EngineeringWV Fall 2012, Special Commemorative Issue

FALL 2012 Volume 8 Issue 2Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

Commemorative Issue

Celebrating 125 Years of Engineering Education

opportunities and supportEducating the Future

FRESHMAN ADVISING

acad

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life

RECRUITMENT AND OUTREACH

Early StartCo-Op

Freshman engineering

student life

build

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relat

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hips

Dear Friends:

This past August, nearly 4,000 students returned to West Virginia University to study in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. That’s a far cry from the first reported class in the College of Engineering, which included just 14 students.

As we celebrate 125 years of engineering education at WVU, one cannot help but look back on how the field has changed and how much our once-small College has grown. In September, we broke ground on the new Advanced Engineering Research Building, which is expected to be completed in late 2014. The building, with an approximate price tag of $42 million, will feature 22,000 square feet of flexible research laboratory space, as well as a 15,000 square foot clean room. Compare that to our first dedicated home in Machinery Hall, which was constructed for $5,000 in state funds, and featured $12,000 worth of apparatus and machinery, but no fire protection.

In 1962, there was just one computer on campus, and students only had a three-hour window in which they could access it. Today, computers are everywhere, including in our students’ hands with the advent of tablet devices and mobile phones. And thanks to an in-kind software gift from Siemens, many of our students now have access to the same product lifecycle management software in their classrooms that is utilized by leading companies around the world.

Our once largely white, male, West Virginian student body has grown to include people from around the world. And women, once a rarity on the faculty and in the student body, now grace both sides of the classroom in increasing numbers.

But while many things have changed, others have stayed the same, and for good reason. Throughout our history, our students have always been taught by an expert faculty who engage and challenge them to excel in and out of the classroom. They involve our students in their cutting-edge research in areas that further the growth of our state, our nation, and our world.

From our earliest days, the advising staff in the College has worked hard to ensure our students receive the help they need to be successful in what is best described as a very challenging curriculum. Our freshman advising staff, led by Dr. Robin Hensel, does an excellent job to make sure our students receive the personal attention they need to succeed. And it’s working; our students are among the brightest at WVU, with nearly 800 earning placement on the President’s or Dean’s list this past May.

Nowhere is our service to the state of West Virginia more apparent than in our Department of Mining and Industrial Extension. Joseph Main of the Mine Safety Health Administration recently visited the Department’s Academy of Mine Training and Energy Technologies and left with the conclusion that the nation could use more places like it in an effort to make the industry safer.

At this point in our history, it is important to reflect on how far we’ve come. But our work is just beginning. The next 25 years will see incredible changes in our disciplines and engineering education technology will advance like never before. The 2013 spring issue of EngineeringWV will focus on the changes ahead, through interviews with faculty, students, and alumni. Stay tuned…the best is truly yet to come!

Eugene V. Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean and Professor

Message FroM the Dean

eugene v. cilento

the mission of the WVU Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and Mineral

resources is to prepare students to practice their profession and

to contribute to the well-being of society through academic study, research, extension, and service.

WVU Libraries

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125th CoMMeMoratiVe

insert

FALL 2012

Dean and Publisher / Eugene V. Cilento [email protected] / 304.293.4157

Editor / Mary C. Dillon / [email protected]

Contributing Writers / John Bolt / Conor Griffith / Gerrill Griffith William Nevin / Debra Richardson / Dan Shrensky / Jake Stump

Magazine Design Coordinator / J. Paige Nesbit

Junior Designer / Halley Kurtz

Photography / Greg Ellis / Halley Kurtz / J. Paige Nesbit / Brian Persinger

Historical Photography / West Virginia and Regional History Collection West Virginia University Libraries

Address West Virginia University Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources PO Box 6070 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6070 www.statler.wvu.edu

Change of Address WVU Foundation / PO Box 1650 Morgantown, WV 26504-1650 Fax: 304.284.4001 / e-mail: [email protected] www.mountaineerconnection.com

engineering West virginia is published twice each year, in spring and fall, for the alumni, friends, and supporters of the Wvu Benjamin M. Statler college of engineering and Mineral Resources.

copyright ©2012 by the Wvu Benjamin M. Statler college of engineering and Mineral Resources. Brief excerpts of articles in this publication may be reprinted without a request for permission if engineering West virginia is acknowledged in print as the source. contact the editor for permission to reprint entire articles.

West virginia university is governed by the Wvu Board of governors and the West virginia Higher education Policy commission. Wvu is an equal opportunity/Affirmative Action institution.

FEATUR

ES

ON COVER / Pictured: Samuel Asante, a native of Falls Church, Va., participates in EngineerFest.Historic photo / West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University Libraries

IN EVERY ISSUEDEAN’S MESSAGE

FACULTY/RESEARCH NEWS

ACCOLADES

COLLEGE NEWS

STUDENT NEWS

ALUMNI NEWS

SUPPORT

7 HEASLEY TO HELP DIRECT mINE

SAfETY AND HEALTH RESEARCH fUND

14 EDUCATING THE fUTURE

26 mODERN mEETS RUSTIC IN WVU SOLAR DECATHLON TEAm’S DESIGN

fOR ENERGY-EffICIENT HOmE

39 WVU fOUNDATION LAUNCHES “State of MindS,” LARGEST PRIVATE fUNDRAISING CAmPAIGN IN UNIVERSITY HISTORY

Dear Friends:

Message FroM the Dean

eDUCating the FUtUre

page 14

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a new generation of affordable high-capacity electric storage batteries could be the bridge between West Virginia’s heritage of fossil energy production and the promise of renewable energy output that can keep america’s lights aglow and the state’s economy humming for decades.

an experienced research team composed of experts from a range of WVU colleges is set to explore that possibility and develop the technology to make it a reality under a major new initiative called the Center for electrochemical energy storage, or Cees.

the initiative received a $1.3 million research Challenge grant from the West Virginia higher education policy Commission’s Division of science and research. team leader and principal investigator Xingbo Liu is ready to flip the switches to start the process.

Liu, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and aerospace engineering of the Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and Mineral resources, said large-scale batteries are key to future efforts to regulate and maintain a steady stream of power from both traditional fossil fuel and new emerging renewable sources of electricity.

the electrical power supply system operates essentially at the speed of light; the instant a consumer demands electricity, it is delivered. Few options exist for balancing supply and demand other than calling on generators to increase or decrease production in a process called “load following.”

Fuel input is the primary means for synchronizing the system. But

renewable fuels like wind and sunlight are out of humans’

direct control so it is not feasible to rely on

them to be

available at the speed of light to be dependable sources for “load following.” But storing electricity that renewable sources produce in affordable, long-lasting, safe, large-scale, rechargeable, high-capacity energy storage devices/systems such as batteries can solve that problem and hold electricity ready until it is needed.

Liu said the rechargeable batteries could help “shave” peak demand, level intermittent renewable energy supply, provide emergency

power, and enable numerous smart “hybrid” grid applications.

he said that the reserve capacity that coordinates supply and helps utilities meet peak demand is worth nearly 10 cents per kilowatt hour versus two cents per nonreserve capacity kilowatt hour.

“that is why some utility companies have added expensive battery systems to wind generation stations,” Liu said. “the battery storage system compensates for the minute-to-minute changes in wind speed.”

But those batteries are not the large-scale affordable approaches that Liu envisions as the keys to greater energy generation efficiency.

“america needs more affordable, large-scale electrochemical storage systems,” he said. “they will not only help bring renewable power generation into the power equation

but also help traditional fossil fueled plants operate at a more constant rate, thereby minimizing equipment wear-and-tear and eliminating emissions that occur when they ramp up to meet demand.”

affordable, efficient, large-scale battery storage is one of the U.s. Department of energy’s grand challenges for research.

Liu said his project could hold the key to a new generation of affordable rechargeable batteries

because it is based on a new technology that uses lower cost composite materials – materials that can allow batteries to operate at half the temperature of current technologies. Liu invented the proprietary technology that serves as the basis for the WVU approach.

“today’s technologies rely on fairly exotic materials such as lithium whose supplies are limited predominantly to Venezuela,” he explained. “We will apply the latest computational and characterization techniques to composite materials, which use more widely available raw resources. the performance of these

NEw RESEARCh CENTER To DEvElop TEChNology FoR hIgh-CApACITy ElECTRIC SToRAgE BATTERIESBY gerriLL griFFith

liu

Liu said the Center will have a significant impact on the regional workforce.

WVU BENJAMIN M. STATLER COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING AND MINERAL RESOURCES

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RoCkEFEllER, MANChIN ANNoUNCE NSF gRANTS To ADvANCE ENERgy RESEARCh senators Jay rockefeller, chairman of the senate Committee on Commerce, science, and transportation, and Joe Manchin recently announced $831,086 in federal funding for energy research at West Virginia University, which will allow researchers to explore ways to improve the energy grid and make it more efficient.

“studying our energy infrastructure is vital for not only the present, but for future generations,” rockefeller said. “these grants will support energy research at West Virginia University, making the school among the leaders in the nation for this type of research.”

“promoting research initiatives that help us move toward energy independence should be a top priority for this country,” Manchin said. “West Virginia University is a world-class research school, and it is encouraging that WVU has the opportunity to help lead us in improving and developing better ways to use energy right here in the United states.”

two of the grants from the national science Foundation (nsF) were awarded to researchers in the Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and Mineral resources.

the nsF’s Division of electrical, Communications, and Cyber systems awarded $322,501 for the project “grid Challenges for a smart transit system” under the direction of sarika Khushalani-solanki. this project aims to develop technologies for a sustainable, fully-automated smart transit system and develop tools needed to upgrade electric power distribution systems.

“smart transit systems are not only an alternative to oil but they also have several advantages over conventional transportation systems,” said sarika Khushalani-solanki. “those advantages include utilizing grid power, less volatile prices, and lower greenhouse gas emissions.”

the nsF’s Division of Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing innovation awarded $172,655 for the project “Collaborative research: the next-generation electricity Capacity and transmission expansion Model with Large-scale energy storage and renewable resources” under the direction of Qipeng (phil) Zheng. this project’s objective is to provide optimal solutions for long-term electricity infrastructure expansion in the future.

“if the project is successful, it will provide planning authorities with the most advanced electricity system modeling and computational tools,” Zheng said. “this research holds great potential to transform the current planning practice in the electricity sector, resulting in substantial savings for consumers and sustainable power systems.” •

materials will perform well enough at prices that would allow large-scale market penetration.”

the new WVU Center for electrochemical energy storage takes advantage of the University’s unusual range of expertise. Liu has recruited computational scientists, chemists, a coatings expert, and a characterization specialist from steM disciplines across WVU to build the technical program.

the materials development team consists of Liu and Xueyan song, both from mechanical and aerospace engineering; Bingyun Li of the Department of orthopaedics, WVU school of Medicine; and Xiaodong shi, of the WVU Department of Chemistry in the eberly College of arts and sciences. a multi-scale modeling team is made up of ismail Celik, of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and James Lewis, of the Department of physics in the eberly College.

Liu said he also invited patricia Lee from the entrepreneurship and innovation program of the College of Law to work with the WVU office of technology transfer to move resulting research from the labs to the market. trina Wafle and Kathleen Cullen from the national research Center for Coal and energy will provide program management assistance.

Liu said the Center will have a significant impact on the regional workforce. graduate courses in the field of energy storage are planned that will deliver M.s. and ph.D. students ready to meet industry’s needs while an affiliates component will provide opportunities for ph.D. students to work directly with industrial and national laboratory partners. the Center will also develop a research program for undergraduates to work with faculty during the semester and with partner organizations during summer internships.

the Center will pursue an aggressive outreach

strategy to bring new jobs to West Virginia. Liu said the Cees will seek to collaborate with

energy, aerospace, and transportation businesses that

could lead to preservation and creation of r&D and manufacturing

jobs in the state.

“We have developed long-term working relationships with our partners in national labs and industry,” Liu said. “We have established good relationships with energy storage researchers in two major national labs conducting stationary energy

storage.” •

KHuSHAlAni-SolAnKi

ZHeng

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There was a time not

long ago when nighttime

military operations were

difficult to impossible.

The only tools security

forces had to recognize the

faces of potential enemies

were pictures and human

memory.

Technology breakthroughs

made great strides in

addressing the situation.

Today, night vision

technology is common on

the battlefield, and facial

recognition hardware and

software is a staple even on television dramas. But facial

recognition technology to keep the peace in low light and

nighttime situations has been elusive.

Natalia Schmid, an associate professor of computer

science at the WVU Benjamin M. Statler College of

Engineering and Mineral Resources, has taken up the

challenge of working on an advanced weapon sight

program to provide additional advantages on the ever-

changing battlefield.

Schmid has received a $74,438 grant, primarily from

the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate of

the Army Research Lab, to tackle what experts in the

field call “cross spectral facial recognition algorithm

development.” This is a process that can not only

help give soldiers the ability to recognize faces in the

dark but also create high-tech tools for environmental

monitoring, aerial imaging for agricultural applications,

and astronomical imaging.

Face recognition systems in use today are designed to

operate on visible light data collected from still images or

video sequences. The process centers on a comparison

of collected images with new image captures in order

to determine a match and thus recognize and identify a

face. But the lack of light at night prevents those high-

performance systems from performing accurately enough

to be effective.

The military has actively searched for

alternatives. But, so far, most of those operate

at wavelengths that are invisible to the human

eye and undetectable by many electro-optical

devices used in the field.

“Our long-term goal is to develop a new

recognition system that is able to cross match

images collected by different imaging modalities,”

said Schmid. “This

will be a new tool

that will allow

registering and

matching objects

imaged by two

cameras with

different spectral

selectivity.”

Schmid’s

work could

mean a safer

battlefield,

more effective

environmental

monitoring, and

vast improvement

in the way scientists

use aerial imaging to

keep track of agriculture and

track the night sky. •

wvU RESEARChER To hElp DEvElop NIghTTIME FACIAl RECogNITIoN SySTEMBY DAN SHRENSkY

ScHMid

Schmid’s work could mean a safer battlefield, more effective environmental monitoring, and vast improvement in the way scientists use aerial imaging to keep track of agriculture and track the night sky.

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The work of West Virginia University’s Thirimachos Bourlai,

assistant professor in the Benjamin M. Statler College of

Engineering and Mineral Resources, was published on the

Homeland Security News Wire. HSNW talked with Bourlai

about facial recognition technology, the challenges this

technology faces, and how this technology enhances

military capabilities.

In the article, Bourlai explains that face-based

recognition systems, or FRS, are

gaining interest because the face

has several advantages over other

biometric traits.

“A typical FRS consists of

the enrollment and the

authentication phase,”

Bourlai said. “During

the enrollment phase,

images of the user’s face

are taken and used to

create face templates,

which are then stored

in a database. During

the authentication

phase, newly

recorded images of

a user’s face, called

probes, are used for

recognition. A decision

on the person’s identity

is taken on the basis of

the comparison between

the old images and new

probe images.”

Basically, the two images of the same

person produced by FRS are expected to

be much more similar than two FRS images

produced of two different people. But is this

always true in real-world scenarios?

“Unfortunately, in practice, things

are not that straightforward,” Bourlai

said. “There are various challenges

with regard to facial recognition

technologies, and this is why there

are so many groups worldwide

working in this area.

“For example, consider a face image

captured by a surveillance camera at

night outside a military facility. If the

person is flagged as suspicious or with

a potential to perform a suspicious

activity, it may be necessary to match

the face image against millions of mug

shots across the country.”

CBS aired a story in 2009 that stated

as many as 200 surveillance cameras may be monitoring a person

at one time. The vast number of surveillance cameras produce

millions of hours of footage that someone or something would be

required to sift through and is one of the challenges to FRS.

“The problem is to be able to develop a FRS that can automatically

perform such a task efficiently and in a timely manner,” Bourlai

said.

Aside from the challenges, Bourlai also explained the importance of

FRS and other biometric technology for use in the military.

“In real-world military scenarios they deal with harsh environmental

conditions characterized by unfavorable lighting and pronounced

shadows,” Bourlai said. “In order to deal with such difficult

facial recognition scenarios, multi-spectral camera sensors are

very useful because they can image day and night. The military

knows that facial recognition is not good enough as a stand-

alone; it works better in combination with other security-related

technologies.

“The strategy in places like Afghanistan is to develop capabilities

to take out individual insurgents. Facial recognition will play its

role over there but always as part of an integrated system. Of

course, all future technologies depend on the immediate or long-

term needs of the government. As new security measures need

to be put in place, biometrics and facial recognition will play a

large role.” •

wvU’S BoURlAI pUBlIShED IN hoMElAND SECURITy NEwS wIRE

BouRlAi

Bourlai explains that face-based recognition systems, or FRS, are gaining interest because the face has several advantages over other biometric traits.

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a 2011 report released by transportation

for america ranked West Virginia’s bridges

as the eighth worst in the nation. according

to the Federal highway administration,

nearly 70,000 bridges nationwide are

classified as structurally deficient. But

despite federal and state attempts to

introduce bridge repair programs on a

nationwide scale, the combination of

budget constraints and a steep increase in

the number of aging bridges has prevented

any real progress.

enter West Virginia University’s hota

gangarao, director of the Constructed

Facilities Center and Wadsworth professor

at the Benjamin M. statler College of

engineering and Mineral resources. Far

from a rookie, gangarao has built his

career around researching and studying

structural deterioration and rehabilitation.

gangarao’s most recent research

centers on studying the durability and life

performance of pultruded and infused fiber

reinforced polymers, or Frps. gangarao

has received a $200,000 grant to conduct

this research over a four-year period from

the national science Foundation.

“the idea is to establish the service of life

of these materials so that we can have a

better estimate on life cycle cost aspects

of these advanced composites,” said

gangarao. “these composites have been

implemented in bridges, buildings, highway

pavements, utility poles, and so on.”

Frps are easy to implement and are cost

effective, which is why this may become the

preferred method to rehabilitate hundreds

of concrete bridges throughout the state

and nation.

“We need to determine the service life

of the bridges by gathering data from

the field,” gangarao said. “We intend to

conduct accelerated testing under lab

conditions by increasing temperature

and pressure and decreasing time. then,

correlate that lab data with the field data of

bridges that have been aging over the past

16 years so that i can properly calibrate

field aging with accelerated lab aging in

the form of a very simple mathematical

coefficient for design purposes.”

to do that, gangarao will evaluate various

structures, at least 50 of which are in

West Virginia, that have been in service for

several years under varying environmental

conditions.

“past experience has shown that we can

renovate buildings and bridges and other

structures using our techniques at a cost

of 25 to 30 percent of construction costs

of building new structures,” gangarao

said. “this is why the Department of

transportation will be adopting this method

of wrapping extensively in the next five

years.” •

gangarao to stUDY DUraBiLitY anD LiFe perForManCe oF Frps throUgh $200,000 nsF grant BY DeBra riCharDson

ameri reappointed Chair of petroleum and natural gas engineering

sam ameri was recently reappointed as chair of

the Department of petroleum and natural gas

engineering at West Virginia University for a five-

year term, beginning July 1, 2012.

“serving as the chair of the Department of

petroleum and natural gas engineering is an honor

and a pleasure,” said ameri. “We are proud to

educate professionals for our state, nation, and

world’s oil and gas industry, and to contribute to

solving global energy problems. our success is

due to the expertise and dedication of our faculty

and staff; visiting committee, alumni, donors,

and partners; and the WVU and statler College

leadership and administration. our Department is

poised for a period of growth and productivity, and i

am honored to continue serving as its chair.”

Department chairs are reviewed every five years by

the dean of the college. evaluations include input

from faculty members, staff, students, and other

constituents. ameri’s overall assessment for his

performance as department chair was rated very

highly by his colleagues.

“it is clear that professor ameri’s colleagues

consider him to be a fair, approachable, open,

and honest person,” said gene Cilento, glen h.

hiner Dean of the Benjamin M. statler College of

engineering and Mineral resources. “students

consider him an excellent mentor who listens

and addresses their issues and needs in a

timely fashion. they fully appreciate his efforts

to help them be successful in their professional

development. he also works hard to promote

effective interactions with all external constituencies.

these interactions will be important as he works

to engage them, along with faculty, in strategic

planning important to the Department, and

especially as it pertains to shale gas research and

development and workforce development.” •

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West Virginia University mine safety expert Keith heasley has been

selected as one of three directors of a $48 million research fund

created to improve mine safety in the wake of the Upper Big Branch

disaster that killed 29 West Virginia coal miners in april 2010.

heasley is the Charles t. holland professor of Mining engineering

in the Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and Mineral

resources. other directors are: Michael Karmis, the stonie Barker

professor of the Department of Mining and Minerals engineering

and the director of the Virginia Center for Coal and energy research

at Virginia tech; and David Wegman, professor emeritus in the

Department of Work environment at the University of Massachusetts

Lowell and adjunct professor at the harvard school of public health

and the University of Massachusetts Medical school.

together, they will direct the alpha Foundation for the improvement

of Mine safety and health

inc., created with an

endowment from alpha

natural resources as part

of its non-prosecution

agreement with the U.s.

District attorney for the

southern District of West

Virginia and the U.s.

Department of Justice.

alpha purchased the Big Branch Mine from Massey energy, which

owned the underground mine in Montcoal, W.Va., when the tragedy

occurred. alpha has since announced it is shuttering the mine,

which never reopened.

“as part of our land-grant mission and service to people of West

Virginia, WVU is committed to excellence in mining education,

research, and extension,” WVU president Jim Clements said.

“through this work, we honor those who have lost their lives and

seek to prevent such losses in the future.

“WVU pledges its experience and expertise to help this foundation

with its important goals in mine safety research,” he said.

heasley, who earned a doctorate in mining engineering from the

Colorado school of Mines and bachelor’s and master’s degrees

from penn state University, came to WVU in 2001 after a career in

the mining industry and federal mining safety research.

he is currently working to develop a seismic system for locating

trapped miners and to educate the next generation of doctoral-level

mining safety professionals. the research is funded by two grants

totaling $1.2 million from the U.s. Department of health and human

services Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

“Mining health and safety should be paramount to everyone

associated with the industry,” said gene Cilento, glen h. hiner

Dean of the statler College. “Keith heasley’s scientific work in safety

research and ground control make him a valuable asset to the

alpha Foundation. i look forward to the committee’s work to fund

advancements in this vital energy industry that is so important to the

state and nation.”

the foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to

improve mine health and safety through funding projects by

qualified academic institutions, not-for-profit entities, and individuals

associated with those entities.

the three directors met early this summer to discuss funding

priorities and organize the foundation’s activities. none of their own

research will be eligible for funding from the foundation, and each

will recuse themselves from selection decisions around research

from their respective institutions.

“i am extremely honored to have been selected to serve as

a director for the alpha Foundation and to participate in this

tremendous opportunity to improve safety and health in the mining

industry,” heasley said.

Kevin Crutchfield, Ceo of alpha natural resources, said: “Mine

safety and health is a top priority for our company and imperative

to the success of our industry. We are proud to establish and fund

the foundation, and also appoint three leading experts to advance

its objectives. the foundation has a tremendous opportunity to drive

the latest developments and innovation in mine safety and health to

the benefit of millions of miners around the world.” •

heasley to help Direct Mine safety and health research FundBY John BoLt

“through this work, we honor those who have lost their lives and seek to prevent such losses in the future.”

— WVU president James p. Clements

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shahab Mohaghegh, professor of petroleum and natural gas

engineering at West Virginia University, has been reappointed to

the Department of energy’s Unconventional resources technology

advisory Committee by U.s. secretary of energy steven Chu.

Comprised of 17 members representing academia, environmental

concerns, and industry, the committee was established to advise

Chu on the development and implementation of activities related

to onshore unconventional natural gas and other petroleum

resource exploration.

During the two-year term, Mohaghegh and his colleagues will

carry out a program of research, development, demonstration, and

commercial application of technologies for onshore unconventional

natural gas and other petroleum resource exploration and production,

including addressing the technology challenges for small producers,

safe operations, and environmental mitigation.

“i am honored to be asked to once again serve on this important

national committee,” said Mohaghegh. “Unconventional resources like

those found in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations represent our

country’s best hope for supplying our growing energy needs, while

decreasing our dependency on foreign energy sources.”

Mohaghegh is a pioneer in data-driven predictive well modeling.

Utilizing a technique he developed called top-Down Modeling,

Mohaghegh uses artificial intelligence and data mining to generate

full-field models in all aspects of upstream exploration and production.

