Research Stars Light the Path - College of Engineering - University ...

Message from the DeanIn contrast to gloomy news on thenational and global fronts, we havegood news from UW Engineering.Foremost is the huge success ofCampaign UW: Creating Futures.More than 10,000 friends helpedus raise $267 million, seven percentmore than our $250 million goal.New student and faculty endowmentscreated during the campaign willtransform the college’s research andeducational programs. A section ofthis issue celebrates your generoussupport and the future it creates.The feature story highlights thevalue of undergraduate research,with a focus on our efforts to createmore opportunities for women engineeringstudents.When I was in college in theearly 1970s, women were activelydiscouraged from studying engineering.The emerging women’s movementhelped dissipate that bias inthe 1980s, and the percentage ofwomen students rapidly shot upfrom the single digits to a little over20 percent. However, the percentagehas remained flat for the past twodecades, probably because manyyoung women still don’t resonatewith the image of the geek.A number of studies have shownthat women are much more drawnto fields that clearly benefit humanity.In recent years the professionhas presented itself not just as aneconomic engine, but also a way tochange lives. This vision has been especiallytrue for disciplines workingat the interface of biology and engineering— bioengineering, chemicalengineering, and materials sciencehave attracted the highest percentageof females into engineering.When Professor Mary Lidstromwas our associate dean for newinitiatives, she created a “biology forengineers” course that had greatsuccess demonstrating that bridge.We are committed to opening morepathways into engineering for youngwomen and to recruiting morewomen faculty. As you will read inthis issue, women engineers at theUW are doing exceptional researchand are outstanding role models.On another front, I’m excitedabout two new federal grants highlightedon pages 3–4. A grant fromthe Department of Energy establishesa collaboration between UW andOregon State University on marinerenewable energy. Additionally,UW and Caltech will partner on aNational Science Foundation grantthat will build a research focus onmolecular programming.Molecular engineering is becominga major new thrust for us. Thisfield parallels the great advances atthe end of the last century in designtools for mechanical and electricalsystems that can address many of thegreat challenges of our time, such ashealth, energy, and the environment.Two stories in the Innovator sectionreport some recent faculty work inmolecular engineering.Another new focus area bridgesengineering and global health, thelatter a growing strength at the UW.Bioengineering and Industrial Engineeringhave new global health grants,and you’ll hear a lot more aboutthese new initiatives in future issues.Matthew O’DonnellFrank and Julie Jungers Deanof EngineeringTaking ChargeThomas Calhoun is the new assistant dean forthe Engineering Advising and Diversity Center.Previously he was executive director of GEAR UP,a statewide precollege program based at theUW. He has a long career in education on theEast Coast and in Chicago. He recently earned hisPhD in educational leadership at the UW.Thomas CalhounCraig Benson became chair of Civil & EnvironmentalEngineering on July 1. An expert ingeotechnical engineering, he comes to the UW from the Universityof Wisconsin–Madison, where he chaired the geological engineeringprogram. Benson received his MS and PhD degrees in civilengineering from the University of Texas–Austin.Technical Communication did not need to look far for its new chair.Longtime faculty member Jan Spyridakis moved into the leadershiprole on August 1. She has won numerous awards for her researchon document design, usability, and online learning, and has beenhonored with the UW Distinguished Teaching Award. She earnedher BA through PhD degrees at the UW.Craig BensonJan SpyridakisIn Rarified CompanyBuddy Ratner, professorof bioengineering andchemical engineering, willbe honored as one of the“One Hundred ChemicalEngineers of the ModernEra” by the American Instituteof Chemical Engineersas part of its centennialcelebration. These 100 “guided theprofession into the new century” afterWorld War II. Ratner was selected inthe New Frontiers category for workin engineered biomaterial surfaces tocontrol surface interaction and synthesizedbiostable radio-frequency filmsand polymer scaffolds. The 100 wereselected from nearly 1000 nominations.2 TREND • Vol 58:2 • Autumn 2008