From the Dean
Dashboard Update
Regents Updates
Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Updates
Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Education Updates
Beyster Fellow Selected
Office of the Associate Dean for Research Updates
Advancement Updates
Communications & Marketing Updates
Center for Entrepreneurship Updates
Faculty News
Dear CoE Faculty and Staff,
I hope your summer is off to a great start. This is a time when research is in high gear for faculty and students, and our staff work to catch up on a variety of projects. My wish is that we all accomplish big tasks before our freshman class arrives in late August!
This edition of the CoE email update includes many news items, including a list of our newly promoted faculty members. Congratulations! I would also like to congratulate our faculty who have won awards, including Steve Forrest and Sharon Glotzer who were selected for Distinguished University Professorships.
As I write this message, the North Campus Diag (to be transformed into the Gerstacker Grove) is being fenced off. We will be inconvenienced for many months during construction of the Grove, but the finished product should be magnificent. Stay focused on the future!
Best,
Dave
Dashboard Update
To help the Dean’s Cabinet and department chairs assess progress in some measurable activities, in 2013, the College created a “dashboard.” This snapshot of our progress has been updated. Of course, it is impossible to evaluate comprehensively and precisely on one page the impact of all of our work. Rather, this tool supplements many other program, departmental and College quantitative and qualitative assessments. Of particular note is the large increase in research volume and the substantial change in student selectivity. Tenure/tenure-track faculty, students and the endowment also have grown significantly.
https://drive.google.com/
Regents Updates
Gerstacker Grove Design Approved by Regents
The Eda U. Gerstacker Grove, the transformed North Campus Diag space, is moving forward, following recent design approval by the University’s Regents. The plan includes elevated landforms, additional trees, infiltration gardens, a large plaza and pathways, and a volleyball court. The renovated space is designed to foster interaction and build community. Funding is made possible in part by a number of donors, including a lead gift from the Rollin M. Gerstacker Foundation. Construction is beginning and is expected to be completed in 2016, an early project leading up to the University’s 2017 Bicentennial.
http://www.engin.umich.edu/
Robotics Institute Project Approved by Regents
The U-M Board of Regents approved the College of Engineering’s new robotics building project on April 16. The $54 million, three-story, 100,000-square-foot facility will be located on Hayward Street just east of the Space Research Building on North Campus. While the building’s design has not been set, we envision space for machines that walk, fly and drive. Bringing together faculty and students from across campus, the building will house labs, offices and classrooms. U-M is one of only a few universities to offer both master’s and doctoral degrees in robotics. The Ph.D. program is in its first year. The robotics building will be paid for by corporate support, individual gifts and College of Engineering resources.
Office of the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education Updates
International Programs in Engineering
A new study-abroad scholarship was created recently to support CoE student travel to China. The Rogel China Scholarship was established by one of U-M’s most generous donors, Richard Rogel (BBA '70, LLD Hon. '09). Stemming from his own experiences traveling abroad, Rogel’s passion is to expand the number of engineering students who have an opportunity to learn about China through a meaningful cross-cultural experience. The Rogel China Scholarship provides full funding (airfare included) to eligible CoE students studying at the U-M - SJTU Joint Institute program in Shanghai for the fall term. Read more about this new scholarship and check later for application information in M-Compass.
This summer, 250+ Michigan Engineers will earn academic credit abroad through the College’s 15 summer study-abroad programs. Another 150+ will travel abroad with CoE-sponsored student organizations. Follow these students on their journeys abroad through the IPE Engineers Abroad Blog, by following #UmichEnginAbroad or by visiting our social media tagboard.
IPE and the College of Engineering hosted the Global Engineering Education Exchange (GlobalE3) Annual Meeting May 20-23, 2015. This program enables students to study abroad at 70 universities around the world. The College has been a member of this educational exchange consortium since the early 2000s.
