College News

Engineering and Computer Science Students Attend 2021 ACM Tapia Conference

The Life Sciences Complex at night from above.

Seven students from the College of Engineering and Computer Science attended the 2021 ACM Tapia Conference with help from a STARS Ignite grant awarded to electrical engineering and computer science Professor Farzana Rahman. The ACM Tapia Conference is designed to promote diversity, connect undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, researchers, and professionals in computing from all backgrounds and ethnicities. Before attending the ACM Tapia conference, the student cohort participated in monthly webinar series facilitated by STARS Ignite leadership to mentor students so they can bring the best out of attending diversity conferences, develop value for diversity and inclusiveness in Computing, and contribute to institutional broadening participation activities.

The students had opportunities for workshops and presentations by nationally recognized labs, academic leaders and industry leading companies. A career fair at the conference gave students a chance to meet with recruiters.

“I could have individual meetings with recruiters of different companies in the conference. During meeting with researchers and engineers, I could become more familiar with the culture and projects of companies,” said graduate student Reyhaneh Abdolazimi. “Tapia was also a great opportunity to connect with diverse students from different backgrounds who are looking for job or doing research in the related areas.”

“The early career workshops were very helpful and I was able to connect with some of the presenters to ask about their area of specialization,” said Jemma Mallia ‘23 In many of the career workshops they had a very energetic presenting style that motivated me. Some of the most helpful information included how to optimize my resume, effectively network, seek opportunities, and create opportunities.

“At the Tapia Conference, you can choose the people to speak with. If you choose a recruiter, you may know more about the recruiting process. If you choose a developer, you may know more about the company culture and techniques,” said graduate student Xin Chen.

“I feel as though attending the ACM Tapia conference allowed me to see the diverse paths ahead of me in computing,” said Michael Perry ’22. “I plan to give a talk at our school’s hack-a-thon about broadening participation in computing to hopefully spread the awareness among my community.”

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Pramod Varshney and Students Working With Industry Leaders on Drone use Research

Pramod Varshney Portrait

Distinguished Professor Pramod Varshney’s Sensor Fusion Lab in the College of Engineering and Computer Science along with the Center for Advanced Systems and Engineering (CASE) at Syracuse University, is collaborating with the multinational Thales company to develop new tools and techniques for monitoring air space and tracking of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), commonly referred to as “drones”.

Drones, are becoming increasingly important in our daily lives in order to quickly and safely deliver essential goods and better serve populations. As the world faces new challenges, these types of capabilities provide alternative access with reduced physical touch points, which is particularly important in the context of COVID-19.  Varshney says this collaboration is critical to the advancement of drone integration into the national airspace system and integral to multiple, on-going integration projects including the U.S. Air Force Research Lab’s Collaborative Low-Altitude UAS Integration Effort (CLUE) and for the New York UAS Corridor—a project taking place in close proximity to Syracuse University to integrate drones into the airspace safely between Syracuse, NY, and the FAA’s UAS Test Site at the Griffiss International Airport located in Rome, NY.

Dr.Varshney’s lab is developing performance metrics and models for new radar systems being deployed ensuring that traditional aviators and drones do not get too close in the air, thereby creating a safety issue within the national airspace system.  Varshney and his students are working with Thales engineers and business leaders to implement algorithms that will more accurately track drones using multiple sensors (radar, acoustic, radio frequency and cameras) to provide real-time tracking ensuring safety in the air and on the ground.  Surveillance data fusion is a core competency at Syracuse University which led to the partnership between Thales and Varshney—a recognized, world-renowned expert in multi-sensor data fusion algorithmic development.

Thales, a global company with more than 80,000 employees developing and delivering solutions for aerospace, space, ground transportation, defense and digital identity and e-security,  has a long-standing commitment to university partnerships.

“While the company possesses world-class engineering and development professionals, business leaders within the company recognize the importance of academic partnerships to rapidly advance technologies and concepts, and develop the next generation workforce who will revolutionize business practices and technology advancement,” said Varshney.

As a large systems integrator, Thales helped define the standard for UAS airspace integration and traffic management models – specifically as an early partner with the FAA for Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC). The company’s integration of third party capabilities, such as surveillance and other data services into a UTM platform, is enabling new digital services for UAS airspace access.  Varshney says Syracuse University plays a vital role in the integration of this safety-critical service.

