Fall 2015

 

Media Mentions
 
Quantum effect that could lead to development of high frequency oscillators demonstrated with ultra-thin diode MORE>>

Association of Women in Computing is helping to attract and retain women in STEM at Penn State MORE>>

Penn State launches online master's in electrical engineering
 
3-D Printing Club provides opportunity for students to engage with unique technology MORE>>  
 
Student creates H2O-Pal to track water intake MORE>>

CYCLING: Pennridge grad Baranoski has Olympic dreams  
Penn State merges disciplines, creates new school to be part of elite group of universities
MORE>>  
and

Sophomore creates app for Penn State students MORE>>

Computer science class hosts inaugural event to unveil new software MORE>>    
 
In the News

Five tenure-track faculty members join the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2015-16 MORE>>

Flexible dielectric polymer can stand the heat MORE>> 
 
Narayanan provides Congressional briefing on brain-inspired computer systems MORE>>
Engineering student's personal initiative lands her early Microsoft experience MORE>>

Social network analysis privacy tackled MORE>>

Engineering students travel to Peru as part of Pathways Fellows program MORE>>

Monga receives National Science Foundation CAREER award
Penn State's Medvedev receives National Science Foundation CAREER award MORE>>

Latest NSF rankings: Penn State scores high in broad range of research fields MORE>>
 
Kavehrad book explores optical wireless applications MORE>>

Recognitions and Awards

Electrical engineering's Guler invited to two conferences for women MORE>> 
 
Werner wins 2015 ACES Technical Achievement Award MORE>>  

Computer science professor and former student win Outstanding Paper Award MORE>> 

Narayanan named distinguished professor MORE>>
 
Three EECS faculty members granted tenure, promotion MORE>>
 
Schultheisz and Reeder win second place in Freescale Cup MORE>>
Alumni News

Sam Patel, Banyan Tree Brand CEO and Founder, changes focus to ready-to-drink chai beverages MORE>>

Videon Central CEO delivers College of Engineering commencement address MORE>>

Alumni News items can be sent to [email protected]
 
Please send alumni email updates to Cathy Schultz at   [email protected].

Upcoming Events
 
November 22-28: Thanksgiving Holiday
photo
About this month's cover photo:
In March, the Penn State Board of Trustees approved the creation of a new School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering. The new school is an association between the electrical engineering and computer science and engineering departments. 

IME newsletter
This issue's spotlight shines on EE student Basak Guler
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Learn more about this issue's cover photo.


Students work with international peers in Global Cyber Learning Factory course
Students in Global Cyber Learning Factory build computer program with students from India, Bosnia, and Herzegovina 

Often when a professor assigns team projects at the start of the semester, after divvying up the work, most students forget about it until a few days before it's due. But procrastination is nearly impossible when the teammates are global.

From the start of the computer science and engineering 483W Global Cyber Learning Factory class students at University Park, India, Bosnia, and Herzegovina had to plan out their projects with their international peers, taking into consideration the varying time zones, semester lengths and means of communications. They also had to give weekly reports to each other and their professors.
 
Invisibility Cloak Aspirations
A fabricated metasurface may well represent the first demonstrated practical application for invisibility cloaks
A fabricated metasurface that leads to improved antenna performance may well represent the first demonstrated practical application for invisibility cloaks, according to Penn State researchers.

Doug Werner, John L. and Genevieve H. McCain Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering, and Zhihao Jiang, postdoctoral scholar in electrical engineering, created a cloaking metasurface for optimal antenna communication. They reported their research in the most recent issue of Advanced Functional Materials.

Their idea is based on the concept of cloaking with quasi-two-dimensional materials engineered to exhibit exotic electromagnetic behaviors.
   
Urbina uses Fulbright project to build connection between Penn State, Peru
Electrical engineer uses Fulbright to teach and conduct research in Peru
Julio Urbina is building strong educational ties between Penn State and his native Peru. The Penn State associate professor of electrical engineering was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to teach and conduct research in Peru. While there, he intends to forge a link between the two countries beyond a shared stage of academics.

In March, Urbina taught for a semester at his undergraduate alma mater, the Universidad Nacional de IngenierĂ­a in Lima. He took two of his graduate students who helped him build and launch a new radar in Huancayo. Their work aided in the study of targets such as meteors and plasma irregularities in the Equatorial ionosphere. Additionally, he oversaw a program that allowed 11 undergraduates in the College of Engineering to travel to his home country and attend classes at the Universidad de ESAN, in Santiago de Surco, Lima. His plan is to establish an active relationship between the two Peruvian universities and Penn State.
 
A day to remember
Penn State My Day app could help older adults with memory loss


From time to time, forgetting to pay a bill, misplacing car keys, or searching for reading glasses (while you're wearing them) can be an irritating, yet normal, part of life. But for people over the age of 60, memory loss that encroaches into daily living - like habitually forgetting to take medications or missing appointments, for example - might have more serious consequences.  

Nikki Hill, a postdoctoral fellow in Penn State's College of Nursing who works with older adults, wants to improve the lives of people living with memory loss and is developing an app that might offer a solution.

Machine vision system could help the visually impaired shop for food
Device can follow a list and guide the shopper's hand to pick up a wanted item
You're in the mood for pasta, so on the way home from work you stop at the grocery store and pick up rotini, shaved Parmesan cheese, and the organic tomato sauce you favor. Into the store and back out, 15 minutes, tops. Simple, right?

For those of us who can see, it is. For those of us who are blind or have limited vision, a simple trip to the grocery store can be a major chore.

"You always have to find someone at the store to help you," said Michelle McManus, an IT consultant at Penn State and president of the Happy Valley chapter of the National Federation of the Blind. "Then you have to explain exactly what you want -- and hope the person helping you is diligent about getting it right."
 
Kane named director of Center for Optical Wireless Applications
Electrical engineering professor takes over NSF-sponsored center  
Tim Kane, professor of electrical engineering in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in the College of Engineering at Penn State, has been appointed as the new director of the Center for Optical Wireless Applications.

He replaces founding director Mohsen Kavehrad, the W.L. Weiss Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering.

LINK TO FULL STORY>>
Raghavan appointed to NSF advisory committee
Raghavan will help further initiatives such as advancing CISE frontiers, infrastructure, leadership, education, and partnerships 
Padma Raghavan, associate vice president for research and strategic initiatives at Penn State, director of the Institute for CyberScience, and Distinguished Professor of Computer Science  and Engineering, has been appointed to serve on the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) Advisory Committee. 

The NSF relies on this committee to deliberate and make recommendations on scientific opportunities and major policy challenges for CISE. As a member of the committee, Raghavan will help further initiatives such as advancing CISE frontiers, infrastructure, leadership, education, and partnerships.

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