Mechanical Engineering Holiday Open House is this Friday
The Mechanical Engineering Holiday Open House will be Friday, December 5, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in 2004 Black. Refreshments will be provided in addition to the opportunity to “engineer a snowflake”!

Beck is College of Engineering’s Adviser of the Year
The University Academic Advising Committee recently announced the recipients of the 2008–09 Adviser of the Year awards. Each year, Iowa State’s colleges select a College Adviser of the Year. This year, the College of Engineering selected Doug Beck to receive the award. In addition to general advising duties, Beck serves as the director of the Kiewit Undergraduate Advising Center.

Check out all the award-winning advisers at: www.public.iastate.edu/~registrar/advisers/2008/ adviseroftheyear2008.html.

ME professors to discuss best teaching practices
Ted Heindel, professor of mechanical engineering and associate chair for academic affairs, was recently awarded a TEACH Grant for “What the Best College Teachers Do: A Roundtable Discussion in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.” With the grant, Heindel will lead an ME faculty book discussion that reviews teaching effectiveness and reviews what works and what does not work within the classroom.

The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching offers TEACH Grants for faculty development related to learning and teaching issues at the departmental level. TEACH, which stands for transformation, enhancement, assessment, collaboration, and helping, encourages community building and discussions about teaching and learning.

Kong’s work highlighted in Biodiesel Magazine
Biodiesel Magazine recently featured the biodiesel research of engineers at Iowa State University. Among those featured was Song-Charng Kong, assistant professor of mechanical engineering. Read the article at www.biodieselmagazine.com/article.jsp?article_id=2948.

Funding awards

• Greg Luecke, ME associate professor, received a $49,920 award for “Immersive Combine Simulation: Moline Application” from Deere and Company.
• Valery Levitas, Schafer 2050 Challenge Professor, received a $44,958 award for “Fundamental Understanding and Improvement of Energetic Reactions of Aluminum Particles with Oxidizers and Metals” from the Office of Naval Research.

Innovative Vibration Solutions takes third in business competition
Atul Kelkar, ME professor, and Jerald Vogel, an emeritus professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering, recently won third place in the John Pappajohn Iowa Business Plan Competition. Kelkar and Vogel co-founded Innovative Vibration Solutions, a subsidiary of an Ames business Kelkar created in 2004 to produce commercial uses for research he conducts in noise and vibration control. The first product of the subsidiary is a device used to reduce the vibrations experienced by over-the-road truckers. To read more, visit www.public.iastate.edu/~nscentral/news/2008/nov/ bizawards.shtml.

ME department awarded two graduate recruiting fellowships
To boost recruitment of top PhD applicants, the mechanical engineering graduate program recently submitted a proposal for a Miller Fellowship. The fellowship awards selected students who hold an assistantship an additional $5,000 per year for three years. Sriram Sundararajan, associate chair for graduate student education and research, and Amy Carver, program assistant for graduate education, submitted the proposal, and the department received two fellowships out of the 15 that were awarded across the university.

Renovation update
The renovations to the mechanical engineering floor in Black are progressing smoothly. Here are some updates that have recently taken place:

• Bulletin boards—Janelle Miranda, program assistant for undergraduate education, and Denise Wright, assistant to the chair, are organizing the bulletin boards on the second floor so each has a specific theme and a banner across the top indicating the content.
• Small conference room 2011—The automatic lock has been installed, and the room is open during business hours. Contact Janet Huggard, department secretary, to schedule and use this room at any time. The room has conference call capability.
• Small conference room 2035—Contact Huggard to schedule and use this room at any time. The room has conference call capability, a white board, and a new LCD display.
• Kiewit Undergraduate Student Services Center—The advising office has moved into 2043 Black. The new center offers students a waiting area and computers to help them register for classes.
• Business office—Staff in the business office have been temporarily relocated while work on 2025 takes place. Room 2095 has faculty mailboxes, supplies, and the photocopier. Huggard; Miranda; Cindy Manning, educational programs secretary; Jessi Strawn, communications specialist; and the department’s work-study student are also located in 2095. Wright and Jonathan Wickert, department chair and Larry and Pam Pithan Professor of Mechanical Engineering, will move into 2062 to 2066. Mary Bilstad, program assistant, is located in 2068, and Carol Knutson, account clerk, is located in 2070.
• Signage—We are working with the university’s museum to relocate the mural and the university’s sign department to upgrade signs on the first and second floors to include directories; signage to stairs, elevators, and conference rooms; as well as placards outside faculty offices.

ME 415 presentations demonstrate knowledge
Students in ME 415 will be presenting their accomplishments on Thursday, December 11. The presentations will be held in different rooms throughout the day. Some of the topics include

• designing a device that will transfer wave energy into electrical energy using ocean waves
• designing a device that will enable recycling of a material that is used to protect cotton
• designing a bicycle for a blind person
• designing a manufacturing process for people that are mentally challenged
• designing a device that will reduce time and the need for a crane to change an agricultural implement
• designing a device that will enable a manufacturer to more accurately align a welding machine

For complete details, contact Gloria Starns, senior lecturer.