SUMMER 2006
E
Montana State University
ngineering
A publication of the MSU College of Engineering
for Alumni, Friends and Faculty
Inspired by professor, graduate students explore new territory for electronic chips
MSU photo by Jay Thane
Kyle Lyson (left) and Kyle Ross stand in MSU’s highfrequency circuit lab, one of only a few in the nation.
By Tracy Ellig, MSU News Service
Kyle Ross snaps open the thin, black,
pocket-watch-sized case in his hand. Inside, 38
silicon chips glint in the light, none of them
big enough to cover the end of a pencil eraser.
“When I first saw them I couldn’t believe
their size,” said Ross, a graduate student in electrical engineering from Whitehall. “I thought:
‘Holy cow those are small’.”
The chips are home to a circuit of Ross’ own
design: a tiny building block to what someday
could be a high-frequency communication
device. Under a microscope, an electronic chip
looks like an enormous metropolis. What Ross
holds in his hand is one city street, a circuit
built of devices 100 times smaller than the
width of a human hair.
Ross has been sending an electro-magnetic
signal down this street to see if he can make
it stronger when it reaches the other end. His
research is part of a worldwide effort that could
dramatically change wireless communication
devices, radar and even create new ways to
detect harmful chemical and biological agents.
It’s work made possible by MSU electrical
engineering professor Jim Becker. In 2004,
Becker won a prestigious $412,000 National
Science Foundation Career Award. Using a
portion of that award along with money from
the NSF Major Research Instrumentation
program and the M.J. Murdock Charitable
Trust, Becker created the university’s first highfrequency circuit lab.
The lab is the size of a large gardening shed.
Despite its humble appearance, it houses
$600,000 of equipment, the likes of which is
only seen west of the Mississippi at Stanford
University, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at
Caltech and MSU.
Formally called the Microwave and Millimeter Wave Electronics Lab, the facility’s equipment allows Ross and fellow graduate student
Kyle Lyson of Redmond, Wash., to test circuits
and devices in the one to 300 gigahertz range
made from silicon CMOS (complimentary
metal oxide semiconductors). CMOS chips are
in ipods, DVD players, laptop computers and
global positioning devices. Becker characterizes
them as the workhorse of integrated circuits.
Most CMOS chips operate at 10 gigahertz
and less. Ross and Lyson’s research could have
applications for pushing CMOS into dramatically higher frequencies, resulting in chips able
to carry far more data.
For Ross, the work in Becker’s lab has helped
him win several job offers.
“Working in the lab has definitely helped:
being able to say that I’ve actually designed,
fabricated and tested a chip,” said Ross, who
will finish his master’s degree this summer.
He’s been offered jobs by AMIS in Bozeman
and Micron in Boise, Idaho. Both positions
deal with the integrated circuit technology he’s
been working on.
In Lyson and Ross, Becker sees examples of
what he hoped the lab would achieve.
“In the past, MSU students were limited
by resources in this field, but that’s no longer
an issue,” Becker said. Now we have fantastic
students, doing incredible work and they are
only limited by their abilities and interests; not
our facilities.”
MSU’s teams represent COE in SAE and HPV vehicle competitions
MSU’s vehicle teams were undeterred by
California weather during recent races.
The Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) team
faced cool, wet weather at the West Coast
Showdown 2006 in San Luis Obispo, Calif.,
April 28-30. The western portion of the HPV
competition, sponsored by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, was hosted by
California Polytechnic State University.
The MSU HPV team’s successful first year is
demonstrated in the results:
• Endurance: 4th of 22 teams
• Design: 12th of 24 teams
• Sprint: 8th of 22 teams
• Overall: 8th of 24 teams
Team members are Dan McMillan, Tad Taylor, Robin Rocco, Tyrele
Schaff, Chris Raisl, Wiliam Bergum,
and Jen Munsell. Chris Jenkins, head
of mechanical and industrial engineering, is the faculty advisor.
