auburn engineering spring/summer 2012

e n g i n e e r i n gSpring/Summer 2012 Volume 22 Issue 1

S a m u e l G i n n C o l l e g e o f E n g i n e e r i n g

B e n e f i e l d B i d s Fa r e w e l l

Birds Eye ViewJohn Illg, graduate student in computer science and software engineering, launches

an unmanned vehicle system in a portico of the Shelby Center for Engineering

Technology. The blimp airframe, which is low-cost, low-power and allows for secure

communication, can be launched by a soldier or first responder to patrol a hostile

environment from the air. Students in David Umphress, Alice Smith and Drew

Hamilton’s real-world systems engineering class, funded by the Assistant Secretary

of Defense for Research and Engineering, constructed two types of vehicles using

helicopter and blimp airframes.

From the Dean 2

�atering the �orld 4

happenings 6

It's my job 14

A Dream Realized 16

Mission Accomplished 19

Into the Lab 24

Learning from a Distance 28

minutes with 30

From the Desk of . . . 32

And the Award Goes to . . . 34

A u b u r n E n g i n e e r i n g

Spring/Summer 2012Volume 22, Issue 1

Office of the Dean

Larry Benefield, deanBob Karcher, assistant dean of student servicesOliver Kingsley, associate dean for special projectsNels Madsen, interim associate dean for academicsRalph Zee, associate dean for research

Office of Engineering Communications and MarketingJim Killian, director

Beth L. Smith, editor

ContributorsCheryl CobbSally CredilleMorgan Stashick

PhotographyAuburn University Photographic Services, Josh Brinkerhoff, Katie Haon, Jim Killian

Katie Haon, graphic designer

Office of Engineering Development

Veronica Chesnut, directorDan Bush, associate directorPatrick Allen, development officerKori Caldwell, development officerDavid Mattox, development officerMargaret Schlereth, development officerJon Wilson, development officer

Experience Auburn Engineering online at eng.auburn.edu/magazine

Auburn Engineering is published twice yearly by the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. Please send news items, suggestions and comments to:

Engineering Communications and Marketingc/o Editor1320 Shelby CenterAuburn, AL [email protected]

eng.auburn.edu

Contents

©2012 Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, Auburn University

From the Dean

We are all engineers, hence numbers are an important part of what we do. When becoming dean of engineering at Auburn, an assessment was made of where the College of Engineering was, and where it should be going. Numbers played an important part. Now, more than a decade later, it is time to pause and look at them again. It has been a top priority to move the college ahead in the national undergraduate and graduate student rankings, and to enhance our research productivity as well. The bottom line was quite simple: to create an atmosphere that would attract the best and brightest students; recruit and retain leading national professors; and provide the most advanced facilities and equipment.

We are certainly attracting more qualified students. In the past decade, we have seen average ACT scores go from 25 to more than 28, and the number of national merit scholars increase from five to 72. At the same time, scholarship support has increased from $750,000 to more than $2 million.

Our research dollars have gone from less than $20 million per year at the turn of the century to more than $57 million annually, placing Auburn Engineering in the top 50 schools nationally for the past six years. To help make this happen, we increased our faculty numbers from 123 tenure track positions and six research positions to 149 and 61, respectively. Recently, as a result of private support from our alumni, 27 new professorships have been funded.

Many other benchmarks have been achieved as well, including a building program that saw the renovation of Wilmore Laboratories and Ross Hall, and the construction of the Shelby Center.Sen. Richard Shelby had much to do with the planning and funding of the center, but again, its final completion was made possible only by committed alumni who donated nearly $20 million.

Our alumni are a vital component of our college, whether it’s Sam Ginn with an incredible initial gift of $25 million, or graduating seniors who have become junior members of the Engineering Eagles Society with matching gifts of $250. Indeed, I can’t thank our alums enough for their support of our students and our faculty. As I move into my retirement years, I can honestly say that beyond my family, the relationships that have meant the most to me have been those forged not only with the faculty and students of this great college, but with our friends and alumni.

On a final note, many of you are aware that Chris Roberts has been named as my successor as dean of engineering. I have been an enthusiastic supporter of Chris during his two decades as a faculty member, and chair of our Department of Chemical Engineering. He is truly visionary and has a deep commitment to excellence. I am certainly confident that he will build on what we have accomplished in our classrooms and labs, and take us to the next level. I urge you to lend him your support as we continue to make Auburn Engineering one of the nation’s top engineering programs.

2 Auburn Engineering

Auburn Engineering 3

Leonardo da Vinci, also known as “the Renaissance Man,” was not the only one to recognize that water, in particular, clean water, is essential to life. Auburn Engineering students understand it as well, so much so that several of them have developed a portable water purifying system to prevent water-borne diseases in impoverished areas throughout the world.

Grant Moore, a senior in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Business-Engineering-Technology (B-E-T) classmates Lauren McManus, Grant Martin and Sara Yousey developed the water purifiers for a class project that required them to create a business plan and model product. The class was part of Auburn’s B-E-T program which offers engineering undergraduates a minor focused on business.

The original team developed two products — the Advanced Liquid Purification System (ALPS), and the Salt and Light Purifier (SaL). Both utilize chemical

processes approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to eliminate viruses, bacteria and protozoa by dissolving a small amount of salt in water — a pinch per pint. Electricity then passes through specially coated electrodes in the water, interacting with the dissolved salt to produce chlorine compounds that sanitize the water. More salt can be added to create a strong disinfectant.

“One advantage of this technology is that it is extremely simple, yet successful,” says Moore. “Chlorine tablets take four hours to kill Giardia, a hazardous type of protozoa, and the tablets don’t even touch Cryptosporidium, another type of protozoa. The ALPS system eliminates both from water quickly.”

Watering the world

Moore’s team felt water purification would be profitable in the recreational camping community as well as provide a humanitarian tool for the developing

world. “Our research on world water issues was too compelling to ignore. We had to do something,” says Moore. “After many long hours and a lot of determination, we created a completely functional water purifier, going far beyond what was required for the class.”

Similar water purifying systems were originally created for the U.S. military, but required batteries to operate. ALPS is powered by a hand-cranked generator, while SaL is powered by solar cells. “We didn’t want them to be battery-operated, because batteries are difficult to come by or are often not of good quality in developing countries,” says Moore. Each system is optimized for its geographical area and costs $30 – $80. Larger components can treat the water faster, but cost more to build.

With help from electrical and computer engineering faculty member Tom Baginski, the team formed the non-profit group Innovative Humanitarian Products

“�ater is the drivin� �orce o� all nature.”Leonardo da Vinci

By Morgan Stashick


Organization (IHPO) in order to create more devices that will improve the lives of those in need. The organization, which now has 130 members, merged the ALPS and SaL purifiers, creating a hybrid that can be powered by either a hand-cranked generator or a solar cell. It is flexible in terms of which power source it can use to best suit different parts of the world.

This spring, the organization participated in a contest for nonprofit groups through SlideRocket, a web-based alternative to PowerPoint presentations. The group’s video on its purifiers and initiatives in Uganda earned IHPO fifth place out of 38 participants, as well as $5,000 towards building more purifiers. Winners were determined by the number of views their presentation received.

IHPO has partnered with people in industry who want to join the fight against the world’s water crisis. “We want to

some of my teachers and workmen operate the device,” says Qualls. “I brought recommendations back to Grant on how to improve the purifier, but overall, the Ugandans were very impressed with how simple it was. They remarked how easy the device was to operate and maintain versus other solutions to sanitizing water,” he says. “Boiling water burns up their forests and sand filters are hard to maintain.”

Last year, Qualls took the improved ALPS purifier back to the village to conduct taste tests. The villagers recommended a concentration of salt per amount of water that they felt produced fresh water they would drink — creating a collaboration between Auburn Engineering students and the people of Uganda.

Along those same lines, Emile Ewing, a graduate student in electrical and computer engineering and member of

Wood for boiling water in Uganda is scarce, she explains, so people spend several hours a day carting water back and forth and searching for firewood in order to treat their water. To further the usefulness of the purifier, Ewing plans to make a picture book to eliminate language barriers faced in teaching people how to use the water purifying systems. “I love helping people, and I see value in a project like this,” she says. “We don’t think this is the end-all solution to the water issue, but this could be a great solution in a lot of situations.”

Although simple in nature, the purifiers are offering citizens of the world cleaner, safer water and an innovation that impacts their quality of life — a trademark of Auburn engineers.

“�ater is the drivin� �orce o� all nature.”Leonardo da Vinci

�or her work with the water purification systems, as well as her involvement in a number of campus and civic organizations, Emile Ewing was honored in February by Auburn’s Women’s Resource Center. She received

the 2012 Women of Distinction Graduate Student Award for her outreach and recruiting efforts. Ewing has been involved in campus recruiting events, including E-Day and Talons Day, and has also volunteered for several community organizations, including the Humane Society and the Salvation Army. She is an accomplished athlete and has served as captain of Auburn’s Swimming and Diving Team and participated in the Olympic Trials as a semifinalist.

understand people’s needs and seek consumers' feedback on our products,” says Moore. “Our partners are testing the purifiers alongside the people who will use them.”

Rodger Qualls, president of the non-profit organization African Children’s Educational Initiative in Huntsville, has taken the ALPS purifier to Uganda to field test, as well as provide clean water for the villages his organization serves.

“Two years ago I took an early ALPS prototype to Luwero, Uganda, and had

IHPO, is concentrating her master’s thesis on the real-world use of the purification systems. She traveled to Uganda last fall to field test the products and teach local residents how to use the systems.

“In Uganda, there is an abundance of salt and light for the systems to work,” says Ewing. “The residents get it! They see the water start to bubble and they understand that it is working. It is important to show the products to as many people as possible to avoid skepticism, and let them know that it is possible for them to use the systems themselves.”

