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For the week of
March 25, 2011
@COE is published on a weekly basis. Please send submissions for @COE to Julie Stansberry in the Engineering Communications Office at [log in to unmask] by noon on Thursdays.
Engineering Professional Practice Announcement
Stay up-to-date with Engineering Professional Practice information and events by clicking the “Like” button on the program’s new Facebook page, following the program on Twitter, visiting its website at www.coop.utk.edu or calling 865-974-5323.
Students, please note: If you receive a co-op or internship offer, please contact Engineering Professional Practice for help with paperwork and any preparations you may need – [log in to unmask], 865-974-5323 or 310 Perkins Hall.
Engineering Professional Practice Student Feature
Featured student: Sean Szemborski
Sean Szemborski is a mechanical engineering major who accepted a co-op with Altec Industries, Inc. located in Burnsville, N.C. He worked the spring and summer 2010 semesters back-to-back and had the following to say about his work experience.
“I worked in the design team. I was responsible for the design of service truck bodies, as well as other projects relating to design improvements of the product. I was given training in SolidWorks CAD software. I first worked from training books and then moved to helping others with their design work. I gained extensive experience with SolidWorks CAD software, as well as creating and reading part and assembly drawings.
“I gained experience with the software I would most likely be using in my chosen career field.”
One of the challenges that Szemborski had to overcome during this assignment, he described as follows: “There was a part that we had produced that was failing in the field, and I was tasked with designing a field fix that required minimal rework of the existing part. I created a support that bolted into existing holes in the part and distributed the applied load over a greater area. I learned that a given challenge may have multiple requirements that conflict, and that the best solution is usually a compromise of the various requirements.”
He observed the following in his workplace: “The whole work environment is very friendly, and I'm never afraid to talk to any other employee. Reaching a decision as to the best solution to a problem is not as difficult as it would seem. Most people seem to agree on what the best next step is.”
Szemborski’s advice to other co-op students: “Be aware that a co-op with Altec is not an assignment where you will be sitting around doing mindless tasks. You will have the same responsibilities as most of the full-time employees in your department.”
Students may read more about their peers’ co-op/internship experiences by logging into their Engineering Professional Practice profile via www.coop.utk.edu, clicking “Resource Library” (on the left margin) and selecting “Students at Work – In Their Own Words.”
For information on engineering co-op and internships, contact Engineering Professional Practice at [log in to unmask] or 865-974-5323.
Student News
Phi Kappa Phi Fellowships, Study Abroad and Literacy Grants
Time is running out to apply for a Phi Kappa Phi fellowship, study abroad grant or literacy grant. Applications are available now and must be received on or before April 1. Be sure to read the application for detailed instructions. Also, make note of the deadline for this year's "Love of Learning" award competition, which will be held on June 30. If you have questions about the application materials, contact Maria Davis at [log in to unmask] or 800-804-9880, ext. 35.
UT Driver Education Program Featured on Local News
A rural teen driver education program developed by several graduate students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) has made the news on WBIR-TV, WATE-TV and WVLT-TV. The program is funded by the Southeastern Transportation Center, which is directed by Dr. Stephen Richards, an associate professor in CEE, and DeAnna Flinchum. Click here for the names and bios of the students involved, and click here for program details! Check out the article in Tennessee Today that includes links to all local TV coverage.
UT Hosts IIE Mid-Atlantic Regional Student Conference
Three EECS Students Win Awards
Shengnan Li, Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), received an Outstanding Presentation Award for having the best presentation in her session at the IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference in Ft. Worth Texas, March 6-10. Her presentation was titled, "P-cell and N-cell based IGBT Module: Layout Design, Parasitic Extraction, and Experimental Verification." Li is advised by Dr. Leon Tolbert.
Zhuxian Xu, Ph.D. student in the EECS department, received the Outstanding Poster Award Presentation for her poster titled, "Unified Control for the Permanent Magnet Generator and Rectifier System" for having the best poster presentation for her session. Xu is advised by Dr. Fred Wang.
In addition to a certificate, Li and Xu received an Apple Nano as part of their award.