Another MSU team, Bobcat Motorsports, faced track temperatures
exceeding 150°F. They competed with
their SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers) formula car in Fontana, Calif., at
the California Speedway, June 14-17.
Despite stiff competition from teams
photo courtesy California Polytechnic State University
Tyrele Schaff runs alongside Jen Munsell as she pedals to the
starting line for the endurance race.
See “Vehicle teams” on p. 5
THE COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
www.coe.montana.edu
Dean
Robert J. Marley
(406) 994-2272 . rmarley@coe.montana.edu
Associate Dean for Research
and Graduate Studies
Anne Camper
(406) 994-2272 . anne_erc.montana.edu
Assistant Dean for Undergraduate
Programs and Diversity
EMPower Director
Heidi Sherick
(406) 994-2272 . hsherick@coe.montana.edu
Senior Director of Development
Linda Wyckoff
(406) 994-2223 . lwyckoff@coe.montana.edu
Assistant Project Director
Hewlett Designing Our Community Program
Sheree Watson
(406) 994-6723 . swatson@coe.montana.edu
Director of Educational Innovation
and Strategic Projects
Carolyn Plumb
(406) 994-5940 . cplumb@coe.montana.edu
DEPARTMENT HEADS & DIRECTORS
Chemical & Biological Engineering
Ronald Larsen
(406) 994-2221 . ronl@coe.montana.edu
Civil Engineering
Brett Gunnink
(406) 994-2111 . bgunnink@ce.montana.edu
Computer Science
Michael Oudshoorn
(406) 994-4780 . michael@cs.montana.edu
Electrical & Computer Engineering
James N. Peterson
(406) 994-2505 . jpeterson@ece.montana.edu
Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Christopher H.M. Jenkins
(406) 994-2203 . cjenkins@me.montana.edu
Center for Biofilm Engineering
Phil Stewart
(406) 994-2890 . phil_s@erc.montana.edu
Montana Manufacturing
Extension Center
Steve Holland
(406) 994-3812 . sholland@coe.montana.edu
Western Transportation Institute
Stephen Albert
(406) 994-6114 . stevea@coe.montana.edu
Air Force ROTC
Lt. Col. Martin Balus
(406) 994-4022 . afrotc@montana.edu
Army ROTC
Maj. Ara Megerdichian
(406) 994-4044
2
Letter from the Dean
Dear Friends of the COE,
Recent newsletters have highlighted positive changes
occurring in your
College of Engineering, including
high-caliber new
faculty, scholarships and programs
to support students
and faculty. Nearly
Dean of the College of
one-third
of all our
Engineering, Robert Marley
faculty have been
appointed within the last six years, building
tremendous energy and excitement. The best
and brightest engineering and computer science students are now recruited and retained
thanks to the record number of available scholarships. Other capable students struggling to
afford college have also received support. Many
of you have contributed to these scholarships,
and on behalf of all faculty I want to relate a
hearty thank you!
Exciting changes are unfolding across the
MSU campus, and collective efforts to attract
top faculty, students and new program enhancements are widely recognized. No doubt
the biggest news is that MSU climbed to the
top tier of the Carnegie Foundation’s rankings
of U.S. institutions. This premier recognition
for which all colleges and universities strive is a
measure of high-quality research and teaching.
Our new ranking puts MSU in the top 94 of
nearly 4,400 institutions of higher education.
I often say that “success breeds success” and
this new recognition is tied to other good news.
Sikorsky Helicopters announced that it will
soon open a new design unit in Bozeman, initially creating 40 new engineering jobs. Other
corporations, such as Microsoft, have enhanced
existing MSU partnerships. All of this news can
be traced directly to the College’s new vigor.
We can certainly not rest on such laurels, so
we are finalizing plans for even greater program
enhancements. These will be a focus of an upcoming University capital campaign, so please
look for discussion in future publications. In
the meantime, I hope you enjoy this newsletter
and please keep in touch.
