MMAE News

MMAE Welcomes Department Chair Keith J. Bowman

Professor Keith J. Bowman comes to IIT from Purdue University, after serving as Head of the Purdue School of Materials Engineering. He began as an assistant professor at Purdue University in 1988 after receiving degrees from Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) (B.S. 1981, M.S. 1983) and the University of Michigan (Ph.D. 1987). At Purdue, he was promoted to associate professor in 1992 and professor in 1996.

Bowman also served as a visiting professor and received Alexander von Humboldt stipends for research at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Germany in 1996 and again in 2002. He served as a visiting professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia in 2003. From 1996 to 2004 he served as graduate program chair of the Purdue School of Materials Engineering (MSE) during a substantial retooling of the program to more strongly emphasize doctoral degrees. In 2005-06 he served a one-year appointment as Interim Head of MSE and in 2007 was named Head of the Purdue School of Materials Engineering. He was named a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society in 2000 and has held several division and society-wide positions.

His awards at Purdue University include receiving the MSE Best Teaching Award in 1992 and 1995 and Purdue’s highest teaching award, the Charles Murphy Undergraduate Teaching Award in 1995. In 2003 Bowman’s name was added to the Purdue Book of Great Teachers. In 2007 he received the Purdue College of Engineering Mentoring Award, and he became a Professor of Engineering Education (by courtesy).

Bowman has developed steadily growing activities in engineering education research with efforts in development of curricular materials for K-12 and beginning engineering, assessment approaches for engineering education, as well as documenting trends for gender, racial and ethnic diversity in engineering colleges. He has developed or co-developed six undergraduate and six graduate courses and has been strongly engaged in two revisions of the Purdue MSE undergraduate curriculum.

He has given plenary, invited and contributed research presentations in sixteen countries and has international collaborations that include colleagues in Germany and Australia. Read more about his extensive research activities in his faculty bio.

MMAE Assistant Professor Benxin Wu Receives NSF CAREER Award

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Benxin Wu has received the 2011 National Science Foundation CAREER award. The CAREER award is one of NSF's most prestigious honors, supporting early career-development activities of scholars who integrate research and education within the mission of their organization. Wu was recognized for his project "Fundamental Research on a Novel Ultrasound-assisted Water-confined Laser Micromachining Technology."
» more

IIT’s New On-Campus Wind Turbine

MMAE faculty members Ganesh Raman, Dietmar Rempfer, and Candace Wark will contribute research to a newly funded IIT wind energy project that will focus on increasing clean energy generation, while supporting the long-term development of a clean energy workforce.
» more

IIT will lead a consortium of partners from private industry, state and local governments, and universities, which has been selected for up to $8 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds to support research and programs on wind energy in the United States. The consortium members will research the wind energy challenges identified in the U.S. Department of Energy’s “20% Wind Energy by 2030” report, including wind technology, grid system integration, and workforce challenges. The consortium’s plan relies on IIT experts in electrical and computer engineering; mechanical, materials, and aerospace engineering; architecture; business; and members of the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research to tackle these challenges.

For MMAE, Rempfer and Wark will explore the use of proper orthogonal decomposition methods to drastically improve the accuracy and temporal and spatial resolution of wind prediction. Similarly, Raman will explore methods for aerodynamic noise reduction, including lower tip speed ratios, lower blade angles of attack and variable speed operation, and mechanical noise reduction.

Many of the university’s departments and research centers will also work together to offer wind energy courses addressing the technical, operational, social, and environmental aspects of wind energy in consultation with industry. To ensure student involvement in the project, fellowships will be offered annually to undergraduate and graduate students in wind energy engineering fields of study. Faculty and students from international university consortium members will also be invited to IIT to attend workshops and to share ideas with their American counterparts.

The wind energy consortium will work with small wind turbine manufacturer Viryd Technologies to procure and install an 8KW Viryd wind turbine on IIT’s Main Campus, and to deliver a second turbine to one of IIT’s engineering laboratories to perform turbine reliability studies. The consortium will also work with wind energy developer Invenergy to install a 1.5MW GE wind turbine adjacent to a wind farm in Marseilles, Ill. The close proximity of IIT’s Marseilles turbine to an existing wind farm provides an ideal opportunity to study turbine-to-turbine wake interaction, wind farm interaction, and wind energy efficiencies in addition to turbine reliability studies.

