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Engineering’s Grand Challenges and how the UI College of Engineering is meeting them.
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
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Innovative Educational Experiences for Future Engineers In this issue of the Iowa Engineer you will find three great stories that describe innovative educational experiences that we provide to students ranging from third grade through college. We have a number of engaging outreach programs to give K-12 students experiences with the creative design process. This issue of Iowa Engineer contains a fascinating article about one of those programs in which we have partnered with the West Liberty, Iowa, Youth Dream Catchers to help students develop skills related to problem identification, critical thinking, modeling/prototyping, teamwork, and communications. At the undergraduate level you will find an article about our highly successful Grand Challenges Scholars program, which provides students with a comprehensive set of curricular and extracurricular experiences to help them understand technical, economic, and cultural aspects of what it takes to impact the largest problems facing society. We were one of the first engineering colleges in the country to answer the call from the National Academy of Engineering to create such a program. Finally, you will find a timely article about our newest undergraduate degree program in Environmental Engineering. With our strengths in so many aspects of environmental engineering, it was a natural for us to become the newest college to offer a degree in this important area.
text by gary galluzZo
Perhaps the Gran
As you can see, this issue of Iowa Engineer provides a testament to the passion of our faculty and staff to provide innovative and forward-looking education experiences which prepare engineering graduates to excel in the rapidly-evolving 21st century. I am proud of the work that our faculty members are doing and I hope that you are inspired by these interesting articles.
Alec Scranton Dean of Engineering
Inside this issue of Iowa Engineer: New degree provides tools to solve environmental problems 6 A partnership to support young engineers 8 Listening to the future 12 College News 16 Alumni News 18
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
To make a difference in the world — that’s the dream of most college students. And the University of Iowa College of Engineering is helping to make dreams come true.
dest of all Engineering Challenges
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ophia Mallaro of Cedar Falls, Iowa and a senior electrical and computer engineering major is working with research mentor Professor of Computer Science Joe Kearney to enhance virtual reality.
And Nathaniel Weger of Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a senior mechanical engineering major is working with research mentor Associate Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Albert Ratner to engineer the tools of scientific discovery. The UI College of Engineering is able to support student dreams and goals in part because it is one of more than 50 U.S. engineering schools participating in the Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP), a part of the National Academy of Engineering’s (NAE) Grand Challenges for Engineering initiative. In fact, the UI College of Engineering is the home of a premier GCSP program, says Alec Scranton, Dean of the UI College of Engineering and UI Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering. “The College of Engineering is a global leader in research and education which tackle the Grand Challenges of the 21st Century,” says Scranton. “Our Grand Challenges program was seventh in the U.S. and first in the Big Ten. Our research program directly impacts 13 out of 14 Grand Challenges identified by the National Academy of Engineering, and we are international leaders in the challenges of: Providing Access to Clean Water, Engineering Better Medicines, Managing the Nitrogen Cycle, and Advancing Health Informatics.” While many people talk about society’s problems, the NAE Grand Challenges initiative website outlines a plan of action that may help alleviate worldwide problems. In an attempt to help the engineering profession meet various challenges facing society, the National Academy of Engineering in 2008 identified access to clean water, improved medicines, and other goals as the 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering. The NAE says that “the Grand Challenges are a call to action and serve as a focal point for society’s attention to opportunities and challenges affecting our quality of life.” The Grand Challenges Scholars Program is generously supported by Engineering alumnus James R. Whiteley (BSE 1962 Mechanical Engineering, MS 1964 Industrial Engineering), Chief Executive Officer of Vail Systems, Deerfield, IL. Whiteley has more than 35 years of computer, telecommunications, and business start-up experience. He also founded one of the nation’s top direct mail listing businesses, Direct Marketing Technology, Inc. and Dytel Corporation, a pioneer in premise-based call processing equipment. Whiteley founded and serves as Director of Webley Systems, Inc., the leader in the unified messaging and communications market.
The 14 Grand Challenges are: • Advance personalized learning. • Make solar energy economical. • Enhance virtual reality. • Reverse-engineer the brain. • Engineer better medicines. • Advance health informatics. • Restore and improve urban infrastructure. • Secure cyberspace. •
Provide access to clean water.
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Provide energy from fusion.
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Prevent nuclear terror.
• Manage the nitrogen cycle. • Develop carbon sequestration methods. • Engineer the tools of scientific discovery.
Solving the Grand Challenges will require an equally ambitious educational effort, and that’s where the GCSP program comes into focus. Students experience the UI Grand Challenges Scholars Program as a combined curricular and extra-curricular program with five elements, including: a research experience, an interdisciplinary curriculum, entrepreneurship training, global awareness and service learning. Kelli Delfosse, director of UI Engineering Professional Development, says that the program is as much about nurturing students’ desire to help solve society’s problems as it is about engineering. “The College of Engineering at Iowa has historically valued the importance of developing the student in and out of the classroom through involvement with research, internships/ co-ops, service learning, study abroad, and leadership,” she says. “The Engineering Grand Challenges Scholarship Program takes it a step further and combines all of those elements into a powerful collection of experiences that will better prepare students to address the most challenging problems facing our society.” In short, the UI College of Engineering and the NAE Grand Challenges program work well together. “The Grand Challenges Scholars Program fits perfectly into our strategic approach to educate the engineer … and something more,” says Scranton. “We want to provide exceptional access for our students to make a difference in the world as they tackle global problems that require innovative engineering solutions. The program enables students to expand their minds and imaginations to meet some of the toughest challenges we face as a human race,” he says. What does the program look like from the perspective of an Iowa student?
