Faculty News
Awards & Honors:
The poster "rPRAM: Exploring Redundancy Techniques to Improve Lifetime of PCM-based Main Memory," co-authored by Jie Chen, Zachary Winter, and Profs. Guru Venkataramani and Howie Huang (both of ECE), was selected as Best Poster at the IEEE International Conference on Parallel Architectures and Compilation Techniques (PACT), held October 10-14, on Galveston Island, TX.
Conferences & Presentations:
At the IEEE 35th Antenna Applications Symposium, held in September at Allerton House (IL), SEAS alumnus Dr. Steven J. Weiss presented a paper co-authored by Emeritus Professor Walter Kahn (ECE), "Review of Scattering and Re-radiation by a Receiving Antenna," S.J. Weiss, US Army Research Laboratory, and W.K. Kahn, The George Washington University.
In support of the Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services, Prof. Greg Shaw (EMSE Institute for Crisis, Disaster and Risk Management) conducted a half-day work shop on October 6 for 62 members of the faith-based community representing 42 houses of worship. The topic of the workshop was emergency preparedness and continuity of services for faith-based organizations.
On October 5, Prof. Johan Rene van Dorp (EMSE) was invited to speak at a seminar at Salisbury University, MD, organized by Prof. Gene Hahn of the university's Department of Information and Decision Sciences. Prof. van Dorp's talk was titled "Generalized Diagonal Band Copulate with Two-Sided Generating Densities."
Books & Papers:
Prof. Sameh Badie (CEE), with his former doctoral student Kristopher Sriboonma, jointly published a paper in the ASCE Bridge Journal titled "Full-Scale Testing for Composite Slab/Beam Systems Made with Extended Stud Spacing." The paper appeared in the 2011 September/October issue. The paper covers the second phase of the full scale testing for concrete slabs built composite with steel girders using cluster of steel studs at 48 inches. The paper came out of the NCHRP 12-65 research project that was awarded to GW by the National Academies of Science.
Prof. Tianshu Li (CEE) has published the following paper with his collaborators at Max Plank Institute in Germany and at UC Davis: Tianshu Li, Davide Donadio, Giovanna Russo, and Giulia Galli, "Homogeneous ice nucleation from supercooled water," Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics (2011) DOI: 10.1039/C1CP22167A. In this paper, by combining advanced sampling technique and molecular dynamics simulation, Prof. Li and his collaborators identified a novel defect structure containing nearly five-fold twin boundaries in the ice clusters formed during homogeneous ice nucleation. This finding indicates that small ice particles in the upper troposphere may adopt a shape of five-fold symmetry (e.g., decahedron or icosahedron) that would yield different radiative properties and optical phenomena from ice particles with equilibrium shapes.
Other News
Biomedical Engineering/Science Undergraduate Research Fellowship: The GW Institute for Biomedical Engineering is looking for undergraduate students who are interested in participating in biomedical research projects over Spring and Summer. The deadline for application is December 1 at 5:00 pm. Application and more information
Students who are interested in participating in the SSPI Mid-Atlantic Chapter’s 2nd Engineering Student Project Competition on Space Systems are encouraged to read the chapter’s invitation letter to find out more about the competition’s requirements and deadlines.
SEAS is a proud sponsor of the 2012 USA Science and Engineering Festival, a collaborative effort of the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) community to re-invigorate the interest of our nation’s youth in STEM subjects. The Festival will present the most compelling, exciting, educational and entertaining science gatherings in the United States through hands-on exhibits with high entertainment value and integrity of scientific content. Pre-festival events will begin the week of April 22, 2012 and culminate with a Finale Expo on April 27-29, 2012 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and surrounding areas throughout Washington, D.C., including GW. A schedule of pre-festival activities hosted by SEAS and by SEAS alumni across the country will be available in the coming months. Learn more about the festival here. Inquiries about SEAS sponsorship, participation, and volunteer opportunities should be directed to Lisa J. Jennings at [email protected].
Student News
Krystal Brun (CEE-undergraduate senior) took home the grand prize for the 2011 SteelDay Student Photo Contest. Krystal captured the image, sunset over a portion of the Mackinac Bridge, before taking part in a Memorial Day race. The photo has also been featured as one of the Steel Shots on www.modernsteel.com and will be published in Modern Steel Construction in November.
On October 4, the Logistic Management Institute (LMI) Fellows and EMSE doctoral students Phillip Schrader, Emmanuel Donkor, and Iryna Payosova presented the results of their Summer 2011 research at LMI. They made their presentations to LMI employees and to Nelson M. Ford, president and chief executive of LMI. Phillip Schrader's talk was titled "Uncertainty Analysis of Cost Risk for the Production of Algal Biofuels;" Iryna Payosova's talk was titled "A Multiobjective Benefit-Cost Framework for the Analyses of Net Zero Water Alternatives;" and Emmanuel Donkor's talk was titled "Optimal Capital Structure and Financial Risk Analysis of Project Finance Investments." Their respective LMI Fellow student faculty advisors-Profs. Rene van Dorp, Jonathan Deason, and Michael Duffey (all from EMSE)-also attended their talks at LMI.
