U of M receives $16.8 million for materials research center
The University of Minnesota Materials Research Science and Engineering Center announced that it has received $16.8 million in renewed funding over the next six years from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The University of Minnesota is one of only 14 other universities nationwide, including MIT and Harvard, to be chosen to receive NSF funding this year for a materials research center. The University of Minnesota’s multifaceted research center was established a decade ago to conduct cutting-edge materials and nanotechnology research that enables important areas of future technology, ranging from biomedicine and electronics to security and renewable energy. Read more>>
Controversial software freedom activist to speak at the U of M on Oct. 21
Controversial free software advocate Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project, will speak at the University of Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in room 175, Willey Hall, 225 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The event is free and open to the public. Stallman is the main author of the most widely used free software license, the GNU General Public License. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer have publicly criticized the GNU General Public License and some software companies have likened it to a virus that will “destroy the software industry.” Read more>>
Register for IT homecoming breakfast by Oct. 24
Join other alumni at a special Institute of Technology event on Saturday, Nov. 1, celebrating the University of Minnesota’s 2008 Homecoming. Dean Steven L. Crouch is hosting a casual, fun-filled breakfast celebration beginning at 8:30 a.m., on the University of Minnesota campus at 1701 University Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. This free event is open to all Institute of Technology alumni, family, and friends. It will feature children’s activities, a student research poster session, a performance by the Physics Force, a viewing of the solar vehicle and much more. The breakfast and Homecoming parade are followed by the Homecoming football game at 11 a.m. Register online for the event online by Friday, Oct. 24. Read more>>
Dean presents 'State of IT' address to faculty and staff
Institute of Technology faculty and staff are invited to attend a "State of the Institute of Technology" address presented by Dean Steven Crouch on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in the Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Building, Room 3-180. Refreshments will be served starting at 3 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 3:45 p.m. and end before 4:30 p.m. Dean Crouch will summarize the college’s finances, fund-raising successes, and research productivity, and he will talk about his vision for the future of the Institute of Technology.
Engineers Without Borders students featured in TV ads
The Engineers Without Borders student chapter will be featured in a University of Minnesota television commercial that will air in October and November on stations throughout Minnesota. The commercial will air at various times in the morning and during the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on network affiliates. The ad features work by the student group to develop a solar cooker that can melt plastic waste into a liquid. The liquid will be poured into molds to make usable items such as footwear, utensils, and sports equipment. The ad is part of the University’s Driven to Discover marketing effort aimed at raising the research profile of the University throughout the state. Watch a video and read more>>
IT alumnus wins Minnesota Cup
Institute of Technology alumnus Britt Norton (ChemE ’82) was recently named a winner of the 2008 Minnesota Cup competition, an annual statewide competition seeking aspiring entrepreneurs and their breakthrough ideas. Norton is co-owner with Christine Horton of CoreSpine Technologies, an emerging spinal surgery device company. Institute of Technology alumni have been winners of the Minnesota Cup three of the competition’s four years. In the student division, mechanical engineering doctoral student Shyam Sivaramakrishnan was one of this year’s contest finalists. Read more >>
IT assistant professor receives $1.5 million NIH New Innovator Award
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a prestigious 2008 New Innovator Award to University of Minnesota chemistry assistant professor Christy Haynes. She is the first U of M faculty member to win this award which will provide $1.5 million over five years for her research to build a cell-by-cell human immune system in the lab to identify potential therapeutic approaches for treating allergic reactions and asthma. Read more>>
Apollo 15 astronaut presents scholarship to student
Institute of Technology senior Andrew Jones was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) and a ceremonial check from Col. Al Worden, an astronaut who served on the 1971 Apollo 15 mission. The Astronaut Scholarship is the largest monetary award given in the United States to science and engineering undergraduate students based solely on merit. Jones is pursuing a dual major in chemical engineering and chemistry. During Worden’s visit, he spoke to a group of first-year honors students about his experiences in space. Read more>>
U of M astronomers release new research about nearby galaxies
University of Minnesota professor Evan Skillman and graduate student Dan Weisz are part of an international group of astronomers who recently released new findings regarding their research of nearby galaxies. The new data will give astronomers unprecedented insight into star formation and how it makes each galaxy unique. It also will provide new information about how other galaxies are similar to or different from our Milky Way Galaxy. A better understanding of nearby galaxies may provide clues to the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. Read more>>
U of M researchers working to unlock secrets of universe
About 25 physics researchers from the University of Minnesota are working with scientists worldwide to recreate what happened immediately after the Big Bang—the celestial smashing of atoms that created matter. Scientists have gathered at the CERN laboratory, located near Geneva, Switzerland, to collide tiny particles at nearly the speed of light. In the coming weeks, the experiment, which began in September, will send particles hurling through 17 miles of a tunnel called the “Large Hadron Collider,” which is buried 300 feet underground at the Swiss-French border. Read more>>
Honors
Alumnus Arvind (CSci M.S. '72, Ph.D '73) recently received the prestigious Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Minnesota. The award is the University’s highest honor conferred upon alumni. Arvind, a professor of computer science and engineering at MIT, received the award for his pioneering research that revolutionized the dataflow architecture and programming models of computers worldwide. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the founder of Sandburst Corporation.
