call. Please email enginrta@umich.edu for details.
Something Old, Something New
The College has purchased lapel pins to commemorate Michigan Engineering's 150th Anniversary. If you are in the area and would like a lapel pin, please stop by the front desk of Lurie Engineering Center to request one.
Custom, high-quality College merchandise is now available online. Brand-name shirts, jackets, gym bags and other items with your choice of Michigan Engineering logo are on sale. Go to www.engin.umich.edu/150th/souvenirs.html. Then, click "Michigan Engineering Apparel," select your item from the Sportswear category and pick your size and logo--standard or anniversary. Submit your mailing information and credit-card number and receive your package within a week--convenient, fast and customized for you.
Double Your Gift
Some 500 companies, subsidiaries, and other organizations match employee gifts to the University of Michigan. Most organizations choose to provide a 1:1 match. Check with your company human resources department for information. To make a gift online, visit: www.engin.umich.edu/alumni/getinvolved/giving/.
"Reducing Microwave Interference," Michigan Public Radio, "Stateside," February 23, 2004
Researchers at the University of Michigan College of Engineering have developed a way to reduce the interference that microwave ovens create in telephones. Professor Ronald Gilgenbach led this research, and he explains why microwaves cause interference, and how he and his team have fixed it.
"Collaboration, alumni base, faculty key to CoE success," University Record front page, January 19, 2004
"Chemistry Highlights 2003," Chemical and Engineering News cover photo, December 22, 2003
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