Eppes, Milanovic, and Wright Publish in the International Journal of Online Engineering

GUI for student project ‘Busbar'

Tom Eppes, professor of electrical & computer engineering, Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, and Kamau Wright, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, recently published an article in the International Journal of Online Engineering (iJOE), Vol. 13 No. 11. The iJOE publishes fundamentals, applications and experiences in the area of remote engineering, virtual instrumentation, and simulation techniques.

The paper, ‘Applications and App Building in Hybrid Courses,’ provides an overview of applications (apps) built as extensions of multiphysics models that were integrated into traditional face-to-face and hybrid engineering courses. Apps were first included in a multidisciplinary modeling graduate course that emphasized an end-of-semester research project. At the undergraduate level, apps were added into a two-course mechanical engineering thermo-fluids sequence. As a result, students have become more demonstrably engaged and are devoting substantial time outside the classroom to understand theoretical concepts. Feedback from graduates indicates that familiarity with simulation work-flow and application building are effective skillsets in securing an entry-level industry position.

High Impact Practices: Transform the undergraduate experience grant funded this effort in AY 15-16 (Drs. Eppes and Milanovic) and AY 16-17 (Drs. Wright and Milanovic). Dr. Eppes focused on simulation and app development for research initiatives in a graduate course (ECE/ME 537). Dr. Milanovic embedded simulations into two successive junior year courses (ME 340 & ME 341). The courses were modified to develop technical competency in modeling and simulations, deepen understanding of thermo-fluids by solving realistic technological problems, and enhance technical report writing skills. Up to ten simulations are assigned in each course. Dr. Wright successfully incorporated simulations into the sophomore course (ME 236), along with a collaborative project based on the NAE Grand Challenge: Provide Access to Clean Water. As ME 236 is a prerequisite for ME 340 (and subsequently, ME 341), this allowed students to be exposed to modeling and simulation in thermo-fluids, earlier than has typically been done. Students completed introductory models toward the goal of being able to better model and simulate their engineering design solutions in class, in subsequent courses, during research experiences, and in engineering practice.

Unotes - 11/27/17

University Architecture Professor Addresses International Conference

 

Bahai Temple of South America

 

 

Universidad de Santiage de Chile

 

This fall marks the 500^th anniversary of the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, when Martin Luther is said to have nailed his 95 theses on the door of Wittenberg Castle Church on October 31, 1517. The anniversary has been marked around the world with many scholarly symposia and conferences on Protestantism. One such symposium focused on the impact of the Reformation on religious architecture over the past five centuries. The Fifth International Conference on Contemporary Religious Architecture, held in Santiago, Chile, in late August, attracted historians, architects, and scholars from around the world to consider the conference theme: “Protestant Architecture and Modernity: Milestones, Transfers, Prospects.” University of Hartford architecture professor Michael J. Crosbie was invited by the symposium’s organizers to give the conference’s closing address.

 

The conference was convened at the Univeridad de Santiago de Chile over five days, during which more than 20 paper presentations took place. Crosbie’s closing address to the conference, titled “Defining the Sacred,” considered the ways that religious architecture has changed since the Reformation, and the nature of Protestant sacred space. Crosbie drew upon historical examples in his closing address, and discussed how contemporary religious architecture is changing with the dramatic shifts in religious belief, and what the future might hold for houses of worship.

 

In addition to paper presentations, the conference conducted tours of historic and contemporary churches in Santiago and Valparaiso, including the recently completed Bahai Temple of South America, which was just honored with a 2017 Innovation Award for Stellar Design by the American Institute of Architects, and the 2017 Innovation in Architecture Award by the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. The temple was designed by Canada-based Hariri Pontarini Architects.

 

UNOTEs - 11/21/17

 

CETA Faculty King, Slaboch, and Tatoglu Present Work at International Conference

Left to Right: Slaboch, King and Tatoglu

CETA faculty Dr. Eoin King, Dr. Paul Slaboch, and Dr. Akin Tatoglu published and presented a total of five papers at the American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exhibition (IMECE) in Tampa, FL during the week of Nov 5-9. The IMECE is one of the largest conferences of its type drawing a crowd of approximately 2500 professional, governmental and academic researchers to discuss the latest progress in mechanical engineering. Dr. King contributed to two presented papers, Dr. Tatoglu contributed to three papers, and Dr. Slaboch presented one paper and served as a session organizer. Their collective work featured a wide range of topics from acoustics to robotics to energy generation devices and includes a cooperative research effort with four different organizations.