Professor Pete Carr (chemistry) will receive the 2009 ACS Award in Analytical Chemistry at the American Chemical Society national meeting next March in Salt Lake City. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the science of analytical chemistry, pure or applied, carried out in the United States or Canada.
Several faculty and alumni from the Institute of Technology were recently appointed to Gov. Pawlenty's Clean Energy Technology Collaborative. The 15-member team will identify the most promising research and development related to clean energy technology that may be beneficial to Minnesota, and will identify primary issues related to current or future implementation of the technologies. The team includes:
Professor Lanny Schmidt (chemical engineering and materials science)
Camille M. George (Ph.D. ME ’98)
Duane A. Goetsch (Ph.D. ChemE pending)
John Goodman (Aero ’82, MBA ’88)
Paul Plahn (ME ’68)
Vincent J. Winstead (M.S. EE ’94)
Professor Bojan Guzina (civil engineering) has been appointed the Shimizu Corporation Visiting Professor of Civil Engineering through June 2013.
Alumnus and retired Major Harold Hicks (ChemE ’41) was recently honored by the University of Minnesota Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) with a permanent display of his award citation in the University’s Armory. Hicks fought on nearly every front during World War II earning him the rare European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal along with seven Bronze Stars.
Alumnus Matt Schnobrich (M.S. CivE ’04) won a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing as part of the United States' men’s-eight rowing team. He qualified in the men’s-two rowing event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but was moved up to the marquee eight-man event to bolster the country's chances of medaling.
Professor Fotis Sotiropoulos (civil engineering) has been appointed the James L. Record Chair of Civil Engineering through June 2013.
Professor Renata Wentzcovitch (chemical engineering and materials science) has been awarded "The Invitation Fellowship for Research in Japan," by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science. She will conduct research at the Tokyo Institute of Technology from October through December 2008.
In Memoriam
Alfred Aeppli
Alfred Aeppli, a long-time professor of mathematics in the University’s Institute of Technology, died on Sept. 14. He was 79. He was a member of the mathematics faculty for 37 years. Read more>>
Media Watch
Check out the solar car
The University of Minnesota solar car is a great eco-experience at the Minnesota State Fair with its solar panels created by U of M students. Aug. 25: KMSP–TV
Internet traffic begins to bypass the U.S.
