[Earnest-dist] earnest 3/23/09

[Ronald Grant]

earnest
(events and research news in engineering and science today)
 
ME student named ASME Graduate Teaching Fellow
Senior ME student Beshoy Morkosyou has been selected as an American
Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Graduate Teaching Fellow.
 
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Graduate Teaching
Fellowship Program was established to encourage outstanding graduate
students, especially women and minorities, to pursue the doctorate in
Mechanical Engineering and encourage engineering education as a
profession. Fellowship awards are be made for a maximum of two years.
The amount of the stipend ($5,000 initially) are reviewed and approved
annually by the ASME Board on Engineering Education in cooperation with
the ASME Foundation.
 
Congratulations, Beshoy!
__
 
Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation Special Grant Program in the
Chemical Sciences
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation has recently informed Dr.
Melanie Cooper, a faculty member in the Clemson department of chemistry,
and interim chair of engineering and science education, that she has
been selected to receive a 2009 Special Grant in the Chemical Sciences.
The award will support Cooper's project entitled Organic Pad: A Tablet
PC-Based Interactivity Tool for Teaching Chemistry.  Dr. Cooper is one
of 21 Special Grant award recipients.  The complete list of awards is
available at http://www.dreyfus.org <http://www.dreyfus.org/> .
 
The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation is a leading non-profit
organization devoted to the advancement of the chemical sciences.  It
was established in 1946 by chemist, inventor, and businessman Camille
Dreyfus. He directed that the Foundation's purpose be "to advance the
science of chemistry, chemical engineering and related sciences as a
means of improving human relations and circumstances."
 
 
Seminars and Presentations
 
 
Xpansion Instruments Demonstration
Dr. Martin Sentmanat of Xpansion Instruments will be giving a talk and
demonstrating the unique capabilities of the SER2 extensional rheometer
for materials characterization in extensional mode, tensile, tear, peel
and frictional testing of materials ranging from biomaterials to
polymers and beyond.
 
Sentmanat will also provide a sneak preview for the XIM Miniature Mixer
Attachment for the SER2 model line that incorporates dual rotor mixing
capabilities with either sigma-blade or 2-wing rotor configurations
allowing for controlled mixing, compounding and blending operations on
batch volumes of less than 4.0 mL in scale.
 
For more information, please take a moment to visit the Xpansion
Instruments website (http://www.xpansioninstruments.com/) to view some
videos of the SER2 in action (best viewed in Internet Explorer or
Safari), or review the attached abstract. If you wish to make
arrangements for testing of your samples in the afternoon following the
demonstration, please contact Daniel Sanborn of Anton Paar (information
provided below).
 
What: Presentation followed by a demonstration of the SER extensional
platform for oscillatory rheometers, permitting a wide-range of testing
capabilities for biomedical materials and soft tissue, polymers and
beyond, and the new XIM mixing attachment for ultra-small batch mixing
process-characterization.
When: March 27, 2009. Presentation from 9:00AM to 10:00AM, to be
followed by a demonstration.
Where: Clemson University, 302 Rhodes Research Center (Presentation)/
104 Rhodes Research Center (Demonstration)
 
Registration: Registration is requested. If you would like to attend
either the presentation or demonstration (or both), please send an
e-mail to Kristen Hangey at Anton Paar (kristen.hangey at anton-paar.com)
with the subject line "Clemson/Xpansion SER2 Deminar."
 
Questions: Please contact Daniel Sanborn at Anton Paar
(daniel.sanborn at anton-paar.com, via phone at 240-416-0086).
 
__
 
Chemistry 
The Department of Chemistry is sponsoring a seminar featuring Professor
Leonard R. MacGillivray who is from Department of Chemistry, University
of Iowa. Professor MacGillivray will discuss Cocrystals: Reactivity,
Polymorphism, and Nanoparticles.
The presentation is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, at  4:00p.m. in
Hunter 100 Auditorium.  
 
MacGillivray Abstract: In this presentation, we will describe our
efforts to develop a general method to control chemical reactivity in
the organic solid state.  The method aims to provide access to targeted
organic molecules of various sizes, shapes, and functionalities.  In our
method, we exploit the modularity of cocrystals by using small
molecules, as templates, to assemble and preorganize olefins for
intermolecular [2+2] photodimerizations.  The templates assemble the
olefins within discrete supramolecular assemblies held together by
hydrogen bonds for single and multiple photoreactions.  By assembling
the olefins within discrete assemblies, we overcome problems of
long-range packing that have frustrated previous attempts to control the
dimerisation.  We will show how the approach can be used to synthesize
targeted molecules such as ladderanes and cyclophanes.  In related work,
we will demonstrate how cocrystals can be used as pseudoseeds in
polymorphism.  We use cocrystals with structurally-analogous components
to influence the assembly of molecules in both reactive and photostable
polymorphs.  Finally, we will describe how sonochemistry can be used to
generate reactive cocrystals of nanometre-scale dimensions.  The
cocrystals are shown to exhibit rare single-crystal-to-single-crystal
behavior.
 