Mohaghegh earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in natural gas

engineering from texas a&i University and his doctorate in petroleum

and natural gas engineering from penn state University. •

Mohaghegh reappointed to Doe advisory Committee

V’yacheslav (Slava) Akkerman Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - Umeå University, Sweden, ’07 M.S. - Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Russia, ’03 B.S. - Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, ’01

teaching interests: fluid dynamics, general and/or theoretical mechanics, general and/or applied physics, plasma physics, computational methods, mathematical physics, combustion theory

Research interests: analysis of laminar and turbulent, reactive and non-reactive flows

Debangsu Bhattacharyya Associate Professor Department of Chemical Engineering education: Ph.D. - Clarkson University, ’08 B.S. - National Institute of Technology, India, ’93

teaching interests: process control, fuel cells, energy systems modeling and analysis

Research interests: dynamic simulation and control of integrated gasification combined cycle power plants with carbon dioxide capture

Thirimachos Bourlai Assistant Professor Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering education: Ph.D. - University of Surrey, United Kingdom, ’06 M.S. - University of Surrey, ’02 M.Eng. - Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece, ’99

teaching interests: pattern recognition and machine learning, ubiquitous computing, biometrics, human computer interaction

Research interests: biomedical imaging, biometrics, image processing, sensory systems, centralized/decentralized systems, pattern recognition, and human computer interaction

Fei Dai Assistant Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering education: Ph.D. - Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, ’10 M.S. - Tsinghua University, China, ’05 B.S. - Hefei University of Technology, China, ’02

teaching interests: construction management, construction technology, construction procurement, quantitative techniques for project planning

Research interests: construction simulation

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Ebrahim Fathi Assistant Professor Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering education: Ph.D. - University of Oklahoma, ’10 M.S. - Tehran University, Iran, ’03 B.S. - Tehran University, ’01

teaching interests: natural gas engineering, fluid mechanics of natural gas production, oil recovery improvement, geostatistics and inverse theory, advanced production engineering, well log interpretation

Research interests: shale oil/gas characterization; simulation of fluid flow, storage, and transport in shale formations; characterization and upscaling of anisotropy and heterogeneity effects in shale gas production and well performance; well stimulation and production analysis

Yu Gu Assistant Professor Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering and Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - West Virginia University, ’04 M.S. - Shanghai Jiao University, China, ’99 B.S. - Shanghai University, China, ’96

teaching interests: modeling and design of robotic systems, instrumentation engineering, automatic controls, mechatronics

Research interests: nonlinear, adaptive and robust control; fault-tolerant multiple sensor fusion; nonlinear Bayesian filter; decentralized unscented information filter; aircraft guidance; navigation and control; autonomous systems

Antarpreet Jutla Assistant Professor Civil and Environmental Engineering education: Ph.D. - Tufts University, ’11 M.S. - University of Saskatchewan, Canada, ’06 M.Tech - Punjab Agricultural University, India, ’03 B. Tech - Punjab Agricultural University, ’01

teaching interests: hydrology, remote sensing, time series analysis, water resources engineering, watershed modeling and prediction

Research interests: hydrology and remote sensing applications in health sciences

Alfred Edward Lynam Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - Purdue University, ’12 M.S. - Purdue University, ’09 B.S. - Purdue University, ’08

teaching interests: optimization in aerospace engineering, principles of dynamics, spacecraft design, structures laboratory, signals and systems

Research interests: space mission design, statistical orbit determination and orbital perturbations, spacecraft navigation, flight control and trajectory optimization,dynamics, serious gaming, space situational awareness

David S. Mebane Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - Georgia Tech, ’07 M.S. - Georgia Tech, ’04 B.A. - Rice University, ’96

teaching interests: parameter estimation, reduced order methods, advanced topics in electroceramics, chemical thermodynamics and kinetics of materials, statistical mechanics

Research interests: modeling of solid state chemical and electrochemical systems for energy applications, statistical approaches in scale-bridging and parameter estimation, reduced-order modeling, simulations for accelerated design of materials microstructure

Terence D. Musho Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - Vanderbilt University, ’11 B.S. - Penn State University, ’06

teaching interests: materials science and engineering, heat transfer, micro-/nano-scale heat transfer, high-performance computing

Research interests: quantum approach to the optimization of nanostructured direct energy conversion devices with focus on nanostructured thermoelectric devices, nanotip field/thermionic emission devices, high-performance computing

Andrew C. Nix Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - Virginia Tech, ’03 M.S. - Virginia Tech, ’96 B.S. - University of Maryland, ’95

teaching interests: fluid mechanics, aircraft propulsion, gas turbine laboratory, design projects for hybrid electric vehicle and other transportation systems

Research interests: experimental measurements and modeling of heat transfer, turbulent and transonic flows through gas turbines, cooling of turbine blades, material failures and durability in gas turbine applications

Konstantinos Sierros Assistant Professor Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering education: Ph.D. - University of Birmingham, England, ’06 M.S. - University of Birmingham, ’02 B.S. - University of Newcastle, England, ’01

teaching interests: design and fabrication of lightweight, low-friction human powered vehicles; tribology; experimental characterization of materials

Research interests: design and fabrication of multi-source energy harvesting devices, electro-mechanical properties of thin films for solid state lighting applications, tribology and tribo-corrosion of solar concentrator panels, durable carbon nanotube films for energy applications, durability of LED-based devices

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three faculty members from West Virginia

University’s Department of Mining engineering

were named to distinguished professorships

during the 2011-2012 academic year.

Chris Bise, chair of the Department, was

named the robert e. Murray Chair of Mining

engineering. the award honors Murray, who

is Ceo of Murray energy Corp., the largest

privately owned coal mining company in the

United states.

Keith heasley was named the Charles t.

holland professor of Mining engineering.

the award was created in honor of the

former dean of WVU’s school of Mines, who

served from 1961-1970. holland was also

an alumnus of WVU, having graduated with

a bachelor’s and master’s degree in mining

engineering in 1928 and 1932, respectively.

Vladislav Kecojevic was named the Massey

Foundation professor of Mining engineering.

the foundation, started in 1957 by William e.

and evan Massey, is dedicated to providing

financial support in medical and engineering

research.

“We are delighted to appoint these three

faculty members to these prestigious

professorships,” said gene Cilento, glen h.

hiner Dean of the College. “We look forward

to their contributions to developing technology

that will continue to advance this vital energy

industry that is important to the state and

nation.”

throughout his career, Bise has been

associated with the planning, engineering,

operation, management, teaching, and

research aspects of mining and occupational

and environmental health and safety. he is

a registered professional engineering and a

certified mine safety professional.

after earning his undergraduate degree in

mining engineering from Virginia tech, Bise

worked for the Consolidation Coal Company

as a resident engineer for two underground

coal mines in eastern ohio. he started

graduate school at penn state University

in 1974 and joined the faculty in 1976. he

rose through the professorial ranks and later

became chair of the program.

During his tenure, he created and chaired the

industrial health and safety program. after

resigning at the rank of professor emeritus

from penn state, Bise joined the staff at

WVU in 2006.

heasley started his career as a project

engineer for the underground coal mines in

the Midwestern region of Consolidation Coal

Company. after earning both his bachelor’s

and master’s degree in mining engineering

from penn state University, he spent more

than a decade at the former U.s. Bureau

of Mines and then the national institute

for occupational safety and health at the

pittsburgh research Laboratory, performing

safety research in coal mine ground control.

he earned his doctorate in mining engineering

at the Colorado school of Mines in 1998.

his research interests are numerical modeling

in rock mechanics, computer applications in

mining, and multiple-seam mine design and

ground control, and he has published more

than 90 articles in these areas. he is probably

best known as the originator and promoter

of the LaModel program for coal mine

pillar design.

on the faculty at WVU since 2001, heasley

was named the Benjamin M. statler College

of engineering and Mineral resources

outstanding teacher in 2008. he also won

the stephan McCann educational excellence

award from the pittsburgh Coal Mining

institute of america, and the syd s. peng

ground Control in Mining award from the

society in Mining, Metallurgy, and exploration,

(sMe) in 2011.

Kecojevic joined the faculty at WVU in January

2010, after having served on the staff at penn

state University from 2001-2009. he held the

Centennial Career Development professorship

in Mining engineering at psU from 2005-

2009. prior to starting his teaching career,

Kecojevic worked with Krupp Canada, where

he was responsible for the design of mining

equipment.

Kecojevic serves on a number of professional

committees, including as chair-elect of sMe’s

Coal and energy Division. he is the associate

editor of the SME Mining Engineering Journal

and SME Transactions, and is a member of

the editorial board of Mining Technology. he

was named the Department’s outstanding

faculty member by the University’s sMe

student chapter in 2011 and a 2008-

2009 sMe henry Krub Lecturer based on

his research work on risk assessment of

equipment-related fatalities in the surface

mining industry.

his research interests are in the areas of

surface mining, the development of mining

equipment, mine safety, and information

technology usage in mining. he earned his

bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees

in mining engineering from the University of

Belgrade in serbia. •

three named to Distinguished professorships BY MarY C. DiLLon

fACULTY neWs

BiSe HeASleY KecoJevic


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ACColADES

Banta, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, will be traveling to Italy after being chosen by the Fulbright Scholar Program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. He will be conducting research on several aspects of fuel cell and gas turbine hybrid electric generation at the University of Genoa (UNIGE) in Genoa, Italy.

“Last year a professor from UNIGE, Alberto Traverso, came to Morgantown to do research at the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, where I was also doing research,” Banta said. “Dr. Traverso’s department chair invited me to come to UNIGE to work with their staff on advanced energy generation and management.”

Banta applied to the Fulbright Program for funding for his trip, thinking it was a long shot. “I applied to the program hoping, but not really expecting, to be selected,” Banta said. “The program is highly competitive and I had never written a proposal to Fulbright before.”

Provost Michele Wheatly is less surprised.

“Dr. Banta is a top-notch researcher,” she said. “His receipt of this award confirms what many across campus—and around the world—already know: that our faculty are among the best anywhere.”

“This is a highly prestigious international award that recognizes Dr. Banta’s lifetime achievements in his professional career, as well

as his contributions to enriching the educational, economic, social, and cultural lives of people around the world,” said Jacky Prucz, chair of the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

According to Banta, UNIGE has one of the best hybrid electric generator research facilities in the world. Moreover, they are pioneers in the areas of hybrid generation systems; smart grids; advanced conventional power generation; and other areas of energy conversion, management, and efficiency.

Banta is looking forward to his sojourn in Genoa for several reasons. His first priority is to “rejuvenate” his research.

“I am looking forward to writing papers, writing proposals, and delving deeply into research in the area of energy efficiency, which has been the focus of my research for 30 years,” he said. “I also hope to serve as an emissary for the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources and for WVU in general, and to expand the cooperative agreement between WVU and UNIGE to other interested departments and colleges.”

In 2011, with Traverso’s help, Banta worked with the Office of International Programs to define a set of courses for UNIGE and MAE that would transfer credit completely between the two. The Statler College has one student, Zachary Santer, studying and doing research at UNIGE. Paolo Pezzini, a student from Genoa, is currently working on his doctorate at WVU. •

WVU EnginEEring ProfEssor ChosEn for fUlbright ProgramBY MarY C. DiLLon

You can’t win if you don’t play. It never hurts to ask. Don’t assume. We’ve heard ‘em all before.Larry Banta can tell you they’re true, at least in his recent experience.

halabE Earns national Chi EPsilon tEaChing aWarD

Udaya B. Halabe, professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at West Virginia University, is the recipient of the 2012 James M. Robbins National Excellence in Teaching Award presented by Chi Epsilon, the National Civil Engineering Honor Society.

Halabe has more than 25 years of research and field testing experience in the area of nondestructive testing and evaluation of structural components. He has numerous publications to his credit in the area of nondestructive evaluation of timber, steel, concrete, and composite structural components. His expertise includes the use of several nondestructive testing techniques, such as ultrasonics, ground penetrating radar, infrared thermography, and vibration-based technologies.

Halabe routinely teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses in structural analysis, structural design for dynamic loads, and nondestructive material and structural evaluations. He is a recipient of numerous CEE Departmental Excellence in Teaching Awards and the 2009-2010 Statler College Outstanding Teacher Award.

Halabe is a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers and member of two honorary societies, Chi Epsilon and Tau Beta Pi.

“Congratulations to Dr. Halabe on this wonderful honor,” said Radhey Sharma, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “This is excellent news and is the second such award for CEE faculty. It is great recognition of top-quality education delivery in the Department.”

Chi Epsilon, the National Civil Engineering Honor Society, recognizes the outstanding achievement of the individual student and promotes development of characteristics deemed fundamental to the pursuit of a successful engineering career. •

HAlABe

BAntA

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ACColADESnaE PUbliCation fEatUrEs WVU’s ProjECts With inDUstry anD bUilDing EnErgy UsE ProgramBY DeBra riCharDson

Reflections of college experiences produce a variety of memories in alumni of West Virginia University. Many revolve around football games, Greek life, and study-abroad programs. But for many undergraduate engineering students, the highpoint of their college experience revolves around their senior capstone design project.

Along with producing lasting memories, the Projects with Industry and Building Energy Use Program earned a place in the National Academy of Engineering’s Real World Engineering Education publication of 2012. The publication highlights model programs that demonstrate methods of infusing real-world experience into engineering education.

“This program is designed as a senior capstone design experience,” explained Ken Means, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. “The projects are supported by the West Virginia Division of Energy (DoE) with the purpose of helping West Virginia industries, schools, and institutions to become energy efficient and competitive.”

The projects deal with a wide variety of topics including energy efficiency, heat recovery, building energy efficiency, manufacturing efficiency, and robotics. For example, in the industry section, student teams go into plants and factories to meet with company officials, become acquainted with common problems in the plant, and take measurements associated with that problem. The students then spend the remainder of the semester developing designs to resolve the problem. Toward the end of the course, the students write a final report and provide a presentation to the plant managers and engineers.

“One of the unique features of this program is that it combines real-world design projects with an educational program,” said Means. “The results provide useful information to real industries and institutions that can be implemented to save energy and improve efficiency.”

Previous projects have included designing water filtration systems for Nicaragua schools and developing solar electrical systems for disadvantaged groups in poor communities.

“I think that having this unique program recognized in this publication will enhance our status with the West Virginia DoE who funds our projects,” said Means. “This will also be a great recruiting tool. The MAE Department goes to great lengths to provide a variety of challenging senior capstone design courses for our students and this is one outstanding example of that.” •

naPolitano namED ProfEssor of thE yEar by faCUlty mErit foUnDationMarcello R. Napolitano, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at West Virginia

University, was named 2011 Professor of the Year by the Faculty Merit Foundation. The award was presented in March during a banquet held in the Great Hall of the Culture Center in Charleston, W.Va.

Napolitano, who has been at WVU since 1990, received his doctorate in aerospace engineering from Oklahoma State University and his master’s in aeronautical engineering from the University of Naples Federico II, in Italy. He developed, along with his colleague Mario Perhinschi, the MAE Flight Simulation Laboratory at WVU, making the University one of only a handful of institutions internationally to feature such a state-of-the-art educational laboratory. The center is used for teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in the area of flight dynamics, flight simulations, and flight controls, and determining the many different classes of failures on aircraft. These technologies are part of full flight test development programs within NASA and the Air Force.

Brian Stolarik, vice president, Mission Systems Group, writes that “Dr. Napolitano’s innovative approaches to industry-relevant problems continue to promote WVU and West Virginia on a national and international scale. [His] development of relative navigation flight control is a significant contribution to the U.S. Air Force’s Automated Aerial Refueling Program, which seeks to autonomously refuel a pilotless airplane during flight.”

Stolarik, a former student, recalled that “Napolitano’s students excel as a result of his creativity in teaching.” Noting that Napolitano requires students to write an analysis as to why something did or did not work and what would happen to the solution if the assumptions changed, Stolarik said that this method of teaching demands that students think critically and also perfect their writing skills; a methodology rare in engineering education.

Napolitano was nominated for the award by Gene Cilento, Glen Hiner Dean of the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and Jacky Prucz, chairman of the MAE Department. In their nomination letter, the pair noted Napolitano “has unequivocally demonstrated steadfast dedication to advancing the mission of WVU in general, the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering in particular, through highly effective and creative teaching, innovative research, and seamless integration of its findings with his instructional materials.”

Former WVU Student Body President and current California Institute of Technology NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory researcher Jason Gross was one of Napolitano’s students. “My first experience with Dr. Napolitano was as a student in his undergraduate Flight Dynamics and Automatic Controls courses. His enthusiasm, in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, and willingness to challenge me quickly made his courses my favorite.”

The Faculty Merit Foundation of West Virginia each year honors an outstanding faculty member at a West Virginia college or university. The winner receives a $10,000 cash prize. The Professor of the Year Award is presented with financial support from United Bank. •

MeAnS

nAPolitAno


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oUtstanDing aDVisors, tEaChErs, rEsEarChErs, anD staff honorEDThe Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is made up of many hardworking, dedicated professionals who go above and beyond every day in their dedication to our mission of teaching, research, and service. The following faculty and staff members were recognized for their service this past academic year.

TEACHER OF THE YEAR Powsiri Klinkhachorn, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

OUTSTANDING TEACHERS Hema Siriwardane, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Kenneth Means, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Hailin li, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering david graham, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

ADVISOR OF THE YEAR John Zaniewski, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

OUTSTANDING ADVISORS Khashayar Aminian, Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering Ryan Sigler, Enrollment Coordinator david Solley, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

RESEARCHER OF THE YEAR Xingbo liu, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

OUTSTANDING RESEARCHERS donald Adjeroh, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Arun Ross, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

NEW RESEARCHERS OF THE YEAR Avinash unnikrishnan, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering Feng Yang, Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering

OUTSTANDING STAFF MEMBERS Karen grimm, Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Marilyn Host, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering linda Rogers, Department of Chemical Engineering vicky Rousseau, Administration

KlinKHAcHoRn SiRiWARdAne MeAnS

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AMiniAn SigleR SolleY

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unniKRiSHnAn YAng gRiMM

HoSt RogeRS RouSSeAu

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“The fact that our students have

been admitted through our stringent

criteria means to me that every single

one is quite capable of completing a

degree and of having a successful career

in an engineering discipline.”—Roy Nutter

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a recent report from the West Virginia higher education policy

Commission and the West Virginia Council for Community and

technical College education produced some sobering statistics

on college graduation rates among state students:

•Ofevery100studentsenrolledinninthgradeonly17will

earn a two- or four-year college degree within 10 years.

that’s compared to 30 out of 100 students in the best-

performing states.

•SixtypercentofWestVirginiastudentswhostartcollege

won’t finish, and increasing the graduation rate is key to

addressing a skills gap in the labor force that hampers the

state’s economic development.

•LaboreconomistsattheGeorgetownUniversityCenter

on education and the Workforce predict that by 2018, 49

percent of the jobs in West Virginia will require education

and training beyond high school. Many of these positions

are found in diverse sections of the economy such as

advanced manufacturing, energy, bio- and nanotechnology,

cyber security, and information technology.

•Approximately20percentofallstudentsinfour-year

institutions require at least one developmental education

course when they enter college.

the report, Educating West Virginia is Everyone’s Business,

was issued by the West Virginia College Completion task

Force, which was co-chaired by West Virginia’s First Lady

and southern West Virginia Community and technical College

president Joanne tomblin and West Virginia University

president Jim Clements.

“increasing our college completion rates is one of West Virginia’s

most important public policy goals,” said Clements. “the work

of this task force is a significant step toward achieving that goal,

and i hope our report generates a sense of urgency and inspires

our collective action.”

according to the report, there are a variety of academic and

non-academic factors that influence a student’s decision to leave

college before completing a certificate or degree. academic

preparation, motivation, self-confidence, financial support,

institutional commitment, and social networks can all impact

whether a student departs or graduates from college. in order

to help students overcome these barriers, the report suggests

campuses employ a number of techniques including offering

strong support services for all students, involving families, and

providing individualized academic advising to all students.


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“the students we get in the statler College have

already made the personal and family commitment

to go to college,” said roy nutter, professor in

the Lane Department of Computer science

and electrical engineering and a member

of the task force. “the fact that our

students have been admitted through

our stringent criteria means to me that

every single one is quite capable

of completing a degree and of

having a successful career in an

engineering discipline.

“But some come with better high

school backgrounds than others,”

nutter added. “We have multiple

programs in the College to try to

ensure that all students succeed.

these programs are very

important to the success of

many students.” •

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It’s Never too Early

to Start Thinking

About College

BY DeBra riCharDson

almost all of us, at some point in our lives, were asked the question, “What

do you want to be when you grow up?” and for many of us, that included

thinking about where we might go to college to pursue that dream.

it’s never too early to start thinking about college, which means it’s never too

early to begin the student recruitment process. Colleges across the country

are finding benefits to providing early access to their programs to high

school and even middle school students in hopes of getting them interested

in their program as early as possible.

at the Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and Mineral resources,

the recruitment staff works diligently to develop and maintain feeder

programs for current and future engineering students.

“We’re trying to get people to understand what West Virginia University

is all about and what they can do with an engineering degree,” explained

Cate schlobohm, a recruiting assistant in the College. “in particular, we are

looking to increase the number of students that list WVU as their first choice

for engineering school.”

Like many universities and colleges across the nation, WVU participates

in college fairs, college tours, women in engineering day, minorities

in engineering day, and various engineering and science festivals and

conferences. But unlike other universities, WVU is striving to push for

engineering awareness not only in the students, but in the parents as well.

“During recruitment and outreach projects, we don’t just focus on high

school students, we engage our current students, alumni, and external

groups as well,” schlobohm said. “our primary audience is the students

but many times we make a bigger impact on the parents, who in turn tell

their nephews, nieces, and so on. it’s exciting and the students feel more

comfortable knowing their parents are just as excited about the program

as they are.”

in previous years, the College conducted a program for high school students

known as engineers of tomorrow, which was funded by the national

science Foundation. When funding expired, the program was re-engineered

to include middle school students.

“We took a hard look at what we were doing and how we were doing it and

ways that we could expand it to include even more students,” said ryan

sigler, coordinator of enrollment management. “as a result, we offered two

weeks of camps for high school students and a third week to middle school

students during July.”

sigler noted that he feels that the College could have a big impact with

students in the middle school age range and he hopes to expand outreach

efforts throughout the year with this group.

the camps, which are staffed by faculty and student leaders, focused on

general engineering awareness with a goal to foster interest in engineering

and science and technology fields. students had the option of staying

“... get students excited and interested in engineering, especially for those who have been told it’s not possible.” — Cate sChLoBohM

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overnight in the dorms or attending day classes. at the end of each week, parents

were invited to the final poster session, during which their students presented their

favorite project from the week.

george henry, a senior at archbishop spalding high school in severn, Md., said

his camp experience has helped solidify his intent to attend WVU. “the projects in

biometrics have been very interesting

and innovative,” said henry, who is

the son of John and pam (Fish) henry

(Bsee ’80). “Camp gave me a chance

to do some hands-on projects like iris

scans and the opportunity to talk to

current students.”

a grant from ppg industries assisted

in providing financial aid and supplies

to students attending the camps. russ

Moses, a 1996 graduate of WVU with

a degree in industrial labor relations, serves as the company’s human resources

director and was instrumental in securing the grant.

another popular outreach program conducted by the College involves its support of

both the Boy scouts and girl scouts. this past February, the College participated in

Merit Badge University for Boy scouts, which gave them the opportunity to earn their

engineering badges, something that would have been nearly impossible without its

help. in March, the girl scouts were invited to the College to earn their science and

technology badges, with more than 500 scouts and their families attending.

For schlobohm, outreach programs are important because they “get students

excited and interested in engineering, especially for those who have been told it’s

not possible.”

the programs create a pipeline of students entering steM career paths, regardless

of whether they attend WVU or not.

“they find role models, surround themselves with other people who think it’s fun,

and find confidence in themselves and their decision to enter a science-related field,”

schlobohm said. •

Alumni: We Need Your Help!The WVU Alumni Association and the Office of Admission jointly coordinate an international network of volunteers that assist the University with the recruitment of prospective students. We would like to invite you to join the National Alumni Recruiting Network (NARN) to help spread the word that WVU offers a unique, student-centered educational environment. As a NARN member, you will be invited to participate in various recruitment activities. You can also identify prospective students in your area and help to influence their decision to make WVU their college of choice.

If you are interested in joining our volunteer network, please visit narn.wvu.edu and complete the membership form. For more information, contact Danielle Linsenbigler at 304-293-8629. •


PAM (FiSH) HenRY And geoRge HenRY

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in her position as the assistant Dean of Freshman

experience in the Benjamin M. statler College of

engineering and Mineral resources, robin hensel

sees many students who were very successful

in high school struggle academically in college,

because they fail to manage their time, lack self-

discipline and study skills, or lack motivation.

Wanting to provide as many opportunities as

possible to these students, hensel accepted a

challenge few even consider. she accepted a

position as a resident Faculty Leader (rFL).

hensel lives in one of the rFL townhouses behind

the evansdale residential Complex (towers),

and plans co-curricular programming to engage

students in the academic life of the University to help

students become academically successful. “We plan

activities, events, and programs to help students

think about themselves and the changes they need

to make in order to transition successfully from high

school to college, and ultimately to the professional

world,” hensel said. “My husband and i made this

decision together. the rest of our family and many of

our friends were surprised by our decision, but when

we explained the goals and activities of the job,

most understood why we chose to do it.”

rFLs host a variety of events in their homes,

such as hosting guest speakers; club and group

meetings; movie nights; and student success

seminars on topics such as time management,

study skills, and test anxiety.

the rFL townhouses are designed to entertain large

groups of people. the dining room and kitchen

combined can seat 26 people comfortably for

dinner. During these dinners, hensel hosts guests,

who include fellow faculty; professionals from

industry, government, or business; and University

resource representatives from the study abroad

programs or career services.

hensel and the other three towers rFLs host

outdoor events as well. there is a large courtyard

between the rFL townhomes and the dormitories,

which is a great place to host cookouts, have

campfires, or even watch movies.

RoBin HenSel

“We plan activities, events, and programs to help students think about themselves and the changes they need to make in order to transition successfully from high school to college, and ultimately to the professional world.” —roBin henseL

AJ BARtlett

BlAine HeAdleY


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But there’s more to this than just dinner and

movie nights.

