Martin Ross, a 1986 graduate from our Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department and an avid supporter of the Amherst nonprofit organization Opportunities for Communities Inc. (OFC), has led the charge to install solar panels in an extraordinary Haitian school and thereby provide reliable electricity there for the first time. The solar project will empower such educational breakthroughs as far-reaching computer training and other technical learning.
News
Martin Ross in Haiti
Robert Hyers
Professor Robert W. Hyers of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department has been informed that the Board of Trustees of ASM International (formerly the American Society for Metals) has elected him as a Fellow of the Society. Hyers’ ASM citation reads: "For distinguished contributions in the field of high-temperature materials processing and properties, with proven applications of these technologies in aerospace and extractive industries."
Ashwin Ramasubramaniam
Principal investigator Ashwin Ramasubramaniam of our Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department leads a joint US-Israel team that has just received a grant from the National Science Foundation’s Division Of Materials Research to promote inexpensive, large-scale fabrication of electronic and optical devices within single sheets of 2D materials. The research promises to make far-reaching impacts on computing, data storage, and consumer electronics.
Shannon Roberts
Shannon Roberts of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department and Eric Gonzales of the Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) Department were two of the campus experts who spoke about autonomous vehicles at a May 29 “listening session” convened by the Governor’s Commission on the Future of Transportation and held in the UMass Amherst Cape Cod Lounge at the Student Union. Roberts spoke about “Human Factor Needs in an Autonomous Vehicle World,” while Gonzales focused on “Autonomous Vehicles for Ride Sharing.”
See media coverage: Gazette, WWLP-TV 22, News Office release.
Matthew Lackner
Professors Matthew Lackner and Erin Baker of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department published a very illuminating essay in The Conversation on May 15 about why the offshore wind energy industry will soon vastly expand and why Massachusetts is one of the states that is leading the way. Lackner and Baker said that market forces are helping the development of offshore wind energy, while states on the East Coast are preparing long-range plans to develop wind energy to replace fossil-fuel and nuclear-power generation.
See additional media coverage: Business Insider; Salon.com
Michael Rossi
Michael C. Rossi, a doctoral industrial engineering student working in the lab of Professor Hari Balasubramanian of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department, has received a $50,000 award to work at a private company for six months as part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) INTERN program. Rossi’s internship is designed to supplement his current research assistantship in Balasubramanian’s lab with six months of non-academic research internship activities and training.
High Cycle Fatigue Test Rig Team
In early May the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (MIE) Department held its annual Senior Design Project competition, the climax and showcase event for the MIE capstone course, “MIE 415: Design of Mechanical Systems.” The Best Industry Sponsored category resulted in a three-way tie among Teams 3 and 4 (Pratt & Whitney) and Team 8 (Kinex Cappers). Team 22 (Electromagnetic Brake) was chosen as the Best Semester-long Project. The Best Student Concept went to Team 21 (Sand Mask). And, finally, the Most Popular category ended in a two-way tie between Team 15 (Self-Massage) and Team 28 (Dock Ladder), which was determined by public voting.
John Chuma (center)
John Chuma, a senior in the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department and an outstanding pole-vaulter on the UMass Amherst Men’s Track and Field Team, has been selected as the university’s 2018 Male Spring Scholar-Athlete Award winner. During a remarkably consistent career, Chuma has pole-vaulted between 15 feet and 16 feet at least 26 times and holds the UMass outdoor record in that event.
The latest innovative enterprise from Sustainability Projects Abroad (SPA), a brilliant and idealistic consortium of UMass students led by some of our engineering undergraduates, is called “PowerPass,” which, according to its creators, is a sort of “power bank” and “walk-in, solar-powered kiosk that dispenses portable batteries for students to charge their phones on the go.” SPA has set up a MinuteFund, lasting until May 23, in hopes of supporting the installation of PowerPass on campus.
Minting Chen
Congratulations to eight exceptional engineering students who will be receiving alumni scholarships and awards. The students were recognized by the UMass Amherst Alumni Association at a reception on Sunday, April 22, in the Student Union Ballroom.
