Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Quinn Qiao has been named Interim Associate Dean for Research (ADR) in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Qiao joined Syracuse University in 2020. He has published over 200 papers in leading journals with topics ranging from battery storage and photovoltaics to sustainability and precision agriculture, establishing him as a global leader in electrical and materials engineering research. He has more than 16,000 citations on Google Scholar and received funding from a wide range of federal and industrial sources.
Qiao has experience in building and promoting successful interdisciplinary research teams as the Site Director for the National Science Foundation (NSF) Industry-University Cooperative Research (IUCRC) Center for Solid-State Electric Power Storage (CEPS) at Syracuse University. He is also a campus lead at Syracuse University for the NSF Regional Innovation Engines New Energy New York led by Binghamton University and a recipient of the NSF CAREER Award in 2010.
“Quinn Qiao possesses exceptional research expertise, and his colleagues throughout the College have truly come to admire his passion and excitement for innovation since he came to Syracuse University,” says Dean J. Cole Smith. “His experience and proven ability to build successful interdisciplinary teams will be crucial for advancing our College’s research initiatives to new heights.”
“I am honored to step into this ADR role to build on the numerous successes that have been achieved, maintain the great momentum ECS currently has, grow new research areas to broaden the funding opportunities, partner with industry to advance technology and develop the workforce, and support our faculty and students to continue to innovate and succeed in a competitive world,” Qiao says. “We will certainly encounter new challenges, but I am confident that with the determination and persistence of our highly talented faculty and students, we will continue to grow as a leader in engineering fields.”
Distinguished Professor in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Pramod K. Varshney has received the Best Paper Award from the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International Conference on Signal, Information, and Data Processing. The conference took place in Zhuhai, China on November 22-24, 2024.
The award-winning paper focused on using copulas for change detection in heterogeneous remote sensing images. Copulas are a powerful tool used for modeling the dependence between multiple random variables. Over the past 15 years, Varshney’s research group has used copulas in various decision-making problems, including national security and defense and medical diagnoses, such as the early detection of Alzheimer’s disease.
Varshney and his colleagues proposed using copulas to improve change detection using heterogeneous remote sensing images. Heterogeneous remote sensing involves analyzing multiple images captured by different sensors or satellites at various times to identify changes in geographic features. This method is commonly used for disaster monitoring and land-use management. Experiments with different types of remote sensing images showed that the copula-guided neural network was effective and helped users better understand changes in geography.
“I co-authored the paper with two of my former visiting scholars who are professors at the famous Tsinghua University in China and my former doctoral student who is a faculty member at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,” says Varshney. “It is indeed a pleasure to maintain collaboration relationship with former members of my research group. The novel approach that combines copula theory with deep neural networks (DNNs) is quite novel and innovative. I am extremely happy that this work was deemed worthy of a Best Paper Award.”
Lihong Lao joined the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) at Syracuse University as an Assistant Professor at the start of the Fall 2024 semester. Lao received her Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from Cornell University. Lao leads the Environmental Control Materials (ECM) Lab. During the Spring 2025 semester, she will also teach a graduate-level course on polymer materials. Read on for more details about Lao’s research.
Question: Can you give us a brief overview of your research lab?
Professor Lao: My lab focuses on understanding the interaction among the human body, buildings and environment, and improving their performance by developing advanced materials and smart systems. We aim to design smart materials for thermal, moisture and air quality management for the human body and the built environment. Particularly, we use biomimetic approaches inspired by nature for the materials design and engineering based on polymers, fibers, textiles, soft materials, smart materials and advanced manufacturing.
Question: Tell us about your current research — are there any projects you’re working on that you’re especially enthusiastic about?
Professor Lao: The research topics in our lab include, but are not limited to:
Design of smart materials (e.g., stimuli-responsive materials, bio-inspired design, 3D printing)
Personal thermal and moisture management (e.g., smart textiles, surface wettability, thermal regulation, directional liquid transport)
Smart building and environment control (e.g., thermal regulation, ventilation control, air quality improvement).
I am particularly excited about developing new materials with self-thermoregulation properties and applying them in smart and green buildings towards energy-saving and sustainability.
Question: What do you like about working at 727 East Washington Street?
Professor Lao: The building is very beautiful and has so many flexible spaces. The indoor thermal condition and air quality are monitored and optimized, making it a comfortable place to work. More importantly, the people are extremely nice, and many faculty members, staff members and students have supported me to quickly adapt to this new environment.
Moamer Hasanovic brings broad teaching experiences across multiple areas of electrical engineering as a professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Get to know him as he discusses his career path, research interests, and his role as a faculty member in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Tell us about yourself and what brought you to Syracuse University.
With a diverse background in RF industrial expertise, quantum research, and teaching experience across multiple areas of electrical engineering, I am excited to bring my knowledge and innovative spirit to Syracuse University. My career has evolved from mentoring students as a lab technician to teaching electromagnetics and RF courses, conducting research, and managing grant-funded projects in photonics and quantum technology.
My work has resulted in several patents, demonstrating my ability to turn theoretical concepts into practical applications. Over two decades of academic experience at multiple institutions, both in the United States and abroad, I have mentored students in electronics, RF systems, optics, and quantum. In addition, my MBA and corporate experience allow me to bridge the academic and industrial worlds, promoting collaboration, internships, and innovation.
Professor Hasanovic collaborating with partners at the quantum research lab at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia (2024).
What sparked your interest in teaching at Syracuse University?
I was attracted to Syracuse University by its dynamic faculty team, which blends the experience of established faculty with the fresh perspectives of new colleagues. The university is uniquely positioned to make significant contributions to research and workforce development in emerging fields such as quantum technologies and chip manufacturing. With my background in workforce development and training, I would like to leverage my professional connections to improve collaboration with academic and corporate partners in semiconductor chip fabrication, integrated photonics, and quantum. My expertise complements well with the institutional needs in these areas. As a proud Syracuse University alum, I also feel a deep sense of responsibility to give back to both the university and the local community, making my return to Syracuse especially meaningful.
What are your research interests?
I have spent over twenty years in the RF industry, holding various roles focused on board-level RF component design and development across multiple organizations. Alongside my work in RF, my research interests extend into optics and photonics, with a recent emphasis on integrating RF technologies with photonics and quantum. Currently, I am leading an NSF-funded project EdQuantum (NSF DUE 2055061) to raise public awareness about the transformative impact of quantum technologies on our daily lives, aiming to make this complex field more accessible to a broader audience.
This is a global effort with the collaboration that involves partners from Australia that share common interests in quantum technologies. Drawing from my industrial background, I am deeply committed to workforce development, actively supporting both regional and national initiatives in photonics, quantum technologies, and semiconductors. My goal is to contribute to the best of my ability so that the next generation of professionals is well-prepared to support these emerging technologies.
Professor Hasanovic visiting the Duke Quantum Center at Duke University in North Carolina (2022).
What are you most excited about in your role as a faculty member?
I am most excited about the opportunity to work with young people and engage in the exchange of ideas on a wide range of topics in electrical engineering and beyond. I firmly believe that knowledge transfer is a two-way street; as much as I educate my students, I also learn a great deal from them. Hearing fresh perspectives and exploring different approaches to classroom concepts is incredibly rewarding, fostering an educational environment where everyone benefits. Additionally, the prospect of leveraging our collective strengths and collaborating with fellow faculty members is something I find truly inspirational, as it enhances both personal growth and the broader academic experience.
What advice do you have for students?
Be passionate about the field and career you are pursuing. Strive to live it fully, rather than merely viewing it as a job or work. Use your creativity, knowledge, and effort to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others and contribute positively to society. True rewards and the pursuit of happiness ultimately lie in this purpose-driven approach.
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I have a deep passion for travel and exploration of different cultures and cuisines. So far, I’ve visited over 50 countries across five continents. When I travel, I enjoy mingling with locals, learning about their daily routines, discovering the restaurants they visit, and participating in the activities that bring them joy. I also have a love for outdoor activities, with hiking being one of my favorite ways to connect with nature. Additionally, I’ve been playing the accordion since my teenage years, which has become a hobby that helps me unwind and relax. As a father of three teenagers, spending time with my family is the cornerstone of my life that gives me a deep sense of purpose.
Professor Hasanovic at the Great Wall in China (2014)
Anand Wadurkar’s journey in biomedical and chemical engineering is a testament to his resilience, passion, and relentless pursuit of knowledge. His interest in science and engineering began at a young age, when, at just 15, he started exploring various STEM projects. From enhancing soil fertility by utilizing biodegradable waste to excelling in robotics competitions, Anand’s passion for science and engineering grew stronger, eventually gaining him recognition in his graduate school journey.
Hailing from Mumbai, India, he received his bachelor of technology in biotechnology and began his professional career at the bioprocess company, BiOZEEN. However, the desire to continue pursuing his education bubbled within him, which made him apply to Syracuse University’s Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering.
“As soon as I started the program, I had a co-op opportunity with the Center for Advanced Science and Engineering (CASE) for about 5-6 months at Triton Bio,” says Wadurkar.
Computational work was another aspect of biotechnology he found most interesting, and this eventually became his primary pursuit. He discovered this passion during the graduate student orientation at the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and was captivated as Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Shikha Nangia presented her computational research on the blood-brain barrier.
He then became a research assistant in Professor Nangia’s lab, where he explored his interests in molecular modeling and simulation. This computational process simulates and analyzes the properties of biological molecules. One project he is working on is enhancing small molecules to destroy bacteria or viruses. This molecule can prevent infections in biomedical devices, such as knee or hip implants, by forming a protective layer using biomaterials like microgel or hydrogel.
Wadurkar has also co-authored two research papers, one paper which involved predicting the clustering of devised small molecules. The paper was a huge breakthrough in small molecule research, and he even won a Master’s Thesis Prize. “The small molecules I work with are not naturally found in the body, but it can open great pathways to understand what’s in our body like proteins, cell membranes, and other things,” he says.
He also attended the Foundations of Molecular Modeling and Simulation (FOMMS) 2024 and International Community for the Advancement of Peptoids (ICAP) conferences in Berkeley, California where professionals worldwide gather and discuss their research and the latest developments in the field.
Under the guidance of Professor Nangia, who also serves as Interim Department Chair, he seeks to continue making breakthroughs in research. “It’s amazing,” he says when asked about collaborating with his advisor. “She empowers us to make our own decisions and, even if we don’t always succeed, she is understanding and supportive, providing us with additional opportunities to grow. Despite serving as the interim department head, she remains committed to ensuring that we stay on track and receive the guidance we need.”
Get to know the admissions and recruitment staff at the College of Engineering and Computer Science!
Name: Kathleen M. Joyce
Title: Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment
Tell us about your role at Engineering and Computer Science (ECS):
I oversee undergraduate and graduate recruitment, managing operations and outcomes while focusing on recruiting students across all ECS programs. I have the privilege of leading a fantastic team, and together we create programs and initiatives that not only support students through the admissions process but that also contribute to the success of our college.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
I have a lot of favorite aspects of working in ECS but top of my list is the opportunity I have had over the years to work with amazing students who inspire me. Engineering and computer science are so vital to society. It is wonderful to work with students, faculty, and staff who aspire to make the world a better place with their talent, innovative vision, and hard work!
Name: Jonathan J. Hoster
Title: Associate Director for Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I connect with prospective undergraduate students and their families on campus, via Zoom, and in cities around the country. I host presentations for small and large groups, and I also meet with prospective students and families individually to highlight the outstanding opportunities that await them as an ECS student.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
My favorite part is getting to know our students and celebrating their many successes. I meet many of them when they are in high school. I enjoy seeing them in our buildings and around campus as they are pursuing their degrees in ECS. I am very proud of all their accomplishments in academics, research, extracurriculars, and industry, and I am always grateful for the opportunity to congratulate and celebrate them at graduation.
Name: Michaela Karcher
Title: Recruitment Specialist
Tell us about your role at ECS:
Meet with prospective students and families to discuss information about the College of Engineering and Computer Science. Work with the admissions team to host events on campus.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
Since I started in July, I have grown to meet so many kind and passionate people. I love when I am walking families around Link or CST and someone stops to share more in-depth information, whether it be staff, faculty, or current students. There is a true welcoming feeling in ECS.
Name: Nicholas Clarke
Title: Associate Director for Graduate Student Recruitment and Administration
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I work with our recruitment team to promote the College of Engineering and Computer Science to prospective graduate students. Through travel, weekly information sessions, one-on-one meetings and direct email correspondence I help students to better understand our programs and admissions process. I also assist with graduate administrative training for new staff.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
I love helping students and supporting them through the admissions process and their arrival on campus. My experience as a graduate coordinator allows me to field an array of questions that are unique to the graduate student experience. My favorite part of my job is having the useful information a student needs that solves a problem or just makes their day easier.
Name: Lilly Smolak
Title: Admissions Coordinator
Tell us about your role at ECS:
Provide daily operational support, including budget tracking, processing office requisitions, and assisting fellow staff members in the admissions department.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
My favorite part of working at ECS is the welcoming and supportive community. From the moment I started in July, I was embraced with warmth and kindness, with everyone eager to offer help whenever I needed it. I’ve made many wonderful friends within the ECS community and look forward to building even more connections in the future.
As the fall semester comes to a close, and final exams approach, we’ve gathered some tips from ECS peer leaders on how they study for exams. Here’s what they had to say:
One way I mitigate stress and study for exams is by creating a cheat sheet. It allows me to have all the content in one place and I split it into topics, formulas, and examples similar to a mind map
I use the Cornell method where I have all the formulas and relationships, I need to solve a problem then I solve the problem. Then on the bottom, there is a summary section to see where I might’ve messed up or any extra notes
I prefer not to study with friends for certain classes and then for other classes, I like to collaborate
I like doing my work in Goldstein Student Center where there’s a food court so I can make sure I am eating and hydrated. If anyone feels like they blank out during exams I would suggest referring them to the Center of Disability Resources (CDR) for extra exam time
Aaron Shinn | Civil Engineering | 2025
Note-taking in class can be a good form of studying with the right approach. When in lecture, be aware of what the professor says is most important to know, organize your notes in a way that works for you, and spend each day quickly reading over your notes to put what you wrote down to memory
Make sure to do your homework on your own or collaboratively without copying others
Putting an honest effort and asking questions is a form of practice for future exams. By retaining information from lecture and doing homework with an honest effort, you can save time with additional studying by focusing on the concepts that are more difficult to you
Make sure to also prioritize getting enough sleep and taking breaks because overworking yourself will negatively affect your performance on exams
Aicha Gory | Computer Science | 2026
For studying, I will make sure to start practicing two weeks before the exam with practice exams, homework and extra quizzes the teacher provides. If you don’t understand a concept, make sure to go to office hours or approach your Academic Excellence Workshop assistant
For math, you can go to the Syracuse library and find some past exams. The format is similar. Make sure to do at least one or two
Try approaching the teacher. Studying with your peers also helps since they might explain things easier than the teacher. And don’t wait till the last day to study!
Automotive Engineering (MAE 457) is a course designed to equip students for careers in the automotive industry and a variety of other fields. This course will ignite students’ curiosity to explore the design and development of different vehicle engines and will be taught by Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Andrea Shen. The course will also cover new topics in automotive engineering, including hybrid and electric vehicles.
Students in MAE 457 will learn about how internal combustion engines work, the significance of biofuels, vehicle dynamics, and how different factors impact engine performance. They will also have hands-on learning experiences with engines, observing the functions of a diesel engine and gasoline engine located in Link Hall. Additionally, each student will complete a project where they will conduct research on a vehicle of their choice.
The course will also feature guest speakers from companies such as Space X, Ford, Harley Davidson, Sierra Space, Roush Yates, Cummins and Caterpillar, and students will have an opportunity to interact with these industry professionals.
“I’m hoping students will gain an appreciation for cars,” says Shen. “They will gain an understanding of all the things that go on in the car and how they interact with each other. I also want to bring awareness on biofuels and the importance of research on combustion engines and automotives in the face of electric vehicles.”
Shen earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Virginia Tech and her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Engine Research Center. She will incorporate her research focuses on gasoline engines, biofuels, and engine performance as well as creating representative models of different base fuels into the course.
Power outages have various causes, with severe weather conditions such as storms, hurricanes, and heat waves frequently disrupting transmission lines. According to the American Public Power Association, wildlife interactions also contribute to power disruptions, accounting for 11% of U.S. outages between 2013 and 2017. However, not every outage is caused by external factors. Sometimes, outages can occur when power generation simply can’t meet electricity demand.
“Depending on the time of day, such as morning work hours, the power consumption is lower so power generation should be adjusted to the power being consumed,” says Nathalie Uwamahoro, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student. “During rush hour in the evening, the power demand goes up so the power generation should be able to adjust quickly to meet that demand as well.”
The need for flexibility within power grids has been an ongoing challenge in electrical systems, as the power grid is a complex network with many components. Uwamahoro is developing a new flexibility metric to determine a power grid’s capability to handle the uncertainties of renewable energy generation. She’s been collaborating with her advisor, Associate Professor Sara Eftekharnejad, in Smart Grid Research Lab, an interdisciplinary lab that seeks to ensure power grid reliability and sustainability.
“If more transmission lines, transformers, or generation resources fail, power generation won’t be able to sustain the demand,” says Uwamahoro. “We want to create a simple, robust metric that can assess the capability of a power grid to maintain reliable electricity and support the power system.”
The power grid flexibility metric will use machine learning and electrical engineering theories to function and Uwamahoro believes their work can contribute to new topics in power grid research. Their metric could also help states in the U.S. with issues concerning power generation and sustainability. She was awarded the best graduate student paper award at the 2023 North American Power Symposium (NAPS) which was based on her research on cascading failure within power grid systems. This served as the foundation for the research on power grids she conducts today.
“A failure in a single transmission line can spread through the entire system if protection devices fail to clear the faults, leading to cascading failures that can cause large-scale power outages, ranging from city-wide to national levels. We used machine learning methods to predict potential power grid failures.”
Uwamahoro was also selected to participate in the Summer Dissertation Fellowship 2024 for Ph.D. students. She was chosen to be among 32 Teaching Mentors who trained new teaching assistants. “The opportunity to use machine learning techniques in power system problems is amazing,” she says. “As an electrical and computer engineering Ph.D. candidate, I got the opportunity to study courses in computer engineering too. I look forward to publishing our research findings in the near future.”
When Fatimata Gory ’26 left her home country Senegal to study in the United States, she never imagined becoming a peer leader, running academic workshops, or holding positions in student organizations. However, with the right community and a healthy support system, Gory has been able to thrive in her academics, participate in hands-on research and make the most of her experience in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS).
“The language barrier was challenging when I first moved,” says Gory. “But I learned to adapt, be more open to people, got to know my professors and found friends in my major to help me in areas where I struggled. Now that I’m more involved, I find it more enjoyable.”
Gory initially planned to attend State University of New York (SUNY) Oswego but after a few interactions with Associate Director for Undergraduate Admissions and Recruitment, Jonathan Hoster, she had a change of mind. “Jonathan was a big help. My sister was talking to him at the time, and I saw how much he was reaching out, talking to my family, and helping with financial aid,” says Gory. “It was comforting coming to this country for the first time not knowing a lot of people and there was someone who cared and willing to help me.”
Enrolling in ECS as an aerospace and mechanical engineering student, Gory was interested in the design aspect of aerospace after taking a solid mechanics course her first year. Now, Gory works as a research assistant in the Composite Material Lab where she focuses on frontal polymerization. Frontal polymerization is a chemical reaction that turns a liquid monomer into a solid polymer. In the lab, they use UV light to initiate frontal polymerization, which helps control the curing process in 3D printing applications.
“Working in the lab has been a very hands-on experience. I had to redesign the 3D printer head to accommodate continuous carbon fiber printing, which was key in making the process more automated and reducing manual intervention.” says Gory. “It’s been exciting to work in such a cutting-edge area of composite manufacturing, especially with the potential to apply these techniques in fields like aerospace or repair applications where quick, reliable material production is essential.”
On top of thriving in her academics, Gory is an active member of ECS. She’s the treasurer of the National Society of Black Engineers, assistant treasurer of the Society of Women Engineers, and an energy analyst for the Industrial Training and Assessment Center. Gory is also a peer leader and Academic Excellence Workshop (AEW) facilitator. Additionally, her lab research earned her an honorable mention from the Universities Space Research Association (USRA.) With a wealth of experience across ECS, she urges students to connect with peers, faculty and staff as well as being open to trying new things.
“I love being an AEW facilitator. I enjoy working with Jonathan, meeting with new students, talking to student panels and giving them advice. Before coming to college, I didn’t have that mentorship so it’s nice to be that for other students.”
From the collaborative research efforts at Syracuse University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Georgia Institute of Technology comes sustainable building startup Lamarr.AI. The startup recently raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding to commercialize its automated technology which will use drones, thermal imaging and machine learning techniques to inspect and analyze buildings. The startup aims to reduce building carbon emissions and lower maintenance and ownership costs.
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Senem Velipasalar has been collaborating with former Syracuse University professor Tarek Rakha, who is now at Georgia Tech, as well as Norhan Bayomi and John E. Fernandez from MIT. Velipasalar has been working on autonomous thermal anomaly detection using machine learning on building envelopes, which include windows, doors, walls, and roofs. Thermal anomaly detection involves identifying and classifying temperature variations in different areas.
Led by Rakha, the team received a $1.8 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy in 2019 for their preliminary work on thermal anomaly detection. Lamarr.AI was then founded in 2021 to commercialize this technology, and Velipasalar has played a crucial role as the startup’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Rakha serves as the startup’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Using AI to automate building analysis, Lamarr.AI has collaborated with several building owners and facilities managers, saving over $1 million in engineering and construction costs. Their AI technology identifies issues, such as deteriorated window seals and leaky roofs. It has also helped in effectively planning and scoping large building envelope retrofits, a process that improves a building’s energy efficiency.
The algorithms Lamarr.AI has developed contribute to transforming building energy audits by providing recommendations significantly faster, more affordably and more accurately than traditional manual audits. The startup filed two patents based on this technology, both of which are co-owned by Syracuse University, Georgia Tech and MIT.
“I am very excited and happy that commercialization of this technology will allow us to increase the visibility of Lamarr and Syracuse University both nationally and internationally and draw attention to not only the AI-related research being conducted at Syracuse University but also the commercialization of these developed technologies for the betterment of the society,” says Velipasalar.
The Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) hosted its electrical engineering workshop in collaboration with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Syracuse Section and the National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Central New York (CNY) Chapter on Friday, October 11th, 2024. The workshop covered various electrical engineering topics and aimed at power engineering professionals.
The IEEE Syracuse Section has over 770 members and is part of the world’s largest professional engineering society. Its mission is to promote technological advancement in CNY through events, lectures, and business, as well as technological advancement in CNY through events, lectures, business, and educational development. NSPE CNY comprises engineering professionals from all disciplines and seeks to promote the ethical, competent, and lawful practice of engineering while providing career development, networking opportunities, and other benefits to students and professionals.
The workshop is an annual event that was started 12 years ago. Originally envisioned by Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Prasanta Ghosh, and William Maxwell, ’87 G’03, they have co-chaired the event since the beginning. Its mission is to serve the continuing education needs of New York State’s licensed professional engineers as well as licensed professional engineers in other states with a primary focus on power engineering. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the hybrid format has expanded its reach both locally and across the Northeast and benefits presenters who can’t physically attend the event.
“Over previous years, there have been Ph.Ds. and senior practicing engineers from Canada, Saudi Arabia, India, and Australia. Although a small workshop, it is thrilling that every year, the best minds from around the U.S. and the world present to the professional engineering students. Typically, the workshop has 35 participants and continues to grow in number and breadth of attendance,” says Professor Ghosh.
The workshop was presented by faculty from Syracuse University, Binghamton University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University and industry professionals from General Electric (GE). The students, licensed professional engineers, earned six (6) Professional Development Hours (PDHs) toward the continuing education requirements of their engineering license.
Building America team members at BTO’s 2024 Peer Review event. Left to Right: Ji Zhou, Ph.D. candidate, MAE; Asit Patel, Association for Energy Affordability; Ian Shapiro, Professor of Practice, MAE; Sameeraa Soltanian-Zadeh, Ph.D. candidate, MAE; Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Professor, MAE
Multiple faculty and graduate students affiliated with the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE) traveled to Washington, DC to participate in the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) 2024 Peer Review. As BTO’s signature event, this annual peer review process brings together academics, practitioners, and policymakers in the building sector.
Bess Krietemeyer, Associate Professor in the School of Architecture (SOA), led a presentation on SU’s Advanced Building Construction award, “Integrated Whole-Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Solution for Residences in Cold/Very Cold Climates.” Using a demonstration site on Syracuse University’s South Campus, Professor Krietemeyer’s team is developing a method for retrofitting single-family residences. By leveraging insulated panels and prefabricated systems, they can create significant energy savings and improve indoor air quality with minimal disruption to building occupants.
Ian Shapiro, Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) and Associate Director of Building Science and Community Programs, gave a presentation on SU’s Building America Project to improve the heat pump efficiency by reducing applied energy losses. SOA Assistant Professor Nina Wilson presented another Building America project led by Cycle Architecture + Planning, a SyracuseCoE Partner Program member, which will focus on field validation projects for residential retrofit solutions.
Three MAE Ph.D. students, who played key roles in SU’s DOE projects, participated in the peer review: Shayan Mirzabeigi, Sameeraa Soltanian-Zadeh and Ji Zhou. Sameeraa also attended workshops and gatherings specifically for DOE IBUILD Graduate Research Fellows.
SyracuseCoE collaborators represented at the BTO event included Taitem Engineering, Association for Energy Affordability, Cycle Architecture + Planning, and Hydronic Shell Technologies. Jianshun “Jensen” Zhang, Executive Director of SyracuseCoE and MAE Professor also participated in the 2024 Peer Review.
“The annual BTO peer review meeting was a great opportunity for researchers and practitioners to learn about the wide range of high-impact projects supported by DOE, exchange knowledge and explore new collaboration ideas in addition to a rigorous review of the various funded projects,” said Professor Zhang. “It was exciting and gratifying to see so many SU faculty, students and collaborators participating and presenting findings from pioneering research sponsored by DOE at this event.”
