March 2017

Undergraduate student researcher Cailin O’Connell placed first in the 2017 Society of Women Engineers Region C Conference for her project on studying the connection of trace elements of zinc and their ability to be used as treatment indicator for treating cancer to ensure accurate radiation dosages.

As of January 2017, the International Association of Drilling Contractors now has its first-ever student chapter at Texas A&M University.

Networks of people, materials and logistics can be found everywhere in life. While they are very common, they can be used to represent interactions between entities in many important complex systems including social, biological, telecommunication, transportation and energy.

Dr. Robin Murphy, Raytheon Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, served on the Beyond BB-8: When Robots Start Acting Human panel at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin, Texas.

Four Texas A&M University College of Engineering faculty members attended a reception on March 6 hosted by Governor Greg Abbott in Austin. The reception honored the researchers recruited through the Governor’s University Research Initiative program (GURI) and officials from three Texas universities at the Texas Governor’s mansion. The honorees from Texas A&M were Dr. Girish Saran Agarwal, Dr. Richard B. Miles, Dr. Thomas J. Overbye and Dr. George M. Pharr IV.

Renowned scholar Dr. George M. Pharr IV has joined the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University as part of the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI), which is aimed at bringing the best and brightest researchers in the world to Texas.

Carolyn Walther was named the international winner of the American Helicopter Society’s (AHS) prestigious 2017 Robert L. Lichten award competition.

The Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station’s Smart Grid Center will host the fifth annual Smart Grid Workshop on the Texas A&M University campus April 18. The center established the workshop after receiving a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation’s Big Data Spokes Program to extend collaboration and innovation using big data for the smart power grid area.

Just before Spring Break, students in Dr. Sam Villareal's two sections of ENGR 112 freshman engineering at Texas A&M University demonstrated their projects and excitement during an in-class robot competition.

Dr. John Matyjas presented his perspective on the future of the interdisciplinary nature of electrical and computer engineering during a Leaders and Innovators Speaker Series seminar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Weiping Shi, professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, has been elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his contributions to modeling and design of very large scale integration (VLSI) interconnects.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy and Department of Aerospace Engineering at Texas A&M University invite audiences across Texas, the nation and even the world to get up close and personal with science and technology this spring at the 2017 Physics & Engineering Festival, an entertaining and informative weekend scientific extravaganza for all ages.

Dr. Honghuang Lin, a former graduate student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, received third place for the Best Paper Award at the 29th annual Design and Verification Conference (DVCon) in San Jose, California, this month. Lin also placed third place at 2016 DVCon last year.

Dr. Sharath Girimaji, a professor in the Department of Ocean Engineering at Texas A&M University, is helping mentor a team of seven students, ages 10 to 14, from the Houston area to solve a problem concerning the interactions of people and animals through the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology (FIRST) LEGO League program.

Unmanned vehicles could soon help provide first responders more context of unknown surroundings in crisis situations, thanks to Dimas Gonzales and Alejandro Suazo, two undergraduate students in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University.

Dr. Melissa Grunlan, associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was awarded a $1.9 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to continue the development and testing of a newly developed material that shows promise in the field of regenerative medicine. The material is designed to precisely fill and promote healing of cranial bone defects and gaps in the skull that occur due to an injury, a birth defect or surgery.

At the most recent Aggies Invent, students solved the problems of the future, focusing on infrastructure and architecture. Students were challenged to incorporate the latest technology, 3-D printing, drones and robotics as they competed to create the most innovative and compelling solution for building horizontal or vertical buildings.

What if you could change the way students are educated and inspired? Suparna Mukhopadhyay, a student in the Zachry Department of Civil Engineering at Texas A&M University, worked to do just that at the Aggies Invent on Education, held Feb. 3-5.

Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, associate professor and holder of the William and Ruth Neely Faculty Fellowship in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was invited to participate in the World Economic Forum’s Young Scientists program in Dalian, China, in June.

In order to remain safe, robots are commonly used to reach what human hands cannot. Often a robot is used to uncover victims from rubble or bring them safely to shore. These helpful hands can even reach a world far beyond our own – outer space.

Researchers with the Fuel Cycles and Materials Laboratory within the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University are working to make big impacts on energy efficiency with small materials level changes. The group is creating porous fuel pellets for use in reactors, as opposed to the currently used solid pellets, to extend fuel life, possibly reduce waste and increase the amount of energy the reactor can get out of the fuel.

