A program designed to improve learning outcomes for students in Engineering and eventually other STEM fields has been awarded a $178,384 grant from the Hubbell Foundation in Shelton, CT. The proposal, “Improving Educational Outcomes for Undergraduate Students in Engineering: The UConn Lifelong Learning Project” is a collaboration of the School of Engineering and the School of Nursing, with the support of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning to improve the success of undergraduate students, particularly underrepresented students. The PIs for the program are Daniel Burkey, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Diversity for Engineering, Kevin McLaughlin, Program Director for the Engineering Diversity Program and Thomas Van Hoof, Associate Professor of UConn’s Schools of Nursing and Medicine.
News
Meet the New Faculty For UConn Mechanical Engineering
Meet the New Faculty For UConn Mechanical Engineering
Xu Chen joins the Mechanical Engineering department. Dr. Chen’s research interests are theory and applications of 
dynamic systems and controls to advance the technology development in advanced manufacturing, mechatronics, robotics, precision engineering, system and optimization, and human-machine interactions. He has worked closely with the precision control and information storage industries, and helped Western Digital Corporation develop multiple new servo designs for industrial mass production. Dr. Chen is a recipient of the Young Investigator Award in 2014 ISCIE / ASME International Symposium on Flexible Automation and the 2012 Chinese Government Award for Outstanding Students. He received his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley in 2010 and 2013, respectively.
Julian Norato 
joins the Mechanical Engineering department. His current research interests lie in incorporating localized failure mode criteria (such as stress and fatigue), as well as manufacturing, cost and geometric constraints in topology and shape optimization for the design exploration of structures and materials, with the aim of exploring efficient structures tailored to a specific manufacturing process. Prior to joining our department, he was responsible for the Product Optimization group at Caterpillar, where he and his team researched numerical methods and developed computational tools for structural and multidisciplinary optimization. He earned his Ph.D from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2005.
Savas Tasoglu joins the Mechanical Engineering department. His current research interests are complex fluid dynamics, 
micro-assembly approaches, magnetics, microfluidics, cell and tissue mechanics, regenerative medicine, cryopreservation, and cell-based diagnostics for point-of-care. Dr. Tasoglu’s achievements in research and teaching have been recognized by fellowships and awards including Chang-Lin Tien Fellowship in Mechanical Engineering, Allen D. Wilson Memorial Scholarship, and UC Berkeley Institute Fellowship for Preparing Future Faculty. His work has been featured as the cover of Advanced Materials, Small, Trends in Biotechnology, and Physics of Fluids and highlighted in Nature Medicine, Boston Globe, Reuters Health, and Boston Magazine. He received his Ph.D. in 2011 from UC Berkeley. 
Xinyu Zhao joins the Mechanical Engineering department. Her research interests are in the area of computational fluid dynamics with a focus on high-fidelity simulations of complex reacting flows as well as heat and mass transfer in turbulent, particle laden flows. She received her Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University in 2014.
UConn Formula SAE places in the top group in the International Competition
UConn Formula SAE places in the top group in the International Competition
Although still new to the competition, UConn’s Formula SAE team placed in the top group of competitors at the Formula SAE Competition at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan.
The four-day competition brings together teams of university undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to conceive, design, fabricate and compete with a small, formula style, competition vehicle. To give teams the maximum design flexibility and the freedom to express their creativity and imagination, there are very few restrictions on the overall vehicle design. Teams typically spend eight to twelve months designing, building and preparing their vehicles before a competition.
The cars are judged in a series of static and dynamic events including technical inspection, cost, presentation, and engineering design, solo performance trials, and high performance track endurance. These events are scored to determine how well the car performs.
The UConn team began competing at the Michigan event seven years ago, making it a relative newcomer compared to many of the other teams. Under advisor Dr. Thomas Mealy, the team nonetheless placed 20th overall out of the 120 teams in attendance at one of the most competitive events of the year. With the continuing support of sponsors and the department of Mechanical Engineering, UConn Formula SAE is working toward even greater success with the refined design and manufacture of the 2014-2015 vehicle already underway.
