Thursday, May 9, 2013

Milanovic Presents Paper at ASEE-NE Conference

Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, CETA; Khaled J. Hammad, assistant professor of engineering at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU); and Nidal Al-Masoud, associate professor of engineering at CCSU, presented a research paper at the American Society of Engineering Education – North East Section (ASEE-NE) Conference, which took place in Northfield, Vt., in March.
The paper, "Characteristics of a Confined Annular Jet Flow Field," reported wall shear stress and centerline velocity distributions to demonstrate the influence of the governing parameters on the recirculation and redevelopment features of the flow field
Flow regions of a confined annular jet

Velocity field

Fang and Xue Publish Research Article on Leading Vehicle Characteristics

Clara Fang, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, CETA, and Fei Xue, associate professor of mathematics, A&S, recently collaborated on a research project studying leading vehicle characteristics on urban streets and highways. The research work is published in a peer-reviewed journal: the International Journal of Modern Engineering.
Using a capability-enhanced microscopic traffic simulation model developed by the authors, lead vehicle behavior data were extracted and examined at a second-by-second level. A study area in the City of Hartford, Conn., was selected including a segment of Interstate 91 with both on and off ramps, and a section of urban street with eight signalized intersections, one stop sign and one yield control. They analyzed how lead vehicle speed and acceleration varies along basic uniform roadway segments, with grade, with horizontal curvature and also approaching signalized controls. The lead vehicle typology developed in this research will contribute to the current microscopic car-following theories and vehicle emission models to improve the accuracy of such models.

Sahay Elected a Member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering

Chittaranjan Sahay, the Vernon D. Roosa Professor of Manufacturing Engineering, CETA, has been elected to membership in the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering.
Sahay is one of 33 newly elected members of the academy. The new members, who are some of Connecticut's leading experts in science, engineering and technology, will be introduced at the academy’s 38th Annual Meeting and Dinner on May 22 at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Conn.
See the complete list of newly elected members.

Election to the Academy is on the basis of scientific and engineering distinction achieved through significant contributions in theory or applications, as demonstrated by original published books and papers, patents, the pioneering of new and developing fields and innovative products, outstanding leadership of nationally recognized technical teams, and external professional awards in recognition of scientific and engineering excellence.
The Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering was chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1976 to provide expert guidance on science and technology to the people and to the state of Connecticut, and to promote the application of science and technology to human welfare and economic well-being. For more information about the Academy, please see www.ctcase.org.

Milanovic is Visiting Scientist at United Technologies Research Center

This spring and summer, Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, CETA, is a visiting scientist hosted by the Thermal and Fluid Sciences Department at United Technologies Research Center (UTRC).
During her assignment, Milanovic is working on the aerodynamic optimization of compressor flow path geometries and on validation of CFD models of coupled inlet/fan configurations. The work is expected to provide ideas for graduate-level projects for students interested in computational simulation studies.
UTRC, located in East Hartford, delivers advanced technologies to the businesses of United Technologies Corporation to improve the performance, energy efficiency and cost of UTC products and processes. UTC is a diversified company that provides a broad range of high-technology products and services to the global aerospace and building systems industries, including Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky aircraft systems, UTC Aerospace Systems aerospace products, and UTC Climate, Controls & Security heating, ventilation, air conditioning, fire and security systems, building automation and controls.

Outstanding Faculty to Receive Awards at Commencement

David Pines, associate professor of civil, environmental, and biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), is the recipient of the Donald W. Davis All-University Curriculum Award.

The All-University Curriculum (AUC) is an innovative program of cross-disciplinary courses that allow students to explore the depth and breadth of a liberal arts education. The Donald W. Davis Award honors a faculty member who has made outstanding contributions to the AUC and to interdisciplinary education.

Pines embodies the concept of interdisciplinary learning and what it is capable of achieving. Over the past six years, he has brought together students, faculty, and professionals from such fields as engineering, graphic design, business, and sociology to tackle real-life projects in developing countries around the world. The interdisciplinary courses that Pines has created have provided transformational experiences for students—and for residents of the communities where the projects have taken place.

Working under the umbrella of Engineers Without Borders, the interdisciplinary teams have created water supply systems for a village in rural India, helped to develop and promote a sustainable form of agriculture in western Kenya, and helped to relocate and restore historic sugar mills on the Caribbean island of St. Vincent.

Stellar Students to be Honored at Commencement

Three exceptional members of the Class of 2013 will receive the top student awards during the undergraduate Commencement ceremony on Sunday, May 19.
Miles Aaron

Peter Bowers

Dana Eckstein



Dana Eckstein,  who has been pursuing a double major in cinema and English in the College of Arts and Sciences, will receive the Belle K. Ribicoff Prize, which is awarded for academic excellence.

