cuaengineerTHE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA FALL 2009 ISSUE

CUA Members of Engineers Without Borders Chapter participate in a freshwater project in El Salvador

New Faculty and Staff .............................inside front cover

Dean’s Message ...............................................................1

Original “Wireless” CommunicatorsKey Kilic Research .......................................................2

Inspired by the PastProfessor Aims for the Future .....................................3

CUA Engineers Use Robotic Technologyto Help Stroke Patients ................................................4

Research Provides Basis for More Efficient Rehabilitation .......................................5

Sloan Scholar Faculty Mentors Connect in Tampa .........6

Showing How It’s Done ....................................................6

Diet Coke and Mentos Takes Off as Yearly Event ...........7

Celebrating Engineering CUA Style .................................7

Steel Bridge Competition Tests Students’ Mettle ...........8

Wall of Fame Unveiled......................................................9

Reinstituting NSBE at CUA ...............................................9

International Programs Going Strong ...........................10

First Graduate Students from Vietnam Join CUA..........11

Engineers Without Borders Returns to El Salvador ......12

Biomedical Engineering SpearheadsNew Collaborations with FDA ....................................14

Electrical Engineering to Offer New Concentrationon Alternative and Renewable Energy ......................14

School of Engineering Hosts Metropolitan Biophotonics Seminar ........................15

Engineering Establishes Collaborative Agreementswith Local Community Colleges ................................15

Alumna Works on Earth so Others Can Work in the Heavens...............................16

CUA Engineering Dean Recognized forAchievements in Robotics .........................................16

2009–2010 Nagel Scholars:A List of Who’s Who in CUA Engineering ..................17

CUA Biomedical Engineering Major Awarded Prestigious Goldwater Scholarship ...........................17

Sixteen Hennessy Distinguished Scholars Named .................................17

Faculty Awardees Honored at School’s Year-End Luncheon .....................................18

Alumni Career Updates ..................................................18

Faculty Scholarly Activity ..............................................20

Student Awards ..............................................................27

Pao Retires After 45 Years of Service at CUA.....................................inside back cover

Strategic Plan 2012:Engineering Exceeding Targets ..........inside back cover

Congratulations to theClass of 2009 .................................................back cover

Ph.D. Dissertations and Advisers .....................back cover

School of EngineeringAdministration...............................................back cover

Table of Contents

New Faculty and Staff

Rene D. Gabbai, Ph.D.Rene D. Gabbai, Ph.D., comes to CUA as an assistant professor ofmechanical engineering from a position as an engineer with 2HOffshore, Inc. of Houston, Texas. Gabbai earned his doctoral degree in2005 in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Rutgers, The StateUniversity of New Jersey, Piscataway. He received his B.S. and M.S.degrees in biomedical engineering from the University of Miami.

Before joining 2H Offshore in 2007, Gabbai was a National Research Council postdoctoralresearch associate in Wind Engineering at the Building and Fire Research Laboratory of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. His research interests include reduced-order models that capture structural response to vortex shedding, structural response toextreme environmental events and wind energy.

Tobias Nef, Ph.D.Tobias Nef, Ph.D., joined the Department of Biomedical Engineering as an assistant professor in January 2009. He is also currently a senior research scientist at the National Rehabilitation Hospital. Nefreceived his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Swiss FederalInstitute of Technology Zurich and University of Zurich, Switzerland, in 2007, and M.S. in electrical engineering, from the Swiss Federal

Institute of Technology Lausanne, Switzerland, in 2002. His research interests are robot-aided neurorehabilitation of the upper and lower extremities, and robot-supported trainingof activities of daily living and patient-cooperative control strategies. He is internationallywell-known for the development of the arm therapy robot ARMin.

Class of 2009 at E-Week Engineering Ball.

Dean’s Message

fall2009 | 1

June 1, 2009, marks thecompletion of my secondterm as dean of the Schoolof Engineering. Looking backon those eight years, I cansay that we started with a lotof uncertainties in 2001 butthat the school has beentransformed into a very stableone with excellent facultymorale, high faculty produc-tivity, clear expectations forfaculty performance, lowfaculty turnover rate, stableenrollment at both under-graduate and graduate levels,and significant achievementin alumni relations and development. This success is thanks to the cooperation

of faculty, students, staff and alumni with the strong support of the CUA ad-ministration. As in past years, in 2008–2009 the school achieved significantmilestones in all aspects, including faculty research productivity, enrollment,accreditation and development. I am excited about reporting them to you.

� Our faculty continued to be very active and successful in journal publica-tion, extramural research funding and service to professional societies.According to data provided by the CUA Office of Sponsored Research, the total new research funding for the academic year 2008–2009 wasmore than $2.5 million. Put another way, for 23 research faculty mem-bers, we have obtained an average of $85,000 per faculty member peryear for external research funding.

� In the fall 2008 semester, the school welcomed 91 new undergraduatestudents, including two transfer students. Thirty-five new graduate students joined the school. These figures represent a 27.47 percent increase from last year’s new undergraduate students of 66 and a 5 percent increase from last year’s new graduate students of 33. During2008–2009, the school granted 53 bachelor’s degrees, 60 master’s degrees and three doctoral degrees. The list of graduates is on the backcover of this issue.

� The school continues to carry out ABET accreditation activities for the engineering programs, especially to assess the program outcomes, whichinclude conducting surveys, course evaluations, FE exam and annual eval-uation of program outcome achievement, etc. The school’s AccreditationHandbook is being revised to establish a multiyear calendar for accreditationactivities until the next general review that will take place during the academic year 2013–2014.

� The school welcomes two new faculty members — an assistant professorof biomedical engineering who joined the school in January 2009 and anassistant professor who joined the Department of Mechanical Engineeringin September 2009.

� Under the existing student exchange program between Hong Kong Poly-technic University (PolyU) and CUA, eight students from PolyU came tostudy at CUA during the spring semester 2009. We received one studentfrom the International University of the Vietnam National University-Ho ChiMinh City (HCMIU) for the 2+2 program and two graduate students fromDanang University of Technology who came to CUA to pursue doctoral de-grees in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

� In June 2008, I visited the University of Technology of the Vietnam NationalUniversity System in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, to explore research andeducational opportunities with this university. The School of Engineeringalso signed a general Memorandum of Understanding with the DanangUniversity of Technology for the two institutions to start exploring researchand educational collaboration.

� In January 2009, I traveled to Vietnam and attended the Conference ofHigher Education in Vietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships, sponsoredby the U.S. Embassy, and met with numerous Vietnamese academic andgovernment leaders and American university administrators that have educational programs in Vietnam. During this trip I also visited the DanangUniversity of Technology in Danang, Vietnam and signed an agreement withthat university for a 2+2 program to bring undergraduate students to CUA.

� In February 2009, I received the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award fromthe District of Columbia Council of Engineering and Architectural Societiesfor research work in robotics and automation. See the article, page 16.

� In October 2008, we officially inaugurated the Wall of Fame located in the Pangborn Alumni Garden and entered the names of three prominentalumni of the School of Engineering on the wall. During the Wall of Fameinauguration, we also revealed the Wall of Benefactors and the Wall ofAlumni Awards. For more details, please see the associated article, page 9in this issue.

� In May 2009, we launched a new project called Wall of Achievements tolist the names of students graduating from the School of Engineering.Graduating students in a particular year can have their names engravedon this wall with a donation to CUA.

The progress and success the School of Engineering achieved over the last eight years have made me very proud as its dean. I am very happy toannounce that the president of The Catholic University of America, Very Rev.David M. O’Connell, C.M., offered me an opportunity to serve a third term asdean and I gladly accepted his offer. I began my third term on Sept. 1. I amgrateful to you for your continuing support and look forward to working withyou in the next four years.

Regards,

Charles Cuong NguyenDean, School of Engineeringnguyen@cua.edu

cuaengineer

2 | cuaengineer

Faculty ProfileOriginal “Wireless” Communicators Key Kilic ResearchWhen it comes to sophisticated communications, it’s hard to beat bees andants. Bees rapidly communicate to the hive where the best sources of nectarcan be found, as well as flowers that have been tapped out; ants quicklyform ant supply lines along the shortest distance between newly found foodand their nest, despite being almost blind.

These time-tested patterns of communication are now being used to design and optimize smart antennas and advanced rf material in OzlemKilic’s research for the U.S. military. With the support of grants from the ArmyResearch Office and the Office of Naval Research, Kilic, assistant professorof electrical engineering and computer science, implements these and other algorithms derived from nature on a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based computer platform, which offers more speed and flexibility than a regular PC. “It’s like a custom chip that you can wire yourself to do a specifictask very efficiently,” she says, “But the beautiful thing is that it can berewired in milliseconds to perform a different task each time.” And she’sfinding success on all fronts. “Recently in a very nice finding,” she says, “we ran our ant colony optimization algorithm to design a phased array antenna and achieved significant improvement in speed (over 60,000 timesfaster) compared to conventional programming techniques on a regular PC.Something that would normally take weeks was taking seconds to run onthis system.”

The combination of an extremely flexible computer platform that enablesparallel computing for numerically intensive computations and nature-in-spired optimization algorithms that can be parallelized is a winning one forthe military. “The military deals with many challenging problems. One of the

main drivers is to be able to operate under any circumstances,” says Kilic.Operation here means being able to simultaneously establish high data ratecommunication links, and carry out target acquisition and detection and missile guidance with a single antenna. “They want to do all that, of course,without being detected and while mobilized,” says Kilic. That means usingsmart antennas that receive and send a multitude of messages. Designingand simulating the performance of these antennas within their operation environment is a very difficult task. “With the nature-based algorithms andthe FPGA, one can enable solutions which would otherwise be impossible.”

At this point in her research, Kilic is simulating optimization, amassing information about how such systems behave in order to be able to manufac-ture smart antennas and rf material that function as they are expected to.“You need sophisticated tools to simulate these systems. But with suchcomplex information, so many layers, it’s difficult to do.”

“With the system I have—fast and adept—we can do things otherwisenot possible with regular PCs.”

“Why not use supercomputers?” Kilic asks. “They come at too high aprice. My system is more affordable, deployable and energy efficient; it offers the best option now and for the future.

Kilic is also investigating genetic and immune system algorithms in parallelto the ant and bee systems. “We have been implementing all of these algo-rithms to optimize antennas and other devices for electromagnetics applica-tions,” she says. “They will enable us to solve those challenging problemsand optimize for desired performance in a reasonable amount of time.”

Professor Ozlem Kilic

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 3

Faculty ProfileInspired by the PastProfessor Aims for the Future

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering Zhaoyang Wang has been inspired to higher levels of innovative thinking by the model of the late A. J.Durelli, Ph.D., a CUA professor of mechanical engineering from 1969 to hisretirement in 1975, who has often been called “the most outstanding 20thcentury experimental stress analyst in the world.”

Durelli died in 2000, just shy of his 90th birthday, but his legacy lives onthrough the Society of Experimental Mechanics’ A. J. Durelli Award. Presentedevery other year, the award recognizes young experimental mechanics researchers who “have introduced or helped to introduce an innovativeapproach and/or method into the field of experimental mechanics.” A mem-ber of the Society of Experimental Mechanics and co-chair of the society’sElectronic Packaging Committee, Wang has his eye on this prize as a goal for himself and for CUA’s storied Department of Mechanical Engineering.

“Professor Durelli set the bar very high and it’s very questionable whetheranyone can reach that standard,” Wang says. “But I want to try.”

Wang is making good progress. One of his innovations, a random phaseshifting algorithm, “has fundamentally changed the way phase shifting tech-nique can be implemented, making implementation much more accurateand extremely convenient,” says Wang. Software developers have alreadyadopted the algorithm. He has received grants from the Air Force Office ofScientific Research for work on nanomechanics. For another project fundedby the National Science Foundation, Wang and his students are working toestablish an open-source Internet platform that enables the experimentalmechanics and optics communities to share resources and collaborate at

the forefront of research and education. “Although it will take some time to complete,” Wang says, “we will devote whatever time is necessary to get it upand running.”

Over the past three years, Wang, with students John Barnes, B.M.E. 2009, and Dung Nguyen, B.M.E. 2011, have developed a low-cost, real-time,noncontact 3D imaging system, funded in part by a $14,500 grant from theNational Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance. Barnes, Nguyen andWang demonstrated the prototype this spring at March Madness for theMind, held at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. (Seestory, page 6.)

Wang explains that the limits of existing 3D imaging systems impelledhim to search for a new technique. “For maximum accuracy in existingstructure-light based 3D imaging systems, components must be specificallylocated and oriented and geometrical and other parameters must be preciselydetermined in advance.” Real life, however, presents many uncertainties inthose parameters, so measurement accuracies are substantially limited.

Wang’s imaging system uses a light pattern and a single camera to preserve the integrity of the object and, he says, “to allow the system com-ponents to be arbitrarily positioned with no need to measure the geometricaland other parameters.”

He concludes, “Overall, the technique is very fast, very accurate, low in cost, broad in range, full-field, and easy to implement. It is significantlysuperior to existing 3D imaging systems.”

Professor Zhaoyang Wang

cuaengineer

4 | cuaengineer

CUA Engineers Use Robotic Technology to Help Stroke PatientsStroke, caused by a disturbance in the blood supply to the brain, affects morethan 780,000 people in the United States each year. The body can be disabledin a variety of ways, including the inability to move the limbs on one side ofthe body, understand or formulate speech, see one side of the visual field, or a combination of these. Rehabilitation organizations such as the NationalRehabilitation Hospital (NRH) treat patients through a combination of one-on-one physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy.

Robotics to the Rescue

Occupational therapy focuses on exercises and training of everyday activitiesknown as Activities of Daily Living (ADL) such as eating, drinking, dressing,cooking, reading and writing. To be most effective, movement training mustbe intensive, repetitive and of long duration. However, one-on-one manualtherapy is often not long and intensive enough to achieve optimal therapeuticoutcome. Robotic technology can help.

Under the direction of CUA Associate Professor of Biomedical EngineeringPeter Lum, the Center for Applied Biomechanics and Rehabilitation Researchat NRH is investigating robot-supported training of the upper and the lowerextremities. In collaboration with the Swiss Federal Institute of Technologyand the University of Zurich, Switzerland, the center recently received anARMin arm therapy robot, developed by Assistant Professor of BiomedicalEngineering Tobias Nef. The ARMin device consists of a robotic arm that connects to the affected arm of the patients. Its six electrical motors supportand guide the patient’s shoulder, elbow, lower arm and wrist.

The ARMin allows control of the position and orientation of all joints of thehuman arm, unlike other rehabilitation robots, where the feasible arm move-ments are limited. This broad spectrum of control makes the device wellsuited for the training of ADL movements with many involved joints. Current

research focuses on training patients to eat, drink, wash and perform otherADL activities. The scientific challenge, however, is to find optimal trainingparadigms to determine how and how much the robotic device should sup-port the patient.

The photo below shows the research work that CUA graduate student inbiomedical engineering Elizabeth Brokaw is working on. This work extendsthe device with a hand module that supports the opening and closing of thehand. The device senses how much force and torque the patient can deliver,and “patient-cooperative control strategies” support the patient as much asneeded. In other words, the ARMin-robot measures the contribution of thepatient to the movement and provides the remaining part required tocomplete the desired motion so that the training is as intensive as possible,which enhances the patient’s active participation.

Integral to the system is a computer monitor that presents differentmovement tasks to the patient. Game-like training scenarios, including ballgames, labyrinths and ping-pong, motivate the patient to perform repetitivetraining of long duration. In clinical tests with chronic stroke patients, it hasbeen shown that the combination of motivating games and patient coopera-tive-controllers that support the patient only as much as necessary led tovery active participation of the patient and thus to a highly intensive training.

In a pilot study, eight chronic stroke patients, whose progress in recover-ing lost abilities had reached a plateau, received ARMin training sessionsover eight weeks.

Results Hold Promise

The research showed that most participating stroke patients experiencedimportant improvements in motor performance. Ongoing clinical studies atthe NRH and in several clinics in Switzerland aim to confirm these findings.

Arm therapy with the ARMin device.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 5

Whether shaking someone’s hand or bringing aspoonful of cereal to your mouth, controlling yourarm is critical to performing everyday tasks.Some people who have suffered neurological ororthopedic injuries find completing those simplereaching movements difficult if not impossible.

Working with CUA Associate Professor PeterLum and Dr. Alex Dromerick of the National Rehabilitation Hospital, we examined reachingbehaviors of stroke patients, who have intactarms but damaged neurological systems, andthose of upper extremity amputees, who have intact brains but damaged arms. Both groups experience problems reaching.