(Above) Current IHPO officers, front row from left: Melanie Head and Tara Jones; back row from left: Rathan Raj, Grant Moore and Harrison Mills. (Opposite page) Ewing demonstrates a water purifier while in Uganda.


happen

ings

Auburn Engineering hosted more than

1,000 college students from around the

globe April 20-22 for Baja SAE Auburn

2012. Teams went head-to-head with their

off-road vehicles on a specially designed

course at Auburn’s National Center

for Asphalt Technology, competing in

design and technical inspection, as well

as acceleration, land maneuverability,

hill climb and a four-hour endurance

race. Cornell University’s team placed

first overall, earning 955.86 points, while

Oregon State and Rochester Institute

of Technology placed second and third

with 936.16 points and 875.97 points,

respectively. The Auburn car finished 22nd

with 625.39 points as the young team

struggled with fuel line problems during

Sunday’s endurance race.

May the best car win


Taking care of friction

Auburn Engineering has established a new minor in tribology

and lubrication science — one of only a few programs in the

nation focused on the contact, friction, wear and lubrication of

surfaces. Tribology’s applications range widely, from bearings,

engines and manufacturing, to human joint replacement, to

nanotechnology, oil product chemistry, power generation,

hard-drive technology and electrical contacts. The 15-hour

multidisciplinary minor, which includes courses from

biosystems engineering, mechanical engineering, polymer

and fiber engineering and chemistry, will address

industry demand for graduates who have a background

in tribology and lubrication science.

Taylor Rawlinson, doctoral candidate in the Department of Civil

Engineering, was selected as one of three students nationwide to

spend a month in Japan researching the massive 9.0-magnitude

earthquake and subsequent tsunami that rocked the country last

March. Rawlinson, who is concentrating his research in structures

engineering, began work in November with a professor at the

University of Tokyo, writing detailed reports in English on the

earthquake and tsunami.

“I hope this can lead to more exposure for the earthquake

research being conducted at Auburn,” says Rawlinson. “The

New Madrid Fault lies between the Missouri, Tennessee and

Arkansas borders, and very few people realize there is a risk for

earthquakes east of the Rockies. As earthquake researchers, it is our responsibility to increase awareness in the east.”

Rawlinson is advised by Auburn civil

engineering faculty member Justin Marshall,

whose research includes earthquake

engineering. Marshall traveled to Haiti and

New Zealand to study damaged and collapsed

structures after 7.0 and 6.3-magnitude quakes

devastated those countries.

Detailing a disaster


happen

ings

Super scannerThe university’s 7 Tesla MRI scanner

arrived for installation at the Auburn

MRI Research Center in February. It is

one of two actively shielded whole-body

7T MRI scanners in the Southeast, and

one of only 30 7T scanners worldwide.

The unit will be used solely for research,

providing dynamic images of how the

brain functions. The 7T, which can provide

high-resolution scans of nerves, muscles

and tissue, will be used to develop new

techniques for cardiovasuclar imaging and

advanced technology for next generation

MRI scanners. Researchers from every

college on Auburn’s campus will be using

the 7T.

They came from AuburnA new book chronicling the history of Auburn University’s

College of Engineering is slated for release this summer.

They Came from Auburn: A History of Engineering in the

New South spans the period from 1857 to the present.

“It will be the definitive history of Auburn’s College of

Engineering,” says author Art Slotkin, ‘68 aerospace

engineering. “It goes all the way back to the East Alabama

Male College when they had just an engineering course,

not a degree.”

A full degree in engineering was not offered until the

school became a land-grant college in 1872. This, and many

other stories documenting engineering’s development as a

college, as well as successes and struggles throughout its

more than 100-year history, are featured in the book. When

the college celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009, Dean

Larry Benefield asked Slotkin to mark the occasion by writing

a history of Auburn Engineering. After retiring from a career

in the computer industry, Slotkin earned a master’s degree in

the history of technology from Georgia Tech.

At the he lmAuburn alumna Susan Story, '82 industrial and systems

engineering, has been recognized with the prestigious

Institute of Industrial Engineers’ Captain of Industry

award honoring leaders in business, industry and

government. Story is president and CEO of Southern

Company Services. She joined Southern Company in

1982 as a nuclear power

plant engineer. She has

served in numerous

capac ities with increasing

responsibilities, including

executive vice president

of engineering and

construction services, and

vice president of supply

chain management, as

well as vice president of

real estate and corporate

services at Alabama Power. Story was inducted into the

State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame in 2010 and

was named the 2010 Woman of the Year by the Girl

Scout Council of the Florida Panhandle.


B-E-T

Blacktop study drives s m o o t h savingsSmooth pavements not only create safe driving conditions, but also save drivers money at the gas pump, even as gas

prices are on the rise. A study by the National Center for Asphalt Technology (NCAT) and the Department of

Mechanical Engineering has found that smoother pavements are characterized by less rolling resistance,

which requires less energy for a car when compared to a rough surface. Auburn research is

developing ways engineers and contractors can construct more fuel efficient asphalt pavements.

A review of past analyses suggests that improving pavement texture and smoothness could

improve each driver’s fuel efficiency by 2 to 6 percent, according to Richard Willis, assistant

research professor at NCAT. He and Robert Jackson, faculty member in mechanical

engineering, examined several pavement characteristics and fuel efficiency studies

from the U.S., Canada and Europe. Creating long-lasting, smooth pavements that

will improve a vehicle’s gas mileage starts with a flexible base layer of asphalt

to help prevent pavement cracking, followed by minor surface rehabilitations.

These steps can help maintain smooth pavements for up to 50 years before

reconstruction would be needed, saving money for budget-crunched states

and drivers.

Auburn Engineering received national visibility

when faculty members Prabhakar Clement

and Joel Hayworth in the Department of

Civil Engineering were featured in National

Geographic daily news to discuss finding traces

of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on the sands

of Orange Beach, Ala., as recently as February.

The researchers have been investigating the

effects of the oil spill on Alabama’s Gulf coast

since 2010. “We could have collected as many

tar balls as we wanted, from less than one

centimeter up to four centimeters — or .4

to 1.6 inches — in diameter,” Clement told

National Geographic. “And these are really

soft tar balls that are decaying, so there are

probably also millions of tiny fragments that we

can’t even see. I collected over 1,000 tar balls

within [an area of] about 10 miles in five hours.

What does that mean? I don’t know. What are

the health ramifications? I don’t know. But this

clearly demonstrates the magnitude of the

[ongoing] problem attributable to Deepwater

Horizon.”

NATIONALGEOGRAPHIC

Daily NewsBusiness-Engineering-Technology as usual

Auburn University’s Thomas Walter Center for Technology

Management, along with the Business-Engineering-Technology

(B-E-T) program and the new Auburn Student Inventor’s Club,

recently held its second annual Invention2Venture (i2v) Apprentice

Challenge workshop, a program that equips students with

entrepreneurial skills. Twenty-one students on five teams heard from

a panel of entrepreneurs and completed a 72-hour challenge to

select a product or service, sell it on a football weekend and produce

a profit using a $100 seed investment. Each team was required to

return the investment, as well as provide evidence of their net profits

over costs and original investment. Teams were evaluated by a panel

of judges on profits, scalability, uniqueness and moral appeal. The

first place team was awarded $1,000 for generating income by selling

water, cookies, pretzels and milk to football fans on game day. The

second-place team received $500 selling Auburn colored bracelet

shakers to football fans, a picture taken with a team member painted

as “Blue Man” and cake pops. This year’s workshop was sponsored

by Wal-Mart Distribution Center, Auburn Research and Technology

Park, Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, College of Business and

the Thomas Walter Center.


happen

ings The numbers game

Engineering has been included among several Auburn graduate programs to receive

high rankings from U.S. News & World Report's “America’s Best Graduate Schools,”

which was released in March. The college ranked 40th among public universities and

67th nationally, while the industrial and systems engineering program is 15th among

public universities and 21st nationally, and aerospace engineering is 25th among public

universities and 34th nationally. Civil engineering ranked 29th among public universities

and 47th nationally, chemical engineering is 32nd among public universities and 51st

nationally; electrical engineering 28th among public universities and 51st nationally;

computer science and software engineering 29th among public universities and 52nd

nationally, mechanical engineering 37th among public universities and 62nd nationally;

and materials engineering 42nd among public institutions and 63rd nationally.

“I could not be more appreciative and proud of our faculty in their quest to enhance

our graduate programs,” said Dean Larry Benefield. “The College of Engineering’s

overall ranking has improved 10 points over the past eight years. Given the challenge

of moving ahead in the U.S. News & World Report rankings, the latest numbers are a

testament to their hard work and tenacity.”

AfellowforthefutureXinyu Que, doctoral student in the Department of Computer

Science and Software Engineering, was selected for the

George Michael Memorial HPC Ph.D. Fellowship at the 2011

Supercomputing Conference. The fellowship program honors

exceptional doctoral students throughout the world and seeks

to train the next generation of high performance computing

scientists and engineers. Que was recognized for his continuing

research on scalable programming models for large-scale scientific

applications focusing on the scalability challenges associated with

supercomputers used in large-scale scientific applications. He is

advised by faculty member Weikuan Yu.


Doctoral candidate Vivek

Ahuja and graduate student

Jason Cary in aerospace

engineering have published a

new book on missile systems

design. “Project SENTINEL:

Design of a Long-Range,

High-Speed, Precision-Strike

Tactical Weapon” discusses

software tools developed in

the department and outlines

the missile design process

from basic parameters to final

production review. According

to Ahuja, there are dozens

of books on missile systems

design that discuss individual

components of a system, but

few that detail the entire system

for a specific application for

review and reference purposes.

