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auburn engineering

Fall 2005 Volume 15 Issue 2

Formula, Mini Baja, Sol of Auburn student racing teams

• Annual giving empowers Auburn Engineering• Department leadership fuels college’s vision• Into the labs of Auburn — research highlights• Auburn alumni among ranks of national academy

In this Issue...

War Eagle Motorsports

In this issue...• Annual giving empowers Auburn Engineering• Department leadership fuels college’s vision• Into the labs of Auburn — research highlights• Auburn alumni among ranks of national academy

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Is fall semester our busiest time of year? Maybe so, if you count the num-ber of activities in and around football games, including alumni reunions, tail-gate parties and Golden Eagle recep-tions. Indeed, a lot has been going on in and out of the classrooms and labs of the College of Engineering, through-out an eventful spring and summer and into the fall. We have been fortunate to attract two world-class business leaders to campus, BellSouth CEO Dwayne Ackerman and General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt.

I think it’s wonderful that Auburn Engineering can attract individuals of their stature to campus because it reflects our reputation as a cutting-edge program that speaks to industry — not only as a provider of high quality engineers, but as a partner in research and outreach. I should add that companies are having a good recruiting year with Auburn Engineering, including back to back visits from Corky Kratt of ChevronTexaco and ExxonMobil’s Scott Arvin.

Our students have been very active as well, with Auburn hosting the southeastern regional conference of the Society of Women Engineers in the spring, a very successful effort led by fiber engineering majors Mellany and Melody George and keynoted by Auburn Alumni Engineering Council member Amy Dobbs.

Our War Eagle Motorsports student teams — which include university and lady tigers Mini Baja teams, Formula SAE and Sol of Auburn solar car — did well in a busy competi-tion season. Over the years these team efforts have con-vinced many that Auburn Engineering can compete on equal footing with the nation’s elite. In addition to engi-neering skills, these activities require project management skills, teamwork and strategy — applying everything learned in the labs and classrooms and taking it a giant step further. And it’s about commitment — students spend many hours beyond what is normally expected of them. These students can only bring their efforts to life with the help of our do-nors, as all team activities derive from private funding.

Our faculty have been no less fruitful. Nels Madsen, our as-sociate dean for assessment, was asked by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) to make a presentation to the group at a national conference on ac-creditation and assessment. ABET’s request follows kudos for Auburn’s accreditation and assessment presentations during the group’s visits during the accreditation process

over the past year. Only one institution is selected annu-ally to participate in this conference and we are pleased that Auburn was chosen as ‘best prepared’ in presenting its engineering programs for peer review.

In addition to reaccreditation of our existing programs, ac-creditation visits are under way for our unique wireless en-gineering degree program, which graduated its first students last December. Programs are not accredited by ABET until students graduate from them. If approved, accreditation is made retroactively to the first graduating class (I invite you to meet some of these pioneers in our wireless graduates article in this issue). Dr. Madsen will also be a speaker at an assessment conference at Rose-Hulman Institute, which will again provide the programs and faculty of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering with excellent visibility.

Our faculty continue to lead the university in their research efforts, with contracts and grants expanding from a little over $10 million a year to more than $30 million in the past six years. Recent activity in this area includes a $1.5 million homeland security program headed by Yasser Gowayed of textile engineering, a $3.5 million FAA grant stewarded by Bill Gale of materials engineering, and an additional$1.5 million FAA grant for airfield pavement improvements. This month, the National Center for Asphalt Technology is hosting an international pavement conference highlighted by the completion of its second phase of testing, which will see participants from Europe, Asian rim countries and South America. Our research efforts are vitally important to the growth of our graduate student population, which represents one of our strategic growth areas.

All in all, it’s a great time to be a part of Auburn Engineer-ing! If you walk out of Ramsay Hall past the Textile En-gineering Building and Dunstan Hall you will find a huge construction area to your left — stretching all the way to the Lowder Business Building and back to Broun Hall. As I write this, site preparation is under way and soon pilings will be in place for Phase I of the Transportation Technol-ogy Center, which will house the Departments of Industrial and Systems Engineering and Computer Science and Soft-ware Engineering, as well as laboratories, classrooms and administrative offices. This phase, scheduled for completion in 2007, is joined by the Ross Hall renovation, with antici-pated completion this coming summer.

These projects, and recently renovated Wilmore Labora-tories, will give us the kind of facilities needed to attract world class faculty and students — and raise the bar on engineering education at Auburn. We hope you will join us in this quest.

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Auburn Engineering

Fall 2005Volume 15 Issue 2 Office of the DeanLarry Benefield, deanNels Madsen, associate dean for assessmentJoe Morgan, associate dean for academicsRalph Zee, associate dean for researchWilliam Sauser, associate dean for business and engineering continuing education

Office of Engineering Communications and MarketingAuburn University108 Ramsay HallAuburn, AL 36849334.844.2308334.844.0176 fax

Jim Killian, directorKaren Nesbitt, editorKatie Yester, graphic designer

ContributorsCheryl CobbBeth SmithSharla Wright

Office of Engineering DevelopmentAuburn University107 Ramsay HallAuburn, AL 36849334.844.2736334.844.5904 fax

Rob Wellbaum, directorRon Evans, associate director Dan Bush, assistant directorVeronica Chesnut, assistant directorDara Kloss, assistant director

www.eng.auburn.edu

Experience Auburn Engineering online atwww.eng.auburn.edu/admin/marketing/engineering.html

Auburn Engineering is published twice yearly by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Please send news items, sugges-tions and comments to [email protected].

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Ross and Transportation Technology Center facility enhancements under way 2

TIGERs Camp 3

Homeland security 3

BellSouth Minority Program new director named 4

Funding for the Future

Office of Development welcomes new team members 5

Annual giving empowers Auburn Engineering 6

Student Points of Pride

Nation’s first wireless engineering graduates 8

War Eagle Motorsports 10

The Power of New Ideas

Into the labs of Auburn 12

Faculty Milestones

New department leadership fuels college’s vision 14

LITEE collaborates with University of Santiago 16

Staying Connected

Auburn outreach grad receives degree — his way 17

Engineering council honors alumni, achievement, service 18

Auburn alumni rank among National Academy of Engineering 19

work is approximately 90 percent complete; and drilled pier work and site utility work have begun.

Slated for completion in fall 2007, the $54 million Phase I will house state-of-the-art research laboratories, class-rooms, lecture halls, and administrative and faculty offices for the Departments of Computer Science and Software Engineering and Industrial and Systems Engineering, as well as engineering administration. The second phase will house the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in ad-dition to general and specialized laboratories expected to support and grow a wide range of innovative technologies, including those that meet the needs of Alabama’s growing transportation sector.

While still evoking the traditional architecture of the Au-burn campus, TTC’s design provides for the programmatic functions of a 21st century research and teaching facility. Phase I of the project includes a central pavilion flanked by two L-shaped wings. Phase II adds a building to the end of each wing.

Thanks to efforts by Alabama Senator Richard Shelby, $65 million in federal funds for Phases I and II have been secured. Funding from state bonds and university reserves will provide approximately $24 million; the college must raise approximately $15 million in private funding; and $4 million will come from sources as yet undetermined. Learn more at www.eng.auburn.edu/ttc.

The Ross Hall renovation, which began in January and is estimated to cost $13 million, involves rebuilding the interior to meet modern standards for engineering teaching and research, while still respecting the building’s original architecture.

Renovation Manager David Roberson reports that the new roof and windows are being installed; the structure for the north side addition is complete and brickwork is in progress; most interior walls are framed and being roughed in with plumbing and electrical; areaway walls are being constructed; and HVAC ductwork is in progress.