Engineering Career Resource Center (ECRC)
The ECRC is collecting data from students regarding their post-graduation and internship plans. These data are reported in aggregate and used by students when evaluating job offers. Please encourage students to complete either survey. Surveys are located within the Survey tab of the ENGenius.Jobs account. Also, you can help by sharing information about students’ employment status with the ECRC.
Multidisciplinary Design Program (MDP)
MDP shares $5 Million Helmsley Grant
MDP will co-lead (with Georgia Tech) a consortium of 15 public and private universities to develop and study Vertically Integrated Student Project teams working within faculty research groups. The $5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust has established the Vertically Integrated Projects, or VIP, consortium.
Stryker Engineering Challenge
Four CoE students won the 5th annual Stryker Engineering Challenge in Kalamazoo, on March 27. Sophomores Val Coldren (ME), Anna Dai (CSE), Thomas Deeds (EE) and Evan Lee (NAME) competed against teams from Notre Dame, Purdue, Western Michigan, Michigan Tech, and Hope College/Andrews University. Teams were given 18 hours to design, build and program a remote controlled vehicle to rescue as many Lego mini-figure “victims” as possible from a miniature urban landscape and to complete a head-to-head obstacle course race. The winning students each earned a $1000 scholarship and an interview for a Stryker internship.
Industrial Site Visits
The Multidisciplinary Design Program conducted industry site visits during March to Reverie LLC and BGM Engineering, small, growing industrial firms both located in metro Detroit. Students observed best practice R&D and microcontroller manufacturing practices and engaged with professional engineers across multiple job functions.
Provost’s 2015 Teaching Innovation Prize (TIP)
Gail Hohner (MDP Managing Director) was part of the group [left to right, below, Hohner, Trish Koman, School of Public Health; Prof. Dick Norton, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Prof. Elizabeth Gerber, Ford School of Public Policy; Paul Fontaine, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning; Jim Kosteva, Governmental Relations] awarded the Provost’s 2015 Teaching Innovation Prize for development of the Michigan Engaging Community in the Classroom (MECC) initiative. MECC combines engaged learning capstones from across the campus focusing on a common group of customers/clients. Students participate in a combined course seminar where they share their unique disciplinary approaches and resources to enrich the solutions of each individual discipline.
Summer Funding and Industrial Internships
This summer, 38 students are participating in industrial internships provided as part of their MDP Partner Sponsored Projects. An additional 20 students have been awarded on-campus research stipends and/or travel funds to pursue their engineering design projects over the summer.
Student Project Teams Unveil New Vehicles
After weeks of feverish preparations in the Wilson Student Team Project Center, three student organizations rolled out their new vehicle designs this spring in preparation for the 2015 intercollegiate competition season. Michigan Baja Racing, Michigan Hybrid Racing, and MRacing Formula SAE held their unveiling ceremonies before crowds of eager supporters including sponsors, families, faculty, staff and fellow students. These ceremonies provided an opportunity for the teams to thank their supporters, for the U-M community to publicly acknowledge the extraordinary time and effort students from across campus devote to designing and building completely new vehicles every year, and for the teams to conduct a significant period of testing and validation before their competitions.
The Michigan Baja Racing team finished in first place on May 30 in Portland, Oregon, and was awarded the Mike Schmidt Memorial Iron Team Award, the North American championship of a series of races.
Data Science Undergraduate Program
The Computer Science and Engineering Division and Statistics Department at Michigan are starting a new four-year undergraduate program in Data Science, to be launched in fall 2015. This program will yield students at the BS/BA level with expertise in data analytics and real-world experience in applying their expertise in an industry context.
The Data Science program will emphasize fundamental methods from the fields of computer science, statistics and mathematics that are essential for analyzing the rapidly growing amount of data generated in today’s business, science and engineering applications. Furthermore, the program will expose students to a variety of these application domains through threads of upper-level electives. The program also will cover ethics, privacy and intellectual property issues related to the collection, analysis and use of data.