Guest Vignette
What in the world can be good about sludge?
Imagine what would happen if all the waste that we produce kept piling up around us. The mere stench would drive us all crazy-let alone the potential for disease outbreaks and other hazards. The environmental engineering research group led by Prof. Rumana Riffat is investigating various processes and digestion techniques to create end products that can result in beneficial reuse of wastewater and sludge. Municipal sludge is high in nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, which is wasted when it is dumped in landfills or other areas.
The focus of Prof. Riffat’s digestion project is to investigate anaerobic digestion of sludge at 45oC, and evaluate pathogen destruction efficiency. Conventionally, 55oC is used for pathogen destruction, which results in higher energy requirements. Laboratory scale digesters operated at 45oC with sludge from Blue Plains Advanced Wastewater Treatment Plant have demonstrated excellent results. For complete stabilization of organic matter, further research is being conducted using a temperature phased system of anaerobic digesters. The digested sludge should be able to meet EPA Class A criteria for biosolids, so they can be reused as fertilizer. An attractive end product of anaerobic digestion is methane gas, which can be reused to provide energy. So next time you come across sludge, look beyond the smell and think of all the possibilities for beneficial reuse! (Provided courtesy of Prof. Rumana Riffat of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering)
SEAS Events
ECE Seminar: “Energy-Aware Writes to Non-Volatile Main Memory”
Jie Chen, ECE Ph.D. Student
Thursday, October 20
10:00 - 11:00 am
736 Phillips Hall
More info . . .
MAE Seminar: “A Kalman/Particle Filter-Based Position & Orientation Estimation Method Using a Position Sensor/Inertial Measurement Unit Hybrid System”
William Melek, University of Waterloo (Canada)
Thursday, October 27
2:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall
More info . . .
NEW DATE: “Dare to Dream”
A talk by SEAS alumna Anousheh Ansari
Thursday, October 27
3:00 pm: Refreshments; 3:30 - 4:30 pm: Talk
405 Marvin Center
NEW DATE: SEAS Resume Critique & Networking Reception
Tuesday, November 1
6:30 - 8:00 pm
Alumni House: 1918 F Street, NW
EMSE Seminar: “Emergency Care G.P.S.-a discussion on the state of emergency care in the U.S. and around the world” (This is a joint seminar among the GW Department of Emergency Medicine, the SPHHS Department of Health Policy, and EMSE.)
Wednesday, November 2
9:00 - 11:00 am
Jack Morton Auditorium
More info . . .
GW Culture Buffs at the National Air and Space Museum: Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
“The Future of Manned Space Flight... What's Next?”
Saturday, November 5
11:30 am - 1:30 pm: Lunch, Speaker & Panel Discussion, and Tours
14390 Air & Space Museum Pkwy, Chantilly, Virginia
Note: The participants include: Dr. Charles Camarda (SEAS '80), NASA astronaut and engineer; Dr. Scott Pace, director of the GW Space Policy Institute; renowned sculptor John Safer (Columbian College '47, honorary doctorate '09), creator of two sculptures featured prominently at the Udvar-Hazy Center; Randy Graves (SEAS ’78); and Dean David Dolling.
Entrepreneurship Events
Dolphin Tank - a friendly forum to get actionable feedback and advice on your business ideas
Tuesday, October 18
6:00 - 8:00 pm
650 Duques Hall
RSVP at http://dolphintank.eventbrite.com
More info . . .
Entrepreneur Office Hour
Friday, October 21
1:00 - 2:00 pm
2033 K Street, NW, Suite 750
RSVP
Pitch George Orientation
Tuesday, October 25
5:30 - 7:00 pm
520 Funger Hall
More info . . .
Entrepreneurial Session 3: Relationship and Team Building
Friday, October 28
12:15 - 2:00 pm
453 Duques Hall
RSVP
Entrepreneur Office Hour
Friday, October 28
3:00 - 4:00 pm
2033 K Street, NW, Suite 750
RSVP
Dissertation Defenses
Name of Student Defending: Hongjun Yu
Title of Dissertation: "Golay Code Clustering Using Double Golay Encoding Technique"
Advisor: Prof. Simon Berkovich
Tuesday, October 25
3:00 - 5:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall
Name of Student Defending: Sergio de Cosmo
Title of Dissertation: "Decision Support Tool for Mass Fatality Victim Identification"
Advisor: Prof. Joe Barbera
Wednesday, October 26
1:00 pm
1776 G Street, Conference Room 120
Name of Student Defending: Deena Sara Disraelly
Title of Dissertation: "Volunteerism through Social Networks for Community-Based Preparedness and Emergency Response"
Advisor: Prof. Greg Shaw; Co-advisor: Dr. John Harrald
Thursday, October 27
9:30 am
1776 G Street, Conference Room 120