Best Wishes,
Robert Marley, Dean
MSU’s EWB chapter helps Kenyans install well pump at school
Adapted from an article by Tracy Ellig, MSU
News Service
After three years of planning and fundraising by MSU’s Chapter of Engineers Without
Borders (EWB), the first of many drinking
water wells was drilled for an impoverished
school district in western Kenya.
In February, the group of students and
recent graduates had a well drilled. It yielded
44 gallons of water per minute for the Shirali
School, with 600 elementary students but no
potable water. Before the well, children–
mostly girls–walked three miles to haul water.
An architect living in Nairobi, Kenya, who
grew up in the district, requested the project.
Despite unexpected delays, the well is operating. Now the group is faced with running a
nearly one-mile water line from the well to the
next school, one of 56 EWB projects assigned
to the MSU chapter. If the team cannot find a
machine to dig the trench, it might need to be
dug by hand, one of many challenges ahead.
A holding tank must be built and the group
wants to add a solar-powered pump to the
Shirali well to extract drinking water for the
two schools. For the initial phase, the group
raised $25,000, but the water line, trench
and solar panels are estimated to cost another
$13,000. The students also want to repair
Munyanza School and replace the existing pit
toilets with sanitary latrines.
In August, another MSU EWB subgroup
plans to conduct surveying and field work in
Shirali and Munyanza. To learn how you can
provide support, e-mail ewbmsu@hotmail.com.
Photo courtesy of Francis Ashira
Students gather at the new well pump outside a school
in Kwhisero, Kenya.
Recognition & Awards
COE recognizes
outstanding employees
The COE recognized contributions from faculty and staff members during the annual awards
banquet on May 3.
The following faculty members
received Outstanding Instructor
Awards, which are awarded by each
program: Jim Duffy, Chemical
and Biological Engineering; Jerry
Stephens, Civil Engineering; Penny
Knoll, Construction Engineering Technology; John Paxton,
Computer Science; Todd Kaiser;
Electrical and Computer Engineering; Durward Sobek, Industrial
Engineering; Mike Edens, Mechanical Engineering; Kevin Cook,
Mechanical Engineering Technology; Capt. Daniel Meier, Air Force
ROTC; and Master Sgt. Todd
Fullerton, Army ROTC.
These people received Outstanding Research Awards, which are
awarded by each department and
research center: Joe Seymour,
Chemical and Biological Engineering; Ed Adams, Civil Engineering; Rafal Angryk, Computer
Science; Joseph Shaw, Electrical
and Computer Engineering; Sarah
Codd, Mechanical and Industrial
Engineering; Betsey Pitts, Center
for Biofilm Engineering (CBE); and
Tony Clevenger, Western Transportation Institute (WTI).
At the college level, awards were
presented to people as noted: Al
Cunningham, CBE, Outstand-
ing Outreach; Catherine “Kate” Heidkamp,
WTI; and Heidi Sherick, Dean’s Office,
Outstanding Professional Employee; Nancy
Carrasco, Dean’s Office, and Greg Merchant,
Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Outstanding Classified Employee.
MSU holds Employee
Recognition Awards Ceremony
Nancy Carrasco, Dean’s Office, was among
five MSU employees who won Employee Recognition Awards during the annual ceremony.
Bob O’Driscoll, Civil Engineering; William
Van Horn, Military Aerospace Studies; and
Kreg Worrest, Montana Manufacturing Extension Center; were also nominees.
Eight COE seniors honored for excellence
Eight COE students were among 41 of
MSU’s top seniors recognized at the 24th annual Awards for Excellence Banquet on February 21. The MSU Alumni Association and the
Bozeman Chamber of Commerce sponsor the
event. Students are nominated by faculty in
their college or department. Eligible seniors
must have earned a 3.5 grade point average on
a 4.0 scale and demonstrated campus leadership and community service. Each recipient selects a mentor to also be honored at the event.