King’s work was featured on two papers. The first paper was titled “Using Acoustic Waves to Modulate Stem Cell Growth and Differentiation” and included a number of University of Hartford Students as co-authors, along with Dr. Andrea Kwaczala, Western New England University. This paper presented the results of a study investigating if acoustic waves could be used to induce osteogenic differentiation when applied to stem cells.

Slaboch’s paper, “Design and Analysis of Small Scale Horizontal Archimedean Screw for Electric Power Generation” focused on an experimental, parametric design of horizontal augers for power generation. The study, written in conjunction with a colleague at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, WA, looked at the effects of varying the blade pitch, geometry, and outer casing of the auger on the efficiency of the system.

Tatoglu’s “Autonomous Mobile Robotics Research Group” focuses on designing and developing alternate locomotion mechanisms with agile maneuver capabilities, implementation of their visual localization and motion control systems. He presented three papers. The first paper discusses advancements of his novel design of a flying craft: “Parameter Identification and Closed Loop Control of a Flywheel Mounted Hovering Robot”. His second paper presents a data analytics methodology which studies relationship between different content delivery approaches: “Investigating the Involvement of Self-Directed Learning in Flipped Classrooms: A Unique URL-Based Search Method”. This multi-institution research work includes co-authors from Farmingdale State College, Dr. Gonca Altuger-Genc and Pace University, Dr. Yegin Genc.

In 2016, external research funding was awarded to King and Tatoglu, along with Dr. Robert Celmer (CETA) by the Paul S. Veneklasen Research Foundation. A major deliverable of this research, “Participatory Noise Mapping: Harnessing the Potential of Smartphones Through the Development of a Dedicated Citizen-Science Platform” was also presented. This paper describes the development of a platform for citizen science noise mapping that could lead to massive noise mapping studies.

UNOTEs - 11/17/17

Architecture Professor Imdat As Presents Paper at ACADIA Conference

On Friday, November 3, Architecture Assistant Professor Imdat As presented a paper at the Association for Computer Aided Design in Architecture (ACADIA) conference at MIT. The paper Professor As presented is titled “Crowdsourcing the Obama Presidential Center— An Alternative Design Delivery Model: Democratizing Architectural Design.” The paper was co-authored with Associate Professor Takehiko Nagakura from the MIT School of Architecture.

The ACADIA conference was held in Cambridge, MA on November 2-4. “ACADIA was formed for the purpose of facilitating communication and critical thinking regarding the use of computers in architecture, planning and building science. The organization is committed to the research and development of computational methods that enhance design creativity, rather than simply production, and that aim at contributing to the construction of humane physical environments. A particular focus is education and the software, hardware and pedagogy involved in education.”— http://2017.acadia.org/about.html

 

Cover of the ACADIA 2017 Conference Proceedings

 

Hashim Sarkis, Dean of the School of Architecture, MIT, giving the opening talk to the ACADIA 2017 Conference

Architecture Professor Presents Two Papers and Travels to Conference with Students

Associate Professor of Architecture Ted Sawruk presented two papers this month at professional conferences.  His paper entitled “Influence or Intervention: Works Associated with Ithiel Town in Rural Connecticut” was presented at the Southeast Society of Architectural Historians conference on October 11-13 in Lynchburg, Va.  His second paper, “Cities on the Edge of Reality,” written with Dr. Michael J. Crosbie, was presented at the Mid-Atlantic Popular & American Culture Association (MAPACA) 28^th Annual Conference on November 9-11, in Philadelphia, PA. 

Professor Sawruk was joined by three architecture exchange students, Maik Wedig, Ariane Bamberg, and Jan-Hendrik Höhnk from Hochschule Wismar Germany, who attended the MAPACA conference, and toured historic preservation sites as an extension of their Arc 585 Issues in Preservation graduate elective.  Sites visited included Independence Hall, Liberty Bell, Carpenter’s Hall, Franklin Court, City Tavern, Philadelphia City Hall, Reading Terminal Market, Love Park, the Fairmont Waterworks, and the Barnes Foundation Museum.