Ahuja and Cary wrote the book

for aerospace and mechanical

engineers while competing

at last year’s Missile Systems

Design Competition with a

student team from Auburn.

They received top honors at the

national competition behind

Georgia Tech, beating the

Naval Post Graduate School

for second place overall.

Auburn’s team was at a distinct

advantage due to power missile

systems design software tools

developed over the years by

the department for academic

and research purposes. They

are advised by faculty member

Roy Hartfield, the Walt and

Virginia Woltosz professor of

aerospace engineering.

Read all about it

Auburn Engineering hosted its annual

student recruitment open house, E-Day, in

February. The event offers an opportunity for

middle and high school students to chat one-

on-one with engineering students and faculty

members and learn about Auburn’s campus,

engineering programs, research projects and

organizations. Nearly 3,000 students from

across the Southeast were in attendance,

with some traveling from as far as Illinois,

Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and Texas.

For the first time at E-Day, department

tours originated from Shelby Center, and an

online form was available for quick and easy

registration.

The host with the mostAuburn University’s Institute of Industrial Engineers

(IIE) student chapter hosted the IIE Southeast Regional

Student Conference in February. More than 150 industrial

engineering students from 11 schools around the Southeast

participated in the event, which included a technical

paper competition, a tour of the KIA plant in West Point,

Ga., presentations about engineering best practices and

a career fair. The conference’s lunch and learn sessions

featured presentations by Richard Sesek, faculty member

in industrial and systems engineering; Kristin Goin, ’05

industrial and systems engineering alumna and consultant

at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta; Jane Foreman, human

resources manager at PepsiCo; and Heather Cross, logistics

manager for Frito-Lay.


Recognizing a good thingHector Galicia, a graduate student in chemical

engineering, has been awarded one of five

Computing and Systems Technology (CAST) student

travel grants from the American Institute of Chemical

Engineers (AIChE). The grants are awarded each year

to assist promising graduate students with travel

expenses to the organization’s annual meeting.

Galicia also received the CAST Directors’ Student

Presentation Award for his research. He will be

recognized at the 2012 AIChE annual conference, the

largest meeting worldwide for chemical engineers,

later this year. Galicia’s research focuses on statistical

process monitoring, which improves process safety

and efficiency, as well as product quality in industries

such as microelectronics and pharmaceuticals.

Four other recipients included students from

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of

Wisconsin, Carnegie-Mellon University and McMaster

University in Canada.

happen

ings

Thanks to George F. Kirchoff, a 1955 engineering

physics graduate, we can drive easy. Kirchoff worked

for 35 years — with Thiokol Inc., Morton International

and Autoliy Inc. — to develop a successful airbag, and

he has the patents to show for it. He didn’t invent the

airbag, per se, but he did perfect it, working long and

hard through hundreds of trials to create a bag of gases

that would explode, contained, in 35 milliseconds. At

the same time, it had to keep us safe. Read the full story

about Kirchoff from the Mobile Press-Register online at

eng.auburn.edu/airbag

Father of the airbag

Summer of f l ight Saad Biaz, faculty member in the Department of Computer

Science and Software Engineering, and Gilbert Crouse,

faculty member in the Department of Aerospace

Engineering, have received more than $320,000 from

the National Science Foundation and the Department of

Defense to continue hosting an NSF Research Experience

for Undergraduates (REU) on smart unmanned aerial vehicles

(UAVs) for three more years. This is the 10th summer for

the REU site, which was focused on pervasive and mobile

computing until changing topics to smart UAVs two years

ago. Auburn’s REU site on UAVs will offer a diverse group of

undergraduate students from universities across the country

the opportunity to research and design algorithms to fly

six to 12 UAVs autonomously, safely and efficiently within a

limited space. Smart UAVs alter their course to avoid conflict

without requiring intervention from human operators.

“Hosting an REU site brings more attention and recognition

to the university and its programs,” said Biaz. “We have an

established history of undergraduate research at Auburn and

in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.”


For the second year in a row, an Auburn biosystems engineering student has been named one

of the “New Faces of ASABE” by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

and National Engineers Week. Doctoral student Nourredine Abdoulmoumine was selected as one

of 15 honorees. He is currently working under the direction of Sushil Adhikari, faculty member

in biosystems engineering, conducting research on softwood biomass gasification and pyrolysis.

Originally from Niger, Abdoulmoumine earned a bachelor’s degree in paper and bioprocess

engineering from SUNY Syracuse and a master’s in biological systems engineering from Virginia Tech.

“I look at this honor as an indication that I am moving in the right direction,” said Abdoulmoumine.

“It is a confirmation that I am in the right place, both at Auburn University and in my major. It is also

encouraging and serves as a motivation to work harder.”

Kristin Hermann Goin, an ‘05 industrial and systems engineering alumna, has also been named a

New Face of Engineering by National Engineers Week. Goin is a consultant at Children’s Healthcare

of Atlanta, working to determine the best way to deliver care, improve patient outcomes and

enhance services. She collaborates with clinicians to use systems thinking to develop effective,

efficient processes and improve quality and operations. Goin has published two papers in the Society

for Critical Care Medicine that won 2010 Scientific and Administration awards. She participates

in national forums through the Institute of Industrial Engineers and Society for Health Systems to

present projects and mentor students in applying engineering skills to the healthcare industry. Goin

earned a master’s degree in health systems engineering from Georgia Tech.

Linda Figg, a 1981 civil engineering graduate and

president and CEO of FIGG Bridge Engineers, was

recognized as a Woman of Distinction by Auburn’s Women’s

Resource Center this February for her many professional

and civic accomplishments. Figg has established new bridge

technologies that are invaluable to the long-term viability of

our nation’s infrastructure and has pioneered a unique program

that involves members of the community in selecting aesthetic

features for local bridge projects. With construction values

totaling $10 billion, FIGG bridges have been completed, are

under construction or are being designed in 38 states. She

seeks to share her engineering knowledge and consideration

for others by volunteering, along with many other FIGG

team members, for Habitat for Humanity, as well as several

other organizations. Figg serves on the board of directors of

the Construction Industry Round Table, an advocacy group

comprised of 100 CEOs of America’s leading engineering,

architecture and construction companies. She is a former board

member of the American Road and Transportation Builders

Association and serves on the executive committee of the

American Segmental Bridge Institute. She is also a member of

the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council.

The many faces of engineering

Abdoulmoumine

Goin

Recognized as the crown jewel of Boston’s Big Dig, the Leonard P. Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge provides a modern signature to the city's skyline. The structure is the widest cable stayed bridge in the world at 183 feet, and carries ten lanes of traffic.


Pictured from left: O’Leary and “Ghost,” a character from Call of Duty’s Modern Warfare series at the n-Space office. Call of Duty is among the largest entertainment properties of all time with annual revenue exceeding $1 billion. n-Space created five Call of Duty games for the Nintendo DS. The statue, one of only a few in the world, was purchased from Activision’s studio, Infinity Ward, as part of a Play for Japan charity auction following the tsunami that occurred there in March 2011.

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Interviewed by Sally CredilleDan O’Leary ’92 mechanical engineeringCEO, n-SpaceOrlando, Fla.

Typical day . . . managing and overseeing three product development groups; meeting with customers, problem solving with teams, building concepts and proposals for new business and working through receivables

Engineering challenge . . . talking intelligently with design staff, engineers and customers. Our games require complex physically modeled systems that update in real-time, and our teams tackle problems my professors would be proud of — from collision systems and particle emitters to vehicle dynamics and player motion analysis

Current projects . . . finishing Heroes of Ruin for the Nintendo 3DS, a top-down loot-based dungeon brawler; fitness-based titles for the Microsoft 36O with Kinect, a camera-based system that provides 3D tracking of a player’s body; an innovative title for the explosive Facebook / iOS market

My Auburn Engineering . . . taught me how to dissect problems and work with others to solve them; showed me how to model complex systems on a computer; rekindled my passion for programming; exposed me to advanced 3D computer graphics, courtesy of Dr. Madsen’s Silicon Graphics Indigo workstation; helped me land a job in the simulation industry that ultimately led to founding n-Space

Geek moment . . . I’ve always embraced my inner Geek — I grew up building rockets and RC planes, and drawing schematics of the Six Million Dollar Man in elementary school

Turning point . . . n-Space lost a business partner to cancer in 2OO8; he ran the company, while I was in charge of development — his death forced me to take on different responsibilities, develop a new outlook towards the business and trust our great employees

Early on . . . none of us had a clue about running a business; I turned 25 a week after we started n-Space; we were passionate about making games; we failed often and learned quickly from our mistakes, and we worked hard — really hard

Sense of pride . . . the team of more than 6O that we have built and the products they have created — almost 4O games in less than 18 years; shipping games for every major handheld and console platform; working with iconic brands, organizations and properties such as Activision, Call of Duty, Pixar, Toy Story, LucasArts, Star Wars, EA and James Bond

Are YOU smarterthan a

freshman?Try your hand at this freshman engineering problem and find out for yourself.

Question:

It’s my job

To send astronauts back to the Moon from

Earth orbit, a rocket engine must supply

a change in the velocity (a deltaV) of an

orbiting vehicle that makes the vehicle’s new

apogee approximately equal to the lunar

distance. Although an actual lunar transfer

is more complicated than two-body motion,

an estimate of the deltaV required can be

obtained by using the energy equation for two-

body motion

(1/2)V2 - μ/R = - μ/(2a) (1)

In Eq. (1), V is the magnitude of the velocity

of the orbiting body; μ = G(mEarth+ mvehicle).