Following are the award winners from COE
and their respective mentors: Carson Drew,
CpE-German (Frederick Cady, ECE); Cody
Sarrazin, ME (Heidi Sherick, COE Dean’s
Office); Andrew Schultz, CE-bioresources
(Daniel Shaffer, ChBE); E. Hubble Werre,
ChBE (Joseph Seymour, ChBE); Colt Frederickson, CS (John Paxton, CS); Kristina
Kurcinka, ME (Terry Kennedy, M&IE); Kyle
Bergren, ME (Vic Cundy, M&IE); and Ezra
Ballinger, CE (Jerry Stephens, CE).
MSU’s contingent shines at IIE
The MSU contingent at the Institute of
Industrial Engineers (IIE) 2006 annual conference had two notable achievements, winning
a highly competitive scholarship and a best
paper award. Amanda Andrikopoulos, IE,
received the United Parcel Service Scholarship
for Female Students, which is open to eligible,
nominated undergraduates throughout North
America. The award is based on scholastic ability, character, leadership, potential service to the
industrial engineering profession, and financial
need. Manimay Ghosh, doctoral candidate,
and Durward Sobek, assistant professor, beat
out more than 70 other Engineering Management track submissions with their paper, “A
Test of the Design Rules in Healthcare.”
Greenfield receives Parkins Award
Nathan Greenfield, EE, is the 2006 recipient of the William E. Parkins EngineeringPhysics Award at MSU. The Parkins award is
intended to encourage students to study across
disciplines and is awarded to the MSU student
with the top grade point average in engineering, math and physics courses. Greenfield has
applied his abilities to his work for the Electra
satellite in the Space Science and Engineering
Laboratory at MSU. His senior design project
involves creating a sensor network to monitor
health and power levels throughout Electra.
He plans to attend graduate school to possibly
study meta-materials or electromagnetics.
Related stories
• William E. Parkins passes away (page 7)
• Faculty & Staff Spotlight (page 5)
Micron receives Excellence in Philanthropy Award
from MSU Foundation at Donor Appreciation Dinner
Because of its extensive support of MSU
students, Micron Technology, Inc. received
the MSU Foundation’s Excellence in Philanthropy Award for a national corporation or
foundation at the 2006 Donor Appreciation
Dinner. Since 2001 Micron has provided
ongoing student support by hiring graduates,
sponsoring summer internships, and by annually providing 12 undergraduate engineering
scholarships of $5,000 each. Micron’s support
is now focused on the Computer Science and
Electrical and Computer Engineering departments.
Micron has also provided funding toward
equipment purchases, faculty research and
a new student
microfabrication
lab. By hosting
faculty visits and
allowing its employees to serve on
advisory councils
and present technical lectures, Micron
has helped faculty
and administration Micron representatives with Micron Scholars for 2006-07: (left to right) Amy Lynn,
understand industry Micron; Jared Hedegaard, CS; Patrick C. Kujawa, CpE; Brooklyn Gore,
Micron; Orion Bukantis, CpE; Ryan Heimbuch, CS; Kevin Duesman, Micron;
needs.
and Stasha N. Patrick, EE, attended the Micron Scholars Dinner held April 19.
Micron Scholars Justin T. Hadella, CpE; Cory J. Kuffner, CpE; Jesse M. Way,
EE, and Cassie Reynolds, CS, are not pictured.
3
Glatch encourages students in E-Week address: Explore opportunities
“Don’t be too quick
to rule things out,”
advised Lisa Glatch
in her keynote address to more than
100 female college and
high school students
attending the 2006
Women in Engineering Dinner, held on
February 23.
Lisa Glatch, President of
Glatch, president of
Fluor Government Group
the Fluor Government
Group, a division of Fluor Corporation, spoke
at the event sponsored by Cargill and the COE
as part of National Engineers Week.
Glatch encouraged young women to explore
opportunities in engineering. “Let it evolve and
when those opportunities come to you, take
advantage of them,” advised Glatch.
Glatch credits her position as Fluor’s first
female president to her willingness to take a
personal risk. Following 9/11, U.S. Secretary of
Transportation Norman Mineta called Fluor’s
chairman and asked the company to loan a
top executive to help guide the government’s
response efforts. Within hours, Glatch was
offered the chance to join a tight-knit team of
seven Fortune 500 executives. She began working in Washington, DC, just two days later.
