October 22, 2018,

Dear members of the Hajim School community,

“Meliora” is manifested in many ways at our University. Recently, in Nobel prizes, for example, but also in this example of an “interdisciplinary collaboration” in support of a good cause.

Charmaine Wheatley is an artist-in-residence at the Medical Center, hoping to reduce the social stigmas around mental illness and HIV through her portraits of people who live with those afflictions, as well as the researchers, clinicians, and caretakers who try to help them. When she needed a display built in a hurry — so she could sell postcard-sized portraits at the College Town Barnes and Noble on Meliora Weekend — she turned to Jim Alkins, senior laboratory engineer in the Fabrication Shop at Rettner Hall.

Jim introduced her to Seth Schaffer ’19 of mechanical engineering, who took on the project. Seth, the president of the UR Makers club, spent three hours designing the display in CAD, another six hours creating the pedestal, and 9 hours assembling the display. “UR Makers is always looking for ways to get our name out there and to raise funds, and this seemed like a good way to do that,” Seth says. “I also hadn’t gotten to use the laser cutter before on campus and this was an opportunity to do so.”

With assists from:

UR Makers eboard member Emma Mantel ’21, who pitched in to help with the final assembly,
Jim Alkins, who helped with the pedestal,
Chris Muir, associate professor of mechanical engineering, who showed Seth how to use the laser cutter to engrave a detailed logo, and
Stephen Dewhurst, chair of microbiology and immunology and associate vice president for health sciences research, who initiated Charmaine’s residency here and made two trips to buy the lumber,

Seth “pulled it off beautifully,” says Charmaine. The event at Barnes and Noble was “fantastic” and the display is still up. Well done, all around!

Congratulations to Ching Tang, emeritus professor of chemical engineering, who is receiving the 2018 C&C Prize from the NEC Corporation’s nonprofit C&C foundation. The award recognizes outstanding contributions in the integration of computers and communications (C&C) technologies and the social impact of developments in these fields. “Prof. Tang’s extensive research on organic electronics, especially OLEDs, culminated in his discovery of a highly luminous and efficient layered thin-film structure with separated functions, which has remained one of the most important technological contributions in today’s display industry,” the foundation notes.

Kudos to everyone who helped 21 Boy Scouts from Troop 92 feel welcome during a recent evening visit to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Christine Pratt, senior technical associate, ran a materials tensile testing machine and definitely got everyone’s attention when the test material failed with a loud bang! Senior technical associate Scott Russell demonstrated the wind tunnel as part of an overview of aeronautical engineering. Assistant professor Ranga Dias ran a laser in his lab and let the scouts look through his microscopes. The scouts also toured the Baja SAE shop. We have it on good authority that the scouts were duly impressed, and were even asking about engineering careers afterwards.

John W. Rick of Stanford University will discuss technological-related approaches to studying Chavín de Huántar, an ancient Peruvian city, at 5 p.m. Thursday in the Gamble Room of Rush Rhees Library. Occupied at least as early as 1500 B.C., Chavín de Huántar is now a UNESCO archaeological site. The lecture, presented by the Archaeology, Technology, and Historical Structures program, will be of special interest to any of our students who have participated in our Ghana field school, or are considering doing so.

Students interested in audio and music engineering, or in studying music, can contact Rob LaVaque, lecturer in AME, about a hearing protection clinic he is organizing with an audiologist who would come to campus to provide hearing evaluations and consultations, along with fittings for custom ear plugs. “If you are serious about working in music or the audio field, you need to protect your money makers!” Rob says. If you are interested, email him by Tuesday.

“How might we reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills by changing behaviors on campus?” This is the University’s first annual Campus Changemaker Challenge. And it would certainly benefit from the input of engineering students. Interested? Register here and plan to attend a workshop from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Barbara J. Burger iZone Studio (G108A).

There’s quite a lineup of fun events on Friday. The annual ASME pumpkin launch begins with practice shots at 1 p.m. at the Wilson Quadrangle, followed by a competition at 2. An engineering E-Social open to students, faculty, and staff will be held on the adjoining porch to Wilson Commons from 2-3:30 p.m. Eat a donut on a string, paint a pumpkin, or just hang out with friends and fellow engineers.

And the annual 36-hour DandyHacks Hackathon will begin at 6 p.m. in the Douglass Ballroom. This combined Computer Science and Data Science event is a great platform for students to come together and work on coding projects, but projects of any type are encouraged. Students of all skill levels are invited to participate, and enjoy free food, workshops, games, swag, and prizes. Register here. Questions? Learn more here.

Have a great week!

Your dean,
Wendi Heinzelman