Happy Holidays from the Department of Mechanical Engineering!

Creating connections for world change
At Iowa State University, people are coming together to address poverty and other significant issues in Africa. Organizations associated with the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Engineering, and Liberal Arts and Sciences, along with groups within the communities the university serves, recently gathered on campus to share their projects and forge relationships to advance their efforts.

On November 15, 2008, the College of Engineering hosted African Connections, an event committed to linking people to people and bringing ideas into reality. “Events like African Connections broaden the university’s impact in Africa,” says Mark Bryden, associate professor of mechanical engineering and coordinator for the event. “Different groups are introduced to each other, and they can find people willing to help and offer perspective on a project.”

Read the full story at www.me.iastate.edu/news-events-amp-seminars/news-article/article/2260/983.html.

Bilstad completes Sponsored Program Education and Certification Sessions
Mary Bilstad, program coordinator for the Department of Mechanical Engineering, recently completed a certification program provided by the Office of Sponsored Programs and Sponsored Program Accounting. Sponsored Program Education and Certification Sessions (SPECS) is a 10-session training program that covers a full range of topics related to managing sponsored projects at Iowa State. With SPECS training, Bilstad now has in-depth knowledge to assist the department’s faculty and researchers with sponsored projects. The program required 30 hours of in-class time and covered important aspects of the pre-award and post-award process, as well as other relevant topics including a brief history of sponsored projects at Iowa State, research compliance, and technology transfer.

ME graduate students receive excellence awards
As the semester comes to a close, two graduate students in mechanical engineering are being recognized for their outstanding work. Denis Dorozhkin, a PhD student studying under Professor Judy Vance, was awarded the Teaching Excellence Award. Kanaga Subramanian, a PhD student advised by Associate Professor Sriram Sundararajan, was awarded the Research Excellence Award.

For details on the students’ accomplishments, visit www.me.iastate.edu/news-events-amp-seminars/news-article/article/2274/983.html to read about Dorozhkin and www.me.iastate.edu/news-events-amp-seminars/news-article/article/2273/983.html to read about Subramanian.

Undergraduate commencement reception
This semester, 62 undergraduates will be graduating with degrees in mechanical engineering. The department will be hosting an undergraduate commencement reception to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of these students. The reception will be December 20, 2008, from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. at the ISU Research Park Rotunda at 2321 North Loop Drive.

College of Engineering hosts first ISU Wind Energy Symposium
Iowa State University launched what it hopes will be a long-term initiative in alternative energy technologies by hosting the First ISU Wind Energy Symposium in the College of Engineering’s Howe Hall on December 9, 2008.

More than 220 participants registered for the event, according to symposium organizers. Besides Iowa State faculty, students, and staff, attendees for the daylong program included representatives of state agencies, farmers’ groups interested in leveraging public and private investment in wind farm expansion in Iowa, and venture capitalists exploring opportunities in the burgeoning wind energy industry.

Xinwei Wang, associate professor of mechanical engineering, had a poster about the micro wind turbine technology developed by his laboratory on display at the symposium. Many stopped by and expressed interest in the technology, including farmers who were interested in knowing when the product would be available commercially and manufacturers interested in fabricating the blades and structures of the micro wind turbines. Colleagues from other departments were very impressed by the design and expressed interest in collaboration on solving the fundamental problems inside.

Wang’s poster was in the Iowa State Daily’s coverage at the event available at www.iowastatedaily.com/articles/2008/12/09/news/ local_news/doc493f518d579f6135275978.txt. Additionally, the micro wind turbine technology was featured in a video during a presentation about the wind energy research at Iowa State. The video is available at asw.iastate.edu/scratch/sri/01059ee135000cd4ea956a5a7c3fc011/ 09314%20Micro%20Turbine%20Research%20v1c%2ewmv.

View video from the event at www.engineering.iastate.edu/fileadmin/www.eng.iastate.edu/ video_features/windenergysym/windvideo2.html.