Stroke Patients

We analyzed stroke patients’ arm motions inthree dimensions through ultrasound markersplaced on the joints, examining the exact armconfiguration and trajectory during simple reach-ing tasks. Patients performed five reachingmovements: reaching to a target, reaching from

their nose to a target, bringing their hand to theirmouth, reaching to their opposite shoulder, andtapping their finger. We made observations whenpatients were admitted and at discharge to iden-tify how their reaching behavior changed duringthe recovery process. We hope to be able to draw conclusions on how the brain restructuresits neuromuscular control strategies after a severe injury.

Prosthetic Users

Many patients can be fit with a prosthetic deviceto replace their native limb after an upper-ex-tremity amputation. However, these devices arenot able to restore arm functionality to its previ-ous state. Understanding the existing reachingcapabilities of prosthetic users can provide direc-tion toward the development of newer prostheticdevices and improved rehabilitation trainingstrategies. In a study examining the reaching behavior of prosthetic users in a horizontal planeonly, the task required proper shoulder and elbow

rotation in order to successfully reach to a de-sired target. We used a shoulder-elbow robot toeliminate visual feedback on the location inspace of our subject’s arm. The robot providedgravity compensation and recorded kinematic (ie. motion) data on the speed and location of thesubject’s hand as it reached toward targets on acomputer monitor. Eliminating visual feedback tothe patients of their arm locations enabled us toexamine the feed-forward control and motorplanning aspect of reaching.

By definition, walking upright involves not onlytwo legs but also an upright trunk. In the vast literature on how body weight support influencesleg movements, muscle activity and muscleforces, few studies examine trunk movement

during body-weight-supported (BWS) walking.We undertook this study to address that lacunaand provide a comprehensive report on the effects of reduced weight bearing on walkingpatterns in healthy subjects, examining themovements of their trunks and lower limbs aswell as the firing patterns of subjects’ muscleswhile they walked on a treadmill with differentlevels of body-weight support.

Study Details

Body-weight support was provided to subjectsusing a harness as they walked on the treadmill,ranging from 0 to 70 percent in increments of 10percent. Subjects’ leg and trunk movements weretracked by infrared markers attached to theirlimb segments, while forces under their feetwere measured using a sophisticated, split-belttreadmill (Fig. 1). We also recorded activity fromeight leg muscles using sensors attached to skin.For each subject, we then created 3D muscu-loskeletal dynamic models that allowed examina-tion of changes in movement patterns, muscle

forces and muscle activity at different levels of BWS.

New Data, New Questions

Our original hypothesis — relieving a portion of a subject’s body-weight results in smaller forcesexerted by the subject on the ground and leads to alterations in muscle activation patterns, muscleforces and movement patterns — was confirmed.The knowledge gained from this study will providetherapists with quantitative data of how healthysubjects respond to different levels of BWS.

The question remains of whether the changesobserved during body-weight supported walkingare unfavorable for gait recovery and whetherthese changes will hinder an individual’s abilityto transfer improvements to over-ground walkingwithout BWS. The next research phase will examinethe influence of body weight support during over-ground walking in healthy subjects and in subjectswith gait impairments resulting from stroke andspinal cord injury.

Research Provides Basis for More Efficient Rehabilitation Editor’s Note: Over the last academic year, Lindsey Bellini, M.B.E. 2009, and Anthony Metzger, M.B.E. 2009 and currently a Ph.D. candidate, conducted re-search at the National Rehabilitation Hospital gathering data to make rehabilitation for stroke patients and amputees more efficient and effective.

Healthy Adults Provide Baseline for Gait Rehabby Lindsey Bellini

Reaching Behaviors and Roboticsby Tony Metzger

Fig. 1

Study of patient’s reaching movements.

cuaengineer

6 | cuaengineer

Last fall, doctoral student and Sloan ScholarRoberto Silva and biomedical engineering facultymentors Binh Tran, chair and associate professor,and Otto Wilson, associate professor, connectedwith a diverse group of students and professorsat two separate but related conferences inTampa, Fla.

Sponsored by The Compact for Faculty Diver-sity, the 15th Annual Institute on Teaching andMentoring, with more than 1,000 student atten-dees, is the largest gathering of minority doctoralscholars in the country. The conference highlightsthe best and brightest scholars from diversebackgrounds and as well as named scholarsfrom the Southern Region Educational Board, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the Alfred P. Sloan Founda-tion and the United States Department of Educa-

tion Ronald E. McNair Program. The institute was created to provide scholars with the skills to succeed in graduate study and to preparethem for success as faculty members at collegesand universities. At the same time, scholars andattending faculty members share their academicand research knowledge. In general it’s an excel-lent networking experience for both students andfaculty mentors.

During the first two days, Silva attended a session covering such topics as how to presentresearch papers, how to write papers, how tonetwork with people, as well as motivational sessions on continuing with one’s doctoral education. He met other graduate students fromacross the United States, including New York, Arizona and North Carolina, and also engaged professors in conversations that ranged from

casual ones to those about research-related topics.Taking part in the institute was quite an expe-

rience for Silva, who left the conference inspiredby ideas and dreams of teaching and making adifference in the lives of other students someday.

Tran and Wilson attended the Sloan FoundationFaulty Mentors Conference, held concurrently with the Institute on Teaching and Mentoring. The Sloan Mentor meeting is held semi-annuallyand highlights progress in diversity issues relatedto higher education as well as best practices and effective strategies to make higher education accessible for all. With a grant from the SloanFoundation, CUA’s Department of BiomedicalEngineering is working to increase the number ofhistorically under-represented minorities in thePh.D. pipeline.

Over the last two years mechanical engineering major John Barnes, B.M.E.2009, electrical engineering major Dung Nguyen, B.E.E. 2011, and faculty director Zhaoyang Wang, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineer-ing, have been working on a high-speed, high-accuracy 3D imaging system. This system provides full-field, 3D information about objects including theirdimensions, shapes, location and distances between one another with highaccuracy and in real-time. A $14,500 grant from National Collegiate Inven-tors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), helped to cover costs associated withthe system.

This system has several advantages over current designs — speed, accuracy and reasonable cost. The system has a projected frame rate of 20frames per second and an accuracy of 100, or the thickness of a sheet ofpaper. Because the system uses a light pattern and a single camera, there isno contact with the object being measured, preserving the object’s integrity.

Utilizing a single camera and projector, this imaging system is also low costto set up and operate.

The team was invited to participate in March Madness of the Mind at theSmithsonian National Museum of American History, which took place onMarch 20, 2009. This conference, sponsored by NCIIA, included 14 otherschools from across the nation. The event was a great success. Barnes andNguyen explained their invention to both the public and to prospective investorsthroughout the day, generating a lot of interest. This conference was successfulnot only because it provided an opportunity to demonstrate the invention butalso to see what other schools around the country are working on.

This new 3D imaging system can be used in many different industries, including entertainment, rapid prototyping, manufacturing (in-line inspectionor quality control), and equipment repair. In fact, a local museum expressedinterest during the March Madness demonstrations. Their hope is to take animage of one of their museum pieces, render it in 3-D and then place thatimage on their Web site so that people could inspect the museum piece fromevery angle and get new perspectives of the piece without handling it.

Sloan Scholar and Faculty Mentors Connect In Tampaby Robert Silva, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engineering

Showing How It’s Doneby John Barnes, B.M.E. 2009

(From left) John Barnes, B.M.E. ‘09, Professor Wang, Dung Nguyen, B.E.E. ‘11.

Professor Wang and his students display their research at the Smithsonian NationalMuseum of American History.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 7

Perhaps you’ve seen Diet Coke and Mentos being combined to create ageyser of shooting soda. Chemistry explains how that effect is achieved(thanks to Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters for this breakdown): The chemi-cals caffeine, potassium benzoate and aspartame (the key ingredient foundin diet but not regular soda), react with the gelatin and gum arabic in theMentos to create millions of carbon dioxide bubbles that create the familiarjet. However, only mint Mentos will do because their surface is rougher,cratered with more tiny crevices and indents than any other flavor. Thesecrevices create more surface area and therefore many more nucleation sitesfor the bubbles to form on.

To make a truly record-breaking geyser, however, takes engineeringknowhow. On Nov. 7, 2008, 20 participants and 35 spectators from the CUA School of Engineering gathered in the back of Pangborn Hall for the 3rd annual Mentos Challenge to demonstrate and witness CUA engineeringstudents’ prowess. Competitors could use two unadulterated bottles of sodaand one roll of mint-condition candy in any combination, with their owngeyser-enhancing nozzle, not to exceed the size of the bottle in any dimen-sion, except height. Competitors’ nozzles ranged from several inches tomore than 30 feet high. Geyser height measurements were recorded on along piece of brown paper hung from a second floor window, which boreheight markings as well as the trails of previous competitors’ Mentos/DietCoke geysers.

The record to beat was the 33-foot geyser of the challenge’s 2007 winnerJoe Cochrane, B.E.E. 2009. Nicole Ildefonso, B.E.E. 2010, and Fran CorsoB.E.E. 2009, both achieved a height of 34-foot geysers—a tie that led to asuspenseful side-by-side contest to see which nozzle reigned supreme. Inthe end, Cochrane relinquished his crown to Ildefonso, whose second geyserbeat Corso. Ildefonso received a $40 gift card to Best Buy and Corso, a $20

card. The third place team of Ed Dawson, B.E.E. 2010, and Stephen Roscher,B.E.E. 2010, walked away with a $10 gift card.

IEEE President Vinny Caruso, B.E.E. 2009, and IEEE faculty adviser ScottMathews led the event, which was planned and run by CUA’s IEEE studentchapter. All sodas and Mentos were provided by the IEEE, as was plenty offood to go around. The overwhelming success of this third annual event, aswell as its popularity among faculty and students alike, has earned The Mentos Challenge a spot as a fall activity for upcoming years.

One week in February each year engineering students take the time to cele-brate and share their interest in engineering with the rest of the universityduring Engineering Week, commonly called E-Week.

During this weeklong celebration, held across the country, students, professional engineers and engineering firms hold conferences, fairs and exhibitions to commemorate the importance of engineering in society todayand for the future and educate non-engineers about the focus and value of engineering, while also raising money to help jumpstart engineering pro-grams for young people.

The various engineering clubs at Catholic University—EWB, IEEE, ASCE,SWE, ASME, NSBE, and BMES—host an event that allows all students, regardless of their major, to get involved and learn what engineers do andhow engineering impacts their everyday lives. This year the events includedbuilding spaghetti and marshmallow bridges, propelling water balloons andtennis balls with a catapult, designing and building dancing robots, anddropping eggs with paper parachutes off the second floor of the Edward J.Pryzbyla University Center.

The week concludes at CUA with the Engineering Ball at Maggiano’s, adressy event that includes a talk by Dean Nguyen, a five-course meal andlots of dancing. During E-Week students celebrate engineering in many

ways, honoring innovations of the past, demonstrating the value of engineeringto society, and coming together at the end of the week for some well-earnedfood and fun.

Diet Coke and Mentos Takes Off as Yearly Eventby Vinny Caruso, B.E.E. 2009

Celebrating Engineering CUA Styleby Nicole Ildefonzo, B.E.E. 2010

Students look in amazement at the diet coke geyser.

Participant catapults water balloons during E-Week.

cuaengineer

8 | cuaengineer

In deciding to compete in the ASCE Steel Bridge Competition sponsored bythe American Society of Engineers, the team from The Catholic University ofAmerica seemed to face insurmountable odds. With no returning members,the team had no experience with the inner workings of the competition. It hadno metalworking shop suitable for construction of the bridge. The contest’s67 pages of rules were accompanied by an equal number of pages of amend-ments. The budget was tight, with no established sponsors. Finally, the teamhad to work feverishly to meet the looming deadline.

But when the odds are unfavorable, you stand up and fight. Eager juniorcivil engineering students Chris Scotti and Chris Ridgeway took on the taskwith vigor and determination. “It was something I have always been interestedin,” says Scotti. “When Dr. Lucko told Ridgeway and me that the club had noleadership and was not participating that year, we jumped at the opportunity.”

The two co-captains recruited a diverse collection of civil and mechanicalengineering students, as well as English and politics majors, to aid them intheir mission to compete in the 2009 Regional Competition in Virginia Beach.That diversity brought a wide variety of skills, talents and knowledge to theotherwise inexperienced team. “We had no idea what to expect and whatchallenges we faced. Every person brought something unique, something we would eventually need,” says Ridgeway.

The steel bridge competition is an annual event involving engineering students from hundreds of universities who design, construct and assemblea 1/10th-scale bridge made entirely of steel. The goal is to design and fabri-cate a steel bridge that is lightweight, stiff enough to support 2,500 lbs., and quick to assemble in competition. Teams compete regionally, with thetop three winners moving on to the nationals.

The co-captains approached the competition as a real-world project, establishing a schedule and a budget, delegating responsibilities and duties,holding regular meetings and evaluating progress. Working closely with Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering Scott Mathews, Ph.D., they renovated a section of the McCarthy Building into an OSHA-compliant weldingshop. Team members experienced in working with metal educated the oth-ers. While designing and redesigning the initial bridge, the team searched forand found steel and tool providers. Balancing coursework, sports and sociallives, the team still spent countless hours in computer labs and the metalshop, committed to what became known as The Bridge.

The process was grueling. Delays and changes to the design caused theconstruction time to run longer than expected; the team had a little over aweek to practice construction and make the final aesthetic touches. Travellingto Virginia Beach for the conference, the team was less than confident. “Wewanted to construct the bridge in under 30 minutes. At that point our besttime was about 34,” says Scotti.

With adrenaline, a little rehearsal, and their smooth functioning as a team,they managed to construct the bridge in just over 27 minutes. Out of 11competing teams, CUA’s bridge was one of only four that held the entire2,500 lb. load, with the total deflection measure 1.6 inches over 3 points.That put them in 4th place out of 11 competing teams, one place out of atrophy position. But their accomplishment did not go unrecognized, with congratulations coming in from faculty, students and staff in the School ofEngineering and across campus.

What’s next? With this positive experience under their belts, the team islooking forward to next year’s competition and the new challenges it will bring.

Steel Bridge Competition Tests Students’ Mettleby Chris Scotti, B.C.E. 2010

The CUA Steel Bridge Team in action at the 2009 ASCE competition.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 9

The Catholic University of America School of Engineering proudly unveiled the newly institutedWall of Fame, on Oct. 9, 2008. The wall was created to recognize CUA engineering alumniwith excellent credentials, who also have es-tablished national reputations and reached the pinnacle of their careers. The ceremony includedapproximately 100 Catholic University faculty,staff, students and alumni who watched asMatthew Burns, chairman of the School of Engi-neering Executive Development Board, revealedthe beautifully engraved Corian™ stone wall.

The inaugural inductee was Michael Griffin,former NASA administrator, who was named inApril 2008, prior to the wall’s completion. He wasspecifically recognized for extraordinary achieve-ment in space research and exploration. Griffinreceived his M.S.E. in 1974 from CUA.

Three additional honorees were inducted duringthe unveiling ceremony in October.

Paul Gaffney, M.S.E. 1970, current president ofMonmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J.,and former president of the National DefenseUniversity located in Southwest Washington, D.C.,was recognized for exemplary contributions tonational security and higher education.

Michael Michalak, M.S.E. 1973, presently

serving as United States Ambassador to Vietnam,was acknowledged for a lifelong career in foreignservice. He was sworn in as ambassador on Aug.10, 2007, having previously served as the U.S.senior official to A.P.E.C., Bureau of East Asia Pacific Affairs.

James Wilding, B.C.E. 1959, former president/CEO of Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority,

was recognized for exceptional leadership in theaviation industry. Wilding, who attended the cere-mony with his wife, Marcella, also serves on theschool’s Civil Engineering Advisory Council.

The Engineering Alumni Homecoming Luncheonin Pangborn Hall’s Scullen Room followed theceremony.

Wall of Fame Unveiled

The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) was founded in 1975 at Purdue University by Edward Barnette and Fred Cooper, who wanted “to increase the number of culturally responsible Black Engineers who excel academically, succeed professionally and positively impact the community.”NSBE began with with six inaugural members; now NSBE members in numbermore than 30,000 in more than 233 chapters on college and university cam-puses, 65 alumni extension chapters nationwide and 89 precollege chapters.