“the rFL annex has two classrooms that the rFLs

use to teach WVUe 191 for non-engineering majors,

and it’s also used to host club and administrative

meetings,” hensel said. “since it’s just a few yards

behind my house, i use it to hold late-night tutoring

sessions for students who need help preparing for a

calculus test.

“i’ve had students at my house for a dinner event tell

me they don’t understand a topic but have a calculus

test on it soon, normally tomorrow or the next day,

so i tell them to go get their stuff and meet me in the

annex at 9 p.m.,” hensel continued. “they usually

show up with a small group of three or four students

who also need help. these impromptu tutoring

sessions have been very helpful to the students.”

During Fall Family Weekend, all four towers

rFLs host parents and students for brunch in

the courtyard.

“parents love the concept of having a faculty member

living near the students,” hensel said. “they usually

like hearing about the types of events we host as

well. We put a slideshow of pictures of student

activities from the past few weeks together so

parents can look for their students in the photos.”

in an ever-changing world, generation gaps are

increasingly more noticeable. By living near the

students, without directly invading their space, the

rFLs are able to provide assistance and support to

students who wouldn’t have been open to receiving

it normally.

“they see us outside of the classroom and office

environment,” hensel said. “they meet my family

and my dog and they come to events in our home.

Because they see us so often, they begin to feel

comfortable with us and trust us early on.

“Building that relationship is important, because

if they are comfortable with us, they are more

likely to come to us when they need help and

give us the opportunity to help them,” hensel

continued. “By knowing what services and

opportunities are available, i am able to point

students in the right direction and help them

make connections with others who can

facilitate their academic success.” •

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it was only 10 years ago, but Melissa Morris

remembers when the academic advising

landscape for freshmen engineering students

at West Virginia University had a much

different feel than it has today.

“i got that classic speech, ‘Look to your left.

now, look to your right. one of you won’t be

here next year,’” Morris recalled with a laugh.

Like many colleges, the goal of the

engineering school seemed to be to quickly

identify and “weed out” students who

couldn’t immediately meet the challenges of

the curriculum.

today, the statler College employs a kinder,

gentler approach and Morris, who earned her

bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees at

WVU before becoming a teaching assistant

faculty member and advisor, is now part of a

system that has undergone a sea of change.

rather than weeding out, the style is more

supportive and nurturing, she says.

“We want to give everyone a fair chance to

be successful,” Morris said. “some students

may have come from high schools that didn’t

emphasize math and science and, when they

get here, they have to play catch-up. We’re

not going to punish them because their high

schools didn’t emphasize those subjects.

We’re going to do everything we can to

support them.”

WVU has plenty of support to offer. along

with Morris, todd hamrick, Lizzie santiago,

and ordel Brown are also teaching assistant

faculty who advise. each teaches four

courses a semester and advises between

100 to 200 freshmen engineers. through the

engineering Learning Center, located near

the entrance of the engineering sciences

Building, students can receive free tutoring

and review sessions for math, science,

chemistry, and engineering courses.

Freshman advising should get at least partial

credit for the College’s recent growth spurt.

the statler College expected to see more

than 900 freshmen in the fall, its largest

freshman class ever. total enrollment is

around 1,000 students more than last year.

students are drawn to statler’s programs in

industrial, mechanical, computer engineering,

and computer science, and majors in

energy fields like petroleum and natural

gas engineering and mining engineering

are particularly popular these days. But it’s

retaining the students after the transitional

freshman year that is crucial to the College’s

success.

getting freshmen to the next step isn’t

always easy, but it’s not for lack of

opportunity or support. Morris and hamrick

say that one of the most common challenges

is getting freshmen acclimated to their

newfound freedom and independence.

“We really see the whole gamut of students,”

hamrick said. “i’ve got students who struggle

mightily with college algebra and students

who are in Calculus iii and they’re bored.

But issues with learning how to study, how

to manage your time, and how to work in a

college atmosphere are the biggest things we

see. the sooner they catch on, the sooner

they can start succeeding.”

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some freshmen need a grass-roots

approach that requires a sweeping

adjustment of previous habits and being

presented with clearly defined expectations

and pathways to success. some freshmen

have never seen or heard of a syllabus,

which outlines course procedures, topics to

be covered, and a host of information crucial

to success, while others aren’t used to

committing time to their studies.

“it’s a big change from the way they worked

in high school,” hamrick said. “a lot of

students didn’t have to work in high school

and were still able to get as, so they come

to college with terrible study skills. the

workload is much different.”

another role the advisors play is helping

a freshman choose which engineering

discipline would fit them best. hamrick says

that being a teacher helps him better identify

the challenges freshmen face.

to best serve the students, it’s important to

make a personal connection and maintain it

throughout the freshman year, Morris says.

“Whenever i see my students, i ask them

where they’re from, when’s the last time

they’ve been home, and ask how things are

going,” Morris said. “if you show them that

you’re human and you care about them,

they tend to perform better. they feel like

they’re accountable to you—they don’t

want to let you down.”

Morris maintains close ties to her students

throughout their academic careers and

takes pride in seeing them succeed after

graduation.

“i tend to keep in touch with my students

and a lot keep in touch with me,” she said.

“Whenever i got to a conference out of

town, i usually end up meeting up with a

former student for dinner and we keep in

touch through Facebook and e-mail.” •

trio in statler College honored for advising ExcellenceThree staff members in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources were honored this past spring for excellence in academic advising.

Cindy Tanner, faculty advisor, who does double duty mentoring computer science students in the Statler College and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences, and Chris Randall, professional advisor, were awarded the Nicholas Evans Advising Award from West Virginia University. The award recognizes some of the University’s most dedicated and accomplished faculty and staff. The pair received $2,500 in their departmental budgets for travel and scholarship.

Dave Solley, undergraduate program coordinator of mechanical and aerospace engineering, was selected as an Outstanding Advising Certificate of Merit recipient by the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA). The award was presented through NACADA as part of the 2012 annual awards program. Solley won the Evans Award in 2010.

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Statler College Creates Student Co-Op ProgramsMaLL BUsinesses seeKing eMpLoYees enCoUrageD to appLY

BY MarY C. DiLLon

there are many obstacles to overcome before a

student earns his or her bachelor’s degree. according

to U.S. News & World Report, factors such as

work, grades, and money play key roles, especially

for individuals who are the first in their family to

pursue higher education. a new co-op program in

the Benjamin M. statler College of engineering and

Mineral resources hopes to put these barriers aside

in an effort to retain and graduate students it might

ordinarily lose.

the early start Co-op program would provide

students and employers with a win-win situation.

Working with small businesses, the College will work

to establish a database of available employment

opportunities for incoming students. industries

might include construction, engineering, auto repair,

manufacturing, oil and gas, information technology,

and mining. students would be paired with these

companies with the understanding that they would

work a semester and then go to school for a

semester. students will not be allowed to work while

taking classes. Compensation levels would be decided

by the company in consultation with the student.

“the statler College is seeing a growing number of

students who are receiving little to no family support,”

said Jack Byrd, executive director of the Center

for entrepreneurial studies and Development and

professor of industrial and management systems

engineering. “Many of them are first-generation college

students and are from parts of West Virginia with high

poverty rates. these students are going heavily into

debt and in many cases are working excessive hours

to support themselves in college.

“Because they are working too many hours, their

grades suffer,” Byrd said. “the early start Co-op

program will not only give us a better chance of

retaining and graduating these students but will make

these students highly marketable upon graduation

because they have hands-on skill.”

according to Byrd, students would enroll in the

program for at least three rotations and will need

to provide information on their skills as part of the

application process. a special advisor will be assigned

to these students, and a financial counseling program

would be created to make sure students save enough

money to continue their education.

small businesses interested in partnering with the

statler College are encouraged to contact

Lloyd ford, coordinator of corporate relations

and career assistance, at 304-293-4370. •

“the early start Co-op program will not only give us a better chance of retaining and graduating these students but will make these students highly marketable upon graduation because they have hands-on skill.” — JaCK BYrD

125 years of engineering eDUCaTion aT wesT virginia

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1867

Under the terms of the 1862 Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act, the West Virginia legislature creates the Agricultural College of West Virginia, which opens in September 1867 as an all-male, all-white institution with six faculty members, six college students, and 118 high school students in a college preparatory program.

2

1868 The Agricultural College of West Virginia is renamed West Virginia University.

The Department of Civil and Mining Engineering is established.

1869 Engineering courses are offered

as part of the science, agriculture, and military curricula.

1891 The Department of Mechanical Engineering

and Mechanic Arts is established. Electrical engineering courses are first taught at WVU, as an option within mechanical engineering.

1892 Machinery Hall, WVU’s first engineering building, is completed.

1880In the 1870s and 80s, engineering educators engage in a debate, arguing over how much of a college’s engineering curricula should be devoted to abstract principles and how much to practical applications.

1887

1889Civil Engineering Professor Colonel Thomas Moore Jackson establishes the Engineering Society to provide his students with a forum to socialize, discuss engineering, and publish a small engineering newspaper. This society also organizes a public demonstration of engineering students’ current projects.

West Virginia was still young...

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Fire destroys Machinery Hall; portions of the Department of Mechanical Engineering move into Fife Cottage on Woodburn Circle.1899

The construction of Mechanical Hall is completed, to replace the old Machinery Hall.

1902

Twenty years after west virginia’s legislature accepted the terms of the Morrill Land-grant Colleges act, establishing what would become west virginia University in 1867, the University created the Department of Civil and Mining engineering in 1887. for an institution founded to provide instruction in technical fields, wvU’s first stand-alone engineering department was a long time coming, considering the palpable demand for engineers in the growing industries of late 19th-century west virginia.

At this point, West Virginia was still young; less than 30 years earlier, it was still part of Virginia. The state was hard at work to try to strengthen its economy and infrastructure. New discoveries in science required technical knowledge that could not be learned “at the bench or in the shops” to keep abreast of changes in industrial materials and methods. Professional engineers had begun to supersede mechanics as foremen, managers, and superintendents of West Virginia’s most important manufacturing concerns.

The University and the state quickly realized that funds invested in engineering education would be worth the cost. A WVU report from 1896 said, “those states which have manifested no interest in engineering and industrial education are the least developed.”

Fast-forward 125 years to today, and the story remains the same, although greatly expanded. The technical knowledge and professional expertise of engineers and scientists from West Virginia University’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources are still in great demand, not only here at home in West Virginia but around the world.

1895 The College of Engineering and Mechanic Arts,

comprised of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanic Arts and the Department of Civil and Mining Engineering, is formally established.

1897Mining engineering and civil engineering, previously a single degree option, divide into two separate programs.

1907

1894 An addition to Machinery Hall is

completed, almost doubling the building’s size. Image shown above.

Women, who were initially denied admittance to WVU, are granted permission to enroll in all majors.

1901 WVU enrolls

755 students.

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1921Chemical engineering, included within mechanical engineering since 1916, is established as a separate department.

1922 The Engineering Experiment Station is created. It

serves the College of Engineering, and later the School of Mines, by managing programs, projects, grants, and scholarships for engineering research.

A mining extension program is established within the College of Engineering.

1913

Geological engineering classes are added to the College’s course offerings.

1916

A Department of Industrial Education, which includes an industrial extension program, is added to the College.

The College’s first M.S. degrees are awarded to J.F. Robinson and G.E. Taylor in civil engineering.

1918

Eighty-nine students are enrolled in the College of Engineering.

1909

The Department of Civil Engineering is temporarily abolished, splitting into the School of Railway and Highway Engineering and the School of Structural and Hydraulic

Engineering.

The College of Engineering appoints its first official dean, Clement Ross Jones.

1911During WWI, the normal supply of engineering graduates is insufficient to meet the demand for engineers, and the U.S. Department of War requests that arrangements be made for earlier graduation. In response, the College extends its instruction into the summer months, enabling students to graduate a semester early.

1917

1926The School of Mines is founded, as part of the Department of Civil and Mining Engineering.

Meeting a National

Jones

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The battery, the telephone, the camera, the escalator, the light bulb, the airplane, the automobile, the assembly line: so many things we take for granted today were invented in the 19th and 20th centuries. These advances in science and technology spawned new industries and required a specialized workforce. industries looked to universities to supply trained engineers for in-depth, high-level work in increasingly focused areas.

The School of Railway and Highway Engineering is abolished.

Out-of-state tuition costs $75 (about $1,075 today) per semester, while tuition remains free for West Virginia residents.

Emma Meyers, the third woman to graduate from the College of Engineering, receives a B.S. in chemical engineering; two years later, she receives an M.S., also in chemical engineering.

The School of Structural and Hydraulic Engineering is abolished, and the Department of Civil Engineering is reinstated.

The College of Engineering grants its first Ph.D. to Charles Jackson Potter in chemical engineering.

19331931

The School of Mines separates from the College of Engineering, and the common curriculum for freshman engineering students is first implemented in the College of Engineering.

To accommodate the rising demand for specialized courses of study, mining engineering split from civil engineering, becoming a separate department in 1907, and the Department of Civil Engineering branched into two schools, railway and highway engineering, and structural and hydraulic engineering. The College added a sanitary engineering option in 1912, summer short courses and a mining extension division in 1913, a geological engineering track in 1915, a chemical engineering department in 1916, and industrial education and industrial extension programs in 1918.

In the 1930s the College adopted the common freshman engineering curriculum, a concept that remains in effect today. Although course work became specialized as the College evolved, the first year and much of the second year became uniform, ensuring mastery of basic material and allowing students additional time to decide on a major. As freshmen, students received a fundamental background in mathematics, humanities, social sciences, general engineering, and basic sciences, followed by focused coursework once a major was selected.

By the 1960s, engineering had evolved to the point that it was no longer thought of as a mechanic art or vocational field but was now regarded as a science. There was a strong national trend to make the coursework more scientific and to demand higher standards of accreditation for engineering education. This resulted in the elimination of nearly all shop classes and the debut of more scientific laboratory courses.

With the move away from shop work, the College adopted other means of providing hands-on training and real-world experience to help students gain working knowledge of concepts covered in the classrooms. Internships and cooperative programs served to help students transition from the classroom to the realm of the practicing engineer, giving them an advantage over recent graduates who lacked professional experience. These programs still exist in the College and are augmented by a host of specialized student design competitions, which take our students around the country, where they successfully compete.

1932

The College of Engineering at West Virginia University

answered the call.

Following the stock market crash of 1929, the College implements a stronger, sounder curriculum and incorporates more business, law, and economics courses in an effort to produce graduates better groomed for the Depression-era job market.

371 students are enrolled in the College of Engineering.

1927The first female engineering graduate, Carrie Virginia White (née Dye), receives her B.S. with a concentration in electrical engineering.

1929

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30

WVU enrolls more than 2,500 students.

1934

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“When I came here in 1962 (as a student), we had one computer on campus that was 32kb.”

—Jack Byrd (BS ’66, MS ’68, PhD ’70), professor of

industrial and management systems engineering

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“When I came here in 1962 (as a student), we had one computer on campus that was 32kb,” said Jack Byrd, (BS ’66, MS ’68, PhD ’70) longtime professor of industrial and management systems engineering. “You probably have more than that today in a watch! And it was for everybody on campus, including all the administrators. Students had a three-hour window that they could access it at night, and that was the only time they could use it.”

Byrd estimates that in 1966, less than one percent of all University graduates had ever used a computer.

During this era, WVU was among the first universities in the nation to launch interdisciplinary graduate programs. A promotional brochure from 1968 explained the importance of collaborative programs in this way:

“Most breakthroughs in recent years have come from the interfaces of science ... cooperation between the sciences is the theme of the day. Biochemistry, biophysics, psychobiology, biomedical engineering, and agricultural engineering are some of the dual fields being taught at WVU.”

Today, the College continues to foster interdisciplinary programs by reaching out to the departments of physics, chemistry, medicine, and many others for collaborative endeavors.

In 1970, aided by a grant from the Esso Education Foundation (now ExxonMobil Foundation), the College instituted the Freshman Engineering Program, designed to improve students’ skills by emphasizing engineering design. The program involved a breakthrough teaching strategy called Guided Design, which “placed primary emphasis on the skilled performance of thinking and iterative process of decision-making.” Forty-plus years later, the Freshman Engineering Program continues to provide intensive design experiences and other academic and social support for students as they transition to college and engineering study.

Other curricular changes since the 1970s have included the addition of a computer engineering degree in the mid-1980s; the addition of programs in emerging fields such as biometrics; and the launch of a biomedical engineering certificate option in 2008.

With degrees, programs, teaching strategies, and courses continually developing and transforming, the engineering curriculum at WVU is organic and ever-changing. But one thing is consistent—the curriculum responds to trends and events beyond the Morgantown campus.

One of the single biggest changes to the engineering curriculum came with the advent of computers.

Civil, electrical, mechanical, and mining engineering programs are accredited by the Engineers’ Council for Professional Development, a predecessor to today’s ABET.

With the help of the Works Progress Administration, an addition is built onto Mechanical Hall.

An aeronautical track is offered within the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

1936

1938

The College institutes a civilian pilot training program in cooperation with the U.S. Civil Aeronautics Administration, with graduates of the program immediately entering the Army and Naval Air Corps; the program lasts for three years.

1939

The School of Mines and the Department of Chemical Engineering are moved from Mechanical Hall to the brand-new Mineral Industries Building (now White Hall).

1942

For the first time in WVU history, women students outnumber men, excluding soldier trainees—809 women are enrolled compared to 592 men; only the School of Mines remains all-male.

1943

The Department of Aeronautical Engineering is founded.

An oil and gas engineering track is offered within the School of Mines.

1944

The Agricultural Engineering Department is founded.

1945

When people today think of WVU’s Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, they think of three buildings, with a fourth one under construction, sitting atop the Evansdale Campus. But that wasn’t always the case.

Initially, the College was a hodgepodge of departments lacking a unifying location. After repeated requests from administrators and instructors for a dedicated space, in 1891 the University approved the plan for a mechanic arts building with its construction financed by $5,000 in state funds plus $12,000 for apparatus and machinery from the Morrill Fund.

In 1892, Machinery Hall, the first dedicated building for engineering studies, was completed and fully equipped for engineering classes, labs, and offices. Even with an addition that was completed later in that decade, the building was large enough only to house mechanical engineering and mechanic arts; civil and mining engineering were located in another new building called Science (now Chitwood) Hall.

Despite its known fire hazards, no money had been available to supply Machinery Hall with fire protection, and the building burned in 1899. The University quickly planned for a much larger facility on the same site in an effort to unite all of its engineering programs under one roof.

Not One but Two Fires ...

The College’s chemical engineering program becomes accredited.

WVU purchases the land that ultimately becomes the Evansdale Campus.

WVU’s enrollment exceeds 8,000 for the first time.

WVU engages C. F. Cellarius, Cincinnati architect and campus planning expert, to survey the campus and develop a master plan for growth.

1948

Aeronautical, industrial, and agricultural engineering programs become accredited.

1953

Fire destroys Mechanical Hall.

WVU sets a precedent for universities nationwide when its Board of Regents approves the use of $10 million in bonds from student fees to fund College of Engineering facilities expansion.

1956

With the Department of Industrial Education having moved to the College of Education in 1939, a Department of Industrial Engineering is founded within the College of Engineering.

1957

Machinery Hall

219 women receive degrees from WVU; of those, 41 were in home economics, 97 in arts and sciences, and 57 in education.

1950


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Not One but Two Fires ...“I was teaching summer school and one day I went down to the second floor and noticed they had just oiled the floors. I said ‘Boy, they just made this place a better fire trap.’ It burned that night. It was an interesting experience to go to your office the next day and have it not be there!” —Robert Slonneger, professor emeritus and former associate chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering

Mechanical Hall was completed in 1902 for $55,000. It was well-stocked with nearly $60,000 of the latest machinery and apparatus for the “mechanic arts [and] engineering in all its varied forms.” The new facility was the shining jewel of the College and was heavily advertised as a draw for new students. The modern structure was successful in attracting students and, as a result, enrollment increased, course offerings expanded, departments flourished, and the College grew tremendously over the next 30 years.

The College was proud of its up-to-date facilities—sheet metal and pipe fitting shops, a photo lab and dark room, and a foundry and forge—as well as its cutting-edge equipment, including engines, generators, transformers, and mining apparatus. As it aged, however, voices within the College began warning the University administration of the shortcomings of Mechanical Hall. By the 1940s, enrollment was especially high and expected to double by 1960, thanks to initiatives such as the GI Bill, which ensured returning soldiers would be able to attend the University after World War II.

Changes in the engineering field also meant that new departments, such as aeronautical engineering, were being considered. In short, the College had outgrown Mechanical Hall. Even more worrisome was a study completed in 1944 that determined the building was “very much a fire trap.”

Unfortunately, this description became reality when Mechanical Hall burned to the ground on June 13, 1956.

If there was a silver lining, the fire came at a time when a proposal was nearly finalized for a new building on the Evansdale Campus.

“It was an old, old building,” said Robert Slonneger, professor emeritus and former associate chair of mechanical and aerospace engineering. “I was teaching summer school and one day I went down to the second floor and noticed they had just oiled the floors. I said ‘Boy, they just made this place a better fire trap.’ It burned that night. It was an interesting experience to go to your office the next day and have it not be there!”

Slonneger said that the fire department was hesitant to go into some of the places to fight the fire because they knew there were shops in there with all kinds of gasses and equipment.

“The building itself was old brick, and it was all frame inside,” Slonneger said. “It burned to the ground . . . it burned up completely.”

Mechanical Hall

1961The Engineering Sciences Building is completed on WVU’s Evansdale Campus.

The Cold War is under way—engineering research during this era leads to advances in nuclear energy, aircraft, lasers, computers, and other major technologies, all of which impact engineering education at WVU.

1957

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After the fire, which was ruled accidental, the departments in Mechanical Hall scurried to find temporary homes while plans for the Evansdale Campus were revised to account for engineering’s loss of its downtown facilities. Two prefabricated buildings, affectionately dubbed the “Tin Cans,” were brought in to help ease the sudden space crunch.

“The fire happened on Tuesday night, and Wednesday we didn’t have any classes,” Slonneger recalled. “They got together and by Thursday morning we found out where to go to teach summer term classes.”

Slonneger remembers that some of the labs were held next to the old Field House, and others in the chemistry building.

By the start of the fall semester in 1956, according to Slonneger, classes were being held all over the place. His office was in an old house.

“There was a telephone on the first floor and a telephone on the second floor,” he said. “There were no secretaries or anything like that. So the phone would ring, and it would ring, and it would ring. Finally, some brave soul would go answer it, and it was never for him. We were quite happy when we did get into the ‘Tin Cans,’ where we all had telephones on our desks again!”

In 1961, the new Engineering Sciences Building on the Evansdale Campus was completed. Nearly 60 years since the College’s last full-scale construction project, WVU once again boasted one of the nation’s largest and most state-of-the-art engineering facilities. The building, still in use today, “ended 40 years of crowded conditions for each of the departments. The dedication symbolically represented the start of a new era in engineering education for WVU, with the modern, 14-story structure the focal point of future progress in engineering.”

The distance of WVU’s new Evansdale and Medical campuses from the main downtown campus, however, created a major transportation issue. In 1966, a team of engineers from civil and industrial engineering joined city officials and urban mass transit authorities to plan the Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system. In 1975, the PRT system, mostly funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation as a research and demonstration project, began carrying passengers and successfully cut transportation time to roughly 10 minutes between campuses. Nearly 40 years later, the PRT system still continues to unite WVU’s campuses.

Major expansion followed on Evansdale with the construction of the Engineering Research Building and the Mineral Resources Building starting within days of each other. Both buildings opened in 1990.

The close proximity of the two buildings made the merger between the College of Engineering (COE) and the College of Mineral and Energy Resources (COMER), which happened in 1995, seamless from a facilities point of view. In a memo to COMER staff, Dean R. Larry Grayson said that keeping the colleges separate was not “wise business,” and that it was important to pursue the formation of a new, larger college, which would retain the essence of their mission.

Then-Provost Thomas LaBelle agreed, noting, “The merger represents a proactive and timely response to key issues facing higher education…The curricula and research missions of both colleges can be strengthened through such a merger.”

“The merger . . . made sense,” said Sam Ameri (BS ’73, MS ’76), chair of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering. “We (COMER) were very small. At the time, we had no more than 40 or 50 students in the department. But they (COE) were packed with students. The merger created opportunities for us to recruit high-quality students and work with other departments on research projects.”

Dr. Allen Cogley, who had been serving as chair of the mechanical engineering department at Kansas State University, became the newly merged College’s first dean.

Campus expansion has continued into the 21st century, beginning with a $12-million addition to the Engineering Sciences Building that opened in 2008. In addition to classrooms, laboratories, and offices, the addition features an Engineering Learning Center that provides networked computers, individual and group study spaces, and tutors who are on hand daily to assist first-year students.

Most recently, in September 2012, the College broke ground for its newest facility. Once completed, the $43-million Advanced Engineering Research Building will provide new research laboratories, a second clean room, and state-of-the-art computer labs to meet the needs of high-technology learning and discovery in the future.

... and a Move to Evansdale

In the 1960s and 70s, engineering at WVU undergoes a major transition toward self-directed and experience-based education led by Professors Charles Wales and Helen Plants.

The National Science Foundation provides funding for the construction of a Concrete Laboratory at WVU. This laboratory is one of the largest and most complete concrete laboratories in the eastern United States at the time.

1965 Planning of the Personal

Rapid Transit (PRT) system begins.