DOE’s BTO works to develop cost-effective tools and technologies that make residential and commercial buildings more energy efficient. Supporting an equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system, BTO works in three key areas: research and development, market stimulation and building codes and equipment standards.
In just one year, computer science Ph.D. student Siwei Zhang has made outstanding achievements in research. Advised by electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) professor Endadul Hoque, Zhang has been involved in multiple projects, presented research at conferences, and published a paper, contributing significantly to the cybersecurity research field.
Joining the EECS master’s program in the fall of 2023, Zhang worked with Hoque on developing fuzzing methods. In cybersecurity, fuzzing is a security testing technique that uses an automated approach to find vulnerabilities and bugs in computer programs. “I’ve always had an interest in operating systems, and I find research interesting. In my spare time, I use new tools to find bugs in systems. Finding vulnerabilities in programs is the goal of my research.”
Zhang presented his work on fuzzing methods in operating systems at the 2024 USENIX Conference. This prestigious conference brings together researchers and practitioners in the cybersecurity field, and Zhang’s research caught the attention of several attendees. “People are interested in this area of research,” Zhang says. “It’s going to be the future.”
As a Ph.D. student, Zhang has authored and published a paper that focuses on enhancing the security of smart homes. He presented the paper at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Secure Development (SecDev) 2024, a conference where academic and industry researchers present and discuss state-of-the-art techniques for developing secure computer systems.
“As a first-year Ph.D. student, Siwei has made remarkable progress in academics and research, including leading multiple projects,” Hoque says. “He excels at system-level programming and quickly grasps complex problems. As a master’s student in my group, he developed an open-source gateway for large language models (LLMs)—advanced AI systems trained to understand and generate human language—which streamlines integration with both open and closed-source models. This tool has greatly supported our research. With his skills and enthusiasm, he shows strong potential to become a leading cybersecurity researcher, and I’m pleased to have him in our Ph.D. group.”
The annual BioInspired Institute Symposium hosts students, postdocs, and faculty from Syracuse University, SUNY Upstate Medical University, and SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry as well as other partners from the community and the region. Research topics presented include but are not limited to cancer, developmental disorders, aging, medical device-related infection, drug delivery and toxicity screening, and many aspects of the most fundamental processes involved in how the material world around us works.
Congratulations to all the winners from the Fall 2024 BioInspired Symposium!
Overall Poster Awards
Yuming Jiang, Physics (PI: Liviu Movileanu)
Anna Hinman, Cell and Developmental Biology, SUNY Upstate (PI: Jeff Amack)
Tyler Hain, Physics (PI: Lisa Manning)
Stevenson Biomaterials Poster Awards
Thalma Orado, Biomedical & Chemical Engineering (PI: Mary Beth Monroe)
Catalytic materials are defined as substances that speed up a chemical reaction without being changed in the process and many products that exist today are only possible because of catalysts. In fact, hundreds of catalytic materials are discovered or created each year, yet only a small number of them are commercialized. This is because many catalytic materials aren’t stable and break down over time, making them difficult to study and use.
The stability of catalytic materials is what motivates Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Theodore Walker and his research team’s work. In his lab, they’re attempting to create new, stable catalysts for renewable energy products.
“Catalytic materials need to last for two to three years minimum without being replaced. The timescales we can readily access in the lab are about 24 hours or weeks at most,” says Walker. “That makes probing catalyst deactivation behavior and exploring all the physical processes that govern that deactivation difficult. Our goal is to test the activity and stability of catalytic materials to transform raw materials into products and leverage these insights to invent more robust and stable catalytic processes.”
One project Walker and his research group are working on is changing the molecular structures of molecules taken from biomass, organic materials made from plants and animals. Using acid catalysts, they can create entirely new substances from these molecules. For example, the molecule hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), which is created from fructose, or plant sugar, can be turned into bio-degradable plastics when its molecular structure is changed.
However, the process of making HMF from fructose isn’t efficient. Once the acid catalyst creates an HMF molecule from fructose, the same acid quickly degrades HMF into other molecules. Walker and his team will conduct research to change the molecular structure of biomass molecules and stabilize these catalysts. “In my lab, we’re decorating catalysts with polymers to protect them from deactivation or steer them to selectivity towards the products we want,” he says.
Another project Walker and his team are working on involves pyrolysis. Pyrolysis is the process of heating an organic material without oxygen to initiate a chemical change. This process can be used to create eco-friendly biofuels that are similar to gasoline. Though this biofuel has promising potential, it runs into the same problems as HMF: catalyst instability. Biomass contains calcium, potassium, and other metals that cause catalyst instability, so Walker and his team are exploring ways to make more stable catalysts for biomass pyrolysis.
“The catalyst deactivates in the presence of alkaline metals like calcium and potassium which crude oil has none of, but biomass has plenty of it,” says Walker. “We’re exploring strategies to prevent the alkali metal poisons from entering the pore structure or render them in a form where poison can be easily recovered.”
The Walker lab’s third project involves electrochemistry, a process where chemical reactions are driven by electricity rather than high temperatures. Walker’s team is working on creating stable electrodes, or electrical conductors, to produce renewable electricity and hydrogen fuel through water splitting, which involves breaking water down into oxygen and hydrogen gas.
“If you apply a voltage of greater than one volt across two platinum electrodes in an alkali aqueous solution, it will split the water apart into hydrogen and oxygen, which is zero-carbon fuel, and you can harvest electricity from this process as well,” says Walker. “But platinum is expensive. It would be great to use cheaper materials like iron, tin, or cobalt. However, the iron electrode rusts when placed in an alkali solution and oxidation occurs. We want to make electrodes more stable and use the same electrode formulations to oxidize molecules into carboxylic acids, a high-value molecule.”
By studying catalytic materials, Walker and his team hope that their research will have a massive impact on renewable energy resources. “Catalyst deactivation represents a real bottleneck in our technology-development pipeline. I can name a handful of promising technologies that, if broadly implemented, could be transformative; yet they haven’t because conventional catalysts aren’t stable,” Walker says. “If we could learn something new about what governs the catalyst degradation processes, that could be very impactful.”
The Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS) announced its rebranding at Syracuse University as the Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE). This transformation reflects the organization’s continued and growing commitment to helping communities implement sustainability initiatives through transdisciplinary collaboration.
The transition from a center to an institute marks a significant step forward, positioning it for increased growth and broader impact. As a sustainability engagement institute, ISE focuses on connecting communities with university resources such as academic departments, faculty, and students, while leveraging new opportunities for funding, partnership, and impact.
Within the realm of sustainability, the ISE team has expertise in climate resiliency, water systems (including drinking water, stormwater, and wastewater), materials management infrastructure (waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and composting) solutions, and resource conservation (soil health restoration). Through active listening and participatory processes, the organization supports community capacity-building, communications, policy, and infrastructure improvements to foster economic well-being, environmental stewardship, and social equity.
Building upon more than 30 years of experience and hundreds of relationships, ISE meets communities where they are, recognizing their diverse values and perspectives to provide tailored support for their unique challenges and circumstances.
The institute will continue to house the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) designated Environmental Finance Center for EPA Region 2, including New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and eight Native Nations. Syracuse University was chosen to host this important center in 1993. While Region 2 remains a primary geographic focus, the Institute for Sustainability Engagement will broaden its scope to include the Northeastern US, the Caribbean and Latin America, as well as national collaborations and projects.
The shift to ISE also strengthens important and long-standing inter-university ties between Syracuse University and the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry (ESF) through a collaborative agreement that will serve to leverage resources across campuses.
“At the Institute for Sustainability Engagement, we co-create solutions with communities to achieve locally informed sustainable strategies. This is done by connecting local insights with academic expertise, building strong relationships between researchers, policymakers, and community members, and, at our core, engaging with others — meeting people where they are to get them where they want to go,” shares ISE Director, Melissa Young.
She continues, “The need for sustainability engagement is undeniable —and exponential— in our world’s ever-evolving climate crisis. Together, with our dedicated team and partners, we will continue to innovate and expand our impact, working to create a more sustainable and resilient future for all.”
“Universities are increasingly being called upon to directly engage with communities, as reflected in the priorities of both federal and philanthropic funders. The shift to the Institute for Sustainability Engagement allows the team to better align with the goals of their programs and the communities they serve, broadening both the breadth and impact of the Institute’s work,” said Andria Costello Staniec, Department Chair and Associate Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Syracuse University.
Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser presenting FedEx CEO Raj Subramaniam G’89 with a CED Award
The Committee for Economic Development (CED), the public policy center of The Conference Board, awarded Raj Subramaniam G’89, president and chief executive of FedEx, with a 2024 CED Distinguished Leadership Award for Business Stewardship and Corporate Citizenship. The ceremony took place on October 9, 2024 in New York City.
The CED Distinguished Leadership Awards honor leaders who demonstrate a strong commitment to corporate citizenship, business stewardship, and advancing public policy in the nation’s interests.
The 2024 awards pay special tribute to business leaders and their companies that have demonstrated exceptional leadership in challenging times, including advancing equal opportunity during a time of national economic uncertainty, building a more civil and just society, and upholding a rules-based international order.
“The US continues to face economic and geopolitical uncertainty. This year’s distinguished honorees have demonstrated steadfast, innovative leadership amid these transformational times, working tirelessly to advance policies and practices that benefit our nation’s well-being,” says Lori Esposito Murray, former president of CED. “They embody the best of business stewardship and corporate responsibility, and truly epitomize CED’s vision of integrity in business leadership. By recognizing these exemplary leaders and companies, CED aims to inspire other leaders across the public and private sectors to follow in their footsteps.”
“Raj is a visionary leader on an international scale,” says J. Cole Smith, Dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. “He has been at the forefront of transformational change and next-generation problem solving. It is wonderful to see him recognized with such a prestigious award.”
Subramaniam is the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of FedEx Corporation. Over the last 50 years, FedEx has built a well-connected network linking 220 countries and territories around the world. FedEx was also responsible for delivering the COVID-19 vaccine around the world.
With more than 30 years of industry experience at FedEx, one of the world’s largest transportation companies, Subramaniam’s forward-thinking, innovative ways have helped revolutionize the transportation and logistics industry.
Subramaniam earned a master’s degree in chemical engineering from Syracuse University in 1989.
The other recipients of the 2024 Distinguished Leadership Awards for Business Stewardship and Corporate Citizenship were:
Nikesh Arora, CEO and Chairman, Palo Alto Networks
Jenny Johnson, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton
Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Vista Equity Partners
Julie Sweet, Chair and CEO, Accenture
Hamdi Ulukaya, Founder and CEO, Chobani, and Founder, Tent Partnership for Refugees
Flood damage in San Juan, Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria in 2017, captured by Kaira Fuentes.
The diverse landscape of Puerto Rico — which encompasses coastal lowlands, mountain ranges, and a tropical rainforest — necessitates an equally if not more diverse range of tools and community action to support its residents and ecosystems living in harmony. Amid hurricanes, landslides, and other weather-related crises magnified by climate change, understanding Puerto Rico’s vulnerabilities and ability to adapt to evolving climate risks is essential to its long-term prosperity. The Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE) continues to support the Caribbean Island’s mission to achieve greater climate resiliency through the center’s recent research project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office (NOAA CPO).
The ISE’s NOAA CPO Adaptation Sciences (AdSci) program FY23 competition project, “Beyond first response: investigating how Puerto Rico’s community-based organizations drive local climate action”, will support Caribbean climate adaptation by co-producing new research on Community-Based Organizations (CBOs), which are an important and understudied pillar of Puerto Rico’s climate-response system. By the end of this $300,000 two-year research project, ISE will advance the dialogue on the role CBOs play in climate adaptation efforts in island communities, contributing to the larger discussion about how policymakers can engage and integrate CBOs into a larger climate adaptation strategy.
CBOs have stepped up as Puerto Rico’s first line of defense against an increasing bombardment of environmental stressors due to a rising global climate. Through their hyper-local leadership, mediation, and implementation, these groups of largely informal, volunteer, not-for-profit civilian teams have established themselves as a vital and trusted resource in the face of climate emergencies, compared to the suboptimal role played by state and federal authorities. Most recently, CBOs were a critical part of a faster and more effective recovery response after Puerto Rico’s Hurricane Maria and Hurricane Ernesto.
“Receiving minimal support in the face of steadily worsening challenges, Puerto Rico is often referred to as an ‘underserved’ population, but this idea does not capture the whole picture,” explained Kaira Fuentes, ISE’s CoPI for the AdSci project. “As an island territory, Puerto Rico’s climate-related risks are exacerbated by a 120-year-long colonial legacy. Those who engage in CBOs are self-determined and proud to serve in their neighborhoods, and their peers trust them to step up where their governments have not. As these groups are critical to driving local action, understanding their function, impact, and opportunities to organize can only strengthen their ability to succeed.”
Fishermen from the Laguna San José in Puerto Rico repairing their fishing boats to maintain their means of livelihood, captured by Kaira Fuentes.
While Puerto Rican CBOs have become experts in emergency response, the ways in which they facilitate “climate adaptation” (creating a means to deal with future stressors) outside the disaster-response period is less clear. This project will provide new insights into the strategies, tools, barriers, and adaptive capacities of CBOs to drive local climate actions in Puerto Rico through the following interdisciplinary and participatory adaptation research methods:
Exploratory case study development
Establishment of a Community Advisory Committee
Culminating regional presentations and a final report
In addition to identifying and describing how CBOs facilitate climate adaptation in Puerto Rico, this project aims to:
Develop recommendations for policy-makers that define strategies and additional areas of study for drawing CBOs more centrally into climate adaptation efforts
Develop a framework for integrating participatory research methods in climate adaptation inquiries
Support knowledge exchange, amplify local stories and voices, and strengthen the Caribbean community of practice.
This research project is strengthened by the perspectives of its two Puerto Rican Co-Principal Investigators, Fuentes (ISE) and Professor Juan E. Marcano, University of Puerto Rico Humacao (UPRH), who have each contributed significant research on local perceptions of conservation in Puerto Rico and the role of community-based groups in disaster recovery. As institutions, ISE and UPRH provide a breadth of applied and community-based research experience that will strengthen the completion of this project.
The NOAA CPO AdSci program received 27 proposals in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23), and of these 11 projects were selected for funding, totaling $3,140,372.00 in grants.
Institute for Sustainability Engagement (ISE) at Syracuse University
ISE is a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of sustainability communications, policy, and science to foster economic well-being, environmental stewardship, and social equity by engaging community members at all levels to provide the coordination and knowledge needed to make informed decisions that support sustainability, resiliency, and climate adaptation. The Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center (EFC), operated by ISE, is a pillar in this mission that facilitates the development of sustainable and resilient communities throughout US EPA Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and eight Native Nations) and nationally.
Three faculty members from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were honored at the Technology Alliance of Central New York’s (TACNY) 24th Annual Celebration of Technology Awards Banquet in October 2024.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Jackie Anderson received the College Educator of the Year award in recognition of her student-centered approach to teaching and mentoring.
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Doug Yung received the STEM Outreach, Individual award for his passionate advocacy for STEM education, focusing on creating inclusive, engaging learning environments for underrepresented youth in Central New York.
Professor Emeritus Shiu-Kai Chin received the Lifetime Achievement award for his vast and sophisticated research in computer security, systems assurance and formal verification, spurring advancement locally and world-wide. In the announcement of the award, TACNY said they “are honored to recognize Dr. Chin not only for his extensive technological contributions and innovations, but also for his dedication to and impact on education and on human endeavors at large.”
Professors Bing Dong, Jackie Anderson, Ian Shapiro and Jensen Zhang
Syracuse University has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to create a new Building Training and Assessment Center (BTAC) to train undergraduate and graduate engineering students and build a clean energy workforce. The SU-BTAC, aligned with the vision of the DOE BTAC program, will educate and provide hands-on training for engineering students to perform assessments focused on reducing the energy burden for commercial and institutional buildings with a focus on disadvantaged communities.
The SU-BTAC will be housed at the Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCoE), New York State’s Center of Excellence in Environmental Energy Systems which engages more than 200 private companies, organizations, and academic institutions to create new products and services in indoor environmental quality, clean and renewable energy, and water resource management. With SyracuseCoE, the SU-BTAC will create relationships and company screening opportunities to connect commercial and institutional buildings with existing programs in the region relating to unions, apprenticeships, trade organizations, community programs, and others.
“I see the SU-BTAC as an expansion of the Syracuse University Industrial Assessment Center (SU-IAC), now SU-ITAC, and as a great experiential learning opportunity for our students. Not only are we able to help commercial and institutional buildings with reducing their energy burden, but we are also able to teach and mentor the next generation of energy engineers,” says Jackie Anderson, director of IAC and associate teaching professor in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
SU-BTAC will be led by faculty from Syracuse University and supported by faculty from the City University of New York (CUNY). The center will be co-directed by Professor Ian M. Shapiro, with involvement from professors Jensen Zhang and Bing Dong.
When it comes to sustainable construction materials, there’s no contest: mass timber buildings require less heavy equipment, save on labor costs, and take less time to install than concrete and steel. By utilizing mass timber, the construction industry can utilize green building practices without compromising efficiency.
That was the message of “Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future,” a lecture delivered by Dr. Anthony Mirando and Dr. Lameck Onsarigo of Kent State University. Presented on September 30 at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the lecture was part of a national tour showcasing Dr. Mirando and Dr. Onsarigo’s research at Kent State University’s College of Architecture & Environmental Design.
Mass timber refers to a class of engineered wood products (EWPs) that are often used for wall, roof and floor construction. Because commercial-scale mass timber construction projects are on the rise across the United States, Professors Mirando and Onsarigo highlighted the importance of educating the next generation of professionals about these green building materials.
The lecture featured data from one of the tallest mass timber buildings in the United States: INTRO in Cleveland, Ohio. A mixed-use structure with 300 apartment units and ground-floor commercial space, the project was uniquely efficient because of the use of mass timber materials such as Glued-Laminated Timber (GLT) beams and columns, as well as Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) slabs. The real estate developer reported that construction time was about 25 percent faster than typical concrete or steel construction.
“Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future” also included a weeklong exhibit in Link Hall where students could examine real-life examples of mass timber building materials, including dowel laminated timber, nail laminated timber, and connections and assemblies used in mid- and high-rise construction projects. The “Managing Mass Timber: From Forest to Future” national exhibit tour is funded by the Softwood Lumber Board (SLB) headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Dr. Andria Costello Staniec, Department Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Mr. Reed Kelterborn, Director of Education for SLB, delivered welcoming and opening remarks.
The visit from Kent State University faculty was organized by Yilei Shi, Associate Teaching Professor and Undergraduate Civil Engineering Program Director, and Cliff I. Davidson, Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Emeritus. “We were thrilled to host Drs. Mirando and Onsarigo’s national touring exhibition on the construction management aspects of the mass timber building industry, and to highlight the benefits of mass timber as a sustainable construction material to the Engineering, Architecture, and Construction (EAC) community here in Central New York,” says Professor Shi. “Interest in mass timber buildings is rising rapidly throughout the country. Skilled labor and seasoned professionals are in great demand. This state-of-the-art exhibition and lecture can help bring our students up to speed and get them ready for the next generation’s EAC industry.”
“In addition, we are training students to design and build more sustainable and resilient infrastructure to approach the immense challenges of climate change and natural disasters,” Professor Davidson adds. “Mass timber can be one of the most effective construction materials to meet these challenges.”
Students in engineering, architecture and other disciplines who are interested in the topic of sustainable building materials may also want to register for the 2025 New York State Green Building Conference, which will be held in Syracuse this coming March.
Two electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) graduate students, Nathalie Uwamahoro (electrical engineering) and Polina Kozyreva (computer science) attended the prestigious 2024 CMD-IT/ACM Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing Conference in San Diego, California. Known for its emphasis on diversity, inclusion, and collaboration in computing, the conference provided invaluable educational, professional, and networking opportunities for students and professionals alike.
The three-day event featured technical workshops, expert panels, and a robust career fair with major companies like Google, Microsoft, and IBM. For Uwamahoro and Kozyreva, the Tapia conference opened doors to new professional connections and deepened their understanding of key topics such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, next-generation computing, and robotics.
“Being at the booth and engaging with people interested in graduate school or research was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the diverse projects my peers are working on. This conference reaffirmed my passion for academia, and I’m eager to contribute to this vibrant community in the future,” says Kozyreva.
“Attending the Tapia conference for the first time was an unforgettable experience. It strengthened my commitment to inspiring students of African descent to pursue careers in technology,” Uwamahoro adds.
The conference also saw participation from the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Academic Initiatives, Jae C. Oh and Recruitment Specialist, Michaela Karcher. They were involved in initiatives such as the LEAP Alliance, aimed at increasing diversity in EECS doctoral programs and strengthening the future faculty pipeline. ECS is a Cohort 3 member of the LEAP Alliance and Jae Oh and EECS professor Jason Pollack are LEAP Advocate Faculty. At the conference, LEAP Alliance Fellows and Faculty Advocates got together to share ideas about Broadening Participation in Computer Science Ph.D. programs.
EECS Professor Farzana Rahman is a long-time TPC member of the Tapia conference. Rahman spearheaded the EECS representation at the conference alongside Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment, Kathleen M. Joyce and her team, highlighting the department’s commitment to inclusive education, research, and faculty hiring.
Karcher also developed a list of potential graduate applicants interested in learning more about EECS programs. “This was my first computer science-focused conference, and it was eye-opening to see the many opportunities available,” she says.
The Tapia conference has strengthened Syracuse University’s presence in the computing world, with students returning to campus energized and committed to shaping the future of technology through inclusivity and innovation.
Ellie Parkes ’26 got a charge out of her internship with Dow, one of the world’s leading materials science companies. Parkes, an electrical engineering major worked on projects to improve energy production at the company’s operations plant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. “Electrical engineering is such a broad field, and this exposure to one of the career paths I could take has really helped me understand what my future looks like,” she says.
Admittedly, Parkes wasn’t familiar with Dow when a representative contacted her through Handshake about a hiring expo for electrical engineers, but she followed up. In interviews, she fielded both situational and technical questions, and when an offer came her way, she accepted and spent 12 weeks in Louisiana.
The company’s industrial complex generates, distributes and uses its own power, and was replacing old equipment, dating back as far as the ’50s, as part of a new multimillion-dollar grid, she says. “My major projects were looking for improvement opportunities at our lower voltage levels (mostly 2400V), such as making existing electrical setups more reliable.” Parkes was also involved with work on the new transformers. “There was definitely a lot of coordination that had to take place given how many things were going on at one time,” she says.
Parkes stands in front of a transformer that was being renovated. It connects a gas turbine to a network of cables that eventually take power to the plant’s grid.
These experiences helped Parkes recognize the importance of communicating across disciplines. “Most of the people I worked with on a day-to-day basis were chemical and mechanical engineers who didn’t know much about electrical systems,” she says. “Being able to communicate high-level electrical concepts through images and metaphors has been a skill that helped me a lot through my time here.”
The most enjoyable part of the internship, Parkes says, was the variety of people she met and learned from. She forged friendships and says working with such a diverse group of people enhanced her teamwork and communication skills. Not only that, but she most likely never envisioned having a teammate who wrangled alligators on the weekends. “He offered to take my roommate and me with him when he went this summer,” she says, “but we both had to politely decline.”
Next summer, Parkes hopes to explore another electrical engineering field that interests her. “Many of the soft and technical skills I learned through working with a team will help me not only to get a job in the future,” she says, “but to also be successful in my field.”
Angela Au G’05 G’11 has loved science as far back as she can remember. Completing both her master’s and Ph.D studies in the biomedical program at the College of Engineering and Computer Science, she now works as the Associate Director of Manufacturing Technology at LOTTE BIOLOGICS. In this one-on-one interview, Au gives insight into her career path, her current role at Lotte Biologics and how she discovered her passion for her field.
What sparked your interest in Syracuse’s biomedical engineering program?
I completed both my M.S. and Ph.D. in Bioengineering through the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering at Syracuse University, taking a break in between the program. My Ph.D. was completed part-time at SU via a non-traditional scenario while working full-time as a Research and Development manager at Nutramax Laboratories, Inc. down in Baltimore, MD after completing my M.S.
My journey to SU followed completion of my undergraduate studies at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) where I majored in Biomedical Engineering and double majored in Mathematical Science, with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Management. As an undergraduate, I was fortunate to have had the opportunity to work in the JHU Department of Orthopedic Surgery laboratory where my biomedical-based research was largely focused on biomaterials. There, I was involved with evaluation of toxicity from wear particles from hip implants. My second project involved evaluation of thermo-reversible polymers for cartilage repair. Through immersion of these projects at Hopkins focused on understanding the impact of the cellular environment and stimuli on the cellular milieu, I discovered this was a field that I wanted to learn more about and dive more into. I applied to several different graduate programs which had strong biomaterials programs, of which SU had a long-standing Bioengineering program with some phenomenal faculty with diverse research interest. SU also had a biomaterials program with a focus on both hard and soft biomaterials, including polymer research.
My decision to attend SU was based on a chance encounter at the Society for Biomaterials conference, where I met Dr. Julie Hasenwinkel and a few of her graduate students working in her laboratory and the Biomaterials group with Dr. Jeremy Gilbert. The enthusiasm and passion they had for the program, SU, and the innovative research into orthopedic materials including hip implants and bone cement, as well as materials for spinal cord regeneration solidified my decision to attend SU over other programs.
Did you always want to be an engineer?
I think I’ve always had an engineering mindset and it was a natural choice for a career. According to my parents, even as a toddler, I have always gravitated to and enjoyed tinkering with puzzles, solving math problems, and had a curiosity for understanding how things worked around me. I have always loved science, particularly biology, chemistry, and physics and my favorite course even in high school was Calculus. I’m a quintessential nerd and lean into that being who I am. I actively participated in Odyssey of the Mind starting in middle school and was President of the Science Olympiad club in high school, where I enjoyed competing the most in areas involving solving problems, building contraptions, and designing and building weight-bearing balsa wood towers and bridges.
I was first introduced to Biomedical Engineering by my 11th grade Biology AP teacher. I knew I wanted to make a difference in a medical-related field but did not want to go directly into medicine as a practitioner. He suggested biomedical engineering as an option, where I could combine my love of solving problems by generating innovative solutions, while still focusing on the life sciences to bridge my passion to help others via an indirect route.
