The University of Arkansas College of Engineering

2013 FEP Honors Symposium Winners

Camilla Medders — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:46:43 +0000

Track Name: Computing #1

Best paper

Mitchell Malone

William McEver

Studying The Wii Remote’s Potential as an Affordable Adaptive Device

Best Poster

Mitchell Malone

William McEver

Studying The Wii Remote’s Potential as an Affordable Adaptive Device

Best Presentation

Jacob Bushnell

Continuous Manufacturing

Track Name: Computing #2

Best paper

Oscar O. Gilbert

Sarah M.H. Marsh

Recognizing Higher Level Activities from Workflow Traces

Best Poster

Trevor J. Dodson

Alison P. McElhenney

Evaluating the Quality of Computer-Based College Football Rankings

Best Presentation

Cadence Gatewood

Autonomous Obstacle Avoidance

Track Name: Energy

Best paper

Hannah Shameh

Ethan Hinds

Characterization of Iron Pyrite Nanocrystals

Best Poster

Chris D. Taylor

Emma J. Stavey

Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emission Intensities for Arkansas Buildings

Best Presentation

Zephan W. Wade

Ty Austin

Validation of Hydrogen Energy Storage with Wind Energy: A Model Study

Track Name: Environmental

Best paper

Alexander Raney

William Kennon Chu

Wood Gasification and the Filtration of Wood Gas

Best Poster

Luke A. Galuska

Christian D. Williams

Carbon Nanotubes Effect on the Adsorption of Natural Organic Matter

Best Presentation

Drew P. Creighton

K. Joseph Hickey

Indium Arsenide Quantum Dot Solar Cell

Track Name: Healthcare #1

Best paper

Amanda Mills

Dan Pham

Effect of Radiation on the Growth of Various Tumor Cells

Best Poster

Amanda Mills

Dan Pham

Effect of Radiation on the Growth of Various Tumor Cells

Best Presentation

Jessica D. Joyce

Sydney C. Wiggins

Traumatic Brain Injuries and Detection Methods

Track Name: Healthcare #2

Best paper

Maliha Bhatti

Katherine Trubitt

Determining Release of Protein from Chitosan Microparticles

Best Poster

Cassandra M. Walker

Bryce C. Jones

Detection of Bladder Cancer DNA in Urine

Best Presentation

Cassandra M. Walker

Bryce C. Jones

Detection of Bladder Cancer DNA in Urine

Track Name: Healthcare #3

Best paper

Ailon Haileyesus

Jerusha Kumpati

A Cell-Free Method for Detecting a Myocardial Infarction

Best Poster

Brett T. Schauwecker

Kendell L. Whitehead

Textile Integrated Mobile Electronic Cardiac Monitoring System – The e-vest

Best Presentation

Brett T. Schauwecker

Kendell L. Whitehead

Textile Integrated Mobile Electronic Cardiac Monitoring System – The e-vest

Track Name: Logistics and Transportation

Best paper

Travis B. Peter

Combatting Drug Trafficking Using Integer and Constraint Programming

Best Poster

Joshua Lewis

A Step Toward the Physical Internet: Simulating a Smart Reconfigurable Conveyor Belt Simulator in a 3D Virtual World

Best Presentation

Drew Burczyk

Tyler A. Cunningham

Effect of Non-Traditional Warehouse Design on Order Picking

Track Name: Product Design #1

Best paper

Tyler Beneke

Austin Cash

Design and Analysis of the Prototype Container of the Physical Internet

Best Poster

Ethan Williams

Aaron Yeager

Flight Control Development of AIAA Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

Best Presentation

Tyler Beneke

Austin Cash

Design and Analysis of the Prototype Container of the Physical Internet

Track Name: Product Design #2

Best paper

Joseph Sirrianni

Timothy Byrne

Portable Lotus-Effect and Anti-Fogging Effect Demonstration

Best Poster

Brian David Jekel

Sean Michael Street

Wi-Fi Positioning Using Supported Vector Machines

Best Presentation

Brian David Jekel

Sean Michael Street

Wi-Fi Positioning Using Supported Vector Machines

Best Overall Project

Tyler Beneke

Austin Cash

Design and Analysis of the Prototype Container of the Physical Internet

New Consortium to Support Engineering Education

Camilla Medders — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:14:00 +0000

On Tuesday, May 7, Distinguished Professor Alan Mantooth will receive a check from the Arkansas State Legislature, presented by Representative Charlie Collins. The funds will support the Arkansas Energy Consortium, a group of academic and industry leaders who share a goal of addressing the shortage of engineers in the power electronics and energy fields. The Arkansas Energy Consortium, a collaboration among the U of A, UALR and ASU, will encourage students to earn degrees in these fields by providing undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships and faculty start-up packages.