1966

Drs. John Loth and Jerome Fanucci of the Department of Aerospace Engineering construct an experimental STOL (short takeoff and landing) airplane, which features a unique wing design that allows for flying at very low speeds, reducing the need for longer airport runways in Appalachia and other mountainous regions.

The 1973 oil embargo triggers great interest in alternative energy sources, leading to increased energy research at America’s engineering schools.

1973After developing a washing machine agitator and dozens of other patents for General Electric, Winston L. Shelton, a 1948 WVU electrical engineering graduate, starts his own company,

Winston Industries, and develops the Collectramatic Pressure Fryer. This large-volume fryer becomes the primary cooking method of Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises throughout the world.

Order of Vandalia recipientDennis Lee McElroy

1969

The U.S. Secretary of Transportation; Senator Robert Byrd; and President Nixon’s daughter, Tricia Nixon-Cox, attend the dedication ceremony for the PRT, which is named a top 10 engineering achievement of the year by the National Society of Professional Engineers.

1972

“The merger created opportunities for us to recruit high-quality students and work with other departments on research projects.” —Sam Ameri (BS ’73, MS ’76), chair of the Department of Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering

In the late 1970s, Professor Helen Plants barely misses winning the American Society for Engineering Education’s national election that would have made her the first woman president of a major engineering society.

1977The School of Mines becomes the College of Mineral and Energy Resources (COMER).

The PRT opens, transporting students between the Evansdale, Downtown, and Medical campuses.

1975

The Agricultural Engineering and Forestry programs separate from the College of Engineering, to form what is now known as the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design.

1976

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Seventy percent of the job offers from industries made through the WVU Placement Office go to engineering students, who comprise just 10 percent of the student body.

The Evansdale Library opens.

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development is founded.

The Departments of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanical Engineering consolidate into a single department.

Order of Vandalia recipient Charles Holland

Sixteen percent of the College’s engineering students are female. 1982

Governor Jay Rockefeller appears on WVU’s campus for the groundbreaking of the $4.2 million Evansdale Library. While in Morgantown, Governor Rockefeller also announces that he has designated WVU as a Mining and Mineral Research Institute, thereby making the school eligible for federal mining research funds under new federal strip mining laws.

1978

Around the time of World War I, America’s industries anticipated a severe shortage of engineers. Recruitment at WVU went into overdrive, and enrollment began to rise.

In 1917, the College, in conjunction with the Department of Physics, trained students in skills that would support the nation’s war effort, namely metalworking, vehicle repair, and telegraphy. The program, known as the Students’ Army Training Corps, continued until 1918, when the conflict ended.

The training of military and civilian engineers to support the war effort was taken very seriously by the University; many programs and courses were added and special accommodations were made for military personnel. All told, around 1,000 men graduated as specially trained engineers during this time.

During World War II, enrollment soared again due to military training programs offered at the College. The University offered college-level technical training in subjects such as machine design, metallurgy, and drafting, provided through the College’s industrial extension division, as well as programs in flight training and army specialist training.

Betty Miller (BS ’47, MS ’57) remembers the late 1940s as a time with few students and even fewer opportunities once the war ended. “The war took so many of our students away,” Miller said. “A few years later, when I was graduating, they were coming back, finishing their educations or

getting jobs because of things they’d learned in the service.”

Jack Byrd was a student on campus during the height of the Cold War. “I remember, as a freshman, standing in line at the cafeteria, waiting to go in to eat, right at the heart of the Cuban Missile Crisis,” he said. “We were talking about whether or not we were going to be here next week because there was a very real chance we would go to war with Russia and there would be no males left on campus.”

Roy S. Nutter Jr. (BS ’66, MS ’68, PhD ’71), professor of computer science and electrical engineering, was a student in the College during the Vietnam era. “Every male during their freshman and sophomore years at WVU was in ROTC,” said Nutter. “Everybody had a uniform; it’s the way it worked.”

As juniors, Nutter said, students had the opportunity to become a scholarship holder in ROTC, either through the Army or the Air Force.

“There wasn’t anything happening at that time and I thought I would enlist,” said Nutter, thinking it would be a good way to pay for the rest of his education. “I remember this just as clear as day, going into the first class as a junior, sitting down with all my buddies around me, as they passed out the legal papers that you signed to join the corps. I remember sitting there and rocking back and forth in my chair and just looking at everybody else as they signed their stuff. And finally I just got up and handed it in and said, ‘I’m not doing this.’”

Twelve months later, in 1966, the Vietnam War escalated. “They had exemptions if you were in school,” said Nutter, who took advantage of a three-year fellowship opportunity to complete his master’s and begin his doctoral degree.

WVU continues to offer many specific programs and opportunities for veterans of more recent conflicts. The University has been recognized by G.I. Jobs magazine as a military friendly school, placing it in the top 20 percent of schools nationwide. The University also participates in the Yellow Ribbon Program, which covers the difference between in-state and out-of-state tuition and fees from the Post 9/11 GI Bill for both undergraduate and graduate students.

The University still offers ROTC programs for students interested in active duty or reserve military careers in the Army or Air Force, and in the spring of 2012, the College had 42 students enrolled in these programs.

Impact of the War Years19

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“The war took so many of our students away. A few years later, when I was graduating, they were coming back, finishing their educations or getting jobs because of things they’d learned in the service.” —Betty Miller (BS ’47, MS ’57)

“We were talking about whether or not we were going to be here next week because there was a very real chance we would go to war with Russia and there would be no males left on campus.” —Jack Byrd

“I remember this just as clear as day, going into the first class as a junior, sitting down with all my buddies around me, as they passed out the legal papers that you signed to join the corps. I remember sitting there and rocking back and forth in my chair and just looking at everybody else as they signed their stuff.” —Roy S. Nutter Jr. (BS ’66, MS ’68, PhD ’71),

professor of computer science and electrical engineering

Starting in the fall semester, all freshmen engineering students are accepted into the College, rather than to a specific department, in an effort to improve the freshman advising process and teach basic engineering courses to all students entering the College.

The first conference on the use of computers in the coal industry is co-sponsored by COMER and held on the Evansdale Campus.

1983

A Fluidization and Fluid Particle Research Center is established at WVU.1984

COMER provides a stainless steel cylinder from one of its laboratories to use as a time capsule for Morgantown’s Bicentennial celebration. The time capsule includes letters, newspapers, and other materials reflecting life in Morgantown on its 200th birthday, and will remain buried until Morgantown celebrates its 300th birthday in the year 2085.

1985

The computer engineering program is founded within the Department of Electrical Engineering.19

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7 Order of Vandalia recipient J. Reginald “Reg” Dietz19

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Faculty members from the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Industrial Engineering, and Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering cooperate to develop a Manufacturing Systems Engineering program, to help make West Virginia’s industries competitive with those in other states.

1987

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In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the College establishes student exchange programs with engineering schools in England, the U.S.S.R., and Mexico.

Engineering schools in the U.S.S.R. ask the College of Engineering to assist them in preparing for an ABET review.

The Mineral Resources Building and Engineering Research Buildings are completed.

1990Researchers in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering establish the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions, a program aimed at reducing exhaust emissions and consumption of petroleum-based fuels.

In the late 1980s, the Department of Mining Engineering establishes exchange programs with the China University of Mining and Technology and the University of Wallongong in Australia.

1989

Engineering at West Virginia University has always attracted top-notch students, but as the University has expanded and the College has built a reputation, what was once a largely white, male, West Virginian student body has grown to include people of all ethnicities, backgrounds, and nationalities. It has also come to include increasing numbers of women.

It wasn’t until 1897 that the University permitted women to register in all departments. Records from the early 20th century indicate that two Serbian women took agricultural engineering classes at WVU in 1919. Although they did not complete a full academic year, these women were likely the school’s first female engineering students. Carrie Virginia White (née Dye), who received her bachelor of science degree in 1927 with a concentration in electrical engineering, was the first female to graduate from the College. Today, female freshmen enrollment in the College stands at 14 percent.

But Betty Miller remembers a time when women just didn’t “do” engineering. “When I went to register, I had applied for education,” said Miller. “But I didn’t want to teach school. My older brother was in engineering school and I don’t know whether that had anything to do with it or not, but I just changed to chemical engineering.”

Miller’s decision was met with horror by her mother. “Women just didn’t do this kind of thing,” Miller recalls. “My mother called our next-door neighbor who assured her that I would be good no matter what I majored in. That calmed her down. And I just kept on going.” Miller started her educational career accompanied by four other women, two of whom graduated.

While Miller initially didn’t want to teach, she went on to earn her master’s degree in mathematics and taught in the discipline for 36 years, retiring in 1992 from WVU. She later spent 15 years in the Provost’s Office, retiring again in 2007.

Between 1909 and 1929, the College’s enrollment more than quadrupled, leading to the formation of a number of student groups. The Engineering Society served as a base for all engineering students, and membership was required for juniors and seniors. A student chapter of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers was added, as was Tau Beta Pi, the honorary engineering fraternity, and Sigma Gamma Epsilon, which focused on the advancement of geology, mining, metallurgy, and ceramics. All three organizations remain in existence today.

But these groups weren’t always inclusive. Jack Byrd notes that one of the biggest changes that has occurred in the College and the University has been its treatment of women.

“When I was a student, a woman could not march in the marching band,” said Byrd. “They could not wear shorts on campus. They had to stay in a dorm all the way through college and had a 10

Women in the Classroom

The NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium (WVSGC) is established. With WVU as the lead institution, WVSGC includes seven universities and four colleges in West Virginia and aims to enhance the state’s competitiveness, interest, and activities in science, engineering, and space-related education.

WVU’s Discovery Lab opens, providing West Virginia residents with a place to test their inventions and share ideas for new technologies.

1991

“Women just didn’t do this kind of thing ... but I just kept on going.” —Betty Miller


15

p.m. curfew. They wouldn’t let women into Tau Beta. Things like that would be deplorable today!”

Lack of qualified instructors intensified in the 1940s when special programs were again offered for military training in engineering. Helen Plants took advantage of that shortage and became the first female lecturer in engineering at WVU, specializing in mechanics. Some might say that Plants cracked the door open for women in engineering at WVU. Today, there are 21 women faculty members in the College, several times what it was just a decade ago.

“Helen Plants was the only woman faculty member in the College when I was in school,” said Byrd. “She was tough, but she was an outstanding teacher.”

WVU built the Evansdale Campus just in time for the baby boomers entering college. Students flocked to the University. Engineering was so popular in the 1980s the College attempted to restrict admission to only the top candidates, yet still exceeded its 400-student cap. During this time, Margaret Lyell, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and the only female

faculty member in the College, urged the College to take the recruitment of women students seriously. She also rallied, successfully, for the establishment of a WVU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, which still exists today and has flourished.

Other similar initiatives included outreach to K-12 schools and focus on women and minority recruitment. The College started a lecture series led by women and minority engineers, intending to make the diversity of engineering role models more visible to students. Today, female faculty members have access to funds through WVU’s $3.2-million National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant. The grant allows women in science, technology, engineering, and math disciplines to receive mentoring from faculty members outside their department and to explore their science in new ways.

“Helen Plants was the only woman faculty member in the College when I was in school. She was tough, but she was an outstanding teacher.” —Jack Byrd

Helen Plants

Miller

The PRT beats Disney World’s famed monorail as The New Electric Railways Journal’s pick for best overall people-mover.

Electrical engineering graduate Rouzbeh Yassini is named “Man of the Year” by CED magazine for his role in creating and fostering the multibillion-dollar cable modem “broadband” industry.

1998

Throughout the years, problems relating to the environment, economy, healthcare, security, and transportation influenced the scientific, mathematical, and technical principles taught in the classroom. Those problems also shaped the work of research engineers who searched for solutions through investigation and application.

While the curriculum responded to outside events, research programs were slower to take shape. In the early days, the College lacked the facilities, funding, and freedom to undertake research ventures. Space, money, and time for research took a back seat to teaching in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The University realized that in order to establish and maintain a first-rate reputation for the College of Engineering research must be made a priority. Without sacrificing teaching techniques and course content, the College needed to engage in scholarly experimentations, investigations, and analyses that advanced the field of engineering.

In 1922, the College created the Engineering Experiment Station, which managed programs,

projects, grants, and scholarships for engineering research. The Station helped the state’s commercial development by providing engineering leadership to investigate scientific and technical problems related to manufacturing processes, product development, and utilization of raw materials, often working closely with a number of state agencies.

Even with the Station up and running, the College’s research activities were minimal at best. Faculty members were overloaded with teaching responsibilities and not permitted to perform consulting work for government or private industries, restricting their ability to conduct research. Funding was also limited, particularly before 1942, when the state legislature allocated funds for the Station for the first time.

But just when increased financial support became available from the state, World War II started. During the war, research was neglected, as instructing large numbers of U.S. Army students was viewed as a more important contribution toward winning the war.

When the war ended, the University lifted the restriction against faculty doing consulting work for industries and government, as long as that work didn’t interfere with teaching. That change led to a noticeable upturn in the amount of research performed by engineering faculty in the 1940s, followed by another spike during the Soviet/American space race a decade later.

Upon the U.S.S.R.’s launch of Sputnik in 1957, America recognized the need for improved scientific and technical capabilities if the nation were to match or exceed the Soviets’ progress. Funds for science and engineering suddenly became available from private foundations, as well as from federal and state government appropriations, to help the United States win the Cold War through research education.

With an influx of funds for research, WVU could take on not only numerous research projects, but also larger and more nationally focused ones. In 1979, for example, the U.S. Secretary of Transportation named WVU the site of the first and only National Transportation Center in the country, with a mandate to stimulate and

Construction begins on the National Research Center for Coal and Energy.

A team of WVU students from mechanical and aerospace engineering and electrical and computer engineering compete in the Ford Hybrid Electric Vehicle Challenge in Dearborn, Mich., taking first place for overall fuel efficiency.

Order of Vandalia recipient Andrew Clark

Order of Vandalia recipientBetty Miller1994

1992

COMER and the College of Engineering merge to form the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.

1995

WVU partners with Worth, Inc., a baseball and softball equipment company, to create a model for the “First-Up” fielder’s glove. Tim Lord, a WVU engineering and business graduate and Worth’s marketing manager, works with engineering students and professors to develop a training glove for younger baseball and softball players. 19

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Twenty-year-old Joseph P. Bongiorni III, a civil engineering sophomore, is killed in an Iraqi Scud missile attack on U.S. military barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia. Bongiorni is WVU’s only known combat casualty of the Gulf War.

1991

Growth of Research

Yassini

Order of Vandalia recipientElmo J. Hurst

The College institutes a Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series.

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is renamed the Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, following a $5 million contribution from WVU graduate Raymond J. Lane and his wife, Stephanie.

In response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, WVU’s Lane Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering works to develop a digital forensics program, ultimately creating a graduate certificate in computer forensics and collaborating with law enforcement to establish the West Virginia Cyber Crime Cooperative.

In honor of one of its distinguished alums, the Department of Mining Engineering establishes its William N. Poundstone Lecture series.

WVU ties with the University of Maryland as overall winner of the FutureTruck 2000 competition in Mesa, Ariz., in which participants are required to modify the powertrain of a 2000 Chevrolet Suburban sport utility vehicle to increase fuel economy. WVU’s SUV is a hybrid electric and diesel-powered vehicle.

Order of Vandalia recipientEmory Kemp

20002001

conduct research leading to the development, enhancement, and maintenance of all modes of transportation.

While some research programs were initiated in response to national and international concerns, others were motivated by needs closer to home. The College established the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Development (CESD) in 1982 to supply support services to businesses across West Virginia, most of which had little or no research and development backing to help them compete in high-tech industries. Affiliated with the Department of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering, the CESD continues to provide facilities and technical expertise to support economic enterprise throughout Appalachia.

Like its curriculum, the College’s research projects are multidisciplinary. The Constructed Facilities Center (CFC), under the direction of Hota GangaRao and Emory Kemp of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was established in 1988 to bring together an interdepartmental team of engineers and scientists for the purpose of combining innovative ideas, advanced technologies, and

traditional engineering. Today, engineers and scientists working in the CFC come from the Statler College; the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Design; and the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences. Together, they work to find ways to protect, preserve, and prolong existing constructed facilities while offering new and economical alternatives to building materials and designs.

“Emory and I used to go to Charleston to drum up some research and development activities, with regards to work to be done with the state’s Department of Highways and the Department of Transportation,” said GangaRao, Wadsworth Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “Within a year or two, we got a fair-sized joint research project, and we were able to develop good working relationships with them and nurture it to the point that we still get a fair amount of funding from them.”

The first project GangaRao and Kemp worked on was one ahead of its time: the modular construction of bridges. “In Europe, they currently build 300- and 400-foot bridge spans in three or four days,” said GangaRao. “We were talking about doing that kind of thing in the very early 1970s.

We were able to come up with a way of building bridges, buildings, whatever in ways that were more efficient, done in a much shorter time span. Then, as a progression, we are now looking at very high-strength materials and green materials. We are looking at renewable, sustainable materials.” GangaRao is quick to point out that the initial thinking behind the development of these concepts came from Kemp.

Despite its slow start, engineering research at WVU has intensified in recent decades. The College’s mission notes its dedication to practice and science, as well as research, along with its continued focus on teaching. The College’s research projects, labs, centers, and collaborations are now too numerous to list in full. But names like the Local Technical Assistance Program; the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium; the Center for Identification Technology Research; and the Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines, and Emissions, make it clear that the College’s research initiatives reflect local and worldwide influences, interdisciplinary partnerships, and emerging technology that impact and advance today’s engineering fields.

“In Europe, they currently build 300- and 400-foot bridge spans in three or four days,” said Hota GangaRao, Wadsworth Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “We were talking about doing that kind of thing in the very early 1970s. We were able to come up with a way of building bridges, buildings, whatever in ways that were more efficient, done in a much shorter time span. Then, as a progression, we are now looking at very high-strength materials and green materials. We are looking at renewable, sustainable materials.”

Kemp

Lane

WVU Libraries

Glen H. Hiner, a graduate of WVU’s Department of Electrical Engineering, establishes an endowment to support the deanship of the College.

Order of Vandalia recipientAlfred “Fred” Galli

2005Dr. Charles Vest, who earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering from WVU in 1963, is named president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The U.S. military nominates Navy Lieutenant Commander Philip Burnside, a WVU engineering grad, for the Bronze Star Medal, in recognition of his work in improving Iraq’s infrastructure, particularly Baghdad’s water and sewer system.

The College is recognized for diversity in its student body; it is included on Hispanic Business magazine’s list of top 10 best engineering schools for Hispanics.

2007

What started as a dispersed group of courses and departments scattered around a university experiencing early growing pains has evolved into a sizeable and highly respected fixture within West Virginia and the larger world of engineering research and education. Today, the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources offers 14 degree programs accredited by ABET, formerly the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, in seven academic departments, all housed in facilities located on the Evansdale Campus. The College also offers graduate programs at both the master’s and doctoral levels in 14 areas.

The organic evolution and fluid growth of the College contrasts with the technical and methodical nature of engineering itself. The

development of programs in such areas as biometric systems, biomedical engineering, computer forensics, and gaming and virtual reality proves the College has the ability and willingness to adapt to changing market needs.

The student body has grown from an initial enrollment of 14 to nearly 4,000. The once homogenous white male population within the College now includes an ever-increasing number of women and a diverse population from around the world. Nearly 800 students earned placement on the WVU President’s or Dean’s lists in May 2012. Graduates are actively sought by corporate recruiters, more than 120 of whom came to campus this year to attend an engineering career fair.

American Electric Power pledges $250,000 to the College, primarily to support programs designed to encourage K-12 students in Appalachia, in particular women and under-represented minorities, to enter engineering and computer science professions.

Order of Vandalia recipientsGlen H. Hiner and Raymond Lane

2004

An Organic Evolution

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The Department of Mining Extension (now the Department of Mining and Industrial Extension) dedicates its simulated underground coal mine at WVU’s Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies in Dolls Run, W.Va. The simulated mine is used to train mine rescue teams, fire brigade teams, new miners, and others, and offers integrated live fire training, a unique feature that sets it apart from other facilities.

2009

An addition to the Engineering Sciences Building is completed.2008 Order of Vandalia recipient

Verl Purdy2011

Benjamin Statler, mining engineering alum, and

his wife, Jo, donate $34 million, the largest single-gift commitment

ever to WVU, and the College is renamed the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering

and Mineral Resources. Statler was later named to the Order of Vandalia.

WVU breaks ground for the new Advanced Engineering Research Building.

2012Niccolo Campriani (BS, IMSE ‘12) becomes the first Mountaineer ever to win two medals in a single Olympics, taking a gold and a silver in the men’s 50m rifle, 3 positions, and the men’s 10m air rifle, respectively.

Former WVU linebacker Najee Goode (BS, IMSE ’12) was selected in the fifth round of the 2012 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Purdy

Statler

Students are taught by an expert faculty who bring expertise, enthusiasm, and energy to each of the College’s programs. Working side-by-side with undergraduate and graduate students, faculty members conduct pioneering research in both the public and private sectors in a wide range of areas, including energy, nanotechnology, electronic devices, advanced materials, biotechnology, and many more.

Over the past three years, the College has invested nearly $90 million in research expenditures. Since 2001, more than $35 million has been invested in new and upgraded facilities, including laboratories, classrooms, and equipment for teaching and research. And once completed, the new Advanced Engineering Research Building will add 75,000 additional net square feet to campus, strengthening the ability to meet 21st century needs.

The commitment to strengthening the economy and infrastructure of West Virginia continues through a number of avenues, including the Department of Mining and Industrial Extension. Started in 1913 and 1918, respectively, this united department provides expert, on-site technical assistance and training to manufacturers and to the coal mining industry throughout West Virginia and the region. Working closely with partners in industry and government, these top-notch programs provide exceptional service to the state, its industries, and its people.

With changing market needs governing the direction of its curriculum, facilities, research, and enrollment, the College’s development has ebbed and flowed throughout the years in concert with outside forces, fueling statewide, nationwide, and worldwide trends. What does the future of the discipline and the College hold? The 2013 spring issue of EngineeringWV will discuss just that in a series of interviews with faculty, students, and alumni.

photo taken from London2012.com

This story was compiled by Mary C. Dillon from research conducted by Danielle Petrak and Sharon Kelly, with editing from Susan Case and Kathy Deweese. Historical photos courtesy of West Virginia and Regional History Collection, West Virginia University Libraries.

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WVU BENJAMIN M. STATLER CoLLEgE of ENgINEERINg ANd MINERAL RESouRCES

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Volume 8 Issue 2

BaBe

Statler

For many, commencement marks a time to celebrate bright young students entering a new chapter in their lives.

But the occasion is not only for students.

It is also a time to honor West Virginia University alumni, friends, and donors whose hearts and minds have blessed the Mountaineer community in countless ways.

Greg Babe, BSME ’80, an engineer who rose to the top of the Bayer Corporation, was awarded an honorary degree at the ceremony honoring the graduates of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. The day was also a special one for the College’s namesake, as Statler, BSME ’73, ScD ’09, was awarded the Order of Vandalia earlier in the day.

Babe had four life lessons to pass on to the graduates, lessons that he said have guided him in his life. The first was to love what you do.

“The years will fly by like the wind. Just ask your parents … life is time … time is precious … and time is all you have. Spend it with people you love and in a profession you love,” Babe said.

The second lesson was to commit to a lifetime of learning. “… always look for opportunities to broaden the skills you’ve learned here,” said Babe. “Treat your careers not as a ladder, but rather a pyramid. You want to have a broad base of experience to build upon. This approach will serve you well as you move up the pyramid.”

The third lesson was to promote science, engineering, and technology, and the fourth lesson was to give back.

“My career has taught me that giving back is really one of the most emotionally gratifying aspects of life,” said Babe. “It’s what keeps bringing me back to WVU to repay, in some small measure, what I owe to the university that has given me so much.”

ORDER OF VANDALIA

Giving back to his alma mater has been a trademark of Statler who, along with his wife, Jo, earlier in the year pledged $34 million, the largest single gift commitment ever given to the University, a gift which resulted in the renaming of the College.

The couple’s gifts over the years, now totaling nearly $60 million, have gone to support the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center, including the establishment of Bonnie’s Bus, a mobile mammography unit that provides services throughout rural West Virginia; the new Erickson Alumni Center; the Basketball Practice Facility; and other athletics capital improvements.

Statler, who began his career as a coal miner and later took ownership of PinnOak Resources LLC, a major coal company, serves on the Visiting Committee for the Department of Mining Engineering and on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors. He is a member of the College’s Campaign Team and is involved in several professional organizations in the coal mining community.

He has been inducted into the WVU Academy of Distinguished Alumni and received an honorary degree. The couple has been named Most Loyal West Virginians by the University and Outstanding Philanthropists by the WVU Foundation. •

Honorary Degree, Order of Vandalia Awarded Commencement Weekend

CoLLEGE NEWS

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Pradeep P. Fulay, former professor of materials science and mechanical engineering in the Swanson School of Engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, assumed the position of West Virginia University’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources associate dean for research, effective May 31.

Fulay is responsible for leading the College’s faculty in research, research program development, and intellectual property and commercialization activities.

“Dr. Fulay’s expertise and experience in research and research administration will help our College move forward in many important ways,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the College. “I look for him to be a leader in research, including being a mentor for our new faculty; to provide research administrative

support for our larger research programs; and to build new interdisciplinary programs within our College and across campus.”