What is your role at LOTTE BIOLOGICS?
I currently wear many hats as the Associate Director of Manufacturing Technology/Manufacturing Science and Technology. There is a technical component, a strategic component, and a leadership component. In order to be proficient in my typical day, all three components are needed. Generally, my current role involves serving as a product steward across the process and analytical lifecycle. This includes working with clients and supporting our business development teams to support technical discussions. Having worked in multiple roles across process development, later process stages, through commercialization, as well as Quality Control, this has established a great foundation across multiple areas pivotal to the biopharma lifecycle. Currently, my role is to provide leadership and guidance for those working directly in Process Development, Process Characterization, and managing the technology transfer of processes from client programs from laboratory-scale to manufacturing-scale.
The role includes developing technical strategies, along with supporting growth and development of the organization. The breadth of activities and deliverables on a given day keeps things exciting. This could involve developing a new process once provided with a new cell line (research cell bank), developing and optimizing the operating and process parameters, evaluating and optimizing media formulation, screening resins, establishing statistical Design of Experiment (DoE) studies to support robust design spaces, and executing process validation. The team also executes feasibility runs with client processes to ensure minimal impact as part of the transfer between scales and from the client and also support Toxicology, Clinical, and Commercial batches. Once a process is ready for transfer to the manufacturing scales, the team supports troubleshooting via routine trending of process performance and quality attributes, providing technical guidance for forward processing, spending time on the manufacturing floor, and also completes deviations and root cause analysis investigations, while implementing robust corrective and preventive action, as appropriate to ensure robustness of the client material.
Other aspects include evaluation materials and consumables as part of the process stream, performing risk assessments to ensure safety of the product and ultimately, efficacy of the biopharmaceutical product. The team works to also trend and analyze data from multiple systems, building and leveraging data analytics programs and visualizations to facilitate real-time data evaluation between laboratory-, pilot-, and manufacturing-scales. As part of supporting GMP operations, we also lead and complete deviations and root cause analysis investigations where we leverage our sleuthing skills and technical expertise to drill down to the source of a deviation or issue. As scientist and engineers, we work across teams to also develop solutions for corrective actions and preventive actions for process, equipment, and analytical robustness.
Beyond the technical and strategic side, which I really enjoy, I am most fulfilled by my role on being able to support and influence others. This is associated with supporting others through direct mentoring and coaching others, or through building other’s confidence and technical acumen, whether they are on my own team, as well as those from other functional teams. This enables growth within the organization to support learning new skills and also developing new people leaders, whether direct people leaders or those leading cross-functional teams.
What projects are LOTTE BIOLOGICS currently working on?
LOTTE BIOLOGICS continues to provide biopharmaceuticals for our clients. Additionally, LOTTE BIOLOGICS has invested in building an antibody drug conjugate (ADC) facility at our Syracuse Bio Campus, which also includes QC laboratory, and process and analytical development laboratories. This has been a huge endeavor over the last year and a half to bring this newer modality to the site to harness the protein/antibody via bioconjugation using specific types of chemistry to better deliver the potent compound such as a chemotherapeutic agent (therapeutic drug payload) to the cancer cell. At a high level sample scenario, the antibody serves as the missile to deliver the conjugated linked drug specifically to a targeted cancer cell for destruction. This reduced the side effects typically seen with general systemic administration of the drug since the ADC is a more targeted approach for the patient to attenuate the response. We plan to have the ADC facility ready for manufacturing in early 2025. This is in addition to our current manufacturing capability here in Syracuse of 5,000 Liter scales.
We are also in the process of implementing a new laboratory to support the Sartorius AMBR 250 high-throughput automated system to facilitate process development through later process characterization studies. The system will enable use of these smaller scales and volumes to enable process scale-up to larger bioreactor scales. Leveraging process engineering principles, we can design and execute experiments to build process understanding while coupling this with our larger laboratory-scale bioreactors.
Additionally, as part of the business expansion and capabilities in the CDMO space, LOTTE BIOLOGICS recently had the groundbreaking in building a Songdo Bio Campus in Songdo, Korea which will house even larger scale production bioreactors at the 15,000 Liter scales to facilitate our ability to provide increased bioreactors for multiple clients at multiple scales. This will include 3 different plants to supplement and further increase the capabilities at the Syracuse Bio Campus. It has been great to collaborate with our colleagues in Korea on new endeavors as the business continues to expand.
What do you love most about your role?
I love that I am able to work with great people every day to solve scientific and technical problems. There is innovation all around me daily as we face new challenges in terms of how we scale-up a process to how we work around a deviation in our manufacturing facility. This requires both inside the box, as well as outside-the-box thinking. The people I work with is also key to my role. I work with phenomenal scientists, engineers, bioprocess associates on the manufacturing floor, as well as folks across other organizations in non-science-based fields that allow me to keep growing as an individual, while also supporting my personal journey for lifelong learning in finance such as budgeting, business development, to supply chain and logistics, to name a few.
What future do you see for Lotte Biologics?
LOTTE BIOLOGICS strives to be a top 10 contract development manufacturing organization (CDMO) in a very competitive market and field of biopharmaceuticals. As there are so many medicines that need to be brought to patients quickly and with a high degree of quality, LOTTE strives to help other companies in their journey to achieve this goal.
What advice do you have for students who may want to pursue similar careers to yours?
First, engineering can be hard. The coursework is rigorous, and at times, it can be discouraging. Use this time to learn and really take in the basics. These courses help build the foundation where you continue to add on new layers over time and you can always go back to the foundations. You don’t need to know everything.
Second, I would suggest taking opportunities as they arise even if they may not seem to align with your original career path or ideal job for what you thought you would be doing after graduation. Although I had started my education believing I wanted to work primarily on soft biomaterials, I took the chance to work in an industry very different from a typical biomedical device company. There, I was able to leverage my understanding of materials and cell-based knowledge to engineer in vitro models to understand if specific agents would reduce inflammation and oxidative stress on different cell types. This provided me with a foundation and ability to learn the intricacies of how industry worked, while also continuing to build my leadership capabilities and network. I also never considered working in the biopharmaceutical industry, but 13 years later, I still love being able to develop new bioprocesses in bioreactor tanks and purifying these through different materials. When opportunities came up, I took the leap although I wasn’t the expert and have worked in different areas including leading a Quality Control bioanalytical team to continue expanding my personal capabilities through developing strategies for team execution while not being the subject matter expert.
Third, I suggest identifying a great mentor. I was fortunate enough to have a phenomenal undergraduate research advisor, who continues to be a mentor to this day, who actively supported her student’s growth and development. She was an advocate for her students by sending students to present their work at conferences and publishing in research journals. She provided career advice, as well as personal advice. Throughout my career, I have also had additional mentors to support me in different stages of what I needed in my career in how to navigate the complexities.
What do you like to do for fun?
My husband is a retired Air National Guardsman who grew up in Syracuse, NY, so he’s quite an adventurist who loves the outdoors. For fun, he has pulled this southerner (Houstonian) into a plethora of outdoor activities. In the winter, we enjoy downhill skiing and in the summer, we enjoy boating on Oneida Lake and are fortunate is only a few miles from our house. We are also only a short drive away from the Adirondacks and Finger Lakes where we frequent wineries, breweries, and get out on the boat. More recently, I have started golf lessons to dive into a new sport. Aside from spending time outdoors, I read a lot of non-fiction books on leadership and also scientific articles to stay up to date on industry trends.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) hosted its annual Career and Internship Fair as part of Syracuse University’s Fall 2024 Career Week. Coordinated by the ECS Office of Student Success and Career Services, the fair allowed students to network with employers from approximately 100 companies. Students also had the opportunity to connect with ECS alumni, faculty, and staff. Employer Partners Novelis, Clean Harbors, Micron, and SRC, Inc. were represented at the fair.
“I graduated from Syracuse in 2014 and now I’m here as a recruiter for Davis-Standard,” says mechanical engineering alum Daniel Broe ‘14. “Syracuse has always welcomed me back to events like this. It feels like home, it’s always good to be back. Students are also excited for opportunities so it’s a great opportunity for both parties.”
“Coming to career fairs is a great way to get exposure, talk to other people, and find out what you want to get out of your life,” says computer science student Joseph Onwe ‘25.
“It was a really great turnout. Everyone was engaged, and it was great to interact with a bunch of students you normally don’t have contact with” says environmental engineering student Claire Kuiken ‘26.
“This is my third or fourth year coming back here now as a recruiter for Barton & Loguidice. Having graduated six years ago, it’s really exciting to come back every single year,” says civil engineering alumna Emily Mahana ‘18. “This fair is particularly exciting because it’s exclusive to engineering students so I’m looking forward to having one-on-one time with engineering alumni and focusing on recruiting more students in civil engineering.”
“I’m very hopeful since in the last career fair, I got a full-time internship with Stantec over the summer so I’m looking forward to companies and recruiters the fair has this year,” says mechanical engineering student Fernando Poli ‘25.
“As a freshman, Career Services has a lot of great resources for students, and I was impressed with all the companies that came in today for students too,” says computer science student Mariama Barry ‘28.
“It was an eye-opening experience where I had the chance to engage with several companies and recruiters…Each conversation offered a glimpse into opportunities that align with my computer science major, from full-time positions to internships,” says computer science student Aicha Gory ‘26. “The event was a valuable learning experience, particularly in understanding the dynamics of networking.”
The State University of New York’s Polytechnic Institute (SUNY POLY) has named Abdullah Eroglu G’99, G’04 as the dean of the College of Engineering. Eroglu earned his master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
Eroglu comes to SUNY Poly from UMass Boston, where he was the department of engineering chair. In that role, Eroglu led the development of new academic programs, including online programs and certificates and initiated strategic industry partnerships. Since 2018, he has also served as an ABET program evaluator for engineering programs.
Before his academic career, Eroglu spent over eight years in the semiconductor industry as a lead senior radio frequency (RF) design engineer at MKS Instruments, ENI Products in Rochester. He also held positions as a faculty fellow in the fusion energy division of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and as a visiting scholar at the University of Gavle, Sweden.
Eroglu is a prolific researcher with more than 160 journal and conference papers, six books, and five patents. He has secured over $23 million in extramural funding as PI and co-PI from federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, Department of Energy, Department of Transportation, and National Science Foundation as well as from industry. His research expertise includes RF/microwave/THz circuit design, RF amplifiers and topologies, RF metrology, anisotropic and gyrotropic materials, and metamaterial devices and sensors. Eroglu serves on the editorial boards of several journals and has received numerous awards for his research accomplishments.
Managed by the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF), the Bernard D. and Louise C. Rostker IVMF Dissertation Research Fund recently provided more than $40,000 to four students who are at varying stages of their dissertation pursuits. The Rostker IVMF Dissertation Research Fund operates annually for a span of five years. This marks the second cycle of funding dedicated to supporting Ph.D. candidates conducting dissertation research on topics related to and in support of veterans and military families.
Paul Sagoe is a Ph.D. candidate in biomedical and chemical engineering. His research aims to develop a drug delivery system for treating post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) a painful joint condition common among veterans and military personnel.
Originally from Ghana, Sagoe came to Syracuse University after earning first class honors in biomedical engineering at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. He also served as a clinical engineer at a teaching hospital in Ghana, an experience that invigorated his passion for medical science and informed his decision to pursue research studies in a field dedicated to impacting human health, improving patient’s well-being and alleviating pain. “As a Rostker Fellow, I am thrilled by the honor of being supported financially to pursue my research goals to the fullest capacity,” says Sagoe.
Sagoe’s dissertation, “Synovial Macrophage Targeting Immunomodulatory Therapies for Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis,” aims to design a disease-modifying intervention for PTOA by selectively targeting and eliminating inflammation-promoting synovial macrophages. The strategy aligns with mounting evidence highlighting the crucial involvement of synovial inflammation in PTOA progression, a problem that impacts more than 30 million Americans suffering from osteoarthritis following a joint injury.
Bernard Rostker G’66, G’70, and Louise Rostker G’68 have spent years of dedicated effort supporting military families. Bernard himself is a U.S. Army veteran, and Louise has a devoted history of supporting education for military children and expanding employment opportunities for military spouses. The pair met while pursuing their own advanced degrees at Syracuse University, and make the funding available to support those students who may face insurmountable barriers in their pursuit to obtain higher education just as they did in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
“We both are so pleased with the program Syracuse University has established in our name,” says Bernard Rostker. “We know how demanding individual research can be, and we hoped that the support we could provide at a critical moment would have a positive impact. We look forward to the continued success of the program and the students it has helped.”
After Hurricane Katrina ravaged the southern coastline of the United States in 2005, Elizabeth Carter found herself on the Gulf Coast following the tropical storm’s aftermath. Witnessing the devastating impact of the hurricane on infrastructure and communities, she decided to place her undergraduate education on hold and join the efforts to rebuild – an experience that would be the catalyst for her future research.
“It was pivotal a time in U.S. history. It exposed a lot of the ways that structurally our publicly funded infrastructure is shunting risk down socioeconomic gradients,” Carter says. “As a young person figuring out what I wanted to do in the world, I didn’t think I could walk away from something like that and retain my humanity.”
Ignited with a passion for the environment, Carter returned to school and received her bachelor’s degree in soil science, a master’s in environmental information science and a Ph.D. in environmental engineering with a concentration in water resources. Now working as an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering with a joint appointment as an assistant professor in earth and environmental sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, Carter is a computational hydrologist who studies the movement of water from space. Using data from satellites, these observations of water movement allow her to develop ways to respond to natural disasters and manage water resources.
She and her research team at Syracuse University have received a water resource grant from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to develop a sensor network that measures flooding. This sensor network will help predict different types of flooding caused by natural disasters, particularly flooding in areas where people live, which is referred to as urban flooding. This project is known as the Urban Flood Observing Network.
“We’re hoping to build a sensor network for better urban flood response and labels for satellite images so they can map urban flooding everywhere,” says Carter.
Fatemeh Rezaei G‘25 (environmental engineering), Huantao Ren G’21, Ph.D. ‘27 (computer science), Manu Shergill ‘24 (computer science) Nhy’ere Scanes, Ike Unobhaga, Kaitlyn Gilmore and Sharif Jafari are students from Syracuse University and Onondaga Community College (OCC) who have helped with the development of the Urban Flood Observing Network. Collaborators on the project include electrical engineering and computer science professor Senem Velipasalar and associate professor at the School of Information Studies, Carlos Caicedo.
“It’s been a great way to engage a lot of different students from different backgrounds and stages in their careers in hardware design, 3d printing, algorithm design, and photogrammetry,” says Carter.
Shergill is the primary developer leading the project and has been working on the sensor network since 2021. During a summer internship in his freshman year at OCC, he assembled the initial version of the water sensor camera. He’s also been working on adding higher-quality sensors, wireless communications, machine vision, and other features to the water sensor camera, hoping to install it on the roof of Syracuse’s Center of Excellence for testing.
“The next thing I’m tackling is a remote start function, so we can trigger continuous data collection when a storm is moving into the area the sensor is monitoring,” says Shergill.
Carter has hopes the USGS will install these sensor networks in different locations where quick responses to flood events are needed which can help manage future flood events.
“It’s been great to collaborate with different students on this project and make an impact on tackling natural disasters that are a result of climate change,” Carter says.
The 2024-2025 mechanical engineering senior capstone design teams have been formed and are now working on 15 industry-sponsored projects. This year’s sponsors include renowned organizations such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Eaton Corporation, Carrier Corporation, Dupont, Advion Inc., Aerovec Inc., Pursuit Aerospace, ASHRAE and TTM Technologies, as well as a number of start-ups including Automated Biomass Systems, RedCat, SoldyneX LLC, and TensilasticEnergy.
“We are grateful to all of our company sponsors for collaborating with our students, and delighted that some sponsors are alumni of the program. The diversity of projects is incredible and will allow our students to apply the knowledge they’ve gained from their core courses in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at SU,” says Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership Alex Deyhim. “The practical experience they gain from the capstone projects is invaluable, and we’re excited to see the incredible work our students will accomplish over the course of two semesters.”
Get to know the staff who lead the Office of Inclusive Excellence in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS).
Name: Abby Fite
Pronouns: She/her
Title: Director of Inclusive Excellence
Tell us about your role at ECS:
My job is to cultivate belonging for students, staff, and faculty across the breadth of their social identities and ECS positions. Historically, math-intensive STEM disciplines like engineering and computer science have been exclusionary; and engineering and computer science can still feel inhospitable to women, people of color, LGBTQ+ people, disabled people, and working-class people. At OIE, we try to confront and challenge histories of exclusion through intentional assessment (participate in a belonging focus group this fall), programming (apply to join Catalyst Scholars, a new program for first generation ECS students), education (register for our forthcoming inclusive teaching certification program), and leadership structures (ask about our newly established Inclusive Excellence Council).
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
My favorite part of my job is figuring out what a more inclusive and equitable College would look like and then strategizing about exactly how to get there. This aspect of DEIA work is rigorous, creative- and always collaborative. Effective DEIA strategy can’t be developed in isolation, so what I really like about this process is that I get the chance to learn from students, staff, and faculty across the College. If you ever have ideas about how to cultivate belonging at ECS, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me- we might just be able to put them into practice.
Name: Kate Pynn
Title: Director, Student Programs for the Office of Inclusive Excellence
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I am primarily responsible for the oversight of OIE student programming in the College including our Academic Excellence Workshops, Peer Study Sessions, Scholar Programs, and working with our professional student organizations.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
The most rewarding part of working in ECS is observing the growth of our students from the time they initially arrive on campus to the point that they walk across the stage at graduation. Our students are driven to succeed, I truly admire their perseverance and creativity as they engage in their coursework and leadership opportunities.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) kicked off the 2024 fall semester with the Student Leadership Conference. The conference allowed students to connect with peers, learn tools and resources for professional development, and grow as student leaders.
Coordinated by the ECS Office of Student Success and Career Services, students representing student organizations, Academic Excellence Workshops (AEW), and those looking to hone their leadership skills and feel better prepared for their career development participated in the three-day conference. Sessions were facilitated by representatives from Micron and SRC Inc., in addition to the success and career services team. Alumni from SRC Inc. and Barton & Loguidice also participated.
“We had different speakers from Micron narrating about their professional experiences, what leadership meant to them, and how their perception of leadership changed over the course of their career,” says aerospace engineering student Fatimata Gory ‘26.
“I believe the conference was a great way to reinforce what resources are available to students here at ECS, while also giving us clear great examples of how to behave professionally in different environments,” says civil engineering student Esau Merino ‘25.
“The leadership conference was an amazing opportunity to practice professional development with the employers in attendance and it was great getting to workshop some new skills with my peers,” says chemical engineering student Isabella Perkins ‘25.
The conference also had mentorship training for student leaders and opportunities for students to socialize.
“A great leader leads by example but also ensures that whoever they lead can step into the darkness with them and shine just as bright or even brighter alongside them. Thanks to the student leadership conference, I know what type of leader I am, and how I want to help those who I lead to shine even brighter than me,” says electrical engineering student Luis Santin ‘24 G’25.
“As a student who went in without connections to AEW or a school organization, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was delightfully surprised with so many opportunities. Networking with peers whose faces I recognized but didn’t know by name, as well as connecting with various companies, was particularly rewarding,” says environmental engineering student Rylee Smith ‘26.
“I went to the conference as a leader for the Information Security Club and CuseHacks. There were a lot of knowledge gaps that I needed to learn leading a club and encouraging student engagement. The conference helped me feel confident and more comfortable to lead my clubs this year,” says computer science student Daniella Lat ‘27.
The Student Leadership Conference was made possible in part through the generous support of the ECS Employer Partners, Micron, Novelis, and SRC Inc.
Operations Research and System Analytics is a new master’s program developed to meet the industry’s emerging needs. With an emphasis on computer science and artificial intelligence, the program breaks away from traditional operations research programs and focuses on mathematical foundations to include concepts from machine learning, analytics and data science. These learning outcomes will provide students with skills to tackle problems in practice.
Students in the program will apply operations research models and methods to identify and solve engineering problems, use mathematical programming for informed decisions, gain proficiency in scientific tools, perform data-driven analytics, and integrate different concepts to design and optimize systems for engineering practice.
The program spans different departments across Syracuse University and offers a variety of electives that allow students to tailor their skills and interests. Students will also receive hands-on experience with a capstone project. The program is open to all students with an undergraduate degree in any STEM field.
“There is a growing need in the industry for graduates with skills in decision-making, data-science, coding, machine learning and AI,” says Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Natarajan Gautam. “We created this program to address that need by taking undergraduates with a quantitative background and educating them with the necessary skills to thrive in the emerging workplace.”
Davis Hood ’26, Carter Thompson ’26, Jennifer Mason ’26, and Matthew Pinto ’27 with Jim DaRin and professor and Invent@SU director, Alex Deyhim.
Former Syracuse University student Jim DaRin is one of many wheelchair users who rely on adapted vehicles to drive. These vehicles are equipped with a docking system designed to secure the wheelchairs in place while users focus on the road. However, even when the wheelchair is locked in, it’s not completely secure, causing DaRin to move back and forth while driving.
“The docking system moves and I’m rocking back and forth. I’m paralyzed from my waist down and have my hands on the steering wheel and throttle. It’s not secure or safe,” says DaRin. “The wheelchair’s pin also has a tendency to get caught on certain surfaces and the bolt drags on the pavement.”
DaRin is far from the first to complain about docking systems for adapted vehicles, but very few attempts have been made to fix these issues. That’s when he reached out to engineering students Davis Hood ’26 (electrical engineering), Jennifer Mason ’26 (mechanical engineering), Matthew Pinto ’27 (biomedical engineering), and Carter Thompson ’26 (aerospace engineering) to explore ways to improve his docking mechanism.
“I showed them the challenge I was having and the problems with my current docking system,” DaRin says.
Jennifer Mason ’26 and Carter Thompson ’26 measuring Jim DaRin’s docking system.
As part of Invent@SU, a six-week summer program where student teams prototype, design and pitch original devices to judges, Hood, Mason, Pinto and Thompson created MagniClaw, a device that securely locks wheelchairs in moving vehicles. Their device has a lightweight bar attachment on the back of the wheelchair and a docking mechanism that holds a clamping and electromagnet.
“We’ve gone through multiple different design iterations, and we are always trying to keep in mind Department of Transportation standards,” says Hood. “Our device is easy to use, has a universal design, and can go on a majority of manual wheelchairs.”
Matthew Pinto ’27, Jennifer Mason ’26, David Hood ’26, and Carter Thompson ’26 examining Jim DaRin’s adapted vehicle and docking system.
MagniClaw’s lightweight attachment can easily be connected to wheelchairs using two small clamps. Once attached, the user can connect to the docking frame. The attachment has a steel plate in the center that interacts with the electromagnet to securely hold the wheelchair in place.
“Our device has a clamping mechanism. With this, wheelchair users can back into clamps without any extra input from the control center and the clamp’s shape provides enough security for the electromagnet to turn on,” says Pinto.
The electromagnet, which holds the wheelchair in place, can pull up to 600 lbs. and is activated by a remote. The remote has a Bluetooth feature that can communicate whether the electromagnet is on or off.
“All wheelchair users have to do is back up and the system gets locked in, holding them in place until they press a button that activates the electromagnet. They’re held for the car ride, and when they’re done, they press a button to release the electromagnet and they can roll away freely,” says Mason.
MagniClaw’s hitch-less design and customizability not only set it apart from competitors but also provide more freedom and mobility for wheelchairs with an easier docking system. They showcased their original device at Invent@SU’s final presentations to a panel of 14 expert judges and guests, including faculty, staff, Dean Cole Smith, Syracuse University Life Trustee Bill Allyn, and program supporter Mike Lazar. The team tied for second place, winning a cash prize of $1,200.
“It was nice to have a broad spectrum of engineers in our group. It also feels great to help Jim out,” says Thompson.
“My previous docking system was not good. Their system is a hundred times better,” says DaRin. “It’s much more safe and secure. The potential for MagniClaw is huge.”
“Mr. Jim Darin, a former student of Syracuse University, approached me with a problem that he hoped an Invent@SU team could solve,” says Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership Alex Deyhim. “It was amazing to watch the students work directly with Mr. Darin to design and prototype MagniClaw, a magnetic wheelchair docking system that could be helpful to the millions of Americans who use wheelchairs full-time. This project is a wonderful example of what our students can accomplish when they work across engineering disciplines.”
Carter Thompson ’26 examining Jim DaRin’s docking system.
Two students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science were selected for 2024- 2025 scholarships from the Fellowship Board of Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society.
All Tau Beta Pi scholarships are awarded on the competitive criteria of high scholarship, campus leadership and service, and promise of future contributions to the engineering profession.
Chemical engineering student Hope Johnson ‘25 received a Stabile Scholarship. The Stabile Scholarships are named for Tau Beta Pi member Vincent A. Stabile.
Biomedical engineering student Kerrin A. O’Grady ’25 received a Record Scholarship. The Record Scholarships commemorate Tau Beta Pi member Leroy E. Record.
Savonne Proctor is ready to support students on their journey to becoming well-rounded professionals while helping them balance their academics. Get to know her as she discusses her new role, what she looks forward to, and advice to students about managing college life.
What sparked your interest in working at Syracuse University?
My background is in higher education, so I have been working with students for quite a bit since leaving graduate school. I have always been on the student affairs side of higher education. However, I have been wanting to get to the academic side. As far as SU is concerned, I have been hoping to gain experience working with and connecting with students via academic affairs. I thought it was a great fit and opportunity for me to make that leap and the role aligns with a lot of my goals and professional aspirations.
What is your role as a student success advisor?
As an advisor, my role is to support, primarily first and second-year students, as they matriculate through their college experience. It is about being there to help them balance their personal life, professional life and academic life and support them to be well-rounded. Sometimes STEM majors can be hyper-focused on academics…I am also here to help students who may struggle with their people skills.
What are you most excited about in your role?
I am excited to get to know the population. This is a different kind of student population than I have worked with in the past, so I am extremely excited to get to know them. I am also thrilled to make new colleagues and do more collaborations across campus and engage in some professional development for myself as well.
What’s your favorite part about being a success advisor so far?