The centerpiece of the Data Science program will be a capstone project experience that integrates coursework with hands-on industrial experience. This program component will pair corporate partners with teams of Data Science students. The capstone project will provide a rich learning experience for the students and an excellent opportunity for partnering companies to evaluate and recruit talented undergraduates whose expertise is in high demand across many industries.
Office of the Associate Dean for Graduate Education Updates
Graduate Student Community Grant Pilot Program
Last fall a Graduate Student Community Grant pilot program was launched by the Graduate Education office. The purpose of the program was to foster creative initiatives that will enhance the collaborative spirit among graduate students in the College of Engineering. Twelve proposals were awarded grants. Activities included professional-development workshops, holiday festivities and social events. Details for each event are listed on the following website: gscg.engin.umich.edu. One example is the Lunar New Year Celebration: http://www.eecs.umich.edu/
Recruitment
The two March Department Visit Weekends provided a firsthand look at U-M campus life for top prospective graduate students. Visitors interacted with faculty, met graduate students, toured labs and classrooms, and learned more about their desired programs of study. This collaborative recruitment effort involved a majority of the CoE departments and the Office Graduate Education team. A total of 259 prospective students participated in activities. Many thanks to the faculty, staff and current students for all their efforts during this past recruitment cycle, which yielded an impressive class that will be joining us this fall.
Beyster Fellow Selected
College of Engineering student Paul Beata has been chosen as the 2015-2016 fellow for the J. Robert Beyster Computational Innovation Graduate Fellows Program. Paul is a PhD candidate in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. As a Beyster Fellow, he will be performing computational materials simulations of the dynamic polymerization of the epoxy/graphite interface, which, among other benefits, will translate to significant improvements in fuel efficiency across many industries. Paul is past president of the U-M chapter of Bridges to Prosperity.
The J. Robert Beyster Computational Innovation Graduate Fellows Program was established by four-time alum Dr. J. Robert Beyster (BSE Engineering Math 1945, BSE Engineering Physics 1945, MS Physics 1947, PhD Physics 1950) and his wife Betty, acknowledging that PhD students are “the originators and carriers of innovative ideas and solutions from the University to the world,” and highlighting the pivotal role that high-performance computing must play in solving our societal challenges.
Office of the Associate Dean for Research Updates
MCubed 2.0
Another round of cubing is coming in September! CoE investigators will have access to 150 tokens (up to $1M) to form cubes with collaborators across campus. Similar to MCubed 1.0, each cube must contain three tokens from at least two different units. There will be regular cubes of $60K, where each token is worth $20K, and mini-cubes of $15K, where each token is worth $5K. For each token in CoE, the Provost will contribute 1/3, the CoE will contribute 1/3, and the PI will contribute 1/3 (different units may have different funding models). Eligible CoE faculty include assistant, associate and full professors, and associate and full research professors. The MCubed Diamond program is funded by charitable donations or industrial funds; no PI contribution is required for these cubes. Stay tuned for further announcements from MCubed regarding the timeline.
Center Building
Last November, the ADR office announced an opportunity for faculty to request seed funding for team formation targeting large research-center opportunities. Four teams were selected. Faculty interested in large team formation are welcome to contact the ADR at any time.
Advancement Updates
Peter (BSE EE '56) and Evelyn Fuss have established the Peter and Evelyn Fuss Chair of the Division of Electrical and Computer Engineering Expendable Fund, to be used at the chair’s discretion to facilitate the work of the department. This gift represents the fifth named department chair in the College.
C. William Johnson, III (BSE IOE '67, MBA '69) and Nadra S. Johnson have established the Clyde Johnson Fellowship Fund in memory of Bill's father, a pioneer in applying industrial engineering principles in healthcare. The Fund will provide need-based support primarily for full-time master's students in the IOE Healthcare Engineering and Patient Safety program, and for other full-time IOE graduate students. U.S. citizens and permanent residents receive preference. This gift qualified for $50,000 in University matching funds. Additional commitments have been made through the Johnsons' estates and future distributions of venture-fund profits.