 

 

Maik Wedig, Ariane Bamberg, and Jan-Hendrik Höhnk at Franklin Court, Philadelphia, PA

Ithiel Town House, Hillhouse Avenue, New Haven, CT (1836)

“Influence or Intervention: Works Associated with Ithiel Town in Rural Connecticut”

Promoted by Thomas Jefferson through Benjamin Latrobe, the Greek revival eventually became the country’s “national style.”  While the Greek revival style was a sign of rare elegance in the 1820s, it would soon become the fashion locally.  To this end, the firm of Town and Davis (Est. 1829) completed a number of outstanding Greek revival residences in both New Haven and Middletown, promoting the style in various smaller towns along the Connecticut River.

Similar, yet unique, each of these rural retreats represent a varied example of the Greek revival style, and served as an interpretation of a Town and Davis archetype.  This paper seeks to trace the similarities and variations of these rural houses, and the many nuances associated with the firms noted architectural precedents.  Were these houses merely local builder’s reproductions of Ithiel Town’s evolving architectural style, or could they be the result of moonlighting incarnations of the firm’s lesser-known assistants James Harrison Dakin or David Hoadly?  Either way, these rural houses support the significant influence of Town and Davis on Connecticut’s regional architecture.

Frank R. Paul’s “City of the Future,” published on the back cover of Amazing Stories in April 1942

 

Cities on the Edge of Reality

Throughout my lifetime, the mega city has been a constant character in science fiction, most notably in post-apocalyptic film genres, where life reveals desolate and ruinous, or hyper-utopian visions.  Although these alternative realties offer a dynamic state and a sense of suspended reality, they also serve to heighten our realization that issues of over-population, escalating poverty, and resource shortages exist on the horizon.  However, like a passing view in a mirror, these glimpses of dystopia do not serve to educate or insight change, but serve to entertain – to transcend time and place, while temporarily delving into an alternative reality.

However, the dystopian city portrayed in science fiction camouflages the emerging reality of the Kowloon Walled City of Hong Kong or South American favelas.  Heterotopia is a concept of human geography introduced by the philosopher Foucault (1971), to describe places and spaces that function in opposition to social and cultural predominance.  These spaces are characterized as “otherness,” as they are neither here, nor there.  In turn, architect Rem Koolhaas breathes life into this contemporary description of heterotopia as the incarnation of “junkspace.”  Koolhaas believes that dystopia is not a cinematic fantasy, but an advancing architectural reality.  This paper addresses “heterotopia in a contemporary sense by considering the evolving relationships between dystopia in film and real-world constructs of junkspace.

 

UNOTEs - 11/16/17

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congratulations to Fahed Baker, M.Arch 17 and Timothy Applebee, M.Arch 18

Fahed Baker, M.Arch 17

STUDENT AWARD OF HONOR - Trumbull Rise, Hartford (fall 2015)

 

Timothy Applebee, M.Arch 18

STUDENT AWARD OF MERIT - Carpenter's Tower, Hartford (fall 2016)

 

 

2017 CTGBC GREEN BUILDING AWARD WINNERS!

The Connecticut Green Building Council (CTGBC) is a chapter of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), which covers the State of Connecticut. We are committed to transforming the way our buildings are designed, constructed and operated through LEED — the top third-party verification system for sustainable structures around the world. Every day USGBC is helping advance spaces that are better for the environment and healthier for us to live, work and play in.

Each year, CTGBC recognizes outstanding green building projects in Connecticut.  On November 2^nd, the 2017 CT Green Building Awards celebration was held at the Alexion Pharmaceuticals Center in New Haven, Ct.  Two projects were selected by the CTGBC Awards Jury to receive the 2017 Student Project Award of Honor (Fahed Baker - Trumbull Rise, Hartford), the highest award in the Student category, and the 2017 Student Project Award of Merit (Timothy Applebee - The Carpenter's Tower, Hartford).  We had many great submissions across the board this year, but the efforts of these two students stood out to the jury. 

Both projects were developed as part of integrated design and technology courses, taught by Associate Professor Ted Sawruk and Assistant Professor Seth Holmes.  The designs submitted to the CTGBC are high-rise residential towers proposed for Bushnell Park in the Architectural Studio I (ARC 511), advised by Professor Sawruk.  These LEED sustainable designs also integrated coursework from Advanced Building Systems (ARC 513), instructed by Professor Holmes.