Now CUA has its own chapter of NSBE, reactivated in February 2009. Thestudent-run organization consists of 10 members, with goals to enhance theleadership skills of members and to ensure they succeed academically andprofessionally through activities and events directed toward their self-enhancement. In addition, CUA chapter strives to increase the number ofminority students studying engineering at the undergraduate and graduatelevels and promote public awareness of engineering and the opportunitiesfor blacks and other minorities in that profession.

We are optimistic about the future. We hope through the deep history ofNSBE to gain knowledge that will help members develop an intense desire to achieve success in this competitive society and to influence a positivechange in the quality of life for all people. Our members will participate incommunity service projects that will help inform middle school and high

school students of the many opportunities to become an engineer. The future of the National Society of Black Engineers at CUA is unlimited.

As the NSBE chapter at CUA grows, we will obtain and maintain a stablefoundation through intelligent students, a wide variety of intellectually stimu-lating projects and events, and most important, the world of engineering.With the support and dedication of its members and supporters, NSBE atCUA will reach its potential and be active at for years to come.

Reinstituting NSBE at CUAby Adrian Davis, B.E.E. 2011

(From left) U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam M. Michalak, Dean C. Nguyen, Former CEO of Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority J. Wilding and Monmouth University President P. Gaffney.

Members of the CUA National Society of Black Engineers Chapter.

cuaengineer

10 | cuaengineer

International Programs Going StrongThe School of Engineering’s international programswith foreign universities continue to strengthen.Four students entered CUA’s 2+2 program estab-lished with the International University of theVietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City. Inthis group, Trang Dinh earned a Bachelor of Elec-trical Engineering in May 2009, two students areexpected to graduate in October 2009 and onestudent is a rising senior. The cumulative gradepoint averages of the IU students at the conclusionof the spring 2009 semester range from 3.589 to3.977; all have been on the dean’s list since join-ing CUA and all have also been accepted to theaccelerated bachelor’s/master’s degree programat the school. Trang Dinh plans to pursue herdoctoral degree in electrical engineering at CUAwhile serving as a research assistant with OzlemKilic, Ph.D., assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science.

In the student exchange program with theHong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), theschool welcomed eight students from PolyU toCUA during the spring 2009 semester. The deanpromoted the exchange program to sophomoresat CUA in November 2008 and as a result four tofive CUA students are expected to travel to HongKong PolyU during the 2009–2010 academic year.

In June 2008, Dean Nguyen and Uyen Nguyen,Ph.D., director of international programs in Asia,visited the Danang University of Technology (DUT)in Danang, Vietnam, where they signed a memo-randum of understanding (MOU) to explore researchand educational collaboration. In January 2009,the CUA delegation returned to Danang andsigned an agreement for the 2+2 program withDUT. Also during the trip, the dean and the directorattended the “Conference of Higher Education inVietnam: American-Vietnamese Partnerships,” inHo Chi Minh City, Vietnam, organized by the U.S.Embassy in Vietnam. There they met numerousadministrators and professors of Vietnamese uni-versities as well as those from American univer-sities that have academic programs in Vietnam.

The dean also visited with the rector and ad-ministrators of the College of Engineering of theVietnam National University to discuss potentialcollaboration. As a result of this visit, an agree-ment for the 2+2 program was signed betweenthe college and the School of Engineering.

Dean Nguyen welcomed officials of severaluniversities from around the world to the Schoolof Engineering over the last year. In June 2008,Rosa Marina Meyer, Ph.D., associate vice-presi-

dent of Pontificia Universidade Catolica of Rio deJaneiro, Brazil, visited CUA and signed an MOUwith the School of Engineering. During the 2008NAFSA Annual Conference & Expo held in Wash-ington, D.C., representatives of foreign universitiesvisited the CUA campus through an event spon-sored by the CUA Center for Global Education.Among the visitors, representatives from Korea,universities showed special interest in collaborat-ing with CUA. Two officials from Korea Universityvisited the School of Engineering and met withDean Nguyen and the department chairs. In July2008, a delegation from Danang University ofTechnology and University of Danang comprising

several vice presidents, deans and program directors visited the School of Engineering tolearn about the administration of an Americanuniversity. Dean Nguyen and several CUA pro-gram chairs gave presentations about financialplanning, program development, accreditationand more. The delegation visited the facilities ofthe School of Engineering and chatted with CUAProvost James Brennan, Ph.D. In January 2009,Phong Thanh Ho, Ph.D., president of the Interna-tional University-Vietnam National University-HoChi Minh City visited Dean Nguyen and the 2+2program students from this school studying at CUA.

Dean Nguyen and Nam Tran, Ph.D., president of Danang University of Technology, at the signing ceremony.

Dean Nguyen and faculty and staff of Danang University of Technology.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 11

First Graduate Students from Vietnam Join CUAIn January 2009, Vietnamese graduate studentsHoi Nguyen and Anh-Thu Nguyen came to CUA topursue doctoral degrees in electrical engineeringat the School of Engineering. Their arrival is thefruitful outcome of a trip Dean Charles Nguyenmade in June 2008 to their hometown university,Danang University of Technology (DUT).

During a presentation about CUA and theSchool of Engineering at DUT, Dean Nguyen metAnh-Thu Nguyen, who was interested in pursuinga doctoral degree in the United States andwanted to explore educational opportunities atCUA. Upon returning to the United States, DeanNguyen learned that the newly wed Anh-Thu andher husband, Hoi Nguyen, had received scholar-ships from the Vietnamese government to pursuedoctoral degrees at a university in the UnitedStates. Their scholarship — a very competitiveone — was contingent on passing an interviewconducted by the representatives of the U.S. National Academy of the Sciences, as required by the U.S. Vietnam Education Foundation for its

fellows. However, the financial level of theirscholarship enabled them only to attend a publicuniversity in the United States, with lower tuitionthan CUA.

Knowing the excellent quality of both students,who ranked top in their classes, the dean andfaculty of the School of Engineering quickly developed and offered them a Dean of Engineer-ing Merit Graduate Assistantship to supplementfunding they receive from their country, makingtheir graduate education at CUA possible.

“This financial arrangement is a good exampleof a win-win situation — international studentscan afford to attend CUA while CUA is able to attract top-notch students who could potentiallyserve as productive research assistants for ourfaculty,” says Dean Nguyen. “Considering the return of improved research productivity for ourschool, the investment in these students is veryworthwhile.”

The newlyweds, in addition to coping with avery rigorous engineering graduate program at

CUA, had to adjust to a new environment with anew language, radically different weather andAmerican culture. Despite those challenges, both students achieved perfect 4.0 grade pointaverages for the semester, while taking a courseload that exceeded the normal full-time load.

Hoi and Anh-Thu Nguyen say the courses atCUA are balanced between the theoretical andpractical and that coordination between coursesis good. “The friendly study environment and theCUA landscape really made us fall in love withthis place,” says Anh-Thu. Their excellent aca-demic performance and friendliness quicklycaught the attention of faculty who have beenlooking for graduate research assistants. JessicaRamella-Roman, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical engineering, recently hired Anh-Thu to be her research assistant in the area of optics.In December 2009, Hoi Nguyen will serve as aresearch assistant for Tobias Nef, Ph.D., assistantprofessor of biomedical engineering, to work inthe area of rehabilitation robotics.

A visit by the Vietnamese students to the office of CUA Provost James Brennan (middle).

cuaengineer

12 | cuaengineer

The CUA student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) returned to ElSalvador during the first week of March 2009 to begin construction on aproject to bring fresh water to the small village of Santa Clara in rural Usulután.Eight engineering undergraduates, accompanied by John Judge, Ph.D., assistant professor of mechanical engineering, spent their spring breaksurveying, digging, bending and tying steel rebar, and pouring concrete,working alongside volunteers from the community to kick off the project.

For the past three years, CUA students have worked closely with mem-bers of the Washington, D.C., professional chapter of EWB and students inthe school of public health at George Washington University to design apumping system, 50,000-gallon storage tank, several miles of pipes for distribution to more than 250 houses, and a building to serve as a water office and health clinic for the village. Since Santa Clara is in a seismo-logically active area, near the San Miguel volcano, the building is beingconstructed with an earthquake-isolation system in its foundation, designedby students in two disaster mitigating courses in civil engineering, CE 434and CE 435, taught by professors Gunnar Lucko, Ph.D., and Panos Tsopelas,Ph.D. Four of the eight students on this year’s trip were returning to SantaClara for the second time, having accompanied Professor Lucko to SantaClara in January 2008 for a site assessment.

After arriving at the airport in San Salvador, seniors Kathryn Kazior, andErica Gonzalez; juniors Theresa Murray, Evan Heisman, Anthony Rennekamp,and Andrew Smith; sophomore Andy Urcinas; freshman Brandon Olley; andProfessor Judge took the two-hour minivan ride to Santa Clara and movedinto accommodations in one of the villager family’s homes. Over the courseof the week, they helped level the site for the water tank, marked out thecourse of the distribution system, and constructed the earthquake-isolationfoundation for the water office and health clinic building. They worked sideby side with local volunteers. This provided giving a few of the studentsthe chance to practice their Spanish. The success of the trip was greatly enhanced by Emily Putzer, a Peace Corps volunteer who has lived in SantaClara for the past two years. The group also met with the president of theNational Water Development Board and introduced themselves at a villagemeeting attended by more than 200 community members.

Now that the construction of the project is under way, villagers will con-tinue working on it over the next several months, with additional assistancefrom a team from the Washington, D.C., professional chapter of EWB, whovisited Santa Clara in April. Meanwhile, the CUA students are reflecting oneverything they learned, exploring options for their next project, and hoping toreturn to Santa Clara next year to see the project’s completion.

Engineers Without Borders Returns to El Salvador

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 13

cuaengineer

14 | cuaengineer

Biomedical Engineering Spearheads New Collaborations with FDA

Electrical Engineering to Offer New Concentration on Alternative and Renewable Energy

A longstanding informal collaborative relationshipbetween CUA’s Department of Biomedical Engi-neering and the Food and Drug Administration(FDA) was formalized and extended in 2009through an official memorandum of understanding(MOU), approved by the U.S. Department ofHealth and Human Services and CUA.

The MOU includes extended collaborations withand access to FDA faculty and staff for researchand academic offerings, shared research equip-ment and facilities at FDA, opportunities for grad-uate student internships and fellowships, andmentorship of undergraduate research activities.The effort was spearheaded by Isaac Chang,Ph.D., deputy director of the Division of Physicswithin the Office of Science and EngineeringLaboratories at FDA, and Binh Tran, chair of bio-medical engineering. CUA is one of only 13 univer-sities in the United States with MOU agreements

with FDA. The MOU between CUA and FDA willstrengthen an already exceptional relationship,particularly with the recent relocation of FDA’score laboratories to White Oak in Silver Spring,Md., about seven miles from the CUA campus.

Even before the founding of the biomedicalengineering department in 1998, CUA faculty collaborated with research being conducted atthe FDA, beginning with the formative HomeCare Technologies Workshop in 1999 and contin-uing with many exchanges throughout the past10 years. Prior to the signing of the memoran-dum, for example, FDA and CUA co-hosted thefirst Metropolitan Biophotonics Symposium onApril 6, which brought to campus nearly 80 re-searchers in the Washington, D.C., metropolitanarea and neighboring institutions, such as NIH’sNational Cancer Institute, Georgetown University,George Washington University, Howard University,

University of Maryland, Johns Hopkins Universityand others. The symposium was organized byJessica Ramella-Roman, assistant professor ofbiomedical engineering, and Josh Pfefer, Ph.D.,from the FDA. (See related story, page 15).

In addition, in spring 2009, former FDA re-searcher Carl DeMarco, Ph.D., worked with fac-ulty of biomedical engineering to design, developand present a new graduate-level course calledMedical Device Design and Regulation. In addi-tion to the benefit of DeMarco’s many years of experience at FDA in device regulation, thisunique course offered students specialized insight into regulatory aspects of medical devicedesign and monitoring.

With the MOU, co-sponsored opportunities andcourses are anticipated.

Energy is the lifeblood of our modern, technologicalworld. And it’s beginning to look as if we’re goingneed a transfusion soon. According to the EnergyInformation Administration, global energy con-sumption is expected to grow by about 70 percentin the next 20 years. Much of that additional energyis expected to come from energy sources that aredescribed as “green,” “renewable,” or “alterna-tive.” The June 2008 issue of The Economistreported that global investment in sustainableenergy grew from about $90 billion in 2006 to about $150 billion in 2007. Investment in sustainable energy is predicted to grow at an increasing rate over the next decade.

With all the investments in alternative energyand the predictions of a “green energy revolu-tion,” it is clear that the next decade will demanda new generation of scientists, engineers andtechnicians.

With that green future in mind, the School ofEngineering recently endorsed a new track on Alternative and Renewable Energy. This curricu-lum, offered by the Department of Electrical Engi-neering and Computer Science, will not constitutea new degree, but rather lead students to a Bach-

elor of Electrical Engineering degree, with a con-centration on alternative energy systems.

The approved curriculum consists of an “engi-neering core” (taken by all engineering studentsduring the first four semesters), an “electrical engineering core” (including all the most importanttopics in modern electrical engineering), and fiveupper-level courses that are specific to alternativeand renewable energy. These courses include:

• An Introduction to Alternative Energy• The Theory of Photovoltaics• The Applications of Photovoltaics• Batteries, Fuel-Cells, and Energy Storage• Gas-Electric Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

If all goes as planned, these new courses willbe shared among several departments, includingphysics, chemistry, electrical engineering andmechanical engineering. In addition to havingstudents enrolled in the alternative energy track,organizers of this new program hope to attractstudents from a variety of disciplines to enroll inthese courses as program electives. The firstcourse, An Introduction to Alternative Energy, willbe offered in fall 2009. The school hopes to begin

officially enrolling students in the program then,with the full curriculum being offered every yearbeginning in the fall of 2010.

If you have any questions about the alternativeenergy track, please feel free to contact AssociateProfessor Scott Mathews at mathewss@cua.edu.

Professor Scott Mathews

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 15

School of Engineering Hosts Metropolitan Biophotonics Symposium

Engineering Establishes Collaborative Agreements with Local Community Colleges

In recent years, research in biophotonics — the science of generating andharnessing light (photons) to image and detect diseases such as cancer —performed in the Washington, D.C., region has increased dramatically. At thisone-day symposium, chaired by Catholic University’s Jessica Ramella-Roman,assistant professor of biomedical engineering, and Josh Pfefer, optical diag-nostics laboratory leader at the Food and Drug Administration, more than 20experts from CUA and other D.C. area colleges and universities and severalfederal agencies came together to discuss important issues in the field.

In two morning and two afternoon sessions, four scientists in the fieldgave 15-minute presentations on aspects of light-tissue interaction, mi-croscopy and optical coherence tomography, nanophotonics and molecularimaging, and macro imaging. Among the presenters were Paul Lemaillet,postdoctoral fellow, and Baohong Yuan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering, both from Catholic University.

Plenary speaker Robert Nordstrom, Ph.D., program director of the CancerImaging Program, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health,gave an overview of new biophotonics imaging techniques and their utility.Compared to more established techniques such as MRI, X-ray and ultra-sound, biophotonics, which uses nonionizing radiation, is high resolution andnoninvasive and offers definite advantages.

As an emerging area of scientific research that uses light and other formsof radiant energy to explore the inner workings of cells and tissues in livingorganisms, biophotonics enables researchers to see, measure, analyze andmanipulate living tissues in ways that have not been possible before. It isused in medicine to study tissue and blood at the macro (large-scale) andmicro (very small-scale) organism level to detect, diagnose and treat dis-eases in ways that are noninvasive to the body.

More and more engineering students are choosingto attend community college to complete pre-engineering studies, with the intent of transferringto university engineering programs to completetheir upper-division training. Recognizing thistrend in education, the School of Engineeringbegan discussions to establish transfer agreementswith local area community colleges this year.

“Within biomedical engineering, we’ve seenan increase in transfer students joining our bio-medical engineering program in recent years,”said Professor Binh Q. Tran, Ph.D., chair of theDepartment of Biomedical Engineering. “Workingclosely with transfer coordinators at local com-munity colleges will only improve the process,

benefit students joining our programs and betterprepare transfer students for success at CUA.”

Tran and Colleen Sullivan, enrollment coordi-nator for biomedical engineering, are workingwith transfer coordinators at community collegesto evaluate and develop course mappings toCUA’s own curricula in order to facilitate the stu-dent transfer process. A transfer agreement wasformalized during the summer of 2009 with AnneArundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) is inplace for academic year 2009–10. Negotiationswith Howard County Community College (Colum-bia, Md.) are underway.

