left to right: Yakacki, Carpenter, Jenkins; not pictured: Yu, Poddar
Christopher Yakacki, associate professor of mechanical engineering, along with mechanical engineering associate professor Dana Carpenter, professor Peter Jenkins, assistant professor Kai Yu, and Dr. Sourav Poddar from CU sports medicine, are leading one of seven research projects selected for funding by the Pac-12 Student-Athlete Health and Well-Being Initiative’s grant program for the 2019-20 year.
Their project, Head Trauma: Designing Safer Helmets Using Advanced Materials and Modeling, seeks to leverage this state-of-the-art technology and create new models to improve football helmet safety using a recently developed high-performance polymer called liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs). The goal is to lower the severity of impacts and reduce the prevalence of concussions in the sport.
Congratulations!
Civil engineering associate professor Fred Rutz was named a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers Structural Engineering Institute (SEI) at the 2019 SEI Structures Congress, held in Orlando, Florida April 24 – 27, 2019.
Kevin Rens, professor and chair of civil engineering, has been selected as one of the first ever CU Denver Chancellor’s Engaged Scholars. This award and recognition is well deserved and is a great acknowledgement of Rens’ fantastic work with the City and County of Denver over the last 20 years – and the great work he will do over the next 20!
Jimmy Kim, professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, received the Chester Paul Siess Award for Excellence in Structural Research in the spring convention of the American Concrete Institute held in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. This prestigious award is given to the author or authors of a peer-reviewed paper published by the Institute that describes a notable achievement in experimental or analytical research that advances the theory or practice of structural engineering and, most importantly, recommends how the research can be applied to design. The award need not be presented each year.
Congratulations to Mark Golkowski, associate professor of electrical engineering, on being named the 2019 college Outstanding Faculty in Research. In recognition of his accomplishments, Golkowski will receive a cash award and will be considered for the campuswide Outstanding Faculty in Research Award.