NSPE meeting

Camilla Medders — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 16:25:27 +0000

The next NSPE meeting will be April 25th at 6:00 PM. It will be held in Engineering Hall (now called “White Hall”) room 307. We will have food, a short presentation; and then officer elections. Our topic of discussion will be “Securing a Job and Managing Finances”, with guest speaker Lesa Brosch. Mrs. Brosch is the Human Resources Manager at Crafton Tull & Associates in Rogers. She will be discussing the hiring process and giving tips for financial management and utilizing benefits available to you. She will answer any questions you have as well!

We will send out more detailed information on officer elections soon, but if you want to get more involved please consider running for a position. Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you,

Vincent C. Stanko

NSPE President

v cstanko@gmail.com - 214.592.2578

5th Annual FEP Honors Research Symposium

Camilla Medders — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 15:39:12 +0000

Saturday, April 20 8:30 am – 2:00pm

The Chancellor Hotel & UA Downtown Conference Center

All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend the 5th Annual FEP Honors Research Symposium. The purpose of the symposium is to showcase the research efforts of 91 first-year engineering students who are enrolled in the Honors College.

In the first half of the fall semester, these students participated in a colloquium in which they learned about various aspects of academic research in an engineering program. During the current semester, they have worked individually or in teams of two on projects mentored by College of Engineering faculty. These 47 projects span the spectrum of all nine College of Engineering disciplines and several areas of tremendous recent attention in the engineering professions.

The symposium will begin with a poster session during which attendees can visit one-on-one with students about their projects. Next, students and attendees will have brunch which will also include a keynote address by Honors College Dean Bob McMath on the importance of undergraduate research in engineering. The symposium will conclude with ten concurrent presentation sessions during which attendees can learn the details of as many as ten of the projects.

This year’s symposium will be held at The Chancellor Hotel and UA Downtown Conference Center. Registration cost is $20 per person (includes brunch). To register and pay online go to http://freshmanengineering.uark.edu/6102.php

For more information about the symposium, contact Adrienne Gaines at gaines@uark.edu or 479-575-4540.

Teens and Their Robots to Compete in “Superbowl of Smarts”

Camilla Medders — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 15:53:01 +0000

Thirty-eight teams of high school students from Arkansas and seven surrounding states will gather at Barnhill Arena April 4-6 to participate in the Razorback Regional FIRST Robotics Competition. The event will showcase original student work: 150-pound robots, designed and built in just six weeks, that can climb and play a wicked game of Frisbee. The competition is hosted by the University of Arkansas College of Engineering. The public is encouraged to attend and admission is free. On Thursday and Friday paid parking is available in the Arkansas Union parking deck accessed from Stadium Drive; on Saturday visitors may use any campus parking space that is not reserved for handicapped parking or marked “reserved at all times.”

Dubbed “the Superbowl of Smarts,” the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition is a worldwide program that challenges teams of high school students to design and build robots to perform prescribed tasks against a field of competitors. Professional engineers and technical mentors assist the students throughout the design and competition process. The tasks vary from year to year, and are designed to challenge students across disciplines, from computer programming to mechanical and electrical engineering, all while incorporating math and science.

In this year’s challenge, “Ultimate Ascent,” the robots scoop up and toss flying discs to score points. For an added challenge, two pyramid structures will be placed on the court that the robots can scale to score additional points.

“The climbing element may be the toughest I’ve seen,” said Chase Rainwater, an assistant professor of industrial engineering and co-chair of the event. His experience with FIRST dates to his high school days, when he competed on Mountain Home’s powerhouse team, the Bomb Squad. “It’s a free-for-all at the end of the game, with 40-plus Frisbees in the air – the spectators will enjoy it,” he said.

Arkansas’ participation in FIRST competitions has been limited up to now, because student teams had to travel out of state to compete.

“We have the critical mass to make this happen now in Arkansas,” said Bryan Hill, an assistant dean of student recruitment, honors and international programs in the College of Engineering who is co-chairing the event. “Last year, we had three teams in the state; this year, thanks to the competition here at the University of Arkansas, and the hundreds of hours put in by the Arkansas FIRST organization to bring new participants to the program, there are 17.”

