Grant Supports Laser Research

Associate Professor Receives Fulbright

Good Samaritan is Minimized

CSU Alumni Award Winners Announced

Sources of Nitrogen Discovered

Time Running Out to
Make 2007 Gift

More Stories of Interest

CSU Recognizes 2007 Fall Graduates

Degrees were conferred upon the fall 2007 graduates of Colorado State University on Friday, December 14, and Saturday, December 15. The College of Engineering awarded diplomas to 45 baccalaureate candidates, 42 master's degree candidates, and 11 doctoral candidates.

Ronald Sega, Woodward Professor in systems engineering and vice president for applied research with the Colorado State University Research Foundation, served as the commencement speaker for the College of Engineering ceremony. Sega has served as the chief technology officer for the Department of Defense and is a former astronaut who flew aboard space shuttles Discovery in 1994 and Atlantis in 1996.

For more information on degrees conferred since 1998, please visit the college's fact book online.

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Large Grant Supports Laser Research Initiative

The Office of Naval Research has awarded a Colorado State University professor and her academic partners at the University of New Mexico, Stanford University and Jefferson Lab a five-year, $2.5 million Multidisciplinary Research Initiative grant to advance the fundamental understanding and development of interference coatings for high energy lasers.

Professor Carmen Menoni in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is the principal investigator on the project, which will seek to develop robust optical coatings for the high average power Free Electron Laser demonstrated at Jefferson Lab in Virginia.

"In a laser, the mirrors that make up the cavity control the laser output power, so advances in the fabrication technology are imperative," Menoni said. "This research is critical for continued improvements in laser technology, from high-power to ultrashort-pulse lasers. This is a billion-dollar industry."

This research program will provide unique opportunities for the training of graduate and undergraduate students. The impact of developing human resources with expertise in areas of technology of interest to the nation's economy is viewed as significant.

Visit the CSU website to learn more.

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The Good Samaritan is Minimized

Building on the success of past years, Good Samaritan, an urban search-and-rescue robot designed to locate and identify humans trapped in disaster areas and transmit information to rescue crews prior to rescue efforts, is going not only mini, but micro.

The Mini prototype, half the size of the original Good Samaritan, measures about 12 inches on a side. However, senior design students are constructing the newest member of the Good Samaritan family, the Micro. With the opening to many voids in the World Trade Center rubble measuring less than six inches across, the Good Samaritan Micro (half the size of the Mini) will be the smallest self-contained robot ever designed for search and rescue applications. It is expected to revolutionize the competitive field.

Good Samaritan and Good Samaritan-Mini will compete in Spring 2008 as an integrated team at the RoboCup National Championship in Atlanta, Georgia. A strong finish at the 2006 RoboCup World Championships in Bremen, Germany, will likely ensure the teams a spot in this year's international competition to be held in Suzhou, China.

More information on the Good Samaritan is available online.

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CSU Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients Announced

The Colorado State University Alumni Association is proud to acknowledge the 2008 recipients of the Distinguished Alumni Awards.

The awards program recognizes CSU alumni and friends who have distinguished themselves professionally, brought honor to the University, and have made significant contributions of time and/or philanthropy to the University or their community.

Shen Chen, Director-General of Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency in the Ministry of Economic Affairs, was named the College of Engineering Honor Alumnus for 2008. Chen earned a Master of Science in civil engineering from Colorado State University in 1985 and completed his Ph.D in the Department of Construction Engineering at the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology in 2007.

Recognized as a pioneer of water policy and successful water resources engineer, Dr. Chen has served as Director-General of Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency since 2003. In this role, Dr. Chen is responsible for Taiwan’s water resources planning, design, construction, operation and maintenance, and research. With an annual budget exceeding three billion U.S. dollars, his agency has built many dams, reservoirs, irrigation and water supply systems, and completed numerous river engineering and restoration projects in Taiwan, incorporating state-of-the-art engineering and management technology in water resources.

Dr. Chen also participates in many international professional committee activities as both chair and member, and under his leadership, Taiwan’s Water Resources Agency has signed several technical cooperation agreements with government agencies around the world.

The 2008 Distinguished Alumni will be honored at a banquet on Saturday, February 9, 2008 at the Hilton Fort Collins. The complete list of winners is available on the Alumni Association website.

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Sources of Nitrogen Affecting National Park Discovered

The highest concentrations of trace nitrogen affecting ecology in Rocky Mountain National Park originate from sources east of the park, according to initial results of a new study by a team of Colorado State researchers led by Professors Jeff Collett and Sonia Kreidenweis in the Department of Atmospheric Science

In a paper presented to the American Geophysical Union meeting in San Francisco, scientists outlined how the greatest amount of nitrogen in the park is deposited when winds are blowing from the east. These easterly winds also bring upslope rain and snow, which captures airborne nitrogen — in the form of ammonia and nitric acid — and deposits it in the park’s ecosystem.

Among the negative effects of increased nitrogen in the park are the proliferation of grasses and fewer wildflowers in the tundra and spruce trees that are more vulnerable to drought and insects.

Collett, Kreidenweis, and the CSU team captured and evaluated airborne particles and traced gases in the region in spring and summer of 2006. Measurements were taken within Rocky Mountain National Park, east and west of park boundaries and near the northeast, northwest, and southeast corners of the state.

"Much has been done historically to reduce emissions from automobiles and power plants. Work is under way at CSU to look at how to reduce ammonia emissions from agriculture and fertilizer use," Collett said. "All these things cost money, but I think the long-term view is that there probably needs to be action to reduce nitrogen inputs to the park. Hopefully, some of those actions can be done in a voluntary way once people are aware of the problem."

Further information on the study is available on the College of Engineering website.

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Time is Running Out to Make Your 2007 Gift

As you consider making end-of-year gifts, there are important dates to remember for 2007 charitable deductions and tax credits.

The IRS has ruled that a gift by check or cash must be dated and postmarked by December 31, 2007. In addition, credit card gifts are deductible only in the year the bank processes the transaction. To ensure processing by year-end, credit card gifts to CSU must reach the CSU Foundation no later than December 28, 2007. In-kind gifts for 2007 to CSU will be accepted through December 18, 2007.

Contact the COE Office of Development with any questions on making your gift in 2007.

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Other stories of interest...

Mechanical Engineering Students Develop Cue Testing Machine

CSU Atmospheric Scientist Studies Cloud Formation

Beyond the Classroom: ME Student Recounts an
Adventurous Year Abroad

SimPooch: An Alternative to Animal Use in Veterinary Curriculum

More College of Engineering stories are available on-line
at Engineering News.

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