November 2009
Professor Jane Davidson has been awarded The Ronald L. and Janet A. Christenson Chair in Renewable Energy effective January 1, 2010. Jane was selected because of her outstanding work and commitment to renewable energy. Her research specializes in the development of solar thermal technologies for a wide range of applications. A celebration event will be held on December 9, 2009, from 3:30 to 5:00 PM in 402 Walter Library.
October 2009
The Medical Devices Center is sponsoring a special Lecture; Dr. Bala Krishnan, head of Aurolab in India, on October 21, 3 PM, 554 Shephard Labs. The lecture is titled "The Aravind Eye Hospital and Aurolab, using the McDonald's business plan to eliminate needless blindness in India."
Dr. Bala Krishnan heads a non-profit venture called Aurolab, which produces intraocular lenses used in cataract surgery at a cost of less than $10 each. Today, Aurolab produces nearly three-quarters of a million highest-quality lenses annually for use in sight restoring surgeries throughout the world, and produces a full range of low-cost pharmaceutical products related to ophthalmology and eye surgery. The company will soon be moving to brand new production facilities and will continue to expand production as it stays at the leading edge of lens-making technology. Without Aurolab, millions who now see would still live in darkness, notwithstanding the best intentions and most diligent work of surgeons like Dr. V. Without Bala Krishnan sublimating his passion for greater service to humanity, Aurolab would not exist.
September 2009
Professor and Department Head Uwe Kortshagen was named an ASME Fellow for 2009.
Professor Emeritas Suhas Patankar received the Max Jakob Award for 2009, the highest honor in the field of heat transfer, for his pioneering contributions to Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer. The award is given by the ASME in recognition of eminent achievement. The award was presented at the ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference in San Francisco. The award has gone to several ME Professors over the years: Ernst Eckerk in 1961, Ephraim Sparrow in 1976, and Richard Goldstein in 1990.
July 2009
Professors Jane Davidson with grad student Matt Royer, and Professors Lorranine Francis and Susan Mantell, and Uwe Kortshagen received best paper awards at the ASME Summer Heat Transfer Conference, held in San Francisco, July 19-23. Professor Davidson gave a plenary talk; "Solar After Dark; Storage Options." Professor Davidson and team , received the best paper award for, "Shear induced removal of calcium corbonate scale from polypropylene and copper tubes." Professor Kortshagen, with Chin-Yi Liu, received a best paper award for, "Hybrid Solar Cells from Silicon Nanocrystals and Conductive Polymers."
The International Plasma Chemistry Society has announced the 2009 Plasma Chemistry Award for lifetime achivement to Professor Joachim Heberlein for his significant contributions to thermal plasmas science, in particular, the understanding of plasma arc-electrode effects, and his achievements in the area of thermal plasma processing.
June 2009
The University of Minnesota's Solar Vehicle Project came in first place at the 2009 Formula Sun race in Cresson, Texas, June 3-5. The team completed 487 laps on the 1.7 mile track in the three day race. Eleven solar car teams from across the country participated in the event. For more information, visit their web site at www.svp.umn.edu.
May 2009
Professor Art Erdman received the President's Award for Outstanding Service, 2009. The award recognizes those who have gone well beyond their regular duties and demonstrated an unusual commitment to the University Community.
March 2009
Prof. Tianhong Cui and his Ph.D. student Dongjin Lee's paper titled "Layer-by-Layer Self-Assembled Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Based Ion-Sensitive Conductometric Glucose Biosensors" was featured on the cover of the most recent issue of IEEE Sensors Journal, Vol. 9, No. 3.
Professors Tianhong Cui and Terrence W. Simon have been awarded a research grant to develop "Active Heat Sink Technology" for the cooling of electronics using the advanced MEMS and nanotechnology. Phases I and II of this research grant from DARPA/MTO provides $3.4 million in funding over the next four years, two years with an anticipated extension of another two years.
February 2009
Professor Jane Davidson received the Ada Comstock Distinguished Women Scholars Award for Spring 2009. A public lecture and reception was held March 24, 2009 at 4 PM at Cowles Auditorium in the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs. Professor Davidson's topic "Solar after Dark: Going Green at Night," refelects her significant work in using solar energy to create fuels.
January 2009
Professor Al Aksan will be giving a talk to Alumni members in South Florida at the Florida Minne-College, representing IT in January.
Dr. Frank Kulacki delivered a keynote address at the 4th International Conference on Thermal Engineering and Applications in Abu Dhabi on January 12, 2009. The title of his talk was "Microchannel Heat Transfer: Thermo-mechanical Limits of Heat Transfer Enhancement". The conference was held at the Petroleum Institute and was attended by 200 delegates from the EU, the US, and the Middle East. |
Return
to: U of M Home