Calling it a life-changing experience, Glatch
Kautzman, Cargill (’96 ChE); Linda Thompspoke with pride about her newfound ability to son, Conoco-Phillips (’84 ChE); Carina Beck,
serve her country. According to Glatch, the ex- Director of MSU’s Career Services; and Anne
perience led to Fluor’s expansion of its governCamper, MSU’s Associate Dean of Engineerment work and resulted in the division’s growth ing (’95 CE), joined her to answer questions.
in annual revenue from less than $1 billion to
Other E-Week events included an Engineera$3 billion in just 3-1/2 years.
thon for sixth-graders, Badge Day for Girl
Glatch spoke enthusiastically about rapid
Scouts, and Shadow an Engineering Student
changes in engineering, where integrated softfor high school students.
ware systems, increased mobility and teamwork
Fluor has designated MSU’s COE as a Tier 2
across time zones make it possible to do things
School, where it recruits graduates and provides
better, faster, and cheaper. Glatch also encourrecruitment scholarships for women in civil
aged the audience to seek out mentors willing
engineering.
to be honest with them.
Glatch closed by
quoting inventor and
engineer Charles Kettering. “He summarized the
attraction of engineering
by saying, ‘The Wright
brothers flew right
through the smoke screen
of impossibility,’ and
Glatch said, “I do believe
that that’s what being an
engineer is about. You
truly can make a difference.”
Lisa Glatch credits her willingness to take personal risk to her position as Fluor
Following Glatch’s com- Corporation’s first female president. Glatch provided the keynote address during
the 2006 Women in Engineering Dinner, sponsored by Cargill and the COE.
ments, panelists Julene
Donors fund scholarships with nearly $21.4 million, $5.9 million designated for COE
MSU Foundation Scholarship Campaign
Gifts by Donor Level
Final Campaign Goal
$18 million
Goal
Actual*
$0
$5,000,000
$10,000,000
$15,000,000
$20,000,000
Total Actual Gifts
$21,354,755
KEY to Donor Levels
Benefactor
$1 m. or >
Founder
$500k-$1 m.
Leader
$175k-$500k
Sponsor
$75k-175k
Patron
$25k-75k
Sustainer
$10k-25k
Advocate
$5k-10k
Partner
$1k-5k
Other
<$1k
* Actual gifts & donor counts based on hard credit only
Donors supporting the College of Engineering provided more than 60% of the college-restricted funds and nearly 28% of the total amount raised in the
scholarship campaign. The campaign raised $21,354,755, with $5,941,849 designated for the COE.
4
Faculty & Staff Spotlight
Shaw lands NSF Career Award
Repasky recognized for mentoring
Steven Shaw, electrical and computer engineering, received a $400,000
Career award from the National Science
Foundation (NSF). The five-year grant
is one of NSF’s most prestigious awards
to support early career-development
activities of teacher-scholars.
Shaw will use the grant to provide
undergraduates with a cross-disciplinary lab for understanding how to apply
controls theory in cutting-edge areas,
such as fuel cells and energy, optics, and
micro-electromechanical devices. The
grant will also support graduate students conducting research on how fuel
cell degradation is related to transient
electrical loads. Shaw’s ultimate goal is
to discover how fuel cells might help
solve energy challenges.
Kevin Repasky, electrical and computer
engineering, is one of two MSU faculty members who won the 2006 Provost’s Award for
Undergraduate Research/Creativity Mentoring. Repasky works with undergraduate
researchers several hours a week in addition
to his full-time research and teaching responsibilities. Five undergraduates are involved in
Repasky’s lab, where they apply optical science and technology to electrical engineering
problems. Three of his former students, now
alumni, are employed by Montana companies in the optical and solid-state materials
field, based in no small part on their research
involvement with Repasky as undergraduates.
