Maria Auad, assistant professor in polymer and fiber engineering, received a renewal grant from 3M for $15,000. The grant recognizes outstanding new faculty for the quality and pertinence of research, and is intended to help faculty achieve tenure, remain in teaching and conduct research. The award is unrestricted and can be used for any purpose in basic research. This marks Auad’s second year to receive the grant.
Sanjeev Baskiyar, associate professor in computer science and software engineering, received a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) award for more than $160,000 which will fund research related to innovative microarchitectures for high-speed and lowpower computing. DARPA is the central research and development organization for the U.S. Department of Defense.
Sushil Bhavnani, professor in mechanical engineering, recently received the Gerald and Emily Leischuck Endowed Presidential Award for Excellence in Teaching. In his 23 years at Auburn, Bhavnani has helped introduce an interdisciplinary teaming course to teach students skills in interpersonal relationships, crisis management and objectivity in response to engineering accreditation guidelines that emphasize the importance of teaching undergraduate engineering students to work collaboratively.
Mark Byrne, Mary and John H. Sanders professor of chemical engineering, received the inaugural Provost’s Award for Faculty Excellence in Fostering Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship. The award recognizes faculty who have taken extraordinary measures to mentor undergraduate students in research and scholarship. Byrne was selected by a five-member committee of faculty and students. He has been an Auburn faculty member for six years and has mentored more than 20 undergraduate researchers.
Yehia El Mogahzy, professor in polymer and fiber engineering, recently published the book Engineering Textiles: Integrating the Design and Manufacture of Textile Products, which serves as a guide to textile product design and development for engineers, textile technologists, fiber scientists, and researchers developing traditional and new generation textile products. The book discusses several approaches to the fiber-to-fabric engineering of various textile products. Chapters cover key topics such as structure, characteristics and the design of textiles.
Jeffrey Fergus, professor in materials engineering, has been named as a top author of four major article listings. One article, “Recent Developments in Cathode Materials for Lithium Ion Batteries,” was the top listing for material science and chemistry, and the number two listing in the energy category on Elsevier’s list of Top 25 Hottest Articles. The article was also featured in the Journal of Power Sources, which provides an interdisciplinary forum on the science, technology and commercialization of primary and secondary batteries, fuel cells, supercapacitors and photoelectrochemical cells. Elsevier is the world’s leading publisher of science and health information, serving more than 30 million scientists, students and health professionals worldwide.
Molly Hughes, instructor in civil engineering, received the 2010 Chi Epsilon Southern District Excellence in Teaching Award. Hughes was nominated by the Auburn Chi Epsilon chapter, whose members attended the Chi Epsilon national conclave to support Hughes and take home their own awards. The Southern District includes coastal states from South Carolina to Louisiana.
Xiao Qin, assistant professor in computer science and software engineering, was awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for more than $149,000 for his research on developing OoSec, a middleware framework for courses on computer security. The program allows teachers to help students learn the rapid development of critical security software and is the first educational material of its kind designed to teach real-world computing system security to undergraduate students.
Lu Ann Sims, academic adviser and instructor in industrial and systems engineering, was recently elected as the Southeast region vice president for the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE), joining eleven other regional vice presidents who support IIE chapters in the U.S. and Canada. During her twoyear term, she will provide support for chapter and region leaders, and work to foster strong relationships between the chapters, regions and IIE members. The Southeast region includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Puerto Rico.
Robert Thomas, professor in industrial and systems engineering, was selected to serve on the American Society of Safety Engineers Foundation Research Committee, which supports research to advance the prevention of injury and illness. The committee is responsible for developing, selecting, evaluating and promoting proposals that address key safety and health issues, while maintaining a program for soliciting research grants, evaluating research topics and recommending research projects to trustees.
Jorge Valenzuela, associate professor in industrial and systems engineering, has joined the editorial board of Energy Systems: Optimization, Modeling, Simulation and Economic Aspect, the newest publication from Springer, an international publisher in science, technology and medicine, for optimization and modeling professionals worldwide. The journal will focus on economic approaches to energy systemsrelated topics, including power systems optimization, unit commitment, power generation, power trading, electricity risk management, competition in electricity markets, bidding strategies and market power issues.
Jin Wang, Redd assistant professor in chemical engineering, was awarded a $150,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture for her research on coculture systems that create cellulosic biomass, the most abundant and inexpensive renewable feedstock used to produce ethanol for biofuels. Wang will optimize the fermentation of a glucose and xylose mixture using the cocultures S. cerevisiae and P. stipitis, and develop a mathematical model to describe the dynamic interactions between the two strains.
- Auburn University Samuel Ginn College of Engineering
- Auburn, AL 36849
- Phone: 334-844-2308