My coworkers and the team are great. I enjoyed adjusting to the work culture and starting some projects like the Student Leadership Conference, which gave me the opportunity to meet some of the students in ECS.
Do you have any advice for students?
I would say enjoy it all – not just hyper-focusing on academics. You should prioritize it, of course, but enjoy your social life, growing and learning. This is when you come into adulthood, and it goes by so fast. Enjoy the relationships you build, enjoy the experiences you will have, enjoy the classwork, and interacting with faculty. Enjoy it all.
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I like to thrift, watch some trash TV in my spare time and I am really connected to my faith. I spend a lot of time doing work for my church and staying spiritually grounded. It is a big part of my identity, and I like spending time with my church family. I am also a news junkie, and I like to travel and connect with my college friends. I enjoy seeing them when I get a chance to. I try to do the things I love & spend time with the people I love as often as possible.
From left to right: Mike Vanderwege ’96, John Vanderwege ’27, Maureen Vanderwege ’97, and Andrew Vanderwege ’25
Andrew ‘25 and John ‘27 Vanderwege come from a family that bleeds Orange. Not only have several relatives attended Syracuse University, but their parents, Maureen ‘97 and Mike ‘96, are graduates of the College of Engineering and Computer Science. The University also happens to be the place where their parents would meet for the first time.
“We were floor mates the second half of my junior year at DellPlain Hall. Maureen and my roommate, who was also a sophomore engineering major at the time, knew each other,” their father, Mike recalls. “We only met at the end of the year. Our hometowns are only 20 minutes apart and we got to know each other that summer.”
Growing up, Andrew and John loved watching SU sports with their parents and frequently visited campus to attend home games at the Dome. So, when it came time to choose colleges to apply to, Syracuse was an easy choice. “[My parents] played a big role in my decision since both of them went to Syracuse and both studied engineering,” says John. “I also felt at home whenever I would visit the campus or go to a basketball or football game.”
Both Andrew and John are pursuing degrees in environmental engineering, with Andrew’s interest lying in climate change. He’s also a member of the Combustion and Energy Research (COMER) Laboratory and interning with the sustainable engineering company Ramboll as part of a soil remediation group for the summer. “I knew that I wanted to go into engineering and climate change has always been something that interested me,” says Andrew. “Environmental engineering seemed to give me the best chance at making a positive impact on the climate.”
John’s research interests include carbon capture, storage technology, and ocean acidification, areas he’s been able to explore through the civil and environmental engineering department’s comprehensive programs. He’s also considering other potential areas of study such as chemical engineering. “I wanted to do engineering since I enjoy hands-on activities as well as the math and science aspect of it,” says John. “I took an AP environmental class in high school which I enjoyed and made me realize that there are many different areas of the environment that can be studied.”
The two brothers’ passion for the environment goes beyond the classroom and they enjoy staying active as much as they love the outdoors. In their free time, the boys compete in Syracuse intramural sports like soccer and basketball and spend time hiking, biking, and backpacking. Since high school, John has also enjoyed playing ultimate frisbee and found Syracuse’s “Doom Ultimate Frisbee Club” the perfect place to get active and meet new people. “My favorite thing about Syracuse University is the opportunities available and the different majors on campus. It leads to the student body being comprised of people from all over and I really enjoy meeting others” says Andrew.
Mike and Maureen’s trips to Syracuse for sporting events and visiting their sons take them back to a time when they were students attending the University. “I remember falling in love with the campus and feeling a sense of belonging when I stepped foot on the Quad,” says Maureen.
“The campus is very much the same, and that’s a good thing. It feels like home,” says Mike.
Maureen, who currently works for her local school district as the Central Treasurer, received her bachelor’s in civil engineering and reflected on her experiences founding the Syracuse University chapter of Alpha Omega Epsilon, a professional and social sorority for women interested in STEM. “The experience of starting a chapter was difficult but rewarding and I’m so happy to see that the Zeta chapter is flourishing.”
One of her favorite things about Syracuse was the smaller, personalized classes in ECS. “I got to know our professors and classmates well. My first-year ECS class for undecided engineers was with Dr. [Samuel] Clemence. He showed us an airport in Osaka Bay that was built on an artificial island, and I was instantly hooked on civil engineering.”
Mike, who received his bachelor’s in mechanical engineering, works as a Senior Manager of Mechanical Engineering for L3Harris. He loved that Syracuse University had a wide variety of programs and opportunities outside of engineering. He initially leaned towards aerospace, then civil but eventually chose mechanical engineering as his major.
“Realizing aerospace engineering may have a limited job market in western NY, combined with my enjoyment of the Mechanics of Materials class, I declared as a civil engineer after my sophomore year,” he says. “However, I had a mechanical engineering internship that summer in a manufacturing plant and I enjoyed the work they gave me along with the manufacturing culture. I therefore switched to mechanical engineering upon return to school at the start of my junior year.”
The parents couldn’t be more proud of their sons as they embark on the college experience and fully immerse themselves into Syracuse’s campus community. Keeping up with their traditions of attending SU sports games, they truly showcase a family united by their Orange pride.
“I could fill pages and pages with memories and stories of my time at SU,” Mike says. “Picking a favorite would be difficult. I will share this more recent memory…We were at a football game, with Andrew and John in the student section and Maureen and I in the upper level above them. Watching them cheer on the Orange, combined with knowing they are in the classrooms of Link, walking the Quad, going to Marshall Street, and experiencing all that is SU… it brought my love for the university to an indescribably higher level.”
The ESTEEMED LEADERS program at Syracuse University recruits and trains the next generation of biomedical engineers. Made possible by the National Institute of Health, the program supports undergraduate students from historically underserved backgrounds.
The program began during the summer of 2023 with immersive research experiences in the labs of biomedical and chemical engineering faculty. It includes a six-week summer bridge to help students transition from high school to college, scholarships, research, mentorship, and professional development resources. Beginning in their third academic year, students will also be enrolled in the Renee Crown University Honors Program.
“In the ESTEEMED LEADERS program, we are focusing on developing our research skills and being exposed to lab environments to join a lab by our second semester. We’re also focused on developing skills such as calculus,” says biomedical engineering student Joshua Garcia ’28.
This year’s cohort worked with several biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) faculty, including Mary Beth Monroe, Shikha Nangia, Zhen Ma, Era Jain, and Yauying Wu. In Professor Monroe’s lab, students examined smart biomaterials for improved wound healing. In Professor Nangia’s lab, students received hands-on experience using computational tools to understand the physical structure and function of proteins, lipids, DNA, and RNA. In Professor Ma’s lab, students learned the significance and applications of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) in research with hands-on and computational training.
“I want to prioritize research in my future endeavors, and I believe this program is a great opportunity to do so,” says biomedical engineering student Aubrey Williams ’28.
While collaborating with faculty and other students in the program, ESTEEMED LEADERS will receive training, mentorship, and support to enhance their confidence in their academic abilities. They will also receive focused mentoring skill development and preparation for careers in biomedical engineering research.
“I’ve enjoyed interacting with other ESTEEMED LEADERS. We’ve been in different types of labs and spent a lot of time together working on projects and homework. Since I’m from New York City, it’s a new environment for me, but I’m glad I’ve grown a family here,” says biomedical engineering student Emily Gao ’28.
“We currently have 10 outstanding students in our program who are doing research in biomedical engineering, and we look forward to welcoming new cohorts of students in 2025 and 2026,” says Shikha Nangia, the Principal Investigator of the ESTEEMED LEADERS program and professor and interim chair of the BMCE department.
Electrical engineering and computer science alum, Ademola Adejokun G’20, has joined Tau Beta Pi, the oldest engineering honor society, for his outstanding contributions to systems software development and research efforts in open standards for mission-critical embedded systems.
Founded in 1885, Tau Beta Pi represents engineers from all disciplines and honors those who have demonstrated a history of academic and professional achievement. Adejokun has over 20 years of experience in the aerospace domain with competency in systems, software, computer, and cyber security engineering. He is currently a Cyber Security System Engineer at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas. He is an International Council on System Engineering (INCOSE) Expert Systems Engineering Professional, a Six Sigma Black Belt, and a Project Management Professional.
Adejokun received his master’s in cybersecurity at the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) and felt the program equipped him well for his professional pursuits. “The master’s program was fast-paced, challenging, and rewarding. It’s also well-respected, and propelled me to where I am now,” says Adejokun. “Everyone knows the value of a Syracuse University degree. Although other schools offer cybersecurity courses, they’re mostly theory-based. At Syracuse, many professors are IEEE fellows and well-known professors who have a hands-on approach.”
Adejokun is also a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), a member of the Project Management Institute, International Council on Systems Engineering, National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE), Texas Society of Professional Engineers, and the InfraGard National Infrastructure Protection Program.
Among his engagement in engineering societies’ boards and committees at regional and national levels, Adejokun serves on the College of Engineering Board of Advisory at the University of Texas at Arlington. Additionally, he is a board member and the current vice chair of the Texas Board of Professional Engineers and Land Surveyors (appointed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott.)
Adejokun has also been recognized with numerous awards including the IEEE Region 5 Outstanding Individual Award, IEEE USA Professional Achievements Award (For contributions to IEEE Professional activities and for consistent efforts to professionalize software engineering), United States President’s Lifetime Achievement Award (For lifelong commitment in building a stronger nation through volunteer service) and the Black Engineer of the Year Award-Outstanding Achievement-Science Spectrum Trailblazer.
The buildings that make up the College of Engineering and Computer Science continue to be renovated and transformed.
The new Link Hall lobby and renovated civil and environmental engineering faculty offices are on track to open in for the Fall 2024 semester. New student advising and admissions spaces are set to open in January 2025.
Here is a look at the progress made on the first floor of Link Hall!
The new Link Hall lobby under constructionCrews installing new flooring in Link HallThe admissions and student advising wing on the south side of Link HallStudent advising offices overlooking the Syracuse University quadNew admissions and advising spaces at Link Hall’s southwest cornerNew civil and environmental engineering faculty office spaceNew graduate student office space on the first floor of Link HallNew student meeting space on the first floor of Link Hall
Taylor Larsen’s love for higher education and passion for helping students have made her role as a Student Success Advisor fulfilling. Get to know Larsen as she discusses her background, advice to students, and her new role in the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
What sparked your interest in working at Syracuse University?
I studied public relations and minored in sustainability. I really enjoy working in higher ed. Some things that energize my work are helping students find their passion and the different talents and skills they have that they can apply to their real lives and do that reflection. A lot of what I do in my job is hold up a mirror to my students and show them who they are. It’s not about trying to be more or doing more. It’s about helping them discover what they have within them.
Discovering different opportunities, I wanted to transition into a more advising role that focused on success. This position aligned with the journey I wanted to go on.
What is your role as a student success advisor?
The role of a student success advisor is to focus on the student and make sure they maximize their use of resources while they’re here. Especially with how big the university is, it’s easy to get lost and confused in figuring out who you are and what you want to do.
If I had a person in the position I have now when I was an undergrad, I would be a completely different person. I’m grateful to be where I am and offer the services I’m able to provide to my students.
It’s kind of like consulting to a certain degree. It’s different for each student depending on what’s going on in their lives. Making sure they are achieving their goals and pursuing their purpose while they’re here. We make sure they’re hitting all the milestones they must hit to graduate on time and build themselves up for their career.
What are you most excited about in your current role?
I am excited to build rapport with my students and become more creative in the ways that I help them define their success and encourage them to take action. In the age of social media, most people do a lot of talking but not a lot of doing. I look forward to encouraging my students to implement more action tools to put their thoughts and words into motion.
What’s your favorite part about being a success advisor?
Honestly, watching my students achieve their goals and not only be successful but feel successful. A lot of our wants and needs come from feeling. Nobody cares about what kind of car you’re driving–it’s about how you feel when you drive. I look forward to and enjoy watching my students find that within themselves. Helping them on that journey fulfills me a lot.
Do you have any advice for students?
Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and ask questions. You have to be brave enough to sound foolish at times otherwise you won’t learn anything or go anywhere.
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I like to walk my dog, Beans, sing, cook, and hang out with friends.
Mechanical and aerospace engineering Ph.D. student Xuezheng Wang G’21 has been selected to receive an American Society of Heating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Graduate Student Grant-In-Aid for the 2024-2025 academic year.
Pardha Sourya Nayani G’28, a Ph.D. student in electrical engineering and computer science (EECS), has received the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Antennas and Propagation Society (AP-S) Fellowship Award for his research on “Unleashing Bandwidth: Passive Highly Dispersive Matching Network Enabling Broadband Absorbers with Record-High Bandwidth-to-Thickness Ratio”.
The AP-S Fellowship Program aims to support graduate students and postdoctoral fellows worldwide interested in antenna analysis, design, development, and other research areas related to AP-S. Nayani joined EECS professor Younes Radi’s research group at the Radiation Laboratory of Syracuse University in the summer of 2023. “I am deeply honored to receive this award and look forward to making significant contributions in the field of electromagnetics and microwave engineering,” Nayani says.
“As a faculty member at Syracuse University and the prior institutions I have been involved with, I have had the opportunity to see and work with many talented students and researchers,” says Radi. “Rarely have I had the opportunity to work with a student as passionate, talented, and hardworking as Pardha. I am happy and proud that IEEE awarded him this prestigious Fellowship.”
Nangia joined Syracuse University in 2012. Her current research focuses on developing computational approaches to examine molecular and structural biophysics. Her primary project is to explore treatments for Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases by examining the molecular architecture of the blood-brain barrier. Her work also includes multiscale modeling of integral membrane proteins, intrinsically disordered proteins, protein hydropathy, lipid membranes, bacterial membranes, epigenetics, drug delivery, thermo-responsive biopolymers, and polymeric gels. Her work is a highly multidisciplinary research portfolio that interfaces with computer science, math, engineering, biology, chemistry, and medicine. She has multiple collaborations with experimental bioengineers, chemists, and physicists worldwide. Nangia has published as a leading author in various journals, including Biomacromolecules, Macromolecules, JACS, JBC, PLoS Pathogens, Soft Matter, etc. She is also an artist and has designed artistic renditions of her scientific discoveries featured on the cover of several journals (Biomacromolecules, Langmuir, JCTC, JPC, and ChemComm). She is currently an Associate Editor of ACS Applied Bio Materials.
Nangia’s research has received substantial funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institute of Health (NIH). These awards include NSF CAREER (2015), NIH R21 (2015), NSF CBET (2017), NIH R01 (2019), NSF BMAT (2021), NSF DMR REU (2018 and 2021), NSF MCB (2022), NIH NIBIB ESTEEMED grant (2022), and NSF GCR (2022). She has also received numerous honors for her research, including the ACS OpenEye Outstanding Junior Faculty Award (2016) and ACS WCC Rising Star Award (2022).
Nangia was awarded the College Technology Educator of the Year (2016), Meredith Teaching Recognition Award (2017), Dean’s Award for Excellence in Education (2017), the Chancellor’s Citation Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Experience and University Initiatives (2019) at Syracuse University, and Excellence in Graduate Education Faculty Recognition Award (2022). She is currently the director of the NSF Interactive Biomaterials REU site and NIH ESTEEMED programs.
Civil and environmental engineering professor Svetoslava Todorova, retired electrical engineering and computer science professor, William Tetley and engineering students David Coghiel ‘24 (civil engineering), Elliot Salas ‘24 (electrical engineering) and Jasmine Rodriguez ‘25 (mechanical engineering) participated in the TechConnect World Innovation Conference and Expo in Washington, DC from June 17-19. The group was a recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) People, Prosperity and the Planet (P3) competitive program grant.
The EPA’s P3 program is a competition where undergraduate/graduate student teams design sustainable solutions to real-world environmental challenges. Todorova, Tetley, Coghiel, Salas and Rodriguez showcased their Smart Water Box, a low-cost sensor unit designed to monitor water quality in small rivers, in a 90-second sales pitch and answered questions in a booth where they displayed their sensor unit.
“The TechConnect World Innovation Expo was a great opportunity that I utilized to network with other student researchers, government agencies, and private companies,” says Rodriguez. “As one of the few student attendees, it was easy to stand out and make better connections with the professionals I interacted with. The P3 National Student Design Competition also gave me valuable insight into what other universities are researching and what issues are at the forefront of people’s concerns when it comes to our environment.”
“Our project stood out as a cost-effective, low-maintenance, solar-powered alternative to traditional water quality monitoring systems. I assisted with the development of the unit and fieldwork to ensure its continuous operation,” says Coghiel. “I was able to connect with different universities and companies to share experiences, knowledge, and accomplishments. Furthermore, introducing our project in an elevator pitch and a booth in the conference hall gave us valuable presentation experience that is bound to help us in our careers.”
P3 has a two-phase program where teams receive $25,000 for a one-year award. The expo concluded phase 1 of the EPA P3 award cycle and the group will compete for the second round of funding in phase 2 during the fall.
“The experience of presenting our project to other schools and EPA representatives was incredibly rewarding,” says Salas. “I was also thrilled to support my team and celebrate their achievements, like David’s impressive elevator pitch and Jasmine’s unique 3D prints, which are integral to our project. While I served a significant role in this project, I must acknowledge the collective effort of our group and the guidance of our mentors, Svetla and William. The time spent in DC was enjoyable and inspiring, and I eagerly anticipate the future improvements our group will make to the water quality monitoring box.”
“Although we discuss the need of using a multifaceted approach in solving contemporary issues, at college level students are often taught in silos. This design project stimulated interdisciplinary collaboration and creativity by bringing together students from three different engineering departments,” says Todorova. “I am extremely proud of their motivation, team spirit, and drive for success. The team stood out with their 90-seconds sales pitch. Everyone came to congratulate us. We are thankful to Linda Hartsock, Strategic Advisor at SU Libraries, for her invaluable guidance and tips in developing a strong sales pitch.”
Interim Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Lois Agnew today announced the appointment of two new associate provosts, who will join the Academic Affairs leadership team effective Aug. 1. Julie Hasenwinkel will serve as associate provost for academic programs, and Elisa Dekaney as associate provost for strategic initiatives.
“Syracuse University is so fortunate to count outstanding teachers, scholars and administrators like Julie and Elisa among its faculty members, and I am truly grateful for their willingness to serve in these important roles,” Agnew says. “Their past leadership experiences and fresh perspectives position them to make a positive impact not only on the Academic Affairs team, but also across the University and in the local community.”
Hasenwinkel, a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence, is currently chair of the Department of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). She is also a faculty affiliate of the BioInspired Institute. She has served as ECS associate dean for academic and student affairs and senior associate dean.
Her professional and scholarly areas of expertise include faculty development in teaching and learning; engineering education and active learning pedagogies; student success initiatives; orthopedic biomaterials; and biomaterials for nerve regeneration. She holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, an M.S. in bioengineering from Clemson University and a B.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.
“I’m very excited to take on this role and to have the opportunity to work with colleagues across the University and the leadership team in Academic Affairs to enhance our academic programs, student success, experiential inquiry and teaching and learning excellence,” Hasenwinkel says. “I look forward to implementing the goals of the academic strategic plan and exploring innovative ways that we can meet the current and future needs of our students so they can thrive at Syracuse University and beyond.”
In the role of associate provost for strategic initiatives, Dekaney will work to strengthen the academic experience through strong connections with campus and community-based programs, particularly in the arts and humanities. In this role, she will oversee University-based cultural organizations like the Syracuse University Art Museum, La Casita Cultural Center and Punto de Contacto/Point of Contact, among others. Dekaney will also have oversight of the University’s study abroad and study away initiatives. She assumes the role from Marcelle Haddix, who was recently named dean of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Dekaney, now the associate dean for research and global engagement and a professor of music education in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, is also a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor of Teaching Excellence.
Her scholarly research focuses on aesthetic response to music, world music and cultures, International Phonetic Alphabet, Indigenous and Afro-Brazilian culture and clinical simulation applied to music education. She holds a Ph.D. in choral music education from Florida State University, a master’s degree in choral conducting from the University of Missouri-Kansas, a bachelor’s degree in sacred music (piano) from the Seminário Teológico Batista do Sul do Brasil and a bachelor’s degree in communications from the Universidade Federal Fluminense.
“I am honored to join Interim Provost Lois Agnew and the entire Academic Affairs team. This role presents an incredible opportunity to collaborate with Syracuse University faculty, staff and students in driving innovative projects and fostering a culture of excellence in an environment welcoming to all,” Dekaney says. “I am committed to advancing our strategic goals with a strong focus on diversity and inclusion. By ensuring that our initiatives reflect these core values, we can create a transformative educational experience that benefits all members of our community.”
Sameeraa Soltanian-Zadeh ’26, a third-year Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, has been selected as an Innovation in Buildings (IBUILD) Graduate Research Fellow by the US Department of Energy (DOE). The fellowship is managed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and administered by Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE).
The Graduate Research Fellowship aims to support the number of well-trained, diverse graduate student scholars prepared for research-intensive careers in fields supporting decarbonization. Recipients of the fellowship will receive financial support to conduct research at their home institution in an area that has shown relevance to advancing decarbonization efforts. Soltanian-Zadeh’s research focuses on indoor air quality and urban environmental dynamics, highlighting the effects of occupant behaviors on indoor air quality and building energy efficiency. This research will contribute to environmental justice, offering insights into public health, energy efficiency, and sustainable urban development, especially regarding the role of building occupants.
“By focusing on the intersection of indoor air quality, occupant behavior, and energy efficiency, my work has the potential to significantly impact how we design and operate buildings in the future. This research is crucial as we strive to create healthier, more sustainable urban environments while simultaneously tackling the urgent need for decarbonization,” says Soltanian-Zadeh. “Receiving the prestigious IBUILD fellowship marks a significant milestone in my academic journey and research career.
“This fellowship supports my ongoing work and is a step forward in my mission to create healthier, more sustainable built environments. The IBUILD program offers great opportunities to grow my skills, connect with other researchers, and learn about new developments in building science. Ultimately, it will help me contribute to a future where buildings not only meet energy needs but also enhance air quality and promote healthier living environments for all. I also want to thank my advisor, Professor Jianshun ‘Jensen’ Zhang, for his continuous support and guidance.”
“Sameeraa has made excellent progress in her Ph.D. study and played a key role in the project on ‘Integrated Whole-Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit Solution for Residences in Cold/Very Cold Climates’ and the Building America project on ‘Reducing Applied Losses in Heat Pumps’, both sponsored by DOE as well as the project on developing a multiscale building and urban environmental and energy monitoring systems supported by Syracuse Center of Excellence (SyracuseCOE)”, says Professor Jensen Zhang, Executive Director of SyracuseCOE and Soltanian-Zadeh’s Ph.D. study advisor.
Mary Beth Monroe, an associate professor of biomedical and chemical engineering at the Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, has been selected to receive the 2023 Rosalind Franklin Society Special (RFS) Award in Science.
The RFS Awards in Science recognize contributions and dedication to advancing scientific knowledge, and outstanding peer-reviewed research by women and underrepresented minorities in STEM. The anthology of award winners is available digitally on the Rosalind Franklin Society website and in print.
“I am very grateful for this recognition from the RFS for my lab’s work that was published in Tissue Engineering, Part A (DOI: 10.1089/ten.tea.2022.0192),” says Monroe. “I’d especially like to acknowledge my former Ph.D. student, Dr. Henry Beaman, who spearheaded the published work. His creative approach to cell encapsulation within porous scaffolds could have a large future impact in wound healing and tissue engineering.”
Monroe leads the Monroe Biomaterials Lab in the multidisciplinary BioInspired Institute at Syracuse University. Monroe and her team aim to advance polymer chemistry to develop safer and more effective medical devices and improve healing outcomes. Their current research focuses on using shape memory polymers for hemorrhage control, Crohn’s fistula closure, and reducing the risk of infection and aiding wound treatment.
RFS, in partnership with Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., launched this prestigious annual award for the best paper by a woman or under-represented minority in science in each of the publisher’s more than 100 peer-reviewed journals to highlight the important contributions of these scientists and provide role models and mentors for younger scientists following in their footsteps. A total of $100,000 has been allocated for this year’s award winners. The award specifically recognizes the best paper published in 2023 in each of these journals.
The anthology includes a biography of each winner and an abstract of their selected work and is a remarkable compendium of research in science, engineering, and medicine that has been accomplished by outstanding investigators who, early in their careers, were not considered “real” scientists, engineers, or medical researchers because they did not fit the stereotypical scientist, engineer, or physician role.
The RFS Awards in Science 2023 was produced with support from the Rita Allen Foundation, Lyda Hill Philanthropies, and the Warren Alpert Foundation.
About the Rosalind Franklin Society The Rosalind Franklin Society is an honorific, interdisciplinary, and international society which recognizes, fosters, and advances the important contributions of women in the life sciences and affiliated disciplines. In so doing, the Society honors the under-recognized achievements of the late Rosalind Franklin (1920-1958), a British x-ray crystallographer whose work producing x-ray images of DNA was crucial in the discovery of its structure by James Watson and Francis Crick. Franklin symbolizes progress for women in science, but her accomplishments were not recognized during her lifetime, awarded posthumously, nor are they completely acknowledged today. To celebrate the life, work, and symbolic power of this remarkable heroine in science, the Society recognizes the work of outstanding women scientists, fosters greater opportunities for women in the sciences, and motivates and educates by examples young generations of women who have this calling.
About Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. is a global media company dedicated to creating, curating, and delivering impactful peer-reviewed research and authoritative content services to advance the fields of biotechnology and the life sciences, specialized clinical medicine, and public health and policy.
Trolley Trolls is a motorized cart designed to assist in carrying items, allowing users to have their hands free for other tasks. This original device was presented as a senior design capstone project at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Open House and was created by Ralph Lawrence Graham ‘24, Taylor Michael Madison ‘24, Alfonso Rivas ‘24, and Ernest Whitbeck ‘24. In this Q&A session, team members Graham and Madison discuss their project.
How does your senior design capstone project work?
Graham: Our project is a 3-tiered self-following motorized cart. The person using the cart wears a belt with a code on it. The code is then detected and that’s what triggers the cart to move. We used webcams attached to a Fusion 5 running image processing via Python that then feeds data to a PID controller system running on an Itsy Bitsy M4 chip to make the cart function.