Each year, transfer students comprise approxi-mately 10 percent of CUA’s new enrollment.

“Articulation agreements with local communitycolleges will help the School of Engineer, CUA asa whole and individual students,” said Erin Zim-merer, associate director of undergraduate ad-missions. “With a blueprint in place for students,they can see ahead of time which courses theyneed to take at their school and where those willfit in if they transfer to CUA. By doing this, theSchool of Engineering makes the process moretransparent and easy for everyone to understand.The ability to see an academic track as a transferstudent cannot be underestimated as part of astudent’s decision in what school to attend.”

Experts gather at CUA for biophotonic symposium.

Professor Jessica Ramella-Roman gives opening remarks.

cuaengineer

16 | cuaengineer

Alumna Works on Earth so Others Can Work in the HeavensDaniela Monterrubio, a project engineer for MEITechnologies, helps sustain life on the Interna-tional Space Station — ensuring that water issafe to drink and providing astronauts opportuni-ties to exercise to counteract the loss of muscledensity that occurs in microgravity. “Water is oneof the limiting factors in sustaining life in outerspace because it’s so heavy to bring into space,” explains Monterrubio, biomedical engineering2006, who works at the Johnson Space Center.

“Once it’s in space, it needs to be recycled. …Obviously, there’s a lot of concern about whetherwater is safe.” She works with a total organiccarbon analyzer, which checks samples of recy-cled water for quality.

Monterrubio also supports experiments on aharness that will make it easier for astronauts touse a treadmill while in space. “I love that I candirectly see how engineering is applied to solveproblems in the human body,” she says. “I cansee how this harness, if it works well, is going tokeep crew members from losing muscle tone.Then they can stay in space longer.”

Monterubbio, 24, is no stranger to serving others. Before joining MEI Technologies, a sub-contractor for NASA, she volunteered for two

years at Amigos de Jesús, an orphanage for boysin northwest Honduras, where she taught mathand science. She credits the volunteer experi-ence with helping her secure her job. “Workingwith the International Space Station, an aware-ness for cultural sensitivities and the ability towork with people of different backgrounds areessential.” Since becoming a project engineer,she has been involved with a chapter of Engi-neers without Borders. “As engineers, we’recalled to use our talents in ways that benefit society,” she says.

A native of Houston and the eldest of six chil-dren, Monterrubio attended CUA at the urging ofher father, a former chemical engineer who isnow a full-time deacon. It wasn’t much of astretch: Her father’s nine brothers are engineers,and Monterrubio’s brother, Omar, is a CUA gradu-ate engineering student. In fact CUA’s “family environment” was a draw for Monterrubio aswere opportunities to work closely with facultymembers. “Since Catholic’s engineering school is small,” she says, “it did a great job of havingus work in multidisciplinary teams. And that tome has been very useful in the workplace.”

Her advice to new students: Focus on learning

rather than studying. “Make sure that you’re notworking for a grade but for knowledge, an under-standing of a concept and how you’re going toapply it.” CUA instilled in her a love of lifelonglearning, Monterrubio says. Earlier this year, shevolunteered as a test subject for astronauts intraining. “I’ve had astronauts practice giving eco-cardiograms on me, and they’ve practiceddrawing blood on me,” she says, laughing. Withseriousness, she adds: “I get to learn about thenew experiments they’re preparing to do on thespace station.”

CUA Engineering DeanRecognized for Achievements in RoboticsOn Feb. 19, the District of Columbia Council of Engineering and ArchitecturalSocieties named Charles C. Nguyen, dean of CUA’s School of Engineering,the recipient of its 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award.

Said Ruplu Bhattacharya, president of the D.C. council, “Each year, DC-CEAS recognizes outstanding engineers and architects who have distin-

guished themselves among their peers. The Lifetime Achievement Award isour highest honor, and is bestowed to those who have made deep, meaningfulcontributions throughout their lifetimes.”

Nguyen’s area of research is robotics. The award recognizes him for “outstanding contribution to the field of engineering, to academia, and to theprofession in the areas of medical robotics, space robotics, linear time-vary-ing systems, decentralized control, intelligent systems, robotics, fuzzy-logiccontrol and robot vision.”

Chairman of CUA’s Department of Electrical Engineering and ComputerScience from September 1997 to June 2001, he was named dean of theschool in 2001. He is the first Vietnamese American dean at a major univer-sity in the United States.

In addition to his research, Nguyen has published more than 100 technicaland scientific papers in the area of control and robotics, co-edited threebooks and guest-edited 10 special issues in major journals. He was thechairman of the Robotics Committee of the Fifth International Symposium on Robotics and Manufacturing (ISRAM ’94) and program vice-chair of theIEEE Conference on Robotics and Automation, 1997 (ICRA ’97).

He is the recipient of many awards and honors from around the globe. He received his award at the DCCEAS Awards Banquet in Silver Spring, Md.,on Feb. 28, 2009.

Dean Nguyen at the award ceremony.

Daniela Monterrubio, B.B.E. 2006, with orphan innorthwest Honduras.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 17

2009–2010 Nagel Scholars: A List of Who’s Who in CUA EngineeringThrough annual funding from the Edward M. Nagel Foundation, CUA’s biomedical engineering depart-ment identifies and recognizes the program’s top students, its Nagel Scholars, for their excellence in theclassroom, service, active involvement in the CUA community, potential for entrepreneurial success andleadership in the field of biomedical engineering. This year’s Nagel Scholars at The Catholic University ofAmerica include a prestigious national Goldwater Scholar, a national Tau Beta Pi Scholar, a LandmarkConference Academic Honor Roll student athlete and Dean’s List members.

The 2009–2010 Nagel Scholars are Megan Jamiolkowski (2010), Theresa Murray (2010), KatherineRucky (2010), Jenna Graham (2011), Andrew Gravunder (2011), Patrick Noonan (2011), TimothyMierzwa (2012) and Joseph McAnaney (2012). Jamiolkowski received a prestigious national GoldwaterScholarship in 2009 for her academic achievement and research potential, only one of 278 students nationwide to receive this honor (see story below). Murray was one of 234 students selected to benamed a Tau Beta Pi Scholar for 2009-2010 by the national engineering honor society. For her athleticas well as academic achievement, Graham was named to the Landmark Conference’s Academic HonorRoll. All Nagel Scholars have been on the Dean’s List for their academic success.

Edward M. Nagel was an entrepreneur and businessman who co-founded the OroweatTM BakingCompany. As a result of his immigrant experience during the Great Depression, Nagel developed astrong desire to support hard-working, enterprising students seeking to get an education. In 1992, hefounded the Edward M. Nagel Foundation to provide scholarships for exceptional students. CUA is one of only six universities in the United States funded by the foundation.

CUA Biomedical Engineering Major AwardedPrestigious Goldwater ScholarshipAward Is Third for School of Engineering and 15th for CUACatholic University junior biomedical engineeringmajor Megan Jamiolkowski of McKees Rocks,Pa., has been named a Barry M. GoldwaterScholar, one of 278 undergraduates — and 115women — to receive the prestigious award nationwide.

Jamiolkowski is the first CUA biomedical engi-neering student to be named a Goldwater Scholarand the third from the School of Engineering.Catholic University graduates Sarah Eddy, whoearned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree in2001, and Kealy Rudersdorf, who graduated in2005, also with a Bachelor of Civil Engineeringdegree, received Goldwater Scholarships in 2000and 2003, respectively.

In the course of the last 19 Goldwater compe-titions, CUA has had 15 students named scholarsfrom physics, biology, math, chemistry and engi-neering.

“Megan Jamiolkowski’s recognition as a Gold-water Scholar reflects well on her achievementsand CUA’s academic support. Most important,this award offers positive affirmation of the faculty of biomedical engineering and its deep

commitment to undergraduate excellence,” saidCUA Provost James Brennan, Ph.D.

The Goldwater scholars were selected on thebasis of academic merit from a field of 1,100mathematics, science and engineering studentswho were nominated by the faculties of collegesand universities around the country. Goldwaterscholars often go on to prestigious postgraduatefellowship programs, including the Rhodes Schol-arship and Marshall Award.

Established by Congress in 1986, the scholar-ship program honoring the late Sen. Barry M.Goldwater was designed to foster and encourageoutstanding students to pursue careers in thefields of mathematics, the natural sciences andengineering. The Goldwater Scholarship is thepremier undergraduate award of its type in thesefields.

As a Goldwater Scholar, Jamiolkowski, who is president of CUA’s chapter of the Tau Beta PiEngineering Honor Society, is receiving up to$7,500 next year toward the cost of tuition, fees,books, and room and board.

Sixteen Hennessy

Distinguished Scholars Named

In 1992, while a member of CUA’s Board ofTrustees, Edward L. Hennessy Jr. established theHennessy Distinguished Scholarship Program, designed to support outstanding graduate scholarsin the School of Engineering. Chosen annually bythe dean of the school from a pool of studentsnominated by faculty of their respective depart-ments, Hennessy Distinguished Scholars are selected based on their high levels of academicachievement and potential to conduct useful andgroundbreaking research. The Hennessy scholarsalso receive $5,000 each to be applied towardtheir studies. “Mere words can only begin to express the gratitude I have for Edward and RuthHennessy for their commitment to this program.They are a shining example of how philanthropyenriches the experience of our students,” saysVery Rev. David M. O’Connell, C.M., president ofCatholic University.

The 2008–2009 Hennessy Distinguished Scholars and their nominating faculty (in parentheses)are as follows:

Biomedical Engineering

Ali Basiri (Professor Ramella)Yuan Liu (Professor Yuan)Anthony Metzger (Professor Lum)Seema Swaminathan (Professor Wilson)

Civil Engineering

Mostafa Ardakani (Professor Sun)James Cooper (Professor Lucko)Hamid Karimpour (Professor Lade)Chen Wang (Professor Sun)

Electrical Engineering

Mikhail Gorbachev (Professor Chang)Chien-Hung Lai (Professor Chang)Chin-Yu Amy Lin (Professor Regalia)Jing Wang (Professor Regalia)

Mechanical Engineering

Patrick O’Malley (Professor Judge)Nitin Sawant (Professor Nieh)Richard Scenna (Professor Nieh)Teresa Woods (Professor Vignola)

cuaengineer

18 | cuaengineer

The CUA School of Engineering honored four facultymembers with the 2008–2009 Kaman awardsand Burns faculty fellowships at a year-endluncheon in May. The annual event was held inthe Anthony T. Scullen Memorial Room. Attendeesincluded SOE faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, studentsand members of the university administration.

Lin-Ching Chang, assistant professor of electricalengineering and computer science, and BaohongYuan, assistant professor of biomedical engineering,received the Burns Faculty Fellowship. Thisaward was established by the Robert Burns family in 2007, to support junior faculty members.

The Charles H. Kaman faculty excellenceawards are presented once a year to facultymembers in two categories: research and teaching.The Kaman Faculty Excellence in Teaching Awardrecipient this year was George Mavroeidis, assis-tant professor in civil engineering. This award is a special honor, because faculty candidates arenominated directly by their students and their colleagues.

There were two recipients of the Kaman FacultyExcellence in Research Award this year, ZhaoyangWang, assistant professor of mechanical engi-

neering, and Baohong Yuan, assistant professorof biomedical engineering. Wang received theaward for his research involving a broad range oftopics in solid mechanics, optics, nanotechnology,microelectronics, computer vision and imageprocessing. Yuan is developing a new imaging

technique that can potentially improve sensitivityand specificity of cancer diagnosis, improve theaccuracy of evaluating cancer treatment efficacy,and enable detection of tumor metastasis vialymphatic system.

Faculty Awardees Honored at School’s Year-End Luncheon

Alumni Career Updates1950s Ross B. McMullen, B.A.E. 1955, retired in 1993from Model Aviation Magazine, where he waspublisher and managing editor.

Jim Mullally, B.M.E. 1959, worked in the aero-space and nuclear industries for 35 years. Amonghis career highlights are working at the JetPropulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. prepar-ing the Viking Orbiter’s propulsion system; beingselected in 1980 by Westinghouse Electric to man-age mechanical functions of the Waste IsolationPilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M.; and then transferringin 1985 to the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

1960sMel P. Oommen, M.C.E. 1963, retired in 1990 as chief engineer in Kerala, India, where he par-ticipated in 2,000 housing projects in GreaterCochin Kerala from 1964 to 1989.

William M. “Bill” Carey, B.M.E. 1965, Ph.D. 1974,received the Pioneers of Underwater Acoustics

ASA Silver Medal in 2007. He is a professor in theCollege of Engineering at Boston University.

John J. Mecholsky, Jr., B.C.E. 1966, M.C.E.1968, Ph.D. 1973, was appointed chair of Faculty Senate at the University of Florida in May 2009. He is a full professor and associatechair of the Department of Materials and ScienceEngineering.

Donald A. Lamontagne, B.S.E. 1969, retired asa Lt. Gen. from the United States Air Force in2004. He is currently the president of Star Moun-tain Consulting, Inc.

1970sTom Milos, B.C.E. 1971, is the project executivefor Jacobs Engineering in Arlington, Va.

Guillermo Gaunaurd, B.M.E. 1972, retired as asenior physicist at the Army Research Laboratoryin the Sensors and Electron Devices Directoratein October 2008. He is presently a private con-sultant working on contracts with various organi-

zations related to the Navy or Army.

Bob Fitzmyer, B.M.E. 1975, sells industrialpumps for Robert J. Fitzmyer Company, Inc., inConshohocken, Pa. The family-owned companycelebrated its 50th anniversary in 2009.

Joe Ricci, B.Ch.E. 1975, retired from federalservice in 2008 and is now a coordinator for asmall nonprofit company in Maryland.

Philip A. Stevens, B.C.E. 1976, spent 40 yearswith Philip Stevens & Associates. For the last 10years, he has been working with his sons underthe new company name of Stevens Builders Inc.

1980sSanti Tisayakorn, B.M.E. 1980, serves as theprovost of Darunsikkalai School for InnovativeLearning of King Mongkut’s University of Tech-nology Thonburi, Bangkok, Thailand.

Sapre Sudhirkumar, M.C.E. 1981, is a seniorprofessor with the Faculty of Technology, at CEPTUniversity in Ahmedabad, India.

(From left) Professors B. Yuan, L. Chang, G. Mavroeidis, Z. Wang

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 19

Alumni Career Updates cont.Jim Giglio, B.M.E. 1982, joined Draper Labora-tory in Cambridge, Mass., as a senior packagingengineer in August 2008.

Carlos Ostria, M.S.E. 1983, is the senior vicepresident for Loiederman Soltesz Associates,Inc., in Rockville, Md.

Larry Schuette, B.E.E. 1983, M.E.E. 1985, Ph.D.1995, has been the director of innovation for theOffice of Naval Research since July 2007. He isalso an adjunct professor in the School of Engi-neering at CUA.

Col. Efren V.M. Garcia, B.C.E. 1984, is assignedto the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Se-curity Administration as the executive director fornuclear safety and operations, within the Office ofDefense Programs.

Buncha Rajtboriraks, B.S.C.S. 1986, owns AnXiem jsc. Export Worldwide, based in Vietnam.

Mark Giarratana, B.M.E. 1987, is currently part-ner at McCarter & English LLP in Hartford, Conn.He specializes in intellectual property law.

1990sDave and Sheila (Carmody) Palmer, B.M.E.1990, received their Ph.D.s from Georgia Tech in 1995. Dave is the manager of the TechnicalSupport Group at Simulia (formerly Abaqus), andSheila teaches math and science at BarringtonChristian Academy.

Azuki Bin Tahir, B.E.E. 1990, started withPenang Seagate in Oct. 1992. He is now a seniormanager of the R&D Engineering Team.

Mamoun Alaoui, B.M.E. 1993, M.M.E. 1995, is the director and designer of the ForensicAcoustics Laboratory, with the Royal Gen-darmerie, in the Kingdom of Morocco.

Sarah Kamal Hagi, B.B.E. 1995, is an assistantprofessor in the College of Medical Physics, atKing Abdulaziz University.

Matt Kaness, B.M.E. 1995, is director of businessdevelopment and strategy for Urban Outfitters, Inc.

Alvaro Lizarraga, B.M.E. 1995, is a servicemanager at Liebher Iberica, in Madrid, Spain.

