Top 15 stories of 2015
As 2015 comes to a close, take a look back at The Ohio State University College of Engineering's 15 most popular Buckeye Engineering stories from the past year, as determined by webpage views.
1. Board of Trustees approves creation of Department of Engineering Education
The college’s new Department of Engineering Education, approved by the Ohio State University Board of Trustees in November, will support undergraduate education and graduate-level research in engineering education as a growing discipline. It builds upon 15 years of groundbreaking work by faculty and researchers in the former Engineering Education Innovation Center through first-year engineering programs, multi-disciplinary capstone design and technical communication courses.
2. Planning for success: A new vision for Columbus rail
The 11 undergraduates in Chad Gibson’s city and regional planning studio course were assigned a daunting task—assessing the feasibility of light rail transit for Ohio’s capital city.
The new Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) represents Ohio State’s bold investment in creating a state-of-the-art, collaborative environment for 21st century teaching and research. The facility expands real-world learning opportunities for students, enhances interdisciplinary collaboration and fuels Ohio’s economy through industry partnerships.
4. New study shows that varying walking pace burns more calories
Looking for a simple way to burn more calories while walking? Change up your pace. In a study published in the September 2015 issue of the journal Biology Letters, engineering researchers at Ohio State found that walking at varying speeds can burn up to 20 percent more calories compared to maintaining a steady pace.
5. Austin E. Knowlton Foundation gives Ohio State $10M to enhance aviation, education and research facilities
Continuing its namesake’s commitment to education and to his alma mater, the Austin E. Knowlton Foundation has donated $10 million to upgrade aviation education and research facilities, and the terminal at The Ohio State University Airport.
6. A better way to open an airway
With nearly 25 million intubations performed each year in the U.S., and at least one percent ending in failure, there is a pressing need for improved technology. So a team of Ohio State engineers began working with Dr. Hamdy Awad, an anesthesiologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and associate professor in the College of Medicine, to develop a robotic intubation device.
7. New program will recruit male allies in effort to retain women engineers
An Engineering Information Foundation grant will help fund a new Ohio State program that aims to improve the retention rate of women in engineering by empowering male students as engineering allies. By helping women students feel more connected to the College of Engineering, researchers hope to create a positive and more inclusive learning environment for the entire student body.
8. Alum is dedicated to engineering a safer nation
From conducting the first satellite television transmission in the 1960s to more recent advances in airborne collision avoidance systems and space surveillance, MIT Lincoln Laboratory has remained on the forefront of developing technology for national security for the past 64 years. Buckeye engineer Eric Evans has been at the helm of the historic research laboratory since 2006, guiding its strategic direction as well as the overall technical and administrative operations.
For her senior capstone project, mechanical engineering student Hiromi Tsuda wanted to tackle something that would improve dogs’ quality of life. After learning of the lack of prosthetics for three-legged animals who don't have a remaining limb segment, she teamed up with six other dog-loving Buckeye engineers to design a novel prosthetic that could improve the mobility of local cockapoo, Jimmy, and other three-legged pooches like him.
10. Engineering abroad: Buckeyes take next step with prosthetic foot
This summer—amid the unique sights and sounds of India—six Buckeye engineers enjoyed a global internship experience like no other. Their mission? To conduct the rigorous engineering research necessary to improve the Jaipur foot—a low-cost, simple prosthetic—for eventual mass production so it can relieve the suffering of amputees worldwide.
11. Donnie Perkins chosen to lead College of Engineering’s diversity and inclusion initiatives
With more than 20 years of healthcare and higher education leadership and experience, Donnie Perkins began his new role as chief diversity and inclusion officer for the College of Engineering in January.
12. Bailo joins Ohio State to advance mobility, transportation R&D
As assistant vice president for mobility research and business development for the Office of Research and College of Engineering, Carla Bailo helps the university accelerate sustainable mobility and transportation innovation, while integrating related research and education across Ohio State’s academic units. She also is charged with increasing and expanding the university’s corporate, foundation, state and federal partnerships.
13. Nandi receives five-year $498,000 NSF CAREER award
Computer Science and Engineering Assistant Professor Arnab Nandi received a five-year, $498,000 NSF Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) award for his research in gesture-driven querying of databases. His work aims to rethink the traditional database query paradigm to support gestural interaction, making data interaction accessible to an entirely new category of devices and users.
14. Engineering grad program tops in Ohio, several specialties ranked highly nationwide
U.S. News & World Report’s 2016 Best Graduate Schools issue placed several Ohio State engineering departments among the top programs in the nation. Overall, the graduate engineering program ranks 18th among public universities nationwide and first in Ohio. Eight Ohio State programs and departments ranked in the top 25: the nuclear engineering program (11), Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering (14), industrial/manufacturing engineering (19), materials engineering (20), electrical engineering (21), mechanical engineering (22), aerospace engineering (23) and chemical engineering (23).
Several College of Engineering faculty members were recognized for outstanding teaching and research at the 2015 Distinguished Faculty Awards, including Junmin Wang (MAE), Ness Shroff (CSE), Peter M. Anderson (MSE), Wolfgang Windl (MSE), Jerald Brevick (ISE), Ronald Reano (ECE), Lisa Abrams (EED), Longya Xu (ECE) and James W. Davis (CSE).