Among several donors who have contributed to scholarship and other student support recently:
- Jaya Ramanuja (MS SPH '75) has made an expendable gift of $10,000 to establish the Jaya Ramanuja Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Student Support Fund. These resources will assist NERS students presenting papers at conferences and other deserving students with need in the department.
- Stephen (BSE ChE '79) and Deanna Kennedy and Family have established the Kennedy Family Scholarship Fund with an expendable gift of $10,000. This gift will provide need-based scholarship support and help economically disadvantaged, full-time, CoE undergraduates.
- Dr. Peter (BS '82, MS '82, PhD '87) and Susan Lee have made a $25,000 discretionary gift for student activities to the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) division.
- Robert D. McFee (BSE IME '50, JD '52) and Shirley M. McFee (BA '51) have given the College $25,000 to establish the Robert D. McFee and Shirley M. McFee Scholarship Fund. This gift will provide scholarship support to undergraduate students enrolled full-time in the CoE. Bob has practiced law for more than 60 years and is also chairman of G.H.S. Corporation. Shirley is a U-M Regent Emerita and former mayor of Battle Creek, Michigan.
- Theodore T. Tanase (BSE ME '63) and Priscilla B. Tanase, with a $100,000 gift, have endowed the Theodore and Priscilla Tanase Scholarship Fund to provide need-based support to full-time undergraduates at the College of Engineering. First preference is for students from the State of Hawaii, followed by the State of Washington.
Communications & Marketing Updates
“Xplore” Engineering
Xplore Engineering with the children in your life entering the 4th through 7th grade. Through a series of experiential workshops, participants get hands-on experience in a variety of engineering disciplines. Workshops range from nanotechnology to rockets, and include 16 topics to choose from. To learn more about the June 25 and 26 event, visit http://www.engin.umich.edu/
See what happens when some young attendees were asked to dream big… http://bit.ly/engineersdreambig
Class of 2015 Coverage
For the spring graduation ceremonies, hundreds of grads, their friends and families shared the event on social media. You can see how excited and proud they were using the “ClassSnap” we put together. The ClassSnap brings together photos, advice and well wishes for the Class of 2015, plus the “Four Years in Four Minutes” video documenting the journey of a Michigan Engineering undergrad.
One Cool Update
The Michigan Engineer mobile app, One Cool Thing, received a Circle of Excellence Award from CASE (the Council for Advancement and Support of Education). CASE is an organization with 78,000 members, representing 3600 universities.
One Cool Thing won a Silver Award in the category of Digital Communications - Mobile Applications.
You can see other CASE Award winners here.
Get the free app at the App Store or on Google Play
The app delivers one cool story from the world of science, technology and engineering every day—from U-M and around the world. If your department, unit, team or colleague is doing something really interesting, please send a note to OneCoolThing@umich.edu for Cool Thing consideration.
Center for Entrepreneurship Updates
48 Hours. 42 Students. Innovation and Inspiration in San Francisco
In early March, the Center for Entrepreneurship brought 42 students, totaling about 20 startup companies, to the Bay Area for an immersion experience into what’s driving innovation on the West Coast. Students toured local tech companies including Sephora, Pinterest and Twilio, participated in business problem-solving challenges, networked with U-M alumni and local entrepreneurs, and most important, presented their business concepts to expert panels. The goal: use this experience to find inspiration and solutions to the challenges they face in starting their own businesses. The panels consisted of many U-M Engineering alumni who shared insight on how student technology-based startups can be successful. Read a full recap of the trip from CFE’s M-Engage Program Director here and see photos from the trip here.
I-Corps Teams Finding Big Opportunity
Siu On Tung, a doctoral student working on Elegus Technologies
(Photo: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering, Communications & Marketing)
In the past few months, four I-Corps-trained companies have taken huge opportunities for growth. Accomplishments include acceptance to prestigious national competitions, licensing and follow-on funding:
- Elegus Technologies was selected to represent U-M at two of the biggest intercollegiate competitions, the Rice Business Plan Competition and the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition. Elegus created a lithium-ion battery separator that allows battery manufacturers to increase energy density without compromising safety.