Fulay received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, with honors, from the Indian institute of Technology in Bombay, India. He earned a Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Arizona in 1989. Upon graduation, he joined the faculty at Pitt, where his research and teaching interests were primarily in the area of the science of chemical synthesis and processing of smart materials and structures. Fulay’s research in the area of synthesis and processing of electronic and magnetic materials has been recognized internationally.

Fulay is an elected Fellow of the American Ceramic Society. He has several publications in reputed

journals and conference proceedings, three U.S.-issued patents, and has edited one book. He is the author of the textbook, Electronic, Magnetic, and Optical Properties of Materials, published in May 2010, and co-author of the fifth edition of The Science of Engineering of Materials, a leading undergraduate textbook of materials science.

For the past three years, Fulay served as a program director in the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation in the Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems Division. He managed a budget of approximately $10 to 12 million to support research in the areas of advanced nanoelectronic, magnetic, and optical inorganic and organic materials and devices. •

Statler College Names New Associate Dean for ResearchBy MARy C. DillON

FUlaY

The Royce J. and Caroline B. Watts Museum at West Virginia University has received a grant from the West Virginia Humanities Council to support an educational outreach program on coal mining history for senior citizen groups in the northern part of the state.

The Watts Museum’s senior outreach program is designed to foster stronger connections with the surrounding community. “We want people to know that we’re here, and we have some amazing resources to share,” says Danielle Petrak, museum curator. “Connecting with senior citizens seemed like a good first step to take, because we can not only share with them our research on the social, technological, and economic facets of mining history, but we can also learn from them by encouraging them to share personal stories of life experiences in a mining town, life in a family of miners, and the like.”

As part of the program, museum staff will discuss the development and mission of the Watts Museum, and

provide a brief overview of mining history and coal mining communities in West Virginia, using historical objects to help tell that history. They will also address the museum’s care of the historical mining objects in its collection as a priority for preserving our state’s industrial history for future generations. A traveling display of mining artifacts, ranging from coal company scrip to flame safety lamps and an early 20th-century breathing apparatus, along with a slideshow of

archival coal mining images, will help illustrate the concepts discussed during the program.

The grant will allow the Watts Museum to safely and properly present these historical objects and photographs to the program’s audiences, as well as expand the range of senior centers, retirement homes, and assisted-living centers involved.

The West Virginia Humanities Council is a private, nonprofit organization providing lifelong learning

opportunities to the state’s citizens. The Council serves West Virginia through grants and direct programs in the humanities, with the goal of helping and encouraging all West Virginians to enjoy engaging and enriching experiences through the humanities.

Housed in the Mineral Resources Building of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at WVU, the Watts Museum

is dedicated to preserving and promoting the social, cultural, and

technological history of the coal, oil, and natural gas industries of the state of West Virginia through the collection, preservation, research, and exhibition of objects relevant to these industries. The Museum is open Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 1-4 p.m. Admission is free, and parking is available at the WVU Coliseum. For more information or to arrange a tour, please contact the museum at 304-293-4609 or [email protected]. •

Watts Museum Awarded Grant from State Humanities Council to Support Outreach to Seniors

CoLLEGE NEWS

“We want people to know that we’re here, and we have some amazing resources to share.” —DANiEllE PEtRAk, MuSEuM CuRAtOR

Joseph Main’s primary concern as assistant secretary of labor for the Mine Safety Health Administration is improving the nation’s mine emergency response capabilities.

On May 25, West Virginia University provided Main with some ideas and answers, as he toured its Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies at Dolls Run in Monongalia County.

The Academy is designed to be as close to an actual underground mine as possible. Its features include multiple entryways, crosscuts, prop machinery and vehicles, and controlled propane fires and theatrical smokers that circulate thick smoke to give trainees a sense of realism. Along with touring the mock mine, Main observed a controlled fire used on an outdoor shuttle car prop.

His conclusion? The nation could use more places like the Academy.

“We’re really trying to pass this information along throughout the rest of the country to get improvements in place,” Main said. “That’s why we’re here.”

The WVU facility is one of only a few sophisticated mine safety training sites in the United States. Back in the 1970s there used to be many more but the number gradually diminished by the 1990s. The decline in training centers was because there were fewer mining disasters.

“The more we get away from the last mine disaster, a loss of attention occurs, and a loss of importance occurs. We can’t let that happen,” Main said. “I think we all recognize when the Sago Mine disaster struck that we were not as prepared as what we needed to be.”

The Academy trained 1,300 new miners and foremen, rescue teams, and mine fire brigades in 2010. The number more than doubled last year, as nearly 3,000 visited. They came from 11 states and from as far away as New Mexico. This doesn’t include the approximately 8,700 miners who were trained at off-site locations across the region.

“You’ve heard the expression, ‘Build it and they will come’,” WVU Mining and Industrial Extension Agent Ed Rannenberg said. “Well, we built it and they came. The fact that people came all the way from New Mexico tells you that there’s not a facility like this anywhere near them.”

Main can understand why.

“I’d surely want to go through something like this to get used to the environment before I fought my first fire underground, so that in itself is one of the unique things here,” he said.

The West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training and the West Virginia Division of Energy provided the funding for the $1 million facility back in 2009 while Alpha Natural Resources; Consol Energy; HSC Industrial; Joy Continental Product Line; Murray Energy; Mine Lifeline, LLC; and Patriot Coal provided equipment and other materials.

These provisions helped make the Academy for Mine Training and Energy Technologies one of the first training centers built post-Sago to help improve safety and save lives of workers and rescuers in the mining community.

“We think this facility is very special and we want to push it further,” Gene Cilento said. “We’ve created a great test bed for new technology that is reaching the individual miner. It’s a great example of how academia, industry, and government can work together to solve problems and save lives.” •

WVu Mine training Facility Could Serve as Model, Says u.S. OfficialBy CONOR GRiFFitH

Main

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Modern Meets Rustic in WVu Solar Decathlon team’s Design for Energy-efficient HomeBy JAkE StuMP

Solar-powered houses sound cool and all,

but if you’ve ever seen one, something just

doesn’t feel right about them.

“they don’t feel like a home.”

So says Brigid Cain, a West Virginia university

civil engineering senior from Wheeling, W.Va.

Cain is the student project leader for the

WVu team competing in the 2013 Solar

Decathlon, a collegiate design-and-build

competition hosted by the u.S. Department

of Energy, which provided each team with a

$100,000 grant. However the teams are also

responsible for raising additional money

and support.

Cain and her teammates hope to woo judges

with their design, which merges the innovative

technologies of tomorrow with the rustic

comfort of the countryside.

the team, made up of 18 students across

multiple disciplines, will start piecing together

its solar-powered, log home in the fall

2012 semester on a site near the Student

Recreation Center. But once it’s built,

students will eventually disassemble the

home, transport it to the competition in irvine,

Calif., and rebuild it there.

the WVu house is the first log-style home

accepted into the decathlon.

“the houses that are usually entered focus

on being new, modern, and innovative,”

Cain said. “But they lack the quality that’s

most important to Americans—the feeling of

‘home.’ Our log-style home is cozy, warm,

and welcoming. We’re bringing old and

new together for a comfortable, efficient

environment.”

WVu is one of 20 international teams that will

compete in October 2013 to design, build,

and operate the most affordable, attractive,

and energy-efficient solar-powered house.

Students from the Benjamin M. Statler

College of Engineering and Mineral Resources

have been leading the WVu effort since

kenneth Hite, an electrical engineering major

from Summit Point, W.Va., discovered the

2009 Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.

the decathlon team also includes students

from the College of Creative Arts; the Davis

College of Agriculture, Natural Resources,

and Design; the Perley isaac Reed School

of Journalism; and the College of Business

and Economics.

team members have been working around 20

hours a week to keep the project in motion.

STUDENT NEWS

The first Solar Decathlon was held in 2002; the competition

has since occurred in 2005, 2007, 2009, and 2011. The

next event will take place October 3–13, 2013, at Orange

County Great Park in Irvine, Calif.

Model oF Solar decathlon hoUSe


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“it all hasn’t been perfect,” acknowledges Michael Jordan, a

mechanical engineering student from Charleston, W.Va.

Jordan is the project manager who ensures deadlines are met and

“calls you 700 times until you answer the phone.

“it’s reasonable for WVu to be competing against top schools

like Stanford and Caltech,” Jordan said. “We have to break the

stigma of West Virginia, and we can do that by pulling off the

best solar house.”

the house is centered on a “fulcrum,” which resembles the hearth

or chimney of a house, said team members. Around the fulcrum

are two sections of the house—a day area in the west and a night

area in the east. the locations of the areas coincide with natural

lighting and keep certain parts of the home cooler.

the home also includes solar panels on the roof and relies on

natural resources to control temperature.

in addition to learning how to build an environmentally friendly

house, students have picked up valuable lessons on collaboration.

“i’ve learned so much about different disciplines and their

strengths,” said Corie Posey, an interior design student from

Philippi, W.Va., who works on the engineer-heavy team. “As an

interior designer, i’ve realized that i could not do my job without

engineers. i’ve developed a greater respect for other disciplines.”

Posey is design coordinator for the team.

WVu students are also reaching across international borders to

collaborate on the project. Students in Morgantown are working

with representatives from the university of Rome tor Vergata,

which has a research agreement with WVu.

Other student coordinators include tyler Sullens, engineering

coordinator; Adeniyi Adebisi, site prep and logistics coordinator;

Guglielmo Siniscalco, university of Rome architecture coordinator;

Francesco Spagnolo, university of Rome engineering coordinator;

Stephen Rebinski, fundraising coordinator; and lauren Nickle,

public relations coordinator.

Faculty advisors are Dimitris korakakis, faculty project principal

investigator; laRue Williams, faculty project manager; and

Vincenzo Mulone and Stefano Cordiner, both university of Rome

faculty principal investigators.

ZMM Architects of Charleston, W.Va., and Ryan Hess of the Mills

Group architectural firm have donated time and resources to the

project. Hess earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from

WVu in 2007.

According to the Department of Energy, the winner of the

competition is the team that best blends affordability, consumer

appeal, and design excellence with optimal energy production and

maximum efficiency. •

Seven students have the honor of being named the first-

ever Benjamin M. Statler Scholars in Engineering and Mineral

Resources at West Virginia University. The group, made up of six

undergraduates and one graduate student, will receive scholarship

and research support from funding that was part of the historic $34

million gift made by Statler and his wife, Jo, earlier this year.

Three freshmen—Jessica Griffith and Andrew Maloney of

Morgantown, W.Va., and Ryan Gellner of Glen Dale, W.Va.,—have

been named Statler Undergraduate Scholars. The $3,000 per year

scholarship is renewable for up to four years. The trio were also

named Bucklew scholars earlier this year.

Three seniors were named Statler Undergraduate Research

Scholars. The winners were selected based upon the quality of their

proposed research projects. Each student will receive a one-time

scholarship award of $3,000, plus $2,000 in research support.

Zachary Cesa, from Mt. Morris, Pa., who is majoring in petroleum

and natural gas engineering, will analyze the production

performance of multiple fractured horizontal wells in the Marcellus

shale to determine long-term production performance.

Morgantown, W.Va., native Anna McClung, a chemical engineering

major, will focus on energy-related technologies through research

involving direct carbon fuel cells. McClung spent the summer

working on the project and will complete her senior thesis using this

research. Civil and environmental engineering major Ye Tao of China

is hoping to produce a new type of concrete, which will incorporate

the use of sticky rice, resulting in a material that is more energy

conservative and environmentally friendly.

Matthew Thompson, a doctoral student in the Department of

Chemical Engineering, is the inaugural recipient of the Statler Ph.D.

Fellowship. Thompson’s research centers on the polymer industry,

one of the largest industries worldwide and one that has a large

presence in West Virginia. His research is aimed at improving the

impact strength of polymers, such as polypropylene, so that they

do not shatter easily. This is done by mixing with the polypropylene

another polypropylene of a different molecular structure, using a

process that is very energy intensive. Shale gas is likely to become

a much lower-cost raw material for making both these plastics.

Thompson is developing a new process for polymer blending that

uses much less energy.

Thompson, a native of Franklin, W.Va., who earned his

undergraduate degree at WVU in 2011, will receive a $5,000

per year stipend as well as $8,000 per year for research-related

supplies, equipment, and travel. •

First-ever statler scholars announcedBY MARY C. Dillon

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WVu’s Hammerhead Doesn’t Disappoint; team Earns Ninth-Place Finish By DEBRA RiCHARDSON

WVU’s Design/Build/Fly team members with the Hammerhead

Engineering students from West Virginia

university’s Design/Build/Fly (DBF) team

faced fierce competition, including a tornado,

to earn ninth place during an international

radio-controlled competition sponsored by

the American institute of Aeronautics and

Astronautics.

the team competes annually in the contest,

which provides a real-world aircraft design

experience for students by giving them the

opportunity to validate their analytic studies.

this year, the competition was held in

Wichita, kan.

Student teams design, fabricate, and

demonstrate the flight capabilities of an

unmanned, electric powered, radio-controlled

aircraft, which can best meet the specified

mission profile provided in the contest rules.

the goal is to achieve a balanced design that

complies with the criteria of the competition

while being practical and affordable to

manufacture and leads to an airplane that

can fly safely and win. What should

have been a three-day

competition was cut in half as a storm cell

moved across the midwest. After a successful

day one, completing six laps in the allotted

four minutes, the team had high hopes for the

second and third round.

“On Saturday morning, with winds steady at

15 to 20 miles per hour, the team took to the

air again with a payload of eight aluminum

passengers,” explained thomas Gray, teaching

assistant for the course at the Benjamin M.

Statler College of Engineering and Mineral

Resources. “Other aircraft struggled with the

high winds, barely moving over wind speed

on the upwind leg of the course. When

‘Hammerhead’ took to the skies, it turned

heads as it powered through the adverse

conditions, completing the three lap flight in

three and a half minutes.”

Hammerhead, WVu’s aircraft, never received

the opportunity to impress onlookers during the

third segment of the competition.

“the competition staff halted flights to ensure

everyone would safely exit the facilities and be

able to return to their hotels before the storm,”

said Gray.

With only two teams successfully completing

the third climb to altitude mission before the end

of flights on Saturday, the judges decided to

dismiss the third round.

WVu placed in the top 10 out of 57 teams,

exceeding the team’s expectations.

“the team’s hard work, ingenuity, and ambition

to succeed, as well as the resources that

our mechanical and aerospace engineering

department invested in the project, paid off

in the end,” said Jacky Prucz, chair of the

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace

Engineering. “the team’s success will serve

as an uplifting example to our next generation

of DBF teams and will play a strong role in

advancing the international reputation and

recognition of our aerospace engineering

program.” •

STUDENT NEWS

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to say the 38 students representing West Virginia university in NASA’s summer robotics competitions left no stone unturned would be an understatement.

the robotics team, which included students from a variety of disciplines in the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources along with cadets from WVu’s united States Air Force ROtC, Detachment, 915, traveled first to the kennedy Space Center for the lunabotic Mining Competition, held May 21-26. the following week, they were off to the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic linkage Exploration RoboOps or Mars Rover Competition, held at the Johnson Space Center, in Houston, tex.

the lunabotics event featured 58 international teams of students, which were challenged to design and build a remote controlled or autonomous excavator called a lunabot, to determine which could collect the most simulated lunar soil within 10 minutes. the complexities of the challenge include the abrasive characteristics of the simulant, the weight and size limitations of the lunabot, and the ability to control the lunabot from a remote control center.

“the competition required two runs,” said Powsiri klinkhachorn, professor of computer science and electrical engineering in the lane Department, who served as the team’s advisor. “On our first run, we collected 100.8 kilos of regolith, the most of any team in all runs.”

the team noticed, however, that the rear wheel was stalling and suspected an electrical failure. “We made improvements to the electrical system prior to the second run, but the rear right and front left wheels failed, due to a gearbox/axle failure,”

said klinkhachorn. “this disabled the lunabot, preventing us from completing the second run.”

the team didn’t leave the competition empty-handed. WVu finished third in the Joe kosmo Award for Excellence or grand prize competition, which goes to the team with the most points from all categories; finished second in the slide presentation and demonstration award category; and 10th in the on-site mining award competition.

From there it was on to texas, where WVu joined seven other u.S. schools at the Rock yard at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. the competing teams each received a $10,000 stipend to partially offset the cost of rover hardware and transportation costs to attend the event. WVu was in excellent company, joining teams from Cal tech, university of Maryland, university of Pennsylvania, university of texas, SuNy Buffalo, university of utah, and Worcester Polytechnic institute.

the rover, which featured carbon-fiber composite construction, six-wheel independent drive, four-wheel steering, and rocker-bogie suspension, was controlled remotely during the competition by students on WVu’s campus in Morgantown, W.Va.

“the rover looked great during practice, able to climb ‘Mt. kosmo,’ a challenging rock-strewn hill used to prove rovers’ capabilities, and collect specimen rocks,” said Ben knabenshue, student team leader. However, the competition run did not go as well. “unfortunately, one of the motor controllers’ communications microchips failed shortly after starting the competition run, disabling the two front wheels.”

Despite the disabled wheels, the WVu rover was able to collect a single sample at the beginning of the run.

“this challenge gave our team experience that cannot be taught,” said lt. Col. Jeremy Anfinson, commander, Detachment 915. “they faced challenges that can be expected in the real word, including teamwork dynamics, leadership challenges, scheduling pressures, and limited budgets.”

“the team should be proud of its accomplishments,” said former astronaut and WVu alumnus Captain Jon McBride, who was in attendance at the lunabotics competition. “No university on this planet did as well, collectively, as WVu did in the competitions.”

WVu’s team was sponsored by the NASA West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and the u.S. Air Force ROtC. •

WVu leaves no Stone unturned in Robotics Competitions

By MARy C. DillON


Team effort — WVU engineering students, from left to right, Tim Godisart of Waynesburg, Pa., Ben Carrero of Philadelphia, Pa., Brenton Wilburn of Charleston, W.Va., and Jen Wilburn of Charleston, W.Va., work with Professor Powsiri Klinkhachorn on a robot used at the Revolutionary Aerospace Systems Concepts Academic Linkage Exploration RoboOps or Mars Rover Competition recently at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

Mars Rover

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two West Virginia university engineering students were awarded

fellowships through the Department of Energy’s university turbine

Systems Research (utSR) Program. tim Repko and Collins youngblood

traveled to two different parts of the country to fulfill their fellowships.

A native of Westminster, Md., Repko relocated to San Diego, Calif., to

work at Solar turbines, inc. under the supervision of yong kim, a senior

engineer. His fellowship lasted three months.

Repko, a graduate student majoring in aerospace engineering, was

looking forward to gaining work experience in the industry, outside of

academia. “i am looking to build upon my current research as well as

branch into other aspects of gas turbine research and development.”

Solar turbines, a subsidiary of Caterpillar inc., builds medium-sized land

based turbines. it is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial

gas turbines, with more than 13,400 units and over 1.4 billion operating

hours in 98 countries.

youngblood is a native of Richmond, Va., and worked at General Electric

Energy in Greenville, S.C. He assisted in computational fluid dynamics

modeling of dry, low-NOx combustion systems. His internship also lasted

three months.

youngblood was excited to work with GE and finally get my hands on

some real-life applications that deal with mechanical engineering.

“i’ve been in love with engineering and power generation ever

since i visited my first power plant as a kid.”

Both Repko and youngblood were advised by Andrew C. Nix, who served

as a research professor in WVu’s Center for Alternative Fuels, Engines,

and Emissions, where he specialized in gas turbine heat transfer, cooling,

and durability research.

“i am really proud of tim and Collins for this achievement, and with

this most recent fellowship we are establishing a record of exceptional

students from the college in the utSR program,” Nix said. “they are

going to work with some of the most renowned gas turbine researchers in

the world. this fellowship will provide them with some valuable industrial

research and development experience.”

the utSR program addresses key

technologies needed to enable the

development of advanced turbines and

turbine-based systems that will operate

cleanly and efficiently when fueled

with coal-derived synthesis gas and

hydrogen fuels. these fellowships

are considered an investment in

educating tomorrow’s developers of

clean, efficient, and affordable power

production. •

Engineering Students Earn DOE Fellowships

By DEBRA RiCHARDSON

STUDENT NEWS

tiM repko

collinS YoUngBlood

the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering

and Mineral Resources was well represented

at the fourth biennial StaR Symposium and

87th annual meeting of the West Virginia

Academy of Science (WVAS), held in April at

West Virginia State university in institute. the

contingent of students and research professors

shared aspects of their work at the prestigious

event, where the director of the National

Science Foundation, u.S. Sen. Jay Rockefeller,

and a representative of NASA’s Jet Propulsion

laboratory were featured participants.

the event, which was open to all university and

college faculty members, researchers, graduate

and undergraduate students, policymakers,

and members of the high-tech business

community, was an opportunity to share

ideas, collaborate, and learn how to transform

research into economic development.

Representatives from the Statler College gave

presentations on a variety of topics including

computational fluid dynamics, solid oxide fuel

cells, anti-cancer therapy, and streambank

turbulence.

the West Virginia Higher Education Policy

Commission through the Division of Science

and Research, along with the WVAS,

co-sponsored the event. the West Virginia

university Research Corp. was also a

co-sponsor. •

StAtlER COllEGE WEll REPRESENtED At StAR SyMPOSiuM

WVU BENJAMIN M. STATLER CoLLEgE of ENgINEERINg ANd MINERAL RESouRCESVolum

e 8 Issue 2

WVu’s Human-Powered Vehicle team Finishes Seventh in international Competition

By DEBRA RiCHARDSON

Human-powered transport is often the only

type of personal transportation available

in underdeveloped or inaccessible parts

of the world. if well designed, it can be

an increasingly viable form of sustainable

transportation.

the American Society of Mechanical

Engineer’s international Human-Powered

Vehicle Challenge provides a unique

opportunity for students to demonstrate

the application of sound engineering design

principles in the development of sustainable

and practical transportation alternatives.

undergraduate engineering students work in

teams to design, develop, and build efficient,

highly engineered vehicles for everyday use—

from commuting to work, to carrying goods

to market.

West Virginia university’s Human-Powered

Vehicle team recently traveled to Grove City

College, in Grove City, Pa., to compete in its

first-ever competition. “Our team performed

fantastically,” said kostas Sierros, assistant

professor in the Department of Mechanical

and Aerospace Engineering in the Benjamin

M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral

Resources. “We placed seventh overall out

of 34 competing teams from some of the

best engineering schools in the eastern

united States.”

Vehicle performance was assessed in three

main areas: design, speed, and durability. On

the first day of the three-day event, the team’s

tricycle vehicle underwent a safety inspection,

which included demonstrating its ability to

accelerate to 25 m.p.h., to maneuver safely,

and to come to a complete stop within a

distance of 20 feet.

the second day consisted of a drag racing

event, split into two races. the competition

required each team to have one female driver

and one male driver compete in the two

races. the team placed 10th overall in the

quarter mile sprint drag event.

the third and final day culminated in the

endurance event, a two-and-a-half-hour

race where vehicle durability is of paramount

importance. WVu’s entry placed fifth in

the event.

“We learned a phenomenal amount in the

competition,” explained Caleb lucas, a

senior mechanical and aerospace engineering

student. “We finished very close to some

extremely strong and experienced teams

even though it was only our first year in

this competition.”

the team won the “Energizer Bunny” award

for the most reliable vehicle in the three-day

long competition. “We didn’t experience a

single mechanical breakdown and we only

used the pit-stops to change drivers,” Sierros

explained. “this is a fantastic achievement

underlining the ability of the participating

students to design for reliability.”

the team is excited to get back to the

drawing board to revamp their vehicle’s design

for next year’s competition. Although changes

will be made, the team plans to maintain

the tricycle design, since it is highly durable,

practical, stable, and safe.

“We have many different ideas for

improvements for next year,” lucas said.

“We want to reduce weight and make some

steering modifications. We also want to

change the drive-chain gearing, and we’re

hoping to implement more new ideas that the

new student team members will propose.”

”Our success was due in large part to the

support of the chair of our department, Jacky

Prucz, and of my colleague, ken Means, in

advising the team and allowing us to use

departmental equipment and facilities,”

Sierros added.

“i am very proud of the students and the

hard work they put into this project to

design and build a winning vehicle within a

single semester,” Sierros said. “the team

demonstrated that we can achieve great

success against our engineering peers. We

are ready for improved performance and even

more success in next year’s competition.” •

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STUDENT NEWS

three students from the Benjamin M.


Resources—Amy Burt, Brittney Benchoff, and

Nicco Campriani—were among 36 top seniors

to be honored with the 2012 West Virginia

university Foundation Outstanding Senior

Award. Burt was one of seven students

honored with the university’s most prestigious

student honor—the Order of Augusta.

the students were formally recognized during

Commencement weekend at the WVu

Honors Convocation.

Established in 1995 to signify the 40th

anniversary of the WVu Foundation, the

Outstanding Senior award recognizes

students for their contributions and

achievements in scholarship, leadership,

and service.

the Order of Augusta further recognizes the

students’ superior scholarship, demonstrated

leadership, and record of community and

public service. the award is named for its

historical significance in the state. Augusta

was among the original names considered by

the legislature.

Burt, of Salem, Ohio, worked an average

of 20 hours per week during the semester

and full time every summer to pay for her

education. She graduated with a 4.0 GPA

in mining engineering, and agribusiness

management and rural development.