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Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
Alec Scranton Dean of the UI College of Engineering and UI Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
“Our research program directly impacts 13 out of 14 Grand Challenges identified by the National Academy of Engineering, and we are international leaders in the challenges of: Providing Access to Clean Water, Engineering Better Medicines, Managing the Nitrogen Cycle, and Advancing Health Informatics.�
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or Sophia Mallaro, “enhancing virtual reality” means comparing the usefulness of two different virtual reality systems that are used to solve real-world problems, such as how to help pedestrians to be more alert when crossing busy roadways. Mallaro’s work resulted in her being the lead author on a technical paper which Kearney, her research mentor, presented in November at the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Conference on Virtual Reality Software in Gothenburg, Sweden. Her study compared the newest generation of virtual reality technologyto the UI’s room-sized virtual reality display system. Both systems were used in a task that asked humans to cross a roadway containing simulated moving vehicles. Kearney, whose appointment is in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, says that although the UI has successfully used the room-sized system for more than 15 years, such large-screen projection systems cost more than $300,000 and are difficult to maintain. In comparison, the portable Vive headset costs about $500 and is simple to install, making it possible for many more people to conduct virtual reality research. “Sophia shared our simulation software with the Vive and conducted our first experiment comparing it to our conventional system. The results are very promising,” Kearney says. “She is currently developing a bicycling simulation using an interface developed by another student in engineering (Jaemin Powell) under the direction of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Professor Geb Thomas. Our colleagues around the world are excited about this work and are looking to develop similar simulators.” Mallaro says, “I got involved in the Hank Virtual Environments Lab because I think virtual reality is an incredibly interesting field with many neat computational challenges. Following graduation, I hope to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science.”
In the case of Nate Weger, “engineering the tools of scientific discovery” means working on a variety of energyrelated projects. “Nate is working on biomass gasification,” says Albert Ratner, Weger’s faculty advisor. “The idea is to heat the biomass (in this case a tall grass called Miscanthus) and turn it into a gas for energy. It’s a cleaner way of gathering energy.” Ratner notes that although Miscanthus is native to parts of Asia and Africa, the source of Weger’s experimental biomass is local because the UI, in connection with its Miscanthus Biomass Fuel Project, has planted a patch of the tall grass near the UI sports playing fields located just off Melrose Avenue. But Weger’s search for unconventional sources of biomass energy doesn’t end there. Weger is exploring the viability of burning trash to gather energy. This past summer, he travelled to the Federal University of Brazil at Itajuba to work with Ratner’s colleague Professor Electo Eduardo Silva Lora on trash gasification research.
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ack in Iowa, he also researched the generation of energy from the safe disposal of the carcasses of chickens having aviary flu, a condition potentially harmful to the poultry industry and human health. During 2018, he plans to begin work on his doctoral degree in mechanical engineering and continue to research gasification processes and applications. Weger says, “I chose to work with gasification because I see it as a smart way to use an easily available source of renewable energy, biomass, to produce clean power. The wide span of potential applications, from waste-to-energy to biohazard management, make gasification an even more attractive method of energy production. There is so much potential for renewable energy options to develop in the near future, and I intend to make major contributions to that area.” Altogether, the UI College of Engineering’s Grand Challenges Scholars Program has 12 current Engineering Grand Challenges Scholars. The program also has one current Engineering Grand Challenges Fellow and 12 GCSP graduates. (For more, see: https://www.engineering.uiowa.edu/currentstudents/grand-challenges-scholars-program)
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Richard k . miller former dean, UI college of engineering
“More than 20 years ago, we began talking about educating engineers at Iowa ‘beyond technology.’ This resulted in a new curriculum that encouraged students to pursue minors and double majors outside of engineering as preparation for leadership roles in a world of grand challenges and complexity.”
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
In addition to Mallaro and Weger, other current Grand Challenges Scholars and the goals they are pursuing include: • Riley Deutsch of Johnston, Iowa is working to engineer better medicines. • Mitchell Fitzpatrick of Marion, Iowa is advancing health informatics. • Harrison Freund of West Des Moines, Iowa is working to restore and improve urban infrastructure. • Michael Garneau of Bettendorf, Iowa is working to reverse engineer the human brain. • Megan Helms of Downs, Illinois is working to engineer better medicines. • Travis Kelley of La Verne, California is working to engineer better medicines. • Hanley Sayavong of Sioux City, Iowa is working to provide access to clean water. • Liana Suleiman of Burlington, Iowa is working to make solar energy economical. •
Jake Uribe of Lake Villa, Illinois is advancing health informatics.
• Adam Weis of North Liberty, Iowa is working to make solar energy economical.
In an April 17, 2015 NAE press release on the occasion of the White House Science Fair, Richard K. Miller, former dean of the UI College of Engineering (1992-1999) and current President of Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering, Needham, Massachusetts was quoted on the importance of the GCSP program. “Teaching engineering fundamentals in the classroom is important, but it’s not enough,” said Miller. “Solving our planet’s Grand Challenges requires engineering expertise, but they won’t be solved by engineers alone. Doubling down on even more hard sciences and math will not help. Instead, we need to incorporate new elements into engineering students’ education to give them both the skillset and the mindset needed to become leaders in addressing societal challenges.”
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This past summer, Miller, a member of the National Academy of Engineering, chaired an advisory committee responsible for the Global Grand Challenges Summit in Washington, D.C. Co-sponsored by the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Royal Academy of Engineering in the United Kingdom, the meeting attracted some 900 participants and was the largest session of its kind ever held by the NAE.
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oday Miller, who has described the model for Olin College as a music school with engineering being a performance art, says that the UI College of Engineering is unique in the way it educates its students. “There is a breadth of education that characterizes Iowa engineers,” he says. “More than 20 years ago, we began talking about educating engineers at Iowa ‘beyond technology.’ This resulted in a new curriculum that encouraged students to pursue minors and double majors outside of engineering as preparation for leadership roles in a world of grand challenges and complexity. “After I left the UI College of Engineering, this effort was described as preparing students to become ‘engineers … and something more’ and subsequent Dean Barry Butler and current Dean Alec Scranton have taken this approach to new heights to establish a UI record that I believe is unique in the nation,” Miller says. As a result, many UI College of Engineering students graduate with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and also a minor, double minor, double major or even a triple minor or major in a field outside of engineering. Miller adds that he is very proud of the fact that UI engineering is one of about 50 universities with its own GCSP program and a leader in providing Iowa graduates with a modern engineering education. Scranton says of the Iowa program: “We have a history of successful and innovative programs in undergraduate research, entrepreneurship, service learning, multidisciplinary opportunities, and global awareness. Therefore, it was natural for us to create a new opportunity for our students to be recognized for completing a program that includes all five elements of the Grand Challenges.”