Scheduled for completion in summer 2006, Ross Hall will house the Departments of Chemical and, temporarily,

Mechanical Engineering and includes a 10,000-square-foot addition that will enhance the transformation of this his-toric structure into a facility that anticipates future tech-nologies and enables cross-disciplinary collaboration.

Auburn Engineering looks to alumni and friends to provide $3.5 million in funding for this project. Naming opportuni-ties are available at a variety of levels. Learn more at www.eng.auburn.edu/ross.

With a mission of advancing engineering practice in a vari-ety of disciplines, the $108 million Transportation Technol-ogy Center will house research laboratories, classrooms, lecture halls, and administrative and faculty offices for a multitude of engineering programs.

Construction Manager Mitch Walley reports that demoli-tion of the Drake Student Health Center is complete; earth-

Facility enhancements under way

—RossandTTC

Auburn Engineering • 2 • Fall Semester 2005

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Completion dates for Auburn Engineering’s renovation of Ross Hall (right) and construction of Phase I of the Transportation Technology Center are slated for summer ’06 and fall ’07, respectively.

Auburn University hosted its second annual TIGERs Camp in July, welcoming 27 seventh and eighth grade students to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Teams and Individuals Guided by Engineering Resources (TIGERs) is a weeklong residential camp aimed at sparking students’ interest in engineering and giving them a jumpstart on a career in the field.

“This has been a learning experience for everyone in-volved,” says Shirley Harris, camp director. “The students have been very excited and observant all week, and even our camp counselor, an engineering student, has enjoyed experiencing the different disciplines.”

Camp activities include workshops, tours and lectures guided by practicing engineers and engineering students, and extracurricular activities including a scavenger hunt, karaoke night and a swim in Auburn’s olympic-sized pool.

This is the second visit to TIGERs Camp for 13-year-old Drew Lansdell, an eighth grader from Oak Mountain Middle School in Birmingham. He said the camp helped him realize what kind of engineering is most interesting to him.

Andrew Haselden from Birmingham works on his model car during the College of Engineering’s 2005 TIGERs Camp.

AU Engineering to Receive $1.5 Million from Homeland Security

The Department of Textile Engineering within the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering at Auburn University, in coopera-tion with the Auburn College of Sciences and Mathematics’ Department of Chemistry, will receive $500,000 per year for three years from the Department of Homeland Security to develop new protective materials against chemical attacks.

An active protection strategy will be used to stop the chemical species before they reach the human skin. If successful, the developed materials will be able to provide protection without compromising human comfort, allowing rescuers to wear their protective garments for prolonged periods.

Auburn is the lead institution working with Clemson University and NovaComp, Inc., a specialized company in Philadel-phia. Auburn’s research team includes Yasser Gowayed, primary investigator, Gisela Buschle-Diller and Peter Schwartz of the textile engineering faculty, and Peter Livant of the chemistry faculty.

“I learned that gears play a big role in speed and control,” says Lansdell. “I discovered that I really enjoy mechanical engineering.”

Campers participated in numerous activities organized by each of Auburn’s nine engineering departments, from recy-cling paper and creating “slime” to programming computers and building model cars.

“My favorite projects were making paper and programming the computer, but the cars and slime were also fun. All of the projects were exciting,” says Hannah Pitts, a seventh grader from Rockwell Elementary School in Spanish Fort, Ala. “My dad is a civil engineer and I have always been interested in his job, but TIGERs Camp has shown me many different types of engineering that I had not thought of before.”

Engineering Hosts Second Annual TIGERs Camp

From left, Nicole Lankist from Cottondale, Fla.; Sara Beth Deas and Shelby Bock from Prattville, Ala.; and Hillary Saunders from Chipley, Fla. enjoy building model cars during the Samuel Ginn College of Engineer-ing’s annual TIGERs Camp, a summer resident camp at Auburn University designed to introduce seventh and eighth graders to engineering.

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Shirley Harris has been named director of Auburn’s Bell-South Minority Engineering Program (BMEP), according to an announcement by Larry Benefield, dean of engineering. Harris was formerly interim director of BMEP and academ-ic advisor in the Office of Engineering Student Services.

The BellSouth Minority Engineering Program is an academ-ic support program designed to enhance the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority engineering students at Auburn University.

“I cannot think of any individual better qualified than Dr. Harris to build on the rich history of Auburn Engineering’s BellSouth Minority Engineering Program,” says Bene-field of the appointment. “She has demonstrated her ability to work with a wide variety of students, faculty, alumni, engineers and busi-ness leaders in the academic and professional communities.”

In this post, Harris is responsible for providing leadership and strategies in planning BMEP programs and acts as a resource and liaison to representatives from high schools and junior colleges, industries and businesses, communities, governments and social and profes-sional groups.

She received her bachelor’s degree in business and management from Alverno College and her master’s degree in business administration from Cardinal Stritch University, both in Milwaukee. She received her doctorate in religious education from Ander-sonville Theological Seminary in Camilla, Ga. and is currently enrolled in the educational psychology doctoral program at Auburn.

Before arriving at Auburn in 2000 as program coor-dinator of BMEP, Harris was employed with Ameri-tech (formerly AT&T) in Milwaukee for 17 years as a manager in its Administration Support Center, Network Planning and Engineering Department, and Customer Services’ Consumer Care Center.

During her time as academic advisor at Auburn, she was an instructor at the fall 2002 Success Strategies Seminar and began her continuing service as director of TIGERs (Teams and Individuals Guided by Engi-neering Resources) Camp, an annual summer camp

for seventh and eighth graders designed to encourage stu-dents to consider a career in engineering.

Harris is a member of the Society of Women Engineers, the National Conference on Academic Advising, the National Society of Black Engineers, the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Administrators, and is e-Mentoring Coordinator for Auburn’s Women in Engineer-ing Program and Advocate Network.

“Students in the BellSouth Minority Engineering Program represent some of the brightest minds at Auburn,” says Harris. “Their road to academic success while in the Col-lege of Engineering is a brief moment compared to their life’s journey. I hope to make this portion of their journey memorable, successful, and a foundation for their engineer-ing career.”

June 2005 issue of Diverse — Issues in Higher Education (formerly Black Issues in Higher Education) ranking of number of engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded to African-Americans

2004 Institution State 02-03 Rank Total 1 Georgia Institute of Technology – Main Campus GA 141 2 North Carolina A&T State University NC 143 3 Tennessee State University TN 79 4 Florida A&M University FL 77 5 North Carolina State University at Raleigh NC 85 6 Morgan State University MD 74 7 Tuskegee University AL 46 8 University of Michigan – Ann Arbor MI 46 9 Southern University and A&M College LA 52 9 New Jersey Institute of Technology NJ 32 11 University of Maryland – College Park MD 42 12 Michigan State University MI 38 13 CUNY City College NY 44 14 Mississippi State University MS 27 14 Auburn University – Main Campus AL 33 16 Howard University DC 24 16 Prairie View A&M University TX 57 18 Ohio State University – Main Campus OH 32 18 Clemson University SC 29 20 CUNY York College NY 48

Source: Diverse — Issues in Higher Education analysis of U.S. Department of Education reports of data submitted by institutions. Rankings are based on the review of 2002-2003 preliminary data.

Shirley Harris

Auburn chemical engineering graduate and BMEP alumnus Antonio Ben-ford, senior reactor operator at Southern Nuclear Operating Company’s Plant Farley in Ashford, Ala., speaks to BMEP students during a South-ern Nuclear-sponsored reception on the Auburn campus in October. Other guests from the company included Nicole Faulk, shift support supervisor, and Jenna Tatum, campus relations specialist.

New Director Named to BellSouth Minority Engineering Program


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Funding for the FutureThe Ginn College of Engineering is pleased to welcome two new faces — Ron Evans and Veronica Chesnut — in its Of-fice of Development. In addition to functioning as a liaison between the college and alumni, their responsibilities include cultivating relationships with individual donors and corporations in order to secure funds that will carry out the college’s vision to become one of the top 20 engineering programs in the country.