John Durcan, B.C.E. 1996, currently works atGilbane, Inc.

Bryan Walsh, B.M.E. 1997, works full-time forDuke Energy Corporation as technical manager

of the Marshall Steam Station. He also workspart-time as an engineering consultant for Technology Inc.

Patrick Hatch, B.C.E. 1999, manages his ownimmigration law office in Durham, N.C.

2000sCarissa Debra Tudryn, B.M.E. 2000, is presentlyworking at NASA Ames Research Center. She applied for the first time to the 2009 AstronautCorps Class, and was given the honor of makingthe “highly qualified round.”

Melissa (Currie) Impastato, B.C.E. 2002, ofClark Construction Company, is now the projectmanager of an office building on Andrews AirForce Base.

John Ting Myauo, B.M.E. 2002, is employed bythe Parsons Corp., and is currently the supervis-ing engineer for the Department of Homeland Security’s Advanced Spectroscopic Portal-CargoVariant Project.

Chris Teddy, B.C.E. 2003, currently is a projectmanager for JEDunn Construction. He marriedJessica (Cisper) Teddy, B.B.E. 2003, a lab tech-nician at Stowers Medical Research Institute.

Adam Spisak, B.M.E. 2006, of Lockheed Martin,was just accepted into the Operations LeadershipDevelopment Program.

Christopher Ratto, B.E.E. 2007, completed hismaster’s degree in electrical and computer engi-neering at Duke University in May 2009, and iscontinuing studies towards his Ph.D.

Col. Efren V.M. Garcia, B.C.E. 1984 and his wife,Carmen “Dominguez” Garcia B.A. 1984, at the CUA2009 Sweethearts Reception.

Dave and Sheila (Carmody) Palmer, B.M.E. 1990.

John Ting Myauo, B.M.E. 2002 and his wife, MicheleLynn-Moore Myauo.

Azuki Bin Tahir, B.E.E. 1990 and his family in January 2009.

cuaengineer

20 | cuaengineer

FacultyGrants

� Brown, J.S., Judge, J., Vignola, J., and Wang,Z., “Development of STEM Workforce in Me-chanical Engineering at The Catholic Univer-sity of America in Support of NASA’s StrategicGoals”, DC Space Grant Consortium (NASA),May 1, 2008–April 30, 2009, $30,573.

� Brown, J.S., “Research on Automated Plan-ning and Programming for Intelligent Sys-tems,” National Institute of Standards andTechnology, April 1, 2008–March 31, 2009,$286,642.

� Brown, J.S., “Research on Automated Pro-gramming and Planning for Automated Manu-facturing”, National Institute of Standards andTechnology, April 1, 2009–March 31, 2012,$960,147.

� Choi, J.J., “Image-Guided TransbronchialBiopsy with Novel Biopsy Device,” U.S. ArmyMedical Research and Materiel CommandTelemedicine and Advanced Technology Re-search Center (USAMRMC-TATRC), April2009–Dec. 2010, $252,254.96.

� Vignola, J.F. (PI) and Judge, J.A. (Co-PI), “Synthetic Aperture Acoustics (SAA) Detectionof Camouflaged IEDs,” Army Research Office,Jan. 2009–Dec. 2011, $320,448.32.

� Brown, J.S. (PI), Judge, J.A., Vignola, J.F. andWang, Z. (Co-PIs), “Development of STEMWorkforce in Mechanical Engineering at TheCatholic University of America in Support ofNASA’s Strategic Goals,” DC Space GrantConsortium, May 2008–April 2009, $30,537.

� Judge, J.A. (PI), “CAREER: Dynamics ofMicro- and Nanomechanical Resonator Arrays,” National Science Foundation, May2008–April 2013, $409,287.

� Judge, J.A. (PI) and Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI),“Fabrication and Testing of a Blast ConcussionBurst Sensor,” U.S. Army CDMRP, June 2008–Nov. 2009, $190,920.

� Kilic, O. (PI), “Hardware Accelerated Reconfig-urable Programming for Electromagnetic Simulations and Optimization of AdvancedMaterial Design,” Office of Naval Research,addendum July 2008, $25,000.

� Lade, P.V. (PI), “Instability of Geological MaterialsUnder Three-Dimensional Stress Conditions,”American Chemical Society (The PetroleumResearch Fund), May 1, 2004-Aug. 2009,$80,000.

� Lade, P.V. (PI), “Experimental Study of StressRotation Effects in Cross-Anisotropic Sand,”National Science Foundation, May 2008–April2011, $290,982.

� Lucko, G. (PI), “Enabling higher dimensionality

of temporal-spatial analysis applied to linearscheduling of construction operations based onsingularity functions in structural engineering,”National Science Foundation, July 2007–June2009, $67,571 + $50,000 tuition remission.

� Lucko, G. (PI), Tsopelas, P. (Co-PI), “Teachingstructural design, construction practices, andsustainable technologies for mitigation of nat-ural disaster damages in coastal and faultareas of developing regions.” National Colle-giate Inventors and Innovators Alliance, July2006–July 2009, $42,450.

� Lum, P.S. (PI), “Extension of the MIME roboticsystem for stroke rehabilitation,” VA Merit Re-view Award, July 2007–July 2011, $730,400.

� Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Home-based automated therapy of arm functionafter stroke via tele-rehabilitation (PI:Uswatte),” NIH R01 Award, April 2008–April 2012, $442,270.

� Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “A RoboticExoskeleton for Post-stroke Hand Neuro-reha-bilitation (PI: Healton),” U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, Nov. 2006–Nov. 2009, $250,000.

� Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Neurosci-entific aspects of upper extremity amputation(PI: Healton),” U.S. Army Medical Researchand Materiel Command, Nov. 2006–Nov. 2009,$50,000.

� Lum, P.S. (PI of CUA subcontract), “Assess-ment of Motor System Function in the FirstDays after Brain Injury (PI: Healton),” U.S.Army Medical Research and Materiel Com-mand, Nov. 2006–Nov. 2009, $50,000.

� Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI), “A Practical Enhanced-Resolution Integrated Optical-Digital ImagingCamera (PERIODIC),” Defense MicroelectronicsActivity (DMEA), 2007–2009, $2,699,907.

� Mathews, S.A. (Co-PI), “Fabrication and Testing of a Blast Concussion Burst Sensor,”Congressionally Directed Medical ResearchProgram (U.S. Army Medical Research Acqui-sition Activity), June 1, 2008–Nov. 30, 2009,$190,920.

� Namazi, N.M., “Archival Data Extraction, As-sessment, and Preservation Infrastructure,”National Science Foundation, application.

� Ramella-Roman J.C. (PI), “Measurement ofautonomic dysreflexia on the rat model,”Christopher Reeve Foundation, 2008–2009,$5,000.

� Ramella-Roman J.C. (Co-PI), “Novel Assess-ment of Early Changes in Diabetic Retinopathy,”NIH-NEI, RO1 grant, 2008–2011, $1,775,811.

� Ramella-Roman J.C. (Co-PI), “NEED NAMEOF PROJECT HERE,” Defense Microelectronicsactivity contracting division, subcontract fromCUA electrical engineering, 2007–2009,$40,000.

� Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Two Problems in MultiuserCommunications over High Occupancy Chan-nels,” National Science Foundation, Jan.2007–Dec. 2010, $120,000.

� Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Distributed Estimation inWireless Sensor Networks via ExpectationPropagation,” National Science Foundation,Sept. 2007–Aug. 2010, $194,016.

� Regalia, P.A. (PI), “Minefield Detection for Air-borne Minefield Data: Belief Propagation andMinefield Geometry Compatibility Functions,”Alion, May–July 2009, $50,245.

� Tran, B.Q., “Evaluation of MRI magnetic fieldson implanted medical devices,” Food andDrug Administration, April–Dec. 2008,$62,142.

� Tran, B.Q., “Laboratory evaluation of MRIsafety on implanted medical devices,” Foodand Drug Administration, Jan.–Dec. 2009,$89,042.

� Vignola, J.F. (PI) and Judge, J.A. (Co-PI),“Synthetic Aperture Acoustics (SAA) Detectionof Camouflaged IEDs,” Army Research Office,Jan. 2009–Dec. 2011, $320,448.32.

� Brown, J.S. (PI), Judge, J.A., Vignola, J.F. andWang, Z. (Co-PIs), “Development of STEMWorkforce in Mechanical Engineering at TheCatholic University of America in Support ofNASA’s Strategic Goals,” DC Space GrantConsortium, May 2008–April 2009, $30,537.

� Wang, Z. (PI), “Whole-field experimentalnanomechanics characterization of nanomate-rials and nanostructures,” AFOSR, April 2009–April 2010, $101,950.

� Wang, Z. (PI), “Universal, automatic, and ac-curate interferogram analysis for optics-basedexperimental mechanics and its open sourceimplementation,” NSF, Oct. 2008–Sept. 2010,$124,248.

� Wang, Z. (PI), “Real-time, high-Accuracy 3Dimaging system,” NCIIA, April 2008–Sept.2009, $14,500 (+$2,500 travel support).

� Wang, Z. (PI), “Fabrication of highly orderedmonolayer nanoarrays,” Argonne NationalLaboratory, January 2009-December 2009,(user project without funding support).

� Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone Inspiration in Re-search and Education,” National ScienceFoundation Faculty Early CAREER Award,March 2007–Feb. 2012, $450,000.

� Yuan, B. (PI), “Imaging of tumor fluids includingblood, interstitial fluid and lymph as a unity,”Department of Defense (DOD) breast cancerresearch program, to be submitted on April 6,2009, $350,000.

� Yuan, B. (PI), “Three-dimensional optical-ultra-sound sectioning of breast tumors for functionalimaging,” DOD breast cancer research pro-gram, submitted in Nov. 20, 2008, $100,744.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 21

Presentations and Publications

� Brown, J.S., “Potential R-114 replacement refrigerants.” 2008 ASHRAE Summer Meeting,Salt Lake City, June 2008.

� Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Esti-mations of the thermodynamic and transportproperties of R-1234yf using a cubic equationof state and group contribution methods,”Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Ther-mophysical Properties and Transfer Processesof Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Simu-lation of R-1234yf performance in a typicalautomotive system,” Proceedings of the 3rdConference on Thermophysical Properties andTransfer Processes of Refrigerants, Boulder,Colo., June 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Domanski, P.A., and Lemmon,E.W., “CYCLE_D Version 4.0: Theoreticalvapor compression cycle design program,”Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Ther-mophysical Properties and Transfer Processesof Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Esti-mations of the thermodynamic and transportproperties of R-1234yf using a cubic equationof state and group contribution methods,”Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Ther-mophysical Properties and Transfer Processesof Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Domanski, P.A., and Lemmon,E.W., “CYCLE_D Version 4.0: Theoreticalvapor compression cycle design program,”Proceedings of the 3rd Conference on Ther-mophysical Properties and Transfer Processesof Refrigerants, Boulder, Colo., June 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Thefluorinated olefin R-1234ze(Z) as a high-tem-perature heat pumping refrigerant,” acceptedfor publication in International Journal of Re-frigeration, 2009.

� Brown, J.S., Zilio, C., and Cavallini, A., “Ther-modynamic properties of eight fluorinatedolefins,” submitted to International Journal ofRefrigeration, 2009.

� Brown, J.S., “Potential R-114 replacementrefrigerants,” ASHRAE Transactions, Vol. 114,No. 2, 2008.

� Chang, L-C, Koay, C.G., Basser, P.J., andPierpaoli, C., “A Linear Least Squares Methodfor Unbiased Estimation of T1 from SPGRSignals,” Magnetic Resonance in Medicine,Vol. 60, pp.496–501, 2008.

� Koay, C.G., Nevo, U., Chang, L-C., Pierpaoli,C., and Basser, P.J. “The elliptical cone ofuncertainty and its normalized measures indiffusion tensor imaging,” IEEE Transaction on

Medical Imaging, Vol. 27, Chapter 6, pp. 834-846, 2008.

� Chang, L-C, Walker, L., and Pierpaoli, C.,“Making the Robust Tensor Estimation Ap-proach: ‘RESTORE’ more Robust,” in Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17, May 2009, pp. 3558.

� Walker, L., Chang, L-C., Kanterakis, E., Bloy,L., Simonyan, K., Verma, R., and Pierpaoli, C.,“Statistical Assessment of the Effects of Phys-iological Noise and Artifacts in a PopulationAnalysis of Diffusion Tensor MRI Data,” inProc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson. Med. 17, May2009, pp. 459.

� Chang, L-C., Koay, C.G., Basser, P.J., and Pier-paoli, C., “A New Linear Least Squares Methodfor T1 Estimation from SPGR Signals with Mul-tiple TRs,” in Proc. SPIE Medical Image, Feb.2009, Vol. 7258.

� Wu, M., Chang, L-C., Walker, L., Lemaitre, H.,Barnett, A.S., Marenco, S., and Pierpaoli, C.,“Comparison of EPI Distortion CorrectionMethods in Diffusion Tensor MRI using a NovelFramework,” in Proc. the 11th InternationalConference on Medical Image Computing andComputer Assisted Intervention, Sept. 2008,pp. 321-329.

� Wu, M., Chang, L-C., Walker, L., Lemaitre, H.,Barnett, A.S., Marencom S., and Pierpaoli, C.,“Comparison of B0 field mapping method andB-spline image registration method in EPI distortion correction in Diffusion Tensor MRI,CDMRI’08,” MICCAI Workshop on Computa-tional Diffusion MRI, Sept. 2008.

� Chang, L-C., Koay C.G., Basser, P.J., and Pier-paoli1, C., “Accurate Estimation of T1 fromSPGR Signals,” in Proc. Intl. Soc. Mag. Reson.Med. 16, May 2008, pp.1775.

� Choi, J., Popa, T. and Gruionu, L., “Trans-bronchial Needle Aspiration with a New Elec-tromagnetically Tracked TBNA Needle,” inProceedings of Medical Imaging 2009, LakeBuena Vista, Fla., 2009, 7261, forthcoming.

� Wong, K, Choi, J., Wilson, W., Berry, J. andHenderson, F., “Spinal Cord Stress Injury Assessment (SCOSIA): Clinical Applications ofMechanical Modeling of the Spinal Cord andBrainstem,” in Proceedings of Medical Imaging2009, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., 2009, 7261,forthcoming.

� Choi, J., “Path Generation to the Lesion Basedon Virtual Bronchoscopy,” Computer AssistedRadiology and Surgery, Berlin, Germany,2009, forthcoming.

� Huang, G., Govoni, S., Choi, J., Hartley, D., andWilson, J., “Geovisualizaing Data with RingMaps,” ArcUser, pp. 54-55, Winter 2008.

� Kim, T., Chung, H., Yu, W., Kim, J., Kim, G.,Choi, J., Cleary, K., and Mun, S., “Localizationof Gastric Cancer by CT Gastrography: A

Prospective Study,” Annals of Surgery, forth-coming.

� O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., andJudge, J.A., “Surface-normal vector velocitymeasurement using a five-axis contour scan-ning laser vibrometry system,” in Proceedingsof the Eighth International Conference onVibration Measurements by Laser Techniques:Advances and Applications, Ancona, Italy,2008, Proc. SPIE 7098, 70980D.

� O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., andJudge, J.A., and Jarzynski, J., “Contourscanning laser vibrometry characterizationof Caribbean steelpan,” in Proceedings of theEighth International Conference on VibrationMeasurements by Laser Techniques: Ad-vances and Applications, Ancona, Italy, 2008,Proc. SPIE 7098, 709818.

� Vignola, J.F., and Judge, J.A., “Architecturalconsiderations of MEMS resonators for massdetection in the presence of a fluid,” Journalof Applied Physics, Vol. 104(12): 124305, Dec. 2008.

� Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA AcceleratedAnt Colony Optimization for Phased ArrayDesign,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, Mon-terey, Calif., March 2009, invited paper.

� Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA AcceleratedPhased Array Design Using the Ant ColonyOptimization,” (abstract and presentation)USNC URSI, Boulder, Colo., Jan. 2009.

� Kilic, O., “Interference Analysis for Spot BeamPartitioning in Cellular Satellite CommunicationSystems,” Proc. IEEE AP-S/URSI Intl Conference,San Diego, Calif., July 2008.

� Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA AcceleratedAnt Colony Optimization for Phased Array Design,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, Monterey,Calif., March 2009, invited paper.

� Kilic, O., and Barger, D., “FPGA AcceleratedPhased Array Design Using the Ant Colony Optimization,” (abstract and presentation)USNC URSI, Boulder, Colo., Jan. 2009.

