Ph.D. Students Win Prestigious Awards
Recently two MechE doctoral students received highly competitive national
awards.Their success reflects positively on the Ph.D. program in Mechanical Engineering, as well as the entire Department.
. . . . .
Billy Epting, who is working on his doctoral studies under the guidance of Assistant Professor Shawn Litster, recently received an Environ- mental Protection Agency (EPA) STAR Fellowship. This award, which supports graduate students with an environmental research focus, requires a rigorous application process. Epting wrote an eight-page proposal titled “A Method for Through-Plane Measurement of Species Concentration in Porous Electrodes for Fuel Cells and Batteries.” Epting currently works with Litster in the Transport Phenom- ena in Energy Systems Lab, developing and implementing methods for sensing the concentrations of reactants and products through proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells. With this fellowship, Epting hopes to add more electrochemical instru- ments to the Lab, extending the scope of his research beyond PEM fuel cells to advanced battery electrodes. . . . . .
Billy Epting
Doctoral student Paul Egan earned a 2010 National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship, sponsored and funded by the Department of Defense. Egan was selected from more than 2,600 applicants. NDSEG Fellowships cover full tuition and required fees for three years of graduate study in science and engineering, and include a yearly stipend. This fellowship will aid Egan in his thesis research project, a collaborative effort between his primary research advisor, Professor Jonathan Cagan, and two colleagues, Associate Professor Philip LeDuc of MechE and Christian Schunn, Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Pittsburgh. Titled “Multi-Level Computational Design of Biological Systems via Implementation of Human Inspired Search Strategies,” this project bridges several fields. Although Egan’s research approaches a specific case study in biology, originating at the nanoscale level, his findings and methodology should apply broadly to multi-level design problems.•
Paul Egan
MEGSO: Engineering Greater Interaction at MechE
The Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Organization (MEGSO) has been busy this semester electing officers, planning events, and developing new programs to further connect MechE graduate students with one another—as well as with other departments at Carnegie Mellon. The new MEGSO officers, elected in January, are helping plan and implement MEGSO activities and events, as well as ensuring that the graduate student lounge is properly maintained and available to all MechE grad students. These new officers are:
• J.D. Taylor, President • Kacy Hess, Vice President—External Affairs • Adam Sifounakis, Vice President—Internal Affairs • Billy Epting, Treasurer
A recent barbecue hosted by MEGSO provided a welcome break from graduate students’ busy schedules.
Throughout the Spring semester, MEGSO has hosted a variety of events, including a joint Happy Hour with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), a Trivia Night with the Tepper School of Business, an “End of Quals” celebration, and activities for prospective students during the recent Graduate Student Open House hosted by MechE (see page 7). As the semester ends, MEGSO is planning several additional events, including outings to Pirates games, a paintball event, a Kennywood and/or Sandcastle day, a Picnic in the Park event, and smaller get-togethers such as organized bike rides and movie nights. Currently, MEGSO is
building a new Web site and has published a Google calendar with upcoming events. To learn more, e-mail MEGSO at
meche.cmu@
gmail.com.•
The organization is planning future events to bring MechE grad students together.
C ARNEGIE M ECH I 17
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20