Andrew M. Odlyzko, a mathematics professor at the University of Minnesota who tracks the growth of the global Internet said that while the United States carried 70 percent of the world’s Internet traffic a decade ago, he estimates that portion has fallen to about 25 percent. Aug. 27: IT Business Edge; Aug. 29: New York Times; Aug. 31: Mashable; Red Orbit; Sept. 1: IT Blogwatch; Sept. 5: Silicon India
Nanoparticles stick a perfect landing
Chemical engineering and materials science professor Steven Girshick and his team at the University of Minnesota are using nanotechnology to design super-hard, wear-resistant coatings for machine tools. Traian Dumitrica, a professor of mechanical engineering, and graduate student Mayur Suri ran computer simulations to precisely calculate the bouncing behavior of a sphere a few billionths of a meter in diameter consisting of about 30,000 silicon atoms. Aug. 27: Physical Review Focus; Aug. 28: Nanowerk; Sept. 1: New York Times
U lab puts human hearts in the hands of fairgoers to spark interest in science
The Medical Devices Center displayed a real human heart at the Science and Engineering booth in the University of Minnesota’s exhibit at the Minnesota State Fair. Aug. 28: Pioneer Press
Hydrogen fuel-cell prospects
University of Minnesota chemical engineering and materials science professor and renowned renewable energy researcher Lanny Schmidt comments on new research at Ohio State University to ratchet down the cost of creating efficient, affordable fuel-cell technology. Aug. 28: Columbus Dispatch
Bridge collapse didn't stall commutes, U study finds
Traffic researchers at the University of Minnesota found that a year after the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, the average Twin Cities car trip has increased by less than a minute. With the opening of the new bridge old traffic bottlenecks may very well return. Aug. 29: Pioneer Press; Fort Mill Times; Sept. 15: Star Tribune; Sept. 25: Minnesota Daily
On the Net: ‘Content’ is new label for everything
Mathematics professor Andrew Odlyzko, a former director of the University of Minnesota's Digital Technology Center, commented on the meaning of content on the Web in a 2001 paper titled "Content is Not King." Sept. 5: Associated Press; Sept. 12: Albany Times Union–New York
Minnesotans among those working on atom smasher
About 25 physics researchers from the University of Minnesota are part of an international team of scientists working to recreate what happened immediately after the Big Bang at the CERN laboratory, located near Geneva, Switzerland. Sept. 10: KARE-11; University News; KFAN-AM; WCCO-TV; Sept. 11: U of M Moment; Sept. 12: Minnesota Public Radio; Sept. 15: MinnPost
Aging stormwater retention ponds trouble suburbs, homeowners, and scientists
Civil engineering professor John Gulliver comments on stormwater management in the suburbs. Sept. 10: Pioneer Press
U student receives scholarship from astronaut's foundation
An Apollo astronaut visited the University of Minnesota to present a student with five-figure scholarship. Sept. 10: Star Tribune; University News; KARE-TV; Sept. 11: Minnesota Daily; Sept. 15: Star Tribune
Institute of Technology alumnus Britt Norton is the winner of the 2008 Minnesota Cup competition. Mechanical engineering graduate student Shyam Sivaramakrishnan was among the student finalists. Sept. 12: Minnesota Daily: KARE 11, WCCO-AM, Cities 97, Star Tribune, Pioneer Press, The Business Journal; MN Cup website
University of Minnesota opens new Outdoor StreamLab
To get kids excited about math and science, the U of M is hosting a Math and Science Fair where a range of cool experiments and tests might pique their interest. Sept. 17: Twin Cities Live; Sept. 19: KARE–TV; Sept. 20: KMSP-TV (7 a.m.); KMSP-TV (8:30 a.m.); KSTP-TV
Superhero science: Professor uses comic books to teach physics
James Kakalios’ hobby of looking at physics in superhuman ways can get even the most ardent science hater interested in the way their world works (or perhaps the comic book world). Sept. 18: Minnesota Daily; Oct. 8: Mankato Free Press
Professors given highest University honor
Physics professor Allen Goldman received the award of Regents professor, acknowledging his research and commitment to the University. The title of Regents professor is the highest award the University gives to its faculty. Goldman is the head of the School of Physics and Astronomy and works primarily with experimental condensed-matter physics. Sept. 18: Minnesota Daily
U of M study hopes to find relief for asthma, allergies
Chemistry assistant professor Christy Haynes’ research to build a cell-by-cell immune system in the lab could help 60 million people who suffer from allergies and asthma. Sept. 22: KMSP-TV; Minnesota Daily; University News
U faculty weigh in on LHC shut down
University physics professors Roger Rusack and Kenneth Heller discuss the Large Hadron Collider’s (LHC) recent shutdown, due to faulty wiring. Repairs will take several months. Sept. 25: Minnesota Daily
When it comes to galaxies, diversity is everywhere
Mechanical engineering professor David Kittelson comments on buses used in the Anoka-Hennepin School District that have exhaust systems that were retrofitted to reduce pollutants and emissions by 40 to 60 percent. Oct. 5: Pioneer Press
Environmental science group works to restore 70s car
A small group of Institute of Technology students are working to restore a donated 1976 prototype of a battery-operated car. Oct. 7: Minnesota Daily
Events
Café Scientifique: Art and Aeronautics—A Conversation with Tomás Saraceno
Oct. 14: Artist Tomás Saraceno uses principles from engineering, physics, aeronautics, and architecture in his work to demonstrate the limitless possibilities when solar and human energy combine. The Bell Museum and the Walker Art Center are partnering to present a discussion of art and aeronautics with Saraceno and University of Minnesota aerospace engineers. 5:30 p.m. Nomad World Pub, 501 Cedar Ave S. Minneapolis. Visit the Web site.