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New Degree Provides Tools to Solve Environmental
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here are seven different undergraduate degrees offered by the University of Iowa College of Engineering.
But only one degree prepares students to engineer solutions to a host of complex environmental issues including:
• Air pollution. • Water quality. • Soil remediation. • Food sustainability. • Expanded recycling. • Wastewater treatment. • Solid waste management.
It’s the new Bachelor’s of Science in Engineering (BSE) degree in environmental engineering. Approved in April of 2017 by the Iowa Board of Regents and introduced in Fall 2017 in the UI Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the degree is the first environmental engineering bachelor’s degree program in the state of Iowa. “Why Iowa?” some may ask. For starters, it’s a fact that the college’s highly regarded environmental engineering graduate program currently is ranked 22nd in the nation in the environmental/environmental health category by US News & World Report.
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Also, environmental engineers are in high demand within the state of Iowa and nationally, due to efforts to improve water quality in Iowa and across the nation. According to an October 2016 estimate by The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, environmental engineering will experience an above average growth rate of 12.4 percent while engineering in general will grow by 4.0 percent through 2024. Departmental administrators say the goal is to give students the tools to solve 21st century problems. “The environmental engineering degree program will produce students with a solid background in basic chemistry, physics, mathematics, and environmental sciences as well as quantitative problem solving skills necessary for designing complex solutions to environmental problems,” says Michelle Scherer, professor and departmental executive officer of civil and environmental engineering. “The students will be well positioned and marketable for obtaining employment in the growing field of environmental engineering both in Iowa and around the nation.” Maeve Bittle of Glenwood, Iowa is a second-year student pursuing her degree in environmental engineering, as well as a minor in medieval religion, and a certificate of sustainability. In addition, she is an undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
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Problems
text by gary galluzZo
“I chose to pursue the new environmental engineering degree because I am passionate about working with issues related to water and air quality,” she says. “After graduation, I plan on working for a government agency like the National Parks to promote sustainability and preservation of our natural resources.” Libby Chelsvig of Waukee, Iowa is in her second year at Iowa and her first year in the College of Engineering, as she previously was a chemistry major. She is working on a major in environmental engineering with a minor in geoscience. “I choose to pursue environmental engineering,” she says, “because I want to ‘save the world.’ I know this seems a bit far-fetched, but my reasoning is that I have always had a great passion for the environment, and I would like to work on the teams that improve it. I do not have plans for after graduation yet, though I would like to be able to do field work with my career.” While examples of environmental engineering projects can be traced back thousands of years — the Romans, for example, built aqueducts to provide irrigation and clean drinking water — the need for environmental engineering has never been greater than it is today in our world of some seven billion people. And the UI College of Engineering is helping to meet that need.
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
“I chose to pursue the new environmental engineering degree because I am passionate about working with issues related to water and air quality. I plan on working for a government agency like the National Parks to promote sustainability and preservation of our natural resources.” Maeve Bittle second-year student and undergraduate research assistant in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
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D reamers
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D oers:
A Partnership to Support Young Engineers text by Jean Florman
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o doubt about it: Engineers are skilled at identifying problems and working through logical processes to successful resolutions. But they also understand that sometimes great outcomes occur simply as the fortunate result of happenstance and fortuitous opportunity. Take for example the partnership between the College of Engineering Pre-Engineering Camps and the West Liberty (Iowa) Youth Dream Catchers (WLYDC), which formed after a chance meeting at a 2015 science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) festival. “Ed was really excited about what we’re doing with the Pre-Engineering Camps,” says festival attendee Tracy Peterson (MSW 2008) who directs the College of Engineering diversity programs and K-12 outreach. “He wanted to hear more, so I invited him to come visit one of the camps during the summer of 2016.” “Ed” is Ed Moreno, MS in Civil and Environmental Engineering 1988, retired Superintendent of the Iowa City Public Works Water Division, and co-founder with his wife, Carol, DDS 1983, of the Dream Catchers program. Established in 2004, the program is designed to empower West Liberty children ages eight to eighteen to envision and attain a post-secondary education. Second-grade teachers nominate students who may participate in the program until graduating from high school. Through the program’s academic support, scholarships, and mentoring relationships with West Liberty community members, young “Dream Catchers” have experiences and opportunities that might not otherwise have been available. By the fall semester 2017, nine students who had been involved in the program through their West Liberty school years had graduated from high school and entered college.
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Moreno’s enthusiasm for the program is infectious, and Peterson knew upon first meeting that the engineering college—specifically the PreEngineering Camps—could forge a great partnership with Dream Catchers. When he and Moreno began comparing notes about their respective programs, it became clear that teaming up would not only benefit West Liberty school children but also strengthen the impact and reach of the two programs themselves. “The pre-engineering camps are a great way to get younger students in the West Liberty area not just interested but actually engaged in STEM fields,” Moreno says, adding that this can be just the motivation for young students to envision themselves as future engineers. “The kids who participate in the camps have so much fun while also learning engineering principles and problem-solving strategies.” And while the camps spark a passion for engineering and science in kindergarten through ninth-grade students, the Dream Catchers program provides the funding to enable many of them to participate. Depending on grade level, each weeklong summer 2017 camp costs $225-335, and support from the Dream Catchers program, a local family fund (the Ryan Trust), and the Greater Muscatine Community Foundation, enabled 89 of the 120 West Liberty students to participate. “Funding support varies according to need,” Moreno says, “although we expect every family to provide some funding, even if it’s only $30. It’s important that each family shows commitment— skin in the game—which is demonstrated in part by their own financial commitment.” The camps, which are offered from early June to mid-August, provide an age-appropriate, six-level sequence exploring a range of topics from simple machines to complex robotics. Each sequence
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
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focuses on helping students develop the skills needed for engineering success, including problem identification, critical thinking, modeling and prototyping, teamwork, and communication skills. But having fun is not incidental to the program curriculum, as became apparent to Moreno in 2015 when he watched kindergartners in the camp discover the basics of physical science by manipulating gears and pulleys, and then cheered on fourth graders who designed and built robots which later competed to push their peers’ machines out of a sumo ring. “It’s just really cool,” says Moreno, who first became enamored with the program when Peterson invited him to spend a day observing a camp during the summer of 2015. “There’s lots of hands-on activity, conversation among the students and the facilitators, music playing in the background—it’s just a great experience. And the UI engineering students who facilitate the sessions are amazing.” Last year, 20 UI students participated, working 40 hours per week developing the curriculum and activities, facilitating the three-hour morning and afternoon sessions, and monitoring lunch hours. Each age-level program is led by two UI engineering student “mentors” who are assisted by a third university student. “Because we cap the number of campers in each session at ten, the adult-to-camper ratio is great,” Peterson says. “And it’s fantastic experience for the university students, who are responsible for developing the program. After all, what better way to really understand and communicate a complex concept than by having to explain it to a child?” The camps provide the UI students with a unique opportunity to hone their teaching and communication skills by requiring them to leverage their knowledge and research to create age-appropriate activity modules that will engage campers for 50 minutes. Most of the engineering students already have experience as teaching assistants or camp counselors, but all of them receive special training geared specifically to the needs of the Pre-Engineering Camp participants. They meet during the weeks leading up to the summer camps as well as each morning of the program to explore and share pedagogical best practices, strategies for presenting demonstrations, and tips for creating effective, engaging activity modules. They also become well versed in the University of Iowa youth training policies.