– Timothy Thomas, B.S., ME 2014, UConn SAE Team Leader
Renewal of the UConn – Pratt & Whitney Center of Excellence
UConn-Pratt & Whitney Center of Excellence has been renewed for another five years. Center of Excellence engages in research with UConn faculty and graduate students in the areas of combustion, mechanics of materials; and sensing & control of aerospace propulsion systems
Prof. Emeritus Lee S. Langston receives 2015 ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award for his lasting outstanding contributions to gas turbine technology
Prof. Emeritus Lee S. Langston receives 2015 ASME R. Tom Sawyer Award for his lasting outstanding contributions to gas turbine technology
Dr. Robert Gao Receives I&M Society’s 2013 Technical Award
Pratt & Whitney Endowed Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering Dr. Robert X. Gao has been selected to receive the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society (I&M) 2013 Technical Award, one of just four awards presented yearly by the society. The society is dedicated to the advancement of measurement science by developing methods and electrical/electronic instruments to measure, monitor and/or record physical phenomena.
Dr. Gao was selected “For significantly advancing the state-of-the-art in electrical capacitance tomography instrument design.” Upon news of the honor, he said, “I am honored and at the same time, humbled by this award, which recognizes not only of my own work, but also that of my former and present students whose diligence and dedication helped turn ideas into reality. To them, especially to Dr. Zhaoyan Fan who has been instrumental in this research, I dedicate this award.”
Dr. Reza Zoughi, the Schlumberger Endowed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (S&T) and President of the I&M Society, has known Dr. Gao for many years, initially through their collaborations as the Editor-in-Chief (Dr. Zoughi) and an Associate Editor (Dr. Gao) on the society’s Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement. “Our society has the greatest bandwidth of all societies, since I&M covers the spectrum of all technologies for which measurements and instrumentation are factors.”
“One of the things that stands out about Robert is that he is a mechanical rather than electrical engineer, yet he has a strong presence in our society. He is a Fellow of both the ASME and IEEE, which distinguishes him as a researcher of enormous scientific breadth, quality and impact,” says Dr. Zoughi. “The I&M Technical Award honors individuals or groups who have demonstrated ‘outstanding contribution or leadership in advancing instrumentation design or measurement technique,’ but in Robert’s case, it is ‘outstanding contribution and leadership.’ Robert has shown enormous leadership and contributed significantly to the advancement of measurement science and instrumentation. He embodies the essence of quality that I discuss in my President’s message.”
Dr. Gao’s research spans the areas of physics-based sensing methodology, design, modeling, and characterization of low power/self-powered instrument systems, multi-resolution analysis for time series and image processing, and energy-efficient sensor networks for in-situ monitoring of dynamical phenomena, from human physical activities to cyber physical systems and manufacturing.
He will officially receive the award during the society’s International Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC) 2014 meeting in May. The selection criteria for the nominee are based on substantive documentation and tangible evidence of achievement submitted by the nominators. The award entails a certificate and $2,000 honorarium, in addition to travel expenses to attend the award ceremony.
Dr. Lee Langston article
Professor Emeritus Dr. Lee Langston (Mechanical 
Engineering) authored an article appearing in the December 2013 issue of Mechanical Engineering magazine, entitled “Powering Out of Trouble,” which discussed Pratt & Whitney’s challenges in developing the J58 turbojet engine that powered Lockheed’s SR-71 Blackbird supersonic reconnaissance aircraft. Read the article here.
In Memoriam
In Memoriam
The School of Engineering community mourns the loss of professor emeritus Eli Dabora, who passed away November 8, 2013. Dr. Dabora joined UConn in 1968 as a professor of Aerospace Engineering and, later
, Mechanical Engineering. With expertise in high speed combustion for propulsion, Dr. Dabora brought considerable knowhow in the combustion characteristics of fuels. He was particularly interested in understanding the science of detonation, how to initiate or suppress it, and its possible application to propulsion. During his years at UConn, he was admired and loved by his colleagues. Dr. Dabora earned his B.S. and M.S. degrees at MIT, and his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan, where he taught for five years before coming to UConn. Please read more about Eli’s career here and view his obituary here. Those who wish to share memories of Eli on his guest book may visit www.potterfuneralhome.com. A memorial service will be held in late December; the family requests that donations be made in lieu of flowers, to Windham Community Memorial Hospital, Willimantic, CT 06226.
Faculty Notes
Faculty Notes
Dr. Robert Gao, the Pratt & Whitney Chair Professor in 
Mechanical Engineering, was interviewed by a journal that also highlighted research excerpts of his work, in International Innovation, owned by a UK-based media company that compiles and disseminates science, research and technological innovations globally. The research excerpts focused on the development of sensing methods to quantify multiple parameters for quality control, and the importance of collaboration in polymer processing. They appeared on pp. 27- 29 of the September 2013 North America issue, entitled Era of Discovery.