Innovation 2008: Renewing America Through Smarter Science & Technology Policy
Oct. 20–21: Innovation 2008 will bring together academicians, policy makers, business leaders, scientists, educators, artists, students, and the public to find solutions to major challenges facing the United States. Explore engagement with the scientific and engineering community in the political process, and examine ways to bridge the divide between science and the broader culture while broadening public appreciation of science. University of Minnesota. Visit the Web site.
State of the Institute of Technology
Oct. 21: Dean Steven L. Crouch will summarize finances, fund-raising successes, and research productivity, as well as give a brief review of the status of IT's involvement in several interdisciplinary initiatives. 3–4:30 p.m. 3-180 Electrical Engineering/Computer Science Building.
Richard Stallman: The Free Software Movement and the GNU/Linux Operating System
Oct. 21: Controversial free software advocate Richard Stallman will talk about the Free Software Movement, which campaigns for freedom so that computer users can cooperate to control their own computing activities. The Free Software Movement developed the GNU operating system, often erroneously referred to as Linux, specifically to establish these freedoms. 6:30 p.m. 175 Willey Hall. Visit the Web site.
Café Scientifique: Designing Online Communities
Oct. 21: Computer science researcher and engineer Joseph Konstan studies the behavior of people as they participate in online communities like MySpace and Facebook. In this talk, he will discuss his research uncovering how human socialization is affected by online communication and how further behavioral science research can help design Internet communities that facilitate positive dialogues about social issues. Cost is $5–$10: pay what you can. 7 p.m. Bryant Lake Bowl, 810 West Lake St., Minneapolis. Visit the Web site.
Neutrino Frontiers
Oct. 23–26: This international workshop will address the current status of research on properties of neutrinos, their effects on cosmological and astrophysical processes, and the interplay between theory and ongoing and future experiments. University of Minnesota–Minneapolis. Visit the Web site or e-mail questions to neutrinos08@physics.umn.edu.
IMA Math Matters Lecture: Surfing with Wavelets
Oct. 29: This talk by Ingrid Daubechies, Princeton University, will start by explaining the basic principles of wavelets. Wavelets are used in the analysis of sounds and images, as well as many other applications. Daubechies will illustrate with some examples, including an explanation of image compression. 7 p.m. 125 Willey Hall. Visit the Web site.
Sixth Annual All-Class CEMS Gathering
Oct. 31: Please mark your calendars for the sixth annual, all-class Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science gathering. This casual, fun-filled evening, includes food and good company. 4:30-6:30 p.m. First floor, Amundson Hall. E-mail to riebe001@umn.edu or call 612-625-4356.
IT Homecoming Celebration 2008
Nov. 1: Join Institute of Technology Dean Steven L. Crouch at this FREE IT alumni event, and then cheer on the Golden Gophers as they take on the Northwestern University Wildcats at the 2008 Homecoming Football Game! Purchase game tickets at Gophersports.com or call 800-UGOPHER. This event is open to all alumni, family, and friends. 8:30 a.m. University of Minnesota campus at 1701 University Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. E-mail itas@umn.edu, call 612-625-3767, or visit the Web site.