“i made it a point to know the curriculum

and requirements which i would need to

complete along with the order in which they

needed to be fulfilled,” she said. “the degree

program that i created forced me to diversify

my education. the curriculum gave me the

broadest range of topics possible while

still allowing me to specialize in surface

mining systems.”

She was active in the Society for Mining,

Metallurgy, and Exploration. in addition, she

was a Davis College of Agriculture, Natural

Resources, and Design Student Ambassador

and member of the Rifle Club, among her

other pursuits.

Burt was involved in several leadership

positions ranging from committee member

to president in the Davis College’s Student

Council. As president, she coordinated

multiple events for students like the Fall 2012

College’s Welcome Back Barbecue.

Benchoff was one of just 10 students ever

at WVu to maintain a 4.0 GPA in industrial

engineering.

“One point i always make to new students

is that personal motivation is the best way

to succeed academically,” said Benchoff, a

Morgantown native. “i strongly believe that if

you hold the desire to learn and expand your

knowledge base, the ‘good’ grades will follow

naturally.”

As a member of Mortar Board Honorary,

Alpha Phi Mu industrial Engineering Honorary,

and president of tau Beta Phi, Benchoff

succeeded in balancing extracurricular activity

with schoolwork, including several study

abroad trips to Australia and italy.

Benchoff was a student in the Honors

College, who has received the Presidential

Award for Excellence and various scholarships

such as the Bucklew Scholarship, and the

kaiser Aluminum and Chemical Scholarship.

She was also a National Merit Scholar.

During her time at WVu, she served as a

lab instructor, which inspired her to pursue

a career in academia. She plans to pursue

a Ph.D. in operations research and industrial

engineering.

Campriani combined innovation and world-

class athletic skills to excel as a Mountaineer.

thanks to Campriani, a Sesta Florentino,

italy, native, WVu had one of the best in the

world in its community. He was a participant

in the 2008 Beijing Olympics and transferred

to WVu in 2009 from the university of

Florence after two years of studying industrial

engineering. Campriani graduated in

December with a GPA of 3.9 while majoring

in industrial and management systems

engineering.

During his time in Morgantown, Campriani

was a member of the WVu rifle team and

an assistant coach for the Rifle Club of

Morgantown. He also combined his passion

for sports and engineering while working for

the italian sport pistol firm Pardini, where he

designed a new air rifle that uses magnetic

absorbers to reduce recoil.

“i discovered that life is not about good

luck or bad luck, it all depends on the

opportunities you create,” he said. “More

opportunities mean a higher probability to

succeed. that’s simple math.”

Campriani had been training in Colorado

Springs to prepare for the london Olympic

Games. in August, he became the first-ever

Mountaineer to win two medals—a gold and a

silver—in a single Olympics. •

three Statler College Students Recognized with Foundation Outstanding Senior Award


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West Virginia university’s Cameron Whitelam, a doctoral student in the

Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources,

earned a prestigious internship out of a competitive pool of 5,000

applicants. Whitelam was accepted to the Office of Naval Research

(ONR) through the Naval Research Enterprise internship Program

(NREiP) at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in

Philadelphia, Pa.

the NREiP provides an opportunity for students to participate in

research at a Department of the Navy laboratory during the summer.

the internship encourages students to pursue science and engineering

careers by offering laboratory mentors and various laboratory research

opportunities.

“When my advisor, thirimachos Bourlai, told me that ONR was

doing a research internship program, i thought it would be a great

experience to see how projects on the government side of things work

as opposed to the academic side,” explained Whitelam, majoring in

computer engineering with an emphasis on biometric systems.

“this internship gave me the knowledge and experience to come

back to WVu and be more of an asset to my adviser, professors,

and peers,” Whitelam said.

NREiP provides competitive research internships to approximately

238 college students each year. Participating students typically spend

10 weeks during the summer conducting research at one of 19

Department of Navy laboratories.

“i would really like to thank my advisor as well as Bojan Cukic for

their letters of recommendation and their support of my application,”

Whitelam said. “i encourage other WVu students to apply for this

internship, and others like it, to progress their career in their chosen

fields.”

the ONR internships are available to sophomores through doctoral

students.

“When less than five percent of the applicants received the internship,

you understand how big of an achievement this is,” said Bourlai.

“Cameron is a model student, not only for the multi-spectral imaging

lab that i am directing, but also for WVu. i suggest other students

communicate with their professors to discuss similar opportunities that

can enrich their lives and create history for our university. •

Whitelam Earns Prestigious internshipcaMeron WhitelaM

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ACADEmy of ChEmiCAL ENGiNEEriNG

Sharon L. Long graduated from West Virginia University in 1984 with a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering and held memberships in Tau Beta Pi, Omega Chi Epsilon, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Upon graduation she

began her career with DuPont at Washington Works in Parkersburg, W.Va. She held a variety of manufacturing and business positions with increasing managerial responsibility within the company’s polymers division. In 1996, the DuPont Elastomers business became part of the DuPont Dow Elastomers joint venture and Long became the global process manager, order-to-cash, for the implementation of SAP. After 15 years with DuPont and its subsidiaries, she returned to Pittsburgh and worked as an independent consultant assisting companies with their SAP start-ups until 2003, when she joined AMI Doduco as a manufacturing manager. In 2006, Long joined Sycor Americas as a business management consultant, progressing to vice president of operations. She used her knowledge to assist companies such as Bayer MaterialScience, Westinghouse, and Timken to streamline their business processes and implement SAP and Microsoft Dynamics AX. In 2011, she joined Tube City IMS as the director of its Global Project Management office. Long is an Advisory Board Member of the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s PghTech Women Network and is the coach of an all-girls FIRST Lego League team that won awards at the Pittsburgh competition its first three years. She also assisted in the creation of a FIRST all-girls team at Carnegie Mellon University, which will participate in their second world competition.

ACADEmy of iNDUSTriAL ENGiNEErS

Alvin L. Guthrie graduated from West Virginia University in 1992 with a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering. He spent the first 10 years of his professional career with Cintas Corporation/Omni Services, rising through the ranks to general manager, where he managed multi-location profit centers based in Morgantown, W.Va.; Normal, Ill.; and Wichita, Kan. Guthrie was responsible for the recruitment and training of 20 managers, 80 sales and service representatives, and 100 production employees to achieve annual sales in excess of $16 million. He coordinated the acquisition of MUST in Wichita, and led the organization from worst to first in sales, service, and productivity in two years. In 2003, Guthrie was named director of production operations for Advanced Acoustic Concepts LLC, in Lemont Furnace, Pa. He is responsible for the procurement and manufacture of integrated systems for the U.S. Navy, most notably the acoustic simulators used in the Navy’s MH-60, P-3, and P-8 flight trainers, as well as the integrated sonar systems used by their surface fleet for anti-submarine warfare. His position has allowed him to employ WVU industrial engineering students through a 10-week summer internship program as well as a full semester co-op program.

Kari Walker earned her bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from West Virginia University in 1994. After stints with Bausch & Lomb, NRB Industries, and Yokohama Tire Corporation, she became a senior industrial engineer in the manufacturers’ services division of 3COM in Salt Lake City, Utah. Walker was the primary engineer responsible for Palm manufacturing and logistics organization. In 2002, she joined UnitedHealthcare in Dallas, Tex., serving first as industrial engineering manager and currently as director of claim process management. Walker is responsible for policy and procedure development and communications, escalated process issues and resolution, and all processor communication. She leads a high-functioning team with a proven success rate of delivery, exceeding business goals, with high employee engagement scores. She is WVU’s recruiting coordinator for Dallas/Fort Worth, and has worked to improve the Texas market to the ninth highest enrollment for incoming students to the University. Walker is also an active member of the board of directors for the area’s WVU Alumni Chapter.

ACADEmy of ThE LANE DEpArTmENT of CompUTEr SCiENCE AND ELECTriCAL ENGiNEEriNG

James N. Butch graduated from West Virginia Institute of Technology (now WVUIT) in 1974 with a bachelor of science degree in electrical engineering. In 1976, he co-founded Eagle Research Corporation, a West Virginia

company that was formed as a product development company. By 1978, the company began developing products for the state’s growing natural gas industry and today, Eagle Research is a leading supplier of measurement instruments for the gas industry in the United States and 14 countries. He was recognized by WVUIT as its alumnus of the year in 1994. Butch was inducted into the West Virginia University Woodburn Circle Society in 2008; received the Putnam County Development Authority Community Development Award 2010; and was included in the Who’s Who in Science and Engineering in 1994-1995, the Who’s Who World Wide 1994-1995, and the Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities 1974-1975. Over the course of the years, he has been awarded eight U.S. patents, four of which are still active. He is a member of the Industry Advisory Committee for the Lane Department at WVU, member and past chair of the Industry Advisory Committee for the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering at WVUIT, chair of the Industry Advisory Committee for the Leonard C. Nelson College of Science and Engineering at WVUIT, member of the Industry Advisory Committee for the Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources at WVU, and member of the Board of Visitors for WVUIT.

aluMni acadeMies induct neW MeMBers tO HONOR ExEMPlARy GRADuAtES AND OtHERS WitH REMARkABlE CAREERS, tHE COllEGE ANNuAlly iNDuCtS NEW MEMBERS iNtO itS ACADEMiES

long

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ALUmNi NEWS

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Ramana Reddy is a professor of computer science and electrical engineering at WVU, where he received his Ph.D. in 1973. During his long academic career, he made pioneering contributions to the areas of knowledge-

based simulation, concurrent engineering, and healthcare informatics. Under his leadership, the first Web-based electronic medical record system, ARTEMIS, was built in 1992 at the Concurrent Engineering Research Center. This system subsequently became a commercial product. Reddy also organized CERES-GKN, an international consortium for the promotion of sustainable development in 1993, long before the topic gained its current importance. Reddy’s research in artificial intelligence led to the creation of the Bell Atlantic Knowledge Systems Inc., WVU’s first software spin-off company. In 1986, Reddy, working with local business leaders, created an initiative to develop high-tech industry in West Virginia. Known as the Software Valley, it was championed by the late U.S. Senator Robert C. Byrd. The thriving software industry in West Virginia can trace its roots to that initiative. Reddy’s current research focus is on the development of a system, Knowledge Advantage Machine, to address challenges associated with the information explosion problem.

Sean M. Frisbee obtained his bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from WVU in 1989 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force in May of that year. Until October 1992,

he served as a propulsion engineer for the F-16 and B-1B programs at Tinker AFB in Oklahoma, with a promotion to first lieutenant. From 1992-1995, he was stationed at Wright Patterson AFB in Ohio and was promoted to captain. After spending five months studying aircraft maintenance, Frisbee was sent to Italy, where he served in a variety of duties until 1999, returning to spend the next three years at Wright-Patterson. During this time, he completed a master of science degree in aeronautical sciences at Embry-Riddle University. In November 2001, Frisbee was promoted to major while serving as aide-de-camp to the commander of the Air Force materiel command. He went on to attend the Air Command and Staff College, completing a M.S. in military operational art and science and a M.S. in airpower art and science. After a promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, Frisbee was stationed in Washington, where he served as chief of the F-22 Branch, under the assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition at the Pentagon. From 2006-2007, Frisbee was a National Defense Fellow at the University of Illinois. This was followed by an assignment as commander of the 687th Armament Systems Squadron at Eglin AFB, Fla. Frisbee was promoted to colonel in 2008 and served as vice commander of the 321st Expeditionary Wing and chief of staff of the Coalition Air Force Training Team in Baghdad, Iraq. Frisbee completed his military career as the F-22 program director at Wright Patterson, retiring in December 2011. He currently serves as vice president at AME Unmanned Air Systems, where his responsibilities are to oversee the development, production, and manufacturing of the company’s portfolio of unmanned aircraft systems.

Bret Marks graduated with a bachelor of science degree in aerospace engineering from WVU in 1984. He also holds a master of science degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Illinois. Marks joined the Boeing Company

after graduation as an aerodynamicist and worked for 16 years in that capacity, specializing in carrier suitability. He also served as manager of suppliers for the design, development, and initial production of the F/A-18 advanced mission computers and displays. Marks was promoted to program management as team leader for Navy and Marine Corps avionics integrated product development programs. He has since served in team leader positions for a variety of other programs, including global strike flight systems, airframe, weapons technology and subsystems, and as the F/A-18 India program manager. His responsibilities as flight systems IPT lead included a broad spectrum of aircraft systems and performance across several airframes, including the F/A-18, EA-18, F-15, T-45, and AV-8B. Marks is currently the program director of F/A-18 international operations at Boeing Military Aircraft. His responsibilities include leadership and execution of all program-related engineering: manufacturing, support and training, contracts, and pricing and industrial participation efforts associated with all F/A-18 Super Hornet international campaigns. Marks has published and presented a number of technical papers on advanced fighter aircraft control concepts, F/A-18 flight control system development, and carrier suitability flight test evolution. He has accumulated more than 26 years of engineering and project management experience.

ACADEmy of AEroSpACE ENGiNEEriNG

reddY

FriSBee MarkS



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Mark Horstemeyer completed his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering at WVU in 1985. He went on to earn an M.S. in engineering mechanics from Ohio State in 1987 and a Ph.D. in mechanical

engineering from Georgia Tech in 1995. From 1987 to 2002, Horstemeyer worked at Sandia National Laboratory at increasing levels of responsibility, ending as manager of the fluid/thermal modeling department and manager of the chemistry and materials process modeling department. He oversaw a staff of 27 Ph.D. scientists and numerous other staff. In 2002 he accepted an endowed professorship in computational and solid mechanics at Mississippi State University (MSU), where he founded the DOE Southern Regional Center for Lightweight Designs, which he continues to direct. He also serves as the chief technical officer for the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems at MSU, and as the director of Predictive Design Technologies, Inc., which he founded. Horstemeyer has published more than 160 refereed journal articles, authored or co-authored six books, and has been awarded more than $34 million in external funding for his research. He has been elected to the grade of Fellow in both the American Society of Metals and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers by his peers. He is associate editor of the ASME Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology and is on the editorial boards of two other journals. He is a regular reviewer for several additional journals. Horstemeyer has received numerous awards including an R&D100 Award for his work on microstructure property modeling.

After graduating from WVU with a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering, Thomas Vance joined Babcock and Wilcox Company as a development engineer in Alliance, Ohio. He was responsible for the design,

analysis, and development of conventional steam generators and nuclear reactors. In 1963 he returned to WVU for graduate studies, completing his M.S. in theoretical and applied mechanics in 1966 and a Ph.D. in engineering in 1968. From 1964 to 1966 Vance worked as a summer intern at Los Alamos National Laboratory, doing analysis on material behavior at ultra-high temperatures, primarily for nuclear-powered rocket applications. Upon completing his Ph.D., he joined IBM, where he worked for 25 years in a variety of capacities. Vance was responsible for analysis and mitigation of mechanical failure mechanisms across all corporate disciplines. He managed the failure analysis laboratory with a staff of 100 employees. He was then promoted to senior engineer and given responsibility for product engineering of IBM’s large-scale integration semiconductor memory chips. He later became program manager for both process engineering and equipment manufacturing engineering for multi-layer ceramic products. This led to an assignment as program manager for advanced lithography development, where he was responsible for developing the lithography strategy for IBM worldwide, which was the key technology in the miniaturization of semiconductors, which in turn drove the performance, reliability, and price of these key devices in the spiral that has fostered the computer revolution. Vance was ultimately assigned to IBM division staff at the corporate level. He was responsible to corporate headquarters quality and assurance group pertaining to the packaging of semiconductors for new products. Vance retired from IBM in 1992, and established a consulting firm, based in his hometown of Point Pleasant, W.Va. He is now retired.•

ACADEmy of mEChANiCAL ENGiNEEriNG

horSteMeYer Vance

ALUmNi NEWS

JoB SEARCH WEBSiTES FoR STUDEnTS AnD AlUMni MountaineerTRAK is WVU’s job search portal for students and alumni. If you are looking for opportunities, or would like to post opportunities or students and alumni, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

Another resource is the WVU Statler Group at LinkedIn www.statler.wvu.edu/linkedinwvucemr

If you have any questions, please contact Lloyd Ford at 304-293-4370.


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Volume 8 Issue 2

Two graduates of the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources were named to the West Virginia University Alumni Association Board of Directors at its May meeting. Mike John, of Charleston, W.Va., was elected to a two-year term and H. Wood “Woody” Thrasher, of Clarksburg, W.Va., was elected to a six-year term.

John is founder and president of Northeast Natural Energy, LLC, which focuses on assembling a strategic acreage position in Appalachia that will support the efficient large-scale development of shale reserves.

He previously served as vice president of operations of the Eastern Division for Chesapeake Energy from 2005 to 2009. Prior to joining Chesapeake Energy, John was a senior executive occupying various roles at Triana Energy/Columbia Natural Resources, where he also served on the company’s board of directors. He served in that capacity until Columbia Natural Resources was sold to Chesapeake in November 2005.

John is a West Virginia native and a 1981 graduate of WVU with a degree in petroleum engineering.

Thrasher graduated from WVU in 1977 with a degree in civil engineering. He is president of Thrasher Engineering, Inc., a leading Mid-Atlantic civil and consulting engineering firm, and Resource Engineering Group, Inc.

He and his father, the late Henry Thrasher, formed Thrasher Engineering in Clarksburg, W.Va., in 1983 and since then, the firm has grown to 250 employees in their offices located in Clarksburg, Beckley, and Princeton, W.Va., along with offices in Oakland, Md.; Canton, Ohio; and Pennsylvania.

In addition to his business pursuits in engineering and architecture, Thrasher also has interests in commercial and residential developments in north central West Virginia through High Tech Development, LLC, the developing company of White Oaks Business Park. •

tWo naMed to Wvu aluMni association Board

thraSherJohn

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Wvu receives in-kind soFtWare GiFt With a coMMercial value oF More than $425 MillionBy WilliAM NEViN

West Virginia university’s Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources students will now be able to use the same product lifecycle management software in their classrooms that is utilized by leading companies around the world thanks to Siemens PlM Software’s in-kind software grant with a commercial value of more than $425 million, the largest in-kind grant in the history of the institution.

the in-kind grant was provided by Siemens PlM Software’s Global Opportunities in PlM (GO PlM™ initiative), a program that delivers PlM technology to more than one million students yearly at more than 11,000 global institutions, where it is used at every academic level—from grade schools to graduate engineering research programs.

the software will be integrated in two Statler College departments: the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. it is estimated that the grant will immediately benefit more than 700 students throughout WVu.

“We extend a huge thank you to Siemens PlM Software for this generous gift of advanced engineering software used by some of the most successful companies in the world,” said WVu President Jim Clements. “Our students in the Statler College will now have additional opportunities to learn and train on applications used by industry experts, adding even more real-world experiences to their academic pursuits.”

the range of software provided includes applications that are widely used by many multinational companies in industries around the globe. Among Industry Week’s list of 1,000 manufacturing companies, more than half use Siemens PlM Software technology; in the key markets of automotive, aerospace, machinery, and high tech, the total approaches 80 percent.

“As product complexity continues to grow, students who are able to use PlM technology are expected to be highly recruited,” said Bill Boswell, senior director, partner strategy, Siemens PlM Software. “We are honored to have WVu listed among our prestigious partners to assist in building the next generation of engineers and support manufacturing revitalization efforts across the country.”

WVu now joins the list of leading institutions that have partnered with Siemens PlM Software including Massachusetts institute of technology, university of California at Berkeley, Carnegie Melon, Virginia tech, and Auburn university.

“this type of advanced technology is very important to helping us prepare our students for their careers,” said Gene Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler College. “We are very pleased to partner with Siemens PlM Software to provide our students with access to these state-of-the-art tools and prepare them to be our country’s engineers of tomorrow.”

the range of software includes Siemens PlM Software’s Nx™ software for integrated computer-aided design, manufacturing, and

engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE), and Solid Edge® software, a complete hybrid 2D/3D CAD system for the mainstream market.

Wayne king, president and CEO of the WVu Foundation said, “in-kind gifts are crucial to the advancement of WVu’s academic programs and the students. the importance of in-kind giving, especially software, is ever increasing. Students must be able to gain hands-on experience with the resources used in their future careers. Software of this magnitude is cost prohibitive for WVu to purchase, yet it is essential to expose students to this critical component in their education.” •Note: GO PLM, NX and Solid Edge are trademarks or registered trademarks of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and in other countries.

“We are honored to have WVu listed among our prestigious partners to assist in building the next generation of engineers and support manufacturing revitalization efforts across the country.” —Bill BOSWEll, SENiOR DiRECtOR, PARtNER StRAtEGy, SiEMENS PlM SOFtWARE

SUpporT

Siemens PLM Software was the recipient of the West Virginia University Foundation’s Outstanding Philanthropic Corporation Award. The company was honored for its commitment to the education of WVU students and researchers. The awards, first presented in 2005, were established to honors donors who display exceptional generosity, commitment, leadership, and proven records of outstanding civic and charitable devotion to WVU.

Siemens was saluted for “their willingness to give to our University in so many ways from financial and in-kind support, to time, effort and expertise,” said Wayne King, president and CEO of the WVU Foundation. “WVU is a better place as a result of their caring and commitment.” •

Wvu Foundation

honors sieMens


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Volume 8 Issue 2

West Virginia University has a lofty goal for

the next few years—raise $750 million.

President Jim Clements joined WVU

Foundation representatives on June 2

in announcing the official kickoff of a

comprehensive campaign to raise private

dollars for the state’s flagship university

and its regional campuses through

December 2015.

“A State of Minds: The Campaign for West

Virginia’s University” will ensure WVU’s

continued prominence in delivering high-

quality education and building pathways

for innovation, research, and opportunities

between the state, nation, and world,”

Clements told a group of several hundred

invited guests at a campaign kickoff

luncheon at the Morgantown Event Center.

“now, more than ever, in our current

economic climate, donor generosity is

helping us fulfill our land-grant mission to

West Virginia,” he said.

“A State of Minds” is the largest private

fundraising campaign in WVU’s history.

The $750 million goal is three times larger

than the previous “Building Greatness”

campaign from 1998-2003.

To date, $538 million has been raised

during the silent phase of the campaign

that began July 2007.

Fundraising will focus on six University-

wide campaign priority areas that align with

the University’s 2020 Strategic Plan for the

Future:

• Enhancetheundergraduatestudentexperience and global education

• Advancetheresearchinitiativeofthe University

• EnableWVUtoimproveWestVirginia’s health, economy, and quality of life

• Fosterfacultyexcellence

• EnhanceWVUthroughprofessionaland graduate education

• Supporthealthcarethroughresearch,

education, and patient care

“Ten years ago, our donors showed their

faith in WVU through the Foundation’s

‘Building Greatness’ campaign,” Clements

said. “Today, thanks in large part to that

generosity, our University is having a more

positive impact on our students, our state,

and our world than ever before.

“To continue our momentum, we are once

again calling on everyone who cares about

WVU to support our life-changing work.

The goal for this campaign is ambitious,

but reachable, and i am confident that the

Mountaineer family will once again push us

beyond the finish line.”

Chairman of Putnam investments and 1974

alumnus Robert Reynolds and Cadrillion

Capital President Verl Purdy, a 1964 WVU

graduate, are the national campaign

co-chairmen. James “Buck” Harless is the

national campaign honorary chairman. All

three have made significant contributions to

WVU, both of their time and resources.

“WVU gave me and generations of others

a great education,” said Purdy, who is

chairman of the Foundation Board. “it

changed our lives. With great leadership,

great faculty, and staff, and great students,

we are poised for a new era of impact – if

only we have the resources to realize our

potential. ‘A State of Minds’ gives us the

opportunity to leverage the power of our

intellectual enterprise. it allows us to expand

and extend our land-grant mission by

serving our national and global communities

through the accomplishments we achieve

here at home.” •

Wvu Foundation launches “state oF Minds,” larGest Private FundraisinG caMPaiGn in university history

Verl Purdy speaking at “A State of

Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s

University” official kickoff June 2, 2012

Established in 1954, the WVU Foundation is a private nonprofit corporation that generates, receives, and administers private gifts for the benefit of West Virginia University.

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Successful businessman and alumnus Gregory

Babe and his wife, Carla, are giving back to

West Virginia university with a gift

of $250,000.

the pledge will benefit both the Benjamin M.


Resources ($200,000) and the College

of Business and Economics ($50,000) by

providing program support for both students

and faculty.

“Gifts of this kind are incredibly important to

the College and its departments,” said Gene

Cilento, Glen H. Hiner Dean of the Statler

College. “We are impressed by the foresight

and thoughtfulness of Greg and Carla Babe

and grateful for their support of our efforts

to provide students with an exciting learning

environment.”

Cilento noted that gifts of this nature allow

the Statler College to remain competitive with

its peer institutions on a national scale. Of

the $200,000 donation to the Statler College,

$150,000 will go to the Department of

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

“We will use our portion of this generous

gift to support student projects,” said

Jacky Prucz, chair of the Department. “Our

students and graduates tell us that these

design and prototyping projects provide

them with effective and challenging learning

environments that most accurately resemble

today’s engineering practice.”

Prucz noted that funds will be used to support

student efforts in such events as the Human-

Powered Vehicle Challenge, Design/Build/Fly,

microgravity research, and the newly formed

team centered around the Formula SAE

Collegiate Design Series.

“the College of Business and Economics has

a profound appreciation for this gift,” said

Jose Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean. “Greg

is a 2010 inductee into our West Virginia

Business Hall of Fame, and is certainly the

kind of success story that serves as a great

example for students. this gift will be used

in the development of programs at B&E, the

continuing recruitment of top-notch faculty,

and in the processes we have outlined for

the constant improvement of WVu’s business

school.”