� Kilic, O., “Interference Analysis for Spot BeamPartitioning in Cellular Satellite CommunicationSystems,” Proc. IEEE AP-S/URSI Intl Conference,San Diego, Calif., July 2008.

� Kilic, O., “Comparison of Nature-Based Opti-mization Methods for Multi-beam Satellite Antennas,” Proc. ACES Intl. Conference, NiagaraFalls, Canada, March 2008, invited paper.

� Kilic, O., “Modeling Electromagnetic WaveInteractions with Sea Spray,” ACES Journal2008 Special Issue, Vol. 23, No. 3, 2008.

� Kilic, O., and Zaghloul, A., “Antenna ApertureSize Reduction Using Sub-Beam Concept inMultiple-Spot-Beam Cellular Satellite Systems,”accepted for publication in Radio Science, Feb.2009, forthcoming.

cuaengineer

22 | cuaengineer

� Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for En-gineers: Fundamentals, Evaluations and Cali-bration,” two-day short course presented forASCE in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 2008.

� Lade, P.V., “Analysis and Prediction of ShearBanding Under 3D Conditions in Granular Ma-terials,” presented at Department of Civil andEnvironmental Engineering, Louisiana StateUniversity, Baton Rouge, La., Feb. 18, 2008.

� Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for En-gineers: Fundamentals, Evaluations and Cali-bration,” two-day short course presented forASCE in Denver, Colo., May 2008.

� Lade, P.V., “Soil Constitutive Modeling for Engineers: Fundamentals, Evaluations andCalibration,” two-day short course presentedat ExxonMobil Research and Engineering, Annandale, N.J., Oct. 2008.

� Lade, P.V., “Assessment of test data for selection of 3-D failure criterion for sand,”Haythornthwaite Distinguished Lecturepresented at Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Temple University,Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 2008.

� Lade, P.V., “Failure Criterion for Cross-Anisotropic Soils,” Journal of Geotechnicaland Geoenvironmental Engineering, ASCE, Vol. 134, No. 1, pp. 117-124, 2008.

� Lade, P.V., Nam, J. and Hong, W.P., “ShearBanding and Cross-Anisotropic Behavior Observed in laboratory Sand Tests withStress Rotation,” Canadian GeotechnicalJournal, Vol. 45, No. 1, pp. 74-84, 2008.

� Gdela, K., Pietruszczak, S., Lade, P.V., andTsopelas, P., “On Colles’ Fracture: An Experi-mental Study Involving Structural and MaterialTesting,” Journal of Applied Mechanics, Vol.75, pp. 031002-1-10, May 2008.

� Wood, F.M., Yamamuro, J.A., and Lade, P.V.,“Effect of Depositional Method on theUndrained Response of Silty Sand,” Canadian

Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 45, No 11, pp.1525-1537, Nov. 2008.

� Yamamuro, J.A., Wood, F.M., and Lade, P.V.,“Effect of Depositional Method on the Microstructure of Silty Sand,” Canadian Geotechnical Journal, Vol. 45, No. 11,pp.1538-1555, Nov. 2008.

� Lade, P.V., Nam, J. and Hong, W.P., “Interpre-tation of strains in torsion shear tests,” Com-puters and Geotechnics, Vol. 36, No. 1-2, pp.211-225, Jan./March 2009.

� Lucko, G., “A new paradigm for modeling,analysis, and optimization of linear schedulingmethod,” invited lecture, Department of Civiland Environmental Engineering, University ofMaryland, College Park, Md., 2009.

� Lucko, G., “Calculating float in linear sched-ules with singularity functions,” 2008 Winter Simulation Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008.

� Lucko, G., Benjamin, P. C., and Madden, M. G.,“Harnessing the power of simulation in theproject management/decision support aspectsof the construction industry,” 2008 WinterSimulation Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008.

� Lucko, G., “Analysis of linear schedules withsingularity functions versus critical pathmethod,” 2008 5th Project Management Institute College of Scheduling Annual Conference, Chicago, Ill., 2008.

� Lucko, G., and Rojas, E.M., “Research valida-tion in the construction domain,” Proceedingsof the 2009 Construction Research Congress,Seattle, Wash., 2009, pp. 1449-1458.

� Lucko, G., and Mitchell, Z.W., “Preparation ofincongruous economic datasets for regressionanalysis,” Proceedings of the 2009 ConstructionResearch Congress, Seattle, Wash., 2009, pp.1115-1124.

� Lucko, G., and Peña Orozco, A., “Calculatingfloat in linear schedules with singularity func-tions,” Proceedings of the 2008 Winter Simu-

lation Conference, Miami, Fla., 2008, pp.2512-2518.

� Lucko, G., Benjamin, P. C., and Madden, M. G.,“Harnessing the power of simulation in theproject management/decision support aspectsof the construction industry,” Proceedings ofthe 2008 Winter Simulation Conference,Miami, Fla., 2008, pp. 2479-2487.

� Lucko, G., “Analysis of linear schedules withsingularity functions versus critical pathmethod,” invited paper (peer-reviewed),Proceedings of the 2008 5th Project Manage-ment Institute College of Scheduling AnnualConference, Chicago, Ill., 2008.

� Lucko, G., and Rojas, E.M., “Research validationin the construction domain: challenges andopportunities,” invited technical paper (peer-reviewed), in print, Special Issue on ResearchMethodologies in Construction Engineeringand Management, Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 2009.

� Lucko, G., and Peña Orozco, A.A., “Float typesin linear schedule analysis with singularityfunctions,” in print, Journal of ConstructionEngineering and Management, May 2009.

� Lucko, G., “Productivity Scheduling Method:Linear Schedule Analysis with SingularityFunctions,” Journal of Construction Engineeringand Management, Vol. 135, No. 9, pp. 246-253,April 2009.

� Brennan, D., Lum, P.S., Gilmore, B., Tran, B.,Taub, E., and Uswatte, G., “Developing a plat-form for home-based upper extremity strokerehabilitation,” Platform presentation at the14th Annual International Meeting and Exposi-tion of the American Telemedicine Association,Las Vegas N.V., 2009.

� Metzger, A., Lum, P.S., Schabowky, C., Holley,R., Monroe, B., and Dromerick, A., “Upper extremity amputees adapt to their prosthesesduring reaching movements, but exhibit abnormalities with their intact arm,” in Proc.

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 23

Society of Neuroscience Annual Conference,Washington, D.C., 2008, pp.15-19.

� Dromerick A., Metzger A., Monroe B., Edwards,Pehlinova, and Lum, P.S., “Kinematic Predic-tors of Upper Extremity Recovery during Inpa-tient Rehabilitation,” in Proc. InternationalStroke Conference, San Diego Calif., 2009.

� Schabowsky, C.N., Dromerick, A.W., Holley,R.J., Monroe, B., and Lum, P.S., “Trans-radialupper extremity amputees are capable ofadapting to a novel dynamic environment,”Exp Brain Res, Vol.188, Chapter 4, pp. 589-601, July 2008.

� Dromerick, A.W., Schabowsky, C.N., Holley,R.J., Monroe, B., Markotic, A., and Lum, P.S.,“Effect of Training on Upper-Extremity Pros-thetic Performance and Motor Learning: A Single-Case Study,” Arch Phys Med Rehabil,Vol. 89, pp. 1199-204, June 2008.

� Nef, T., and Lum, P., “Improving backdrivabilityin geared rehabilitation robots,” Med Biol EngComput, Vol. 47, Chapter 4, pp. 441-7, April2009.

� Piqué, A., Auyeung, R. C. Y., Metkus, K., Kim,H., Mathews, S.A., Bailey, T., Chen, X., andYoung, L. J., “Laser decal transfer of electronicmaterials with thin film characteristics,” Proc.of SPIE, 2008, Vol. 6879, pp. 687911-687919.

� Mait, J.N., Wikner, D., Mirotznik, M.S., van der Gracht, J., Mathews, S.A., and Good, B., “Extended Depth-of-Field Imaging at 94 GHz,”Proceedings of the SPIE, 2008, Volume 6948,pp. 69480C-69480C-8.

� Piqué, A., Auyeung, R. C. Y., Kim, H., Metkus,K.M., and Mathews, S.A., “Digital Microfabri-cation by Laser Decal Transfer,” Proc. ofLPM2008-the 9th International Symposium onLaser Precision Microfabrication, June 2008,Paper #8-34

� Mait, J.N., Wikner, D., Mirotznik, M.S., van der Gracht, J., and Mathews, S.A., Good, B.,

“Extended Depth-of-Field Imaging at 94 GHz,”accepted for publication by IEEE Trans on Antennas and Propagation, Sept. 2008.

� Mathews, S.A., “Design and fabrication of a low-cost, multispectral imaging system,”Applied Optics, Vol. 47, No. 28, pp. F71-F76,Oct. 2008.

� Mavroeidis, G.P., Zhang, B., Dong, G., Papa-georgiou, A.S., Dutta, U., and Biswas, N.N.,“The Great 1964 Prince William Sound,Alaska, earthquake (Mw=9.2): Estimation ofstrong ground motion,” in Proceedings of theFourteenth World Conference on EarthquakeEngineering (14WCEE), Beijing, China, Oct.2008.

� Mavroeidis, G.P., and Papageorgiou A.S.,“Near-fault ground motion and its relation tothe fault rupture process,” in Proceedings ofthe Fourteenth World Conference on Earth-quake Engineering (14WCEE), Beijing, China,Oct. 2008.

� Mavroeidis, G.P., Zhang, B., Dong, G., Papa-georgiou, A.S., Dutta, U., and Biswas, N.N.,“Estimation of strong ground motion from theGreat 1964 Mw 9.2 Prince William Sound,Alaska, earthquake,” Bulletin of the Seismo-logical Society of America, Vol. 98, pp. 2303-2324, Oct. 2008.

� Halldorsson, B., Mavroeidis, G.P., and Papa-georgiou, A.S., “Near-fault and far-field strongground motion simulation for earthquake engi-neering applications using the specific barriermodel,” Journal of Structural Engineering—ASCE (accepted for publication).

� Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M., Huber,D., and Obermark, J., “Frame-to-Frame PixelMotion Detection and Classification in thePresence of Noise,” in preparation for submis-sion to Optical Engineering.

� Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M.,Huber, D., and Obermark, J., Progress Report,

“Frame-to-Frame Pixel Motion Detection andClassification in the Presence of Noise,” NavalResearch Laboratory, Summer 2008.

� Namazi, N.M., Scharpf, W., Fatemi, M., Huber,D., and Obermark, J., “Frame-to-Frame PixelMotion Detection and Classification in thePresence of Noise,” SPIE, San Diego, Calif.,July 2009.

� Nef, T., “Robot-aided Neurorehabilitation ofthe Upper Extremities,” University of Florida,Department of Physical Therapy, GainesvilleFla., Nov. 2008.

� Nef, T., “Robot-Supported Arm Therapy: Tech-nical Challenges and Clinical Application inStroke Rehabilitation,” Northwestern Univer-sity, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, Ill.,May 2009.

� Nef, T., and Riener, R., “Shoulder actuationmechanisms for arm rehabilitation exoskele-tons,” in Proc. IEEE International Conf. onBiomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics,Scottsdale, Ariz., Oct. 2008, pp. 862-868.

� Guidali, M., Buechel, M., Klamroth, V., Nef, T.,and Riener, R., “Trajectory Planning of ADLTasks for an Exoskeletal Arm RehabilitationRobot,” International Conference on Techni-cally Assisted Rehabilitation, Berlin, Germany,March 2009.

� Guidali, M. Duschau-Wicke A., Buechel, M.,Brunschweiler, A., Nef, T., and Riener R., “PathControl – A Strategy for Patient-CooperativeArm Rehabilitation,” Automed Conference,Berlin, Germany, March 2009.

� Nef, T., and Lum, P., “Improving backdrivabilityin geared rehabilitation robots,” Medical andBiological Engineering & Computing, Vol.47(4), pp. 441-447, April 2009.

� Serebryany, A.N. and Pao, H.P., “Transition ofa nonlinear internal wave through an overturn-ing point on a shelf,” Doklady Earth Sciences,Vol. 420, No. 4, pp. 714-718, 2008.

cuaengineer

24 | cuaengineer

� Pao, H.P., “Stratified flows and nonlinear internalwaves,” Keynote paper, Proceedings of the12th Cross Strait Water Resources EngineeringConference, Beijing, Oct. 2008, pp. 87–97.

� Pao, H.P., “Precision water-level and sedimentmonitoring system,” 12th Cross Strait WaterResources Engineering Conference, Beijing,Oct. 2008.

� Pao, H.P., “Intense nonlinear internal waves,”invited paper presented at Taiwan OceanWorkshop 2008, Tainan, Taiwan, Oct. 2008.

� Pao, H.P., and Ling, S.C., “Long-term monitoringof sea level and marine pollution in the Taiwansea area,” invited paper presented at TaiwanOcean Workshop 2008, Tainan, Taiwan, Oct.2008.

� Ling, S.C., and Pao, H.P., “Effects of latentheat transfer process over the ocean undertyphoon conditions,” invited paper presentedat Taiwan Ocean Workshop 2008, Tainan, Taiwan, Oct. 2008.

� Pao, H.P., and Ling, S.C., “A new view con-cerning suspended-sediment flows and anew suspended sediment-load monitoringsystem,” invited paper presented at the Inter-national Workshop on Sediment Transport inTaiwanese Rivers—Coastal Seas and otherCoastal Systems, National Central University,Jhongli, Taiwan, Nov. 2008.

� Pao, H.P., “Intense nonlinear internal wavesin oceans,” invited lecture at Department ofMechanical/Ocean Engineering, UC Berkeley,Berkeley, Calif., March 2009.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Optical properties ofa new inorganic liquid crystal,” invited paper,IEEE Advances in Nanobiophotonics, Mexico,2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Polarized fluores-cence for skin cancer diagnostic with a multi-aperture camera,” SPIE—Photonic West, SanJose, Calif., 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “A fiber optic probefor measurement of an autonomic dysreflexiaevent on SCI patients,” SPIE—Photonic West,San Jose, Calif., 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Calibration of a retinaloximeter with a dynamic eye phantom,” SPIE—Photonic West, San Jose, Calif., 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “The impact of Auto-nomic Dysreflexia on SCI patients skin and itsrole in skin ulcer formation,” Christopher andDana Reeve Foundation Meeting, Atlanta, Ga.,2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Introduction to bio-photonics,” The Johns Hopkins University,2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Measurement of anautonomic dysreflexia event on SCI patients,”Oregon Health and Science University, 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., Wilson, O., “Opticalproperties of a new inorganic liquid crystal,”invited paper, IEEE Advances in Nanobiopho-tonics, Mexico, 2008.

� Gupta, N., and Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Detectionof blood oxygen level by noninvasive passivespectral imaging of skin,” Proceedings ofSPIE—Photonic Therapeutics and DiagnosticsIV, Nikiforos Kollias, Bernard Choi, HaishanZeng, Reza S. Malek, Brian J. Wong, Justus F.R. Ilgner, Kenton W. Gregory, Guillermo J. Tear-ney, Henry Hirschberg, Steen J. Madsen, eds.,2008, 68420C.

� Kandimalla, H., Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Polar-ized fluorescence for skin cancer diagnosticwith a multi-aperture camera,” Proceedings ofSPIE—Photonic Therapeutics and DiagnosticsIV, Nikiforos Kollias, Bernard Choi, HaishanZeng, Reza S. Malek, Brian J. Wong, Justus F.R. Ilgner, Kenton W. Gregory, Guillermo J. Tear-ney, Henry Hirschberg, Steen J. Madsen, eds.,2008, 68420J.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., Hidler, J.M., “A fiberoptic probe for measurement of an autonomicdysreflexia event on SCI patients,” Proceed-ings of SPIE—Optical Fibers and Sensors forMedical Diagnostics and Treatment Applica-tions VIII, Israel Gannot, ed., 2008, 685202.

� A. Nabili, A., Bardakci, D., Helling, K., Matyas,C., Muro, S., and Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Calibration of a retinal oximeter with a dy-namic eye phantom,” Proceedings of SPIE—Design and Performance Validation ofPhantoms Used in Conjunction with OpticalMeasurements of Tissue, Robert J. Nordstrom,ed., 2008, 6870N.