Their fundraising efforts will enable the college to build its endowment level for student and faculty support, increase opportunities for program enhancement and obtain the resources necessary to create world-class teaching and research facilities.

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Evans, associate director of development, is a 1963 Auburn mechanical engineering alumnus who began his career with Rust Engineering Company, a major engineering/construc-tion firm in Birmingham. He then moved into the technical sales field with Activation Inc., a distributor of hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic controls, starting as sales en-gineer and rising to president of the Birmingham-based firm. After a merger with SunSource Technologies, Inc., he served in various corporate positions within the parent company.

Evans comes to Auburn Engineering from the university’s Office of Development, where he served two years as a development officer for corporations and foundations, fol-lowing three years as a development officer in the College of Business.

“It is good to be back home in the college where I got my start,” says Evans. “My engineering degree from Auburn has served me well and I consider this an opportunity to give back to the college in an effort to build an even greater engineering institution for future generations of students.”

Office Of DevelOpment welcOmes new team members

Prior to joining Auburn, Chesnut, an assistant director of development, served as director of college and community relations at Wallace Community College in Selma, Ala., where she was instrumental in generating more than $2 million for scholarships and facility renovations, and $4 million for a new information technology center. She also developed and implemented an innovative curriculum, budget and funding strategy for the Southeastern Con-sortium for Minorities in Engineering Early College/High School Initiative. Chesnut holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Auburn, as well as a master’s in education from Livingston University in Livingston, Ala.

“I am excited to be back in Auburn working with a wonder-ful group of Auburn people,” she says. “This is an incredibly exciting time for the college and I am proud to be a part of such a bold quest for excellence in engineering education.”



Donors to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering have in common the belief in education’s ability to transform lives. One highly effective way to give back to the college is through annual giving.

At the heart of annual giving is the EAGLE (Exceptional Annual Gifts Lift Engineering) Circle, a group of donors whose significant gifts ($1,000 to $49,000) provide the flexibility necessary to position the college to move into the ranks of the nation’s engineering elite. While some donors choose to fund scholarships, fellowships and professorships, others make unrestricted gifts to departments or to the col-lege as a whole.

These unrestricted gifts allow the dean and department leaders to weather tough times and capitalize on oppor-tunities as they arise. They support student programs, the purchase of specialized equipment, college initiatives and other critical or time-sensitive needs.

“These funds are key to advancing our vision of becoming a top-tier engineering institution,” explains Larry Bene-field, dean of engineering. “They can make the difference between losing and receiving grants that require a match, or being able to offer the start-up packages necessary to attract world-class faculty.”

Facility enhancement is another major component in real-izing that vision. Today’s engineering quad is testament to the power of giving. Ramsay Hall, Ross Hall, Textile Engi-neering and the Engineering Shops were all funded by the university’s first major fundraising campaign in the 1920s — the Greater Auburn Fund.

“Annual gifts can be likened to a living endowment,” adds Benefield. “It would take nearly a $70 million endowment to generate $3.5 million in spendable earnings — our yearly goal for unrestricted annual gifts to the college.”

The EAGLE Circle includes young and senior, first time and veteran donors. Meet a few of those who have chosen the unrestricted option …

Alice SmithPhilpott-WestPoint Stevens professorChair, Department of Industrial and Systems Engineeringregistered PE in Alabama and Pennsylvania

Prior to Alice Smith’s arrival at Auburn in 1999 she was on the engineering faculty at the University of Pittsburgh, which she joined in 1991 after 10 years of industrial experi-ence with Southwestern Bell Corporation.

She holds degrees in engineer-ing and business from Rice University, St. Louis University and the University of Missouri-Rolla.

Smith’s expertise in analysis, modeling and optimization of manufacturing processes and engineering design has earned her numerous grants and awards. She holds one patent pending, has authored more than 50 publications in books and journals and is active in professional organizations. Recently she was named a fel-low of the Institute of Industrial Engineering.

“As department chair I know all too well the inadequacies of the dollars we receive each year from the state. I also know how prudently and wisely we spend our money. For this reason, I know that my EAGLE donation will support events and activities that will significantly improve student life in the department.

“I truly believe that we are educating students in a man-ner that is equal to or better than universities who receive double the amount of state funding that we receive. Dona-tions make the difference between the departments operat-ing at bare bones level versus a reasonable level.”

Alice Smith

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Funding for the Future

Tommy and Jan AvantAlbemarle, CEO, retired

Tommy Avant was raised in Montgomery and graduated from Auburn in 1960 with a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. He then spent six years at Humble Oil and Refining, which later became Exxon. Over the next 32 years he was employed with a number of companies includingEthyl Corporation and specialty chemical company Albe-marle, working in Houston, Baton Rouge, New York, and Richmond, Va. During this time he worked toward his M.B.A. at the University of Houston and Louisiana State University and completed the Program for Senior Execu-tives at MIT’s Sloan School of Management.

After retiring in 1998, Avant and his wife Janis Boyer Avant, a graduate of the nursing program at San Jose State Univer-sity, moved to Amelia Island, Fla. where they reside when not traveling the world.

“My wife and I get solicitations all the time for this and that, and are careful to ensure that our gifts make a difference. Education is important. It is something we have to do and do well.

“I give to Auburn Engineering because it is my academic home and because the education I received there made a difference in my life. I also know the money will be well used. I choose unrestricted gifts because I feel that the dean of the college has better insight as to how to spend the money than I do. Even though I am retired, my former employer matches my gifts dollar for dollar, enabling me to get the greatest bang for the buck.”

Carver and Martha KennedyMorton-Thiokol, Space Services, vice president, retired

Carver Kennedy was raised in Mobile and graduated from Auburn in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engi-neering. He then served for two years in Germany as a U.S. Army lieutenant and worked for three years at Pratt and Whitney Aircraft before joining Thiokol Corporation. Over the next 32 years, Kennedy moved steadily up the Thiokol ladder to vice president of Space Ser-vices. He considers his partici-pation on the NASA Kennedy Space Center accident investi-gation team that reviewed all phases of the Space Shuttle Challenger accident to be a highlight of his long and varied career, which also includes direc-tion of the redesign, testing and manufacture of a new rocket motor for the space shuttle following the failure of the Chal-lenger. He also holds a patent on the original automobile safety air bag inflator design.

Since his retirement, Kennedy and Martha, his wife of 53 years and an Auburn education student from the class of ’54, have traveled extensively in the U.S., Europe and the Pacific.

“After returning from Germany, I joined Pratt and Whitney and found myself working with (and competing with) engi-neering graduates from prestigious engineering universities such as Carnegie Mellon, Rensselaer Polytechnic, Caltech, MIT and Stanford. I was seriously concerned that I would not be able to keep up and do my share in this high-powered group. I soon found that Auburn had indeed provided me with an excellent education, and that I was well-equipped to be a significant contributor as a member of the highly-quali-fied and motivated group.

As I progressed in my professional career, I continued to realize that Auburn Engineering had provided me with the knowledge, technical foundation and discipline that permit-ted me to perform my assignments and responsibilities with a high level of competence. It was the basis for my professional success.

My wife and I felt we should try to repay Auburn in some way for the opportunity it had provided so that others could have the same opportunities. As we could afford them, we began making small yearly contributions, which were matched by my employer. As our financial situation im-proved, we increased our contributions to the Colleges of Education and Engineering, continuing after retirement to the present.”

Tommy and Jan Avant

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The nation’s first 14 graduates with a Bachelor of Wireless Engineering received their diplomas from Auburn Univer-sity in 2004 and 2005.