Paxton wins Fulbright Fellowship
John Paxton, computer science, has
won a Senior Lecturing Award from the
Fulbright Scholar Program. As part of
his 2006-07 sabbatical, he will develop
and teach two new computer science
courses at the University of Leipzig in
Leipzig, Germany. Paxton has been
with MSU’s Computer Science Department since 1990. His research interests
include expert systems, artificial intelligence, and computer science education.
MSU in top tier of research universities
MSU is now in the top tier of research universities in the United States. A new classification system by the Carnegie Foundation for the
Advancement of Teaching recognizes MSU as
one of 94 research universities with “very high
research activity.” Institutions that share the
classification and, like MSU, focus on undergraduate education include Dartmouth, Cal
Tech, Colorado State, North Carolina State,
and Virginia Tech.
MSU’s expenditures from sponsored research
programs reached nearly $100 million in Fiscal
Year 2005 and are expected to climb further.
Sub-Zero Lab boosts MSU’s appeal to
cold-region research scientists
The Civil Engineering Department will use
$1.7 million in grants to create a 2,700 sq. ft.
state-of-the-art Sub-Zero facility with eight
cold labs. Professors Ed Adams, civil engi-
MMEC trio wins Unsung Hero award
Margie Jensen, Stacey Scott and Deborah
Nash, the home office team at the Montana
Manufacturing Extension Center (MMEC),
received national recognition at the National
Institute of Standards and Technology and
Manufacturing Extension Partnership conference in Orlando in May. The trio received
the Unsung Hero award for relentless clientfocused support and streamlining of internal
operations to enable field staff to focus exclusively and efficiently on service delivery to
Montana companies. “This stellar support is
critical given the small staff and huge territory
served,” according to MMEC Director Steve
Holland. The entire seven-member MMEC
field staff nominated the team for the award.
neering, and John Priscu, land resources and
environmental sciences, lead the project.
Adams’ research builds upon research
conducted by retired MSU professors Robert
Brown and John Montagne, foremost U.S.
avalanche researchers.
Adams expects the lab to increase synergy
among scientific disciplines studying cold
environments, involve more students in leading
research, and enhance MSU’s internationallyrenowned reputation as a cold-region research
center.
To comprehend the impact and influence of
the climate, scientists need to not only conduct
outdoor experiments, they need to scrutinize
individual components of cold environments
under precise controls. The lab will provide
such opportunities.
The National Science Foundation and the
Murdock Charitable Trust contributed $1.1
million and $600,000 to the lab, respectively.
Left to right:
Steve Shaw (EE), John Paxton (CS), and Kevin
Repasky (EE)
Left to right:
Deborah Nash, Stacey Scott, and Margie Jensen are
the MMEC home office team
Congratulations and thank you
Ray Babcock, computer science, and Max
Diebert, chemical and biological engineering, retired at the end of the spring semester.
Jay Conant, mechanical and electrical
engineering, has accepted a faculty position
at the Daniel Webster College in Nashua,
N.H., beginning in fall 2006.
Lt. Col. Timothy Lolatte, Army ROTC,
has been rotated to a new overseas assignment and Lt. Col. Kraig Evenson has
retired.
“Vehicle teams” from p. 1
representing 70 other universities, the first-year
team finished 28th in the design event. They
competed in all seven events and consistently
placed in the middle one-third of teams, with
one exception — they got edged out of the
Endurance event.
The following team members traveled to
the event: Jay Evers, Will Hubay-Dies, Eric
Milliren, Alex Woidtke, Isaac Henslee, Jake
Fraser, Aaron Darnton, Bobby Baenziger,
Lance Johnson, and Blake Buchanan. Faculty
advisor Robb Larson, MET, supported the
team prior to and during the event.
Many other team members who were unable
to attend the event worked diligently and were
instrumental to the team’s success. The team
extends thanks to others behind the scenes
including COE; SAE club members; MIE
Capstone students, instructors, advisors, faculty and staff; donors and sponsors, families,
friends and well-wishers.