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Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
“Before the children arrive each day, each three-person team of UI students conducts a morning ‘check-in,’ to share what’s new and good about the previous day’s experience,” Peterson says. “It’s a good team-building experience and helps them monitor and improve the program for the campers.” And to support the UI students, Peterson is on site every day along with two additional students who serve as “floaters” to assist with modules or fill in when necessary. “The enthusiasm of the UI students is fantastic,” Peterson says, “and they enjoy being able to develop modules based on their own research and to teach in their own style.” Moreno adds that the West Liberty students respond accordingly. “By all acounts, the children are extremely well-behaved,” he says. “Clearly, they want to be there, to be challenged, and they appreciate what is being done to help them enjoy and learn from the experience.” The Pre-Engineering Camps are offered in several eastern Iowa communities, including Iowa City, and each one is designed to focus on the children who reside in or near that particular community. The camps have caught the attention of other communities from as far away as western Iowa, southern Minnesota, and western Illinois, and 15 towns have asked the College of Engineering to launch the program in their areas. Peterson is excited about the possibility of enhancing the impact of the camps across a wider geographic area while continuing to target communities such as West Liberty which have relatively fewer students graduating from high school and pursuing education in STEM fields. To reach underrepresented groups, camp announcements are offered in Arabic and Spanish as well as English, and local educators and Grant Wood Area Education Association ensure that high-achieving students in underrepresented populations learn about the program and possible scholarship support. In West Liberty, the program has caught the attention of the new school superintendent, and Moreno says he hopes the students will eventually compete in regional and national events that will showcase their engineering and design prowess. But until then, the partnership between the College of Engineering and the West Liberty Dream Catchers will continue to ensure that talented, dedicated young students have a unique camp opportunity that will help them better understand the physical world and how they can impact it through engineering knowledge and practice.
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TEXT BY SUSAN SHULLAW
Young A lumni A dvisory B oard :
Listening to the Future 12
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
When JD McCullough (B.S.E., 2015) was asked to join the college’s Young Alumni Advisory Board in 2017, he admits to some uncertainty. His hesitation wasn’t due to lack of interest, but because he feared he wasn’t a good fit. “I haven’t followed the traditional career path, where you earn your engineering degree and you get hired by a big firm and then you’re set,” says McCullough, Vice President of OCT (Optical Coherence Tomography) Solutions at the Iowa City-based healthcare company IDx., LLC “I wasn’t very connected with the college when I was in school, and hadn’t had much contact since graduation,” he says. “So I looked at the composition of the advisory board and thought I was just too different.” That difference was exactly what the advisory board needed. Lessons from McCullough’s somewhat unconventional trajectory are helping the college adapt its curricular and extracurricular resources to the realities of 21st-century careers. McCullough describes his initial skepticism about the Young Alumni Advisory Board as part of a life-long pattern. As is true for many intelligent and confident young adults, in making decisions he often relied on his own assumptions and listened mostly to his own voice, which didn’t always prove reliable. That’s why he’s especially appreciative that the college is listening to his ideas today.
Start-ups, false starts, new starting points An Iowa City native, McCullough initially enrolled in the aerospace program at the University of Arizona, but chose to return to the Midwest after his freshman year. He transferred to the UI College of Engineering and excelled academically, holding two research assistantships and an R&D internship at UTC Aerospace Systems, and participating on the college’s Virtual International Project Team (VIPT).
In his junior year, McCullough and a
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College of Engineering lab partner hatched their own start-up venture: a phone app for accessing the rosters, scores, schedules and stats typically found in the printed programs for high school sporting events. Their vision was to use technology to create, as McCullough describes it, “the ESPN for high school sports.” Today, he still winces at his naïveté. “We thought all we had to do is build this app, everyone will want it and then we’re home free,” McCullough says. The realities of building a business were sobering, taking much more time and creating far more challenges than the partners had anticipated, particularly as full-time students holding down parttime jobs. After multiple refinements to their original concept, the company (now Spectator Sports, Inc.) was accepted by a Nebraska business accelerator specializing in tech start-ups. That’s when McCullough knew he had to make a choice. “By that time, the final iteration of the business ended up being something that I’m not passionate about,” say McCullough. “So instead of going with the accelerator after I graduated, I chose a once-in-a-lifetime VIPT experience with travel across Europe. Even though I’d done zero job searching, I figured I could easily get hired when I got back. But when I returned, even though I applied to literally hundreds of jobs and had plenty of interviews, I just couldn’t find any opportunities I was excited about.” During this time, McCullough explored other options, from joining the armed services to law school. He was a week away from entering the Air Force when a friend who knew IDx CEO and College of Engineering benefactor Gary Seamans (BSEE 1971) told McCullough that the company was looking for an intern. IDx creates next-generation medical devices using artificial intelligence algorithms to automatically detect eye disease from retinal images. The company was founded by Michael D. Abramoff, M.D., Ph.D., the Robert C. Watzke Professor of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences at the UI Carver College of Medicine, who also holds joint appointments in Biomedical
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“Always a good ear” IDx CEO and 1971 UI College of Engineering graduate Gary Seamans is a major contributor, advisor and advocate who appreciates the college’s “responsive interaction” with its alumni.
