EEE People Update

As of January 2015, we have 89 students pursuing the Bachelor of Science Degree in EEE. In fall 2014, four new faculty joined EEE as assistant professors: Amisha Shah (EEE/CE), Shweta Singh (EEE/ABE), Andrew Whelton (EEE/CE), and Zhi (George) Zhou (EEE/CE). Also joining us this past fall were two new staff members: Dr. Nadya Zyaykina (Laboratory Manager, EEE/CE) and Margaret Whelton, P.E. (Manager of Industrial Experience). More information on Drs. Singh and Whelton along with Dr. Zyaykina and Ms. Whelton are provided in this newsletter (Drs. Shah and Zhou were highlighted in the 2014 summer newsletter).

ABET

We are very pleased to report that the Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental and Ecological Engineering received accreditation from ABET in Fall 2014 (retroactive to October 2012). Congratulations to all students, staff, and faculty for a job well done! We are deeply indebted to Professor Larry Nies for his leadership in preparing for ABET. Thanks also go out to Dr. Stephen Hoffmann (former EEE Assistant Head) for his efforts during the ABET preparation process.

Honors and Recognitions

Many of our outstanding EEE students, staff, and faculty have received recognitions or accolades over the last few months as noted in this newsletter. In addition to the honors reported later in the newsletter, three EEE students were finalists for national awards: My-Lea Coulombe-Quach and Olivia Steele for a Udall Scholarship and Kimberly Reppa for a Truman Scholarship. Chad Jafvert was named a Distinguished Visiting Professor at Qinghai Normal University. John Howarter was awarded the TMS Young Leader Award and selected for a Purdue “Teach for Tomorrow” Fellowship Award. Carol Handwerker, Ananth Iyer, Fu Zhao, and John Sutherland received a Purdue “Seed for Success” research award in recognition of their work with the Critical Materials Institute. Lastly, Inez Hua has been appointed to the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors.

New Research Grants

John Howarter, “Degradation Behavior of Ballistic Fibers and Related Polymer Materials,” NIST

John Sutherland, Karthik Ramani, and Fu Zhao, “Advancing Environmental Sustainability through Innovative Design and Operation of Digital Manufacturing Equipment,” NSF

Whelton, A., “Interaction of Fracking and Crude Oil Contaminants with Water Distribution Pipes,” Water Research Foundation

Zhao & Sutherland, “Defining Industry needs in Manufacturing process characterization for sustainability,” NIST

EEE Growth

As noted above, the demand for the EEE undergraduate program continues to be robust. EEE classes are popular not only with EEE students, but also with students from other schools/departments including those students pursuing a minor in EEE (Spring 2015 – 27 minors). We also have been working to develop an EEE graduate program that will offer MS and PhD degrees – this will necessitate the creation of EEE courses at the graduate level. With these facts in mind, the College of Engineering has approved several faculty searches for EEE. Certainly, the faculty growth in EEE is in response to the growing demand for our programs, but also benefits from Purdue’s initiative to grow the College of Engineering as one of its “Purdue Moves” (http://www.purdue.edu/purduemoves/). For our faculty searches, we are looking for individuals who can conduct cutting-edge research and serve as inspirational teachers, and whose expertise complements our existing world-class faculty.

In closing, I want to thank all of you for your moral and financial support. If you have questions or comments, please drop me a note. We love to hear from you! I hope you enjoy the newsletter.