Madison: We also talked about having distance sensors on the lower half of the cart. It goes much slower in reverse than it does forwards. If you go forward, it will go forward but if you come toward it, it will go backward but not as fast.
What inspired you to pursue this project?
Madison: Our team member, Alfonso, originally had the idea of a suitcase that would follow you through an airport. Some faculty didn’t know how practical placing a bunch of batteries and cameras on a suitcase would be, especially considering security risks for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Federal Aviation Association (FAA).
We decided to go with something more utility-based that we could use around campus and came to a cart that could be used for a lab or food.
Are there other applications this motorized cart can have?
Madison: It can be applied to maintenance, hospitals, grocery stores, and even restaurants. We see all these areas benefiting from something like our cart for hands-free tasks.
How do you feel after completing your project?
Graham: We achieved what we were intending. It took a lot of research and trying things out. It was a process, and it was amazing to see the result of it and how everything works. It helped develop our skills more and we look forward to doing more things in a professional environment.
Madison: Even as a senior project that was supposed to be a showcase of what we’ve learned, we were learning continuously through this project. Continuously touching on other parts of engineering and developing skills we already have, it was great to put it all together.
Ernest Whitbeck ‘24, Ralph Lawrence Graham ‘24, Alfonso Rivas ‘24, and Taylor Michael Madison ‘24
Andrea Hoe ‘23 G‘28 was ecstatic when she received an invitation to join NASA’s Graduate Research Fellowship program. It felt like years of hard work had finally paid off. She had always been fascinated with space, but it wasn’t until high school that she discovered her passion for space architecture. Since then, she’s made it her mission to work with NASA and continue exploring her interests in cutting-edge design.
“Whether it was participating in STEM programs or conducting independent research, my goals and achievements were strategic towards realizing my dream of becoming a space architect,” says the aerospace engineering student. “Now, to have the opportunity to collaborate with NASA feels like the culmination of a journey filled with challenges, setbacks, and moments of sheer determination. It is a surreal experience, and I am eager to begin this new chapter in my academic career.”
She initially began her undergraduate studies at Syracuse University as an architect student but found herself gravitating towards research opportunities. While architecture and space habitat design have their differences, she saw concepts that overlapped and knew she could apply her studies in architecture to space habitats.
“Architecture provided me with a solid foundation in design principles and unconventional thinking. I knew I wanted to apply this knowledge to engineering. I believe the intersectionality of disciplines is important in today’s time and will push society forward. By embarking on this academic journey, I aim to bridge the gap between creativity and innovation to explore new possibilities for space exploration.”
The NASA Fellowship sponsors graduate student research and development of innovative space technologies. The fellowship includes a research grant, which will provide her the opportunity to research lunar regolith composites with carbon nanotubes for space habitation applications. The study aims to create a concrete-like structural material that can be made from soil on the moon, which is known as lunar regolith.
The primary focus of the research is to investigate the effects of adding carbon nanotubes to lunar regolith. Even a small amount of these nanotubes can significantly enhance the compressive strength of the lunar soil, making it an ideal choice for durable structural material in space architecture. “Our future testing plans are diverse and exciting as we aim to delve deeper into optimizing the composition and properties of this lunar regolith-based material. Space is an extreme environment, so exploring its durability and resilience is imperative.”
She believes this research is pivotal to ensuring secure and stable habitats on the moon as well as manned missions to Mars and beyond, paving the way for the future of human space exploration. “Syracuse’s architecture program empowered me to be creative and think critically, particularly in my final thesis project. The aerospace engineering department has allowed me to pursue my ambitions and gain insightful experiences. I am truly grateful. Receiving the NASA Fellowship and grant is an indescribable event for me. It is a validation of years of hard work, dedication, and unwavering determination.
“I am so grateful for the support from the professors at Syracuse who assisted me in this journey and for the recognition from an institution as esteemed as NASA. I am particularly grateful for the mentorship of my research advisor, Dr. Wang, whose guidance and support have made this possible.”
Assistant professor in electrical engineering and computer science Jason Pollack envisions a promising future for quantum at Syracuse University. As the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) undergoes significant growth with renovated lab spaces, new faculty members, and groundbreaking research, it marks a transformative period not only for the college but for quantum-related fields as well.
“It’s exciting for me to be in a place where you can build a program and culture from the ground up,” Pollack says. “I’ve been telling my students that by the time they finish their grad school career, there will probably be three times as many people in quantum-related subjects as there are now. It’s very exciting that Syracuse University has put in all these resources.”
Prior to being an assistant professor in ECS, Pollack attended the California Institute of Technology for graduate school and completed post-doctoral fellowships at the University of British Columbia and the University of Texas at Austin. He became interested in how underlying quantum physics can be seen in the world around us and switched from physics to computer science, collaborating frequently with mathematicians, engineers, scientists and experts within related fields.
Pollack’s research focuses on the theory of quantum information. He aims to understand basic information and computational structures underlying quantum systems. He also collaborates with other faculty members studying quantum in ECS and across the university, particularly in discussing ideas such as random quantum walks in superconducting cavities and the design of metamaterials with exotic refractive index. This highlights the significant role theorists like Pollack play in quantum experiments.
“Without theory, experimentalists wouldn’t know what theory to work on next. There’s always a whole set of possible things to do but then there’s the question of what to do next to increase my technical prowess or understanding. You have to take some steps to convert your results or what you’d like to understand about the world.”
Pollack’s paper published in March 2024 discusses quantum thermodynamics and focuses on understanding the entanglement structure of quantum states. When two particles become entangled, their properties may remain correlated regardless of the distance. “The world is made up of atoms and molecules, but if you want to run a heat engine, you don’t have to manipulate individual gasoline molecules to run the engine. I want to understand what types of interaction a quantum system can have with an environment so I can treat it like a traditional, classical thermodynamic system. If I wait long enough, it becomes characterized by its temperature or energy.”
Pollack also has research interests in quantum decoherence, which refers to the study of interactions between the environment and quantum systems (tiny particles like atoms and molecules.) His other research program is concerned with the physics seen by observers with only limited access to, or an imperfect ability to make measurements on, the quantum state.“Syracuse’s quantum community will be changing within a few years. The plan for ECS is to grow quantum faculty, and we’re going to be on the map. Students who want interdisciplinary work can certainly find it.”
Pollack will be teaching graduate course CIS 700 “The Structure of Quantum States” where students will learn the features of quantum-mechanical systems. Starting next academic year, he will also be teaching an undergraduate course on quantum computing.
A new $40 million award for the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor (NY SMART I-Corridor) was announced yesterday by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer at a press conference in Syracuse hosted by INFICON. Syracuse University will lead the NY SMART I-Corridor’s Collaboration and Commercialization Center. (Photo courtesy of Onondaga County)
Syracuse University will play a leading role in advancing Central New York’s semiconductor manufacturing capabilities thanks to $40 million in new funds made available to the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region through the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Regional Technology and Innovation Hub. The new award for the New York Semiconductor Manufacturing and Research Technology Innovation Corridor (NY SMART I-Corridor) was announced yesterday by U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer at a press conference in Syracuse hosted by INFICON. J. Michael Haynie, vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, spoke at the event, and Duncan Brown, vice president for research, represented the University as principal investigator on Syracuse University’s component of the Tech Hub award.
“This is a monumental victory for the Buffalo-Rochester-Syracuse region as the first major Tech Hub award in the nation, bringing a whopping $40 million from my CHIPS and Science Law. With this major investment, the feds are shining a national spotlight, and confirming what I have long known, that America’s semiconductor future runs through the heart of Upstate NY along the I-90 corridor,” said Senator Schumer. “From the fields near Syracuse that will become Micron’s massive mega-fab to the cutting-edge research labs in Rochester and workers learning these manufacturing skills in Buffalo, this award helps connect the region to seize this once-in-a-generation opportunity and establish Upstate NY as the heart of America’s semiconductor industry. I created the Tech Hubs competition with Upstate NY in mind, and pulled out all the stops to win this award—first proposing this program in my Endless Frontier Act, then passing it into law as part of my CHIPS and Science Act, making the case to bring the region together, advocating at the highest levels and delivering the transformational investment to make today possible. It’s never been more clear: the heart of America’s semiconductor industry runs along the I-90 corridor in Upstate NY!”
Syracuse University will lead the NY SMART I-Corridor’s Collaboration and Commercialization Center (C3), which includes Cornell University, Rochester Institute of Technology, University of Rochester and University of Buffalo. C3 will administer millions of dollars in grants to allow small and medium-sized businesses to collaborate with the region’s universities, bring new ideas to market and accelerate growth of the semiconductor industry in the region.
“Syracuse University is proud to lead this higher education collaboration that will help drive innovation and establish the NY SMART I-Corridor as a world leading entrepreneurial incubator for the semiconductor industry,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I am grateful for Senator Schumer’s steadfast advocacy. This substantial new grant builds on major investments the University is making. It will help create critical high-tech infrastructure and facilities, attract top semiconductor manufacturing researchers and faculty to the region, and develop unique experiential learning and internship opportunities for talented students.”
To support the NY SMART I-Corridor, the University is investing $10 million, which is matched by a $10 million investment from Onondaga County, to create a state-of-the-art advanced semiconductor manufacturing facility. The center is part of a more than $100 million investment in strategically transforming STEM and expanding the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) at Syracuse University over the next five years.
“Together with our regional partners, and with the dedicated support of Senator Schumer, Syracuse University has a key role to play in the revitalization of Central New York,” says Haynie. “Today’s announcement is another exciting milestone in the realization of that goal, and we are gratified by the continuing opportunity to foster collaboration and innovation across the Tech Hub.”
As the NY SMART I-Corridor seeks to become the epicenter for American semiconductor commercialization efforts, C3 will integrate the region’s extensive assets into a single “point of entry” for small and medium-sized businesses, according to Brown.
“In our knowledge-driven society, university-led research and development is central to economic development. C3 will allow businesses of all sizes to partner with universities to develop, prototype and test new products,” Brown says. “Through these partnerships, the NY SMART I-Corridor will accelerate the transfer of ideas from lab to market.”
Modeled on New York State’s Centers for Advanced Technology, C3 will drive innovation in the I-Corridor’s semiconductor supply chain by establishing:
Innovation Asset/Expertise Engagement Network, an inventory of semiconductor relevant facilities and innovation expertise across the I-Corridor, accessible via a central online portal;
Knowledge/IP Collaboration Architecture, a new IP architecture for the region that incentivizes cross-collaboration between sectors and institutions and strengthens commercialization efforts in the I-Corridor; and
Formal Community of Practice, which will facilitate collaboration between businesses, researchers, investors and manufacturers in the region and sponsor programming and internships designed to benefit underrepresented communities.
The federal Tech Hub designation spans Syracuse, Rochester and Buffalo and includes Ithaca, Auburn and Batavia. Key academic partners include Monroe Community College in Rochester, which will lead the hub’s workforce development efforts, and University at Buffalo, which will lead the effort to improve the region’s supply chain for semiconductors.
Schumer created the Regional Tech Hubs competition as part of the CHIPS and Science Bill, and said the three-region consortium beat out hundreds of applications and was one of only 31 regions across the U.S. chosen for the Tech Hub designation.
In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering & Computer Science Dean’s List for Spring 2024.
To be eligible for Dean’s List recognition, the minimum semester grade point average must be 3.40 or higher, must have earned a minimum of 12 graded credits and must have no missing or incomplete grades.
Eight teams of engineering students presented designs for original devices to industry experts and investors. These students were part of Invent@SU, a six-week summer program where students design, prototype, and pitch to judges.
On June 20th, the teams gave their final pitch presentations to a panel of 14 expert judges. The room was filled with guests, including Dean Cole Smith, Syracuse University Life Trustee Bill Allyn and program supporter Mike Lazar. The event kicked off with poster presentations that gave the student teams the opportunity to showcase their inventions and answer questions from the judges.
This year’s competitors were:
TreadBed: Jason Bae ’25 (biomedical engineering), Sandy Lin ’25 (computer science), Ian Roche ’25 (mechanical engineering), Colin Wanderman ’27 (mechanical engineering)
A patient transfer device that reduces the amount of lifting required for caregivers when moving a patient between a stretcher and a hospital bed.
MagniClaw: (Tied for Second Place)Davis Hood ’26 (electrical engineering), Jennifer Mason ’26 (mechanical engineering), Matthew Pinto ’27 (biomedical engineering), Carter Thompson ’26 (aerospace engineering)
A device that securely locks wheelchairs in place for moving vehicles.
Swift Straps: (Tied for Second Place) Jessica Moreno ’26 (aerospace engineering), Patrick Phanichyakarn ’26 (mechanical engineering), Amira Salihovic ’25 (biomedical engineering)
Retractable, color-coded restraint straps that make transferring or transporting EMT patients more efficient.
An all-inclusive solution for monitoring your dog’s health and ensuring their safety through a health harness.
Invent@SU is made possible by program sponsor Michael Lazar, partner sponsor the Lyons Family Foundation, and team sponsor Ralph Folz. A special thank you to Bill and Penny Allyn for sponsoring multiple years since 2017.
“Students learn about design, ideation and intellectual property, then conceive an original invention, prototype the invention and refine it in response to weekly feedback from diverse audiences of guest evaluators. In addition, students learn key business, entrepreneurship and professional skills, such as: communication, creating a “pitch,” financing a start-up, sustainable design, accounting, marketing, pricing, leadership and teamwork,” said Professor Alex Deyhim. “All 8 teams did an amazing job and walked away with invaluable lessons learned and friendships that will last a lifetime.”
As engineering students Fundi Juriasi ‘24, Hanna Salem ‘24, Prince Sarquah ‘24 and Sukhleen Atwal ‘24 brainstormed ideas for their senior design project, they couldn’t seem to land on an idea they all agreed on. Sarquah’s interest lay in robotics, Juriasi was fascinated with face-tracking cameras, and Salem liked the idea of a Lego sorter that could assort the bright-colored blocks by color. Inspired by her passion for the environment, it wasn’t until Atwal combined their ideas that the group finally came to a project they all loved: a camera-tracking, plastic-sorting robot.
Plastic pollution continues to be a significant environmental issue, with millions of plastic items entering our planet’s oceans every year and this is often due to improper waste disposal. The engineering group’s plastic sorting robot shows promise in enhancing current waste management methods by automating the sorting process. They believe that this technology could play a crucial role in reducing landfill waste, increasing recycling rates, and promoting more sustainable practices.
“Most plastics come with recyclable code, but the problem is, sometimes the code gets damaged, and it can’t be seen without advanced cameras,” Juriasi says. “We wanted to make our project more achievable, so we placed QR codes on objects to mimic how it can be implemented in the real world.”
Their robot, ARMie, uses a camera to scan QR codes and identify the type of material based on the code. With instructions from the user interface, ARMie sorts each item into the appropriate bin for recyclable, non-recyclable, or further sorting. This innovative system streamlines the recycling process, enhancing its efficiency and accuracy.
The hardware consists of the microcontroller board Arduino Uno, a robotic arm, servo motors, a PWM/servo driver, a camera, bins, and a power supply. The key technologies and software used for the project include the open-source code-writing software Arduino IDE, Python, graphical user interface (GUI), and QR codes.
Despite the challenges that came with putting this ambitious project together such as mechanical durability and power supply balance, the students were able to present ARMie at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s (ECS) Open House. “Overall, I would say this project was good. It has real-world applications and potential to impact sustainability,” says Salem.
“By integrating technology with environmental sustainability, ARMie facilitates a smarter way to manage waste, offering a significant step forward in our recycling efforts,” says Juriasi.
Melissa Yeung, a first-year Ph.D. student in mechanical and aerospace engineering, has joined the 2024 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP). The fellowship offers three years of support for graduate research over a five-year period.
Yeung currently works in the fluid dynamics lab of Yiyang Sun, assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and her research focuses on supersonic jet engines. “The goal of my work is to alleviate the undesired features through strategically placed small micro-jets of air,” Yeung says. “I am currently focused on optimizing these micro-jets such that they can continuously modulate themselves to adapt to various flight conditions. By doing so, the flow can be controlled even in off-design conditions and with minimal energy input.
“Understanding these complex flow physics is vital for the development of next-generation high-performance aircraft. Successfully controlling this flow can improve upon the aircraft’s performance and ensure the safety of nearby workers or civilians. This work is one of many steps in pushing supersonic flight for commercial use.”
Yeung believes the fellowship will give her greater flexibility in her research, fund her research activities and enable her to attend more conferences. She’s also grateful for the support she’s received from Sun, Professor Emeritus Mark Glauser, and Gina Lee-Glauser, retired vice president for research.
“Their guidance has been crucial to my success and without them, I would have not had the honor of being an NSF GRFP recipient,” Yeung says.
Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter today announced that J. Cole Smith has been reappointed to a five-year term as dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). Today’s announcement follows a comprehensive review process that includes feedback from key stakeholders, including ECS faculty, staff and advisory board members.
“In Cole’s nearly five years as dean, the College of Engineering and Computer Science has grown stronger on multiple counts and made great strides towards reaching a new level of excellence,” Provost Ritter says. “This is an exciting time for the college, and I can think of no better leader to shepherd the students, faculty, staff and alumni into this new era.”
Smith assumed leadership of ECS in October 2019. His tenure has been marked by several high points for the college. A massive renovation, which included multiple new lab spaces and the Allyn Innovation Center, served to modernize ECS buildings and facilities. The pending new Campos Student Center, supported by a recent $2 million gift that Smith helped secure, will further enhance the college’s physical space.
“Engineering and Computer Science is driving regional, national and international growth in areas such as advanced manufacturing, sustainable infrastructure, healthcare engineering, advanced computing technologies and materials science,” Smith says. “I have never been a part of a more exciting moment at the nexus of college, University, city and national growth. What we are doing here matters and will resonate for decades to come, and it is a true privilege to have the opportunity to realize the transformational opportunity that awaits Syracuse University and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.”
Smith came to Syracuse from Clemson University, where he held positions as associate provost for academic initiatives and chair of the Department of Industrial Engineering. His research focuses on integer programming and combinatorial optimization, network flows and facility location, computational optimization methods and large-scale optimization due to uncertainty or robustness considerations. In 2023, he was named an Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences (INFORMS) fellow.
With funds sub-awarded through the U.S. National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Convergence Accelerator program, Syracuse University’s Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS) will help develop more accessible pathways for small communities to develop and maintain safe drinking water infrastructure. This collaborative project will focus on communities in Puerto Rico, with the ultimate goal being to use this case study as a framework that can be replicated in other U.S. locations and beyond. The project officially kicked off in February 2024.
Access to clean drinking water is a right for all that is threatened by the looming climate crisis. In 2022, 2.2 billion people lacked safely managed drinking water; and 2 billion people lacked a basic hand washing facility, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Many of those without access are communities of less than 10,000 people who face their own unique obstacles. In Puerto Rico, challenges for these small communities include limited economic resources and severe natural disaster risk, which is amplified by climate change. Unless viable and proactive solutions are developed, this lack of access will prevail.
This $650,000 research project, named VersaWater by its team, is funded by the NSF Convergence Accelerator Program and led by Cornell University in partnership with CSCS; Interamerican University of Puerto Rico’s Center for Environmental Education, Conservation and Research; and AguaClara Reach.
Through the Convergence Accelerator Program, the water research team will use a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to accelerate the science and community engagement practices around Puerto Rico’s safe drinking water technology using three convergent focus areas: governance and financing, community education and workforce training, and resilient water system technologies.
“The Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS), which operates the Environmental Finance Center (EFC), has been a leader in environmental finance for over 30 years,” shared CSCS Director and the water project’s Co-Principal Investigator Melissa Young. “Ensuring that funding is not only available for investments like this but that it is also accessible is crucial to making everlasting change for the health and welfare of small communities.”
She continued, “We’re proud to be a part of the esteemed NSF Convergence Accelerator Program, which importantly prioritizes community-focused research and social impact.”
CSCS aims to identify how small communities can better access federal funding made available through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — a law that authorized billions of dollars for federal investment, including significant financial support for water infrastructure in small communities — and the barriers they experience in doing so. CSCS leverages over three decades of community-based work in EPA Region 2 (which includes New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and eight Native Nations.)
Cornell Engineering is leading VersaWater (formerly called WaterSAVerS), bolstered by its ties to the non-profit AguaClara Reach, who have together been developing open-source sustainable water treatment technologies specifically for small and very small communities in the Global South over the past 20 years, according to Ruth Richardson, the water project’s Principal Investigator representing Cornell.
“The AguaClara technology aims to create gravity-powered water treatment plants specifically for small and very small communities. Innovations in automated dosing, water movement, and hydraulics create treatment plants that ease operation and maintenance demands since labor is a major cost for [these communities],” Richardson said.
What’s ahead
CSCS and team are currently in Phase 1 of the NSF Convergence Accelerator Program. Over the course of nine months, the water team will develop their initial idea into a proof of concept, identify new team members and partners, and participate in the NSF Convergence Accelerator’s Phase 1 innovation curriculum, which provides fundamentals in human-centered design; team science; use-inspired research; early-stage prototyping; and communications, storytelling, and pitching.
At the end of Phase 1, the water team will participate in a competitive formal NSF pitch and proposal process, which is used in selecting teams for Phase 2. Teams selected for Phase 2 will continue accelerating their solutions toward impact. By the end of the Convergence Research phases, solutions are expected to impact societal needs at scale and be sustainable beyond NSF support.
The Center for Sustainable Community Solutions (CSCS) at Syracuse University
CSCS is a nonprofit organization working at the intersection of sustainability communications, policy, and science to foster economic well-being, environmental stewardship, and social equity by engaging community members at all levels to provide the coordination and knowledge needed to make informed decisions that
support sustainability, resiliency, and climate adaptation. The Syracuse University Environmental Finance Center (EFC), operated by CSCS, is a pillar in this mission that facilitates the development of sustainable and resilient communities throughout US EPA Region 2 (New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and eight Native Nations) and nationally.
U.S. National Science Foundation
The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that promotes the progress of science by investing in research to expand knowledge in science, engineering, and education across all 50 states and territories. NSF supports nearly 2,000 colleges, universities, and other institutions through competitive grants aimed at advancing science with broad impacts across the nation and its people. Learn more at nsf.gov.
About the NSF Convergence Accelerator
Launched in 2019, the NSF Convergence Accelerator—a TIP program—builds upon NSF’s investment in basic research and discovery to accelerate solutions toward societal and economic impact. The program’s multidisciplinary teams use convergence research fundamentals and innovation processes to stimulate innovative idea sharing and development of sustainable solutions. For more information about the program, visit new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/convergence-accelerator.
Professor Emeritus in mechanical and aerospace engineering, Mark Glauser, has received the 2024 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Fluid Dynamics Award. The award recognizes individuals with outstanding contributions to the understanding of liquid and gas behavior in motion and notable accomplishments within the aerospace community. This prestigious award is proudly sponsored by the AIAA Fluid Dynamics Technical Committee.
Glauser was selected for his seminal contributions to the innovative use of multi-point low-dimensional methods for understanding and control of turbulent flows. He will be recognized during the 2024 AIAA AVIATION Forum and AIAA ASCEND event in Las Vegas, Nevada in July. He will also give a special Fluid Dynamics Award Lecture.
“This is indeed a great honor for me and reflects very positively on the Syracuse University mechanical and aerospace engineering department and the approximately 70 of my outstanding MS and Ph.D. students who have been key to my success,” says Glauser.
A civil and environmental engineering research group has won the 2024 Best Case Study Award in the Journal of Sustainable Water in the Built Environment. The paper was written by graduate student Lucie Worthen G’19 along with Assistant Professors Christa Kelleher from the College of Arts and Sciences and Cliff Davidson from the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). The award is nominated and selected by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute (EWRI) editorial board.
The research group was awarded for their work on “A Diagnostic Analysis of Low-Impact Development Simulations with Stormwater Management Model (SWMM).” The paper compares the results of the SWMM of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with measurements of stormwater runoff from the green roof of the Nick Pirro Convention Center owned by Onondaga County.
Worthen, Kelleher, and Davidson will be recognized at the 2024 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Convention during the awards and lectures presentation.
Since childhood, Marco Campos has carved his own path, one that took him from poverty to great success. Today, Campos, together with his sister, Deanna Campos-Miller, are committed to creating opportunities for educational institutions and communities in support of student success through their foundation, Campos Foundation.
Through the foundation, Campos, whose son is a third-year student in the College of Visual and Performing Arts, has just pledged $2.15 million to Syracuse University as part of the Forever Orange Campaign. The gift will fund a new student center in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). The student center will offer programming designed to attract underrepresented students to the college and support the academic success of all ECS students. It comes at a time of tremendous growth for ECS. As part of the University’s Academic Strategic Plan, ECS will grow its enrollment and faculty ranks by 50% by 2028.
“The Campos Student Center will provide dedicated space for our students with a home for collaboration, community and access to resources that maximize their success,” says ECS Dean J. Cole Smith. “This space will facilitate club activities that enhance the experience of our diverse student body. More than that, it will be a home on campus that is inviting and welcoming to all.”
The Campos Student Center will be housed on the second floor of the Center for Science and Technology.
Marco and his sister grew up in West Denver, Colorado, raised by a single mother with limited resources. Campos-Miller says her brother literally wore the boots in the family. “Marco got the snow boots, but I didn’t have any, so when we had to walk to school in the snow, he would walk in front of me and pave the way to school,” says Campos-Miller. “He told me, ‘Walk right behind me in my footprints.’”
Today, the siblings are paving the way for student success through the Campos Foundation.
“As a young teenager, I didn’t have role models,” says Campos. “I sensed there was something bigger, but there wasn’t a clear path.” He was talented in math but received little encouragement or support until becoming part of a summer bridge program in his senior year of high school. That opened the door to engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder where, for the first time, his potential was recognized and cultivated. “I never loved engineering and math, but I saw the pathway to a career in an engineering degree,” says Campos. “It was grueling work, but the perseverance and grind ultimately get you there. You have to be consistent and hold the course.”
Campos-Miller says her brother has never forgotten where he came from. “Marco wants to elevate as many people as possible, and he can do that by funding the right kinds of programs,” says Campos-Miller. “Grit, perseverance and compassion are the best ways to describe Marco. He was always a really good dreamer!”