“The college’s leadership and faculty always have had a good ear for anything that its alumni have wanted to suggest,” Seamans says. “But there’s a difference now, and that’s the accelerating pace of change. The college needs to listen well but also be more agile, and more willing and able to make changes for the present and the future. I see that happening today, and the Young Alumni Board is playing a key role. They are closest to their university experience and they’re also out in the world learning what companies need right now. Their inputs are incredibly valuable.”
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Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
“All of those things we went through in trying to start our own businesses, all of those painful lessons — and believe me, you remember the pain — that’s what I hope to bring back into the college, so students can avoid the faulty assumptions and mistakes I made.” JD McCullough BSE 2015
Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering. Today, McCullough’s responsibilities include applying IDx’s automated disease detection framework to additional diseases such as glaucoma, AMD and Alzheimer’s. “All I wanted in a job was the opportunity to grow and a chance to prove myself,” McCullough says. “The more I learned about IDx, the more excited I was by the important work that’s being done here and the opportunity for me to have a big part in that.” Building and running a small company helped McCullough learn more about his strengths and what drives him in life and work. “That experience set the lens through which I view career opportunities now,” he says. “I know I’m impatient when it comes to making improvements at work, and I need to be in a place where I feel I can make a big impact sooner. I found that at IDx.” “The company’s mission, technology, people and potential impact really resonate with me and keep me energized, even during the tougher times,” he continues. “Here, you see an issue, you walk down the hall and talk to your colleagues, and you can see meaningful change by the end of the day.”
Real-world lessons for changing times That same openness to new ideas and potential for rapid impact is what convinced McCullough to join the college’s Young Alumni Advisory Board. “After our first meeting, even though I could see a lot of similar backgrounds, I really liked all of the board members and what they’re doing in their careers,” he says. “They’ve been very accepting of me, even though my opinions can be totally different from everyone else in the room.”
subject matter that may seem tangential to an engineering curriculum, but which he views as necessary, real-world knowledge. “Offering classes in math, finance or business practices that are designed specifically for engineers would be incredibly valuable,” he says. He also wants to let today’s engineering students know there are more employment options available, particularly in Iowa, than one might find at traditional career fairs. The college’s response to that particular idea was swift and impactful. “Not only did the college help organize a panel discussion on this topic, they promoted it internally and externally,” says McCullough. The September 26 Lunch and Learn event, called “How Iowa Engineering alums launched their careers at an Iowa AI company on the verge of transforming healthcare,” featured McCullough, Seamans and three other UI engineering graduates who now work for IDx. Looking back at his time as an undergraduate, McCullough says he wishes he’d taken more advantage of the extracurricular and career-planning resources offered by the college, which might have helped dispel some of those early assumptions. “For the longest time, I thought all you had to do in college was get good grades, and then you’d get a good job and you’d be golden,” he says. “But that’s not the way it works at all. It’s really important to develop connections with people, and I wish I’d done more of that early on.” Sounds like the voice of experience – one that the college will continue to listen to, thanks to McCullough’s enthusiastic involvement in the Young Alumni Advisory Board.
Most impressive to McCullough has been the way in which the college has listened to suggestions born of his unique experience. “All of those things we went through in trying to start our own business, all the times you hit your head against the wall, all of those painful lessons – and believe me, you remember the pain,” he says – “that’s what I hope to bring back into the college, so students can avoid the faulty assumptions and mistakes I made.”
McCullough has advocated for the introduction of
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co l l e g e n ews Larry J. Weber, Edwin B. Green Chair in Hydraulics, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and director of IIHR— Hydroscience & Engineering, has been appointed executive associate dean for the College of Engineering at the University of Iowa, effective August 15, 2017. He will end his directorship at IIHR on that date. In his new role, Weber will strive to enhance the scope and impact of collegiate teaching, research, and service activities to optimally serve the state, the nation, and the world. Christoph Beckermann, University of Iowa Foundation Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering and director of the UI Solification Laboratory, received the 2017 Heat Transfer Memorial Award in the science category from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. In 1982, Christoph Beckermann was a Purdue Engineering exchange student from Germany, who played saxophone in a rock band and DJ’d at WBAA Public Radio From Purdue. Today, his research in materials has been cited more than 12,000 times. He’s an Outstanding Mechanical Engineer:
Julie Jessop, Associate Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering was Named Fellow of the American Chemical Society. Witold Krajewski, Rose & Joseph Summers Chair in Water Resources Engineering, professor of civil and environmental engineering, and director of the Iowa Flood Center, has been selected to receive The Hydrologic Sciences Medal from the American Meteorological Society (AMS). He is being recognized for foundational contributions to radar hydrometeorology, and for leading the only center in the United States dedicated to flood research. Krajewski will receive the medal January 7-11, 2018, at the 98th AMS Annual Meeting in Austin, Texas.
Davis, Mayberry, Patel Honored by University
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teven Davis, 01BS, 03MS, developed a groundbreaking software program for his master’s thesis that served as the foundation for a thriving company enabling advanced life science research. The journey began at the University of Iowa, where Davis, the president and co-founder of Bio::Neos, got his professional start. He received academic all-Big Ten honors as a member of the Hawkeye men’s gymnastics team and worked as a research assistant in the College of Engineering’s Coordinated Laboratory for Computational Genomics. Davis and his partners, who won the John Pappajohn New Venture Business Plan competition in 2003 and the Storer Entrepreneurial Business competition in 2004, established Bio::Neos, in the Bedell Entrepreneurship Learning Laboratory (BELL)14 years ago. Today, their company—which is located in the BioVentures Building on Iowa’s Oakdale Campus—writes customized software that allows life sciences companies to analyze large volumes of data. Not only does Bio::Neos benefit researchers, but it also helps students. His firm regularly recruits UI graduates for both internships and full-time positions, and Davis was a charter member of the College of Engineering young alumni advisory board and currently serves as a member of the College of Engineering advisory board.
https://engineering.purdue. edu/ME/People/OME
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Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
Each year, the University of Iowa honors select alumni and faculty members who have contributed significantly to their profession or service to the university. For 2017, the College of Engineering was represented by three who were exceptional in their categories. They are Steve Davis, president of BIO::NEOS, with the Young Alumni Award; Phil Mayberry for the Service to the University Award; and V. C. Patel for the University Faculty/Staff Award. Collectively, they represent the best of the college in their accomplishments and dedication.