- Electric Field Solutions, a U-M startup that uses technology first developed for measuring electric fields caused by dust storms on Mars, has been acquired by New York-based Premier, a service company for the gas and electrical industries from Willbros Group.
- Arbor Light has secured $1.7 million in funding to continue its development and production of skylight technology. By matching outdoor lighting conditions with LEDs, the skylight can be used anywhere (no roof access required) and is smartphone controlled.
- STEL Technologies, a company engineering tissue for replacement of torn knee ligaments, has received $450K in STTR follow-on funding from both the NSF and NIH.
Faculty News
Steve Forrest and Sharon Glotzer Named Distinguished University Professors
Steve Forrest (ECE, MSE), Paul G. Goebel Professor of Engineering, was named Peter A. Franken Distinguished University Professor of Engineering.
Sharon Glotzer (ChE, MSE, Macro), Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering, was named John Werner Cahn Distinguished University Professor of Engineering
Distinguished University Professorships, one of the University’s top honors, recognize full professors for exceptional scholarly or creative achievement, national and international reputation, and superior teaching skills.
Junior Faculty Award
Vikram Gavini, ME, U.S. Association for Computational Mechanics Gallagher Young Investigator Award
Jeremy Bassis Receives Henry Russel Award
Jeremy Bassis (AOSS) was selected to receive a 2016 Henry Russel Award. This award, which recognizes both exceptional scholarship and conspicuous ability as a teacher, is one of the highest honors the University bestows upon members of its faculty who are in the early stages of their careers.
Mark Brehob Selected as a Collegiate Lecturer
Mark Brehob (CSE) was selected as one of three Collegiate Lecturers on the Ann Arbor campus for the 2015-16 academic year in recognition of his achievements and his many contributions to the education of our students.
Faculty Promotion and Tenure
We are pleased to report that the University has approved the following faculty members for promotion and/or tenure:
Teaching Faculty
Adda Athanasopoulos-Zekkos (CEE), to Associate Professor with tenure Jeremy Bassis (AOSS), to Associate Professor with tenure Prabal Dutta (CSE), to Associate Professor with tenure Mark Flanner (AOSS), to Associate Professor with tenure John Foster (NERS), to Professor with tenure Jianping Fu (ME), to Associate Professor with tenure Nakhiah Goulbourne (AERO), to Associate Professor with tenure Alex Halderman (CSE), to Associate Professor with tenure Ann Jeffers (CEE), to Associate Professor with tenure Vineet Kamat (CEE), to Professor with tenure Jinsang Kim (MSE), to Professor with tenure Annalisa Manera (NERS) to Associate Professor with tenure Joaquim Martins (AERO), to Professor with tenure Michael Mayer (BME), to Professor with tenure Rada Mihalcea (CSE), to Professor with tenure Pierre Poudeu (MSE), to Associate Professor with tenure Sara Pozzi (NERS), to Professor with tenure S. Sandeep Pradhan (ECE), to Professor with tenure Andrew Putnam (BME), to Professor with tenure Donald Siegel (ME), to Associate Professor with tenure Katsuyo Thornton (MSE), to Professor with tenure Anish Tuteja (MSE), to Associate Professor with tenure Angela Violi (ME), to Professor with tenure Zhen Xu (BME), to Associate Professor with tenure Julie Young (NAME), to Professor with tenure Zhengya Zhang (ECE), to Associate Professor with tenure
Research Faculty
Stanislav Bohac (ME), to Research Scientist Shaun Clarke (NERS), to Associate Research Scientist Roger DeRoo (AOSS), to Associate Research Scientist Timothy Hall (BME), to Associate Research Scientist Xianzhe Jia (AOSS), to Associate Research Scientist Carolyn Kuranz (AOSS), to Associate Research Scientist Darren McKague (AOSS), to Associate Research Scientist Shasha Zou (AOSS), to Associate Research Scientist