“It is very, very special to me to have this degree,” says Christopher Mitchell, a 2005 grad from Yosemite National Park, Calif., who is a radio frequency engineer with Cingu-lar Wireless in Nashville. “Wireless has always fascinated me and I planned on a career in the industry through an electrical engineering degree, but with this program I could have my cake and eat it too — it’s a dream come true.”

Founded in 2002 to address the nation’s critical shortage of engineers with a background in wireless communications, Auburn’s program has experienced a steady increase in enrollment.

“I was in my third year at Auburn when it began to offer the program,” explains ’04 grad Anthony Friday from Sel-ma, Ala. “I immediately saw how cutting-edge and historic this move was. I jumped right on board.”

The program was created through the contributions of Samuel Ginn, an Auburn Engineering alumnus and leader in the development of cellular service. The university also received more than $3 million from the Vodafone-US Foundation in support of scholarships, fellowships and undergraduate laboratory curricula and equipment.

Developing a curriculum to meet the needs of students and industry, Auburn faculty worked with a wireless advisory board of executives from Agilent Technologies, Cingular, Ericsson Research RTP, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola, Nortel Networks, Sentinel Strategies, Texas Instruments, Verizon Wireless and Vodafone.

The program provides electrical, computer, and software engineering fundamentals and an introduction to wireless communication theories, devices, circuits, systems, net-works, standards, management and applications. Choices offered are wireless software engineering within the Depart-ment of Computer Science and Software Engineering, or wireless electrical engineering within the Department of

“A VOIP (voice over internet protocol) handset. VOIP itself is already in houses with Vonage and Googletalk, among others. Something I predict will hit the market before the end of 2006 is a wireless phone that can seamlessly transition between cellular networks and wi-fi.”

“Frequency spectrum is probably the most expensive thing in the world right now. No matter how high up in frequency we are able to go, the technology to get there will take a long time to become affordable. A simple and inexpensive system/de-vice/protocol that saves spectrum may be here within the next 20 years.”

“IEEE 802.16, the WiMax standard, or an equivalent technol-ogy, in which the means of giving wireless broadband internet to the masses lies. Eventually we’ll be able to access the internet from anywhere wirelessly.”

“Within 10 years, look for Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing and Code Division Multiple Access technologies to have a war for the dominant technology. You will see the FCC reclaim some of the spectrum from broadcast TV and radio, forcing these stations to use digital transmission to

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comply with smaller spectrum space. You will see more digital services and worldwide Internet access come to life as companies compete to offer the fastest, most content-rich services.”

“Steerable and directionally smart antennas will greatly increase the capacity of future networks. Self-aware wireless networks that can reconfigure themselves in the event of a change or disruption in communications will become increas-ingly more important in the next few decades.”

“Global cellular systems and wireless computer networks with which one can travel the globe and maintain a cell phone call or Internet connection; military operations administered remotely through a wireless network; wireless utility meters that make meter readers extinct.”

“We are already seeing television and music applications be-ing added to cell phones. Wireless tracking, monitoring, and data are positioned to become common as well. Convenience coupled with speed is the why. We will find our groceries already totaled when we get to the checkout, and items on our list will alert us when we walk by.”

Auburn Graduates Nation’s First Wireless Engineering Alumni


Wireless grads tell us what could soon be on the forefront

Student Points of PrideElectrical and Computer Engineering, with an optional network specialization involving analysis, design, testing, administration and support of wireless network systems.

“Auburn’s wireless engineering program provides students seeking a career in the wireless and telecommunications fields with an opportunity for a specialized degree that makes them uniquely qualified,” says James Cross, chair of the Department of Computer Science and Software Engi-neering.

Adds Victor Rundquist, an ’05 alum from San Jose, Calif., “The wireless transmission medium is so complex and unique that a specialty in this field is the only way to com-pletely understand and manipulate it.”

According to J. David Irwin, head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, wireless graduates possess detailed knowledge of a technological area that is rapidly expanding and impacts a wide variety of businesses.

“Wireless graduates will be able to make an immediate impact in the workplace, whereas electrical engineering and software engineering graduates may require further education in wireless technology,” he adds. “There will undoubtedly be numerous opportunities for job placement and options.”

And ’05 alum Ken Sharpless from Auburn says you don’t have to go far to take advantage of those options.

“Local companies are manufacturing wireless water meters, developing remote aircraft and sensors, building carbon composite air frame and automobile parts, and developing financial or other specialized software,” he says. “Every-where you look there is an opportunity to become part of an industry-leading company. It’s like a buffet, selecting the best fit from a great selection of opportunities. A wireless degree opens an incredible number of doors.”

Auburn’s Wireless Engineering Research and Education Center provides instrumentation and expertise to support the lab portion of the degree. The interdisciplinary activities of the center help faculty secure research funding and en-hance the educational experience at both the undergradu-ate and graduate levels.

“The center gave me the opportunity for hands-on experi-ence,” explains Mohamed Abdulmagid, an ’04 grad from Khartoum, Sudan, “and to be able to connect the theoreti-cal and practical parts of the wireless field.”

When Mitchell began his job with Cingular, he had a head start and hit the ground running.

“I had all the fundamental knowledge and could speak the language,” he adds. “Auburn has instilled years and years

Vodafone Foundation supports wireless study at AuburnThe Samuel Ginn College of Engineering has received a $3+ million grant from the Vodafone-US Foundation for scholarship, fellowship and program support in recogni-tion of the college’s programs in wireless engineering. To attract new, highly qualified students to Auburn University’s internationally acclaimed wireless engineering program – enhancing its existing body of exceptional students from the international arena – the program provides support for both four-year undergraduate scholarships and four-year graduate fellowships. Both tuition scholarships and full scholarships are awarded.

Interested undergraduate students can access the applica-tion at www.eng.auburn.edu/center/wireless/vodafone/in-dex.htm. To be considered, you must also apply to and be accepted for enrollment in Auburn University. Graduate fellows are selected from the pool of doctoral applicants to the Departments of Computer Science and Software Engi-neering and Electrical and Computer Engineering.

We congratulate the scholars and fellows to date. For a complete listing please visit www.eng.auburn.edu/voda-fone.

of wireless research and experience into its graduates, who can take that knowledge to industry and immediately begin working on tomorrow’s systems, as opposed to requiring specialized on-the-job training to gain that knowledge.”

Vodafone Scholar Brian Holland’s original vision was working for a cell phone company.

“But after a few years at Auburn I realized I could also work in radar, satellites, communications, networking and computers,” adds the ’05 grad from Dothan, Ala. “All of these fields are younger than 50 years and for the most part still in infant stages.”

2004 alum Ronald Jackson from Pensacola believes wire-less engineering and technology can only expand rapidly, and that industrial, military and consumer customers are demanding increasingly better quality and instantaneous in-formation — a feat that he says can only be accommodated through the advancement of wireless.

“Being involved in the pioneering of a new academic pro-gram has taught me much more than scholastic knowledge,” adds Holland. “Meeting with the Wireless Advisory Board was not only interesting and stimulating, but helped me realize that graduation is just the beginning of much bigger things.”

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Auburn University’s Sol of Auburn racing team drove 2,500 miles on 384 lithium-polymer batteries, 759 silicon solar cells and no gas tank in July’s North American Solar Chal-lenge sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy.

Braving the heat and rugged terrain, the solar car team used the power of the sun to cross eight U.S. states and three Canadian provinces, averaging more than 300 miles every full racing day. The team finished fourth in its class and 12th overall out of 42 teams, having qualified for the race through its performance in the Formula Sun Grand Prix in Topeka, Kan. in May, placing second in class and third overall out of a field of 30.

“Everyone had a job that could mean the difference between winning and losing,” says Matt Chapman, team captain and a senior in mechanical engineer-ing from Vestavia Hills, Ala. “The scout car checked the route ahead and monitored other teams; the lead van was responsible for navigation and guiding the car through traffic; and the chase vehicle handled telemetry, radio communication to the driver, roadside repair, safety and strategy.”

