New supercomputer unleashes 28 trillion calculations per second

	Srinivas Aluru, left, and Steve Nystrom have worked for months to connect cables and cooling hoses and otherwise get Iowa State University's second supercomputer up to speed. Photo by Bob Elbert.

ECpE Professor Srinivas Aluru recently stepped between the two rows of six tall metal racks, opened up the silver doors, and showed off the 3,200 computer processor cores that power Cystorm, Iowa State University’s second supercomputer. Cystorm, a Sun Microsystems machine, boasts a peak performance of 28.16 trillion calculations per second. That’s five times the peak of CyBlue, an IBM Blue Gene/L supercomputer that has been on campus since early 2006. Cystorm will help Iowa State researchers advance their work in materials science, power systems, and systems biology. It is also earning Iowa State recognition as a Sun Microsystems Center of Excellence in Engineering Informatics and Systems Biology. (News release)

Solar car team celebrates 20th anniversary

The names are unique—PrISUm, PrISUmII, CYenergy, ExCYtor, Phoenix, Odyssey, Spectrum, Fusion, and Sol Invictus. These are the nine solar cars that Iowa State students (called Team PrISUm) have designed, built, and raced since 1989. While the international race, which is held every two years, gets most of the media attention, the students get a comprehensive experience that, in addition to designing and building a car from the ground up, includes raising money and spreading the word about alternative energy. (20th anniversary solar car video)

College advances in U.S. News rankings

Iowa State University is again among the top one-fourth of all public national universities in the 2010 "America’s Best Colleges" annual rankings by U.S. News & World Report. The College of Engineering tied for 22nd among public universities' undergraduate engineering programs. (News release)

AerE alum helps develop award-winning software

Iowa State alum Stephen Paris (BSAerE'75, MSAerE'77), technical fellow with Boeing's research and technology division in Seattle, Washington, joins an elite group of engineers and scientists as the recipient of a 2009 R&D 100 Award. The awards, presented by R&D magazine annually since 1963, salute the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year. Paris, along with team members from NASA Glenn Research Center, developed the software tool, Optimal Trajectories by Implicit Simulation, version 4 (OTIS4). It can be used to perform trajectory optimization and performance studies for a wide variety of vehicles including aircraft, rockets, satellites, and interplanetary vehicles. The team also won the 2008 NASA Software of the Year Award, which was presented in February 2009.

E-Week 2009—Rising together we can…

For Jessica Tobelmann and Adam Weaver, the countdown is on. They are general co-chairs of Engineers' Week 2009, a celebration of engineering, which officially begins September 14. For the past year, they have overseen the efforts of five subcommittees and more than 50 committee members as activities, centered on the theme Rising Together We Can…, have transitioned from drawing board to reality. Major events include Senior Visitation Day, campus lunches, golf tournaments, career seminars, intramurals, charity ball, presentation—Failure is not an option—by Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, and culminating with the Career Fair on September 22. (News release)

Career Fair—just around the corner

Bormann	Wiggen

For seniors Justine Bormann and Julia Wiggen, fall semester has gotten off to an incredibly busy start. Bormann, an aerospace engineering major from Clinton, Iowa, and Wiggen, a chemical engineering major from Duluth, Minnesota, are co-chairs of the 2009 Fall Engineering Career Fair planned for Tuesday, September 22. Held in Hilton Coliseum and the Scheman Building, the fair is part of Engineers’ Week. The two co-chairs, who have worked closely with Engineering Career Services to organize the fair, expect to match or exceed the 2008 fall career fair attendance when approximately 3,800 engineering and technology students explored full-time, co-op, intern, and summer employments opportunities with more than 290 employers and 900 recruiters.

With more than three weeks remaining, 86% of the exhibit booths are already assigned. Bormann and Wiggen are also organizing pre-fair events to help students prepare for their interactions with recruiters. These include professional seminars conducted by employers coming to the fair and mock interviews. While co-chairing the event has meant a lot of work, Bormann and Wiggen agree that it has been an amazing opportunity. Alumni are welcome to attend the fair, which runs from 12-6 p.m. on September 22. Visit the Career Fair Web site for details including a list of participating employers.

Solar house nearly ready for DOE's Solar Decathlon

The Iowa State solar decathlon team is preparing to disassemble the solar house and truck it to Washington D.C. for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Solar Decathlon Competition. The Iowa State entry is one of 20 houses that will be open for public tours as part of the DOE’s Solar Village on the National Mall, from October 8-18. Watch final construction activities on the team’s Web cam.

ISU vs. Iowa pre-game event planned

Join College of Engineering alumni and friends for a special celebration the night before the Iowa State versus Iowa football game. This inaugural Iowa Bash will be Friday, September 11, from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Iowa House Bed and Breakfast, 405 Hayward, Ames. Come and enjoy barbeque from Buford's, wine tasting, specialty beers, prizes including tickets to the ISU versus Iowa football game, and lots of good fun. Tickets are $20 per person in advance and $25 at the door.

Contact Kristin Littlejohn, 515-520-1045, or Linda Kelley, 515-294-6969 with any questions. Please RSVP by September 4.

Iowa State to host colloquium on international engineering education

The College of Engineering and College of Liberal Arts and Sciences will host the 12th Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education October 22-25, 2009, at the Gateway Hotel and Conference Center in Ames. This year's theme is Engineering for the Future—Global Pathways. The colloquium will provide a forum for leaders from universities, government, industry, and nonprofits to discuss and share ideas and best practices pertaining to the education of engineers for today’s global workplace. For details, please see 12th Annual Colloquium on International Engineering Education.

A special invitation from the E-Week committee

The Engineers' Week committee invites you to participate in a great opportunity to network with students. Our annual ‘best ball’ golf tournament will be Saturday, September 19, at Coldwater Golf Links in Ames. We will have groups of four, ideally matching up two alumni with two students. The cost is $35 for 18 holes of golf with lunch provided beginning at 11:30 a.m

Check-in starts at 12:30 p.m. with play beginning at 1 p.m. To sign up, please e-mail your name and contact information to eweek.events@gmail.com by Friday, September 4. You are also invited to a very special event Saturday night. Fred Haise, an accomplished engineer and astronaut on the Apollo 13 mission, will present “Failure is not an option” at CY Stephens Auditorium. Haise will focus on his journey through life while tying in the importance of engineering and the effect it has had on his life. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the speech beginning at 7 p.m. We look forward to your attendance. Visit the Engineers’ Week Web site for information about all E-week activities.

Best regards,
E-Week Committee

News and Media Spotlights

Iowa governor visits solar lab: In the news

Enhancing VRAC's Haptic Research Capabilities: In the news

ECpE professor wins young investigator award to combat network threats: In the news

Latham views plastic-to-fuel converter at BECON facility: In the news

ABE professor awarded Grow Iowa Values Fund grant: In the news