“IIT has been a leader in electric power research and education since the 1930s,” says Bodine Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Mohammad Shahidehpour, who is principle investigator for the consortium.? “We are excited to continue this work, together with our consortium partners, to meet the energy challenges of the twenty-first century.” Shahidehpour is also leading the DOE-funded Perfect Power project, which integrates renewable energy into a groundbreaking approach to electricity distribution and management, as well as a study on the best locations for wind energy integration into the eastern portion of the United States electricity grid. ?

Other university consortium members include the University of Chicago, Southern Illinois University, and four prestigious international universities with strong wind energy programs: University of Castilla–La Mancha (Spain), University of S?o Paulo (Brazil), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), and Polytechnic University of Bucharest (Romania).

The industry consortium members include all types of wind energy stakeholders: wind turbine companies (GE Energy, Viryd Technologies, Acciona Wind Energy USA), wind energy developers (Invenergy, Pampa Energia Eolica [Brazil], PS Wind Management [Romania]), power transmission system operators (ComEd/Exelon, ISO New England, British Columbia Transmission Corporation), wind energy control devices and software companies (Boeing Advanced Global Services & Support, Honeywell, Dakota Power, EnerNex Corporation, SmartSignal Corporation, Innovation Technology Applications Company), and energy system consultants (Keyworks, Electric Power Research Institute, AREVA T&D, Intelligent Power Solutions, McCoy Energy, Wiedman Power System Consulting).

MMAE Professor Boris Pervan Named ION Fellow

The Institute of Navigation has granted Fellow Membership to MMAE Associate Professor Boris Pervan for his extraordinary contribution to the advancement of differential GPS technology and integrity assurance, for his excellence as a teacher, and for his service to The Institute of Navigation.
» more

Dr. Pervan has been involved with satellite navigation systems for more than 15 years. During this time, he has distinguished himself as a professor as evidenced by his selection for the Ralph Barnett Outstanding Graduate Teaching Award [IIT MMAE Department, 2002] and the University Excellence in Teaching Award [IIT, 2005]. He has been a prolific author at ION conferences, authoring or co-authoring more than 50 papers. He also appears as co-author on eight papers appearing in NAVIGATION, The Journal of The Institute of Navigation. His dissertation entitled �Navigation Integrity for Aircraft Precision Landing Using the Global Positioning System� earned him the William E. Jackson Award [RTCA, 1996]. A paper he co-authored, �Autonomous Fault Detection and Removal using GPS Carrier Phase�, was awarded the M. Barry Carlton Award which acknowledges the best paper appearing in AES Transactions during a calendar year [IEEE, 1999].

Dr. Pervan became publications chair for the ION in 2006. In this role, he currently serves as editor of ION�s journal NAVIGATION. He has served as secretary of the ION�s Satellite Division and has been a session chairs at many ION conferences.

Pervan�s current research interests include satellite navigation systems, differential GPS (DGPS), carrier phase DGPS, robust navigation algorithms, integrity monitoring, precision approach and landing systems, unmanned aerial vehicles, pseudolites, and multisensor integrated navigation systems.

He has been a leader in satellite navigation systems, particularly in the area of precision approach and landing systems. He is an expert in all aspects of DGPS integrity, and he has been a key member of the LAAS Integrity Panel and the GNSS Evolutionary Architecture Study (GEAS). He is widely recognized as an expert on carrier phase navigation algorithms and integrity. He has significant expertise in the area of unmanned vehicle technology, contributing heavily to the Navy Unmanned Combat Air System Demonstration and the Air Force Automated Aerial Refueling programs.

New Book "Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics" by Professor Nair

Cambridge University Press published a new book of MMAE Professor Sudhakar Nair "Advanced Topics in Applied Mathematics." The book is ideal for engineering, physical science, and covers four essential applied mathematics topics: Green's functions, Integral equations, Fourier transforms, and Laplace transforms.
» more

Kaplan, Wendorf, and Choi Win 2011 IIT Alumni Awards

IIT continued its long tradition of honoring exceptional alumni who have contributed to their communities, industries, and the university by awarding three MMAE alumni awards. The 65th Annual Alumni Awards was a celebration of excellence showcasing IIT's rich history of visionaries who make us proud. The event was a day to remember as we celebrated 2011 winners and the unveiling of the Alumni Medal tribute honoring our highest alumni award. Congratulations to the 2011 Alumni Award Winners!
» more

Student Awards Season

MMAE students brought home multiple awards this year from a number of poster competitions and university awards.
» more