e-Interaction May 2007 News
Features
Innovation Research Park @ ODU opens for business
Innovation Research Park @ ODU's first $22-million building officially opened on May 16. State and regional leaders praised the unique public-private partnership that brings together university intellectual capital, faculty and students with private-sector companies to pursue research, technology development and business-creation opportunities. The formal program was followed by tours and demonstrations throughout the building. Norfolk City Councilman Barclay Winn and Wexford Equities President James R. Berens joined Virginia's Governor Kaine and ODU President Runte for the opening ceremony.
"Research and development already plays an important role in the economic success of this region, and it is critical that we go a step further to commercialize that R&D into products and services that can create new economic opportunities across the region. Innovation Research Park @ ODU will bring those two essential pieces together, connecting some of our top research minds with private sector partners," said Gov. Timothy Kaine, at the afternoon ribbon cutting ceremony with ODU President Roseann Runte.
Batten College of Engineering offices and centers located in the building include the Lean Institute, Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS), Computational Intelligence and Machine Vision Laboratory, Institute for Advanced Ship Repair and Maintenance, National Center for System of Systems Engineering, Virginia Applied Technology and Professional Development Center, Cooperating Hampton Roads Organizations for Minorities in Engineering and the Office of Spatial and Cartographic Information (OSCI). Non-engineering tenants include the Office of Research, Research Foundation, and the Center for Coastal Physical Oceanography
One of only a few parks in the country located on the campus of its sponsoring higher education institution, Innovation Research Park @ ODU offers access to ODU faculty and students, plus a full complement of business, cultural and social amenities nearby. The building is a 100,000-square-foot, five-story Class "A" office/lab with a structural steel frame and a brick and glass veneer. The development project contributed an economic output of nearly $32 million and resulted in 400 new jobs.
The research park has reserved sites for four buildings, two on Monarch Way between 41st and 43rd streets, one just south of 41st Street and a signature facility on Hampton Boulevard. Currently, the University Village, where the park is housed, includes restaurants, shops and student residences. A 42,000-square-foot bookstore, Springhill Suites by Marriott hotel and the new University Gallery will open later in the year.
Technology Tour shines light on BCET's brightest research
Coinciding with the ribbon-cutting ceremony of ODU's new Innovation Research Park @ ODU, the Frank Batten College of Engineering & Technology hosted a Technology Tour on May 16 to display some of its most pioneering research facilities. The tour included a welcome and introduction from Dr. Osman Akan, Associate Dean of the Batten College of Engineering, as well as an overview of the College, its enterprise centers, institutes and recent research initiatives.
Technology Tour participants viewed demonstrations in the MAGLEV and Laser and Micro/Nanotechnology labs. The event was capped by a visit to the new research park building, where participants enjoyed the opening celebration, a progressive reception and tour. The tour was coordinated by JC Brinker, director of development for the Batten College of Engineering.
Motorsports program, joint effort of BCET, NCI, launches this fall
A joint effort between ODU and the New College Institute (NCI), a state-supported institution that opened last year with the goal of providing southern Virginia students local access to higher education, will begin offering bachelor's degree programs in motorsports and industrial technology this fall.
The programs were announced on April 26 during a news conference with University and NCI officials. Eventually, institutions hope that this unique program, and the growing popularity of NASCAR, will help fuel a steady stream of out-of-state students looking for this distinct opportunity.
"I've never seen such an opportunity ... to do something new" as far as launching an academic program, said Gary Crossman, Chair of the Department of Engineering Technology in the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology at ODU. BCET is one of only three colleges nationwide to offer motorsports degrees.
Both the motorsports and industrial technology programs will be held on the Patrick Henry Community College campus so that students will have access to PHCC's laboratories. PHCC offers an associate degree in motor sports.
The College will provide NCI with "faculty in residence," or instructors who live and work in the Martinsville area. As mementos of the institutions' new relationship, NCI President Barry Dorsey and ODU President Roseann Runte exchanged T-shirts and baseball caps with their schools' logos at the news conference.
-Compiled from the Martinsville Bulletin
CAEE hosts successful Open House
The Center for Advanced Engineering Environments (CAEE) held an open house and a series of demonstrations on May 1 to allow the public to experience the latest in 3-D immersion and other interactive visualization technologies.