Adds Sushil Bhavnani, team advisor and a member of Auburn’s mechanical engineering faculty, “The competition was so challenging that of the 42 teams registered, only 20 entered the race and 18 crossed the finish line. Of those 18 cars, eight were equipped with gallium arsenide solar cells.”

According to Bhavnani, the two solar car event classes are those vehicles using very expensive, highly efficient gallium arsenide cells and those using cheaper, silicon cells such as those that power the Sol of Auburn.

“Leading the field for a substantial portion of the Formula Sun Grand Prix and for the second, third and fourth days of the American Solar Challenge was exhilarating,” adds Chapman. “Being a part of this team and that kind of suc-cess was an invaluable experience, not only in terms of engineering achievement but in raising public awareness of the potential of solar energy.”

Samuel Ginn College of Engineering War Eagle Motors-ports teams also competing this year included the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) race car and SAE Auburn University Mini Baja and Auburn Lady Tigers Mini Baja all-terrain vehicles. The annual competitions chal-lenge teams of university students from around the world to design, build and race a specialty vehicle against a field of international competitors, including those from Japan, Korea and Brazil.

The Formula team’s annual competition took place in Michigan in May. On its way to a highly credible finish in the endurance race, the team made a routine driver change after which the car would not start. Since repairs are not allowed during the race, the bad sensor in the engine management system cost the team 40 percent of the avail-able points, placing Auburn 47th overall out of 140 teams. This was particularly frustrating for team leader Matt Zorn, a member of last year’s nationally ranked team, who for months camped out nights, weekends and holidays in the workshop along with a dedicated cadre of team members.

“Matt really worked hard,” explains Dean Larry Benefield. “The finish did not reflect his efforts.”

“My experience on the Formula team has been a good one,” says Brent Percival, team marketing director and a junior in marketing from Woodbridge, Va. “I walked through the shop doors as a freshman in the 2004 season and was instantly hooked. I learned the ins and outs of the project from how the car is built to how the team is run. We fin-ished third in Detroit that year out of 140 entries.St

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“Now in my third year on the team, we have the best organizational structure we have ever had and it is proving to help the team focus on project management and produc-tion. We have a renewed focus on tuning and testing and, after several autocross wins this summer, I believe we have the best chance of bringing home the world championship we have ever had.”

In October the team went head to head with the University of Alabama in “the Iron Bowl of racing.” Hosted by Red Bull and held at BTK Motorsports Park in Decatur, Ala., the teams’ cars were put to the test in a six-lap sprint, an

acceleration event of two straight-line 75 meter runs, and a 20-lap endurance race. Auburn won every event.

“BTK is a shifter kart track that suits nicely to our

car set-up,” explains Percival. “UA was plagued by mechani-cal problems but even while their car was running well, we were still much faster. Chances are we’ll do it again, and hopefully include more teams from the Southeast.”

The Mini Baja teams competed in three regional SAE meets, starting with the East competition in New York in May. Auburn captured second overall out of 71 teams and placed in the top 10 in every event. The Lady Tigers com-pleted every event and placed 42nd overall.

“The Lady Tigers began the season with only one veteran but was able to make a machine that works,” says Peter Jones, mechanical engineering faculty member and advisor to the Baja and Formula teams. “Having a team with virtu-ally all new members is exciting. Those students who start fresh together learn the most, and next year can be a benchmark year for the ladies’ team.”

A 100-mile endurance race commemorated SAE’s 100th anniversary at Mini Baja 100/West in Arizona in June. Auburn placed third out of 131 teams in endurance and

eighth overall — the team’s highest placement at West. The Lady Tigers held onto an 84th place in both endurance and overall.

June’s Mini Baja Midwest was held in Ohio. The 143 entries included teams from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Ko-rea, Mexico, Venezuela and the three U.S. coasts. Auburn won endurance and took sixth place overall, and the Lady Tigers completed every event and placed 81st overall.

Of the War Eagle Motorsports experience, Jones says the most significant lessons students learn are how to be proac-tive and propose solutions to problems.

“In class students are given problems in ideal situations, but competitions are real-life situations,” he adds. “There are not always simple answers. Students come away much more complete engineers and more complete people.”

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Auburn will host Alabama’s first SAE competition April 13-15 with Mini Baja East 2006. Events include a 100-mile endurance race, design report and evalua-tion, acceleration, log pull, land and water maneuverability, and suspension and traction. To volunteer please contact Peter Jones at [email protected].

To find out how you can participate in War Eagle Motors-ports, either as a team member or sponsor, please visit www.eng.auburn.edu/motorsports.


agricultural commodities. Re-searchers are perfecting tech-niques for extracting gelatin from catfish skins, which are traditionally considered waste products. This new source of gelatin can be used in pharma-ceuticals, nutraceuticals, and other food products. Other department research involves developing new smoked cat-fish products with high levels of food safety.

Chemical

— microfibrous technology that could save lives

While developing microfibrous materials to block carbon monoxide from fuel cells, an Auburn chemical engineering research team real-ized that because the material Mini-COT (miniaturized carbon monoxide oxidation tech-nology) is more efficient, thinner and longer lasting than other materi-als used for filters, it could have other applications as well. In addition to filtering out biological and chemical contaminants, the team’s microfibrous filters could help save thousands of lives by removing carbon monoxide from fires at a rate 10 times more efficient than filters currently on the market.

Civil — enhancing the nation’s infrastructure

Self-consolidating concrete technology is expected to have a significant impact on the bridge and highway construction industry. An Auburn civil engineering team has developed innovative concrete mixes that can spread into place, fill the formwork, and encapsulate the reinforcement without any mechanical consoli-dation.

The new technology is designed to reduce the number of air voids (also known as honeycomb-Th

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Aerospace — helping to renew space exploration

An Auburn aerospace engineering research team devel-oped a crew restraint system for NASA’s crew explora-tion vehicle as part of an educational grant from t/Space (Transforma-tional Space Corporation). In 2004, NASA awarded t/Space a $3 million contract to develop a comprehen-sive plan for renewed lunar exploration and development. According to the team, Auburn’s design can be easily stored and take up the least possible amount of space. The team designed a restraint system that weighs 90 percent less than the seats the space shuttle currently uses, and can rotate 180 degrees in the event of an abort situation.

Biosystems — translating technology into better economies

Auburn biosystems engineering is improving local Ala-bama economies by using biological engineering principles to develop new value-added products from traditional

An aerospace engineering team tests a crew restraint system it developed as former faculty member and veteran astronaut Col. James Voss demonstrates the rotation of the prototype (the finished product will include a seat belt).

Catfish filets by themselves are a relatively low-valued commodity. By developing new, higher-val-ued smoked fish products, jobs are created and economies are strengthened.

A disc of Mini-COT microfibrous entrapped catalyst, only 85cm in diameter and 4mm thick, ready for insertion into a gas mask canister housing. Its size also makes the disc ideally suited for the fabrication of new classes of min-iaturized and portable fire escape devices.


ing) in poured concrete such as prestressed girders and large drilled shafts that support bridges and large buildings. The presence of air pockets that form as the concrete is poured may cause durability prob-lems in these critical support components that are extremely costly to remedy.

Computer science and software — working with military on flying robots

An Auburn Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) team of CSSE faculty and students is collaborating with Huntsville’s Red-stone Arsenal on a new military technology used in flying robots that can probe a battlefield for danger before troops are sent in. The UAV team is conducting research for the Army on the Shadow UAV, investigating the use of wireless technol-ogy to replace cables that connect the ground crew to the antenna that communicates with the UAV. The team’s job is to determine the feasibility of using wireless technology to deliver UAV video images under battlefield conditions.