A West Virginia native, Babe earned his

bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering

from WVu in 1980. that set him down the

path to a successful 32-year career with Bayer

Corp., one of the world’s top chemical and

pharmaceutical companies. Babe retired as

the company’s president and chief executive

officer in June. He is now chief executive

officer of privately held Orbital Engineering.

“i am proud of West Virginia university, its

great tradition, and the impressive progress

that it is being made under the leadership of

President (Jim) Clements, Dean Cilento, Dean

Sartarelli, and Dr. Jacky Prucz, among many

others,” Babe said. “i know that they will

leverage this investment many times over to

strengthen the university and fulfill its mission

of educating and developing future leaders.”

A member of the WVu Foundation Board of

Directors, Babe was awarded an honorary

doctorate of science degree from WVu in May.

He and Carla have four children and reside in

Mt. lebanon, Pa.

“We thank Greg and Carla for their generosity

and commitment to WVu,” said Wayne king,

WVu Foundation president and CEO. “their

gift to our comprehensive campaign will have

a positive impact on students and faculty for

many years to come.” •

statler colleGe, B&e to BeneFit FroM $250,000 donationBy WilliAM NEViN

BaBe FaMilY

SUpporT


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Volume 8 Issue 2

this past year, a number of alumni chose to

create and even increase endowments within

the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering

and Mineral Resources. Several of the gifts

were made in honor of the donors’ respective

parents, which in many cases encouraged and

supported their educations.

James taylor, who earned a bachelor’s

degree in engineering of mines, petroleum

option, from the College in 1960, and his

wife, Virginia, created the J. leland taylor and

Clara Virginia (Grosscurth) taylor Memorial

Scholarship Endowment. their gift of $25,000

was matched by funds from the state of West

Virginia’s Research trust Fund for a total

of $50,000.

the scholarship honors taylor’s parents,

neither of whom were college educated. “My

father worked his way up from secretary to

partner and general manager of Wheeling

Decorating Company, a high-end glass and

china decorating company.” said taylor. “He

passed away in 1957, when i was a junior at

WVu. My mother continued to help with my

college expenses, even though it was very

hard for her.”

taylor enrolled in basic and advanced ROtC

training at WVu and was designated a

Distinguished Military Graduate by the Army.

He accepted a regular Army commission,

spending almost 41 years with the Army as

an officer, reserve officer, and Army civilian. He

retired at the rank of Army Reserve Colonel,

having lived in France, Germany, Vietnam,

turkey, and Puerto Rico.

J. Reginald “Reg” Dietz, a charter member of

West Virginia university’s Academy of Chemical

Engineers, and his wife, Billie, established the

Ruckman and Balmy Dietz Scholarship Fund in

honor of Reg’s mother and father. the $25,000

endowment will provide undergraduate

scholarship support to students interested in

studying in chemical engineering.

Dietz earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and

doctoral degrees from West Virginia university

in 1952, 1954, and 1956, respectively.

upon graduation, he joined National Steel

Corporation at its Great lakes Steel Division

as an assistant metallurgist. He transferred

to National Steel’s new Research and

Development Department in Weirton, W.Va.,

in 1959 as senior research engineer. He

advanced through several jobs in research and

development, becoming assistant director in

1963, director in 1969, and then vice president

in 1978. After 30 years of service with National

Steel, he retired in 1986.

Dietz is a past president of the West Virginia

university Alumni Association; a past chairman

of the West Virginia university Board of

Advisors; and a past member of the Board

of Directors of the West Virginia university

Foundation, inc. He was inducted into the

WVu Order of Vandalia in 1987. His wife,

the former Billie Jewell kast, is a 1955

graduate of WVu.

Devon Gosnell, JD ’75, was looking for a way

to honor her parents in time for her father’s

95th birthday on September 19. She chose

to create the kenneth and Helen Gosnell

Scholarship, which will provide financial

assistance to first-year students with first

preference given to petroleum and natural

gas engineering majors.

A Braxton County, W.Va., native, ken Gosnell

earned his bachelor’s degree in petroleum

engineering from WVu in 1949 after serving

in the united States Army during World War

ii, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant

colonel after a stint in the reserves. He spent

the majority of his 30-year engineering career

in the petroleum industry, working as an

underground corrosion engineer for union

Carbide and as an oil and gas engineer for

Godfrey l. Cabot Corporation, Continental Oil,

and Ashland Exploration.

Doug Miller and his wife, Harriett, added

$25,000 to their original endowed scholarship

fund established in 2003. With this latest

installment, the C. Douglas and Harriett t.

Miller Family Scholarship holds a total of

$50,000 in endowed funds.

“i received a terrific education from WVu,

which motivated me to continue on to receive

my master’s degree,” Doug Miller said. “i

graduated from a public high school in West

Virginia, and i would like for other students

with a similar background to have the same

opportunity that i had.”

A native of Martinsburg, W.Va., Miller

graduated from WVu in 1962 with a bachelor’s

degree in aerospace engineering. He later

went on to receive his master’s degree in

aerospace engineering from the Virginia

Polytechnic institute. •

aluMni create, increase endoWMents to statler colleGe

Billie and reg dietz doUg and harriet Miller

kenneth and deVon goSnell

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Honor Roll of DonorsWe would like to thank our benefactors who have generously contributed to the programs and departments of our college.

We are grateful for your support, as we could not accomplish what we do without your help. listed below are individuals

and organizations who contributed to a program or department in our college from July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.

$50,000 and upMr. Forrest D. L. Coontz

Mr. John Hall & Ms. Nancy Lan

Mrs. Lora V. Richards

Mr. & Mrs. Benjamin M. Statler

$25,000 to $49,999Mr. Gary & Ms. Lisa Christopher

Dr. & Mrs. J. Reginald Dietz

Mr. & Mrs. Dean D. Dubbe

Mrs. Sarah K. Soliman

$10,000 to $24,999Mr. & Mrs. Gregory S. Babe

Mr. & Mrs. Frank Cerminara

Mr. & Mrs. Edward J. DiPaolo

Mr. & Mrs. Michael E. Ellis

Dr. & Mrs. William L. Fourney

Mr. & Mrs. Lemuel S. Menear

Mr. & Mrs. George Taylor

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Taylor

Mr. & Mrs. Maurice A. Wadsworth

Mr. & Mrs. Royce J. Watts

$5,000 to $9,999Dr. David W. Baker

Mr. & Mrs. George B. Bennett

Mr. & Mrs. H. Dotson Cather

Dr. Eugene V. Cilento

Mr. Jacob S. Freshwater

Mr. & Mrs. Walter R. Haddad

Mr. & Mrs. C.K. Lorraine

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Messmore

Mr. C. Douglas Miller

Dr. & Mrs. James E. Mitchell

Ms. Rhonda L. Radcliff & Mr. Robert Mullenger

Mr. R. Patrick Simms

Dr. Alfred H. Stiller

Mr. Tommy L. Stuchell

$1,000 to $4,999Mr. & Mrs. Bart A. Aitken

Mr. & Mrs. Steven W. Alford

Mr. & Mrs. Larry J. Argiro, Sr.

Capt. & Mrs. Douglas E. Arnold

Dr. Steven R. Auvil

Mr. Douglas L. Ball

Mr. & Mrs. Charles C. Bibbee

Dr. Christopher J. Bise

Dr. & Mrs. Daniel D. Bonar

Mr. James B. Boyd

Mr. & Mrs. William S. Britt

Mr. & Mrs. Ross D. Brown, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Jackson B. Browning, Sr.

Mr. Paul D. Browning

Dr. & Mrs. Robert C. Burchett

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas C. Burlas

Mr. John W. Campbell

Ms. Anesa T. Chaibi

Mrs. Betty J. Closser

Ms. Lenore M. Coberly

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Conklin

Mr. Jean B. Cropley

Mr. & Mrs. Ralph Dado

Mr. Robert C. Doeffinger, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Herbert P. Dripps

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Dunn

Mr. Kenneth M. Dunn

Ms. Marsha H. Fanucci

Mr. Barton R. Field

Mr. Walter J. Fitzgerald

Dr. Hubert L. Fleming

Mr. & Mrs. Philip M. Formica

Mr. & Mrs. Philip B. Gibson

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas K. Gosnell

Mr. & Mrs. James B. Haines

Mr. Donal S. & Ms. Amy J. Hall

Mr. & Mrs. George T. Harrick

Mr. & Mrs. Dean W. Harvey

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Harvey

Mr. & Mrs. R. David Haynes

Mr. & Mrs. John C. Hill

Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Holstine

Mr. & Mrs. Charles I. Homan

Dr. & Mrs. Edwin C. Jones, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Jack L. Justice

Dr. & Mrs. Samuel J. Kasley

Dr. & Mrs. George E. Keller II

Dr. & Mrs. James A. Kent

Mr. & Mrs. Oren E. Kitts

Mrs. Sally B. Kline

Mr. Junior H. Landes II

Mr. & Mrs. Floyd E. Leaseburg II

Mr. Richard W. Lee

Mr. Larry Joe Lilly

Mr. & Mrs. Porter A. Lyon

Mr. Edgar R. McHenry

Mr. H. Leo Mehl

Ms. Betty L. Miller

Mr. William A. Moore, Jr.

Ms. Louisa N. Nara

Mr. & Mrs. Robert O. Orders, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Raman L. Patel

Drs. Peter L. & Cheryl L. Perrotta

Mr. & Mrs. Mark M. Piper

Mr. John Raine II

Mr. & Mrs. Adam C. Rohrig

Mr. & Mrs. R. Michael Ruppert

Mr. & Mrs. Walter J. Scheller III

Mr. Douglas B. Schwab

Mr. & Mrs. Ross C. Shaw

Mr. John P. Smith

Mrs. Lynn A. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Richard N. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Earl Jay Snider

Mr. & Dr. Larry D. Taylor

Mr. & Mrs. Douglas P. Terry

Mr. & Mrs. Steven E. Trail

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Walter

Mr. Norman W. White

Mr. & Mrs. Richard M. Whiting

Mr. & Mrs. Donald Wiebe

Dr. Brian D. Woerner

Mr. Suyoun Won

$500 to $999Mr. & Mrs. Tony A. Angelelli

Mr. & Mrs. Mark K. Angelelli

Mr. & Mrs. C. Ben Arney

Mr. Jon P. Burns

Mr. Joseph A. Bush, Jr.

Mr. Wallace M. Cackowski

Mr. & Mrs. T. Jack Carpenter

Mr. & Mrs. Edgar D. Clise

Mr. & Mrs. Robert E. Corsi, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. William E. Crockett

Mr. & Mrs. Barry Dangerfield

Ms. Kathryn H. de Graaf

Mr. & Mrs. Dale W. Dodrill

Ms. Dayna L. Doricich

Mrs. Lindsay V. Fairman

Mr. James Faller

Dr. & Mrs. L. Tseng Fan

Mr. & Mrs. John R. Farina

Mr. Richard E. Fletcher

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Gingerich

Mrs. Sheila K. Gorgonio

Mr. Kenneth R. Gosnell

Ms. Emer O. Gunter

Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Haden, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Haney

Mr. Benjamin R. Hardman

Mr. & Mrs. Brian Heery

Mrs. Jennifer L. Hornsby-Myers

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Horvath

Mr. Ryan S. Hunter

Mr. Michael C. Johnson

Mr. & Mrs. Jimmie L. Justice

Mr. Richard J. Kacik

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Katlic

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen C. Keen

Dr. James A. Keenan

Mr. Jeffrey H. Lester

Mr. & Miss Kristopher C. Lilly

Mr. & Mrs. Glenn W. McQuate

Mr. & Ms. Robert D. Mills

Mr. Mack Timothy Moore

Mr. Philip Scott Morris

Mr. John Olashuk

Mr. David C. Pack

Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Palmer

Mr. Gregory D. Patterson

Drs. Syd S. & Felicia F. Peng

Mr. & Mrs. Michael D. Poling

Mrs. Margaret Ponce

Dr. & Mrs. Michael E. Prudich

Dr. & Mrs. J. Mark Pullen

Mr. & Mrs. Alan S. Pyle

Mr. Jon H. Rateau

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph W. Richards

Ms. Melissa G. Richey

Mr. Richard C. Rockenstein

Mr. & Mrs. Roy H. Rogerson

Mr. & Mrs. Frank W. Schneider

Mr. & Mrs. Barrett L. Shrout

Ms. Jennifer L. Smith

Mr. John C. Smith

Dr. John C. Stankus

Dr. James B. Stenger

Dr. & Mrs. Charter D. Stinespring

Mr. & Mrs. J. Robert Stockner

Mr. & Mrs. Vincent J. Stricker

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Strohmeyer

Dr. & Mrs. Curtis J. Tompkins

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Vaughn

Dr. & Mrs. Charles M. Vest

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth A. Ward

Dr. & Mrs. William J. Wilhelm

Mrs. Ann L. Zirkle

Dr. John W. Zondlo

Mr. & Mrs. Eugene M. Zvolensky, Sr.

$100 to $499Dr. Venkata B. Achanti

Mr. Michael J. Akers, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. M. Dayne Aldridge

Mr. & Mrs. George C. Alex

Mr. James V. Alford II

Dr. Anna M. Allen

Mr. & Mrs. Chester L. Allen

Mr. Randy L. Allison

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew M. Altman

Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Alvarez

Mr. & Ms. Samuel Ameri

Mr. Steven T. Andraka

Mr. Jeffrey L. Andrews

Mr. & Mrs. Larry J. Andrews

Mr. Ajith Antony

Mr. & Mrs. C. Edward Ashby, Jr.

Dr. Alberto Ayala

Mr. & Mrs. Mark J. Bailey

Mrs. Rita A. Bajura

Mr. & Mrs. Steven C. Ball

Dr. & Mrs. Jimmy P. Balsara

Mr. Theodore C. Barker

Ms. Elizabeth J. Barr

Mr. & Mrs. David N. Barrett

Mr. Charles R. Bartlett

Mr. Charles E. Battleson

Mr. & Mrs. James A. Beach

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher R. Bearce

Mr. David A. Bednarczyk

Lt. Col. (Ret) & Mrs. Paul G. Bellia

Mr. James F. Bennett

Mr. & Mrs. Duane T. Bernard

Dr. & Mrs. Navinchandra B. Bhatt

Mr. Christopher A. Bias

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis E. Bibbee

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen M. Billcheck, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Harold E. Bishop, Jr.

Mrs. Marian T. Bittle

Mr. Randy Blackburn D.O.

Dr. & Mrs. G. Lansing Blackshaw

Mr. & Mrs. John L. Blair, Jr.

Mrs. Jackalie L. Blue

Mr. Jerry D. Blue

Mr. & Mrs. Mark S. Boggs

Mrs. Irene F. Bohuslavsky

Mr. & Mrs. Sam G. Bonasso

Mr. & Mrs. Charles R. S. Bond

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin J. Booe

Mr. Walter B. Boore


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Volume 8 Issue 2

Mr. & Mrs. John W. Botts

Mr. & Mrs. Richard C. Bourne

Mr. John D. Bowers

Mr. & Mrs. William E. Bowling

Mr. John W. Boyle

Mr. Jason S. Boyuk

Mr. Raymond A. Bradbury

Mr. & Mrs. Robert S. Bragg

Mr. Michael E. Brennan

Mr. & Mrs. Arnold L. Brewer

Mrs. Jill S. Broschard

Maj. Gregory D. Brown

Mrs. Barbara H. Brygider

Mr. David R. Bungard

Mr. Gregory S. Burdette

Dr. & Mrs. Phillip H. Burnside

Mr. & Mrs. Edward S. Burton

Mr. Christopher Butler

Mrs. & Mr. Wendy A. Cain

Maj. & Mrs. Jason A. Camilletti

Mr. & Mrs. Mark Campbell

Mr. & Mrs. Larry K. Carpenter

Mr. Anthony J. Castronovo

Mr. & Mrs. William C. Cavage

Mr. Ryan D. Cavallo

Dr. & Mrs. William R. Cawthorne

Ms. Katie Chaddock

Mrs. Renu M. Chakrabarty

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis C. Chambers

Mr. & Mrs. Harold W. Chambers

Mr. Robert S. Chapman

Mr. Edward J. Chehovin

Dr. Long-Huie Chen

Mr. Nathan L. Christian

Mr. & Dr. Clyde E. Christy

Mr. & Mrs. Henry E. Cicci

Mr. Andrew J. Cindric, Jr.

Mr. Steven B. Clagett

Mr. James M. Clark

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Clark

Mr. & Mrs. Richard E. Cline

Mr. Robert A. Clise

Mr. & Mrs. Morgan K. Coast

Mr. August D. Coby

Mr. & Mrs. Robert J. Cochenour

Mr. David W. Coffman

Mr. & Mrs. A. Michael M. Collins

Mr. & Mrs. Charles W. Collins

Mr. & Mrs. Mike G. Collins

Capt. & Mrs. H. Ward Conaway

Dr. Wils L. & Mrs. Jane Yohe Cooley

Mr. Charlie L. Cornett

Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Correll

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy N. Cox

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Craig

Mr. James W. Crews IV

Mr. & Mrs. William Crise

Ms. Amanda R. Crosby

Mrs. Catherine Crossett

Mr. David E. Cuervo

Mr. Timothy R. Culbertson

Mr. Gaylord Cumberledge

Miss Cassie A. Cunningham

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth W. Cutright

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald L. Cutright

Mr. & Mrs. Leon J. Daciek

Mr. & Mrs. Steven K. Darnell

Dr. Paul C. Davis

Mrs. Roberta A. Dean

Mr. Victor W. Dean

Mr. Leonard J. DeCarlo

Mr. & Mrs. Dale T. Deem

Mr. Joseph & Ms. Carol Depond

Mrs. Benita Depriest

Mr. George Desko

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Dever

Mr. & Mrs. Michael L. Dever

Mr. Gilbert W. DeVine

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. DeWitt

Dr. Kevin A. DiGregorio

Ms. Mary C. Dillon

Dr. Gianfranco Doretto

Mr. Wayne R. Doverspike

Mr. & Mrs. Roger E. Dowler

Mr. & Mrs. Randall K. Drazba

Mr. & Mrs. Darryl L. Duncan

Mr. Steven E. Easley

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald G. Eckard

Mr. & Mrs. Anthony L. Eden

Mr. & Mrs. Charles A. Ellis

Mrs. Susan K. English

Mrs. Johanna E. Estes

Dr. John R. Etherton

Mr. Philip L. Evans

Mr. Robert L. Evans

Mrs. C. Elaine Everitt

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Faini

Miss Susan M. Falck

Mr. Richard L. Falkenstein

Dr. Karen M. Fanucci

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Farmer

Mr. & Mrs. Lionel R. Farr

Mr. & Mrs. Bradley Favro

Ms. Andrea S. Feist

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth R. Ferguson

Mr. & Mrs. William G. Fields

Ms. Amy N. Figgs

Mr. Richard P. Filiaggi

Mr. & Mrs. Earl M. Fisher

Mr. Harold G. Fisher

Mr. & Mrs. Nick A. Fleece

Mr. George B. Flegal, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Charles J. Fleischer

Mr. Timothy K. Fleming

Judge & Mrs. Edwin F. Flowers

Mrs. Amy E. Floyd

Mr. William K. Fluharty

Mrs. Wendy Fluharty

Mr. William G. Fockler

Mr. Paul E. Foucaud

Mr. & Mrs. B. Kenneth Fouts

Mr. Eric S. Fridley

Mr. Manning Frymier

Rev. James E. Galford & Mrs. Sheila L. Galford

Mr. John L. Gallagher, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Bradford J. Gannon

Mr. Edwin D. Gansor

Mr. Michael F. Ganter

Mr. & Mrs. John P. Gay

Mrs. Laura E. Gergen

Mr. James R. Gessner

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Gestrich

Mr. & Mrs. John J. Ghaznavi

Mr. & Mrs. Alexander H. Ghiz, Jr.

Ms. Sheree L. Gibson

Mr. David R. Glass

Mr. & Mrs. James R. Glover

Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth W. Goff

Mr. Paul A. Good

Mr. & Mrs. Barry A. Goodwin

Dr. & Mrs. Robert A. Gore

Mr. & Mrs. F. Gail Gray

Dr. & Mrs. Jeffrey G. Gray

Mr. & Mrs. John H. Graybill

Mr. Matthew T. Gregg

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Gribschaw

Mr. Curtis M. Griffith, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Robert R. Griffith

Mr. & Mrs. Scott A. Hair

Dr. & Mrs. George A. Hall

Mr. Robert L. Halstead

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel R. Hamric

Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Hanko

Mr. David L. Hansford

Mr. James C. Hare

Mr. Gordon P. Harlow

Mr. & Mrs. Samuel R. Harman

Mr. & Mrs. William J. Harman, Sr.

Mr. & Mrs. James E. Harris

Maj. Gerhard B. Hartig

Mr. Richard F. Hashinger

Dr. & Mrs. M. Masood Hassan

Mr. Owais U. Hassan

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Haynes

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Heathcote

Mr. William D. Hegener

Mr. & Mrs. Roy A. Heidelbach

Dr. Judy H. Helm

Mr. Wayne M. Henshaw & Ms. Deborah S. Joyce

Mrs. Constance S. Herbert

Mr. & Mrs. Earl K. Hess, Jr.

Dr. Garry C. Hess

Mr. & Mrs. John R. Hess

Mr. John D. Hesse

Mr. Gregory E. Hickman

Ms. Sarah C. Hildebrand

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Hill

Mr. & Mrs. Peter D. Hoffman

Mr. & Mrs. David K. Hollen

Mr. & Mrs. Alan L. Holmes

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Holmes

Mr. & Mrs. N. Shawn Holsinger

Mr. & Mrs. Ferrell Holt

Mr. & Mrs. William H. Hoover

Mr. & Mrs. Keith D. Horton

Mr. James J. Howard

Mr. & Mrs. Victor W. Huang

Mr. & Mrs. Jay W. Huffman

Mr. Daniel H. Hugh

Mr. & Mrs. Hugh B. Humbert, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Ervin J. Hunter

Mr. James J. Hurley

Mr. & Mrs. Elmo J. Hurst

Mr. & Mrs. Jan C. Hutwelker, Sr.

Dr. Enamiden U. Ibok

Dr. Wafik H. Iskander

Rev. Jay K. Jackson

Mr. John B. James

Mr. James M. Jarrell

Dr. & Mrs. Charles R. Jenkins

Mr. Brian E. Johnson

Mr. & Mrs. Donald G. Jones

Mr. & Mrs. Denver A. Jordan

Mr. Karl V. Kahl

Mr. & Mrs. George Kamis

Mr. Prashanth Kaparthi

Dr. & Mrs. Gary Keefer

Ms. Alice L. Kerns

Mr. Mark D. Kessinger

Mr. Allaudin A. Khakoo

Mr. Pravin M. Khandare

Mr. Garry R. Kilmer

Mr. John J. Klim III

Ms. Stephanie R. Kline

Dr. Lesley A. Klishis & Dr. Michael J. Klishis

Mr. & Mrs. Sudhir V. R. Koka

Mr. Sathish K. R. Konduru

Mr. George J. Kostelnik

Mr. Demetrios T. Kourpas

Mr. & Mrs. Gregory A. Kozera

Dr. Ellen M. Kraft

Mr. Arvind R. Krishnappa

Dr. & Mrs. John M. Kuhlman

Mr. John A. Kulmoski, Jr.

Ms. Vicki R. Kurrle

Mr. & Mrs. James A. Kutsch, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Latham III

Mr. Loren L. Lazear

Mr. Gregory T. Lee

Mr. Lawrence E. Leise & Ms. Susan A. Luerich

Mr. & Mrs. Nicholas M. Lengyel

Dr. Barbara T. Leonard

Mr. Edward G. Lewis

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen C. Lewis

Mr. James E. Leyh

Mr. & Mrs. David R. Linger

Dr. & Mrs. Thomas R. Long

Mrs. Jennifer M. Losch

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph S. Luchini

Mr. Peter Maa

Mr. & Mrs. Bryce L. Maddox

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel L. Manack

Mr. Bret A. Marks

Ms. Nancy J. Marsh

Mr. & Mrs. Peter M. Martin

Dr. David R. Martinelli

Mr. & Mrs. Louis J. Martinez

Mr. & Mrs. Charles B. Marushi

Mrs. Millicent N. Mason

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Mason

Mr. & Mrs. Arthur M. McClain

Prof. & Mrs. John E. McCray, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. S. Fenton McDonald

Mr. Joseph K. McFadden

Mr. Joseph C. McKinney

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Honor Roll of Donors

Mrs. Carol A. McMahon

Mrs. Rose A. McMurray

Dr. & Mrs. Ronald B. McPherson

Mr. & Mrs. Russell B. Mechling, Jr.

Ms. Annamaria Medvid

CDR J. Larry Miles, Jr.

Mr. Nicholas A. Milinovich

Mr. & Mrs. Carl W. Miller II

Mr. Jonathan L. Miller

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy M. Miller

Mr. Daniel J. Minella

Mr. David J. Mitchell

Mr. & Mrs. J. Richard Mitchell

Dr. Chinnarao Mokkapati

Mr. & Mrs. Guy E. Mongold, Jr.

Mr. Stephen R. Montagna

Mr. Raymond A. Montgomery, Jr.