“Central New York is leading the United States in the integration of drone technology.  Syracuse University and the school’s Autonomous Systems Policy Institute along with other organizations including CenterState CEO and NUAIR and Thales are committed to establishing a leadership role in the development of critical technologies, policies and new public-private business models to advance the United States’ national airspace system,” said Varshney.

SU Researchers Working on Tool to Determine Drug Risks During Pregnancy

Collecting accurate data showing whether or not any pharmaceutical drug could be harmful to unborn children is very difficult. Without clear embryotoxicity data, doctors often have to balance risks to the health of an expectant mother against the health of her baby and hope a drug does not have any negative side effects.

“There are tons of drugs on the market that have not been evaluated yet,” said biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Zhen Ma. “We want to think about how we can re-evaluate everything”

Ma and his Syracuse University research team developed an in vitro 3D tissue model of a human heart based on human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). A model existing outside the body makes it possible to test drugs often prescribed during pregnancy and learn how they influence hiPSC growth, cardiac differentiation, and early heart formation in a fetus.

“The goal of this project is to use stem cell technology as a tool for screening embryotoxicity for pharmaceutical compounds,” said Ma. “We will be using this to create a model so we can classify the potential risk of future drugs.”

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) sees pediatric pharmacology as an area of need. Ma, in collaboration with a Syracuse University Falk College of Public Health professor and a professor from SUNY Upstate received funding for five years through an NIH Research Grant Award (RO1) to use the cardiac organoid model to improve traditional pharmaceutical screening.

“This funding will take us to another level on these embryotoxicity studies.” Said Ma. “What we really propose for this finding is we can develop a risk classification system for the drugs.”

To begin achieving their goal, the team is running optimizations and exposing the cardiac organoid model to drugs with known embryotoxicity levels to calibrate drug response. By introducing data analytics technologies into their research, the team has begun establishing a new biostatistical model to classify risk and with the predictive model in place, Ma and his collaborators are evaluating the embryotoxic potentials of psychotropic drugs. The research could enable expectant mothers struggling with mental health issues to continue receiving treatment through pregnancy without added concern for what the impact is on the unborn child.

“With this model we built, we can tell which drugs will maybe control the syndrome and choose the one that is safer for fetal development,” said Ma.

Additional breakthroughs could come in the area of drug discovery. Ma foresees the potential to evaluate new drugs during pre-clinical trials and to build in safeguards against embryotoxicity.

“Using this data from the drugs we already know have an embryotoxicity issue or don’t have embryotoxicity issue, we can create a database and use that database to create a statistical model,” said Ma. “The idea is in the future if a pharmaceutical company develops a new drug, let’s say a new drug for COVID-19, we can put this drug in our model and feed it the data so we can classify how risky this drug could be in terms of embryotoxicity.”

An embryotoxicity risk classification system would be a pioneering breakthrough because it could allow for a more precise assessment drug effects on early embryonic development, leading to safer pregnancies. The model also has the potential to become a critical part of the standard for pharmaceutical development. It would provide developers with a human based system for testing to compliment research done with rodents.

“Our model can be run in parallel,” said Ma.

Dr. Young Moon Reappointed as Chair of the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department

Dr. Young Moon has been reappointed as the chair of the mechanical and aerospace engineering (MAE) department in the College of Engineering and Computer Science through June 2025. Dr. Moon has served as MAE department chair since 2016.

“I’m grateful to have his leadership, guidance and experience as we move forward during these challenging times,” said Dean J. Cole Smith. “Dr. Moon is an internationally respected scholar and mentor who values all our students and their success. In the short time I’ve been here, I have seen first-hand how he selflessly dedicates his time and energy to Syracuse students.”

Moon is the William J. Smith Professor in Manufacturing Enterprises and teaches courses and conducts research in the areas of cyber-manufacturing systems, sustainable manufacturing, product realization processes and systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, systems modeling and simulation, computer integrated manufacturing (CIM), product lifecycle management (PLM) and engineering education. He has been instrumental in launching the new Engineering Management online master’s program and helped launch the incredibly successful Invent@SU program.

“I am very grateful for all the support and help that I have received from MAE faculty, staff, advisory board, and students over the years,” said Moon. “I would like to thank Dean Smith for his support and giving me the opportunity to continue advancing the mission of the department. I look forward to continuing working with all college and department colleagues and students during this uniquely challenging period and beyond.”