Electrical and computer — understanding the heart’s response to disease

An Auburn electrical and computer engineering researcher has teamed with the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine to form the Specialized Center of Clinically Oriented Re-search. Funded for five years by an $18 million grant from the National Institutes for Health’s National Heart, Lung,

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Auburn University’s Unmanned Aerial Vehicle team with the Shadow. From left: Alan Hunt, Kevin Richardson, Shawn Constance, Daniel Box, Drew Hamilton, David Umphress and David Last. Members not pictured: Anthony Friday, John Wu and Richard Chapman.

Researchers in Auburn’s Department of Civil Engineering perform stress tests on concrete slabs such as those used in bridges, capturing data used to develop stronger, safer and more resilient mixes of concrete.

and Blood Institute, the center will study how the heart responds to diseases such as mitral regurgitation, hyperten-sion and diabetes.

The team will use magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to image the cardiac systems of patients periodically over time. The Auburn team member has developed techniques for using the MRI data to quantitatively measure how much the heart muscle contracts, and other indicators of cardiac health. This analysis, combined with the serial MRI scans, is expected to revolutionize the understanding of the heart’s response to disease.

Industrial and systems — improving evacuation routes

One of the many lessons learned from 9/11 is the impor-tance of stairways in high-rise buildings as a means of escape. According to an ISE graduate researcher studying stairway evacuation modeling and its applications, stair features such as slope; tread depth and width; riser height; headroom; landing size and configuration; and the presence and location of handrails influence human behavior on the stairs. Movement is also affected by age, gender, and direc-tion of travel.

Materials

— helping government protect aircraft air quality

A research consortium led by Auburn materials engineering faculty is studying aircraft cabin air quality and assessing chemical and biological threats to protect passengers and crew members. The Federal Aviation Administration in the U.S. Department of Transportation has designated Auburn University to head the national Center of Excellence for Airliner Cabin Environment Research. The Auburn team, which will lead and coordinate efforts at AU, six other universities and a national laboratory, says its selection as lead institution is the result of its assets in biological and chemical detection and decontamination.

Mechanical — assisting NASA with critical data collection

Electromagnetic levitation is a containerless melting processing technique that enables a level of evaluation of melt properties not readily accessible through conventional melting methods. The accuracy of such measurements is expected to be significantly improved when the experiments are conducted in microgravity conditions.


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asAn Auburn mechanical engineering research team is working with NASA to measure metallurgical proper-ties of a levitated and heated droplet of molten metal in microgravity. This combination of containerless processing and microgravity offers the possibility to measure critical thermophysical properties of molten metals both above and below their melting points in a wide temperature range and with high accuracy. The Auburn team developed 2-D and 3-D mathematical models and algorithms to model, analyze and simulate a levitated droplet.

The study is scheduled to be on the space shuttle upon its return to space, enabling scientists to obtain critical data in zero gravity.

Textile

— revolutionizing bullet-resistance

Faculty in the De-partment of Textile Engineering have developed a bullet-re-sistant material called ArmorFelt that offers far superior resistance, weighs less and is more comfortable than

existing material. With the ability to stop blasts from a wide range of weapons as close as three feet, this nonwoven blend of Spectra and Kevlar — the two best-known bullet resistant products in the U.S. — form front and back layers that sandwich and reinforce traditional woven bullet-resistant materials.

A bullet generates a shockwave that travels through the vest, but fibers embedded in the Spectra/Kevlar blend act as springs that repulse the shockwave back toward the bul-let, slowing and eventually stopping it. The department says

the potential for ArmorFelt in the military, police force and homeland security can expand to lining tents, buildings and military vehicles to provide protection from small arms and shrapnel.

College enhances faculty with new department leadershipWithin the past three years, the College of Engineering has gained three new department heads and chairs, all deeply involved in planning for the future of their departments and working toward the college’s vision of becoming one of the nation’s engineering elite.

Steve Taylor biosystems engineering

Taylor earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in agri-cultural engineering from the University of Florida, his doc-torate in agricultural engineering from Texas A&M Univer-sity, and joined the Auburn faculty in 1989. He also serves as adjunct professor in the Auburn School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.

During his 16 years at Auburn, Taylor has garnered several awards, including five outstanding faculty awards, and is a leader in various engineering, biological, agricultural, and forestry outreach activities. He has served as head of the Depart-ment of Biosystems Engineering, which is jointly supervised by the deans of agriculture and engineering, since August 2003.

“Biosystems engineers have the ability to apply engineer-ing to biological problems,” says Taylor. “At Auburn, our department is uniquely situated to focus on biological engineering. The 21st century will be defined by major ad-vances in biology, from which we are ready to develop new engineering principles. We have the opportunity to partner with Peaks of Excellence programs like Detection and Food Safety, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Forestry Sustainability, Poultry Products Safety and Quality, and Cellular and Mo-lecular Biosciences.”

Taylor’s goals for the department include increasing faculty and student numbers and gaining endowments for scholar-ships and named professorships. New research initiatives are planned for biological engineering, food and bioprocess engineering, ecological engineering, geospatial technologies, and off-highway vehicle engineering.

As the department expands programs in biological engi-neering, it is focused on using enabling technologies like biotechnology to create new bio-based products and pre-serve our ecological resources.

Howard Thomas, Auburn textile engineering faculty member, shoots and removes a bullet from ArmorFelt, a bullet-resistant material he developed that is more

resistant, lighter, and more comfortable than material on the market.

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Faculty Milestones

a productive research and educational environment. Top priorities include cultivating a diverse faculty to serve as student mentors and providing top notch laboratories and facilities.

“The recent renovation of Wilmore Laboratories and the current renovation of Ross Hall mean so much to the educational mission,” he says. “Auburn has the strong build-ing blocks to create one of the best chemical engineering programs in the country, and that’s where we’re headed.”

Mike Stallings civil engineering

Stallings earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Auburn, then worked for two years at a structural engineering firm in Pensacola before pursu-ing his doctorate in civil engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. Returning to Auburn as a civil engineering assistant professor in 1988, he says the past 17 years have “been a blast.” During this tenure he has garnered numer-ous awards, such as the Birdsong Merit Teaching Award and three outstanding civil engineering faculty awards, and assumed the post of civil engineering department head in July 2002.

Describing Auburn as “home”, Stallings says he is honored to have the opportunity to lead civil engineering into the future.

“Civil has accomplished so much already, but I still see potential here,” he explains. “We have great faculty and strong alumni support, all willing to do whatever Auburn needs. Our primary goal is to achieve the vision of moving the College of Engineering into the top 20, and eventually the top 10. I believe we’re already very competitive with the top engineering schools and it’s just a matter of time before the vision is realized.”

In pursuit of achieving that vision, Stallings has initiated strategic goals for the Department of Civil Engineering. First on the list is expanding its graduate and research pro-grams with support from external funding. Stallings intends to increase student enrollment and faculty, maintaining a low student-to-faculty ratio. The department will continue to focus on highway infrastructure and environmental is-sues — cornerstones of civil engineering.

“Fundamentally, civil engineers directly impact quality of life, and we take our charge seriously,” says Stallings. “We have a long history of producing good civil engineers who improve quality of life. As we move into the future, we won’t lose sight of what we’ve done well all along.”

“But as we grow, we want to retain our focus on students and hands-on learning,” explains Taylor. “Our students ap-ply engineering to biology in the field and the lab, not just the classroom, that’s one of the reasons industry likes our graduates.”

Biosystems engineering at Auburn is also a key research and outreach unit for geospatial technologies and preci-sion agriculture/precision forestry. Using global positioning and geographic information systems, Auburn engineers are developing tools to help resource managers improve productivity and profitability while reducing environmental impacts.