Mr. David P. Moon

Dr. & Mrs. Ian R. Moore

Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Morris

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas J. Mullett

Mr. & Mrs. Clyde B. Musick

Dr. & Mrs. Warren R. Myers

Mr. & Mrs. Richard S. Napier

Mr. Leonard S. Nicholson

Mr. Paul F. Nocida

Mr. Robert A. Novotny

Mr. & Mrs. George J. Oberlick

Mr. & Mrs. Daniel R. Olds

Mr. & Mrs. Art Oliver, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Larry E. Oliver

Mr. & Mrs. Joseph F. Oliveto

Mr. & Mrs. George K. Oss

Drs. Andrew C. & C. Lynne Ostrow

Mr. & Mrs. Kevin F. Owsiany

Mr. James T. Parsley

Mr. & Mrs. Marion Parsons, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Terrence L. Parsons

Mr. Thomas H. Parsons

Mr. Roy C. Parsons, Jr.

Mr. Richard G. Pass

Mr. & Mrs. Vijendrakumar C. Patel

Mr. George S. Paul

Mr. Timothy P. Pawlak

Mr. & Mrs. Harold R. Payne

Mr. Richard B. Pellegrino

Ms. Tracey K. Pennington

Mr. Richard J. Perin

Mr. & Mrs. Edward L. Perry

Dr. Kerri B. Phillips

Mr. Paul & Ms. Kathy Phillips

Mr. & Mrs. W. Scot Phillips

Mr. & Mrs. Andrew D. Pickens, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Timothy J. Pizatella

Mrs. Sara M. Pletcher

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Pochettino

Mr. Martin Potts

Mr. Timothy J. Poulin

Mr. William N. Poundstone

Mr. David A. Price

Mr. & Mrs. Victor D. Proietti

Dr. Jacky C. Prucz

Mr. & Mrs. Donald R. Prunty, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Jay E. Pultz

Mr. Walter J. Ramsey

Mr. Yeshwanth Rangaramanujam

Mr. Herbert S. Rawlings

Mr. Michael W. Redifer

Mr. Bradley R. Reed

Mr. & Mrs. Randall Reeder

Mr. James B. Reese

Dr. & Mrs. Leroy C. Reid, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John F. Rentschler, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. John A. Reynolds

Mr. Boyd W. Rhodes

Mr. Herbert L. Ridder

Ms. Melisa L. Ridenour

Mr. & Mrs. Jon M. Ridgway

Dr. & Mrs. Billy M. Riggleman

Mrs. Rachel N. Riley-Lavelle

Mr. Terry D. Rings

Mr. & Mrs. Carl T. Ripberger III

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Ritz

Mr. & Mrs. Brad J. Roberts

Mr. & Mrs. Michael Roberts

Mr. & Mrs. Theodore D. Robinette

Mr. & Mrs. James P. Robison

Mrs. Casandra J. Rosato

Mr. Anthony D. Rossetti

Mr. & Mrs. Richard J. Rossy

Mr. Thomas C. Rowan

Mr. Meredith B. Royce, Jr.

Mr. & Mrs. Michael A. Rupar

Mr. & Mrs. James J. Rusenko

Mr. Phillip M. Sabree

Mr. Ashok Sanghavi

Mr. & Ms. Nicholas Sands

Mr. Mark D. Sanetrik

Dr. Simsek Sarikelle

Mr. & Mrs. William A. Savage

Mr. & Mrs. Louis M. Schlesinger

Mr. Arthur K. Schuler

Mr. & Mrs. James W. Schumacher

Mr. & Mrs. Gary J. Schweitzer

Mr. R. Lennie & Ms. Diana Scott

Mr. Jeffrey M. See

Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert T. Seese

Mr. & Mrs. John E. Seknicka

Mr. Santino Thomas Serpento

Mr. Stan T. Serpento

Dr. Rohit I. Seshadri

Mrs. Grace W. Sharpenberg

Mr. Charles A. Shaver

Mr. David E. Sheets

Mr. & Mrs. Richard Shehab

Ms. Manlee L. Shen

Mr. Tyler-Blair A. Sheppard

Mrs. Diane M. Sherrard

Mr. W. David Shinn

Prof. Frank M. Shipper

Mr. & Mrs. Michael T. Shook

Mr. & Mrs. Morris M. Shor

Mr. Mark A. Shroyer

Mr. Frank J. Shuler

Mrs. Susan K. Siebken

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher B. Simms

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas W. Sirk, Jr.

Mr. Kenneth K. Sitar

Mrs. Jennifer L. Sivak

Mr. & Mrs. George D. Six

Ms. Linda Slonksnes

Mr. & Mrs. David J. Smith

Dr. Jason R. Smith

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey D. Smith

Mr. Perry C. Smith, Jr.

Mr. Smith & Ms. Kniska

Dr. & Mrs. John E. Sneckenberger

Mr. Harold J. Snyder, Jr.

Dr. & Mrs. James E. Spearman

Mr. Peter L. Spence

Mr. & Mrs. Robert K. Sperry

Mr. William F. Stackpole

Mr. Phillip L. Stalnaker

Mrs. Marcella P. Steerman

Dr. Alan D. Stemple

Mr. Harry L. Stemple

Mr. & Mrs. Richard A. Stemple

Dr. Larry E. Stewart

Mr. Daniel L. Stickler

Mr. John M. Stickler

Dr. Richard J. Stock

Mr. & Mrs. John R. Stoehr

Mr. Charles E. Stricklin

Mr. & Mrs. William H. Stroup

Mr. T. Ramon Stuart

Mrs. Loretta D. Suitlas

Mr. John M. Svedman

Mr. Joshua L. Swann

Mrs. June D. Swartwout

Mr. & Mrs. David L. Swearingen

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey L. Swoope

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Tallman P.E.

Mr. & Mrs. Caleb A. Tarleton

Mr. Adam M. Tarovisky

Mr. George M. Tataseo

Mr. Samson Tesfaselassie

Mr. & Mrs. Garth E. Thomas, Jr.

Capt. Charles H. Tilton USN (Ret.)

Dr. Douglas L. Timmons

Mrs. Nicole M. Tingler

Mr. & Mrs. Robert K. Tinney

Mr. & Mrs. Stephen W. Tippett

Dr. Ting-Man Tong

Mr. Fred R. Toothman

Mr. & Mrs. Dennis P. Townsend

Mr. & Mrs. Todd V. Townsend

Mr. & Mrs. William D. Trimbath

Mr. Frederick D. Truban

Mr. & Mrs. Brian A. Truman

Mr. & Mrs. Charles E. Tupes

Mr. William C. Turley, Jr.

Mr. Jay J. Turner

Mr. & Mrs. Roy M. Turner

Mr. & Mrs. Lionel J. Updyke

Mr. & Mrs. Todd J. Urness

Mr. Thomas E. Urquhart

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Velegol, Jr.

Mr. Kelles L. Veneri

Mr. Ramesh Venkataraman

Mrs. Patricia W. Vetter

Mr. Leslie A. Viegas

Mr. & Mrs. Ken P. Vitaya-Udom

Mr. William M. Walasinski

Mr. William D. Walko

Mr. & Mrs. Gary W. Wamsley

Dr. Yajie Wang

Mr. & Mrs. Edward A. Ward

Dr. Karen E. Warden

Mr. & Mrs. Julian W. Ware

Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth M. Ware

Mr. George A. Waters

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Watson

Mr. Gregory S. Watterson

Mr. James M. Weaver

Mr. Daniel A. Weber

Mr. & Mrs. Gene R. Weekley, Jr.

Mr. Yian Wen

Mrs. Amy H. Wen

Mr. & Mrs. William R. Werner

Mr. & Mrs. Earl K. West

Mr. & Mrs. George T. Westbrook, Jr.

Mrs. Wilma Jean Westbrook

Mr. & Mrs. Harry L. Westerman

Mr. Duane E. Westfall

Mr. & Mrs. Paul R. Westfall

Mr. & Mrs. Robert W. Wheeler

Mr. & Mrs. Ronald C. Whigham

Mr. & Mrs. Thomas H. White

Mr. Chester L. Whitehair

Mr. & Mrs. Robert C. Whiteman

Dr. Timothy B. Whitmoyer

Mr. & Mrs. David M. Wiebking

Mr. & Mrs. Michael J. Wiercinski

Dr. & Mrs. F. David Wilkin

Mr. & Mrs. Cyril H. Williams, Jr.

Mr. J. Eldon Williams

Mr. & Mrs. Christopher J. Williamson

Mr. & Mrs. Donald P. Wilson

Mr. & Mrs. George N. Wilson

Dr. & Mrs. James D. Wilson

Mr. & Mrs. Richard H. Wilson

Mr. Russell L. Wilson

Mr. & Mrs. Steven F. Wilson

Dr. Edward H. Winant

Mr. Benjamin B. Wisler

Mr. & Mrs. Howard V. Withrow II

Mr. William P. Wolf

Mr. Jackson W. Wolfe

Mr. Kam Wong

Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey T. Woods

Mr. Henry M. Word

Mr. Yunqing Wu & Ms. Lei Huang

Mr. & Mrs. William D. Wyant

Dr. Siamak Yassini

Mr. & Mrs. Otis R. Yeater

Mr. & Mrs. David A. Young, Jr.

Mr. Richard Yungwirth

Mr. & Mrs. Kurt Zachar

Mrs. Hao Zhang

Mr. Gary R. Zidzik

Mr. & Mrs. George T. Zimmerman


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$100,000 and upArch Coal, Inc.

Siemens PLM Software

West Virginia Research Trust Fund

$50,000 to $99,999Alpha Natural Resources, Inc.

Chesapeake Operating, Inc.

CONSOL Energy, Inc.

Eaglehawk Carbon, Inc.

International Industries, Inc.

Massey Foundation

MEPCO, Inc.

$25,000 to $49,999BP Corporation North America, Inc.

Corning, Inc.

ExxonMobil Foundation Matching Gift Program

Michael Baker Corporation

Pearson Education

$10,000 to $24,999American Electric Power Service Corp.

Chevron Products Company

Dominion Foundation

General Electric Company

Lockheed Martin

Peabody Investments Corp.

Peter’s Creek Coal Association

Wells Fargo Educational Matching Gift Program

WVU Alumni Association - Mineral Resources

$5,000 to $9,999American Association of Drilling Engineers

Appalachian Underground Corrosion Short Course

Delta Electric, Inc.

DirecTV

Dow Chemical Company

Foundation Coal Corporation

Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp.

NuStar Foundation Matching Gift Program

Parkersburg Area Community Foundation

Penn Virginia Operating Co. LLC

PPG Industries

SASHTO 2011 Conference

The Cliffs Foundation

The Hershey Company Matching Gift Program

The Key Corporation

Triad Engineering, Inc.

Vecellio Group, Inc.

$1,000 to $4,999Alcoa Foundation

Boeing Company Matching Gift Program

Boyles & Hildreth Consulting Engineers

Cabot Oil & Gas Corporation

CONSOL Energy Inc.

Eaton Corporation

El Dupont De Nemours & Company

Ergon-West Virginia, Inc.

FirstEnergy Foundation

John T. Boyd Company

Joy Mining Machinery

Keith Asset Management LLP

Keylogic Systems, Inc.

Marathon Oil Company Foundation

Monsanto Fund

National Space Grant Foundation

Parsons

RSL Fiber Systems, LLC

Shell Oil Company Foundation

Siemens US - Matching Contributions Program for Employees

Southern Coals Conference

WV Coal Association, Inc.

WVU Student Section of AADE

$500 to $999Caterpillar Foundation Matching Gift Program

Chevron Corporation Matching Grants Program

Coach Matching Gift Program

Duke Energy Corporation

H.J. Heinz Company Foundation

Mountaineer Mine Rescue Association, Inc.

Mountaineer Mine Safety & Training, Inc.

P&G Fund

Pfizer Foundation Matching Gifts Program

PPG Industries Foundation

Raytheon Company

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories, Inc.

Verizon Foundation

$100 to $499AeroJet

Air Products Foundation, Inc.

American Electric Power Matching Gift Program

Ansys Inc.

Ashland, Inc.

Bank of America

Bechtel Matching Gift Program

BK Technologies, Inc.

Book Mart Corp

Bridgestone Americas Trust Fund

ConocoPhillips

Dominion Foundation Matching Gift Program

Eaton Corporation Matching Gift Program

Elegant Alley Cat

Eli Lilly & Company Foundation

EQT Corporation Matching Gift Program

Graf International

Harris Foundation

IBM International Foundation Matching Gift Program

Johnson Controls Foundation

Juniper Networks’ Company

Kinder Morgan, Inc.

Lubrizol Foundation Matching Gift Program

Lutheran Community Foundation

Math Energy LLC

Metso

Michael Baker Corporation

Northrop Grumman Corporation Matching Gift Program

Northrop Grumman Foundation

NRG Global Giving

Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Olashuk Environmental, Inc.

Pittsburgh Section SME AIME

Prince Street Real Estate, LLC

PVR Services, LLC

SAIC Science Applications International Corp

Southern Company Services

Textron, Inc.

Tyco Matching Gifts Program

United Way Silicon Valley

Walker Living Trust

Wells Fargo Community Support Campaign

ZMM, Inc.

Corporations and Associations

trust and estate GiFts

$25,000 to $49,999

John l. Kirkland Trust

nason P. Pritchard Trust

$10,000 to $24,999

Elizabeth H lorraine Trust

Estate of Allan S. May

$5,000 to $9,999

Joy M. Teske Revocable Trust

$500 to $999

Estate of Joan R. Meeker

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Below you will find a list of thoughtful and generous alumni and friends who have become members of the Irvin Stewart Society by including our College in their estate plans. These individuals are helping students of the future through gift provisions in their wills, life income gifts, testamentary retirement accounts, life insurance, or gifts of real estate with a retained life state. We are forever grateful to them.

Irvin Stewart Society: Making a Difference for Years to Come

Robert D. Bewick Jr. ’52

Stanley C. Browning ’57, ’59

John W. Campbell ’64

Frank Cerminara ’70

Susan Klatskin Cerminara ’69

Vudara Chuop ’80

Irene V. Desmond

Robert M. Desmond, Ph.D.

Kathleen J. DuBois ’85

W. J. “Jack” Fitzgerald ’54, ’58

Beatrice Galli

Donald J. Gay ’57

Margaret M. Hall ’74, ’76, ’81

Lawrence C. Hays ’41

Gregory L. Herrick ’70

Sheila G. Herrick ’74

Glen H. Hiner, Ph.D. ’57, ’90

Betty J. Hurst ’53

Elmo J. Hurst ’53

Robert S. Jacobson, J.D. ’47, ’55

Emil Johnson ’63, ’72

Penny Christie Johnson ’64

Joan Kelvington

Lee Kelvington ’56

Genevieve Koepfinger

Joseph L. Koepfinger

Catheline C. Martin

Mildred L. McFarland ’39

James R. McQuay Jr. ’77

Betty L. Miller ’47, ’57

Toni R. Morris ’82, ’89, ’99

Earl F. Morton ’51

Jean H. Orders ’52

Robert O. Orders ’51

Alice S. Poindexter

William N. Poundstone ’49

Lora Virginia Richards

Jacqulyn L. Sample

Paul E. Sample, Ph.D. ’55, ’57

J. Ted Samsell, M.D. ’67, ’71

Melody Samsell

Barrett L. Shrout ’61, ’62

Nancy S. Shrout

Kathryn Ann Simms

Patrick Simms ’66

William A. Simms ’64

John E. Sneckenberger ’64, ’66, ’70

Mary (Scottie) Sneckenberger ’67

J. Robert Stockner ’50

Tommy L. Stuchell, J.D. ’87

W. David Teter ’59, ’64

Charles M. Vest, Ph.D. ’63

Jo Ann Wadsworth ’51

Maurice Wadsworth ’51

Betty S. Watkins ’61

W. Richard Watkins ’64, ’65

Ronald A. Weaver ’78

Frank T. Wheby ’56

Erna F. Wilkin

F. David Wilkin Ed.D. ’67, ’69

Donald W. Worlledge ’55

Mary S. Worlledge

Eugene M. Zvolensky ’70

Three donors wish to remain anonymous

Please consider joining the Irvin Stewart Society by including our College in your estate plans. For more information, contact Garth Lindley at 304-293-4156 or [email protected] or Robert Bragg at 304-293-4036 or [email protected].

SUpporT

We are grateful to our alumni and friends who have generously established endowments for student scholarships and to support our departments in teaching, research, and service. the following individuals and organizations have recently established new scholarships or other endowed funds:

AEP RENEWABlE ENERGy iNtEGRAtiON FuND

American Electric power endowed this fund

in the lane Department of Computer Science

and Electrical Engineering to support research

in the integration of renewable energy into the

smart grid.

CAROl A. StEVENS SCHOlARSHiP

Carol A. Stevens (BS ’84, CEE) has pledged

$5,000 for an undergraduate scholarship for

women enrolled in the Department of Civil

and Environmental Engineering. Stevens is

president of CAS Structural Engineering, inc.,

of Alum Creek, W.Va. •

As part of a new initiative to get students

involved in philanthropy, members of the Class

of 2012 sold College t-shirts and polo shirts.

More than $675 was raised to help purchase

new chairs for the walkway outside of G39 in the

Engineering Science Building. the initiative was

led by a committee of four seniors: Andrea Sakla

(chemical engineering), kylea Demarco (civil and

environmental engineering), Samantha Hess

(computer science and electrical engineering),

and Virginia Chambers (industrial management

systems engineering). thanks to all who

participated.•

seniors raise Money For class GiFt


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ALUmNi

Brian Brooks, BSIE ’11, is an industrial engineer in the Corporate and Strategic Planning division of AVX Corporation in Fountain Inn, S.C. The company is a world leader in creating passive electronic components.

Mark H. Browder, BSCE ’80, a mechanical engineer with the United States Navy, received a Defense Standardization Program Award for Excellence during a ceremony held at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes. Browder was recognized for “outstanding leadership and dedication” in the program and for promoting “reduced ownership costs, interoperability, and sustained readiness through standardization.” He lives in Alexandria, Va.

Sam Fragale, BSPNGE ’83, was recently named senior vice president of Marcellus operations for Chief Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania. Fragale previously served as senior vice president of operations for Phillips Production Company of Warrendale, Pa., where he supervised and managed all company operations related to land, natural gas exploration, convention drilling, and Marcellus shale production.

Murali M. Gadde, PhDME ’09, won the 2012 Dr. N.G.W. Cook Dissertation Award from the American Rock Mechanics Association. Gadde is director of geotechnical services for Peabody Energy, in St. Louis, Miss.

Carl Heinlein, MSSM ’92, on behalf of the Board of Certified Safety Professionals (BCSP), signed a formal agreement with the National Institute for Occupations Safety and Health to establish a partnership to improve occupational safety and health at workplaces throughout the United States, as well as assist each other in the development of safety and health professionals. Heinlein serves as board president of BCSP.

Charles T. Holland, BSME ’28, MSME ’32, was inducted posthumously in the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame in May. Holland served two stints at WVU, first as a member of the mining engineering faculty and then as dean of the School of Mines and director of Mining Extension from 1961-1970. He was conferred with the Order of Vandalia in 1981.

Shannon Jones, MSSM ’07, was recognized by The Hartford for excellence in loss controls. Jones lives in Mineral Wells, W.Va.

Ward Malcom, BSEE ’83, was recently named dean of Career, Technical, and Workforce Education at Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College. He previously served as the lead faculty member and developer of the college’s Wind Technician Training Program, which was started in 2010.

Thomas E. Watson, MSME ’69, was recently named president of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers. He will direct the society’s board of directors and oversee its executive committee. Watson is chief engineer of McQuay International, Staunton, Va., where he oversees new product development for centrifugal compressor technology and is primarily involved in technical areas related to refrigerant applications, aerodynamics, bearing design, and motor applications. He holds five patents related to refrigerant, gas, and chiller compressors.

fACULTy

Brian Anderson, assistant professor of chemical engineering, was an instructor at the second annual National Geothermal Academy at University of Nevada, Reno. Anderson co-taught a module on power plant design and construction.

Ever Barbero, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, received the Barbara Alvis Award from West Virginia University’s International Student Organization. The award was presented in honor of his contributions to Morgantown’s international community.

The second edition of Barbero’s book, Introduction to Composite Materials Design, was recently published. According to a review by The Aeronautical Journal, the edition “reflects the advances in knowledge and design methods for composites acquired within the past decade” and will help the readers “gain a better understanding of material selection, fabrication, material behaviour and structural analysis involved in design of composite structures; it will allow those designing with composites to fully take advantage of the flexibility offered by composites.”

Vlad Kecojevic, Massey Foundation Professor of Mining Engineering, was selected to participate in a review of planning grants for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences’ Hubs of Interdisciplinary Research and Training in Global Environmental and Occupational Health. The grants seek to support paired consortium exploratory awards led by one low- and middle-income country institution and one U.S. institution to plan research, research training, and curriculum development activities that address and inform national and regional environmental and occupational health policy issues.

The work of David Klinke, associate professor of chemical engineering, was featured in the April 17 issue of Science Signaling. Klinke and his coworkers describe a new approach to test our understanding of cell signaling pathways using mathematical modeling, called in silico model-based inference. This work, according to John Foley, associate editor of Science Signaling, “serves as an example of how mathematical modeling can refine our understanding of signaling pathways.”

STUDENTS

Sean Belardo presented a poster depicting his work on creating a more efficient solid oxide fuel cell system that can use coal syngas at the Council on Undergraduate Research’s Poster on the Hill event held in the Halls of Congress in Washington, D.C. More than 850 projects were submitted for consideration with only 74 chosen.

Rachel James, a civil engineering major from Crawford, W.Va., and Michael Powell, an aerospace engineering major from Hagerstown, Md., were two of the 19 students chosen for the latest class of McNair Scholars. Through financial aid, academic advising, and undergraduate research opportunities, the McNair Scholars Program pushes underrepresented students toward their doctorates. The scholars are given a $2,400 annual stipend, graduate school placement assistance, and professional development opportunities to help them gain admission into master’s and doctoral programs. The McNair Scholars Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education in honor of engineer, scientist, and NASA astronaut Ronald E. McNair, who was killed in the 1986 Challenger explosion.

NeWs OF NOtE

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WiLLiAm L. SmiTh

William L. Smith, part-time instructor in the safety management program, passed away on December 21, 2011. After graduating from the program, he began teaching evening courses while working at Union Carbide. Smith was a longtime member of the safety management visiting committee and was involved with student activities.

in MeMoriaM

Surya Manivannan and Anna McClung, students in the Department of Chemical Engineering, captured awards in the 2012 Summer Undergraduate Research Symposium Poster Session. Manivannan took honors in the nanosciences category, while McClung was honored for her work in physical sciences and engineering.

Lindsay Paulin was the inaugural winner of the Harold M. Gordon Hazard Control Management Scholarship. The scholarship recognizes students in West Virginia University’s safety management program who have exemplified academic success throughout the program. The scholarship, which was established by the International Board for the Certification of Safety Managers, honors Harold M.

Gordon. Gordon established the certified hazard control manager credential in 1976 and served as the executive director of the Board of Hazard Control Management until his retirement in 2007.

Ben Province completed a 10-week internship this past summer with NASA at CalTech in Pasadena. The mechanical engineering major worked with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he designed a system of tools for visualization of mobility for the Mars Science Laboratory. The internship was arranged by the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium, which also provided financial support.

Timothy Weadon was one of 10 recipients of the 2012 Student Leader Experience Awards, presented by the Society for the Advancement of Materials and Process Engineering or SAMPE. Winners of the award were sent to the SAMPE International Symposium and Exhibition to network with peers and industry professionals and increase their understanding of the materials and processes community. SAMPE 2012 was held in Baltimore, Md., May 21-24.

Jonathan Yancey earned a $1,000 scholarship for the Intern Poster Expo at the NASA Academy at Marshall Space Flight Center. Yancey’s internship was funded by the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium.

NeWs OF NOtE

Send your professional news, photos, and/or contributions to [email protected], or to Alumni Notes, Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, West Virginia University, PO 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070. You also may give online at www.statler.wvu.edu/contribute.

Name ____________________________________________________________

Address ___________________________________________________________

City/State/Zip________________________________________________________

E-mail ____________________________________________________________

Graduation Year_________Degree(s) ________________________________________

q YES, I want to support the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. Enclosed is my contribution of: $___________________ Thank you for your support.

My news: __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

Your NeWs

EWV2012FALL


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West Virginia university Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral ResourcesPO Box 6070, Morgantown, WV 26506-6070

Address correction requested

Non-ProfitOrganizationUS Postage

PAIDMorgantown, WV

Permit No. 34

www.facebook.com/wvucemr www.twitter.com/wvucemr www.statler.wvu.edu/linkedinwvucemr

Capitol ClassicDecember 5, 2012

December Convocation ReceptionDecember 9, 2012

Honors DayApril 5, 2013

Engineering Open HouseApril 6, 2013

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering and Mining Engineering Visiting CommitteeApril 12, 2013

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering AcademyApril 12-13, 2013

Spring Family WeekendApril 12-14, 2013

Civil and Environmental Engineering AcademyApril 18-19, 2013

Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering AcademyApril 26-27, 2013

Chemical Engineering AcademyMay 2-3, 2013

CommencementMay 18, 2013

save the dates

Documents

EngineeringWV Fall 2012, Special Commemorative Issue