Lakshmi Gopi Reddy, Ph.D. student in the EECS department, received 2nd Place in the student poster competition at the IEEE Power Systems Conference and Exposition in Phoenix, Ariz., March 21-23. She received $200 for her poster presentation titled, "Thermal impact on IGBTs for STATCOM application." Reddy is advised by Dr. Leon Tolbert.
Summer Program: Tecnologico de Monterrey and the University of Tennessee
In the competitive business world, organizations have found themselves in difficult situations that lead to making difficult decisions. The concept of Lean has emerged as a feasible solution to transform organizations, gaining competitiveness by the wise use of available resources. The Department of Industrial and Information Engineering at the University of Tennessee has helped companies within the renovation process by applying the right tools for the right processes and helping them to develop a sustainable culture.
From that experience, IIE has developed a program, created specifically for students from Tecnologico de Monterrey, focusing on the development of comprehensive experience in the Lean methodology and its applications. Along with the coursework, students will be able to apply the concepts in a real-life situation, working in a project with the help of the faculty and research staff in the department. The program will start May 30, with expectations to have a minimum of 20 students from June 4 to July 1 on campus. The experience is designed to offer an excellent instruction, a hands-on practice project to ensure the learning process and a cultural-recreational experience to let them have a taste of the American College life. For more information, call the IIE department at 974-3333.
Faculty News
Langston Invited to Serve in Canada's Capital City as First MITACS Scholar
Dr. Michael A. Langston, professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, recently spent two weeks in Ottawa serving as the first MITACS distinguished researcher in biological networks. There he lectured on his work in graph algorithms for biological pathway analysis and collaborated with biological and computational scientists at Carleton University on protein-interaction and gene regulatory systems. Langston received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Texas A&M University in 1981, and joined the UT faculty in 1989. He has received a variety of research awards since coming to UT, from the Science Alliance, from the College of Arts and Sciences, and from the UT College of Engineering. He has also received the Distinguished Service Prize from the Association for Computing Machinery, the primary professional society for the Computer Science research community. Langston’s visit in Canada’s capital city was supported by MITACS, the Canadian Applied/Industrial Math Society. More information about the MITACS program can be found at http://www.mitacs.ca/.
Staff Announcement
UT Employee & Organizational Development Offers Professional Development Conference for Women
The Professional Development Conference for Women is a great learning opportunity for employees. This all-day conference, provided by Employee & Organizational Development, is designed to offer professional and personal development for staff. The conference will take place on April 14, 2011, from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. at the UT Conference Center. The agenda is packed with outstanding speakers and topics, such as stress management, professionalism, communication and positive mindset. The speakers include Sarah Gardial, Mary Pankiewicz, Desiree Reed-Francois and Tomi Rogers. For more information, please contact Linda Francisco at 974-8361.
Panel Discussion & Seminar Announcements
UT to Host Expert Panel Discussion on Japan Nuclear Reactor Accident
WHO: A panel of nuclear experts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), industry and radiological emergency response.
WHEN: 6-8 p.m., Tuesday, March 29, 2011 -- Public panel discussion; 8-9 p.m. -- Media availability for one-on-one interviews.
WHAT: A panel of experts will discuss the earthquake and tsunami-caused nuclear reactor accidents at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant near Sendai, Japan. The panel will be moderated by Professor of Nuclear Engineering and UTK-ORNL Governor's Chair Howard Hall.
The event is free and open to the public.
WHERE: The auditorium in the Carolyn P. Brown Memorial University Center on the UT Knoxville campus. Parking is available for a fee in the University Center garage.
BACKGROUND: On March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the northeast coast of Japan, followed by a roughly 10-meter tsunami that inundated the coast. Following the initial events, multiple-loss-of cooling incidents at the nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant have caused an ongoing crisis. A panel of nuclear experts will discuss the events at Fukushima and field questions.
This event is sponsored by the Knoxville chapter of the American Nuclear Society and the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy.