Students from the Department of Nuclear Engineering at Texas A&M University attended a daylong tour of the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant on Feb. 21, a look inside the working end of the nuclear industry that few have the privilege to view.

Texas A&M Engineering’s graduate program was again ranked 11th overall nationally in the latest U.S. News & World Report survey, “America’s Best Graduate Schools 2018.” The college also ranked seventh among public institutions.

Civil engineering graduate students were able to witness the latest in pavement recycling technology at the RELLIS Campus Feb. 23–24 as the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) demonstrated “next generation” equipment.

During the weekend of Feb. 17-19, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) at Texas A&M University hosted the final Region C Conference, where hundreds of students and professionals from across Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi congregated to network and engage in professional development opportunities such as research poster competitions and keynote speaker presentations.

Dr. Ravishankar Iyer, a former student in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, was recently named an Intel Fellow.

Dr. Xia “Ben” Hu, assistant professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Texas A&M University, received a National Science Foundation grant for his novel research, which centers around the development of network embedding algorithms for analyzing large-scale and complex attributed networks.

Five engineering faculty members were part of the inaugural class of Presidential Impact Fellows, which were recently announced by Texas A&M University president Michael K. Young. The 2017 honorees from the Texas A&M College of Engineering are Dr. Melissa A. Grunlan, Dr. Arum Han, Dr. Arul Jayaraman, Dr. Raymundo Arroyave and Dr. Zachary Grasley.

Dr. Valerie E. Taylor, Texas A&M University College of Engineering senior associate dean of academic affairs, is now serving a three-year term on the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Committee on Opportunities in Science (COOS).

Bonnie Bustos-Rios and Laura Olivarez were recently honored for their unique skill sets with a Best of UAC Symposium 2017 award at the University Advisors and Counselors (UAC) Symposium at Texas A&M University.

Texas A&M University’s presence at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Austin this week will include robots developed by current and former students from the Electronics Systems Engineering Technology (ESET) and Multidisciplinary Engineering Technology (MXET) Programs’ Mobile Integrated Solutions Laboratory.

Researchers with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University are making it easier for the visually impaired to read by manufacturing high quality adhesive labels through portable 3-D printers so that braille can be found on a variety of consumer products.

The research of Dr. Jodie Lutkenhaus, associate professor and holder of the William and Ruth Neely Faculty Fellowship in the Artie McFerrin Department of Chemical Engineering at Texas A&M University, was featured on the cover of the January issue of Advanced Materials Interfaces.

The Institution of Chemical Engineers (IChemE), a global professional membership organization for chemical, biochemical and process engineers and other professionals involved in the chemical, process and bioprocess industries with a membership exceeding 44,000 members in over 120 countries, has chosen to honor the life and accomplishments of Professor Christodoulos A. Floudas posthumously by awarding him the prestigious Sargent Medal.

Researchers with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University are making the best use of our energy waste — turning one of our most potent pollutants and greenhouse gasses, carbon dioxide (CO2), into hydrocarbon fuels that can help the environment and solve growing energy needs.

Dr. Byul Hur, assistant professor in the Department of Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution at Texas A&M University, is serving as a principal investigator on research to fight diseases like the Zika virus as part of a recent $10 million Centers for Disease Control grant given to Texas A&M Agrilife.

Renowned scholar Dr. Thomas Overbye has joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University as part of the Governor’s University Research Initiative (GURI), which is aimed at bringing the best and brightest researchers in the world to Texas.

A group of petroleum engineering students from Texas A&M University made a name for themselves in the regional PetroBowl qualifications in February, facing down other North America Region teams to secure a spot to compete internationally.

Laughter and excitement could be heard around the room as 60 elementary students filed into the College Station Hilton Feb. 23 for the second annual DiscoverE Girl Day event. The Texas A&M University College of Engineering’s Women in Engineering program, in collaboration with PK-12 Engineering Education Outreach, hosted the event to introduce second through fifth grade girls to the wonders of engineering.

Women in Engineering, a program offered through the Texas A&M University College of Engineering, held a graduate recruitment event Feb. 17. Students from across the country came to meet with faculty, staff and students from nine departments to learn more about engineering.