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When Mayberry first arrived on the UI campus—following in his siblings’ footsteps—he made a conscious decision to take full advantage of the student experience. He attended everything from football games and lectures to dances at the Iowa Memorial Union. He also worked in the residence halls and in his fraternity house to help cover the costs of attending the UI College of Engineering.
Born in Kenya and educated at London and Cambridge Universities, Patel arrived at the UI in 1971 and quickly established himself as one of the leading experts in hydraulics and computer simulation. He became a full professor in the College of Engineering in 1975, and his expertise in boundarylayer theory, turbulent shear flows, wind engineering, and ship hydrodynamics helped Iowa take the lead in solving crucial fluids-engineering problems.
hillip O. Mayberry, 67BSIE, is a true Hawkeye, through and through, and he has channeled his passion for the University of Iowa into a lifetime of good works on its behalf.
After graduating from Iowa with a degree in industrial engineering, Mayberry landed a position as a sales engineer with Fisher Controls Company, and he later joined Emerson Process Management in Marshalltown, Iowa. Though he recently retired from Emerson as vice president of salesmarquee accounts, he continues to work part-time for the company as director of customer events. Mayberry’s early lessons in networking and engagement are what keep him so involved with the university now. He has been on the UI College of Engineering advisory board since 2000 and was a key member of its enrollment management committee, which helped the college dramatically increase its numbers. Not only does Mayberry serve as a mentor for students, but he also helps some of them attend college, thanks to the Phillip O. Mayberry Engineering Scholarship for deserving undergraduate students from the state of Iowa. His commitment to supporting new Hawkeyes extends beyond the College of Engineering. Mayberry is an avid fan of UI athletics, and as the longtime president of the Marshall County I-Club, he has organized many large annual spring banquets and inspired two of his friends to establish fully endowed scholarships for Hawkeye student-athletes.
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
.C. Patel is a world-renowned engineering professor who profoundly influenced the field of fluid mechanics—and the lives of his University of Iowa students.
Throughout his four decades on campus, Patel also filled a number of important administrative roles during critical junctures in the college’s history. He was the departmental officer of mechanical engineering, director of the Center for Computer Aided Design (CCAD), director of IIHR— Hydroscience and Engineering, and chair of the Engineering Faculty Council. His most significant of these positions was his directorship of IIHR, a highly regarded center for education, research, and public service focused on hydraulic engineering and fluid mechanics. During a decade of leadership, Patel implemented many forward-looking changes. In spite of his many administrative duties, Patel still found time to work closely with students, and he supervised 32 doctoral students who completed their degrees. Patel has authored or co-authored four books and more than 200 publications, and has presented at nearly 200 lectures and seminars. He was a United Nations consultant in India from 1992 to 1994, and in 1995, he was a USAID consultant to Egypt.
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alu m n i n ews
1930’s 1940’s in memoriam
in memoriam
Karl E. Hansen (BSME 1937) of Huntington Beach, CA, February 8, 2002.
David W. Appel (MS 1949, PhD 1953) of Antigo, WI, May 12, 2017.
Franklin C. Kiesling (BSChE 1938, MS 1939) of Peoria, AZ, 2007.
Vernon H. Aske (BSEE 1943) of Saint Paul, MN, August 21, 2017. Charles R. Brown (BSEE 1942) of Flint, MI, June 6, 2017. Edward J. Bryan, Jr. (BSME 1949) of Huntsville, AL, May 1, 2017. Burt K. Burkhalter (BSCE 1949) of St. Charles, IL, August 11, 2011. Robert Dagley, Jr. (BSChE 1942) of Amarillo, TX, October 30, 2009.
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Clark DeHaven (BSME 1949) of Hesperia, CA, October 28, 2010. Bernard H. Duff (BSCE 1942) of Tulsa, OK, May 12, 2017. William E. Ellsworth (BSCE 1947, MS 1948) of Damascus, MD, November 26, 2008. Jack K. Hicks (BSEE 1949) of La Porte City, IA, April 19, 2014. Edward Hill (BSME 1943) of Sherman Oaks, CA, September 23, 2013. En-Yun Hsu (MS 1946, PhD 1950) of Palo Alto, CA, July 13, 2009.
1950’s in memoriam John Kelly (MS 1947) of Fort Belvoir, VA, May 13, 2017. Jack. J. Kuesel (BSME 1949) of Rochester Hills, MD, February 14, 2007. Sam Lynne (BSEE 1947) of Lewisville, TX, April 27, 2017. Jay W. Miller (MS 1943) of Seattle, WA, August 29, 2017. Ernest L. Pemberton (BSCE 1948) of Highlands Ranch, CO, May 4, 2017. Verne M. Robbins (BSEE 1949) of Wichita, KS, April 1, 2010. John P. Sandoval (BSME 1940) of Las Vegas, NV, September 11, 2014. Otto W. Steinhardt (MS 1949) of Virginia Beach, VA, April 30, 2016. William D. Swaim, Sr. (BSChE 1949) of Waterloo, IA, August 20, 2017. Robert B. Sykes (BSME 1941) of Pacheco, CA, March 16, 2008. William P. Tolbert, Jr. (BSME 1949) of Jackson, TN, July 16, 2002. Maurice E. (Chick) Wright (BSEE 1948) of Tucson, AZ, May 4, 2017.