Materials Science & Engineering
Graduate Seminar
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
1:25 p.m. - Dougherty Engineering Building
Speaker: Dr. Ian Baker, Thayer School of Engineering, Dartmouth College
Microstructural Characterization of Snow, Firn and Ice
Abstract: This presentation will cover both the characterization of the microstructures of ice and firn (multi-year snow) found in polar ice sheets and observations of temperature-gradient metamorphism in both natural snow and on artificially-produced ice spheres using advanced microstructural characterization techniques. These techniques include: cold-stage scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and electron backscatter patterns (EBSPs); confocal scanning optical microscopy (CSOM) coupled a cold stage and Raman spectroscopy; and cold-room adapted micro X-ray computed tomography (micro CT). The capabilities and limitations of each technique will be discussed.
Biography: Dr. Ian Baker is the Sherman Fairchild Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth College. After completing a B.A. and Ph.D. in Metallurgy and Science of Materials at the University of Oxford, Baker joined the faculty of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College in 1982, where he is currently the Sherman Fairchild Professor of Engineering and Director of the NIH-funded Dartmouth Center for Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence. He was Chair of Engineering Sciences (1996-2000); M.S./Ph.D. Program Director (2000-2005); Director, Center for Nanomaterials Research at Dartmouth (2002-2005); and has been the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs since 2005.
Dr. Baker is a Chartered Engineer (U.K.) and a Fellow of ASM international and The Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (U.K.). He is the editor-in-chief of the journal Materials Characterization. He has published more than 300 papers and has given more than 300 presentations at conferences, universities and to industry. He has also organized or co-organized several conferences on snow firn, ice and intermetallic compounds. He has supervised 65 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.
Contact: Dr. Ramki Kalyanaraman [log in to unmask]
Advising Reminders
Spring 2011: Last day to WP/WF for full term courses is April 5.
Graduate students: last day to defend thesis/dissertation/take final exams is April 8.
Graduate students: electronic thesis/dissertation and Report of Final Examination Submission deadline is April 21.
Summer and Fall semester timetables are available on MyUTK now. Remember to schedule your advising appointment so you can register for classes on your assigned date/time.
Career Services Announcements
Career Services Events & Workshops
- Interview Workshop
So you've landed a job interview... Congrats - but now what?! This workshop is designed to help you learn how to prepare for the interview in terms of researching yourself, thinking about why an employer would want to hire you, researching the employer, knowing what to expect in an interview and how to dress properly. The workshop will cover typical interview questions and questions you might wish to ask the employer.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
4-5 p.m.
Career Services Office
100 Dunford Hall - Graduate School Admissions 101
Learn the basics of the graduate school admissions process, including how to identify schools, what goes into a successful application, timelines and other important information. Open to all students considering graduate or professional school.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
4-5 p.m.
Career Services Office
100 Dunford Hall - Networking 101
It is often said..."it's who you know" that's important in getting a job. This workshop will help you learn what networking really means and how to identify your own network of people that might be a great resource in your job search. Topics covered include where to find contacts, how to connect with them, and how they can help you in any internship or job search.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
4-5 p.m.
Career Services Office
100 Dunford Hall
“So, You Want to Work in Oak Ridge?” Wrap-up/Thank-you
The Career Services Office would like to thank the faculty and staff within the College of Engineering (COE) for their support of the second annual “So, You Want to Work in Oak Ridge?” Workshop/Panel hosted on March 9, 2011, in the UC Auditorium. Close to 100 students and alumni were in attendance with a majority of the students attending from the College of Engineering. Mr. John Shewairy, Director of Public Affairs for the DOE in Oak Ridge, kicked off the event with an overview of the operations. This was followed up by an engaging Q&A session from panelists representing the major Oak Ridge employers including B&W Y-12, ORNL, ORAU/ORISE, SAIC, WAI and the Oak Ridge Energy Corridor. This event was a success in a large part due to the support of the COE. Thank you!
Students who need an appointment to review their resume, discuss their job search or who have any career-related questions are encouraged to contact the College of Engineering Career Consultant, April Gonzalez at 865-974-5435 or via e-mail at [log in to unmask].
For more information, visit the Career Services Web site.
If you have submissions for @COE, the college's electronic newsletter, please send them to Julie Stansberry at [log in to unmask] by noon on Thursdays.