� Lemaillet, P., Ramella-Roman, J.C., “Calibra-tion of a retinal oximeter with a dynamic eyephantom,” accepted to The Journal of Bio-medical Optics, 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., Hidler, J.M., “The im-pact of autonomic dysreflexia on blood flowand skin response in individuals with spinalcord injury,” Advances in Optical Technologies,ID 797214, 2008.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., Mathews, S.A., Kandi-malla, H., Nabili, A., Duncan, D.D. D’Anna, S.A.,Shah, S.M., Nguyen, Q.Q., “Measurement ofoxygen saturation in the retina with a spectro-scopic sensitive multi aperture camera,” Optics Express, Vol. 16, pp. 6170-6182, 2008.

� Regalia, P.A., “Cryptographic secrecy ofsteganographic matrix embedding,” IEEETrans. Information Forensics and Security, Vol. 3, no. 4, pp. 786–791, Dec. 2008.

� Regalia, P.A., “Information projection algo-rithms and belief propagation,” Int. Work-shop in honor of P. Dewilde, Wassenaar, TheNetherlands, June 2008.

� Regalia, P.A., “Belief propagation and networkapplications,” presented during the SDE MonthlySeminar, Northrop Grumman, Linthicum, Md.,Aug. 2008.

� Regalia, P.A., and Walsh, J. M., “Iterative decoding algorithms and convex optimizationproblems,” AFOSR Conf. Mathematical Foun-dations of Machine Learning, Air Force Officeof Scientific Research, Arlington, Va., Jan.2009.

� Regalia, P.A., “Cumulant signal processing,tensor, and some recurring problems,” NSFWorshop on Future Directions in Tensor-BasedComputation and Modeling, National ScienceFoundation, Arlington, Va., Feb. 2009.

� Regalia, P.A., “Belief propagation and net-work applications,” presented during theDESE Seminar, Universidade de São Paulo,Brazil, March 2009.

� Wang, J., and Regalia, P.A., “Sensor networklocalization via boundary projections,” IEEEConf. Information Systems and Sciences, Baltimore, Md., March 2009.

� Walsh, J. M., Ramanan, S., and Regalia, P.A.,“Optimality of expectation propagation baseddistributed estimation for wireless sensor net-work initialization,” IEEE Workshop on SignalProcessing Advances in Wireless Communica-tions (SPAWC 2008), Recife, Brazil, July 2008;pp. 620–624.

� Regalia, P.A., and LeBorne, R. C., “NumericalStability Properties,” Chapter 8 in: QRD-RLSAdaptive Filtering, J. A. Apolinário, ed.,Springer, Seacaucus, N.J., 2009.

� Sun, L., Gu, W., and Luo, F., “Steady state response of multilayered viscoelastic mediaunder a moving dynamic distributed load,”Journal of Applied Mechanics, ASME, Vol. 75,2009.

� Sun, L. and Luo, F., “Steady-state dynamicresponse of a Bernoulli-Euler beam on a vis-coelastic foundation subject to a platoon ofmoving dynamic loads,” Journal of Vibrationand Acoustics, ASME, Vol. 130, No. 5, 2008.

� Wang, S.Y., Sun, L., Tang, C.A. and Yang, T.H.,“Numerical study of hydraulic fracture initia-tion and propagation around injection cavity instiff soil,” Construction and Building Materials,in press.

� Tran, B.Q., “Clinical eStorefront @ CPDC…and Telerehabilitation Applications,” AmericanSociety on Aging, Las Vegas, Nev., March 15–18, 2009.

� Brennan, D., Lum, P.S., Gilmore, B., Tran, B.,Taub, E., Uswatte, G., “Developing a platformfor home-based upper extremity stroke reha-bilitation,” American Telemedicine Association,Las Vegas, Nev., April, 2009.

� Buckley, K., Tran, B., Agazio, J., Wuertz, E.,

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 25

“A community-based telehealth program forelderly low-income African Americans,” J. InfoTech in Healthcare, Vol. 6, Chapter 6, pp. 400-412, 2008.

� O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., andJudge, J.A., “Surface-normal vector velocitymeasurement using a five-axis contour scan-ning laser vibrometry system,” in Proceedingsof the Eighth International Conference onVibration Measurements by Laser Techniques:Advances and Applications, Ancona, Italy,2008, Proc. SPIE 7098, 70980D.

� O’Malley, P., Woods, T.J., Vignola, J.F., Judge,J.A., and Jarzynski, J., “Contour scanninglaser vibrometry characterization of Caribbeansteelpan,” in Proceedings of the Eighth Inter-national Conference on Vibration Measure-ments by Laser Techniques: Advances andApplications, Ancona, Italy, 2008, Proc. SPIE7098, 709818.

� Kim, W., Kurdila, A.J., Stepanyan, V., Inman,D.J., and Vignola, J.F., “Averaging Models forLinear Piezostructural Systems,” SPIE SmartStructures/NDE, San Diego, March 2009.

� Vignola, J.F., Judge, J.A., “Architecturalconsiderations of MEMS resonators for massdetection in the presence of a fluid,” Journalof Applied Physics, Vol. 104, Chapter 12, pp.124305, Dec. 2008.

� Xiao Liu, Haucke, H., Vignola, J.F., Simpson,H.J., Baldwin, J.W., Houston, B.H., Photiadis,D.M., “Understanding the internal friction of asilicon micromechanical oscillator,” MaterialScience and Engineering A, published onlineMarch 2009.

� Vignola, J.F., Judge, J., Kurdila, A. J., “Shapinga system’s frequency response using an arrayof subordinate oscillators,” Journal of theAcoustical Society of America, accepted forpublication, March 2009.

� Wang, Z., “Theory and applications of randomphase shifting technique,” The InternationalConference on Experimental Mechanics, Nanjing, Nov. 2008.

� Wang, Z., and Han, B., “Vapor pressure mod-eling for plastic electronics subjected to lead-free solder reflow profile,” in Proc. of the SEMXI International Congress and Exposition onExperimental and Applied Mechanics, Orlando,June 2008.

� Wang, Z., Du, H., and Barnes, J., “Fast andaccurate 3D inspection technique,” in Pro. ofthe SEM XI International Congress and Exposi-tion on Experimental and Applied Mechanics,Orlando, June 2008.

� Pan, B., Xie, H.,Wang, Z., and Qian, K., “Studyon subset size selection in digital image corre-lation for speckle patterns,” Optics Express,Vol. 16, pp.7037-7048, May 2008.

� Pan, B., Xie, H., Yang, L., and Wang, Z., “Accu-rate measurement of satellite antenna surfaceusing 3D digital image correlation technique,”Strain, Vol. 45, pp.194-200, April 2009.

� Wang, Z., “Vapor pressure modeling for plas-tic encapsulated microelectronics subjected tolead-free solder reflow profile,” Strain, sched-uled in Vol. 45, online early view available,Jan. 2009

� Hu, Z., Xie, H., Hua, T., and Wang, Z., “Advancedintensity correlation method for evaluatingPoisson’s ratio of fiber-like material,” Reviewof Scientific Instruments, Vol. 80, pp. 013105,Jan. 2009.

� Wang, Z., Du, H., Park, S., and Xie, H., “Three-dimensional shape measurement with a fastand accurate approach,” (featured on cover)Applied Optics, Vol. 48, pp.1052-1061, Feb.2009.

� Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone-Inspired Nanocom-posites,” Virginia State University, June 26,2008.

� Wilson Jr., O.C., “Surface Modification ofHydroxyapatite: A Review,” presented atMaterials Science and Technology (MS&T2008), Pittsburgh, Pa., Oct. 8, 2008.

� Ayikoe, K., Moore, L., Stubbs III, J., Wilson Jr.,O.C., and Raghavan, D., “Nanoparticle Encap-sulated Biodegradable PHBV for Bone TissueEngineering,” poster presented at SecondHoward University Nanotechnology Sympo-sium, Washington, D.C., Nov. 2008.

� Mehl, P., Helling, K., Merkerson, J., Kapoor, V.,and Wilson Jr., O.C., “BSA-Silver nanoparticletoxicity for Jurkat and normal T-cells,” SecondHoward University Nanotechnology Sympo-sium, Nov. 2008.

� Wilson Jr., O.C., Mehl, P., Gugssa, A., Silva, R.,and Anderson, W., “Bone Inspiration andBiomineralization in Nanocomposite Design,”Second Howard University NanotechnologySymposium, Nov. 2008.

� Wilson Jr., O.C., “Surface Modification of Hydroxyapatite: A Review,” Ceramic Transac-tions, in press, 2008.

� Wilson Jr., O.C., “Bone Inspired Nanocompos-ites,” in New Research on Nanocomposites,Nova Science Publishers, New York, pp. 57-78, 2008.

� Yuan, B., “A confocal microscope-basedoptical tomography technique for 3-dimen-sional in vivo imaging,” Chesapeake Societyfor Microscopy, The Catholic University ofAmerica Washington, D.C., May 2008.

� Biswal, N. C., Yuan, B., Gamelin, J. K., andZhu, Q., “In-vivo Small Animal Near Infra-redFluorescence Imaging with Prior AnatomicalInformation,” DOD Era of Hope, Baltimore,Md., June 2008.

� Yuan, B., “Sensitivity of fluorescence lifetimeto external pressure in a fluorophore-quencherlabeled microbubble system,” Frontiers in Optics, Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2008.

� Yuan, B., “Radiative transport in the delta-P1approximation for optical tomography withsmall source-detector separations,” Frontiersin Optics, Rochester, N.Y., Oct. 2008.

� Yuan, B., “Ultrasonic modulation of fluores-cence in turbid media,” SPIE, San Jose, Calif.,Jan. 2009.

� Yuan, B., “Applications of delta-P1 and delta-P3 approximations to optical tomography insmall imaging volumes,” SPIE, San Jose,Calif., Jan. 2009.

� Yuan, B., “Ultrasound-modulated fluorescencebased on a fluorophore-quencher labeled mi-crobubble system,” Metropolitan BiophotonicsSymposium, The Catholic University of Amer-ica, Washington, D.C., April 2009.

� Xu, C., Yuan, B., and Zhu, Q., “An optimalprobe design for breast imaging using nearinfrared diffused light,” Journal of BiomedicalOptics, Vol. 13(4), pp. 044002-1, 2008.

� Yuan, B., Gamelin, J., and Zhu, Q., “Mecha-nisms of the ultrasonic modulation of fluores-cence in turbid media,” Journal of AppliedPhysics, Vol. 104(15), pp. 103102, 2008.

� Burgess, S.A., Bouchard, M.B., Yuan, B., Hillman, E.M.C., “Multi-Wavelength LaminarOptical Tomography,” Optics Letters, Vol. 33Chapter 22, pp. 2710–2712, 2008.

� Yuan, B., Burgess, S A., Bouchard, M.B.,Lehrer, N., Iranmahboob, A., Hillman, E.M.C.,“A system for high-resolution fluorescenceand absorption contrast depth-resolved opticalimaging,” Review of Scientific Instruments,2009, in press.

� Yuan, B., “Radiative transport in the delta-P1approximation for laminar optical tomography,”Journal of Innovative Optical Health Sciences,2009, in press.

� Yuan, B., “Ultrasound-modulated fluorescencebased on a fluorophore-quencher labeled microbubble system,” Journal of BiomedicalOptics, Vol.14, Chapter 2, 2009, in press.

� Yuan, B., “Sensitivity of a fluorophore-quencherlabeled microbubble system to externally applied static pressure,” (revised manuscripthas been submitted to Medical Physics underthe 2nd round review).

� Biswal, N.C., Gamelin, J.K., Yuan, B., Backer,M.V., Backer, J.M., and Zhu, Q., “FluorescenceImaging of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factorin Tumors for Mice Embedded in a TurbidMedium,” (Submitted to Journal of BiomedicalOptics).

cuaengineer

26 | cuaengineer

Activities

� Chang, L-C., electrical engineering and com-puter science, served on academic advisoryboard, the DC Association for ComputingMachinery (ACM), 2008. She also was a re-viewer for the International Journal of Bio-medical Imaging (IJBI), 2008.

� Kilic, O., electrical engineering and computerscience, was nominated and elected in March2009 to serve as a member of the Board ofDirectors for the Applied ComputationalElectromagnetics Society (ACES). She hasalso been serving as an elected member ofthe AdCom Committee for IEEE Antennas andPropagation Society, and the chair for Com-mission A (Electromagnetic Metrology) and a full member for Commission B for the U.S.for the International Union of Radio Science(URSI). She serves on the Education Commit-tee of IEEE AP-S society, and oversees the annual student design contest. She has servedas a reviewer for the ACES (Applied Computa-tional Electromagnetics Society) URSI and IEEEAP-S since 2006. She has organized and par-ticipated as a speaker in numerous specialsessions in IEEE AP-S and ACES conferences.

� Lade, P.V., civil engineering, began serving aseditor-in-chief (for the Americas) for Geome-chanics and Engineering, An InternationalJournal, published by Techno-Press, Korea in2009. He has been a member of the editorialboard of Engineering Geology, published byElsevier—Chemistry, Earth and EnvironmentalSciences Department, since 2007; a memberof the editorial board of International Journalof Geomechanics, published by CRC PressLLC, 2001-2002, by ASCE’s G-I Institute, since2003; a member of the International EditorialCommittee of Soils and Foundations, publishedby the Japanese Geotechnical Society, since1998; a member of the editorial board of Geotechnical Testing Journal, published by

ASTM, since 1988; a member of the EditorialAdvisory Board for International Journal of Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geome-chanics, published by Wiley, since 1984; and a member of the editorial board of Computersand Geotechnics, published by Elsevier Applied Science Publishers, Ltd., London, England, since 1984. In addition, Lade reviewed48 manuscripts in 2008 submitted to theabove journals as well as to many other journals.

� Lucko, G., civil engineering, served as memberof the 2008 best paper awards committee ofthe Journal of Construction Engineering andManagement and as reviewer for severalscholarly journals, including Journal of Construction Engineering and Management,Journal of Computing in Civil Engineering,Construction Management and Economics,Automation in Construction, and Computer-Aided Civil and Infrastructure Engineering,2008–2009. He was a lead mentor of the Career Directions for Students in Architecture,Construction, and Engineering (ACE) program,Washington, D.C., 2008–2009. Throughout2008, Lucko served as assistant specialty editor of the project planning and design spe-cialty area of the Journal of Construction Engi-neering and Management. At the 2008 WinterSimulation Conference held in Miami, Fla.,Lucko was session chair in the ConstructionEngineering and Project Management track.

� Lum, P.S., biomedical engineering, served onthe NIH study section entitled National Insti-tute of Child Health and Human DevelopmentStudy Section: Function, Integration and Reha-bilitation Sciences Program, Washington D.C.,June and Oct. 2008 and March 2009. He wason the Review Committee for the InternationalStroke Conference, and as reviewer for the In-ternational Conference on Rehabilitation Ro-botics, both in 2009.

� Mavroeidis, G.P., civil engineering, served asa reviewer for the Journal of Structural Engi-

neering—ASCE, Bulletin of the SeismologicalSociety of America, and Soil Dynamics andEarthquake Engineering. In addition, he chairedthe “Technical Session 03: Engineering Seis-mology” at the Fourteenth World Conferenceon Earthquake Engineering (14WCEE), Beijing,China, Oct. 12–17, 2008.

� Nguyen, C.C., dean, visited the Danang Uni-versity of Technology (DUT), Danang, Vietnam,June 2008 and signed an MOU to explore research and education collaboration betweenCUA and DUT. He attended the Conference ofHigher Education in Vietnam: American-Viet-namese Partnerships, sponsored by the U.S.Embassy in Vietnam, January 15–16, 2009,Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. The dean was interviewed by SBTN (Saigon BroadcastingTelevision Network) on Feb. 27, 2009, abouthis Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dis-trict of Columbia Council of Engineering andArchitectural Societies (DCCEAS) and the 2+2collaborative educational program with the International University-Vietnam National University, Vietnam. He was also interviewedabout these topics by VOA (Voice of America)on March 31, 2009, and by Tuoi Tre OnlineNewspaper, Tien Phong Online Magazine andCalitoday.com in Feb. 2009. Nguyen attendedthe alumni reception and briefing for archi-tects and engineers on Sept. 25, 2008, in NewYork City, where he gave a presentation aboutthe state of the School of Engineering andtalked with numerous engineering alumniabout the school’s progress. On May 3, 2009,he delivered the keynote speech at the lunch-eon of the Symposium, Journey to Freedom: A Boat People Retrospective at the Library ofCongress.