Campos’ gift was inspired by a recent visit to campus and by the success of an earlier gift made by his foundation to the University of Colorado in Boulder. He says he saw the geography and the demographics of Syracuse and thought he could make a similar impact. He believes the new student center will be a welcoming and inclusive home where engineering, computer science, and other STEM students can go for academic support, financial advice and career direction. The student center is intended to inspire those who have big hopes and dreams but maybe haven’t been empowered in the past, he says.
“This kind of philanthropic support represents a true endorsement of and investment in the vision, mission and strategic planning of the College of Engineering and Computer Science,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I am grateful to Marco and Deanna for their commitment to Syracuse University and am confident this center will have an impact on generations of students pursuing career paths in engineering.”
Campos’ career began with an internship at Texaco during his college years, and he was hired immediately upon graduation. By age 30, he had accumulated enough work and consulting experience, confidence and wealth to start his own company and start giving back. Campos EPC, established in 2005 with headquarters in Denver, offers engineering, procurement and construction counsel for utility, energy and midstream organizations. The company also offers STEM education initiatives through a community outreach program, while the foundation supports summer bridge programs, scholarships and SmartLabs at primary and secondary schools, among other initiatives.
“When I talk about the company, I rarely talk about the business,” says Campos. “Everyone can engineer. Everyone can project manage, but I want to be known for trying to improve the community and improve quality of life.”
He credits his hard-working employees for their commitment to giving back and driving the success of the Campos Foundation. He notes that the guiding principle of Campos companies is, “Our People are our Power,” and the power of philanthropy rests with his employees.
Campos and his sister believe the foundation’s intensive focus on mission through philanthropy, and the recruitment of specialized talent to lead and manage these kinds of student-centered programs helps universities “move the needle” when it comes to attracting students of all backgrounds to engineering fields. “This has become our corporate and social responsibility,” says Campos. “You have to be focused and disciplined and patient in your approach. Working with the University, we set up metrics to make sure the funding is accomplishing our established goals.”
Campos-Miller says the naming of the new student center aligns the hopes and dreams of students with the man who forged an enviable path to success. “Campos isn’t just a name. It’s the story behind the name. It represents possibilities and pathways to get there.”
“We all have a sphere of influence and it’s incumbent on each of us to affect our sphere of influence in the most positive ways we can,” says Campos. “Putting good out there in the universe brings back good, even more than we put out.”
New York City has over 12,000 miles of sidewalks, thousands of buses, and a huge transit system that can get you from one end of the city to the other. It’s perfect for pedestrians – but how accessible is it?
Vision loss affects hundreds of New Yorkers, who may find it difficult to navigate sidewalks, crosswalks, and intersections. However, steps are being taken to address these accessibility issues. Along with recent federal court orders for NYC to install accessible pedestrian signals throughout the city, four electrical and computer engineering students are taking accessibility a step further with their navigational cane, Pear Vision+.
“We knew we wanted to make something that was really practical and useful,” says Armani Isonguyo ‘25. “Traditional canes serve only as a physical extension of the user, providing information of any obstacles within 5 feet proximity. Our cane offers comprehensive navigational aid.”
Created by Isonguyo, Alexander Segarra ‘24, Elliot Salas ‘24, and Isaish Fernandez ‘24, the engineering group’s smart cane can identify obstacles in a person’s way, which direction they’re facing the obstacle, and whether the objects are moving. It also provides feedback through audio descriptions via Bluetooth and vibrations, giving users a better understanding of their surroundings.
“I love video games and Nintendo Switches and PlayStation 5s all incorporate vibration into gameplay,” Salas says. “The original idea was actually to put a PlayStation 5 motor in the cane for vibration, but we used a 5V haptic motor disk instead.”
The smart cane is equipped with NVIDIA’s Jetson platform, which helps it identify objects in the surrounding environment. It also has a depth-sensing camera that can determine distances and create a three-dimensional view of the environment. This assists visually impaired individuals in identifying obstacles in real time and navigating their surroundings safely. The cane was also modeled using Shapr3D, a 3D modeling tool.
“With the design, we didn’t focus too much on the length or thickness of the cane, based on previous inspirations in the real world,” says Segarra. “We focused more on the handle and the angle you would want to hold so it doesn’t break.”
The students presented Pear Vision+ at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s (ECS) Open House and also won the William Peil Award for the best electrical engineering and computer science senior design project. They see potential for their project to impact the lives of many.
“I saw this project as one that was meaningful in advancing a certain industry and the world. I’m glad to be part of something that can be impactful,” says Segarra.
“This project not only pushed the boundaries of what we can achieve with technology but also taught us the importance of engineering solutions that make a real difference in people’s lives. We are proud to contribute to a more accessible world,” says Isonguyo.
Michael Blatchley’s broad experiences in biomedical engineering and interests in tissue formation made him the perfect fit for both the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the BioInspired Institute. Get to know Blatchley as he discusses his career path, advice to students, and his new role as an assistant professor.
Tell us about yourself and what brought you to Syracuse University. What sparked your interest in teaching here?
I’m originally from Indiana, went to Purdue in my hometown of West Lafayette, lived in Baltimore, Maryland for graduate school at Johns Hopkins, moved to Boulder, Colorado during my postdoc, and now, of course, I’m in Syracuse. I’ve been lucky to experience many different areas of the country and loved my experiences in each place, but Central New York fits my interest in the outdoors, and Syracuse itself has been a great fit for my family.
I was drawn to Syracuse University by my great interactions with faculty and students, the investment in junior faculty, and the collaborative nature of a lot of the current research on campus. I can envision numerous collaborations within biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) as well as across disciplines in other departments. I’m really looking forward to working as part of the BioInspired Institute because I of course love the science and engineering components, but I also love the arts and think the crossover between the arts and sciences can lead to interesting and innovative ideas.
What are your research interests?
Despite my earliest career aspirations to become an NBA All-Star, my genetics precluded me from success along that career trajectory, so I decided instead to pursue a career in academia.
I’m interested in understanding how tissues form, and how we can take what we learn from biology to build ever-improving models of human tissues in the lab. We can use these models to understand aspects of fundamental biology and tissue regeneration, but also to model disease and, perhaps someday, produce lab-grown tissues for transplantation.
What made you interested in this research?
I became interested in this type of work through a circuitous path spanning a few different fields. When I was an undergraduate, I chose to major in Biomedical Engineering because I had broad interests in all fields that made up the “fundamentals of engineering,” and I liked how those could be applied to solving problems in human health. I also knew I was interested in research, so I looked for a number of different summer research opportunities throughout my undergraduate years.
I first worked at a small startup/contract research company synthesizing and characterizing different biomaterials for medical applications. I then worked in plant biochemistry for a summer through a program funded by HHMI to merge statistics and biology, where I learned a lot of transferrable research skills and how genetically modified organisms can be used to study fundamental science toward real-world applications. Finally, I worked in a clinical research lab with a focus on pulmonology. These broad experiences, combined with my exposure to tissue engineering during a course in my senior year, laid a perfect foundation for me to pursue a PhD with a focus on tissue engineering.
I went into the PhD program with more of an interest in translational work but really developed a love for work in building fundamental in vitro models as well. Since then, my work has spanned the spectrum of tissue engineering, from projects focused on more fundamental modeling of regeneration to designing materials to better characterize in vitro organ models, to engineering dynamic materials to control how tissues form in a reproducible and predictable way. I am fascinated by learning how tissues grow so we can better grow them ourselves, and the field of tissue engineering is perfect to pursue research questions around this central premise.
What are you most excited about in your role as an assistant professor?
Something that really attracts me about academia is the intellectual freedom. Along those lines, I am looking forward to continuing my own work and following my research interests in new directions through collaboration and discovery. But what I’m looking forward to even more is helping guide and mentor students and other trainees toward finding what they are passionate about in research or in their chosen career paths.
What advice do you have for students?
Don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone and learn new things. My most memorable classes helped me broaden my interests rather than narrow my scope of study. The same goes for research. I worked in a wide range of fields that helped me refine my interests to pursue research I was passionate about.
Always ask a question if you have it (maybe ask it in your head one time before you ask it out loud to make sure it’s thoughtful and constructive, but don’t be afraid to ask it!).
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I love to spend time with my family outside, hiking, biking, running, skiing, etc. I’m also a film buff, but weirdly my 18-month-old daughter isn’t as interested in Lynchian horror and 80s schlock as I am. I like to cook and bake, as well. Reviews range from feigned interest to shocking surprise.
Syracuse University today announced its plans to launch the Syracuse University Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, an interdisciplinary center that will bring together expertise in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, manufacturing processes, optimization and robotics to advance the science of semiconductor manufacturing. The center will be funded by a $10 million investment from the University, as well as a $10 million grant from Onondaga County. The center is part of a more than $100 million investment in strategically transforming STEM and expanding the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) at Syracuse University over the next five years.
Housed in the University’s Center for Science and Technology and situated within ECS, the new center will position the University and Central New York as a global leader in research and education on the intelligent manufacturing of semiconductors.
“Syracuse University and Onondaga County have a longstanding history of collaborating in ways that are mutually beneficial for our students, faculty and staff; the Central New York community and the economic prosperity of our region,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “I am grateful for the county’s support. I look forward to the teaching and research that will occur at this new center as well as the meaningful ways that its educational outcomes will contribute to a thriving advanced semiconductor manufacturing industry in Central New York.”
Today’s announcement comes as Micron Technology continues its $100 billion investment in Central New York, which is expected to create 50,000 new jobs in the region, including 9,000 high-paying jobs directly with Micron. Micron will also invest $500 million in community and workforce development, focusing on assisting traditionally underrepresented and disadvantaged populations while training or retraining the region’s workforce.
Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, who was central to attracting Micron to Central New York, says this new facility will play a significant role in helping to drive economic development, cultivate the talent pipeline, attract federal research and development funding and build the semiconductor supply chain in Syracuse.
“As Onondaga County prepares to become the hub for memory technology chip production, we know that we will need our partners in higher education to help develop the necessary workforce critical to ensuring our success,” says McMahon. “With this historic investment by Onondaga County and Syracuse University to launch the Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing, we are taking a huge step forward in that effort. This new center will serve as a vital workforce pipeline as Micron proceeds with the largest investment in the country at White Pine Business Park. I want to thank Chancellor Syverud and the entire team at Syracuse University for their commitment and partnership in making this important initiative a reality.”
The new Syracuse University Center for Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing will drive progress in manufacturing processes across the semiconductor supply chain. A state-of-the-art teaching and research facility, it will replicate an autonomous-advanced manufacturing floor enabling research and design that will make Syracuse and the United States globally competitive in semiconductor manufacturing technologies. Students will be trained in the manufacturing technologies of today and create the new ideas that will drive the industry tomorrow. This university’s ongoing partnership with Micron and the county will ensure that Onondaga County can deliver chips through the most high-quality and cost-effective manufacturing processes possible for years to come.
“Central New York is about to undergo a once-in-a-generation transformation and Syracuse University will play a critical role as one of the region’s key higher education partners,” says Vice Chancellor for Strategic Initiatives and Innovation J. Michael Haynie. “We are proud to partner with the county, Micron and other community and business leaders to prepare a workforce in a way that capitalizes on all of the economic opportunities facing our region today.”
The new center is aligned with the University’s academic strategic plan and leverages the investment it has already made in AI, manufacturing, quantum technologies and precision measurement. Over the next five years, the University will hire more than 10 new faculty at various ranks with expertise in manufacturing process engineering and automation, optimization and artificial intelligence, materials science engineering and other related fields.
“Not only will this center support economic and workforce development, it will also generate significant academic opportunities for both our students and our faculty from a teaching, learning and research perspective,” says Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter. “There is huge demand for trained professionals in and across these fields and Syracuse University will be at the forefront of preparing the next generation of scientists, engineers and leaders in the advanced semiconductor manufacturing space.”
The center’s research will drive the improvements in manufacturing needed to give designers the ability to create tomorrow’s most advanced chips. It will also deliver the skill sets needed by today’s semiconductor industry by educating graduate and undergraduate students in cutting-edge manufacturing and supply-chain technologies.
ECS Dean Cole Smith, who is leading the efforts to expand engineering at Syracuse, says the new center will allow the University to attract and retain diverse and talented student scholars from across the globe who will come to Syracuse to live, learn, study and work. The University will also work closely with the county and the City of Syracuse to recruit students from area high schools, including the new STEAM High School. These efforts directly support the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s plan to grow its undergraduate enrollment by 50% by 2028.
“We want to make advanced manufacturing tangible, exciting and accessible for all students, even if they have not yet seen engineering and computer science as a potential career field,” says Dean Smith. “One of the most exciting aspects of this center is in its dual use for research and education. Prospective students, especially those coming from Central New York, will see amazing opportunities for themselves in the field of semiconductor manufacturing. Instead of just reading about the industry, they will both witness exciting research and interact with an automated, intelligent factory floor when they visit the center.”
Work to transform existing space into the new facility is underway.
19 teams of engineering students presented their designs to industry partners at the end of the 2024 spring semester. These presentations were part of their senior capstone design course spanning the fall and spring semesters. Each team worked directly with their company sponsor to solve complex engineering problems. The top three capstone teams won a monetary prize based on the judges’ scores and this year’s winners were Pursuit Aerospace (first place), Govsphere (second place), and Aerovec (third place).
“I am so proud of all of my students who presented their senior design capstone projects to a panel of 14 industry expert judges,” says Kenneth and Mary Ann Shaw Professor of Practice in Entrepreneurial Leadership Alex Deyhim. “Each team presented the results of their year-long company-sponsored projects. They also gave poster presentations to our esteemed guests during the networking lunch.
“We are grateful to our 19 faculty mentors who worked with the teams all year, and to our esteemed panel of judges who gave their time and expertise to provide invaluable feedback to the teams. We also want to thank Boeing Corp. for sponsoring the Boeing Award. All the teams gave amazing presentations and determining the winners required calculating the scores to three decimal places!”
The projects and companies that students worked with in the 2023-2024 academic year were:
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-
Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
Integrated Sustainable Building Design: Designed an HVAC System for a new library in São Paolo, Brazil.
Hydronic Shell
Simulation of a Novel Heating & Cooling Concept: Identified the key components of the design for the Hydronic Shell, a modular HVAC system integrated into panels that form an insulated shell over an existing building.
Pursuit Aerospace
CNC Machining Fixture – Clamp Redesign: Manufactured all components to be used within the CNC machine and enhanced the overall performance of the clamping mechanism.
Aerovec
Small-Scale Wind for Rooftop Applications: Assisted with the design of a small-scale wind turbine that could be installed on rooftops for commercial, industrial, and agricultural applications.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Neutron Velocity Selector Test Base and Cover: Designed a permanently mounted base with an attached protective cover to house all models of NVS during the testing phase and ensure the safety of all test participants in the event of a worst-case scenario.
American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE)
Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP): Designed and built an aquatic vessel propelled by electrical propulsion.
New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT)
Deformation of Elastomeric Bridge Bearings: Determined the maximum horizontal shear force bridge bearings could withstand before permanent deformation.
Microsoft
Bifacial Coldplates for High Power Servers: Developed a liquid-cooled server to provide efficient and adequate heat transfer from protected and stressed equipment.
Corning
Generative AI for Solving Real-World Problems: Improved mechanical engineering design processes by eliminating the manual operation of 3D design software through means of generative AI.
Boeing
Sustainable Composite Materials for Aircraft Interiors: Investigated the feasibility of sustainable composite alternatives to address end-of-life and environmental issues without sacrificing durability or product quality.
Lockheed Martin
Additively Manufactured Cold Plate: Investigated, analyzed, procured, and tested AM cold plate designs that were representative of designs under consideration for use in high heat dissipating electronic module assemblies.
Lote Biologics
Utility Steam Generation Plant Design: Developed an appropriately sized new design, which met current and future facility demands in a highly efficient manner.
Thermal Space
Lightweight Graphene Radiators for Space System: Developed a baseline radiator panel design that could help to predict performance such as heat rejection capacity as well as temperature gradients.
SEPAC
Universal Torque Testing Machine: Developed and prototyped a torque and burnishing system for electromagnetic clutches and brakes for SEPAC.
Northrop Grumman
Generate an Empirical Database to Characterize Critical Oscillating Heat Pipe: Designed and tested physical OHP heatsinks to determine which design would allow for the highest heat flux in a system.
L3Harris
Universal Adjustable Antenna Mounting System: Created a sustainable, reliable, and user-friendly solution for temporary communications systems installation on helicopters.
Govsphere
Modernization of MedX Rehab Medical Machines: Designed the next generation of the MedX Rehab Lumbar Extension and Cervical Extension machines, integrated electric motors, and redesigned the counterbalance, weight stack, and frame of each machine.
SAAB
Micro-Unmanned Underwater Vehicle STEM Design: Designed and constructed a cost-effective modular STEM kit variant of a military micro-unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) at a reasonable cost for academic use.
Electrolux
AGV (Automated Guided Vehicles): Evaluated implementing Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs) at the Kinston, North Carolina facility and facilitated efficient transportation of materials, including raw and assembled sumps, within the facility.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is proud to announce Professor Shiu-Kai Chin as the recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal, the University’s highest honor. This award is presented to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to Syracuse University and the world. Chin’s research has greatly impacted the field of computer security and he remains a leading figure in trustworthy computer system research. He is currently the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
“It’s a huge privilege. I owe so much to this university and the wonderful people here,” says Chin. “I’m very pleased and proud to receive the Chancellor’s Medal. My obligation is to pay things forward.”
In 1969, when Chin was a high school junior attending camp, he visited Syracuse University’s campus for the first time. This trip would influence his decision to attend Syracuse for his undergraduate studies and pursue his interest in computer science and engineering, which were relatively new fields at the time. Syracuse University was one of the few research institutions that offered this curriculum, making it an easy choice for Chin to pursue his studies. He would graduate with a computer engineering degree in 1975.
Chin started his professional career at General Electric and planned to obtain a master’s degree. General Electric offered an advanced three-year engineering course which led to a master’s degree from Syracuse University upon completion, and after completing the course, Chin continued working at General Electric. However, he reconsidered after a colleague mentioned how enjoyable it was to work at Syracuse University.
“They told me they have fun at Syracuse every day. I had never associated fun and work in the same sentence,” says Chin. “I have no regrets working for General Electric. It was satisfying. The concept of work, while meaningful and important, also being fun, I’ve never had that thought.”
Chin would land a position with Syracuse University in 1986, bringing his expertise in computer security, systems assurance, and formal verification to his teaching. His research involves the use of mathematical logic for designing and verifying trustworthy computer systems. He also focuses on policy-based design and verification, with an emphasis on using computer-assisted reasoning and higher-order logic theorem provers.
Chin has received awards and honors, including the Provost Faculty Fellow, Chancellor’s Citation for Outstanding Contributions to the University’s Academic Programs and the Crouse Hinds Award for Excellence in Education. He has worked closely with Syracuse University’s Center for Information Systems Assurance and Trust, as well as the Institute for National Security and Counterterrorism. He has also written multiple publications on his research, worked with the Air Force’s trustworthy systems and hardware-based security and collaborated with JP Morgan Chase on transaction security.
When Chin reflects on his career at the University, he finds joy in conducting his research but also in seeing his students explore and discover on their own.
“I love the exuberant, optimistic energy and excitement that new students carry. It reminds me of when I was a student as well. It happens every year when a new batch of students come,” he says. “I also love it when students come back and want to meet with me and tell me what happened after they graduated. That’s what makes faculty life so remarkably satisfying.”
Though Chin is retiring from the University, he will continue research efforts with the government and corporations and has some active proposals that are under consideration with the Air Force. He also has a CRADA (Cooperative Research and Development Agreement) with NSA in mission assurance, cybersecurity and trustworthy AI in security, all of which he looks forward to completing.
“Syracuse was the first institution that made me feel at home. I never had to explain myself. The faculty in the college understood me. I’m very fortunate that Syracuse University took a chance on me.”
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is proud to announce that Abby Fite G’18 has joined the College as the Director of Inclusive Excellence.
Fite is returning to Syracuse University from Bucknell University where she was the Associate Director for Gender and Sexuality Resources and Women’s Resources in the Office of Gender and Sexuality Resources, Equity and Inclusive Excellence. While at Bucknell, Fite received the President’s Diversity and Inclusion award in April 2023.
Prior to Bucknell, Fite was the Manager of Graduate Administration at the University of Pittsburgh’s Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences and was a Program Coordinator at Syracuse University’s LGBTQ Resource Center.
In the Director of Inclusive Excellence role, Fite will help create strategic goals for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) within ECS and advise on effective implementation of initiatives undertaken as a part of ECS’s strategic plan. Fite will oversee assessment of DEIA in the College along with overseeing and coordinating training and education of faculty, staff, students, and student leaders.
“Over a decade ago, I began my career in higher education by accepting a position at Syracuse University’s LGBT Resource Center. Not long after, I enrolled in Syracuse’s School of Education to pursue a Master’s in Cultural Foundations of Education. Each of my professional and educational experiences has shaped the person I am today, but none more so than my experiences at Syracuse, where I discovered my passion for higher education administration; where I developed the understanding of identity and power and privilege and oppression that undergirds my work in DEIA; and where I met so many of the mentors and mentees who affirm and challenge and sustain my commitment to equity and justice, not just in the workplace but across my life,” says Fite. “I am thrilled to return to the University where I grew into myself; and as the Director of Inclusive Excellence for the College of Engineering and Computer Science, I look forward to cultivating a culture of belonging that invites students, staff, and faculty of all identities to do the same.”
Fite received a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Vassar College, a master’s degree in cultural foundations of education from Syracuse University and a doctoral degree in educational foundations, organizations and policy from the University of Pittsburgh.
As the construction industry faces challenges in infrastructure maintenance, Syracuse University has established the Infrastructure Institute to develop new approaches to address these issues. Under the leadership of Min Liu, the institute strives to develop talent, conduct research, and educate the public to ensure a sustainable, collaborative future in infrastructure.
“The biggest issues we see right now are public safety, the environmental impact of infrastructure, and a long-term shortage of skilled laborers,” says Liu. “My vision for this institute is to build a platform to facilitate different people from different sections to work together.”
Liu earned her Ph.D. in engineering project management from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007. She then worked as an assistant and later associate professor at North Carolina State University until 2022. During her tenure, she conducted research on construction engineering and management, collected large amounts of empirical data, and used modeling programming to analyze the data and improve productivity.
Additionally, Liu worked with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Construction Industry Institute. She also became Chair of the ASCE Construction Research Council from 2020 to 2021. In 2022, Liu joined Syracuse University as the Abdallah H. Yabroudi Endowed Professor in Sustainable Civil Infrastructure and the director of the Infrastructure Institute, bringing years of experience to her respective roles.
The Infrastructure Institute is developing academic programs, research opportunities, and internships for students and educational programs for public officials and professionals. The institute also collaborates with a wide range of professionals, including information technology experts, data analysts, architects, environmental design professionals, journalists, and business professionals.
Min’s goal is to create a platform that consists of three main pillars: the public, private, and student and faculty sectors. Since building infrastructure requires funding from the government, the union labor association serves as the workforce to construct infrastructure, and students are the future of the industry, collaboration between these three sectors is integral for the success of the institute.
“Public authorities provide the direction and funding for infrastructure. Universities and faculty provide education to students. Students will then become the fresh blood for the public authorities and construction industry. These three sectors are crucial and it’s important they work together.”
Liu has organized various events to integrate the different disciplines within the institute. They held a reception attended by nine different departments and centers at the University. During the event, lightning talks were hosted, and attendees discussed their vision for the future and ongoing research. This event also provided an opportunity for people to socialize and get to know each other.
“With the support of the Office of Research and collaborating with the School of Architecture, the institute developed a request for proposal to encourage and facilitate collaboration across the SU campus to improve infrastructure policy and delivery based on the I-81 project,” says Liu.
Liu has also taught a capstone course that included various students across the college with the goal of helping them prepare for their roles in infrastructure project management and delivery.
Four civil and environmental engineering students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) won first place in the regional American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Sustainable Solutions Competition. The competition took place at the Upstate New York-Canada ASCE Student Symposium at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in mid-April, and the team consisted of Emma Liptrap ’24, Ananya Chandra ’24, Sam Livingston ’24, and Caitlin Spillane ’24. Liptrap served as team captain.
The ASCE competition challenges students to understand and implement sustainable solutions and the primary goal of the team’s project was to reinvigorate a fictional city’s waterfront. They designed a community center, a mixed-use development, a commercial area, and a waterfront park with pedestrian pathways and a bus loop with accessibility throughout the site. The waterfront’s innovative design also utilized green infrastructure to manage stormwater and mitigate flooding. The design exceeds the “Superior” level of the Institute of Sustainable Infrastructure’s ENVISION framework.
Additionally, a group of seven civil and environmental engineering students participated in the Student Steel Bridge Competition at RPI and the student team consisted of Patrick Alberga ‘25, Henry Bievenue ‘24, Henry Long ‘25, Sumit Mistry ‘24, Maxwell Pozar ‘25, Aaron Shinn ‘25 and Arturo Venegas ‘25. Shinn served as team captain.
The Steel Bridge Competition challenges students to create a scaled-model steel bridge. The team designed, fabricated, and constructed a 150 lb. and 21-foot-long steel bridge in segments and assembled the segments into a fully functional bridge within a time limit. The bridge was then subjected to various geometry and loading tests during the competition.
The Sustainable Solutions team has received an official invitation to compete at the 2024 ASCE Student Championships at Brigham Young University in June and is preparing for the national competition.
Get to know the staff who keep the department of mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) running smoothly!
Name: Karen Dixon-Cherebin
Title: Academic Support Coordinator
Tell us about your role at Engineering and Computer Science:
I am responsible for managing class scheduling, enrollment and classroom assignments, among other academic tasks for students and faculty.
I also assist the Department Chair with MAE events and special projects.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
Having the opportunity to work with a diverse group of students. I like to remind students to let their faith be bigger than their fear.
Name: Megan Claxton
Title: Budget Manager
Tell us about your role at Engineering and Computer Science:
I manage all department funding and provide guidance on the usage of available funds. I also help to facilitate grant proposals and manage the grants once awarded.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
My favorite part about working at ECS is having a good network of friendly and helpful colleagues.