M.Arch Student is Awarded Two Scholarships for his Architectural Studio Design

Tim Applebee, a second year M.Arch student, has been awarded the 2017 Connecticut Architecture Foundation Scholarship (CAF) and an AIA National Scholarship.  Carpenter's Tower, the project he submitted to the scholarship review committee, is a residential high-rise on Bushnell Park designed in Architectural Studio I (ARC511), advised by Associate Professor Ted Sawruk.  The high-rise design also integrated coursework from Advanced Building Systems (ARC513), instructed by Assistant Professor Seth Holmes.

His project featured design-specific energy modeling and a naturally ventilated double facade system. Importantly, the tower design also proposed a hybrid cross-laminated-timber structure predicated on SOM's Timber Tower Research Project (2013).  Tim noted that his inspiration for the design of Carpenter's Tower, especially its structure, came from the work of his grandfather, a union carpenter who helped build 777 Main Street as well as Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford following WWII. 

Timothy expressed his gratitude to Professor Sawruk and Professor Holmes for integrating their coursework, an approach that strengthened and inspired his final design. He also expressed appreciation to the entire Architecture Department for their valuable feedback and support.

 

UNOTES - 11/2017

Upcoming CETA events - Fall 2017.

 

Please join us as we celebrate all that is happening in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) this fall 2017.

 

Here are just two upcoming events, not to be missed:

 

 

Come ask veteran industry professionals what they look for in job candidates and employees. Companies that will be represented include: Pratt & Whitney, Cisco Systems, IBM, GE, Medtronic, Eversource and ESPN.

 

Please join us and see the happenings and accomplishments of the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture students.

We look forward to seeing you soon!



 



CETA Architecture Faculty Serves on Jury - 2017 MIT Hackathon

 

 

Hackathon participants working on/testing their AR/VR projects.

 

Hackathon teams presenting their projects in front of the jury.

 

On Friday, October 27, Architectural Assistant Professor Imdat As was one of the three jurors for the Hackaton at MIT’s Media lab on “Design Tools of the Future: Immersive & Interactive”. The event took place over the course of the weekend. Imdat served on a jury accompanied by, Andrzej Zarzyck from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and Cristophe Soulier, Supercomputer Cloud Research Lab, Forum8.

The hackathon fosters an interdisciplinary environment for proposing strong innovative solutions to the future. Participants worked in groups to develop conceptual designs and working prototypes. Each group had to identify a particular problem related to a design field and determine an immersive or interactive technology to explore. Through a series of tutorials provided by industry partners, participants explored tools and procedures to develop solutions with the technology they preferred—for more info on the MIT Hackathon.

Some of the design tools used during the event are the following:

• Microsoft Hololens
• Oculus Rift
• Google Tango
• Unity 3D
• Autodesk Stingray
• HTC Vive
• Samsung Gear
• Apple AR Kit
• Qualcom Vuforia
• Forum8 VR Design Studio

ARCHITECTURE GRAD STUDENTS VISIT MOSQUE

University of Hartford graduate architecture students recently visited a mosque in Berlin, Connecticut, for research on a design studio project. Pictured, left to right, are students Alexis Hoff, Nabila Ahmed, Mary K. Scanlon, Maik Wedig, Jan-Hendrik Hoehnk, and Brian Gonzalez. Photo: Michael J. Crosbie

Architecture graduate students from the University of Hartford recently made a special visit to the Berlin Mosque and the Islamic Association of Greater Hartford (IAGH) in Berlin, Connecticut, to attend a Friday prayer service and tour the mosque. The visit was part of an architecture studio assignment to design an Islamic center and mosque for a site in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The six Master of Architecture students were accompanied by studio professor Michael J. Crosbie, who formulated the design problem in 2006 as a way to introduce diversity into the graduate program and provide students with a building type that they typically have little experience with. The “mosque project,” as it has become known in the graduate architecture program, has been used in design studios taught by Crosbie and Professor Daniel Davis over the past 11 years.

            On the recent Friday field trip, the University of Hartford contingent was welcomed to the mosque by Imam Refai Arefin and Dr. Reza Mansoor, president of the IAGH. The students (Nabila Ahmed, Brian Gonzalez, Jan-Hendrik Hoehnk, Alexis Hoff, Mary K. Scanlon, and Maik Wedig) and their professor attended the afternoon prayer service, noting the sequence of the ritual, how the prayer space is used, and design elements in the space. A khutbah (the Muslim term for a sermon) was delivered by Imam Asif Hirani of the Islamic Center of Connecticut in Windsor, who also publically welcomed the University of Hartford contingent. After the service, several congregants made a point to greet the students and faculty and to welcome them to the Berlin Mosque.

