News & Events: Week of May 14

CE faculty Arun Karunanithi receives NSF CAREER Award
Two CSIS PhD students receive Fulbright Awards
Recent CE grad receives fellowship from ACI
Spring Senior Design Competition showcases students’ best work
Year-End Celebration and Awards Ceremony is a success
New Tashiro Tutoring Award available to juniors, seniors and graduate students
Dean’s Office is looking for students to profile in new college promotional materials
Check out college faculty who participated in the new Think Tank advertising campaign
Benefits open enrollment through May 25; everyone must take action
CUOnline Spring Symposium is May 17

Have news or events you want to share with the college? Send them to Erica Lefeave.

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CE faculty Arun Karunanithi receives NSF CAREER Award

Arun Karunanithi received a CAREER award from National Science Foundation (NSF) to pursue research and educational activities in the area of green engineering and sustainability with a focus on ionic liquids. The project aims to develop computational models that will help design novel ionic liquid structures with unique functional properties for important applications such as CO2 capture and sequestration, energy storage and chemical separations. Progress made through this work has the potential to accelerate discovery of newer environmentally benign ionic liquid classes that can lead to breakthroughs in several green technology applications. The award begins on June 1, 2012 and is for the amount of $400,000.

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Two CSIS PhD students receive Fulbright Awards

Congratulations to PhD students Elliot Cohen and Josh Sperling who received Fulbright Awards for research they’re conducting within the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure Systems.

Cohen’s research: “Quantifying risk to critical water-energy infrastructure in Delhi, India”

Abstract of research proposal: Water and energy infrastructure are the foundation of modern cities. They are also inextricably and reciprocally linked. Water shortages can shutdown major power plants due to lack of cooling water and energy shortages can halt the operation of potable water and wastewater treatment plants, posing direct risk to public health. In collaboration with TERI-University, Cohen will study this phenomenon, known as the water-energy nexus, in Delhi, India in 2012-13.

For more information Cohen’s research and publications, visit his webpage at: http://www.ucdenver.edu/academics/colleges/Engineering/research/IntegrativeGraduateEducationResearchTraineeship/People/Pages/Elliot.Cohen.aspx 

Sperling’s research: “Health Outcomes as a Motivator for Low-Carbon Cities: Implications for Infrastructure”
Abstract of research proposal: This project explores the extent to which upgraded infrastructures (e.g., water, energy, transport) and infrastructure-related environmental factors (e.g., air and water quality) shape current urban health outcomes in rapidly growing Asian cities. A more robust evidence base for local and inclusive decision-making on urban infrastructure interventions will be developed that can have significant impacts on improved health and low-carbon development. Host country affiliations include the: Urban Health Resource Centre (UHRC), New Delhi, India, www.uhrc.in and The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University, New Delhi, India, www.teriin.org.

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Recent CE graduate receives fellowship from ACI

Jake Wiggins, a recent graduate of the undergraduate civil engineering program, received a prestigious American Concrete Institute (ACI) BASF Construction Chemicals Student Fellowship award for the 2012-2013 academic year totaling $7,000. As part of the award, Wiggins has the opportunity to attend the ACI conventions this October in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and next April in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as guests of the ACI Foundation.

This is a very difficult fellowship to get and Jake received this award over many top students from other programs.

Congratulations, Jake!

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Spring Senior Design Competition showcases students’ best work

On Friday, May 11, 22 student teams from civil engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical engineering and mechanical engineering presented their senior design projects to a panel of six industry judges in hopes to win one of the four monetary awards.

Thanks to a generous donation from Don and Karen White, the top overall team won $1,000, and the best projects from the other three disciplines won a $250 cash prize.

This semester’s winners were as follows:

Overall Best Project: The Upcyclatron, mechanical engineering
Team members: Ross Cholmia, Devin Eldridge, Warren Linn, Brian Lopez, Tom Serra, Carl Simonsen

Best Project, Civil Engineering: Southeast Corridor Extension RidgeGate Station
Team members: Hamad Al‐Thani, Amornthep Boonlert, Jeremy Deischer, Quyen Liu, Saman Mehdi, David Nwafor, Carl Tiu

Best Project, Computer Science and Engineering: ARIS Project
Team members: Nasser Al‐Khalifa, Ryan Doubrava, Sun Rey Eagle

Best Project, Electrical Engineering: Hum Sniffer (first place)
Team members: Joshua M. Perry, Moshe Redmon

Best Project, Electrical Engineering: Danger Ranger (second place)
Team members: Andrew Koepke, Ryan C. Smith

Read about all of the projects at engineering.ucdenver.edu/seniordesign and stay tuned for photos from the event.