Also, mEarth and mvehicle are the mass of the

Earth and the vehicle, respectively; R is the

distance to the vehicle from the center of the

Earth; a is the semi-major axis (length) of the

vehicle’s orbit about the Earth. First, calculate

the value of V before the impulsive change,

by assuming a circular waiting orbit of radius

RC for the vehicle, from Eq. (1) with a = RC and

call it VC. Then, find the speed at perigee, VP,

in the transfer (subscript T) ellipse with perigee

radius, RP = aT(1- eT) = RC, and apogee radius,

RP = aT(1 + eT) = RMoon, the mean distance from

the Earth to the Moon. Finally, find deltaV.

Data: μ = 368,000 km3/s2, RC = 6778 km, and

RMoon = 384,400 km.

Solution: VC = (μ/RC)1/2 = 7.368 km/s; VP = [(2μ/RC)(1 - RC / (RC + RMoon)]1/2 = 10.330 km/s; deltaV = 2.961 km/s.


What began in 2000 as an ambitious, and undoubtedly challenging, vision by a newly appointed dean of the College of Engineering became a reality in January. With the completion of Phase II of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology, Auburn Engineering’s vision to construct a state-of-the-art engineering complex with the latest in instructional and research technology has come to fruition.

In 2008, Phase I of the complex was completed and became the new home to the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering. The center also houses administrative offices, the Office of Student Services and the Alabama Power Academic Excellence Program, as well as a 150-seat auditorium and a number of computer classrooms, laboratories and student study galleries.

The recently completed second phase includes Wiggins Mechanical Engineering Hall, home to the college’s largest academic unit. It provides a central location for administration and faculty offices, as well as laboratories, designated student study areas and much-needed space for student design projects and collegiate competition teams.

Phase II also includes the Advanced Engineering Research Laboratory designed to create space for both ongoing and emerging research, transforming the future of many of the college’s research efforts. It contains new clean rooms as well as specialty lab space. The laboratories within this new facility have been named, by resolution of the Auburn University Board of Trustees, as the Benefield Laboratories in recognition of Dean Larry Benefield’s leadership, bold vision and distinguished service to the College of Engineering.

A Dream Rea l izedBy Beth Smith


A Son's TributeIn a ceremony in April, the college dedicated the new Dwight L. Wiggins Mechanical Engineering Hall. The building was named through a generous contribution from Dwight L. Wiggins Jr., a 1962 and 1967 mechanical engineering graduate, in honor of his father Dwight L. Wiggins Sr.

“Dwight reminded me that he did his graduate research in the attic of Ross Hall because there was no other space available,” said Larry Benefield, dean of engineering. “With the dedication of Wiggins Hall, we now have state-of-the-art instructional and research facilities that Dwight never dreamed possible at Auburn. His generosity will provide future generations of mechanical engineering students the best facilities available.”

Wiggins’ gift represents not only a tribute to his father whose values, work ethic and initiative contributed to his own personal and professional success, but also his commitment to Auburn Engineering. “When Dean Benefield outlined his vision for new engineering facilities, I knew it was something that we needed to make happen,” said Wiggins. “I am honored to play a part in seeing this dream become a reality. These facilities are critical to making Auburn Engineering one of the top programs in the nation.”

From left: Sally and Dwight Wiggins, Auburn University Trustee Jimmy Sanford and Auburn President Jay Gogue

Phase II of the Shelby Center includes the Advanced Engineering Research Laboratory Building (left), the Carroll Commons (center) and Wiggins Hall (right).


A Family's Le gacyAlthough Wiggins Hall is a new, modern facility, it will house a number of nostalgic reminders of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s past. In particular, the historic grandfather clock that now resides in the administrative office.

For nearly 37 years, mechanical engineering professor John Curtis McKinnon kept the clock, which was responsible for ringing all of the bells on campus, accurate to within seconds. This was a feat that only he could accomplish due to the clock’s intricacy and temperamental nature. The clock was installed in Ramsay Hall in 1925 and professor McKinnon’s devotion and scrupulous attention to it received national recognition.

McKinnon graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute in 1923 and provided the College of Engineering with significant leadership and expertise from 1924 until his death in 1962. He was known as a devoted educator and admired for his mechanical ingenuity, teaching ability and broad range of scholarship that included history and languages. When McKinnon grew ill,

the clock ran sporadically, and upon his death, it stopped altogether. It has served as a silent tribute to his dedicated service to the college.

The clock was recently refurbished through the diligent work of John Hendricks, a 1964 Auburn graduate and owner of Old Timers & Chimers Antique Clock Shop in Opelika, Ala. Hendricks oversaw the repairing of a number of parts, secured new ones including a pendulum, and refinished the clock’s surfaces, all the while appreciating its sensitive disposition.

The clock’s new life, and its continued maintenance, have been made possible through a generous contribution from McKinnon’s daughter Marjorie McKinnon Hale ’43, and grandchildren Anne Hale Craft ’70, Mary Curtis Hale Schroth

’75 and Ben Hale ’76, in honor of his devoted service to the College of Engineering. In recognition of their gift, a faculty office in Wiggins Hall has been named the John C. McKinnon Faculty Office.

What's in a Name?

Additional spaces in Phase II of the Shelby Center will be recognized in dedication ceremonies in the coming months. Each of these areas has been named through generous contributions from alumni and friends — benefactors without whom this project would not have been accomplished. These areas include:

Wigg ins Mechan ica l Eng ineer ing Ha l l

Bill and Martha Ward Student GalleryWilliam B. and Elizabeth Reed Conference Room

Charles M. and Rosemary S. Jager LibraryClarence H. Hornsby Jr. Mechanics of Materials Laboratory

Phillip and Margaret Forsythe Personal Computer LaboratoryYndalecio A. Elizondo Faculty Office

Advanced Eng ineer ing Research Laborator y Bu i ld ingAmerican Tank & Vessel GalleryLarry D. Benefield Laboratories

Car rol l Commons

From left: Anne Hale Craft, Marjorie McKinnon Hale, Mary Curtis Hale Schroth and Ben Hale


The End of an EraIt seems an unlikely story. He grew up in a mill village, 45 twisting miles of two-lane blacktop from the Auburn plains. An only child, he was raised by parents who worked in the local mill, and never finished high school. It was their passion to make sure their son went to college. And so he became an Auburn man from the time he was old enough to know what it meant, and he considered his time here an opportunity, perhaps a destiny, and certainly a gift. Now he's moving on.

By Jim Killian


His biggest dream, always, was to teach at Auburn . . .

It was a dream that came true for Larry Benefield in 1979 — one that took seed in the early 1960’s when the graduate from

rural Handley High School showed up on the Auburn campus as a freshman. The campus was only about 45 miles south of his home in Roanoke, and Benefield had grown up as an Auburn football fan. A starting tackle on his high school squad, he came to Auburn regularly with his parents on football Saturdays.

It was, of course, a different Auburn than the one we see today. Benefield remembers the War Eagle Supper Club as the only place you could buy pizza, the

Bonanza Burger as home of the first double decker hamburger, and the Kopper Kettle as the only convenient place for late night eating. The commercial strip between Auburn and Opelika did not exist then — at times it was home to a dairy farm, at others a golf course, amid a widely-spaced scattering of homes. South of Samford Avenue, College Street was a sleepy two-lane that was only lightly developed.

Then as now, the campus was a friendly place. As an undergraduate, the courses could sometimes be less so. Benefield remembers being grateful for a D in Chemistry 103 because it placed him inside the 20 percent of students who passed the class. He relished the classes that clicked for him. While he did not immediately go into civil engineering — considering mechanical or electrical first — he found in civil engineering professor Gene Metz a mentor, whose every class he took.

Metz was a specialist in structures, and so impressed Benefield that he made a decision as an undergraduate to pursue the doctorate, and to teach . . . at Auburn.

It would not be a straight path. When Benefield graduated, in 1966, it was the height of the Vietnam war, and he had a military obligation to fulfill. Rather than being drafted, he volunteered for Air Force officer candidate school, and then went to ’Nam as a combat engineer attached to a Red Horse unit (Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron). There he worked on air fields, and was awarded the bronze star medal.

When he returned stateside, Metz — the professor who had made such an impact on him — had retired. Benefield had also been exposed to environmental issues in the service, and as a result, turned his attention to environmental engineering. He completed his master’s degree at Auburn in 1972 in that field.

Following the advice of his peers, and his professors, he went on to receive his Ph.D. elsewhere — at Virginia Polytechnic

Institute. The institution later inducted him into the Via Department of Civil Engineering’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni, in ceremonies held in the fall of 2004.

It was 1975 when he graduated, and married his fiancée Mary in Blacksburg, Va. He hoped to return to Auburn to teach. However, the civil engineering department head at the time, Rex Rainer, insisted that Benefield get some

experience at another university before he would think about hiring him. Disappointed, he took a job at Mississippi State instead, although he only stayed a year.

1979

Benef ie ld becomesassoc iate professor of c iv i l engineering at Auburn

1985

Benef ie ld becomes Alumni Professor of c iv i l engineering

1992

Benef ie ld is named assoc iate dean for academics


The Mississippi State position did, however, cement his ties to a researched-focused academic career, rather than the consulting model that was prevalent at the time. Indeed, as a new assistant professor, he ran the department’s research program, which he would eventually do on a college-wide basis for Auburn.

In 1976, he and Mary moved to the University of Colorado, but he had mixed feelings about making Colorado their permanent home. In 1979 he got a call from a friend who said that a faculty position in environmental engineering had opened at Auburn. When he interviewed with Dean Vincent Haneman and Rainer, who was still department head, he was offered a position as assistant professor. Uneasy with a lateral move, he turned it down.

When Rainer countered with an offer as associate professor, Benefield accepted it, and he and Mary returned to Auburn with their six-month-old daughter Brynna. It was 1979, and only the beginning of a more than three-decade career at Auburn.