"Our objective with the open house is to display visualization environments that do not exist anywhere else in the region," said Ahmed Noor, director of CAEE and William E. Lobeck Professor of Aerospace Engineering at BCET.
At the open house, technologies such as EON iPresence, which allows for tele-immersion with eye-to-eye contact, EON TouchLight, display technology that allows a person to interact with 3-D visual content, and EON ICatcher, immersive stereoscopic 3-D flat-wall imaging, were demonstrated. Effective integration of 3-D advanced visualization, display and interaction, technologies pioneered by CAEE, also were also on display.
Noor believes the products introduced at the event will revolutionize learning. "Young people now, if you teach them the old way, they are bored to death. We want to excite them," Noor said. "The basic idea is that while people are working, they are playing and enjoying it. That's important for the new generation."
-Compiled from ODU News and The Virginian-Pilot
Researchers receive computer engineering grant on microcontroller training system
A team of researchers from Old Dominion University's engineering and education colleges has received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to design a microcontroller training system that is well-suited to distance learning students and programs. The project aims to make affordable technology-related courses and activities available to students who do not have ready access to the training they need to qualify for high-tech jobs.
Steve Hsiung, associate professor of engineering technology, is the principal investigator for the 30-month grant. Co-principal investigators are John Hackworth, associate professor of engineering technology; Cheng Lin, associate professor of engineering technology; and John Ritz, chair of the Department of Occupational and Technical Studies in the Darden College of Education.
Oktay Baysal, dean of engineering and technology, praised his faculty members, as well as the inter-collegial collaboration behind the grant. "Our engineering and education alliance works," he said. Gary Crossman, chair of the Department of Engineering Technology, which has been involved in distance learning for almost 20 years, said, "This project can pave the way for hands-on opportunities for distance students."
Microcontrollers, compact, single-purpose computers that are embedded in electrical devices and systems to control operations, are extremely important in the high-tech world. Demand is high for workers trained to design and put them to use, but many people who want the training cannot take time away from work or families to enroll in programs to receive it. According to the grant, many students stand to gain access to microcontroller training via distance-learning programs.
The researchers aim to find ways to more effectively teach hands-on concepts to distance-learning students, as well as make the process of teaching distance-learning less arduous for instructors.
Asari's Vision Lab featured in Pilot, Inside Business
Vijayan Asari, professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of BCET's Vision Lab, was featured in The Virginian-Pilot and Inside Business for his recent move to the new Innovation Research Park @ ODU and the lab's research, which includes sensor and imaging technology, facial recognition research, goggles that will improve senior citizens' vision and projects for the Navy and NASA.
According to Asari, the Research Park is "Taking this university to the next level� to put us among the top universities in the country." Asari and a team of graduate students are currently settling into a second-floor research lab that is almost a third larger than its previous space. It seems Asari is not the only one appreciating the recent move. Jacob Foytik, a graduate student on Asari's research team, stated "[The research park] brings the academic close to industry. It puts us closer to being out into the real work world."
-Compiled from The Virginian-Pilot
Alumni named Commander of the Navy's Pacific Fleet
Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology alumnus Adm. Robert F. Willard took over as the commander of the Pacific Fleet's 170 ships and 100,000 sailors on May 8. Willard earned his master's degree in engineering management from the College in 2005.
"For me the prospect of this command is thrilling, humbling and inspiring for the legacy that it represents," Willard said at a change of command ceremony in Hawaii. Willard comes to the job from the Pentagon, where he served as the vice chief of naval operations.
During the 1980s, the F-14 fighter jet aviator was the operations and executive officer of the Navy Fighter Weapons School, which was featured in the Hollywood hit movie "Top Gun." More recently, the Los Angeles native has commanded the U.S. Seventh Fleet from Japan and directed an aircraft carrier battle group from the USS Kitty Hawk.
A 1973 Naval Academy graduate, he has won many awards, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal and four Legions of Merit. Adm. Willard received a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University in October 2005 at the annual Founder's Day celebration.
BCET helps Campus Community Campaign
The faculty and staff of the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology contributed to Old Dominion University through the Campus Community Campaign (CCC) during the 2006-2007 academic year. The CCC, themed 'I Believe in ODU!' this year, allows members of the University community to support the Old Dominion by giving to a department, scholarship or program of their choice. Collectively, about one-half of the campus community raised more than $225,000 for the university, demonstrating their belief in ODU.
