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About K-State

2011 Engineering Achievements

* David Gustafson, a professor of computing and information sciences, was named by the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative as one of the top 150 scientists ever to work in Kansas throughout its 150 years of statehood. January 2012

 * Heqing Huang and Su Zhang, both doctoral students in computing and information sciences, won the Best Student Paper Award at this year's annual Computer Security Applications Conference. Their award-winning paper, "Distilling Critical Attack Graph Surface Iteratively Through Minimum-Cost SAT Solving," was co-authored by Xinming "Simon" Ou, Kansas State University assistant professor of computing and information sciences, and two collaborators from the University of Michigan. December 2011

* A team of bioprocessing engineers with the university's Advanced Manufacturing Institute was issued a patent for a system that removes phosphorus from wastewater and addresses environmental regulations. The system was issued as a patent titled "Fluidized bed precipitator with optimized solids settling and solids handling features for use in recovering phosphorus from wastewater." The phosphorus reduction system, called Phred for short, is an easy-to-use fully automated system that removes up to 60 percent of phosphorus in wastewater from cattle feedlots. December 2011.

* The university's student chapter of the Associated General Contractors has again been recognized as one of the best in the nation for its good works. The Associated General Contractors of America selected the chapter as second in the nation for 2010-2011. The chapter also was ranked highly in 2009 and 2010. December 2011

* DeeAnn Turpin, senior in biological systems engineering, was recognized by the inaugural New Faces of Engineering College Edition program, which promotes the accomplishments of third-, fourth- and fifth-year engineering students by highlighting their academic success and student contributions to the industry and participating engineering society. The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers honored Turpin. As a member of the university's chapter of Engineers Without Borders, Turpin has gone on organization trips to India, Guatemala and Ecuador to aid in the development of sustainable water systems. She also has active with several volunteer projects at the university. December 2011

* The commercial construction team placed second at the Associated Schools of Construction's Region IV annual conference, Oct. 26-29, in Nebraska City, Neb. The team was assigned a project for constructing a three-story addition to an existing, functioning four-story hospital. The team also had to complete an oral presentation the day after completing their project. The actual construction company that built the project judges each team. The team is coached by Eric Bartholomew, assistant professor of architectural engineering and construction science. November 2011.

 * A team of K-State architectural engineering students has continued the university's success in an international design competition by taking second place in the heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems selection category of the 2011 student design competition sponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. K-State has placed first or second in the international competition for the last five years, and has finished in the top five of the event since 2004. October 2011

* Dana Gude, master's student in electrical engineering, was one of two honorable mentions for the Alton B. Zerby and Carl T. Koerner Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineering Student Award from Eta Kappa Nu, a national electrical and computer engineering honor society. The award recognizes outstanding scholastic excellence and high moral character, coupled with demonstrated exemplary service to classmates, university, community and country. October 2011

* The K-State fountain wars competition team continued its string of top performances with another first-place finish at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers annual international meeting in Louisville, Ky. Fountain wars is a hands-on, real-time design competition where students design and model a fountain to complete technical tasks. The model is then built and tested under time limits at the competition. September 2011

* The Advanced Manufacturing Institute helped the Kansas Association of Regional Development Organizations earn a 2011 Innovation Award from the National Association of Development Organizations for pioneering inventive ways to help rural or isolated businesses and communities create networks and identifying opportunities for growth through the Regional Industry Cluster Analysis and Innovation Networking Project. The institute and the North Central Regional Planning Commission, both members of the Kansas association, initiated the pilot regional planning project to increase technology-based economic development in 19 rural Kansas communities. July 2011

* The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers honored Byron Jones, associate dean for research and graduate programs for the College of Engineering, with the Louise and Bill Holladay Distinguished Fellow Award for continuous preeminence in engineering or research work. July 2011

* Alan Tillman, senior in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering, received the Seizmic Honor Scholarship from the Material Handling Education Foundation Inc. for superior academic achievements. Tillman is one of 29 students nationwide to receive an award from the foundation. He also is the department's 31st student to earn an award from the foundation. July 2011

* Rachel Spicer, senior in civil engineering, received the prestigious Student Leadership Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The national award recognizes outstanding leadership in a student chapter or international student group through various activities, including services as an officer, leading special events and interaction with university administration among others. Spicer has served in a multitude of roles with the K-State chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers, including vice president, 2011-2012 steel bridge team co-captain and co-chair of the Mid-Continent Student Conference. June 2011

* K-State's construction science and management program in the College of Engineering has helped to triple the number of certified tilt-up concrete technicians in Kansas throughout the last several years as well as helped to certify the first two female tilt-up concrete technicians in the nation. Tilt-up construction is a construction technique that uses concrete panels that are tilted from horizontal to vertical position using a crane. June 2011