Chemical engineering senior Emily Fittante ’24 received the 2024 Allen J. Barduhn Award. This award acknowledges academic excellence with a commitment to service the chemical engineering profession.
Hometown:
Niagara Falls, NY
Activities you have been involved with:
AIChE, Research in Dr. Monroe’s Lab, Alpha Omega Epsilon
Favorite thing about Biomedical and Chemical Engineering:
That the class sizes and welcoming environment allowed for me to form close relationships with both my professors and classmates.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
That Syracuse offers plenty of organizations, activities, and opportunities to meet people from various backgrounds and with similar interests.
Plan after graduation:
To gain experience in process engineering through working in the industry and potentially returning to school to complete my Master’s.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is proud to announce Professor Shobha K. Bhatia as the recipient of the Chancellor’s Citation for Excellence Lifetime Achievement Award. From research and teaching to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, her outstanding contributions have made her a leading figure within her fields of study and ECS. As Bhatia prepares to retire, she leaves a legacy of inclusion, empowerment and environmental justice, inspiring hundreds of students and colleagues to do the same.
“The Chancellor’s Award means a lot. The greatest honor is that my colleagues took time to nominate me,” says Bhatia. “My students [at Syracuse] and colleagues from around the country and abroad wrote beautiful letters. I’m thrilled to receive this award.”
Bhatia completed both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering at IIT Roorkee, India in 1971 and 1973. She went on to earn her Ph.D. as a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver in 1980. While searching for a job, she initially didn’t consider the College of Engineering and Computer Science as an option. However, when her husband, Tej Bhatia, became a faculty member at Syracuse University’s Languages, Literatures and Linguistics (LLL) Department, she decided to join him.
Aside from the chilly weather, Bhatia wasn’t sure what to expect when she first arrived at Syracuse University. She was the only female faculty member in ECS at the time and the only full female professor in the engineering college until 2008. This experience defined her approach to supporting colleagues and students.
“Syracuse University made me feel like this was my university, my work – my voice meant something. I want to give the same feeling to my students – it’s their university, their department, their lab.”
Infusing environmental justice and sustainability in her research goals, Bhatia is an influential figure in geotechnical engineering. Her research on geotextile tubes has critical applications in containment systems and filters. She also developed the Bubble Point technique, which more accurately evaluates geotextile filters used in roads and landfills. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) recognized the increased efficiency and accuracy of the Bubble Point technique and has adopted it as a standard test method.
Bhatia has published over 150 articles and book chapters covering topics that range from soil materials and erosion control to road and building construction and the protection of water quality. She has taught many courses at Syracuse University, as well as guest lectures and seminars in the United States, Mexico, India, Singapore, and the United Kingdom among others. Bhatia also served as a consultant with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station on the dynamic analysis of the 340-foot-high Folson dam.
In addition to her impactful research and contributions, Bhatia has been instrumental in creating programs to support undergraduate students in their academics within the University. As co-director of Women in Science & Engineering (WiSE), she developed a learning community designed for first-year women in STEM. She has worked with the WiSE leadership team to establish the WiSE Future Professoriate Program for graduate students and the WiSE undergraduate Women of Color Career Preparation Program (WWoC), both of which provide support for women pursuing STEM degrees.
When reflecting on her work, Bhatia does not focus on what she has given to the University, but rather on what Syracuse University has given to her. “When I think about the times, I was the happiest working, it was with my students and colleagues. Working with them has always been a highlight. The Syracuse community has been wonderful, and I’ve been able to make lifelong friends.”
Bhatia has also received the 2024 USUCGER Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Award for her efforts toward improving DEI initiatives in geotechnical engineering and the 2025 Robert M. Koerner Award for her contributions to the geosynthetics industry.
She will continue her work at Syracuse University as a research faculty member for two additional years, working on several collaborative research projects in the U.S. and India. ECS will not be the same after Bhatia’s retirement, but her legacy of collaboration, innovation, and revolutionary research will benefit the university for years to come.
“People have been asking me how I feel but I’ve never retired before, so I don’t know what I feel. It’s a new experience for me,” Bhatia says. “It’s an interesting time for me to reflect because we don’t often take time to reflect…When I think about my accomplishments, it’s not about the number of papers I’ve published. It’s the people I’ve worked with and what we’ve been able to accomplish together.”
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS) Professor Farzana Rahman received a Meredith Teaching Recognition Award at the 2024 One University Awards. The award is sponsored by the Syracuse University Meredith Professors to recognize excellence in teaching and foster a culture of collegial mentoring among faculty members.
Rahman joined the College of Engineering and Computer Science in the spring of 2020. She has taught core courses in the across the EECS department. Central to her teaching approach is an active learning style, which pairs hands-on programming exercises with challenging projects that demand students to cultivate skills in problem-solving, debugging, and software engineering in general. She is dedicated to creating equitable education and learning experiences for all students.
“Farzana Rahman is an exemplary teacher,” says Professor Shiu-Kai Chin. “Our students are fortunate that they can learn fundamental concepts from her. She represents our profession and Syracuse University in an exemplary fashion.”
“We have seen Professor Rahman motivate students through her enthusiasm, high expectations, challenging, and well-structured course design,” says Interim Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department Chair Susan Older. “Despite her successes in the classroom, we are most appreciative of the reflection she maintains as she isolates student learning difficulties, designs activities to remedy these difficulties, and then self-evaluates how she can improve each course from semester to semester.”
“Professor Rahman has served as the ‘go-to’ professor for many women and underrepresented students who frequently seek her advice on resume building, internship/job interview preparation, research supervision, and the higher education admission process,” said Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Academic Initiatives Jae Oh.
Biomedical engineering senior Jade Carter has been selected by the Patrick P. Lee Foundation as the 2024 Distinguished Lee Scholar.
The Lee Foundation focuses on post-secondary scholarships for students studying engineering and technology and are well positioned to enter the workforce upon graduation with minimum debt. Each year, the Lee Foundation awards 100 scholarships to students at ten colleges and universities including Syracuse University.
The Distinguished Lee Scholar Award is given to “an exceptional Lee Scholar who has successfully integrated the Foundation’s values of integrity, leadership and service into their personal and academic endeavors. The Distinguished Lee Scholar is a leader in and out of the classroom, helps foster the community of Lee Scholars, and finds meaningful ways to give back to others.“
My favorite aspect of BMCE is its vibrant research environment, which is highlighted by the communal lab equipment and workspace. This setup fosters a collaborative atmosphere where one can readily seek assistance from colleagues during experimental roadblocks. Additionally, it facilitates a dynamic exchange of ideas and learning opportunities among undergraduate and graduate students, all within a friendly and supportive context.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite part about SU is the campus’s beauty, especially during the summer and winter seasons.
Plan after graduation:
I am currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pittsburgh, where I am advancing research in medical biomaterials, particularly wound dressings.
Biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) students presented their senior capstone design projects at the National Veterans Resource Center (NVRC). The presentations consisted of seven biomedical engineering teams and three chemical engineering teams. Members of the BMCE Advisory Board, consisting of industrial and academic representatives, served as judges for the poster session. This senior design course challenges students to study real-world issues and develop a solution from concept to prototype.
Triple C+: An Adaptive Neck Orthotic
Develops a neck orthotic focused on comfort, adaptability, and safety for patients with neck muscle weakness.
Members: Colin Babick, Shaila Cuellar, Roxana Gomez, Brenna Henderson
Client: Sarah Seib
BiRed Breast Cancer Imaging Table
Aims to revolutionize breast cancer diagnosis by enhancing patient comfort and accessibility
Members: Jonathan Hernandez, AMathieu Barthelemy, Dominic Clinch, Jonathan Ngo, Alyssa Shelburne
Client: Dr. Satish Kandlikar, CEO of BiRed Imaging
Gait 2 Go: Gait Analysis Anytime Anywhere
Simplifies gait analysis for clinicians by eliminating the need for expensive labs and gait experts
Mechanical engineering students Ian Storrs, David Denneen and Hunter Knarr and their faculty mentor, Professor Kasey Laurent, qualified for the 2024 American Society of Naval Engineers Promoting Electric Propulsion (PEP) Unmanned Division competition in Virginia Beach. This is the first year that Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science is participating in the PEP program. The student team worked extremely hard designing and building their remote-controlled electric boat, overcoming a number of obstacles to complete their project in time for the two-day competition.
On Tuesday, April 16th, 35 craft qualified to race in time-trial heats for five miles. Under the supervision of Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock, Combatant Craft Division (NSWCCD CCD), team after team took their craft into the open water and tested them in the rigorous Virginia Beach conditions. Judges from the Office of Naval Research, ASNE Tidewater Section, ROBONATION, and student volunteers tracked and documented their progress.
Oliver Fernandez ’08 graduated with a civil engineering degree and played for the Syracuse University football team. He lives in Washington D.C. with his wife Leah and their two children. Fernandez owns McKenzie, a construction company that has successfully completed over $100M worth of projects.
Fernandez will be the keynote speaker at the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s 2024 Convocation at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 11th. The Convocation will be held at the Lally Athletics Complex.
What initially brought you to Syracuse University?
“My mom really steered me into going to college and Syracuse University. I was a good student but I had an eye-opening experience when I went to Syracuse. I knew I was in the right environment to go to the next level but at the same time I knew I needed to step up and sharpen my skills.”
I got into a really good routine. I was focused on school. I knew that if I couldn’t hold up the school part of the deal, I would not be playing on the sports side. That experience was incredible and it taught me to take action on what I could do. Don’t compete against anyone else, just compete against what you are capable of. I started getting better day after day at both football and in my classes. It all snowballed in a good direction.”
How did you start your career after graduation?
“I moved to Atlanta and I was working in construction but wound up moving back to Maine to take care of my mom. Some classes I took in Atlanta opened my eyes to real estate. When I moved to New York, I started looking at property in Washington, D.C. and decided to buy and renovate a building. I was 23 years old and one of our neighbors was so impressed with our work that he financed me to renovate two buildings he owned. Things just kept growing and expanding from there. Last year we did $40 million in projects.”
Have you found that your engineering background has been beneficial in running your company?
“We are working on solving problems every day. My mindset is – we need to prioritize the problems. We solve this one problem and it will knock all the other dominos down. Engineering can be very practical and the principles help guide everything we do. Engineers think about life in practical ways and it helps with business and entrepreneurship.”
What advice would you have for current students?
“I took the hardest option. I started my own business but it made me the person I am today. That’s what taking the hardest challenge does – it makes you the person you dream of being. Look at all your options and see which one can take you to where you want to be.”
Is part of the process to keep setting new goals that are more challenging?
“My initial goal was to get to $10 million in business in a year but after two or three years we were there. I like new challenges so we are resetting the target for $100 million dollars a year. Reaching these goals shows the team that we can get there. Confidence is everything and it is another great characteristic that Syracuse University developed in me.”
Electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) professor Qinru Qiu has been named a Distinguished Professor by the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS).
Her current research focuses on improving the energy efficiency of computing, from runtime power and thermal management of computer systems, and energy harvesting real-time embedded systems, to her recent works in brain-inspired hardware and software for neuromorphic computing.
“I am delighted to learn that Professor Qinru Qiu is being elevated to the rank of Distinguished Professor,” says EECS Distinguished Professor, Pramod Varshney. “Qinru is widely known for her seminal work on energy-efficient computing as well as neuromorphic computing. Her contributions to scholarship, education, and service at Syracuse University are exemplary. She truly deserves this timely recognition.”
“I am very excited and truly honored to receive this special award,” says Qiu. “I want to thank my colleagues for their support and trust. This is a new start for me, and I will continue performing my best.”
Despite advances in cybersecurity, even the most protected networks are vulnerable to cyberattacks due to software bugs or security flaws. Though vulnerability detection methods such as fuzzing can detect bugs, these methods have some limitations. Endadul Hoque, assistant professor in electrical engineering and computer science, has made significant progress researching computer networks and systems security and is working to enhance network security by developing an innovative automated solution.
Hoque has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award to research context-sensitive fuzzing for networked systems. This grant supports early career faculty with their professional development and will build upon Hoque’s research on computer networks and systems security, program analysis, and software engineering.
“Many big tech companies like Google and Microsoft have been investing in fuzzing techniques and have seen the importance of finding bugs in existing software,” Hoque says. “The National Institute of Standards in Technology (NIST) also endorses fuzzing as an automated technique for security testing. This project will push boundaries within the field and have an impact on cybersecurity.”
Hoque’s project has three research goals. The first goal is to create a language that can encode complex structures of inputs that change depending on the context and develop algorithms that can quickly generate correct inputs based on this language. The second goal is to create techniques that can mutate these inputs without losing their context sensitivity, which is essential for the process of fuzzing. The final goal is to create mechanisms that ensure the internal state of a protocol is accurately maintained. This will allow each fuzz input to be tested in a suitable state for the protocol being tested.
“In this area of research, people tend to focus on strengthening the system by finding flaws in the existing system that we use in our day-to-day life,” Hoque says. “How can we find loopholes in real-world security-critical systems? This research award falls under that category to advance the limitations of existing methodologies.”
As part of his project, Hoque plans to improve cybersecurity courses and hold K-12 workshops to promote cybersecurity awareness, integrating his research findings into these initiatives. The project will also encourage undergraduate and graduate students from historically marginalized communities to get involved with educational and research activities.
Additionally, Hoque will form a team for cybersecurity competitions such as capture-the-flag (CTF) competitions, where participants search for hidden text strings in vulnerable websites or programs. These gamified competitions are also an effective way to improve cybersecurity education.
“This project has the potential to significantly enhance the robustness of protocol implementations and cybersecurity education, benefiting society. I’m happy to have received this prestigious award.”
Advancing Women Engineers (AWE) held its first in-person meeting with a panel event and networking dinner. Dedicated to building a community for women in engineering by leveraging the support of its alumnae network, AWE seeks to empower the next generations of women in STEM to build confidence, develop leadership skills, and find a sense of belonging.
“The panelists talked about their experiences and their journey as women in the College of Engineering Computer Science (ECS). They gave us advice and supporting words that I will carry on during my next three years in college,” says computer science student Esther Chang ‘26.
“AWE’s Networking group was a fantastic way for me to not only meet alumni but to also know them on a more personal level. This way, I could relate with them a lot more,” says computer science student Adya Parida ‘25.
“The panelists shared their struggles in college and uncertainty regarding their careers. Many panelists changed jobs multiple times and I could relate to that since I am also unsure about my career path currently,” says computer science student Meagan Gonzalez ‘26.
In addition to providing a safe space for women in engineering, AWE seeks to raise awareness about the meaningful work that engineers do and improve the perception of women in STEM while offering mentoring and career and internship opportunities.
“The biggest takeaway for me was the fact that I am not alone in engineering and there is a large Orange community of talented women engineers who have been in my shoes before, and I can always reach out to them for guidance,” says Parida.
“For me, the biggest takeaway is that it is possible to graduate from ECS and find a job in a respectable environment and kindhearted people. Hearing from alumnae let me learn that not every experience after college will be negative and you can still have a successful and positive experience,” says Gonzalez.
AWE plans to host many events to engage alumni and students through networking, immersion programming, “Real Talk” sessions, virtual conferences, and more.
“As a student who transferred into computer science this semester, it was great to see the alumni of our school to see where I would land after graduating,” says Chang. “The AWE event provided me with a lot of insight into what my future would look like as a woman in ECS.”
On April 8th, 2024, Syracuse University experienced a total solar eclipse. Students, faculty and staff gathered on the quad to share in a once in a lifetime event and share it with the broader Central New York community.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) is proud to welcome Professor Alex K. Jones as the Klaus Schroder Endowed Professor for Engineering and the Chair of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department (EECS). He joins Syracuse from the University of Pittsburgh where he had a 21-year career in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) with courtesy appointments in Computer Science (CS) and Physics and Astronomy.
“I’m thrilled to join Syracuse University at this important time,” said Jones. “The designation of Syracuse University as a core partner in a Regional Tech Hub for computer chips along with the establishment of the new Micron fabrication facility is a tremendous opportunity to become a national leader in the semiconductor space with direct access to opportunities through the CHIPS and Science Act. I am also excited about the outstanding potential within the EECS Department in topics like artificial intelligence, sustainable energy, quantum science and information, and many others thanks to the talented faculty, students, and staff. In partnership with ECS and Syracuse University, broadly, I think you will see great things from EECS in the coming years that will benefit our students, our city, our state and beyond.”
Jones’ research interests are broadly in the areas of computer architecture and compilers. He is best known for research and leadership advancing the field of sustainable computing. His contributions are related to applying full lifecycle thinking to the study of environmental impacts and optimizations for computing systems including projections of environmental impacts, such as with servers in data centers.
Jones demonstrated that the critical environmental impacts from manufacturing these servers can meet or exceed those from the powering their operation in data centers. This trend has started to be noted by industry over the last half decade. More importantly, in handheld systems like mobile phones, 80% or more of the greenhouse gas emissions comes from manufacturing.
Among his research contributions in this area, Jones’ work has demonstrated that leveraging existing silicon in novel ways, such as processing-in-memory, creates an opportunity to holistically reduce greenhouse gas emissions. He has created a tool suite called GreenChip to help encourage the use of environmental-related metrics in the development of next generation computing systems. Jones has received a Carnegie Science Award, a Mascaro Center for Sustainable Innovation Faculty Fellowship, and was elevated to Fellow of the IEEE for his contributions to sustainable computing.
Jones has a significant background in academic leadership. He served as Pitt’s Director of Computer Engineering from 2011—2017, a joint program comprised of faculty from the CS and ECE departments. He led the program to unprecedented growth and an increase in visibility and rankings nationally. Jones’ philosophy combined better engagement between students and faculty in the program and a curriculum that included the newest developments in the field and aspects of the excellent research undertaken by computer engineering program faculty. During his tenure as director, Computer Engineering at Pitt became a top 50 program nationally, where it remains today.
Following his tenure with Computer Engineering, Jones joined the NSF Space, High Performance, and Resilient Computing (SHREC) Center and served as Associate Director from 2018—2020. He led a project team in memory reliability for high performance and space applications. He demonstrated that off-the-shelf dynamic random access memory (DRAM) used in commodity computers had specific radiation properties such that 95—99% of the faults were from predictable locations. He developed a technique that combined a fault repository and low-level error correction that could protect standard DRAM from radiation faults in space, avoiding the need to use radiation hardened devices that are expensive and trail the state of the art by several generations.
In August of 2020, Jones joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a program manager in the Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorate in the Computer and Network Systems (CNS) Division as part of the Computer Systems Research (CSR) cluster. A significant accomplishment was his creation of the Design for Environmental Sustainability of Computing (DESC) program. He was also the managing program director of the ATHENA AI Institute led by Duke University. In his third year at the NSF, he was elevated to serve as cluster lead for CSR. In his fourth year, he was appointed as the Deputy Division Director for the Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems (ECCS) Division, which is a member of the senior leadership team of the Engineering (ENG) Directorate.
While at NSF, Jones established a new personal research direction in quantum computing. Attracting nearly three million dollars in funding from Foundation and Department of Defense grants with his physics colleague Michael Hatridge (Pitt/Yale) and the latter with Hatridge and Robert Schoelkopf (Yale) to develop modular computer architectures, Jones’ research demonstrates better target quantum gates and interconnection topologies that can be realized with high fidelity superconducting systems. These approaches improve the size of quantum applications that can be solved in noisy quantum machines.
Jones received his Ph.D. from Northwestern University, where he was a Walter P. Murphy Fellow. His first major paper at Northwestern on translating MATLAB applications into hardware descriptions went on to be a seminal work (top 25 paper of all time) in the IEEE Field Programmable and Custom Computing Machines (FCCM) Conference. His Ph.D. work in compilation/high-level synthesis of C/C++ codes into hardware descriptions crystallized his interest in compilation and configurable computing. This work informed some of his early work at Pitt in design automation of coarse-grain reconfigurable computing fabrics and radio frequency identification (RFID) devices. Compilation remains a core focus of Jones’ research as applied to configurable architectures and most recently in terms of programming quantum systems (transpilation).
In his spare time, Jones is a freelance clarinetist. In Pittsburgh he was the principal clarinetist of the Pittsburgh Philharmonic, where he has been a featured soloist, served briefly as its artistic director, and served as guest conductor. He also enjoys downhill skiing.
The College of Engineering and Computer Science Career & Internship Fair Spring 2024. Mechanical engineering capstone teams testing their prototypes in the subsonic wind tunnel. Guru Madhavan, senior director at the National Academy of Engineering, gives a guest lecture on cultural, ethical, and environmental responsibility in engineering. Members of WiSE (Women in Science and Engineering) celebrate the contributions of longtime members and leaders Professors Karin Ruhlandt, Shobha Bhatia, Suzanne Baldwin and Eleanor Maine.Students present their work during Engineering and Computer Science Research Day 2024. Members of AWE (Advancing Women Engineers) at their networking dinner and panel event. Electrical and computer engineering students working on capstone projects in the renovated lab space.
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kasey Laurant and student Cody Van Nostrand ’24 running an experiment in the water channel lab
Boasting an impressive wingspan of over seven feet, the golden eagle is one of the largest birds of prey in North America. In addition to being cunning, skilled hunters and their ability to soar effortlessly for hours, golden eagles might also utilize strong gusts of wind to assist their flight – an ability that piqued the interest of aerospace and mechanical engineering professor Kasey Laurent.
During her Ph.D. studies at Cornell University, Laurent conducted research on golden eagles by recording their acceleration as they flew, and the study formed the foundation for her dissertation on bird and drone flight. She also participated in Cornell’s Raptor Program, which provides a home for injured or non-releasable birds for research, training, and rehabilitation. This experience gave her valuable insights into bird flight and behavior.
“Slowly throughout my Ph.D., I became more of a bird person. That’s what motivates my research here at Syracuse University,” she says.
Laurent’s research aims to enhance flight and aerodynamics by measuring wind speeds and unsteadiness within air flows. Her work’s interdisciplinary nature also enables collaboration with biologists to explore ideas for improving aerodynamics by learning from nature.
“If you step outside on a windy day, you’ll feel the wind coming from various directions and at varying strengths at random intervals,” says Laurent. “If we measure the wind at a single point in time, that value will be random, but if we measure the wind over a long period of time and evaluate the statistics of how the wind changes over time, we’ll find patterns. My research looks at how these patterns, or signatures, may be deduced by looking at the locomotion of animals in turbulent environments. Will a bird fly a certain way in the turbulent atmosphere?”
As Laurent puts together a proposal for gust soaring seen with golden eagles, she’s also interested in gathering data from crows, goshawks, and turkey vultures, large birds that also use strong wind gusts to aid their flight.
“Goshawks fly through the forest and can maneuver very fast in different environments. When flying close to treetops, turkey vultures’ wings have an angle to them, allowing them to restabilize. It would be difficult to replicate this in man-made vehicles since they’re not flexible and don’t have joints like birds, but there’s still much we can learn.”
Studying how birds utilize wind and atmosphere to aid their flight would assist in improving the flight of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs.) Smaller aircraft often face issues when encountering wind gusts, causing them to lose control and potentially crash. Understanding how to maneuver around gusts could open up new possibilities for aircraft to fly in without sustaining damage from wind gusts and even utilize gusts to their advantage, similar to birds.
This research can be useful in creating smaller and lighter UAVs for various applications, including search and rescue missions. The main challenge with drones is that they have a limited range, which requires them to return to a base to change batteries and repeat the process. If the drones have a longer lifespan, they can continue with their search without the need to land or replace the battery.
“If we find a way to let the gusts move aircraft around, power won’t be an issue. We’ll just need to know how to maintain stability in that gust,” Laurent says. “Most research looking at flight in turbulence aims to develop methods to reject gusts, but it seems, according to the eagles, that may not be the best approach. We can learn a lot from nature to improve aerodynamics and locomotion.”
Master’s and doctoral students from across the College of Engineering and Computer Science presented their research on Friday, March 22th at the 2024 ECS Research Day, which was held at the National Veterans Resource Center. From fundamental studies to prototype development, a total of 113 posters and 20 oral presentations highlighted the broad research activities across the college.
A keynote address, “The Crucial Role of Strategic Decision-Making in Career Progression: A Personal Journey” was delivered by Melur K. “Ram” Ramasubramanian, Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and Provost at the State University of New York (SUNY) and the President of the SUNY Research Foundation. As an alum with PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering from SU, Ramasubramanian shared his experience and insightful career advice with the attendees.
“ECS research Day is a signature event that we organize ever year to celebrate graduate research in our college. This year is particularly exciting with a new record of participation and high-quality research presented. It showcases the strong scholarly work in many areas.” said Dacheng Ren, Associate Dean for Research.
ORAL PRESENTATION AWARDS
Communications and Security
First Place: Feng Wang. Maximum Knowledge Orthogonality Reconstruction with Gradients in Federated Learning. Advisor: Dr. M. Cenk Gursoy
Second Place:Nandan Sriranga. Detection of temporally correlated signals in distributed sensor networks. Advisor: Dr. Pramod Varshney
Energy, Environment and Smart Materials
First Place: Johnson Agyapong. The Formation of Deterministic Wrinkle Morphologies via 4D Printing of Shape Memory Polymer Substrates. Advisor: Dr. James Henderson
Second Place: Ashok Thapa. Passive Oscillating Heat Pipes for High-Heat Dissipation. Advisor: Dr. Shalabh Maroo
Health and Well-Being
First Place: Yikang Xu. A New Anti-Fouling Indwelling Urinary Catheter with Embedded Active Topography. Advisor: Dr. Dacheng Ren
Second Place: Natalie Petryk. Hydrolytic and oxidative degradation of polyurethane foams for traumatic wound healing. Advisor: Dr. Mary Beth Monroe
Sensors, Robotics and Smart Systems
First Place: Yasser Alqaham. Energetic Analysis on All Possible Bounding Gaits of Quadrupedal. Advisor:Dr Zhenyu Gan
Second Place: Zachary Geffert. Multipath projection stereolithography (MPS) for rapid 3D printing of multiscale devices. Advisor: Dr. Pranav Soman
POSTER PRESENTATION AWARDS
First Place: Omkar Desai. A caching system for concurrent DNN model training. Advisor: Dr. Bryan Kim
Second Place (tied): ZifanWang. Catch You if Pay Attention: Temporal Sensor Attack Diagnosis Using Attention Mechanisms for Cyber-Physical Systems. Advisor: Dr. Qinru Qiu
Second Place (tied): Shreyas Aralumallige. Chandregowda. Exploring the Role of Bio-Flocculant Interactions with Clay Minerals in Addressing Mining Industry Challenges. Advisor: Dr. Shobha K Bhatia
Third Place (tied): Matthew Qualters. Experimental Flow Control Techniques on a Supersonic Multi-Stream Rectangular Jet Flow. Advisor: Dr. Fernando Zigunov
Third Place (tied): Pardha Nayani. Unleashing Bandwidth: Passive Highly Dispersive Matching Network.Advisor: Dr. Younes Ra’di
Honorable Mention:Ziyang Jiao. The Design and Implementation of a Capacity-Variant Storage System.Advisor: Dr. Bryan Kim
Honorable Mention:Ratnakshi Mandal. The dance of DNA and histone proteins: molecular insights into chromosome formation. Advisor: Dr. Shikha Nangia
When it comes to lifelong learning, there’s no better example than Paul Ossenbruggen ‘63. With several decades of experience as a professor, and an engineering career spanning over 40 years, he continues to publish new research papers to this day. However, the journey towards settling into his teaching role took some time. With so many different things he enjoyed learning, it made choosing a specific career difficult.