Evidence of Eckstein’s incredible energy lies in the long list of activities, awards, papers, and projects submitted with her nomination for the Ribicoff Prize. Eckstein has been on the Dean’s List and the President’s List every semester of her undergraduate career. Inducted her first year into Sigma Tau Delta, the International English Honor Society, she eventually served as treasurer and president of the Psi Phi chapter. A presenter at the Undergraduate Colloquium all four years, a two-year Humanities Center fellow, and a Junior Regents’ Honor Award recipient, Eckstein was named editor of the English department’s Aerie literary journal her senior year.

Eckstein served in several roles, including general manager, of the student-run STN Channel 2 News. Her original stop-motion animation film appeared in the University’s 2012 Goldfarb Exhibition at the Hartford Art School, and she received the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival Regional 10-Minute Play Award.

"My father used to tell me, 'You can’t dance at two weddings with one tuchus,'" says Eckstein. "It’s been my life goal to dance at all the weddings." Eckstein will be preparing her writing portfolio for application to a Master of Fine Arts program.


Miles Aron, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from the Acoustical Engineering and Music program, is the winner of the John G. Martin Scholarship. The Martin Scholarship provides an extraordinary opportunity to study for two years at the University of Oxford’s Hertford College in England. Aron will start his master’s in biomedical engineering in the fall at Oxford, researching drug delivery through the blood-brain barrier in the treatment of cancer and other brain diseases.
Jazz guitar lessons with Rich Goldstein, artist teacher at The Hartt School, convinced Aron to enter the rigorous Acoustical Engineering and Music program. In the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), Aron has impressed his professors. “Miles is one of our top honors students and has consistently performed well in all of his classes, even as he averaged almost 19 credits each semester,” wrote Robert Celmer, professor of mechanical engineering, in nominating Aron for the Martin Scholarship.

While at the University of Hartford, Aron has had challenging internships, including working for the U.S. Department of Energy at the SLAC National Linear Accelerator; PVI Systems; and NASA Ames Research Center through the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. Aron also has presented and submitted research on nonlinear partial differential equations completed with Aslihan Demirkay, assistant professor of mathematics, and Robert Decker, associate professor of mathematics.


The John G. Lee Medal will go to Peter Bowers, who majored in mechanical engineering with a concentration in acoustics and minored in electrical engineering and mathematics.  The John G. Lee Medal is awarded annually to a graduating senior from Greater Hartford who has excelled academically while demonstrating a deep commitment to community.

Although Bowers’s dream of becoming an acoustical consultant brought him to the University of Hartford, his dream has changed somewhat since he arrived. “From my course work in acoustics, I learned about hearing loss and current treatments. There are limitations to these treatments that need to be addressed.”

With a part-time job, interning at Westinghouse Electric Company, and volunteering in the community, Bowers will graduate with a 3.99 GPA.  Bowers also has collected regents’ honors and numerous scholarships. His volunteer contributions include serving meals to low-income individuals in Hartford through the Hands on Hartford program, participating in the Whole Plant Foundation established by Whole Foods Market to aid the self-employed poor, and volunteering with Don’t Go Deaf to raise awareness about hearing loss.

In the fall, Bowers will enter Harvard University’s Harvard/MIT Program in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology. Ultimately he hopes to advance technology involving hearing aids and cochlear implants.

Students inducted into Eta Kappa Nu, Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society



Students inducted into Eta Kappa Nu, Electrical and Computer Engineering Honor Society
On Thursday, May 2, 2013, six senior and junior Electrical and Computer Engineering students we inducted into the Iota Espilon Chapter of Eta Kappa Nu, the honorary society for Electrical and Computer Engineering. The students were chosen in accordance with Eta Kappa Nu requirements based upon their Grade Point Averages and Standing within their classes.
The new Eta Kappa Nu members and their hometowns are:
Mohammed A. Alabbad '13 Dammam, Saudi Arabia
Brenden Demanche '13 Avon, CT
Robert Hilton '14 East Hampton, CT
Shanique Jiles '14 Jamaica, NY
Stephen Sheak '13 Harwinton, CT
Timothy Zimmerman '14 Bristol, CT
The induction ceremony was conducted by Professor Ladimer Nagurney, Chapter Advisor, Professor Patricia Mellodge, and University of Hartford students Ferninand Aliaj '13 and Michael Jennings '13, who had been inducted as juniors.
Eta Kappa Nu was founded at the University of Illinois in 1904 and currently has over 200 Chapters. The University of Hartford Chapter was founded in 1984.