Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Eppes, Milanovic and DePanfilo Present Paper at Conference in France

Tom Eppes, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, and Mike DePanfilo, graduate student in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), presented a paper at the May 2012 Euro-American Conference sponsored by the International Journal of Arts & Sciences (IJSA) 2012 in Provence, France. The conference brings together international academics to present research in the fields of social sciences, humanities, education and technology.

The paper, "Resonance Modes in an Acoustic Guitar," describes the results of a finite element analysis of the eigen-modes of a Collings guitar, a well-known design developed and custom manufactured by Jim Collings. The paper describes a method to predict resonance patterns based on its physical shape and wood composition. Discrete modes, known as eigen-frequencies, denote where the amplitude responses of the acoustic chamber are the largest. Each mode represents a solution to an equation classically described as Helmholtz resonance. A 3-dimensional model was constructed using COMSOL Multiphysics for the geometry size/shape, a spruce soundboard and mahogany side/back walls. The analysis focuses on the lower end of the dynamic range from 200Hz to 1,000Hz in which surface deformation, both total and normal to the surface, are examined. In addition, node and anti-node structures in the area where the bridge attaches to the top plate are explored.

Update from a CETA Graduate!


It sure has been a long ride from my University of Hartford days, spanning the years from 2004-2008. I went through the four years in West Hartford with great people, inside and outside of the classroom (some I saw in both cases). I majored in Mechanical Engineering Technology at the Ward College of Technology (and later the College of Engineering, Technology and Architecture “CETA” after Dana Hall was renovated), simply put I was in the “MET” Program. “MET’s” or “techies” as some professors called us stayed together, aiding in each other’s trouble spots ensuring we all came out as well-rounded Mechanical Engineering Technologists upon our graduation. As May 18, 2008 approached, every graduating MET landed a job offer, and set out on a diverse array of careers. I started at a gas turbine services company in Northern Connecticut that was great off the bat but it was not meant to be and I returned home to my beloved New Jersey a year later. The summer of 2009 didn’t end up being the best, pondering different options to get me working again. I knew my first and second passions in my life are railroading and aviation, I wanted to lean in that direction but I didn’t know how I could get in. I stumbled on the idea of going for a master’s degree and began looking at programs that could fit my personal and professional desires. After researching school after school, I ended up finding a great one in my own backyard. The New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) had a Transportation Engineering Program at their Newark College of Engineering that was the perfect fit for me. Hence, I applied, got in, and hit the ground running in the spring of 2010.
I entered the two year transportation engineering program offered at NJIT’s Newark College of Engineering. I was very lucky to have some top notch professors during my Hartford days who laid down the law but also knew how to keep you engaged and motivated throughout your studies. My mechanical courses taught by Ivana Milanovic and Lee Townsend provided me with the tools to get through my graduate studies, especially in courses such as Introduction to Public Transportation Operations, Urban Systems Engineering, and Multi-Modal Freight Transportation where crunching the right numbers was absolutely crucial. Natalie Segal’s technical writing courses lent me expertise in my Transportation Economics, Project Control and Land Use Planning classes where numerous papers/presentations had to be written. I can’t begin to express the gratitude I have for these professors and the others who taught me at Hartford. They truly stand out from many others who teach, and they teach because the success of their students drives them to success in their careers.
Upon my graduation from NJIT this past May, I was accepted for an internship at Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF), one of my dream companies to work for. I am currently working at their headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas in their safety operations department on a precursor project aimed to proactively keep railroad employees safer on the job. It involves data mining through a plethora of data on numerous databases and portals. It is my duty to find trends in the data that will lead BNSF’s proactive approach to continue its lead as one of the safest transportation and logistics companies in the world today. Working here is a dream-come true, not possible if I didn’t have professors like Milanovic, Segal or Townsend. They truly stand out from many others who teach, and they teach because the success of their students drives them to success in their careers.