“I never seem to settle in anything. Some people got involved with one thing and that’s what they do,” he says. “That’s not me – I jump around from one thing to the next.”
Graduating from Brooklyn Tech High School in 1959, Ossenbruggen was uncertain about his career path. Though he began studying civil engineering at Syracuse University, he remained open to exploring other options. At one point, he even considered becoming an airline pilot. It was only during his internship at an energy technology company, Babcock and Wilcox, that he finally discovered his passion for nuclear engineering.
“Babcock and Wilcox make huge boilers,” he says. “Even though I was a civil engineering student, I was getting more involved with nuclear engineering. It was challenging but interesting and I loved every second of it.”
After completing his undergraduate studies at Syracuse in 1963, he continued pursuing his interest in nuclear engineering when working at General Dynamics Electric Boat, where he helped build nuclear submarines. Yet, a part of him wanted to continue learning and exploring other options.
“I loved my job at Electric Boat. They designed and constructed the first nuclear-powered submarine, the U.S.S. Nautilus,” he says. “But I felt there was so much more I wanted to learn so I decided to go to grad school at the University of Connecticut in 1967 and later Carnegie Mellon University for my Ph.D. in 1970. I like learning new things.”
Initially planning to return to Electric Boat, Ossenbruggen became interested in higher education and decided to pursue teaching instead. He began teaching at Northeastern University in Boston, and later in 1975, he moved to the University of New Hampshire where he taught for 34 years. He also taught at the University of California, Berkeley from 2000-2003.
Teaching not only allowed him to mentor and guide students but also explore new engineering concepts, which he found fulfilling. During his tenure as a professor, he also wrote a textbook in 1984 titled “Systems Analysis for Civil Engineers.” The book combined the fundamentals of engineering economics and civil engineering systems and garnered critical acclaim at the time of its publication. It was also translated into Chinese.
“It was a cutting-edge book. Civil engineers didn’t usually write this kind of textbook,” he says. “And one of the great things about it is that it’s still being read to this day.”
Nowadays, Ossenbruggen has settled down, returning to Syracuse where he sees a bright future for the University and the city. He’s been particularly excited about Micron’s plans to invest an estimated $100 billion into Central New York as well as the community grid in downtown Syracuse.
“I’m excited to be in Syracuse now to see this transformation happen. Micron is going make a big difference,” he says. “I’ve been to every meeting, and it looks promising to me. This area turned into a rust belt but hopefully, it’ll become stainless steel.”
Ossenbruggen also looks forward to the Operations Research and System Analytics Master’s Program, which he believes will bring immersive learning to the college’s forefront and fuel students’ passion for learning and discovery.
“I’ve been interested in operations research since I was a grad student at Carnegie Mellon. It had just got off the ground when I was completing my Ph.D. I even proposed a similar course while I was at the University of New Hampshire.
“I’m glad ECS is committed to introducing this program. It’s interdisciplinary, which I like very much. The course selection is great and offers a nice variety of courses that can be tailored to meet a student’s interests. Syracuse University is in a great position.”
Undergraduate Researcher in the Bionics, Systems and Control Lab
Favorite thing about biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE):
My favorite thing about BMCE is the diverse selection of courses which have equipped me with fundamental skills that are essential for my journey towards becoming a Rehabilitation Engineer.
Favorite thing about Syracuse University:
My favorite thing about SU are the support programs for minority students including the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP), Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) and the Our Time Has Come Program (OTHC). These programs actively supported me and provided invaluable resources and opportunities for my success.
Plans after graduation:
I plan to attend graduate school and earn my master’s in movement science.
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) has selected computer science student Cheryl Olanga ‘25 as the recipient of the Deloitte Foundation Scholarship.
The Deloitte Foundation is committed to investing in education and equity by supporting underrepresented students. Through grants that help students develop critical skills in business, accounting, and STEM, the foundation seeks to promote the success of students, educators, and schools by collaborating with academic institutions and nonprofit organizations to drive social impact.
Olanga is currently the assistant treasurer for the Syracuse University NSBE chapter. The organization engages in community service and outreach with high school students, and members discuss their experiences, introduce students to STEM subjects, and help students with science projects. Olanga also works in the Office of Admissions in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, giving tours and talking with prospective and admitted students. She’s also a peer leader for the Office of Success Advising and a member of the Engineering Ambassadors.
Olanga is also researching the implications of AI on policing in Syracuse with the Lender Center for Social Justice. “For me, winning this scholarship is like receiving an affirmation that the future of underrepresented groups within the study and practice of engineering and computer science is bright.”
Get to know the staff who keep the department of biomedical and chemical engineering (BMCE) running smoothly.
Name: David Stablein
Title: ESTEEMED LEADERS Program Coordinator
Tell us about your role at Engineering and Computer Science (ECS):
As program coordinator for the ESTEMED LEADERS Program, I work with our ESTEEMED LEADERS students as they prepare for a future as researchers in biomedical engineering fields. I coordinate all the services, events, and activities that directly support the ESTEEMED LEADERS students.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
The reception to my ideas is positive and supportive.
Name: Emilia Stojanovski
Title: Academic Operations Specialist
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I am responsible for graduate student processes, faculty/ post doc hiring, course scheduling, and curricula support in the department. I manage the processing of all graduate student forms including petitions, independent study proposals, degree certifications and OPT/CPT recommendations. I also handle the graduate admissions process for the department, research/teaching assistantship appointments, as well as the 4+1 program application and admission process.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
The staff and faculty within ECS are wonderful, and we all work together for the greater good of the students in our College. The students in ECS are amazing, as I’ve had opportunities to work with so many across the undergraduate and graduate levels during my time here. It’s exciting to see where their paths take them and knowing that I may have helped them in any way is extremely fulfilling!
Name: Amy Forbes
Title: Administrative Assistant
Tell us about your role at ECS:
I provide administrative support for BMCE through ordering materials for BMCE labs and courses, assisting with space reservation, key distribution, and card access, and assisting with the planning and coordination of department seminars, speaker visits, and faculty candidate interviews and visits.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
Mechanical and aerospace engineering students Kendra Miller, Elan Fullmer and Sydney Florence Jud were awarded first place at the New York State Green Building Conference student poster competition on February 29th and March 1st 2024. The students were advised by Professor Jackie Anderson.
Their project titled, “Generating Renewable Electrical Energy” is sponsored by Aerovec, a startup company focused on developing small-scale, modular wind turbines for remote applications and microgrids. Aerovec is one of 19 industry-sponsored capstone projects that mechanical and aerospace seniors are working on this year. Aerovec is looking into multiple installation locations, such as commercial building rooftops, construction sites, and sites which need natural disaster relief assistance. This senior design project is primarily focused on the feasibility of an array of wind turbines on commercial rooftops for local energy generation.
For nearly 37 years, Professor C.Y. Roger Chen has been a guide to many students on their academic and professional journey. Teaching electrical engineering and computer science courses at Syracuse University since 1988, Chen has continued to mentor several doctoral students who have gone on to have successful careers in big tech.
Naresh Sehgal G’88, Ph.D.’94 is one of many former students whose career was shaped by Chen’s mentorship. As one of Chen’s first master’s students, the two developed a close bond that lasted beyond Sehgal’s time at Syracuse University. Now, after retiring from a 32-year career at Intel Corporation, Sehgal and other alumni are seeking to give back.
“After leaving Syracuse in 1988, Chen agreed to continue being my Ph.D. advisor remotely before the advent of the internet, Skype, Zoom, or any online meetings. He’s extremely humble and flexible,” says Sehgal. “Along with my former Intel colleagues, Bill and Bharat, who also studied under Chen, we wanted to give something back to him and Syracuse University.”
Sehgal, along with Bill Halpin ’88, G’95, Ph.D.’05, Bharat Krishna G’94, Ph.D.’05, Nagbhushan Veerapaneni G’87 and Uminder Singh G’91, Ph.D.’94 established the Dr. Roger Chen Scholarship to honor their professor and advisor for his unwavering guidance and support. For five years, the scholarship will provide financial assistance of up to $10,000 per year to undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and will support students studying computer engineering, electrical engineering, or computer science.
“Syracuse played a huge role in my success and that of my friends. Many of us were able to afford college through assistantships and scholarships,” says Halpin. “The investment by Professor Chen and Syracuse has led us to have fantastic careers and blessed lives. Recognizing him was something that we talked about for a long time.”
The alumni hope this scholarship sets a precedent of appreciation for the college and its faculty who have played a vital role in shaping the careers of many students. They hope to inspire students to pursue their dreams by supporting them, just as Chen and the University once did for them.
“During my master’s studies, Syracuse generously supported me through a teaching assistantship which was a big help,” says Sehgal. “We are glad to have attended this university and studied under Professor Chen. We’re forever grateful for his patience and encouragement.”
“It was natural for us to want to help make college affordable for the next generation of students,” says Halpin. “We hope that this scholarship creates a virtuous cycle where more Alums donate today thereby creating the next generation of Alums who feel the same desire to donate.”
If you would like to make a gift in honor of Dr. Roger Chen and pay it forward, please visit Dr. Roger Chen’s Scholarship Fund. Thank you!
Dr. Aswini Pattanayak working in the quantum technology lab.
Two-dimensional (2D) materials are the thinnest nanomaterials known to exist. Being only about a single or few layers of atoms thick, these delicate sheets have found many applications in electronic devices, quantum optics, and photovoltaic technology. Pankaj K. Jha, assistant professor in electrical engineering and computer science, is leading a quantum technology laboratory with members Aswini Pattanayak, Jagi Rout G’28, Amir Targholizadeh G’28, Theodore Todorov ’26, and Grisha Nikulin ’27 to understand emerging 2D materials and use their findings to develop transformative devices for applications in quantum information science.
Professor Pankaj Jha working on a home-built confocal microscope to investigate the optical properties of 2D materials and heterostructures
Jha is developing single-photon detectors using iron-based superconductors that could work at higher temperatures. Currently, superconducting photodetectors require low temperatures to operate. Pattanayak, a post-doctoral scholar, is leading this project to understand photodetection in iron-chalcogenide-based superconductors and investigating the interaction between these superconductors with other 2D van der Waals (vdWs) materials, exploring unique quantum phenomena at their interfaces.
“High-temperature single photon detectors will have both scientific and fundamental impact. Any application that requires sensitive photon detectors will benefit from these devices,” Jha says.
Pattanayak is also mentoring Todorov, an undergraduate student, in light interferometry. Interferometers combine light to create an interference pattern that can be measured and analyzed. “Interferometry is the basis of optics because it allows you to analyze the classical and quantum optical properties of light,” Todorov says. “The resulting interference can allow one to understand properties of the laser such as path length, wavelength, and refractive index of the medium it has passed through.”
“In this era of quantum exploration, the investigation of superconductors serves as the cornerstone for unlocking unparalleled frontiers in quantum technologies and devices,” says Pattanayak.
Professor Pankaj Jha, Theodore Todorov, Aswini Pattanayak, Amir Targholizadeh, and Jagi Rout (left to right)
Rout, a graduate student, is exploring heterostructures using nanofabrication techniques. Her research focuses on studying high-temperature superconductivity. In addition to working on single-photon detectors, Rout is developing Josephson junctions, devices made by placing thin, non-superconducting materials between two superconductors, and she’ll be using iron-chalcogenide-based superconductors.
“The interplay among topology, magnetism, and superconductivity makes our material an intriguing platform to investigate the strange yet promising interactions in the subatomic realm,” says Rout.
Rout is also mentoring Todorov and Nikulin in the exfoliation of 2D materials. Nikulin’s interest is Superconducting Qubit Architecture and Quantum Algorithms. “Superconducting-based photon detection also has significant applications towards reducing quantum decoherence in quantum computation systems,” says Nikulin.
Targholizadeh, a graduate student, is developing flat photonic devices based on metasurfaces capable of functioning at extremely low temperatures. He aims to address and solve some of the outstanding challenges that single photon detectors face, such as polarization sensitivity, and near-normal incidence requirements, among other issues.
“Metasurfaces are recently introduced as a new paradigm for nanophotonic devices, and in our laboratory, we are working on conceiving, designing, fabricating, and testing these metasurface-based devices,” Targholizadeh says.
Jagi Rout working on creating heterostructures with 2D materials with a fully motorized transferred setup.
In addition to research, Jha started a quantum information science and engineering seminar (QISE) at Syracuse University with support from an internal FCAR Grant. With speakers from academia, industry, and national labs, seminars are open to all and cover experimental and theoretical topics in QISE and adjacent research.
“The response to the QISE Seminar Series has been outstanding, with 60-70 % student audience participation,” Jha says. “I see a bright future for quantum science at the University.”
From teaching in South Korea to academic advising in the U.S. Army, Britton Inglehart brings diverse experiences to his new role as the College of Engineering and Computer Science’s Graduate and Global Career Advisor. In this Q&A session, Inglehart discusses his responsibilities, his vision for the future, and advice to students on how to make the most of their college experience.
Tell us about yourself and what brought you to Syracuse University
I’m from Wellesley Island, New York, which is about an hour and a half north of here and right on the Canadian border. The area is nice, but career opportunities are not unless you’re in the trades. My eyes were always on what else is out in the world. High school and college opened up my eyes to the world around me. I started learning Japanese, became an ESL tutor and this started my career.
I went abroad to teach in South Korea and China, leaving in 2008 and returning in 2019. Then, I worked for the US Army Education Center as an academic advisor, which is how I got into higher education. I just finished my master’s at Nazareth College and came here to Syracuse to wrap it all up into one neat, nice bow. This position fits all my experience into one role.
What is the role of the Graduate and Global Career Advisor?
This is a brand-new position so I’m building it up as I go. Currently, the main focus has been helping my students build their resumes, really diving into what they need. However, I always emphasize to them that resumes are only part of what they need to be successful.
Another big thing I’m working on with students is networking, branching out, and being open to finding roles and professionals online to connect. I’ll show them how to combine Handshake, LinkedIn, and Indeed to build up their confidence, know what they’re looking for, and go in with a broader scope.
What are you most excited about in your role and what’s your favorite part?
I’m really excited about building up a database for international students. Some international students are having a hard time finding employment. Helping them out with CPT and OPT, getting in touch with employers about visa sponsorship, and guiding students to find the right people to go to are priorities.
My favorite part is the one-on-one with students. It’s one of the reasons I decided to get into higher education. Teaching was great, and I loved it but sometimes it’s hard to help everyone. With this role, I can see a lot more progression and growth. It’s very rewarding to see this in students. [Students repeatedly come back to my office] and this shows me that the discussions I’m having with them are beneficial.
What advice do you have for students?
Don’t stress about the future right now. It’s okay to think and start planning but don’t let that prospect get in the way. In rowing, one of my favorite pastimes, you’re always looking at where you were. You don’t know what’s ahead. It’s more important to figure out what you’re doing currently and how to do that well so that the future is ready. Get your resumes ready, pass your classes, and build experience.
What are some things you like to do for fun?
I like to go to the gym, and I enjoy rowing. I’m hoping to join Cazenovia’s team so that I can utilize this area for that. I also read and write. I’m currently working on a fiction series influenced by D&D (Dungeons and Dragons). Not sure if it will ever get anywhere, but it’s something I like to do.
I also play video games. I’m big into the Final Fantasy series, which I grew up with. I also like Ghost of Tsushima, God of War, Legend of Zelda and Myst.
“How do we bring people from different majors together to create a collective community?” This question led the Syracuse chapter of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to explore new ways to forge relationships with the broader campus community. As the student organization welcomes new E-board members, they seek to strengthen bonds within the group’s membership and create a welcoming environment for all to join.
“People in engineering typically meet other engineers – architects stay in Slocum Hall, engineers stay in Link Hall,” says vice president Theodore Todorov ’26. “We’re looking for ways to form new connections and bring people together.”
Founded in 1963, the AIAA aims to shape the future of aerospace through ingenuity and innovation while supporting aerospace professionals to succeed in their careers. The Syracuse University chapter of AIAA contributes to this mission by hosting review sessions. These sessions cover primary engineering and higher-level aerospace courses, and club members can request specific topics to study.
As a first-year student, Todorov loved being part of the club since he got to interact with other like-minded individuals. However, he noticed some aerospace engineering students he knew didn’t attend these meetings. Though the club was also open to non-engineering students, they also weren’t coming to meetings. When appointed as the club’s vice president, Todorov started thinking about ways to encourage more aerospace engineering and non-engineering students to join the club.
“We wanted to branch out more,” he says. “We thought ‘How can we change that? How can we make our club more social?’”
Breaking away from their usual meeting agenda, the club hosted an ice cream social to allow students to connect and relax. To their surprise, several students showed up, eager to mingle and fill their stomachs. This positive response prompted the e-Board to continue hosting more social events that allowed students to have fun.
After the successful ice cream social, the AIAA has decided to host bigger social events in the future. They plan to organize the STEM Olympics, which will involve a campus-wide scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt would feature clues related to different programs such as biology, chemistry, and engineering. This event will also have prizes, and yard games and will take place before midterms so that students can unwind before their exams.
“The idea is when people go to make their teams, they would select people from other majors or programs to have a better chance at solving clues,” says Todorov. “This is one of the best ways we can have students from different majors meet.”
Todorov has been playing a leading role in organizing this event, in addition to assisting with review sessions and other duties related to the vice-president position. The e-Board has much more planned and is eagerly looking forward to students seeing what’s in store. They envision a bright future for the Syracuse chapter of the AIAA, not only as support for the future of aerospace engineering but also as a social club where people can connect.
“I saw potential for the club when I joined my freshman year and I believed AIAA could be so much more,” Todorov says. “We want to make a big impact and are excited to see where it will go next.”
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Younes Radi, assistant professor in electrical engineering and computer science, has been recognized as a Senior Member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for his contributions to research in applied electromagnetics and microwave engineering. He has also been chosen as an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.
The IEEE is a global organization devoted to advancing technology for humanity’s benefit. Senior Membership is awarded to members who have made a significant impact within their fields. Only 10% of the IEEE’s more than 400,000 members hold this grade, which requires extensive experience, professional maturity, and documented achievements of significance.
Radi’s research focuses on the physics of fields and waves, with emphasis on tailoring electromagnetic wave-matter interaction. He has made significant scientific contributions on a broad range of topics in theoretical and applied electromagnetics, optics, and photonics, including artificial electronic and photonic materials, RF/microwave circuits, antennas, and propagation. His papers have been published in several high-impact journals including Nature Physics, Nature Communications, National Science Foundation, and IEEE family journals.
In addition to his Senior Membership and becoming an Associate Editor at IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation, Radi has also been chosen by the University as one of the two faculty to compete in the 2024 Moore Inventor Fellows Program. These recent achievements reflect Radi’s focused efforts to re-establish Syracuse University as a renowned center of electromagnetics and microwave engineering research.
Professor Younes Radi and his research group
“Syracuse University has a rich history in applied electromagnetics and microwave engineering and was one of the leading universities in the world in this field,” says Radi. “I’ve been to many places in Europe and the US and have never seen a city like Syracuse where you can find so many high-end companies in applied electromagnetics and microwave engineering. This creates a great platform to bridge the research in my team with the local industry.
“I am extremely grateful to the department, college, and also the office of VPR for their amazing support in establishing a state-of-the-art RF and mm-Wave laboratory, which we have named ‘RadLab.’ This facility will pave the way for new collaborations with local industry and position Syracuse as a highly active hub for advanced research in applied electromagnetics and microwave engineering.”
In December 2023, students in Professor Svetoslava Todorova’s course CEE 341 “Introduction to Environmental Engineering” served as expert witnesses and lawyers in a mock trial. In this simulated trial, they learned the importance of scientific accuracy and engineering judgment in litigation practice.
Using real data from a contamination case in Europe, students were split into three groups representing different companies accused by the city of contaminating its groundwater pumping wells. For three weeks, they worked with their groups to analyze chemical and hydrological data, considered toxicological exposure, and government regulations to provide their engineering interpretation of the issue to their fictional company’s CEO.
“Our group worked hard over the weeks leading up to the trial and were trying to look at all possible directions that the trial could go. We chose two of our witnesses to be expert witnesses in the fields of groundwater flow and toxicology, with our last witness being an employee from another company,” says civil engineering student Kana Wong ‘25.
After weeks of preparation, students from CEE 341 and students from ECS 101 “Introduction to Engineering,” taught by civil and environmental engineering professor, Peter Plumley, came together in the School of Law’s courtroom. CEE 341 students served as legal professionals and witnesses and the ECS 101 students served as the jury. A legal professional from the local community also served as the judge while Plumley served as the court bailiff.
“The concept of upper-division students role-playing as legal professionals and witnesses and entry-level students as jurors adds a great dimension to the student learning experience. Professor Todorova’s [project] effectively recreates the atmosphere and components of a real-world civil trial,” says Plumley.
“From the lawyers who smiled coyly after nailing a speech or debate with their witnesses, to being yelled at by the other passionate jurors when voting, it made me truly feel like I was in a political court case. I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to interpret any of the law terms, but after the first trial I sat through, being the foreperson in the second trial was a breeze,” says environmental engineering student Natahlia Hammond ‘27.
Plumley and the judge kept track of time during all legal proceedings, which included opening statements, questioning witnesses, cross-examining opposing witnesses, and closing statements.
“I served as the expert witness employed by my company to show our findings. I was questioned by my company’s lawyers and cross-examined by [opposing counsel]. The roles we played were done in the hopes that we could [shift the focus onto] the other companies rather than the one we were chosen to represent,” says environmental engineering student Emma Crandall ‘25.
“As one of the lawyers from my group, it was important to have a good grasp of all of my company’s data and what may play to our strengths and weaknesses in our defense, but to also know how the procedures worked overall when cross-examining witnesses,” says civil engineering student Noah Ialongo ‘25.
“As the faculty member providing the jurors, I especially appreciate that the outcome of each trial depends so much on the defense and delivery of the expert witnesses and the cross-examination by the associated company attorneys,” says Plumley. “Svetla and I are also particularly thankful for the School of Law for allowing our engineering students to experience the inner workings of a courtroom.”
“It was absolutely captivating to see how junior engineering students applied the knowledge they gained in class, managed to build a defense plan, and utilized expert witnesses, detailed maps, and cross-examination to defend and deflect the prosecution,” says Todorova. “Developing a solid scientific argument in support of, or against the presented evidence is critical.”
Biomedical and Chemical Engineering (BMCE) Department Chair Julie Hasenwinkel has been reappointed for a five year term through summer 2029. She has served as BMCE Department Chair since 2019 and has led continued growth within the department while emphasizing scholarship, research and innovation.
Hasenwinkel has been a BMCE faculty member since 1999 and was a founding member of the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute, where her research group has studied spinal cord injury using Raman spectroscopy and microindentation, and has developed polymeric biomaterials for nerve regeneration applications. Her group has also developed bone cements for fixation of total joint replacements and treatment of vertebral compression fractures. She holds five US patents.
Prior to becoming the BMCE department chair, Hasenwinkel was the College’s senior associate dean and previously the associate dean of student and academic affairs. She has led efforts to increase retention, graduation, and placement rates; and enhance undergraduate education through faculty development, the renovation of four state-of-the-art collaborative classrooms, and the development of several cohort-based scholars programs. She has also served on the Provost’s Advisory Committee on Promotion and Tenure, chaired the Academic Affairs Committee and the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee of the University Senate, and is the recipient of multiple honors, including the University’s Seinfeld Scholar Award and Teaching Recognition Award. In 2022 she was named as a Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professor for Teaching Excellence and participated in the ACC Academic Leaders Network.
“I sincerely appreciate the opportunity and privilege to lead this exceptional department and work daily with talented and supportive faculty, staff, and students,” said Hasenwinkel “The collaborative and collegial environment in BMCE is truly special and I am excited to continue to work towards enhancing and sustaining what we have built collectively, as we also help to lead the transformation of ECS.”
“Dr. Hasenwinkel’s leadership has been essential to the growth of BMCE and our College. Her work has long been impactful in student success for our College, especially over the past decade as she spearheaded our efforts to create and implement our three-tiered advising model,” said Dean J. Cole Smith. “Her research vision contributed to a slate of exceptional hires in BMCE during her first term, and has helped make her department an exceptionally welcoming and intellectually rich place to thrive. I am grateful for everything she does for ECS and for Syracuse University.”
Hasenwinkel earned her Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Northwestern University, her master’s degree in bioengineering from Clemson University, and her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering from Duke University.
I oversee all budget and financial operations and provide financial guidance to ensure the financial stability and smooth functioning of the department. Work closely with faculty and staff on the grants proposal and awards management.
What is your favorite part of working here at ECS?
Working with a team of diverse backgrounds and innovative minds. By providing support, guidance and leadership regarding all budget and financial aspects to the faculty and students, I am happy to see they obtain more research funding and exceptional educational experience.