Charles L. Baule (BSCE 1957) of Dubuque, IA, October 22, 2013. Ralph C. DeVore (BSEE 1959) of Ottumwa, IA, August 13, 2017. Robert Evans (BSCE 1950) of Algonquin, IL, June 7, 2017. Marvin F. Gade (BSChE 1952) of Naples, FL, May 31, 2017. Lombro W. Gurnas (BSME 1957, MS 1961) of Richardson, TX, October 26, 2014. Gerald W. Hersey (BSME 1959) of Issaquah, WA, July 20, 2017. David E. Jacobs (BSME 1951) of Doylestown, PA, September 30, 2017. Joseph H. Kehlbeck BSIE 1950 of Prospect, KY, October 9, 2017. Leonard J. Petska (BSCE 1950) of Cedar Rapids, IA, June 28, 2017. Bernard M. Schiffman (BSEE 1952) of San Francisco, CA, March 20, 2012. Charles K. Valentine, Sr. (BSChE 1950) of Oak Ridge, TN, July 23, 2017.
Glen F. Johnson (BSChE 1949) of Forest, VA, October 18, 2016. Paul E. Johnson (BSME 1940) of Anchorage, AK, July 15, 2010. James A. Joyce (BSChE 1940) of Sterling, IL, August 22, 2012.
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
1960’s in memoriam Dr. Abdel Aziz A. Foud was a pioneer in the electrical engineering field of power systems dynamics and stability. He died October 21 at the age of 89. He was the co-author of two books, two book chapters, several computer-based education courses and more than 100 publications in his field. One of his most significant contributions to the industry and academia was the co-founding of Iowa State’s Power Affiliate Research Program in 1963, now known as the Electric Power Research Center. His honors include election to the U.S. National Academy of Engineering in 1996; named an Anson Marston Distinguished Professor in 1990; Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and winner of the 1994 IEEE Herman Halperin Electric Transmission and Distribution Award, and induction into the UI Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy.
Kenneth E. Geist (BSEE 1965) of Maple Valley, WA, January 22, 2014. Loras P. Hughes (BSME 1961) of Loveland, CO, May 19, 2017. James A. Martin (BSME 1961) of Santa Clara, CA, May 22, 2017. Daniel L. Odem (BSEE 1968) of Marengo, IA, August 22, 2017. Daniel R. Rogness (BSCE 1966 of Anchorage, AK, June 4, 2017. Norman A. Schneberger (BSEE 1961) of McMinnville, TN, September 9, 2017. Charles J. Schertz (BSME 1962) of Rising Sun, MD, August 29, 2017. Robert A. Sufficool (BSEE 1963) of Virginia Beach, VA, September 12, 2017 Donald L. Tauke (BSCE 1960) of Cedar Rapids, IA, July 25, 2017. Dale E. Vander Linden (BSEE 1961) of Delano, MN, July 24, 2017.
Memorial services for Distinguished Engineering Alumni Academy member Richard H. Stanley (MS 1963 sanitary engineering) were held December 2, 2017. A professional engineer, businessman, and world citizen, Stanley was Past Chair Emeritus of Stanley Consultants. He also was Chair of the Stanley Foundation. As Chair, he led a private operating foundation directed toward achieving a secure peace with freedom and justice, built on world citizenship and effective global governance. This is advanced through policy analysis and conference dialogue, and through communication and outreach initiatives. Stanley was also retired Vice-Chair of the Board of the HNI Corporation. He served as Chair of the American Council of Engineering Companies, President of the Iowa Engineering Society, President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of Iowa, Chair of the National Construction Industry Council, and Chair of the Northeast-Midwest Institute. Stanley was awarded the Hoover Medal by the Hoover Medal Board of Award; the Distinguished Award of Merit from the American Council of Engineering Companies; the NSPE Award from the National Society of Professional Engineers; the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Tau Beta Pi; the Herbert Hoover Centennial Award from the Iowa Engineering Society; and the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award from the University of Iowa Alumni Association. In conjunction with The Stanley Foundation work, he has received the Harry S. Truman Distinguished Service Award from the American Association of Community Colleges, and the Award for Citizen Diplomacy from the National Council for International Visitors.
Louis F. Vermeer (BSCE 1964) of Sandpoint, ID, June 8, 2017.
Fouad received a B.C. degree in electrical engineering (1950) at the University of Cairo and a master’s degree (1953) from the University of Iowa. He earned a Ph.D. (1965) from Iowa State.
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
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1970’s in memoriam Harry H. Badtram (BSCE 1973) of Bennett, Iowa, June 27, 2017. Richard W. Fry (BSIE 1976) of Belleair, FL, July 31, 2017. Richard W. Lemke (MS 1973) of Bettendorf, IA, August 31, 2017. Stephen L. Swails (BSEE 1972) or Iowa City, IA, August 18, 2017.
A memorial gathering for Dr. Y. King Liu, founder and president of University Northern California was held Friday, July 21, 2017. Dr. Liu was recruited in 1978 to further develop the undergraduate biomedical program at the University of Iowa. In 1993 left the UI to establish the University of Northern California, Petaluma, CA. He has received many honors ranging from the NIH Research Career Development Award to Advisor-atLarge for the Committee on Hearing, Acoustics, and Biomechanics (CHABA) of the National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences. Dr. Liu was awarded many research grants and contracts by several Institutes of the NIH, NSF, CDC, the U.S. Army and Air Force, and private foundations.
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1980’s 1990’s Lilia A. Abron (PhD 1972) was named a Tau Beta Pi Distinguished Alumnus for 2017. Abron is founder and CEO of PEER Consultants, PC, an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Washington DC. The award recognizes alumni who have demonstrated outstanding adherence to the ideals of Tau Beta Pi. Tau Beta Pi noted that Abron’s achievements “exemplify the diverse contributions that engineers make to society, and they demonstrate (her) breadth of interest, unselfish activity, and true spirit of integrity and excellence in engineering.” Jim Schroeder (BSEE 1976, MS 1978) is a senior member of staff at Florida R&D Associates. Terry W. Sturm, P.E., (PhD 1976), professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, was named a Fellow by the ASCE Board of Direction.
in memoriam
in memoriam
David J. Heitkamp (MS 1981) of Marion, IA, July 3, 2017.
Roger R. Kolb (MS 1991) of Cedar Rapids, IA, September 26, 2017.
