Home : Volume 28 : Fall 2001 :
Faculty News

Assistant Professor Wendy Crone, engineering physics, has received the American Society for Engineering Education's (ASEE) Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston Jr. Outstanding New Mechanics Educator Award. Established in 1992, the award honors early-career individuals who have made exceptional contributions to mechanics education.

Professor Michael Ferris, computer sciences and industrial engineering, recently received a 2001 Guggenheim Fellowship Award, which recognizes his work in developing mathematical models to optimize the function of medical devices.

Professor Jay Martin, mechanical engineering, and Professor Steve Cramer, civil and environmental engineering, have been elected to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Teaching Academy. The academy's purpose is to promote effective teaching and learning on this campus and nationally by encouraging innovation, experimentation and dialogue among faculty, instructional staff and future teachers.

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Roderic Lakes, engineering physics, was lead author of a paper that appeared in the March 29, 2001 issue of the journal Nature. In "Extreme Damping in Composite Materials with Negative Stiffness Inclusions," Lakes and his students offer experimental support of the theory that inclusions of negative stiffness in composite materials can be stabilized in a positive-stiffness matrix. The group embedded inclusions of ferroelastic vanadium dioxide in a pure tin matrix and showed that the inclusions are more effective than diamond in increasing of the composite stiffness at selected temperatures.

Assistant Professor Paul Nealey, chemical engineering, recently received the 2001 Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award. He will get a $60,000 unrestricted grant to advance his teaching and research programs. Nealy, whose research interests include advanced lithography, nano-fabrication and polymer thin films, teaches three classes in these areas.

Associate Faculty Associate David S. Liebl, engineering professional development, was among five UW System faculty/staff recognized by the International Dark-Sky Association (IDA) for educating businesses and consumers about nighttime light pollution. Liebl and his colleagues received the IDA Executive Director's Award for their accomplishments, which include ongoing work with communities to develop a model ordinance for outdoor lighting. When finished, the Model Wisconsin Exterior Lighting Code will be available to Wisconsin's 1,800 local governments.

Professor Pascale Carayon, industrial engineering, will chair the Canadian National Sciences and Engineering Research Council's eight-member industrial engineering grant-selection committee through July 2002. The committee annually reviews about 100 proposals from Canadian IE researchers. Carayon is its only non-Canadian member.

Professor and Chair Robert Radwin, biomedical engineering, has been appointed to the Committee on Human Factors for the National Research Council. The standing committee advises the NRC and its sponsors on research needed to expand the scientific and technical bases for human-machine design.

Assistant Professor Eric V. Shusta, chemical engineering, has received a Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Award. The Dreyfus awards provide unrestricted research support to outstanding individuals in the chemical sciences at the start of their research and teaching activities. Shusta's proposal is titled, "Developing strategies for non-invasive drug delivery to the brain: a combined genomics and proteomics approach."

Professor Ken Potter, civil and environmental engineering, has been elected chair of the board of directors of the newly-formed Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science. The consortium's goal is to develop an infrastructure for research in hydrologic sciences. The immediate mission of the group is to address critical needs in the field and to develop an implementation plan for the National Science Foundation.

Assistant Professor Ben-Tzion Karsh, industrial engineering, has been selected to serve on a special emphasis panel for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. As a member of the panel, Karsh will evaluate applications to AHRQ's grant program, "Patient Safety Research Dissemination and Education."

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor and Chair Michael Corradini, engineering physics, has received the American Nuclear Society's (ANS) Thermal Hydraulics Division (THD) 2001 Technical Achievement Award. It is the highest honor the division bestows and is presented annually to a THD member to recognize outstanding technical achievement. Corradini will receive the award and present a paper about critical heat flux in narrow gaps at the ANS winter meeting in November.

Associate Professor Dave Beebe, biomedical engineering, has been appointed to the National Research Council (NRC) review panel on nanotechnology. This panel is charged with reviewing the overall national nanotechnology initiative. In addition to addressing the national resources needed to expand the nanotechnology arena, members will advise the NRC on future investments in specific areas of nanotechnology.

The American Nuclear Society's (ANS) Operations and Power Division gave Professor Vicki Bier, industrial engineering and engineering physics, a best presentation award at its annual meeting in June. Bier received the honor for her presentation about the effects of electricity deregulation on nuclear power safety at the ANS session, "Business Planning for License Renewal and Plant Acquisitions."

Content by perspective@engr.wisc.edu

Date last modified: Friday, 26-Oct-2001 10:10:00 CDT

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