            The tour of the building allowed students and faculty to visit areas for ablutions (washing performed before the prayer service), shoe storage (footwear is not worn inside the prayer hall), separate prayer spaces for men and women, and areas devoted to child care and community events. The design studio project is similar in size and scope to the Berlin Mosque.

            As a way to familiarize the students with the history of mosque design, several weeks ago the students and faculty visited the Hartford Seminary near the University of Hartford campus for a two-hour presentation by Dr. Yahya Michot, seminary Professor of Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations, on the history of Islam and its architectural traditions.

            According to Professor Crosbie, the mosque design project was instituted to broaden diversity and student experience in an area that they might not be familiar with. Of the studio’s six graduate students, one is a practicing Muslim, but in many of the past years the studio class has lacked students with first-hand experience of the building type and the traditions of Islamic architecture. Students will present their individual design projects in the Department of Architecture studios on the afternoon of December 8; the campus community is welcome.

 

 

Professor Shertukde Presents at the IEEE-TC Conference in Louisville

Dr. Hemchandra M. Shertukde, Professor of ECE in CETA, presented his research material at the IEEE-Transformer Committee Meeting on:

1) Duration of Short Circuit in Electrical Power Transformers; WG C.57.109. He is also the Vice Chair of this Working Group (WG)

2) Dry Type PD Detection Methods; WG C.57.124, he is also the Secretary of this WG

3) Methods of Manufacturing of EHV Gapped-Core Shunt Rectifiers; he is also a member of this WG C. 57-21

4) Revisions to Partial Discharge Detection and Location in Electrical Power Transformers;
WG .C.57.127

5) He received and earned one (1) Professional Development Hour (PDH) unit and certificate of Educational Achievement for attending a tutorial on Review of PC57.120 Guide for Loss Evaluation of Distribution and Power Transformers and Reactors on November 2nd, at 8:0 am, sponsored by the IEEE/PES Transformers Committee

6) He received and earned one (1) Professional Development Hour (PDH) unit and certificate of Educational Achievement for attending a tutorial on Appropriate Sound Pressure Levels for Power Transformer Specifications - How and Why? on November 2nd at 10:45 am, sponsored by the IEEE/PES Transformers Committee

Unotes - 11/6/17

Architecture Students Visit Waddell Elementary School Construction Project in Manchester, CT

Architecture undergraduate students taking the structure course (AET 355) and Assistant Professor Timothy Adekunle visited the evolving construction project at Waddell Elementary School in Manchester, Connecticut on October 12, 2017. The project was designed by TSKP Studio, a leading architectural firm in Connecticut. The tour was led by the project manager, Joon Baek, RA/LEEP AP and the structural engineer, Mike Plickys, P.E. The tour also involved other members of the design team. The site tour was facilitated by an Alumni of the University, Daniel Condon, (MArch ’17) currently working as an architectural designer at the TSKP Studio.

The site visit started with an introduction by the team members, introducing the project to students. Students were shown the architectural, construction and structural design drawings as well as specification documents for the project. After the introduction, the team took students and faculty around the site to provide useful information regarding the project. The site tour provided students with the practical experience to understand the building construction from the conceptual stage to the construction stage. Students asked practical questions regarding the structural systems of the project. The team also provided further explanations on important criteria (such as wind, seismic, and snow loads) to consider for design and structural calculations of buildings in Connecticut. AET 355 students were excited to the opportunity to engage the practical experience of a construction process and building structures.

Last Spring, Assistant Professor Adekunle also organized and facilitated a facility tour for AET 364 students and Architecture graduate (MArch) students to the Great Country Timber Frames Company in Ellington, Connecticut to understand design, fabrication and assembly of wood structures. Great Country Timber Frames Company has one of two CNC machines processing timber in the country.  Associate Professor Ted Sawruk also participated, engaging in discussion and commenting on historic timber frame structures. 

A computer rendering (Three-dimensional view) of the on-going construction project at Waddell Elementary School (TSKP Studio).

 

The structural engineer (Mike Plickys) explaining and showing the structural systems of the building project to students. 

 

Architecture structure students listening to the project manager (Joon Baek) and the team members during the site tour.