5
Engineering Advisory Council attends
DESIGN SHOWCASE
TOP: Paul Guest MET, (left) discusses the “Unmanned Air Vehicle” project with
EAC member Michael Sanderson. Other team members include Kyle Bergren
(ME), Stephen Fusselman (ME) and Geoff Manchester (MET). The project
was sponsored by the Montana Aerospace Development Association and the
Undergraduate Scholars Program.
BELOW: Kristina Kurcinka, ME (left) speaks to Jean Sweeney about the
Avalanche Measurement Project while teammates Cody Sarrazin, ME, (left
background) and Jeff Redshaw, ME, answer questions from another person
attending the event. The project was sponsored by faculty member Robb Larson
(MET).
ABOVE: SAE Club President Aaron Darnton, ME, (center) explains
features of the SAE Formula car to an interested observer. Members of
three multi-disciplinary capstone project groups collaborated with SAE
club members to design and build the vehicle, including (left to right)
Craig Diefenderfer, MET, Powertrain Group; Alex Woidtke, MET,
Suspension/Steering group; Will Hubay-Dies, SAE club member. The
MSU SAE Club sponsored the project.
LEFT: David Meyn, CpE, explains work that his team did for
their sponsor, MSU’s Space Science and Engineering Laboratory
(SSEL). Other students who worked on SSEL projects include Josh
Miller, CpE; Kyle Sternberg, EE; Kelli Grabbe, EE; and Mark
Myers, EE.
6
William E. Parkins passes away at 89
George Keremedjiev, (center) President of Tecknow Education Services, Inc. and the Director and Founder
of the American Computer Museum in Bozeman, captured the audience’s attention at the outset of his address
to the 2006 graduating class at the College of Engineering’s commencement ceremonies on May 6. Keremedjiev
used his oversized prop to give the audience a pop quiz related to the slide rule. Brett Gunnink (left), head of
Civil Engineering, and Chris Jenkins (right), head of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, were among
the faculty members attending the ceremony. Read Keremedjiev’s charge to the class at www.coe.montana.edu/
chargetoclass2006.html
William E. Parkins, ‘37 EE, died Sept.
30, 2005, at his home in Woodland Hills,
Calif. He was 89.
After obtaining advanced degrees at
Cornell, Parkins worked at the University
of California, Berkeley during WWII. He
helped develop the electromagnetic process
used for the separation of uranium-235
isotopes for the atomic bomb. Later, Parkins
became the director of research at Rockwell
International.
Parkins established the Parkins
Engineering-Physics Award at MSU in
1997. He saw a need for engineers to have a
better understanding of underlying physical
principles and for physicists to gain the
practical perspective required of engineers.
His award encourages MSU students to
study across disciplines. (See related story,
Greenfield, page 3.)
EAC shares industry insight
during annual meeting
What traits and skills must an engineer
possess to succeed in 2020? And, what must
MSU’s College of Engineering do to be sure
that its graduates possess those traits and skills?
Those are questions that 15 members of the
Engineering Advisory Council (EAC) tackled
with COE faculty and staff during their annual
meeting. The 2006 meeting was held April
27-28 at the new headquarters of the Western
Transportation Institute and Montana Manufacturing Extension Center at the CFT complex south of MSU’s campus.
EAC members provide important industry
perspectives to guide COE’s strategic plan.
The EAC identified the need for the COE to
cultivate lifelong learning, knowledge of business issues, flexibility, innovation and strong
communication skills–even when working with
people from other cultures–in their graduates.
The current EAC members include Lindsay
Anderson, ’83 ChE, The Boeing Co.; Norman
H. Asbjornson, P.E., ’60 ME, ’04 HDR,
AAON, Inc.; David A. Bartle, ’78 EE, ’80
M.S.-EE, Marvell Technologies; Michael J.