Robert A. Walas (MS 1983) of Moline, IL, May 8, 2017.
Monica M. Monk (BSE 1991) of Polk City, IA, May 29, 2017.
Curt Fuller (BSME 1985) has been appointed director, business development at Ramdo Solutions, Inc., Iowa City, IA. Jody Howard (BSE 1986) is director, mining strategy at Caterpillar, Peoria, IL. Greg Kirsch (BSE 1987), partner, patent attorney, and head of the Intellectual Property Department at Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP, Atlanta, GA, has been recognized for 2017 on Intellectual Asset Management’s (IAM’s) IAM Patent 1000 – The World’s Leading Patent Professionals. Kirsch was selected for inclusion in the 2018 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® (patent law). Rachel McQuillen (BSCE 1982, MS 1984) is community development division manager at CME Associates, Inc.
C. J. “Marty” Chen, former professor and departmental executive officer of mechanical engineering at the University of Iowa died June 2, 2017. He was 80. In 1992, he was appointed dean of engineering at the joint engineering school of Florida State University and Florida A&M University. He conducted research supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory and many other scientific organizations. He authored or co-authored over 100 books and technical papers, and received 7 patents in blood cell separation technology and fabrication of nanomagnetic particles. His awards include the Alexander von Humboldt US Senior Scientist Award, ASME’s Da Vinci Medal for his life time contributions in the area of fluid mechanics and the Department of the Army’s Commander’s Award for Public Service.
Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3
2000’s Kimberly K. Beardsley (BSE 1990), vice president, Worldwide Parts Services for Deere & Company, presented a special college- and university-wide “Grabbing the Globe” seminar on November 2, on “Leading a Global Business.” Beardsley is also the new Deere & Company corporate executive liaison to the University of Iowa. Jane Driscoll (BSE 1995) was recently featured in a Deere & Company video on the partnership between the company and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR). Steve Mitchell (BSE 1998, MS 2000, PhD 2004) is cofounder and chief technology officer of FaceX, a new startup business to commercialize automated analysis of facial features for medical, laboratory and industrial applications for faces. Fitzgerald Steele (BSE 1997, MS 2000) is a senior program manager at Microsoft.
ASCE honored Avery Bang (BSE 2007) with the 2017 President’s Medal. She is recognized for her work in improving lives in communities throughout the developing world as executive director of Bridges to Prosperity, for her outstanding contributions to promoting awareness of the engineering profession and her dedication to advancing diversity in engineering, and for her inspirational message for a new generation to Dream Big. She is CEO and Board president of Bridges to Prosperity and managing director of the Oxford Seed Fund. In September, she received an MBA from the University of Oxford. Allie Bartak, PMP, (BSE 2009) is commercial manager at King Arthur Flour. Ben Collison, P.E. (BSE 2007) is project engineer with Sargent & Lundy. He also serves on the B31 Code Committees of American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Kristian (Kuraitis) Kennedy (BSE 2000), senior engineer with Honda R&D Americas, Inc., was recently featured in the “What Makes a Honda. Who Makes a Honda” series. Allison Kerndt (BSE 2002) has been appointed adjunct professor at Drake University Law School, Des Moines, IA.
2010’s William Liechty (BSE 2007 chemical engineering), associate research scientist at Dow Chemical Co., has received the 35 Under 35 Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineering. Working on research projects during his undergraduate career put Liechty on the front line of innovation, and he hasn’t left yet. Now, associate research scientist in the food, pharmaceutical, and medical business at Dow, he is focusing on commercializing cellulosebased polymers with novel size and shape combinations and ensuring a robust supply of innovation projects. In the October 17, 2017 online issue of Tech News Spy, Drew Madden (BSE 2002), managing partner at Evergreen Healthcare Partners, Madison, WI, explains how hospitals are embracing new technology to improve patient care. Andy McCoy (BSE 1999, MS 2003, PhD 2006), senior water resources engineer, HDR, Inc., and co-founder of OK200: Stop the Traffic, helped organize more than 50 cyclists and several runners who made the 200 mile trek from West Des Moines, IA, to Lake Okoboji, IA, June 23 to raise money for human trafficking survivors. Ryan Nielsen (BSE 2006) is product marketing manager – batch and alarm management at Emerson Automation Solutions. Jeff Skrentner (BSE 2005, MS 2006) has been appointed contractor-Sr. Design Quality Engineer at Real Staffing.
Iowa Engineer / 2017 number 3
Nathan Bryngelson (BSE 2017) is an electrical applications engineer with Yokogawa Corporation, Newnan, GA. Jordan Cannon (BSE 2008, MS 2009, MBA 2014) is now a principal technical project manager at Rockwell Collins. Clint Downey (BSE 2014) is project engineer at Fluid Quip Process Technologies, LLC. Krista Lea (BSE 2012) is a packaging process lead for General Mills, Wellston, OH. JD McCullough (BSE 2015) has been named vice president, OCT Solutions at IDx LLC, Iowa City, IA. Victoria Roemig (BSE 2014) has been promoted to senior applications engineer at SantosHuman, Inc. She leads client relations, develops and oversees all Santos training curriculum and activities, and oversees all Santos Social Media and Website development activities. Cody Rouner (BSE 2015) has joined Data Sciences International as a technical support engineer. Claire (Calkins) Trettin (BSE 2013), is lieutenant (junior grade) in the U.S. Navy, currently serving on the USS Nimitz. She is a qualified propulsion plant watch officer, in charge of 26 watch standers, in addition to her regular divisional duties. Vincent LaPelusa (BSE 2017) is a membrane process operator with GE Power and Water. Amanda Smith (BSE 2016) is a research and development engineer 2 with Boston Scientific, Marlborough, MA. Lexie Valez (BSE 2011) has been appointed global key account manager for ALPLA Group, Chicago, IL. 21
The University of Iowa College of Engineering Office of the Dean 3100 Seamans Center for the Engineering Arts and Sciences Iowa City, Iowa 52242–1527 Phone: 319-335-5764 Fax: 319-335-6086 E-mail: iowa-engineer@uiowa.edu
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Iowa Engineer / 2017, number 3