Benefield was remembered as a congenial teacher, but also one who assigned a great deal of work to his students. At the same time, he appreciated the subtleties of teaching as an art. “You can’t cram it down their throat” he once remarked. “It just serves to alienate them. Then they become resentful and upset about the workload — and then they become critical.”

Good teaching, Benefield understood, requires a tremendous amount of time in developing techniques for effectively presenting any topic you have to cover. It also required, he noted, the ability to be an entertainer, at least to some degree, as well as being a conveyor of knowledge. His skill in the classroom earned him an Alumni Professorship in the mid ’80s.

In 1989 Benefield became the college’s interim associate dean for research, a position he relinquished a couple of years later to return to teaching as Feagin professor of civil engineering, an endowed position that he would hold until 1992, when he returned to administration as associate dean for academics.

He held the latter position under engineering dean William F. Walker, who would later become provost, and ultimately, president of the institution. Benefield became a familiar sight with Walker, absorbing what he could from the dean in his office, in faculty conferences, and even as a regular lunch partner, often in their favorite restaurant in Hurtsboro, a small town across the line in Chambers County.

His tutelage under Walker would place him in good stead when his mentor moved to Samford Hall. Benefield was first named interim dean in 1998, moving into his position as dean in 2000.

His transition as dean was not an easy one insofar as its timing came in one of the ‘bust’ cycles of state funding to higher education. Deans across campus were instructed by the central administration to find ways to stretch budgets, and the task fell to Benefield to

make savings where he could find them. That he endured in this seminal period of his administration probably made a mark on the balance of his administration.

Unable to access funding from strapped state budgets while keeping tuition and fees accessible to students as well, Benefield turned to fundraising, building an efficient development office that would meet, and then exceed campus and college goals during the fund raising campaign held in the first decade of the new century. The fruits of this campaign would ultimately

2000Benef ie ld named Dean of Engineering

2001Samuel Ginn makes a $25 mi l l ion g i f t and the col lege is named the Samuel Ginn Col lege of Engineering

2002Auburn Engineering of fers the nation’s f i rs t wire less engineering degree


allow the college to finish construction of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology by providing more than a third of the funding required to complete its second phase. It would also build on earlier efforts to renovate facilities such as Wilmore Laboratories and Ross Hall.

In addition to the bricks and mortar projects that revitalized Auburn Engineering, Benefield was an astute communicator who shared a message of deliberate and goal-oriented progress in all facets of the college’s operation.

While aware of the critics of such arbiters of national rankings as U.S. News & World Report, he was keenly interested in moving the College of Engineering ahead in both instruction and research. To this end, he saw Auburn’s undergraduate engineering program rise as high as 28th, and graduate program rankings increase by 10 points over eight years, to 40th among public institutions. As well, the faculty’s efforts have placed Auburn in the top 50 in research expenditures in each of the past six years.

Indeed, Benefield always had a vision goal, and he never left it. In moving Auburn up in the national rankings, he was keenly aware that there would always be a cluster of wealthy, private schools that could use a halo effect to populate the upper levels of the rankings — and that other engineering deans were working to move their institutions along as well. It was a tough assignment, but he stuck to it.

“There’s no question that it’s going to be difficult to move into the top 20 engineering programs, but that’s where I want Auburn to be,” Benefield often said. “If we haven’t yet reached that goal in terms of how the ranking agencies see it, I want us to be at least performing at that level. If we perform at that level consistently, we will move up in the eyes of our peers and one day, we will find ourselves there.”

He brought the same focus into fundraising for facilities and programs, moving the College of Engineering’s stated goal of $105 million to a total of $116.7 million during the ‘It Begins at Auburn’ development campaign. Beyond the statistical story, Benefield sees his Auburn journey as one of enriching relationships that have followed him throughout his career at Auburn.

“I certainly have to look at [former civil engineering colleagues] Joe Judkins and Joe Morgan as being influential in molding my academic career. Just as my parents had a lot to do with bringing me to Auburn to learn, they had an outsized part in bringing me back to Auburn to teach,” Benefield has said.

“At the same time, I have to look toward the many relationships that I have made with Auburn alumni,” he adds. “I can’t name them here because I don’t want to leave anyone out. However, I have to mention Sam Ginn, whose influence on the college began just as I was heading into the deanship.”

He is a little uncomfortable as he prepares for retirement, “just because I don’t know what lies ahead.”

Indeed, Benefield showed up at the office nearly every Saturday morning when he wasn’t on the road, to find time to think and strategize in relative peace and quiet, or simply to take the week in review as he planned for the upcoming one.

“I plan to support Chris Roberts, the incoming dean, with any kind of help that is requested,” he has commented. “But beyond that, I don’t want to be around to second-guess the programs, goals and planning that he will bring to the table. I see it as counterproductive.”

He and Mary are relatively new grandparents, so he does plan to take more time with his family, which includes Brynna, her

2002Wilmore Labs are renovated

The univers i ty under takes the “It Begins at Auburn” campaign with Engineering set ting a goal of $105 mi l l ion

2003Auburn of fers the f i rs t f iber engineering degree in the s tate

2006Renovations of h is tor ic Ross Hal l completed


husband Richard, their daughter Zosia and his son Bryan, who was born in Auburn in 1983. He may consider consulting on a schedule that he feels represents a good balance between his professional abilities and personal opportunities.

And he will take the time, at homecoming this fall, to attend a ceremony in which the laboratories in the new Advanced Engineering Research Laboratories will be collectively named as the Benefield Laboratories. It will be a fitting tribute to one whose belief in research — and whose love of Auburn — has never wavered.

Taking the Reins

At the end of June, Larry Benefield will officially relinquish his duties as dean of the College of Engineering, and will hand the reins over to Chris Roberts, department chair and Uthlaut professor of chemical engineering at Auburn.

“I have had the opportunity to watch Dr. Roberts develop from a dynamic young faculty member who excelled in both instruction and research to a very efficient and effective department chair,” says Benefield. “He is brilliant, innovative and creative with incredible personal skills. He will bring these attributes to his new position as dean and without question will do an outstanding job.”

Roberts, who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Missouri and a master’s

and doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Notre Dame, came to Auburn in 1994 as an assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, and has been chair of that department since 2003. He has a strong record of scholarly and academic achievement in nanotechnology and synthetic fuels, and has published more than 110 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters in leading chemical engineering, chemistry, materials and related journals.

In addition, he has been the principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $16 million in extramurally funded research contracts and grants at Auburn University from agencies such as the National Science Foundation, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Energy, Department of

Defense, Department of Agriculture, and National Energy Technology Lab, as well as industrial sponsors and others.

“Dr. Roberts has an outstanding record of achievement in teaching and research and has demonstrated exceptional leadership as chair of the Department of Chemical Engineering,” said Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Timothy Boosinger. “I am confident that he has the ability to significantly advance the college’s mission.”

Roberts will become dean effective July 1. “I am extremely pleased and humbled to have been appointed as the new dean of the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering,” he said. “I certainly

look forward to assisting our students and faculty to reach our full collective potential, and we will continue our trajectory of becoming one of the truly premier colleges of engineering in the nation.”

2008Phase I of the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology completed

“It Begins at Auburn” campaign conc ludes with Engineering ra is ing $116.7 mi l l ion

2009The Magnetic Resonance Imaging Center, located in the Auburn Research Park, opens

2011Phase I I of the Shelby Center completed


Into the lab

Chemical

Jin Wang, Buddy Redd associate professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, is applying systems and control engineering principles to predict complex chemical processes. Wang and her team focus on two areas — systems biology and manufacturing process modeling and control — applying their work to early cancer detection and semiconductor manufacturing processes.

Their systems biology research includes exploring cell functions and fundamental molecular properties to improve control engineering used in manufacturing, such as chemical plants. Wang is also using clinical proteomic research to study early prostate, pancreatic and breast cancer detection by identifying biomarkers that can distinguish between cancer patients and healthy patients. Her group is looking at disease detection for clinical research and fault detection in systems engineering by applying similar principles.

In addition, Wang’s team is studying semiconductor manufacturing process modeling, monitoring and control to improve productivity and quality. They are working on algorithm development required by the industry’s increasing chip density and smaller device dimensions, which make these processes more difficult to operate and control.


Into the Lab

Aerospace

Noise-induced hearing loss is caused by a sound’s power, as well as the amount of time it is heard — an occupational hazard for military pilots. Brian Thurow, W. Allen and Martha Reed associate professor, is working to reduce this risk along with researchers from the University of Mississippi’s National Center for Physical Acoustics, the University of Texas and Combustion Research and Flow Technology Inc. The team has been awarded a collaborative $1 million grant by the Office of Naval Research Jet Noise Reduction Program (ONR-JNR), which funds research

Civi l

Doctoral student Sam Keske and faculty members Robert Barnes and Anton Schindler have conducted research to evaluate a new type of self-consolidating concrete (SCC) for the Alabama Department of Transportation. It has not been previously used for bridge girders in the state of Alabama.

SCC resembles a stable fluid when poured in a formwork and then hardens like traditional concrete. Advantages of SCC include its ease of placement, decreased construction cost, reduced construction noise and improved formed surface finish. Auburn researchers have completed several evaluative programs during a five-year period, which culminated in the production of full-scale bridge girders at Hanson Pipe & Precast of Pelham, Ala. The girders have since been used in a new bridge spanning Hillabee Creek near Alexander City, Ala. Keske and the team have been monitoring the girder behavior and will test the bridge under its full, expected load to confirm that the SCC girders perform as well as traditional girders.