Student News
BCET honors tops students at awards dinner
The Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology recognized top students May 4 at the Norfolk Yacht and Country Club. Awards were presented to members of the college who excelled in a particular area.
The following students were honored:
- Aerospace Engineering: Karl Schultz
- Experimental Methods: Yugapriya Wing
- Civil and Environmental Engineering: Allyson Monsour
- Computer Engineering: Ali Karasu
- Electrical Engineering: Jacob Foytik
- Engineering Management & Systems Engineering: Timothy Shelton
- Civil Engineering Technology: Douglas Wasik
- Electrical Engineering Technology: Shane Wolf
- Mechanical Engineering Technology: Benjamin Keesee
- Mechanical Engineering: Brian Meagher
- Modeling and Simulation: Rafael Diaz
- Naval Science: Brandon Oswald
- Overall Excellence in Engineering Technology: Jonathan Pilon
- Overall Excellence in Engineering: Brian Meagher
- Academic Excellence in Engineering Technology: Kenneth Cormany
- Academic Excellence in Engineering: Claudia Terrones
Keesee named College's Alumni Association Outstanding Scholar
Benjamin Keesee, a mechanical engineering technology major with at 3.93 GPA, was presented with a trophy as a recipient of the Alumni Association Outstanding Scholar Award, which is given to the graduating seniors with the highest grade point averages from each college. Keesee was honored at a University banquet along with Nathan Luetke, instructor of mechanical engineering technology, the faculty member Keesee said most inspired him.
2007 BCET grad commissioned at White House
Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology May 2007 graduate 2nd Lt. Emma Christine Taylor was one of 58 Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) cadets and midshipmen to participate in a commissioning ceremony hosted by the President of the United States at the White House.
One cadet or midshipman was chosen from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the American Samoan territories, Guam, the Virginia Islands and several special universities.
At the ceremony, Taylor stood behind the President and was one of a select group who shook his hand. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates performed the actual oath of office in the East Room of the White House. Following the oath, gold bars were pinned to the newly commissioned officers' uniforms.
An accomplished student and cadet at Old Dominion, Taylor was the recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur ROTC Leadership Award, the AUSA Military History Award, the Society of American Engineers Award, Military Officers Association of America Award, the Iron Woman Award for the highest physical fitness score and the Battalion Commander's Military Leadership Award.
A year of firsts for BCET Formula SAE team
For the tenth year running, a team representing the Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology competed at the annual Formula SAE design competition in Romeo, Michigan on May 16-20, 2007.
The objective of the Formula SAE competition is to design, fabricate and compete with a formula-style racecar. The FSAE team's goal was to develop team-building skills while improving upon previous years' designs through the application of theories and concepts learned in engineering classes.
The BCET FSAE team has competed in the Formula SAE Competition, which is hosted by the Society of Automotive Engineers, since 1998. The competition is open to universities around the world and entails seven events - three static and four dynamic - including: design analysis, cost analysis, sales presentation, skid pad, autocross, endurance race and fuel economy. Each university's performance is scored and ranked by SAE judges.
This year, BCET's team reconstructed a car designed for the 2005 competition, allowing improvement upon tested designs while reducing time and cost. Major adjustments on the suspension and drive train created a lighter, quicker and more reliable car than previous entries. This year's car was the lightest in the College's history of the event, weighing in at 491 pounds.
The 2007 BCET FSAE team successfully completed all 7 events at competition, making it the first time the team finished the endurance event and earned a fuel economy score. The team also broke the College's record for fastest acceleration time.
Student projects presented at annual SME meeting
On April 18, members of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) gathered for the annual Student Presentation Night, in which students from Old Dominion University's Frank Batten College of Engineering and Technology presented select senior design projects to the Hampton Roads chapter of SME.
Moustafa R. Moustafa, faculty advisor of the ODU chapter S113, spoke at the dinner meeting.
Faculty Publications
Two articles written by Mounir Laroussi, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the Laser and Plasma Engineering Institute (LPEI) were recently named among the "most accessed articles" of a journal:
Laroussi, M., " Low temperature plasma-based sterilization: overview and state-of-the-art," Plasma Processes and Polymers, Wiley-VCH, 2007.
Laroussi, M., C. Tendero, X. Lu, S. Alla, and W. Hynes, "Inactivation of bacteria by the plasma pencil," Plasma Processes and Polymers, Wiley-VCH, 2007.
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