* Elizabeth McCullough, professor of textiles and co-director of the Institute for Environmental Research, and Ruth Douglas Miller, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, were added to the Ad Astra Kansas Initiative's list of top 150 scientists. The list -- part of the yearlong celebration of the Kansas sesquicentennial -- is comprised of researchers and innovators who have made or are making major contributions to their field, positively affecting Kansans and residents around the country. May 2011

* Reid Lundin, architectural engineering student from Manhattan, has received the 2011 Council of American Structural Engineers Scholarship from the American Council of Engineering Companies. The national scholarship is worth $1,500. The scholarship recognizes academic achievement and experience in structural engineering. May 2011

* Kyle Riding, assistant professor of Civil Engineering, was the lead author of an article that earned the Wason Medal for Materials Research from the American Concrete Institute. The award is given annually for peer-reviewed original research work or discoveries that are published by the institute. Knowledge of construction materials must be advanced by the findings. The team's findings, "Effects of Construction Time and Coarse Aggregate on Bridge Deck Cracking," were published in the American Concrete Institute's Materials Journal for September-October 2009. May 2011

* The SAE Aero Design Team's model aircraft, the Purple Albatross, placed second overall in the regular class event in the recent SAE Aero West Competition in Fort Worth, Texas. The international event had 34 teams participating. K-State has finished in the top 10 of the competition for seven consecutive years. The team's aircraft also placed third in maximum payload by carrying a load of 28.72 pounds -- a team record. May 2011

* The University Professional and Continuing Education Association recognized the Division of Continuing Education and several K-State faculty members for excellence in distance education programs, teaching and marketing efforts. The association's Distance Learning Community of Practice Exemplary Program Award was presented to the Big 12 Engineering Consortium's nuclear engineering program. The program provides, with assistance from the Division of Continuing Education, online undergraduate courses in nuclear engineering to Big 12 engineering students. The Research and Scholarship Award went to Royce Ann Collins, assistant professor in educational leadership, for her research on adult learning, accelerated programs, cognitive development and faculty development. The Excellence in Teaching Award was given to Terrie McCants, instructor of family studies and human services. McCants was instrumental in the development of K-State's online conflict resolution undergraduate and graduate certificate programs, facilitated by the Division of Continuing Education. The division also received two gold awards, one silver award and five bronze awards for marketing efforts. April 2011

* A K-State team won two out of five categories -- the most by any school -- in the Architectural Engineering Institute's Charles Pankow Foundation Architectural Engineering Student Competition. The event, March 31, was part of the 2011 Architectural Engineering Conference in Oakland, Calif. The K-State team was tops in the electrical category and the construction category for their ingenuity, innovativeness and originality of work. Fourteen teams from 12 universities participated in the competition, which challenged students to address design issues for a new contemporary art museum in San Francisco, Calif. Teams had to be sensitive to the local architecture and history of the area. April 2011

* LaVerne Bitsie-Baldwin, director of the Multicultural Engineering Program, received the 2010 Outstanding Director Award from the National Association of Multicultural Engineering Program Advocates Inc. The award recognizes her efforts to increase the K-State program's enrollment 160 percent from 2008 to 2010. The increase also was a factor in the association's Region D receiving the 2010 Outstanding Region Award. Bitsie-Baldwin is chair of the region, which includes engineering schools in Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Dakota and Texas. March 2011

* Kejia Li, doctoral student in electrical engineering, is a finalist in the Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology's 2011 Student Prize for Primary Health Care competition, which challenges engineering students to come up with innovative technology to support and improve the delivery of health care. Li and his team received $10,000 to develop a final proposal for his project, "Everyday Carry Wireless Health Monitor with Customizable Surface Components." Feb. 2011

* Vikas Berry, assistant professor of chemical engineering, has received a five-year, $400,000 award from the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program. The CAREER award supports early career-faculty who effectively integrate research and education within the context of the mission of their institutions. Berry will use the award to study a new process to produce graphene quantum dots, which are ultrasmall sheets of carbon atoms. By controlling their size and shape, Berry and his research team can control graphene's properties over a wide range to develop better switches for computers, to manipulate graphene-devices and to engineer novel particulate systems. Feb. 2011

* K-State's Beta Kappa chapter of Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical and computer engineering honor society, has received the Outstanding Chapter Award for its activities and service during the 2009-2010 school year. It's the first time K-State has received the honor, which is presented only to chapters judged to be exemplary. Twenty-three of Eta Kappa Nu's 200 active chapters received the honor this year. Jan. 2011

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