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Year-End Celebration and Awards Ceremony is a success

On Friday, May 11, nearly 200 students, faculty, alumni, family and friends gathered in the Lawrence Street Center Terrace Room for the first annual College Year-End Celebration and Awards Ceremony.

Attendees enjoyed a BBQ lunch and a lot of conversation followed by a collegewide awards ceremony.

Awards included the winners of the Spring Senior Design Competition;  Outstanding Student Awards from all five departments; a Distinguished Alumni Award, the Silver Medal Award from the Colorado Engineering Council; an Outstanding Staff Award; and the Outstanding Faculty Awards.

Stay tuned for photos from the event.

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New Tashiro Tutoring Award available to juniors, seniors and graduate students; applications due July 1

The College of Engineering and Applied Science is looking for responsible individuals with excellent communication and interpersonal skills who are committed to students’ learning progress for the new Tashiro Tutoring Award.

Each academic year, up to four awards in the amount of $4,000 each will be awarded to highly qualified undergraduate and/or graduate students to tutor engineering and pre-engineering undergraduate students in calculus, physics, chemistry and/or lower-division engineering courses. Tutors will also assist students with study strategies, organization of materials, critical thinking skills and course content comprehension.

Who’s eligible for the award?

Undergraduate students in junior or senior standing or graduate students who are actively enrolled in an engineering degree program in the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Colorado Denver are eligible for this award*.

What are the benefits?

• Learning to teach in a group setting
• Learning to develop lesson plans and effectively implement them
• Development in study skills
• Opportunities to work with a diverse student population
• Potential to transition into a Supplemental Instruction position through the Learning Resource Center

What’s required?

• An overall GPA of at least 3.0 and a GPA of at least 3.5 in the subject area(s) intended for tutoring
• Recommendations from two full-time CU Denver faculty members teaching in the subject area in which you wish to tutor (reference forms are included in the application packet)
• Tutors must be available for 5 hours of tutoring per week
• Tutors must be available from 1 to 2:30 p.m. on the first Friday of each month for tutor trainings/meetings and available to attend an all-day training session, which typically occurs on the Wednesday or Thursday prior to the start of the fall semester.

For additional details and to apply, pick up the Tashiro Tutoring Award application packet from the College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean’s Office (North Classroom 3024). Submit all of the required documents by July 1.

Need more information? Contact Paul Rakowski, Director of Student Services, College of Engineering and Applied Science: paul.rakowski@ucdenver.edu | 303-556-6771

*juniors must have completed at least 60 credit hours; seniors and graduate-level students must have at least two semesters remaining for degree completion.

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Dean’s Office is looking for students to profile in new college promotional materials

The Dean’s Office is looking for students to feature in new college promotional materials. The ideal student is an undergraduate who is passionate about their studies and the field of engineering; they must also be available this summer.

If you have a student in mind, please send their contact information to Erica Lefeave and include a brief summary of what makes them stand out.

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Check out college faculty who participated in the new Think Tank advertising campaign

College faculty recently participated in the creation of testimonials for the university’s new Think Tank advertising campaign. See what Bruce Janson, Tom Altman, Mark Golkowski and Wes Marshall had to say. Click here and select “Professors and Staff.”

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Benefits open enrollment through May 25; everyone must take action

This year’s Employee Benefits Open Enrollment is a ‘positive’ enrollment, meaning employees must take action even if coverage was waived previously.
The deadline is Friday, May 25 at 5 p.m.

Items to keep in mind:

• Final rates and plan descriptions are available online <http://www.cu.edu/openenrollment>
• Dependent Eligibility Verification – If you are adding new dependents for coverage effective July 1, 2012, you must verify their eligibility with PBS during the open enrollment period and have required documents submitted by 5 p.m. May 25. There is no guarantee of dependent coverage if required documents are not received by the due date.
• Cafeteria Plans – You must re-enroll and actively elect your annual contributions for Health Care and Dependent Care flexible spending accounts each year at open enrollment.
• University Optional Term Life Insurance – If you and/or your spouse, common law spouse or SGDP are non-tobacco users, meaning that you have not used tobacco products within the past 12 months, you are eligible for a discounted rate in the Optional Term Life/AD&D Insurance Plan. Complete the appropriate section on the Benefits Enrollment/Change Form or online web application to receive the discounted rate. Enrollment in the discounted rate is allowed only during the OE period.

For more information about plans and plan changes, final rates, how to enroll and what happens if you choose to take no action during open enrollment, go to http://www.cu.edu/openenrollment.

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CU Online Spring Symposium, May 17

Registration is now open for the CU Online Spring Symposium. If you teach online classes, this is an opportunity to make your courses better. All CU Denver faculty are invited to attend free of charge. Register now at cuonline.edu/symposium.

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