The teams will compete for awards that recognize design excellence, competitive play, sportsmanship and teamwork. Six teams will earn spots at the World Championship in St. Louis to be held April 24-27. Hill emphasized that the benefits for the student competitors extend well beyond a medal or an entry on a resume.

“The students take six weeks to work and compete in a high-stress environment, and they’re working with professional engineers,” Hill said. “This is as close to “real-world engineering” as a student can get – it’s great practice in time management.”

Hill and Rainwater, along with John Novak, Baxter Senior Principle Engineer and Meredith Novak, FIRST Regional Director, have worked since last June with a small army of volunteers to organize the event. Rainwater also has served as one of the mentors for the Springdale High School’s GearHogs team. Alex Anderson, a first-year computer engineering student and alumnus of a Mountain Home World Championship team, has carved out time from his busy schedule to coach the GearHogs team, as well.

“I’ve been involved in FIRST since the sixth grade, when I competed in the LEGO league,” Anderson said. “FIRST helped me in math; when I was learning equations in algebra, I could take that over to robotics and put it to work. I mentored younger kids when I was in high school and really enjoyed teaching them what I knew – I wanted to continue that here.”

The hours invested in FIRST will undoubtedly help the competitors, but may benefit the College of Engineering, as well.

“We’re bringing potential engineers here to see our campus,” Hill said. “They are the best and brightest math and science students in the region, and this experience has prepared them well for engineering programs.”

Cosponsors for the event include Baxter International, Inc. and Arkansas FIRST.

Baxter International Inc. is a founding sponsor of FIRST Robotics since 1992 and has provided start-up funding and volunteerism support for Arkansas FIRST. For more information, please visit first.uark.edu.

About FIRST

Accomplished inventor Dean Kamen founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) in 1989 to inspire an appreciation of science and technology in young people. Based in Manchester, N.H., FIRST designs accessible, innovative programs to build self-confidence, knowledge, and life skills while motivating young people to pursue opportunities in science, technology, and engineering. With support from three out of every five Fortune 500 companies and more than $14 million in college scholarships. To learn more about FIRST, go to www.usfirst.org.

AWRC Conference

Camilla Medders — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 18:04:30 +0000

The 2013 Arkansas Water Resources Center Annual Watershed and Research Conference will be held May 14-15, 2013 in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This year’s program will focus on 104(b) research program impacts and ecosystem design. The keynote speaker is Dr. Thad Scott, who was the winner of the 2012 National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR) Impact Award for his research on Denitrification, Internal Nitrogen Cycling, and Nitrogen Retention in River Impoundment Reservoirs. The conference will feature a poster session and student poster competition on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 from 12:30-1:30 PM. Registration fees are $50 for students and $95 for professionals and include breakfast and lunch during both days of the conference and a social the evening of May 14. Registration deadline is May 3, 2013. For more information on the conference program, registration and logistics visit http://www.uark.edu/depts/awrc/conference.html.

This year’s conference will be followed up by a two day workshop and charrette “Ecological Design in the Ozarks”. This workshop satisfies the workshop requirement for the Certified Ecological Designer program of the American Ecological Engineering Society.

STEM Career Fair

amdavila — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 19:54:59 +0000

Hundreds of students and professionals filled the east indoor club of Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, but it wasn’t for football. More than 100 companies, both international and local, attended the highly anticipated Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Career Fair (STEM) Wednesday, February 27. The fair provided students with an opportunity to network with professionals, improve interviewing skills and learn more about different industries. Both undergraduate and graduate students attended the fair in hopes of gaining summer internships, co-ops and jobs after graduation.

Shauntell Mathis, a freshman chemical engineering student, went to the fair to create relationships with professionals who are eager to hire engineers. “I hope to gain, at the very least, connections with some of these companies so in the future I can hopefully get a great job,” said Mathis. Some students were able to walk away with an interview scheduled for the very next day.

Fortune 500 companies like Wal-Mart , Tyson and FedEx were just a few of the companies looking to hire accomplished University of Arkansas students. Tenaris, the leading producer of tubular products for the oil and gas industry, searched for students with leadership experience and a high GPA.

Ashley Marcantel, university relations for Tenaris, said, “We hope to gain some great interns and full- time recruits from here and just build our reputation further at the University of Arkansas.”

Chief Petty Officer Jarod A. Gray and Lieutenant H. Tyler Maits of the U.S. Navy show off their decorated display table.

H. Tyler Maits, lieutenant and officer recruiter for the U.S. Navy, wanted to build relationships with “engineers, math majors, science information technology (majors) and those who have interest in pursuing their careers through navy officer programs.” The U.S. Navy Collegiate Programs offer students benefits such as scholarship money, life insurance and a job with the Navy after earning their degree.