Biosystems

Faculty member Sushil Adhikari and doctoral student Nourredine Abdoulmoumine have developed a portable, compact and fully lab-scale integrated system that can be used in conducting pyrolysis and gasification research. It is a valuable and rapid screening tool that can be used to assess the potential of various biomass feedstocks for biofuels and bioenergy production, including, pine, canola cake and a mixture of poultry litter and pine. It is currently being used to investigate the potential of southern pine as a feedstock for the future biofuels and bioenergy industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Electric Power Research Institute and the Southeastern SunGrant has funded the systematic investigation of process variables on producing clean synthesis gas and “drop-in” liquid fuels from regionally appropriate biomass types. Investigators on this project also include Steven Taylor and Oldiran Fasina from the department, and Chris Roberts and Mario Eden from Auburn’s Department of Chemical Engineering.

that explores jet noise to address pilot health and safety issues, as well as technology that can increase stealth capabilities for military jets. Thurow’s work includes taking high speed flow visualization measurements of up to a million frames per second in a supersonic jet facility at the National Center of Physical Acoustics. He will also use near and far field microphone array measurements to study the aeroacoustics of heated shock-containing jets and computational modeling of air flows to reduce jet noise.

A bench-scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor

Keske at the bridge site over Hillabee Creek in Alexander City, Ala.


Into the Lab

Elec trical and Computer

Faculty members Shiwen Mao and Prathima Agrawal have been awarded a National Science Foundation grant for their project, “Collaborative Research: Fundamental Research on Adaptive Wireless Video Systems,” to develop enabling technologies for wireless video streaming that can be applied to 4G wireless, as well as legacy cellular networks. The project seeks to address the ongoing smartphone revolution that is drastically increasing demand for video services on wireless devices.

The continual changes in user demand, network traffic, hardware and wireless environment pose significant challenges to allowing efficient exchanges of video data using wireless devices. In this project, Mao and Agrawal are exploring wireless technologies able to adapt to changing communication system states.

Industria l and Systems

Faculty members Kevin Gue and Alice Smith have been chosen as lead investigators for a three-year, $255,000 National Science Foundation grant with University of Arkansas faculty member Russ Meller. Their project, “Collaborative Research: Non-Traditional Designs for Order Picking Warehouses,” includes developing new warehouse designs that improve order picking operations. Picking aisles and cross aisles are traditionally built into a right-angled grid. The team’s new designs allow picking aisles and cross aisles to be configured into unique patterns that optimize the order picking process. Their research uses simulation models that wholesale and retail distribution centers can then use to cut labor costs. Results of their research will be featured on an interactive warehouse design website used by students, researchers and practitioners. U.S. companies spend an estimated $13 billion annually on order picking labor costs.

Computer Science and Sof tware

Faculty member Munawar Hafiz is leading the department’s Software Analysis, Transformation and Security (SATS) group to work on program analysis and transformation technologies, as well as to improve security for Javascript and C applications. The group is spearheading the development of CR-12, a framework for developing automatic program transformations in C, which allows them to remove various types of vulnerabilities, such as integer overflow. The program also displays before and after modifications to the users, who have the option of approving the changes. The project is a collaborative effort with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications.

An example warehouse design including aisle structures that will be considered by Smith, Gue and Meller

Screenshot of the SATS group's application

A polling-service based medium access control testbed


Into the Lab

Mechanical

Faculty member Bryan Chin has been awarded a National Science Foundation grant to investigate and develop autonomous sensors that detect and capture pathogens in food. In his research, “Autonomous Sentinels for the Detection and Capture of Invasive Pathogens,” he looks at a system that mimics the function of naturally occurring biological defenses,

Polymer and Fiber

Faculty member Xinyu Zhang is developing a new concrete recipe that would recycle common waste products, lessen greenhouse gases, and even melt snow from roadways and bridges. Working in conjunction with researchers from the University of Alabama under a $450,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Zhang and his colleagues note that concrete comprises nearly 70 percent of all construction materials on a global basis, which points to the potential significance of their research. High on their list of priorities is the use of coal ash as an additive in concrete. Though this material is used occasionally as a concrete additive, most of the material ends up being stored in landfills or ponds, in which state it can leach toxic compounds into the environment. Recycling this waste, a by-product of coal-burning power plants, could have significant environmental advantages.

Their research also involves the production of nanotubes through the use of an iron compound that is heated in microwaves in what the team calls the “poptube” approach. Unlike traditional nanotube development, it does not involve expensive, high temperature chambers filled with inert gases. The resulting carbon nanotubes give concrete additional strength and durability — and even conducting properties. The result could be a concrete recipe that can melt ice from roadways and bridges through the flick of a switch, instead of conventional methods such as plowing and salting.

such as white blood cells, by detecting and removing invasive bacteria, spores and toxins in liquid environments. Chin’s project could be used to identify contamination of foods before human consumption, as well as provide a significant impact on devices for food safety, biosecurity, point of care, home care and environmental monitoring.

Coal ash as a concrete additive


By Cheryl Cobb

Going the Distance for Engineering Education28 Auburn Engineering

The reasons for wanting to earn an advanced degree are as varied as the individuals who seek them, but all have one thing in common: they want a quality classroom experience. With a history of engineering excellence dating back to 1872, Auburn knows how to deliver that quality — both on-campus and, now more than ever, to distance education students. In fact, a new course delivery system, developed within the college, is providing distance students with an online classroom experience rivaling that of their on-campus peers.

“A few years back, we started looking for off-the-shelf software solutions to enhance the delivery of classroom content to our online customers,” says Greg Ruff, director of engineering outreach and continuing education for the College of Engineering. “We soon realized that the only way to meet our goals was to build something in house.”

With the help of Auburn Engineering instructional technology specialist Ken Williams, information technology specialists Zeb Whitehead and Jeff Walker, and a small Auburn-based programming firm, Ruff developed a leading-edge recording and delivery system that works with existing infrastructure and improves the experience for students and professors, as well as the staff that administers the program.

“I love this new system,” says Robert Thomas, faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, who teaches a number of distance education classes. “Engineering instruction requires a lot of visuals. This system adapts to the tools I use on campus — overheads, PowerPoints, spreadsheets and video, and blends them seamlessly into the online video stream via split screen technology. This means that I don’t have to do a separate set of visuals for distance classes, and that these students get an experience similar to that of my on-campus students.”

According to Walker, the system works well with almost any device anywhere, anytime. “We work on PC’s, Macs, iPads, iPhones, Android phones and MP3 players. We also work behind U.S. Department of Defense firewalls — something that is critical for our many military clients.”

On the delivery side, the system also sports an impressive list of administrative tools and is currently used by the college for its academic credit, certificate and non-credit continuing education offerings. “Students can register and access classes within minutes,” says Ruff. “Tests are also done online in a professional and convenient way. Customer satisfaction is higher and my staff loves the back-end functionality and digital records.”

Sharing a Good Thing

Given that track record, it is not surprising that others have taken notice. The software development team behind the new tools recently formed a company, Blended-Tek, to market the product. As a partner in the firm, Auburn University and the College of Engineering will get a share of the profits.

“We are beginning to get serious inquiries about the products and we are looking forward to bringing this tool to other

colleges,” explains Walker. “We are also seeing interest from K-12 schools where administrators are looking for ways to allow a single teacher to deliver class content to students at a number of locations within a district.” Walker also noted that they are seeing benefits for on-campus students. “Some of our traveling sports teams are using it to allow students to keep up when they are on the road. Others are offering the content to on-campus students who don’t speak English well, or just want to review what they heard in the classroom,” he said.

Lately, Thomas has been experimenting with short video modules that provide detailed discussions of fundamental engineering concepts. He creates them on his computer and then posts them for students to review before they pull up the next lesson. Students are reporting that this approach is extremely helpful and that they want more of these videos.

“The new delivery system has enhanced student learning and provided us with more time to search out and test other tools,” says Ruff. “Distance education is here to stay. My goal is to make sure that Auburn is providing the best education possible. These new technologies are helping us meet that goal — on and off campus.”

side noteEarlier this year, U.S. News & World Report released

its first ever rankings for graduate distance education

programs. Auburn Engineering was selected as one

of the top programs in the nation and was one of

three engineering programs highlighted.

Going the Distance for Engineering Education Auburn Engineering 29

minutes withJessica DewberryInterviewed by Morgan Stashick

Jessica Dewberry is the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering’s

undergraduate student recruiter, serving the college since July 2011. A

2009 graduate of Auburn University, she is constantly on the go, traveling

to college fairs across the region in support of Auburn Engineering. With

an engineering degree of her own, Dewberry knows first-hand what it takes

to be an Auburn engineer, and she is using that knowledge now to recruit

the finest prospective students to the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering.

MS: What brought you to Auburn?

JD: I’m from Alexander City, Ala., and I come from a family that bleeds orange and blue. My parents both went to Auburn and my grandfather played football here. I grew up loving Auburn — the university, the community and the sense of pride in the school. I visited the university and an engineering alumnus gave me a tour of the College of Engineering my senior year of high school, and that was it for me. I knew this was where I was going to go to school.

MS: You have a bachelor’s degree in engineering. How did you choose your major?

JD: I knew I wanted to pursue engineering because I had always been strong in math and science. At first, I thought I wanted to go into a medical field, but when I toured the College of Engineering I was instantly hooked on polymer and fiber engineering. Julia Freeman, the department academic adviser at the time, talked to me about how polymer and fiber can make a difference in the medical community, because prosthetics and heart stints are made from polymer and fiber. I was sold. It is a small, close-knit department and I wouldn’t trade my experience for the world.

MS: You went in a completely different direction for your master’s degree. Tell us about that decision.