“I’m honored and excited to guide the growth of biosystems engineering. With our strengths at Auburn, this department is growing. We’re on the verge of great things.”

Chris Roberts chemical engineering

Roberts earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Notre Dame, all in chemical engi-neering. He joined Auburn’s chemical engineering faculty in 1994, earned the rank of chair in 2003, and during that time has achieved several marks of success, including the George E. and Dorothy Stafford Uthlaut Professorship and Ginn College of Engineering Walker Merit Teaching Award.

“I’ve inherited a rich tradition of chemical engineering at Auburn,” says Roberts. “I want to build on this tradition with high quality research and educational programs tai-lored for our evolving field.”

His strategic plan includes three re-search areas that identify emerging technologies of biotechnology and bio-resources processes, advanced energy resources and systems, and molecularly and chemically engi-neered materials. To improve qual-ity of life and the natural environ-ment, Roberts says the practices of sustainable engineering and green chemistry will guide all chemical engineering research efforts.

“One of our educational thrust areas is social, ethical, and financial responsibility in engineering,” he adds. “We’re teaching our students to take care of the world we live in.”

Attracting top students and faculty from around the world to Auburn’s chemical engineering program, which ranks 24th in the nation in number of chemical engineering bachelor’s degrees awarded, is Roberts’ guiding vision for the department. His recruitment plan focuses on creating

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In September, the Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE) at Auburn University headed south of the border to conduct a workshop in Chile in collaboration with Mario Letelier, director of the Center for Research in Creativity and Higher Education at the University of Santiago.

LITEE, founded in 1996 as the brainchild of Auburn’s P.K. Raju, Thomas Walter Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, and Chetan Sankar, Thomas Walter Profes-sor, Department of Management, is widely recognized for programs that utilize case studies, multimedia information technologies, and cross-disciplinary teaming to bring real-world problem solving experiences to students.

The workshop is part of an initiative supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for coopera-tive efforts with Chile to test and fine tune Spanish versions of a LITEE case study and associated competency materi-als for use in Chile and the U.S. This effort is designed to identify materials that enable Hispanic students to better relate to and understand engineering principles, thereby in-creasing retention and success in engineering programs and increasing the diversity of the U.S. engineering workforce.

“LITEE instructional materials have proven very useful in our classrooms and have helped us meet ABET 2000 criteria, which Chilean engineering education is moving to-ward adopting,” explains Letelier. “The workshop was very timely, appropriate and useful as Chile works through these reforms in engineering education.”

According to Raju, funding from a second NSF grant will be used to address problems that occur when engineers in the U.S. are called upon to work with their counterparts around the world to service customers, manage research teams, improve busi-ness processes and produce quality products.

Raju and Sankar visited India in December 2004 and have established a working relationship with Gopichand Ka-tragadda, research manager of the General Electric (GE) John F. Welch Technology Center in Bangalore, India; and with A. Ramachandriah, civil engineering faculty member of the Indian Institute of Technology in Madras, India. Katragadda visited Auburn University in August; Ramach-andriah in October.

LITEE will team with Ramachandriah and industry leaders such as GE to document issues that commonly arise in col-laborative design projects and to provide engineering stu-dents from both countries with the tools to address them.

The NSF grants are jointly funded by the International Division and the Division of Undergraduate Education. LITEE is a joint effort of Auburn University’s Samuel Ginn College of Engineering and College of Business. Learn more at www.auburn.edu/research/litee.

Auburn’s LITEE collaborates with University of Santiago as part of NSF effort

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Staying Connected

Earning an advanced degree from a distance when you are employed full time can be a challenge. Imagine doing it when you’re not sure what your address will be from month to month, and if some of those addresses may be on the front line. That’s what U.S Army Captain Manuel Hernandez, West Point 1995, faced when deciding to earn a master’s degree in industrial and systems engineering.

But thanks to advice from his wife Karen, West Point 1997 and captain in the U.S. Army, Hernandez knew just where to go — Auburn University’s Business and Engineer-ing Graduate Outreach Program — because Karen was an MBA stu-dent in the program.

“I’d watched the way the faculty worked with Karen and knew it was the place for me,” says Hernandez. “Trying to meet the needs of a mobile military person is tough, but the folks at Auburn handled every challenge with ease and a smile no matter where I was posted.”

Hernandez began work on his degree in 2000 while sta-tioned at Yongsan, Korea. Then it was back to Fort Bragg, on to Uzbekistan, with a return to Fort Bragg before head-ing to Los Angeles where he and his wife, who received her MBA in 2001, are stationed.

In 2003 Hernandez returned to Alabama to defend his thesis, which involved an ergonomic analysis of the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter cockpit. The UH-60 is the premiere workhorse helicopter for the U.S. Army, often used for troop transport and logistics resupply. That means pilots spend long hours in the cockpit often under dangerous conditions.

“My goal was to identify ways that the cockpit environment could be improved to make the area more comfortable and ultimately safer,” explains Hernandez. “Safety is part of the culture in this business. When something goes wrong in the air, people can die. Auburn’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering understood this culture and worked

with me with the same degree of attentiveness as if I were an on-campus student.”

Hernandez also has high praise for the staff in the outreach office that took each move in stride — in-cluding a deployment with only three days notice to Uzbekistan for Operation Enduring Freedom at the end of fall semester 2001. As soon as he was settled, Hernandez e-mailed Becky Young, outreach specialist, to inform her of the ad-dress change and told her what he needed.

“She worked with the professors to send the video tapes I needed and arranged for me to take a final exam with my supervisor as proctor and submit a final paper by e-mail,” he adds.

Hernandez is serving as a U.S. Army recruiting company commander in California. His next assignment will be as a ROTC training instructor at UCLA, where his wife is com-pleting her law degree. “Auburn’s Business and Engineering Graduate Outreach Program is great for career minded couples such as us, who are also trying to raise a family,” Hernandez adds. “The pro-gram allowed me to be a husband, a father, and a soldier. I tell anyone that will listen about Auburn.”

U.S. Army Captain Manuel Hernandez, an Auburn University Business and Engineering Graduate Out-reach Program alumnus, shown with the Army’s UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter, which he helped improve by identifying ways the cockpit environment could be made safer and more comfortable.

Auburn Outreach Alumnus Receives Grad Degree

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In conjunction with its Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, the College of Engineering honored four alums as Distinguished Auburn Engineers, an additional alumnus as Outstanding Young Engineer, and presented awards for achievement and service to the college during ceremonies on the Auburn campus in September.

Distinguished Auburn engineers include Jimmie Adams, David Scobey, Jerry Thomas and Larry Tuggle.

Adams, vice president of L-3 Communications Corpora-tion, is a 1957 Auburn mechanical engineer-ing graduate who also earned a master’s degree in 1963 from the University of Texas. A member of Auburn’s Research Advisory Council, Adams is the first Auburn Air Force ROTC graduate to be-come a four-star gener-al. His military awards and decorations include Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritori-ous Service Medal, Air Medal and Air Force Commendation Medal.

Scobey, president of small business services for BellSouth Corporation, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineer-ing from Auburn in 1978 and a graduate degree from the Advanced Management Program at Harvard in 1997. During his 25-year career at BellSouth, he has held posi-tions including president of BellSouth Long Distance and has received the JD Power Award for customer satisfaction for the past two years.

Thomas, senior vice president of SCI Systems in Huntsville, received his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Auburn in 1963 and his master’s degree in 1970 from

Engineering council honors alumni, achievement, service

Recognized at September’s Auburn Alumni Engineering Council honors banquet for their contributions to engineering and service to the college were (from left) James Hunnicutt, Glenn Phillips, Jerry Thomas, David Scobey, Jimmie Adams, Larry Tuggle and Karen Sharpless.