Representatives of Tenaris excited to speak with students at the STEM Career Fair.

Along with the STEM Fair, companies held information sessions through out the week to inform students about the jobs they offer. Students at the Tenaris Information Session had the chance to take a numerical reasoning test that evaluates analytical skills. The students with the best scores were offered an interview at the company’s Blytheville facility.

The College of Engineering hosts the STEM Career Fair every spring and the Career Development Center provides students with resources to prepare for the event.

Talk with a Senior Executive Engineer!

Camilla Medders — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:46:44 +0000

Monday, March 4^th

5:30 p.m. • Room ENGR 209

Chris Heller

COO of Shamrock Proppants in St. Louis, MO.

Mr. Chris Heller will be speaking to all engineering students about how to interview, what to expect in an interview, what engineering companies look for and any other job related questions that students have. This is open to ALL ENGINEERING STUDENTS!! So please come and learn what a typical engineer deals with every day.

Mr. Heller’s Bio: Mr. Heller began his career working for an offshore drilling contractor SEDCO-FOREX as a field engineer and went on to work for North American Refractory Company, Saint Gobain, Thorpe Corporation, and O’Brien Industrial Holdings LLC. He has successfully held positions of General Foreman, Quality Manager, Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Branch Manager, President, and Chief Operating Officer in various ceramic companies. He has experience in managing processes such as brick pressing, castable production, casting, slip casting, extrusion, calcining, and sintering, along with the installation of these ceramic products. Mr. Heller has 20 years’ experience bringing ceramic products from design to pilot trials to full scale manufacturing. He has developed and implemented both domestic and international manufacturing plant startups and expansions. He has developed and implemented two proppant plant startups (one brownfield, one greenfield) both international, implemented a domestic proppant expansion and oversaw the manufacturing operations for more than 210,000 tons/year of proppant.

Summer job opportunity with Arkansas Department of Health

Camilla Medders — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 22:31:32 +0000

From a Department of Health press release:
The ADH is planning on hiring two “Engineer Technician” positions during the summer of 2013 for an Instrumentation Calibration Check Project and for Water Quality Monitoring at public water systems. The duration of employment is a maximum of 90 days. Pay is approximately $14.75 per hour. Working hours are normally 40 hours per week, but will likely exceed 8 hours on some days.

The job duties include travel to water treatment systems and collection of water samples, checking the calibration of turbidimeters, chlorine monitors, and pH meters. Calibration check forms must be completed and the data collected entered into an Excel spreadsheet. Other job duties may be assigned. Adequate training on water sample collection and instrumentation calibration checks will be provided on the job.

The position is based out of the Health Department main building at 4815 West Markham Street in Little Rock. Weekly in-state travel is required with some overnight stays. Some travel will be day trips to and from Little Rock and some trips will involve spending several nights out. Travel expenses will be reimbursed in accordance with state policies.

A current valid driver’s license is a job requirement. Travel will be by state vehicle and will be statewide. Preferred education: completion of sophomore year of curriculum in Civil, Chemical, Environmental or Biological Engineering from an ABET accredited program.

A state application is required. A state application can be found online at http://www.ark.org/arstatejobs.com. Create an account if you do not already have one. Complete the state application, print and sign the application. Applications must be submitted directly to the ADH-Engineering Section and must be received by 4:30 PM on Friday, March 22, 2013. Including a resume and recent transcript is recommended. Applications, resumes, and transcripts may be submitted by email, faxed to 501-661-2032 or mailed to: ATTN: Craig Corder, Arkansas Department of Health, Engineering Section – MS37, 4815 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72205-3867

If you have any questions, contact Craig Corder at Craig.Corder@arkansas.gov, or at 501-661-2623. More information about the Engineering Section is available at the ADH website www.healthyarkansas.com\eng

The Arkansas Department of Health is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EEO/AA/M/F)

Garver: Open House Opens Doors to the Future

Camilla Medders — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 18:46:02 +0000

University of Arkansas student Derek Strause has discovered his career path after attending an open house at Garver’s Fayetteville, Arkansas office this February. “I quite literally fell in love with the idea of working in the water industry,” said Derek, a Junior from Keller, Texas.

When Derek attended the open house for UofA students, he wasn’t sure what aspect of mechanical engineering to pursue. After talking with Garver’s water engineers and seeing the Water Design Center, Derek said he’s developed a new-found interest.