JD: I went on to get my master’s degree in public administration because I was active in the Student Government Association for the four years I was completing my undergrad, and served as an executive officer my senior year. I found my niche, as they say, and wanted leadership skills that would complement my engineering. I am also a people person and love interacting with others. MS: How does being a recruiter for engineering tie your two degrees together?

JD: Being a recruiter for engineering is the best of both worlds for me. I served as a student recruiter and graduate assistant in Auburn’s admissions office while I was an undergrad and a graduate student. I realized there is nothing better than telling people about Auburn and all that it has to offer. It is a very rewarding job to share information about Auburn’s College of Engineering with prospective students and their families. The most rewarding thing I have seen firsthand is finding high-achieving students who get to take advantage of the same wonderful experiences that I had as a student.


From left, Joe Morgan, his wife Rita and their son David

MS: So, tell us, what all do you do as a recruiter? JD: I travel to high school fairs, transfer fairs and national college fairs to recruit students and represent the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering. On campus, I help plan and organize the college’s annual events for high school and prospective students such as E-Day, Tiger Camps and the phonathon, and I attend and represent the College of Engineering at admissions events and receptions for prospective students. Each week, Monday through Friday, the college has visitors on campus and they are welcome to attend information sessions with me about the college. I am also responsible for maintaining relationships with prospective students through mailers, social media correspondence and our web presence.

MS: As someone who was a student just a few years ago, what do you tell students now who are interested in the College of Engineering?

JD: I tell them about student services and the extremely accommodating faculty members in this college who go the extra mile for their students. I tell them about the college’s new facilities, our wide variety of instructional programs

and that we have the largest and highest ranked engineering program in the state. I also tell them about the extracurricular activities that engineering students participate in, in addition to their engineering studies — whether it's the marching band or Cupola Engineering Ambassadors or student competition teams. We do a really good job of producing well-rounded engineers, and I know employers find that appealing.

MS: What can Auburn Engineering alumni do to help recruit new students?

JD: Auburn’s more than 40,000 engineering alumni and friends play a crucial role in the continued success of our college and the student body. Our graduates span the globe, and students are eager to speak with alumni about their experiences, or how the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering prepared them for the workplace. Our alumni bring enthusiasm, experience and a unique perspective to a new generation of prospective students, which further strengthens our recruitment program. Alumni can refer prospective students, attend recruitment events, visit local high schools and communicate with prospective students. I am looking forward to working with alumni, so we can continue to recruit bright and well-rounded prospective students — tomorrow’s Auburn engineers.


From the desk oF... faculty highlights

Sabit Adanur, faculty member in polymer and fiber engineering, recently gave the commencement speech at Marmara University’s College of Engineering graduation ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey. He was invited to speak by M. Zafer Gul, the university’s president. With a student population of 60,000 and 3,000 faculty members, Marmara is one of the largest universities in Turkey.

Maria Auad, assistant professor in polymer and fiber engineering, has been awarded a five-year, $350,000 National Science Foundation grant to develop a center for biorenewable nanobiomaterials research, exploring the synthesis and performance of nanobiocomposites, an alternative to non-biodegradable synthetics. The collaborative center includes researchers from Auburn, Tuskegee University, Cornell University and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

Sushil Bhavnani, faculty member in mechanical engineering, doctoral candidate Naveenan Thiagarajan and undergraduate student Travis Wheeler were chosen to fly on NASA’s Zero-G reduced gravity aircraft, affectionately known as the “Vomit Comet.” The team’s project, “Fluid Lateral Motion using Surface Microstructures-Channel Flow from a Large Array,” was selected for the flight to study the effects of microgravity on boiling. The flight took off from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston in May.

J T. Black, professor emeritus in Auburn University’s Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, has edited the 11th edition of DeGarmo’s Materials and Processes in Manufacturing, the leading textbook on manufacturing processes. The book was originally published in 1957 by E. Paul DeGarmo.

Prabhakar Clement, Arthur H. Feagin professor in civil engineering, has been invited to serve as associate editor of Water Resource Research, a journal of the American Geophysical Union. Clement’s research includes analysis of flow and reactive transport in groundwater systems, laboratory-scale visualization of porous media flow and metal transport in groundwater. He is also a principal

investigator for a study on Alabama beaches that have been impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in June 2010.

Virginia Davis, Mary and John H. Sanders associate professor in chemcial engineering, has received the Women of Distinction Leadership Award from the Auburn Women’s Resource Center, a division of the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs, for demonstrating exemplary leadership abilities. Davis was recognized at the Women’s Leadership Conference on Feb. 24 at the Auburn University Hotel and Conference Center.

Bill Goodwin has been named director of the college’s Nuclear Power Generation Systems program. He joined the college in January to help promote the program’s career opportunities and 17-hour minor, as well as co-ops, internships and scholarships. He also teaches the minor’s introductory course in nuclear power operations. Goodwin retired from the U.S. Navy after 35 years of service.

Ram Gupta, Walt and Virginia Woltosz professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering, has been named program director for the National Science Foundation’s Energy for Sustainability program, which supports research and education for the sustainable production of electricity and sustainable transportation fuels, such as biomass conversion, biofuels and bioenergy.

Pradeep Lall, Thomas Walter Professor in mechanical engineering, has been named a fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers for his contributions to reliability prediction for electronic packaging. Lall’s research includes failure mechanism models and prognostication health management techniques. He has identified leading indicators of failure for electronic equipment that have enabled safe repair and replacement of damaged modules.

Drew Hamilton, Kai Chang and Eric Imsand, faculty members in computer science and software engineering, have been awarded a four-year National Science Foundation grant of more than $1.3 million for their Scholarship for Service program (SFS), which offers

students the opportunity to conduct research in information assurance. Auburn is a National Security Agency Center of Academic Excellence in information assurance education and research. The university’s outreach activities in Huntsville and Montgomery allow SFS scholarship recipients opportunities to work with federal agencies and complete federally recognized certificate programs.

Daniela Marghitu, faculty member in computer science and software engineering, has received Auburn’s Campus Community Enhancing Student Success award for providing outstanding service and accommodations to students with disabilities. Marghitu directs the college’s K-12 Robo Camp, Computer Literacy Academy and robotics and game development outreach programs. In addition to encouraging girls to participate in engineering, Marghitu also strives to make all programs accessible to children with disabilities.

Victor Nelson, faculty member in electrical and computer engineering, was selected as a commission member of the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET). He will serve as team chair during the 2012-13 ABET visit cycle. Nelson has served as an ABET program evaluator since 2002. An Auburn faculty member since 1978, he serves as assistant department head in electrical and computer engineering, as well as director of the department’s wireless engineering undergraduate program and committee chair of the department’s executive committee.

P.K. Raju, Thomas Walter professor in mechanical engineering, and Chetan Sankar, Advisory Council professor in the College of Business, have led Auburn’s Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education (LITEE) to be selected by the National Academy of Engineering to appear in its Real World Engineering Education publication. LITEE was one of 29 programs selected from more than 95 nominations for being an exemplary program that infuses real-world experiences into engineering undergraduate education. The program brings real-world issues into engineering classrooms through multimedia case


studies and hands-on projects in order to provide students opportunities to solve practical problems.

Chris Roberts, department chair and Uthlaut professor in chemical engineering, has been awarded the Southeastern Conference faculty achievement award. The award honors professors from SEC universities with outstanding records in teaching and scholarship who serve as role models for other faculty and students. In presenting the awards, the SEC becomes the only Division I conference within the National Collegiate Athletic Association currently recognizing university faculty for their achievements unrelated to athletics or student-athletes.

Alice Smith, faculty member in industrial and systems engineering, has received the Albert G. Holzman Distinguished Educator Award from the Institute of Industrial Engineers, Smith is the first woman and first Auburn faculty member to receive the award. Smith was also recently selected by the J. William Fulbright scholarship board as a candidate for the organization’s specialist roster, which sends U.S. faculty overseas for two to six weeks to serve as expert consultants on curriculum, faculty development and institutional planning.

Brian Thurow, W. Allen and Martha Reed associate professor in aerospace engineering, has been featured by Vision Systems Design, which highlighted his work with next generation nonintrusive laser diagnostics for 2-D and 3-D flow measurements and pulse-burst laser systems capable of repetition rates greater than 1 megahurtz.

Xinyu Zhang, assistant professor in polymer and fiber engineering, has published a paper in Chemical Communications discussing a one-pot solution reduction synthesis approach to produce advanced metal-polymer core-shell structures, such as polypyrrole coated copper nanowire, which is used to fabricate next generation, high-performance electronics, nano devices and chemical sensors.

Are you the parent of a future Auburn engineer? If you have a child enrolled in the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering, now is the time to join the Engineering Parents’ Association. This program provides a means for parents to interact with one another, participate in their child’s college experience, keep up to date on events and happenings within the college and support the future of Auburn Engineering. We welcome the opportunity to partner with you in providing your student the best possible engineering education. For more information, please contact us or visit eng.auburn.edu/parents

There goes my baby …

Engineering Parents' AssociationMindy Street

Office of Engineering Development334.844.7741

[email protected]


State of AlabamaEngineering Hall of FameIn February, Auburn Engineering saw three of its alumni, and one project made possible by an alumnus, inducted into the prestigious State of Alabama Engineering Hall of Fame.

Wendell Mead, a 1963 and 1966 aerospace engineering graduate, is a pioneer in the field of ballistic missile defense and aerospace systems engineering. He is CEO and chief technical director of Associate Group for Research and Innovation (AGRI, Inc.), a company he founded in 1990. The cornerstone of AGRI’s success is Mead’s proprietary Ballistic Missile Defense Technical Requirements Assessment & Design Evaluation Simulation (BMD TRADES) – a model that uses engineering and physics equations, information on missiles and trajectories, as well as data from radar, sensors and satellites to determine collision points at which to intercept launched missiles. Mead donated the simulation software, and its crucial source code, to Auburn’s Department of Aerospace Engineering – a gift with a commercial value of $5 million. The model provides students with hands-on training in ballistic missile defense analysis, simulation and evaluation, in addition to a means for faculty to research defense scenarios. Mead holds the 2010 Distinguished Auburn Engineer Award, and serves on the Department of Aerospace Engineering Advisory Committee and the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council.

