Professor Britt interviewed on radio station

Professors at University of Hartford are often interviewed for efforts related to their teaching. Tim Britt, who teaches in the Audio Engineering Technology program of which he has acted as Program Director for the last 10 years has been interviewed twice in the last few months by WATR out of Waterbury, Connecticut.

The interviews took place surrounded Britt's involvement in the Animal Rescue Foundation of Connecticut's fund raising efforts to help homeless and abused puppies and kittens.

This foundation takes in these helpless animals and brings them to full health and applies the required vaccinations in order to allow qualified families the chance to gain a pet at almost no charge.

Tim Britt and the band he is a part of, Tommy and the Rivieras, have performed at two events that have been great successes as fund raisers for the organization. This band, Tommy and the Rivieras has shared the stage over the years with over 200 internationally known recording stars such as The Beach Boys, The Doors, The Temptations, Marvin Gaye, Chuck Berry and so many more. Members of this band that Professor Britt records and performs with included former members of such Rock n Roll Hall of Fame bands such as the Animals and Bill Haley's Comets.

Tim Britt and the band have recorded at the University of Hartford's CETA Recording Studios with great success and those tracks are available for you listening pleasure at http://www.myspace.com/tommyandtherivieras . Tim Britt has extensive experience in recording and live sound in addition to having been been the former owner and founder of Axis A/V Services which acted as a technical support center for the music industry in the tri-state area and handled authorized warranty service for music equipment manufactures such as Fender, Peavey, Yamaha, Roland, Trace Elliot, Crate, Dean Markey, Foxtex and many more. This company supported 8 music retailers customer repair needs in addition to providing sound reinforcement and audio system installation services to clients throughout New England and New York. All of this experience is brought to the students in the classroom to aid them in their career goals.

CETA Faculty Members Receive U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Grant

Cy Yavuzturk and Tom Filburn, faculty members in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA), are co-principal investigators on a recently awarded U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission Fellowship Grant. Yavuzturk is associate professor of mechanical engineering and chair of the department, and Filburn is professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering.

Under the grant, they will team with Professor Hanchen Huang at the University of Connecticut. The grant will provide $340,000 in funding for graduate students at both schools over the next four years.

Yavuzturk’s team at the University of Hartford will use these funds to expand their research efforts in the design and operation of nuclear power plants in the U.S. This new grant directly supports the Energy and Sustainable Design concentration available within the mechanical engineering program at the University of Hartford.

The grant will fund two full-time master’s candidates over the four-year period, paying tuition and a monthly stipend during the grant period.

Grant awarded to Professors Yavuzturk, Filburn, and Mahan

Cy Yavuzturk, Tom Filburn and Eric Mahan (Chemistry) have been awarded a $46,000 STTR grant from NASA.  This project will team with the catalyst development company PCI (North Haven, CT), to develop an improved CO₂, trace contaminant and humidity control system for future NASA space suits. The figure above shows the support material developed by PCI that will permit fast kinetics and low pressure drop within the new contaminant capture system. The program is employing 1 undergraduate ME student, and expects to add a 2^nd undergraduate research student during the summer of 2012. 

New Club Moves Forward with Building an Electric Racing Vehicle

A student group known as the GREEN 707 Club has been working throughout the academic year to design and assemble an electric vehicle to be used as a drag racer.

The group is hoping to enter the vehicle – a Chevy S-10 that they converted and redesigned – in a drag race in May and/or June.

The Green 707 Club was formed in the fall of 2010 under the guidance of Hemchandra Shertukde, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA).

In March, Shertukde and graduate student John Dipaola-Tromba attended the first International Electric Vehicle Conference in Greenville, S.C., sponsored by IEEE and Clemson University. The GREEN 707 Club had a booth at the conference.

Interest in the project has been steadily growing, especially in light of skyrocketing oil prices, Shertukde said. The GREEN 707 Club was recognized by SGA this semester as an official student club at the University of Hartford.

A number of donors have provided funding for the project, including the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department in CETA, CETA Dean Lou Manzione, the Provost’s Office, and the Student Government Association.

The club is seeking additional donations, grants, and sponsors for the project.
Click here for website with link to donation form: http://www.hartford.edu/daily/Article/View/12895

Eppes and Milanovic Present at Optical Fiber Solutions

Tom Eppes, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, CETA, and Ivana Milanovic, professor of mechanical engineering, CETA, visited OFS, Inc. and gave an invited presentation of their research in the area of computational modeling. The presentation focused on applications and trends using COMSOL Multiphysics® software.

OFS, Inc. is located in Avon, Conn., and manufactures leading-edge fusion splicers, optical fiber/cable, connectivity, and other specialty photonics devices. The meeting was hosted by John Hansson, senior manager and a member of the Industrial Advisor Board of the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering. Statements of work were discussed for two types of projects: in-course and graduate.

CETA Establishes Joint '4+1' Master's Program with Shanghai Normal University

The University of Hartford has established a joint Master of Engineering program with Shanghai Normal University (SHNU) in Shanghai, China, which will allow students from SHNU to complete their degree requirements at both schools.

The program represents a partnership between the College of Information, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (CIMEE) at Shanghai Normal University and the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) at the University of Hartford.

After completing their undergraduate curricula, CIMEE students will take their first 12 graduate credits at their home university in Shanghai, and then take the final 18 credits at CETA, including three-to-nine credits of thesis project work.

Once participating students have met the degree requirements, they will earn a Master of Engineering degree from the University of Hartford. They may earn a Master of Engineering in electrical engineering or a Master of Engineering in mechanical engineering.

The first group of students from Shanghai is expected to begin studying at the University of Hartford in fall 2012 or spring 2013.

The program is known as a "4+1" program because participating students can take some graduate courses during their final two semesters of undergraduate study and then have one more year to complete the remaining credits for their graduate program, thus earning two degrees in five years.

The partnership agreement with Shanghai Normal University was signed by University of Hartford Provost Sharon L. Vasquez in February, during a visit by a four-member delegation from SHNU.

The joint Master of Engineering program is a concrete development resulting from a China trip in October 2011 by CETA Dean Lou Manzione and CETA Associate Professor Clara Fang.

IEEE's Solderfest

Every year, CETA's IEEE Student Chapter holds its most highly-anticipated workshop: Solderfest. This year, the event was back and better than ever.
Around noon on April 3rd, curious students filed into the Dana Hall electrical labs for two hours of guided instruction on circuit board assembly. Some were returning upperclassmen who enjoyed honing their skills on the provided "Brain Game" and "Cricket" practice kits. For others, this was their first time working with a hot iron and molten metal. After hard work and patient help from the IEEE officers and ECE faculty, even the least experienced were able to put together the entertaining circuits.
"Solderfest is always a big hit," recall the IEEE student officers. "Soldering is an extremely useful skill, and the kids really enjoy learning at the workshop."
CETA's IEEE Student Chapter is committed to providing quality educational events for the student body. The group hopes for another action-packed year, and urges all enthusiasts interested in helping plan events to email ieee@hartford.edu to learn more about becoming an IEEE Student Officer.
Source: Colin Pfund