� Pao, H.P., civil engineering, served as sessionchairman at the 12th Cross Strait Water Re-sources Engineering Conference, Beijing andpresented a keynote paper. In October 2008,he served as one of the organizing chairs forthe Taiwan Ocean Workshop 2008 in National

cuaengineer

fall2009 | 27

Cheng Kung University in Tainan, Taiwan. InOctober-November, 2008, Pao visited NationalSunYat-sen University, National Taiwan Univer-sity, Chung Yuan Christian University, Fu JenCatholic University, National Central Universityand National Cheng Kung University in Taiwanfor international collaboration. In November, hevisited UC Berkeley in California for potentialcollaboration.

� Ramella-Roman J.C., biomedical engineering,chaired the Organizing Committee for Topics inBiophotonics Conference, Washington D.C.,2009. She was a member of the programcommittees at the 22nd Annual Meeting ofthe IEEE Photonics Society (formerly LEOS),Belek-Antalya, Turkey, 2009, and the Inter-Institute Workshop on Optical Diagnostic andBiophotonic Methods from Bench to Bedside,Bethesda, Md., 2009. Ramella-Roman servedas Program Committee member and sessionchair at the Photonics in Dermatology andPlastic Surgery, Photonics West SPIE, and theOptical Interactions with tissue and cells XVIII,Photonics West SPIE, in San Jose, Calif., 2009.In 2008, she reviewed grants for the MaterialCommand, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP). Also in 2008, she was also the organizing committee member for IEEE Advances in NanobiophotonicsConference, Mexico.

� Regalia, P.A., electrical engineering and computer science, serves as the Editor-in-Chief of the EURASIP Journal on Advances inSignal Processing; on the editorial boards ofthe IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, SignalProcessing (Elsevier), and EURASIP Journal onWireless Communications and Networking. Heis the America Liaison for the IEEE Workshopon Statistical Signal Processing, Cardiff,Wales, UK, held in Sept. 2009.

� Sun, L., civil engineering, serves as a paperreviewer for a dozen technical journals, in-cluding Journal of Sound and Vibration, Inter-national Journal of Physics and Chemistry in

Solids, International Journal of Vehicle Design,Vehicle Dynamic Systems, Nonlinear Dynam-ics, Mechanics Research Communication, Eu-ropean Journal of Mechanics: Part A/Solids, Applied Mathematical Modeling, ProbabilisticEngineering Mechanics, Proceedings of theInstitution of Mechanical Engineers: Part D,Journal of Automobile Engineering, Computersand Mathematics with Applications, and Inter-national Journal of Structural Health Monitoring.

� Tran, B.Q., biomedical engineering, served inas reviewer for the IEEE Transactions on Infor-mation Technology in Biomedicine 2008–09,the Institute of Physics’ Physiological Meas-urement Journal, 2009, and the National Insti-tute of Health Challenge Grants Panel, 2009.Tran was president of the Washington Academyof Biomedical Engineering from 2008 to 2009.

� Wang, Z., mechanical engineering, was ap-pointed as the co-chair of the Electronic Pack-aging Committee of SEM. He chaired threesessions in two international conferences in2008. He co-organized the International Sym-posium on Electronic/MEMS Packaging andReliability in SEM international conference in2008. Wang served as a reviewer for Experi-mental Mechanics, Optics Express, Journal ofthe Optical Society of America A, Optics Let-ters, Optics and Lasers in Engineering, Opticsand Laser Technology, IEEE Transactions onInstrumentation and Measurement, Journal ofMachine Vision and Applications, 2008-2009.

� Yuan, B., served as a reviewer for Optics Letter, Applied Optics and Optics Express,2008–2009.

Awards and Honors� Judge, J.A., Charles H. Kaman Award for

Excellence in Research, The Catholic Univer-sity of America School of Engineering, 2008.

� Lucko, G., Charles H. Kaman Award for Teaching Excellence, The Catholic University of

America School of Engineering, 2008.

� Lucko, G., Finalist for Provost Award for Ex-cellence in Teaching, The Catholic Universityof America, 2008.

� Lucko, G., Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, Myers-Lawson School of Construction,Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 2008.

� Mathews, S.A., Provost Award for Excellencein Research and Scholarship, The Catholic University of America, 2008.

� Nef, T., Hans-Eggenberger award for young investigators, Zurich, Switzerland, 2008.

� Nguyen, C.C., dean, Lifetime AchievementAward, District of Columbia Council of Engi-neering and Architectural Societies, Feb. 2009.

� Ramella-Roman, J.C., Provost Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship, TheCatholic University of America, 2008.

� Vignola, J.F., Burns Fellow, The Catholic University of America School of Engineering,2008.

Student Awards� Mostafa Ardakani, Ph.D. candidate, civil

engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Nicholas Backert, B.C.E. 2009, Dennis McCahillAward for Service in Civil Engineering, CivilEngineering Senior Design Project Award

� Ali Basiri, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engi-neering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Nicholas Berg, B.M.E. 2009, American Soci-ety of Mechanical Engineers Award

� Vincent Caruso, Master’s student, electricalengineering/computer science, The GeorgeMcDuffie Award for Excellence in ElectricalEngineering

cuaengineer

28 | cuaengineer

� Joseph Cochrane, B.M.E. 2009, MechanicalEngineering Senior Design Project Award

� James Copper, Master’s student, civil engi-neering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Patrick Dickey, B.M.E. 2009, Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Project Award

� Trang Dinh, Master’s student, electrical engineering/computer science, The GeorgeMcDuffie Award for Excellence in ElectricalEngineering

� Thomas Giuliani, Master’s student, biomedicalengineering, The H.B. Atabek Award, The Anthony J. Scullen Award, Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Project Award

� Aldo Glean, B.M.E. 2010, Mechanical Engi-neering Senior Design Project Award

� Mikhail Gorbachev, Ph.D. candidate, electricalengineering/computer science, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Jenna Graham, B.B.E. 2011, biomedical engi-neering, Landmark Conference’s AcademicHonor Roll, Edward M. Nagel Scholar

� Jonathan Gravina, B.B.E. 2009, BiomedicalEngineering Society Award

� Andrew Gravunder, B.B.E. 2011, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� Megan Jamiolkowski, B.B.E. 2010, Barry M.Goldwater Scholarship, Edward M. NagelScholar

� Hamid Karimpour, Ph.D. candidate, civil engineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Kathryn Kazior, B.C.E. 2009, American Societyof Civil Engineers National Capital SectionAward, Timothy Kao Award for Excellence inCivil Engineering

� Kristen Kennedy, B.B.E. 2009, Biomedical Engineering Senior Design Project Award

� Michael Kuklinski, B.C.E. 2009, Civil Engi-neering Senior Design Project Award

� Chien-Hung Lai, Master’s student, electricalengineering/computer science, Hennessy Dis-tinguished Scholar

� Chin-Yu Lin, Master’s student, electrical engi-neering/computer science, Hennessy Distin-guished Scholar

� Yuan Liu, Ph.D. candidate, biomedical engi-neering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Rose Lucas, B.C.E. 2009, Civil EngineeringSenior Design Project Award

� Sarah Luffy, B.B.E. 2009, Biomedical Engi-neering Senior Design Project Award

� Joseph McAnaney, B.B.E. 2012, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� James McMahon, B.M.E. 2009, MechanicalEngineering Senior Design Project Award

� John Stuart McMurray, B.E.E. 2009, TheJohn N. Welch Award for Excellence in Computer Science

� Timothy Mierzwa, B.B.E. 2011, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� Anthony Metzger, Master’s student, biomed-ical engineering, Hennessy DistinguishedScholar

� Omar Monterrubio, B.M.E. 2009, MechanicalEngineering Senior Design Project Award

� Theresa Murray, B.B.E. 2010, Tau Beta PiScholarship, Big Y Scholarship, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� Patrick O’Malley, Ph.D. candidate, mechani-cal engineering, Hennessy DistinguishedScholar

� Patrick Noonan, B.B.E. 2012, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� Kalin Petersen, Master’s student, mechanicalengineering, The C.C. Chang Award, The Ben-jamin T. Rome Award, Mechanical EngineeringSenior Design Project Award

� Katherine Rucky, B.B.E. 2010, Edward M.Nagel Scholar

� Nitin Sawant, Ph.D. candidate, mechanicalengineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Richard Scenna, Master’s student, mechani-cal engineering, Hennessy DistinguishedScholar

� Jason Shao, Hong Kong exchange studentSpring 2009, mechanical engineering, Me-chanical Engineering Senior Design ProjectAward

� Andrew Smith, B.E.E. 2009, Electrical Engi-neering and Computer Science Senior DesignProject Award

� Seema Swaminathan, Ph.D. candidate, bio-medical engineering, Hennessy DistinguishedScholar

� Chen Wang, Master’s student, civil engineer-ing, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

� Jing Wang, Ph.D. candidate, electrical engi-neering/computer science, Hennessy Distin-guished Scholar

� Teresa Woods, Ph.D. candidate, mechanicalengineering, Hennessy Distinguished Scholar

Developed in 2006 by the School of Engineering’sExecutive Committee, the 2012 Strategic Plan established a detailed growth plan with measurable targets and major milestones to be achieved between 2007 and 2012. The five-year strategic plan listed desired goals in theareas of research pre-eminence, undergraduateeducation and professional training. This year, a strategic plan review committee consisting ofrepresentatives from each undergraduate andgraduate program and co-chaired by professorsJeff Giangiuli and Binh Tran assessed progresstoward engineering’s plan. The committee foundthat engineering was ahead of schedule in manyof the desired areas outlined in the plan.

The committee found that faculty researchproductivity in terms of publications and researchfunding increased dramatically since the start of the plan. Extramural funding and researchexpenditures increased by 56 percent and 72

percent, respectively, over the past two years. Asa result, there was a 70 percent increase in thenumber of full-time doctoral students enrolled inthe school over the same period.

In recent years, engineering has developedseveral new academic programs at both theundergraduate and graduate levels in the areasof bio-optics, acoustics and alternative energy.These new programs, combined with the recentstudy abroad and student exchange initiativeswith international universities in Vietnam andChina, have helped provide exciting opportunitiesfor current and future students. Undergraduate and graduate enrollment has

continued to climb in recent years. In fall 2009,engineering will exceed 300 undergraduate students, a 33 percent increase since the startof the strategic plan. Likewise, graduate enroll-ment has climbed 37 percent in the same perioddue to accelerated growth in engineering man-

agement and biomedical engineering over thepast five years, as well as the joint electrical andmechanical engineering off-campus program at the Night Vision and Electronic SensorsDirectorate at Ft. Belvoir, Va.While key challenges remain ahead, the

committee was optimistic that the School ofEngineering will successfully achieve andexceed the major milestones set forth in the2012 Engineering Strategic Plan.

Strategic Plan 2012: Engineering Exceeding Targets

Pao Retires After 45 Years of Service at CUA

Hsien Ping Pao, Ph.D., professor of civil engineering, joined the faculty in 1964 and for the past 45 years has served the university in numerouscapacities. Pao's research areas include fluid mechanics and heat transferand clean combustion of solid fuels and wastes. His research has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, Office of NavalResearch, Department of Energy, the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration and other agencies.Among other achievements, Pao developed a fast-response, four-

electrode conductivity sensor for use in rivers and oceans; an automatedbubbler tide-gauge system; and a shaped-charge clean-combustion systemfor which two U.S. patents have been granted.

Pao was also appointed the director of international program develop-ment in 2008, and will continue in this position after his retirement onSeptember 1, 2009. “In addition to his longtime contribution to the School of Engineering as a faculty member, in the role of director of internationalprogram development, Dr. Pao has been traveling with me extensively inAsia and Europe and has been instrumental in setting up academic andresearch programs with several universities around the world. I look forward to continuing working with him to expand our international pro-grams,” said Dean Charles Nguyen. Pao received the Benemerenti Medal from His Holiness, Pope John Paul II,

in 1995.

From left: Professor Pao, Father O’Connell, Provost Brennan and Dean Nguyen in Taiwan inJune 2009.

CUA delegation visits Chung Yuan Christian University.

Professor Jeff Giangiuli Professor Binh Tran

THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICASchool of EngineeringWashington, DC 20064

NON PROFIT ORG.U.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT 711

WASHINGTON, D.C.

R E A S O N . F A I T H . S E R V I C E .

CUA Engineering: Cutting-edge Research Driving Superb Education

Ph.D. Dissertations and AdvisersLiliang Chen, Dissertation: Seismic Performance of Shear Walls Utilizing Cellular Material Adviser: Associate Professor Panagiotis Tsopelas

Alper Ucak, Dissertation: Instabilities in Thin Walled Steel Columns Under Three Dimensional Non-Proportional Cuclic Loading. Adviser: Associate ProfessorPanagiotis Tsopelas

Gregory P. Behrmann, Dissertation: Fiber Optic Micro Sensor for the Measurement of Tendon Forces. Adviser: Associate Professor Mark Mirotznik

Master of BiomedicalEngineeringDeniz BardakciLindsey BelliniElizabeth BrokawEmre GencaBrendan Matthew GilmoreLaKisha GuinnKristen Michelle KennedyMohammad Ahmed MaghrabiAnthony James MetzgerBradley James MillerAfshin NabiliMarjan NabiliAmritha NayakFarshad NegarestanColin John O’NeillSeema Swaminathan

Master of Civil EngineeringChen WangMaduabuchi Livinus UdehWengang Zhang

Master of Electrical EngineeringAli BasiriBrandon GoodChin-Yu LinEric Laumbach LuftLaurel Louise MartinAna M. Rosas

Master of Science in Computer ScienceSuliman AbualhamaielChia-Hsiang Chen

Fahad Ali MilaatAmmar Hassan Zarei

Master of MechanicalEngineeringMichael CullenHua DuPatrick FryTeresa Woods

Master of Science in EngineeringZiad A. AlbudaiwiFaisal Saad AldhfayanAbdulelah A. Abed Al-ThakafiMohammed Abdulrahman AlghasebMohmmad Ghaleb AlmashyakhiAli Dagash AlKahtaniDavid Leonard AugustinBaboucarr ChamJonathan Edward CrittendenJohn Lee CroghanScott Robert DelwicheMatthew Gingras HortonChen-Yu HsiehKevin Thomas KarowRinwah M. KattanMohammad Ahmed MaghrabiChristopher NewportAlexander O. OkechukwuJennifer Anderson PeoplesAndrew Nicholas RielPeter RingenbergWigdan Habib SaberSandeep S. SekhonJason E. SmallJared Christopher Smith

Richard Clemens ThompsonLyndon F. Wrighten Sr.

Bachelor of BiomedicalEngineeringObinna AgubuzoBandar Faisal Al-MifgaiJeffrey T. BurkeyJonathan A. GravinaEmily Ann GrowneyThomas A. Giuliani IIIHoda IravaniKristen Michelle KennedySarah Anne LuffySamantha R. McClellanMichael J. McCoyAllison Lee PfefferGerard Ryan IIIAaron Joshua Shapiro

Bachelor of Civil EngineeringNicholas Justin BackertCesar Jose Diogo CasanovaAnthony DeSantisErica Catherine GonzalezMichael William GoodmanBoshra IravaniAndrew Ryan KalnaKathryn Florentyna KaziorMichael James KuklinskiThomas Mahlon Lee Jr.Trevor Karl Mackessy-LloydRose LucasMatthew Joseph McElhareDavid MooreKevin T. Picken

Amitai P. RozmarynChristopher SaxtonSarah Margaret Taylor

Bachelor of ElectricalEngineeringPaul J. BeckerVincent J. CarusoTrang T. DinhChristopher M. NicklasPatrick Hale Stack

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science John McMurray Jr.

Bachelor of MechanicalEngineeringJohn Charles BarnesNicholas William BergAlison M. BuchlerJoseph R. CochraneFrancis G. CorsoE. Jeffrey DeSipioPatrick DickeyAdam LawsonJoseph Edward LoefflerJames William McMahonOmar MonterrubioKalin Rebecca PetersenStephen R. PrieurMatthew David ValerioAdam Wise

Congratulations to the Class of 2009!

School ofEngineering

Charles C. Nguyen, Dean202-319-5160

Jeffrey Giangiuli, DirectorEngineering

Managment Program202-319-5191

Binh Q. Tran, ChairDepartment of

Biomedical Engineering202-319-5181

Lu Sun, Chair Department of Civil Engineering202-319-5163

Philip Regalia, ChairDepartment of

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science

202-319-5193

Sen Nieh, ChairDepartment of

Mechanical Engineering202-319-5170