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the University of Alabama in Huntsville. Joining SCI in its infancy, Thomas helped turn the small business into a For-tune 500 company with 51 plants in 19 countries, becoming a corporate officer in 1976.

Tuggle, retired vice president of Russell Corporation’s Environmental and Engineering Services, received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Auburn in 1957, and master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Florida in 1969 and 1971. During his career, he conceived, organized and implemented one of the most dramatic and

extensive solid-waste reduction programs in the industry, reducing Russell’s total landfill waste by 94 percent. This effort, a model for the textile industry, is now emulated by many other companies. Tuggle received the 1995 and 2000 Alabama Recycling Coalition’s 2,000 Best In-house Recycling Program Award for his paper, plastic, cardboard and cloth waste recycling efforts. For his civic efforts, he was named “Man of the Year” in 1987 by his hometown of Alexander City.


Staying Connected

Three Auburn alumni — Oliver Kingsley Jr., John Junkins and Philip Lett — represent the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering among the prestigious ranks of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE), one of the highest profes-sional distinctions ac-corded an engineer.

Membership honors those who have made important contributions to engineering theory and practice and have dem-onstrated accomplish-ment in the pioneering of new fields of engineering, making major advance-ments in traditional fields of engineering, or developing/implementing innovative approaches to engineering educa-tion.

Kingsley, retired as president and COO of Exelon Corpo-ration and president and CEO of Exelon Generation, has followed a path from Auburn through a career of innova-tion and leadership in the nuclear industry. His 2003 NAE election citation credits him with “leadership, technical management skills, and setting standards that have trans-formed the operation of U.S. nuclear plants.”

Kingsley’s accomplishments were also recognized in 2003 by the international nuclear industry with its highest leader-ship honor, the WANO Nuclear Excellence Award, present-ed in Berlin. He was one of only six world nuclear profes-sionals — and the only American — to receive the award. And in 2000, in recognition of his leadership in nuclear power, he was honored with the Walter Zinn Award of the American Nuclear Society.

After receiving his bachelor’s degree in engineering phys-ics with honors from Auburn in 1966, Kingsley served for five years in the U.S. Navy Nuclear Submarine Force, held various positions in the nuclear area of Southern Company until 1984, and in 1985 began a three-year tenure as vice president of nuclear operations for Middle South Utilities.

Oliver Kingsley Jr.

Auburn alumni among ranks of National Academy of Engineering

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An Auburn Engineering Achievement Award was presented to James Hunnicutt, retired president of Hunnicutt Davis Associates, a consulting firm he founded that specializes in traffic engineering and parking studies. He received his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Auburn in 1950 and his master’s degree from Yale in 1954. Hunnicutt co-founded the International Municipal Parking Congress, and in 1964 became the organization’s president. Growing to more than 1,400 members in 25 countries, it became the International Parking Institute.

Karen Sharpless, retired as director of the Office of Engi-neering Development, received a Superior Service Award for her work. With her leadership, the college received a number of accolades for superior fundraising efforts. She helped establish a solid foundation for the college’s de-velopment unit and annual giving and donor recognition programs. Sharpless received bachelor’s degrees in political science and speech communications in 1977 and 1978 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and a master’s degree from Auburn in 1981.

The Outstanding Young Engineer Award was presented to Glenn Phillips, president, founder and senior consultant of Forté Incorporated in Vestavia Hills, Ala. Phillips, who received his computer engineering degree from Auburn in 1987, developed LifeTrac software to assist paramedics in transporting injured patients to designated hospitals.

Already implemented in more than 20,000 critically injured cases, the software is assisting stroke patients and is used in early warning of biological and chemical terrorism attacks. In April, LifeTrac became the first system in the country to deliver crash information to hospitals before patients arrive. For this program, Phillips received Birmingham Business Journal’s 2004 Health Care Hero Innovator Award.

“We are truly proud of these graduates and the ways in which they have distinguished themselves in the engineer-ing profession,” says Larry Benefield, dean of engineering. “We are grateful that they were able to take time out of their schedules and visit with fellow engineering alums on the Auburn campus.”


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edHe then became chief nuclear officer of the Nuclear Gen-eration Group at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), where his leadership is largely credited with the turnaround of the TVA nuclear program, its ensuing success, and its reputation for excellence. In 1997 Kingsley joined Unicom as president and chief nuclear officer of its Nuclear Genera-tion Group. When Unicom merged with PECO in 2000, Exelon Corporation was created. As its president and COO, Kingsley had purview over all major Exelon operating units — generation (nuclear, power, power team) and energy delivery.

As president and CEO of Exelon Generation, he managed the operations of Exelon Nuclear and Exelon Power, the company’s fossil and hydroelectric operations. With access to more than 40,000 megawatts, Exelon Generation is among the largest power generators in the nation. Junkins is cited by the NAE “for contributions to flight mechan-ics and flexible vehicle control.” His 1996 induction was testa-ment to his expertise in guid-ance, navigation and control of spacecraft.

Junkins earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn in 1965 and his master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of California Los Angeles. He holds the George J. Eppright Chair on the faculty of Texas A&M University.

Prior to his Auburn experience, Junkins began his career in 1962 working on NASA’s Apollo program. During the late ’60s he joined McDonnell Douglas, developing pioneer-ing guidance and control methods for the Delta rocket and participating in early dynamic analysis of the Saturn family of rockets. From 1965 to 1970 he formulated and applied optimization theory to flight path design for the Thor/Delta vehicles.

Junkins joined the University of Virginia in 1970 where he was a member of the aerospace engineering and engineer-ing physics faculty and principal investigator on the Apollo 15-17 lunar science team, which used laser altimetry data to develop a model of the moon’s shape. He has also held an academic appointment at Virginia Polytechnic Institute. During the ’70s he developed a method for spacecraft navigation using computer-automated on-board star pattern recognition. His gradient-based trajectory optimization work supported a dozen spacecraft launches, including geocentric, lunar and interplanetary missions. He began the

next decade by developing a method for using the earth’s magnetic field to change the bearing of a satellite in mini-mum time. Several space missions have seen the successful implementation of his concepts. Junkins joined Texas A&M in 1985 and in 1992 founded the aerospace engineering department’s Center for Mechan-ics and Control. He has served as principal investigator on 46 projects funded by more than 20 sponsors, including the Department of Defense, NASA and private industry, total-ing approximately $5.7 million.

He recently established the Alumni Excellence Scholarship for undergraduates in aerospace engineering at Auburn and serves on the Aerospace Engineering Advisory Council. In 1991 he was recognized by Auburn as its outstanding aero-space engineering alumnus.

Lett is known as the father of the Army’s powerful M1A1 battle tank, the most successful combat weapon of its kind in history. His 1996 election into the NAE cites “25 years of technical and managerial contributions to the development of U.S. combat and tactical vehicle systems.”

Throughout his career, Lett has been responsible for re-search and development of a variety of combat and tactical systems built for the U.S. military, including the T-51 Heavy Recovery Vehicle, the Heavy Equipment Transporter HET-70 and the Mobile Assault Bridge-Ferry Vehicle.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1941, then served in the U.S. Army until 1946 and, resuming his education, received a master’s degree in engineering from the Univer-sity of Alabama in 1947. In 1951 he was awarded a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan.

Lett began his career as an engineer for Chrysler Corpora-tion, quickly climbing the ranks and becoming a member of the board of directors of Chrysler Defense, Inc. and general manager of the Chrysler Sterling Defense Division.

In 1982, General Dynamics Land Systems Division pur-chased Chrys-ler’s defense business and Lett served as General Dynamics’ vice president and assistant to the general man-ager until his retirement in 1987. He then founded the defense-consulting firm PWL, Inc.

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Samuel Ginn College of EngineeringAuburn University108 Ramsay HallAuburn, AL 36849-5330

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