__
 
Engineering and Science Education
The Clemson University Department of Engineering and Science, the
Virginia Tech Department of Engineering Education and the SouthEast
Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (SEAGEP) are
cosponsoring a seminar featuring Clemson University Professor Dr. Julie
Trenor. The topic of the presentation is "The Relations of Ethnicity to
Female Engineering Students' Educational Experiences and College and
Career Plans in an Ethnically Diverse Learning Environment."
 
The event will take place Friday, March 27, 2009, from 9 p.m. to 10 a.m.
in 422 Rhodes Engineering Research Center. **Please note a change in
location for that day.**
 
Trenor Abstract: This presentation describes a mixed-methods study
employing a social cognitive theoretical framework that emphasizes the
interplay of person factors, environment and behavior to explore the
educational experiences of female students in an ethnically diverse
learning environment. Specifically, we investigate the relations of
ethnicity to female students' perceptions and experiences related to
engineering, as well their selection of and persistence in undergraduate
engineering majors. An ethnically diverse sample of female engineering
undergraduates at an urban research university completed an online
survey (N = 160) and participated in semi-structured interviews (N =
37). Results revealed that participants of all ethnicities perceived
strong institutional and peer supports in this diverse learning
environment. Additionally, differences in participants' perceived
barriers for achieving engineering educational and career plans were
found based on ethnicity and parental level of education. 
 
Trenor Bio: Julie Martin Trenor. Ph.D. is an assistant professor of
Engineering and Science Education at Clemson University. She holds a
Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Virginia Tech and a
bachelor's degree in the same field from North Carolina State
University.  Her research interests focus on social factors affecting
the recruitment, retention, and career development of under- represented
students in engineering. Prior to her appointment at Clemson, Dr. Trenor
served as the Director of Undergraduate Student Recruitment and
Retention for the Cullen College of Engineering at the University of
Houston (UH), where she was the founding director of the award winning
women-in-engineering program, WELCOME. At UH, she was principal
investigator for NSF Research Experiences for Teachers and Research
Experiences for Undergraduates programs.  She is currently serving the
first of a three year term as President-Elect, President, and Past
President of WEPAN, Women in Engineering ProActive Network. 
 
 
CU-ICAR
Christopher Spock, Senior Engineer at Roush-Yates Engines, is presenting
a presentation on March 25, 2009 on Valvetrain Design for a NASCAR
engine. The event will take place at 4:30 p.m. in the Carroll A.
Campbell Jr. Graduate Engineering Center located at 4 Research Drive,
Greenville, SC
 
Spock Abstract: Correct valve motion is essential to optimizing an
engine's performance. In most of today's engines, the valve motion and
the motion generated by the cam are the same.
 
However, earlier engine designs did not have the luxury of an overhead,
direct acting valvetrain system. Today's NASCAR race engines still use
the same basic architecture that the series was built on over 50 years
ago; a small block V8, pushrod engine. This architecture offers a unique
set of challenges that must be addressed in order to achieve the optimal
valve motion and engine performance.
 
This lecture will begin by presenting a brief introduction to
Roush-Yates Engines. Next, it will define the components in the
valvetrain system of a NASCAR V8 engine. The majority of the lecture
will walk through the valvetrain design and development process. The
valvetrain design will begin by defining the desired valve lift curve
and a camshaft lobe created to achieve this goal. It will discuss
various valvetrain package options and constraints, including their
influences on horsepower and reliability. Finally, this lecture will
analyze the cam design and observe the challenges that are faced while
trying to connect the cam design input to the desired valvetrain output
as measured in valve lift.
 
Spock Bio: Christopher Spock is a senior engineer at Roush-Yates
Engines. His current responsibilities include valvetrain design and
development, engine air flow simulation modeling, and in-cylinder
pressure analysis. He received his Bachelors degree in Mechanical
Engineering from the University of Tennessee in 1994. There he competed
in the SAE Hybrid Electric Vehicle challenge before joining Roush
Industries in Livonia, MI. 
 
Mr. Spock spent 10 years at Roush Industries where he managed a group of
engineers which conducted engine testing to improve reliability,
performance, and efficiency for both internal and OEM clients. He moved
over to work on Roush's NASCAR Cup series engines full time in 2002, and
then later moved to Roush-Yates Engines when the two companies combined
their engine programs in 2004. Over the years, Mr. Spock has been
fortunate enough to work with other talented engineers and engine
builders who have all banded together to produce some of the best race
engines ever built. Together they have won a multitude of races and
championships: some of the highlights include the NASCAR Truck,
Nationwide, and Cup series championships, the Indianapolis 500, Borg
Warner Championship, Baja 500, and the 2009 Daytona 500.
 
 
Published by the Office of College Relations  - College of Engineering
and Science
Editor: Ron Grant       Phone: 656-5711 Fax 656-0384
100-C Riggs Hall, Box 340901        email: earnest at ces.clemson.edu
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