Charles E. “Buddy” Davis, a 1959 electrical engineering graduate, made groundbreaking contributions to electrical and aeronautical engineering during his decades in the aerospace industry. His work with the Thor rocket, Harpoon missile and KC-10 aircraft aerial refueling platform played a vital role in the evolution of U.S. defense systems. He also played an important role in the Apollo rocket program as the country embarked upon its quest to put a man on the moon. His design contributions are still evident in the

assembly, transport and launch pad systems used in the space program today. In 2007, the Auburn University Board of Trustees named the Aerospace Engineering Building as Davis Hall in recognition of a significant contribution from Davis and his family. He is a member of the university’s George Petrie Society and the Engineering Keystone Society.

Gerald Smith, a 1961 and 1970 aerospace engineering graduate, spent much of his career designing and developing propulsion projects for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. He led efforts to design, build, qualify and fly the redesigned solid-rocket motor for NASA following the Challenger accident in 1986. He

later served as deputy director of NASA’s Stennis Space Center, the federal government’s largest rocket-engine test facility. Upon retirement, Smith directed enterprise strategy and research operations at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, served as president of Thiokol Corp. and

was named executive director of the National Space Science and Technology Center. He holds the Auburn Alumni Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal and NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal, the highest honor that NASA confers on a non-government individual. He was also named a NASA Distinguished Executive, and received the NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, NASA Exceptional Service Medal and an Army Commendation Medal for his many contributions to those organizations' projects and programs.

Davidson Center for Space Exploration is a 75,932-square-foot, state-of-the-art facility located at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. It is named for Julian Davidson, a 1950 electrical engineering graduate and founder of Davidson Technologies in Huntsville. He was the first director of the U.S. Army Advanced Ballistic Missile Defense Agency. Davidson and his wife, Dorothy, whose careers have both centered on the development of space exploration technology, noted during the dedication of the facility that the Davidson Center is a tribute to the men and women who have engineered the rockets that have put Americans in space and on the

From left: Buddy Davis, Gerald Smith, Wendell Mead and Julian Davidson

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to the Shuttle Space Operations Directorate. His decades-long knowledge of payloads has been relied on heavily in both the public and private sectors to move the space program to new levels. He continues to serve as a representative for the NASA public affairs office as liaison to VIP guests. He also holds the National Intelligence Certificate of Distinction.

Hal Pennington, 1959 Industrial ManagementPennington began a five-decade long tenure with retailing giant Genesco Inc. in 1949 as an industrial engineer trainee. In 2000, he was named president and chief operating officer of Genesco, which has sales in the $1.6 billion range. Genesco has more than 2,000 retail outlets in the sporting fashions and footwear markets, including Johnston and Murphy, Dockers, Journeys and Hat World. Pennington has held 18 positions at Genesco encompassing distribution, manufacturing, materials management, operations and wholesale. He was particularly adept in Genesco’s role as a pioneer in the modernization of information systems — leading Genesco’s efforts in

everything from marketing to distribution, acquisition to manufacturing, and information technology to capitalization. In 2004, he was named chairman and CEO of the company, and in 2008, he moved into the chairmanship. He has retired from the company, but still remains active in a consulting role. Pennington has been recognized by many organizations, and received Auburn’s 2010 Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering Outstanding Alumnus Award. He serves on a number of industry and community boards, including the Nashville Symphony Board of Directors, and his past activities include service to Nashville’s Chamber of Commerce, the Boy Scouts and the Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum of Art.

moon. The center opened on Jan. 21, 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the launch of America’s first satellite, Explorer 1. The $22 million facility serves as a magnificent exhibition space for the nation’s historic Saturn V rocket and as a unique event space that celebrates Alabama’s contributions to space exploration technology.

Auburn Alumni Engineering Council AwardsAt the fall meeting of the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council, four alumni were recognized for their engineering contributions, while long-time mechanical engineering professor and associate dean Nels Madsen was honored for his service to the college.

Distinguished Auburn Engineer

Wayne Owens, 1964 MechanicalOwens began his career as a student with co-op assignments at NASA and Marshall Space Flight Center. After graduation, he worked at Kennedy Space Center as a design engineer for high-pressure pneumatic and cryogenic systems in support of the Saturn V launch vehicle in the Apollo program. He then moved to the space shuttle program, designing ground support facilities and equipment for processing payloads scheduled to fly aboard STS missions. He was selected as the point person for the shuttle payload contractors, from arrival at the space center, to the installation of the payload into the shuttle, and on to launch logistics. After being assigned to the Payloads Operations Directorate, Owens served as the launch site support manager, and was subsequently selected by NASA to spearhead classified military payloads being assembled at Vandenberg Air Force Base. He processed the Department of Defense payload for STS-33, for which he was awarded the National Medal of Achievement by the National Foreign Intelligence Community. Owens also served as the ground operations manager for the International Space Station project office, and was responsible for all ground-based operations for both launch and landing sites. In 1997, he retired from NASA and joined Boeing in its operations at Kennedy Space Center to work on projects related

From left: Wayne Owens, Dick Quina, Nels Madsen, Stephen Franklin and Hal Pennington


Dick Quina, 1948 MechanicalFollowing graduation, Quina worked his way through the pulp and paper industry, spending much of his professional life in south Alabama. He is known by his colleagues for his work with Jefferson Smurfit Corporation, where he was named to the board of directors in the late 1980s. He was also vice president and general manager of the company’s containerboard mill division located in Jacksonville, Fla., as well as its affiliate, Container Corporation of America. Although he retired in 1993, he has retained many ties to the industry. Quina has served as a leader of the Longleaf District (Monroe, Conecuh, Escambia, Covington, Butler and Crenshaw counties) and of the charity group Log-a-Load, helping raise funds from loggers, foresters, mills and landowners for Children’s Miracle Network affiliated hospitals. Quina has also made significant contributions to Auburn Engineering, including a professorship through the Auburn Pulp and Paper Foundation and an investment in the Shelby Center for Engineering Technology to name the Quina Atrium in the central building.

Outstanding Young Engineer

Stephen Franklin, 1998, 2000, CivilFranklin began his career with LBYD in Birmingham as a structural engineer. In 2004, he joined Brasfield & Gorrie as an operations manager, and this year was named by the firm as vice president and division manager of facilities. His colleagues note that Franklin has become a well-respected and increasingly knowledgeable expert in the field, not only at Brasfield & Gorrie, but in the civil engineering field as a whole. He served as a member of the test group that took the final version of the National Construction Professional Engineering exam before its release. He was the only one in the group to successfully pass the exam, and as a result, was asked to join the board of the National Council of Engineering Examiners. In addition, he is associated with a number of other professional groups in the construction engineering trade and has been actively involved with the construction of several projects on Auburn’s campus, including veterinary medicine's small animal hospital which is under construction, the planned Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce, and Auburn Engineering’s own MRI center. He was also the lead engineer on a $65 million football expansion project that faced challenges associated with cost, quality and coordination, and an aggressive schedule that involved 200,000 man hours of construction, a land-locked site with little room for materials storage, and an anxious client — the University of Alabama. Franklin’s success with that project earned him considerable respect and acknowledgement of his credentials as an Auburn engineer.

Superior Service

Nels Madsen holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in mechancial engineering from the University of Iowa. He came to Auburn in 1978 as an assistant professor of mechanical engineering, moving into his current position as Thomas Walter associate professor in mechanical engineering. He serves as the associate dean for assessment and special programs for the college, ensuring that the college is prepared for, and efficiently moves through, the accreditation process, on which Auburn Engineering stakes its fundamental credibility. Through the years, Madsen has done a remarkable job in this area resulting in his being called on more than once to lead national presentations on the ABET accreditation process, and how to successfully prepare for it. With the recent retirement of Joe Morgan, he has also accepted the role of interim associate dean for academics. In addition, Madsen serves the university in a variety of other roles, including chairing the Program Review Committee, serving on the Retention Committee, Graduate Council, and Mechanics Division of the American Society for Engineering Education. He is vice chair of engineering’s faculty council, and is active in a number of areas related to administration and university governance. He remains one of Auburn Engineering students’ favorite professors, finding time to counsel and provide additional instruction when needed. It is a frequent occurrence to see students in his office, around his table, or more commonly, solving problems at his white board. Madsen is also vice president for research and development for Motion Reality Incorporated, and the College of Engineering’s singular academy award winner — having picked up this distinction in Hollywood for his work on motion capture in films such as the Orient Express and Lord of the Rings, as well as video games and sports conditioning.

Call for NominationsEvery fall, the Auburn Alumni Engineering Council seeks nominations for the Distinguished Auburn Engineer Award and the Young Engineering Award. If you know of someone deserving of the Councils’ consideration, please submit a letter of nomination along with biographical information describing the candidate’s credential to:

Jim Killian, DirectorEngineering Communications and Marketing

1320 Shelby CenterAuburn, AL 36849

[email protected]


ENGINEERING

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That's How We RollAuburn engineers are always looking to make things more

efficient — even rolling the historic oaks at Toomer's corner.

Students (from left) Alec Bolton, Matt Sanchez and Austin

McElroy test their toilet paper launcher, a project for

materials engineering faculty member Tony Overfelt’s Intro

to Engineering course.

auburn engineering spring/summer 2012

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