Looking Ahead
4th Annual Nanotechnology Conference
Nov. 11–13: This three-day workshop offers presentations and discussions on topics including: micro- and nanosensors, optical sensors, nanomaterials for energy consumption, optics at the nanoscale, microfluidic biotechnology, nano materials for batteries, characterization tools for nanomaterials, nanoparticle cell/tissue interactions, advances in drug delivery, and molecular diagnostics. Register online. Radisson University Hotel-Minneapolis. Visit the Web site.
E3 2008
Nov. 18: Register now for the region’s premier energy, economic and environmental conference. Sponsored by University of Minnesota's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE) and the Institute on the Environment, the conference brings together renewable energy and environmental researchers, students, government officials, non-profit, and business/industry leaders. Register online. Saint Paul RiverCentre. Visit the Web site.
The University of Minnesota Materials Research Science and Engineering Center announced that it has received $16.8 million in renewed funding over the next six years from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The University of Minnesota is one of only 14 other universities nationwide, including MIT and Harvard, to be chosen to receive NSF funding this year for a materials research center. The University of Minnesota’s multifaceted research center was established a decade ago to conduct cutting-edge materials and nanotechnology research that enables important areas of future technology, ranging from biomedicine and electronics to security and renewable energy. 
Controversial free software advocate Richard Stallman, founder of the Free Software Foundation and the GNU project, will speak at the University of Minnesota at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 21 in room 175, Willey Hall, 225 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis. The event is free and open to the public. Stallman is the main author of the most widely used free software license, the GNU General Public License. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates and CEO Steve Ballmer have publicly criticized the GNU General Public License and some software companies have likened it to a virus that will “destroy the software industry.” 
Join other alumni at a special Institute of Technology event on Saturday, Nov. 1, celebrating the University of Minnesota’s 2008 Homecoming. Dean Steven L. Crouch is hosting a casual, fun-filled breakfast celebration beginning at 8:30 a.m., on the University of Minnesota campus at 1701 University Ave. S.E., Minneapolis. This free event is open to all Institute of Technology alumni, family, and friends. It will feature children’s activities, a student research poster session, a performance by the Physics Force, a viewing of the solar vehicle and much more. The breakfast and Homecoming parade are followed by the Homecoming football game at 11 a.m. 
The Engineers Without Borders student chapter will be featured in a University of Minnesota television commercial that will air in October and November on stations throughout Minnesota. The commercial will air at various times in the morning and during the 5, 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on network affiliates. The ad features work by the student group to develop a solar cooker that can melt plastic waste into a liquid. The liquid will be poured into molds to make usable items such as footwear, utensils, and sports equipment. The ad is part of the University’s Driven to Discover marketing effort aimed at raising the research profile of the University throughout the state. 
Institute of Technology alumnus Britt Norton (ChemE ’82) was recently named a winner of the 2008 Minnesota Cup competition, an annual statewide competition seeking aspiring entrepreneurs and their breakthrough ideas. Norton is co-owner with Christine Horton of CoreSpine Technologies, an emerging spinal surgery device company. Institute of Technology alumni have been winners of the Minnesota Cup three of the competition’s four years. In the student division, mechanical engineering doctoral student Shyam Sivaramakrishnan was one of this year’s contest finalists. 
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a prestigious 2008 New Innovator Award to University of Minnesota chemistry assistant professor Christy Haynes. She is the first U of M faculty member to win this award which will provide $1.5 million over five years for her research to build a cell-by-cell human immune system in the lab to identify potential therapeutic approaches for treating allergic reactions and asthma. 
Institute of Technology senior Andrew Jones was awarded a $10,000 scholarship from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) and a ceremonial check from Col. Al Worden, an astronaut who served on the 1971 Apollo 15 mission. The Astronaut Scholarship is the largest monetary award given in the United States to science and engineering undergraduate students based solely on merit. Jones is pursuing a dual major in chemical engineering and chemistry. During Worden’s visit, he spoke to a group of first-year honors students about his experiences in space. 
University of Minnesota professor Evan Skillman and graduate student Dan Weisz are part of an international group of astronomers who recently released new findings regarding their research of nearby galaxies. The new data will give astronomers unprecedented insight into star formation and how it makes each galaxy unique. It also will provide new information about how other galaxies are similar to or different from our Milky Way Galaxy. A better understanding of nearby galaxies may provide clues to the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe. 