Ferris, ’68 ChE, Pure Water Components;
Klein Gilhousen, ’01 HDR, Qualcomm
Inc.; Kerry Hanson, ’74 EE, Spacelift Range
Systems, ITT; Brad Heckerman, American
Eagle Instruments; George Keremedjiev,
American Computer Museum; Bill Law,
’73 EE, ’74 M.S.-EE, Tektronix Inc., MAPL
Engineering; Allan J. McDonald, ’59 ChE,
’86 HDR, Thiokol Propulsion (retired); Perry
EAC and COE faculty members: Left to right, back row: James Peterson (ECE Dept. Head), Brett Gunnink
(CE Dept. Head), David Bartle, Kerry Hanson, Perry Moore, Ryan Parker, Steven Quist, and Bill Law, front
row: Klein Gilhousen, Norm Asbjornson, Jean Sweeney, Linda Thompson, Lindsay Anderson, Michael Sanderson,
Robert Marley (Dean of COE) and Steve Albert (WTI Director). EAC members George Keremedjiev and Chris
Nelson attended the 2006 meeting but are not pictured.
J. Moore, ’81 ME, The Boeing Co.; Chris
Nelson, Zoot Enterprises; Ryan Parker, Intel
Corp.; Steven M. Quist, ’68 ME, Blackmore
Peak Partners; Michael P. Sanderson, ’94 CE,
’96 M.S.-CE, Engineering, Inc.; Jean Sweeney,
’76 ChE, 3M; Linda Thompson, ’84 ChE,
ConocoPhillips Billings Refinery; and Robert
O. Warrington, Michigan Technological
University.
COE students excel on FE Exam
Students compete at ASME regional
In October 2005, COE seniors outperformed all peer groups nationwide on the
discipline-specific Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) exams. The eight-hour exam is
the first step toward professional licensure.
COE seniors across all engineering disciplines
achieved a 77% pass rate, surpassing the aggregate national pass rate of 71%. MSU COE
is among the 10% of programs that requires
all graduating seniors to take the exam.
Nine MET students competed in the annual American Society of Mechanical Engineers North American Pacific District student
conference held in April at Boise State
University. Two teams designed and built
radio-controlled micro-baja cars, with Team
#1–Lance Johnson, Chad Wagenhals and
Bob Baenziger–placing second. Katie Worman won the Old Guard Technical Poster
competition.
7
Non-Profit Organization
U.S. Postage Paid
Permit No. 69
Bozeman, MT 59715
Office of the Dean
College of Engineering
212 Roberts Hall
P.O. Box 173820
Bozeman, MT 59717-3820
SUMMER 2006
COE
Asbjornson continues to serve the MSU community as
AAON and COE make one-of-a-kind HVAC lab a reality
Norm Asbjornson (center), president and founder of AAON, Inc., explains features of the new HVAC laboratory
to visitors and faculty as Richard Davis of AAON (far left) listens during a recognition ceremony held April 28.
Norm Asbjornson, ME ‘60, and the company that he founded, AAON, Inc., recently
donated more than $700,000 in cash, equipment and technical advice to create a one-of-akind heating, ventilation, and air conditioning
laboratory in MSU’s College of Engineering.
Asbjornson’s insistence that the lab be used
8
for teaching and research reflects his longstanding commitment to students. Richard Davis,
lab manager for AAON, Vic Cundy and Kevin
Amende, Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, and undergraduate students Ben Lipscomb and Brandon Cox were also recognized
for their contributions.
Asbjornson is well known for supporting
MSU and his hometown of Winifred, Mont.,
even though AAON is based in Tulsa, Okla.
Asbjornson recently earned national recognition for community service as a 2006 recipient
of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Award,
a Jefferson Award bestowed upon “unsung
heros.” Only five of the prestigious awards for
outstanding public service benefiting the local
community will be presented by the American
Institute for Public Service this year. Asbjornson and other local recipients joined national
recipients to be honored during a black-tie dinner in Washington, D.C., on June 20.
The institute was founded by Jacqueline
Kennedy Onassis, U.S. Senator Robert Taft,
Jr. and Sam Beard for the purpose of establishing a Nobel Prize for public and community
service–The Jefferson Awards. National award
recipients represent a “Who’s Who” of outstanding Americans.