He has had extensive interactions with industry and has published over 100 refereed journal and conference publications. He is serving as an Engineering Accreditation Commissioner of ABET. He is active in a variety of capacities with numerous professional organizations, including INCOSE, SME, ASEE, IFIP, and IEEE.

Moon holds a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering from Seoul National University, a master of science degree in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University, and a Ph.D. degree in industrial engineering from Purdue University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer, Certified Fellow in Production and Inventory Management, and Certified Manufacturing Engineer. A Fulbright Scholar, Dr. Moon has held visiting positions in many different universities, including MIT, KAIST, University of Pennsylvania, Boğaziçi University, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Univerzitet u Sarajevu, and Universidade de São Paulo.

A Family Journey

Nafiseh Shahbazi Majd G’21 and Javad Shafiei Shiva G’21 knew they were making a decision that would change both of their lives but did not initially realize how special their eventual accomplishments would be. The married couple had been successfully working at highly regarded companies for six years after completing their master’s degrees at the University of Tehran and Sharif University of Technology, but both had the desire to earn Ph.D. degrees.

“We were eager to follow up on our studies and we thought we could create this opportunity for ourselves,” says Majd.

“An important point for us was if one of us will attend the Ph.D. program in a university, there should be a program for the other person in that university” said Shafiei Shiva. “If we are going to a university with environmental engineering for me, there should be a program with structural engineering which is her field.”

While exploring research universities, Shafiei Shiva had spoken to civil and environmental engineering Professor David Chandler at Syracuse University and the well-known hydrologist made an impression on him.

“I really liked Professor Chandler even before meeting him in person. The way he encouraged me and his focus on my strengths made me realize I am a good fit for his research group and can help with achieving the team’s research goals,” says Shafiei Shiva.

Chandler was interested in his research ideas and Central New York was already looking attractive to Shafiei Shiva and Majd.

“We love the snow and cold weather,” says Shafiei Shiva.

Syracuse University was also a draw for Majd. During her coursework for her Master’s degree, she became very familiar with civil and environmental engineering Professor Eric Lui.

“In our Structural Stability course at University of Tehran, Professor Lui’s book was our textbook,” says Majd. “When I saw Javad’s admission letter from SU, I got so excited and I knew right then I will be contacting him.”

The couple relocated to Syracuse and Shafiei Shiva started as a Ph.D. student with Chandler in the civil and environmental engineering department in 2014. As Majd explored her options for a Ph.D. program, Professor Lui, Emeritus Professor James Mandel, and Professor Dawit Negussey all offered their assistance. Majd started her Ph.D. the next year.

“Having all the support from the department and knowing what to expect from this program, I enrolled in the Civil Engineering Ph.D. program,” says Majd. “I was so thrilled when I learned I will be working with Dr. Lui who is a subject matter expert in his field. He had open-door policy and was approachable for help and advice. This was exactly the opportunity I was hoping for, a professional and intelligent advisor who is considerate and inspiring, while cultivating my potentials and putting his trust in my abilities. Both advisors were tremendously supportive and there was a trust component that was truly valuable to us.”

“Dr Shafiei Shiva is truly both a gentleman and a scholar,” says Chandler. “His comportment and generosity to students across the CEE Department was often understated, but always available.  As scholar, he chose the course of his dissertation carefully and once set, worked methodically to develop a set of insightful metrics in an exceptionally thorny and topical field.  I am proud of his work and hope that he can find a path home to academia here at Syracuse University.”

“It has been a pleasure to serve as Dr. Majd’s academic and dissertation advisor,” says Lui. “She not only possesses the intelligence and determination needed for Ph.D. study, her diligence, enthusiasm and passion have made this arduous journey very gratifying and rewarding.  As a teaching assistant, she is passionate, meticulous, and is much beloved by her students.  As a research assistant, she is astute, perspicacious, and keen on solving complex problems.  She and Dr. Shiva were wonderful students who have enriched our undergraduate and graduate programs.  They are now wonderful alumni who will make important and lasting contributions to the profession.”

While it is unusual to find a married couple both pursuing doctoral degrees in the same department at a prominent research university, they also appreciated having a partner who understood what it took.

“It helped that both of us were doing this together,” says Majd.

“We could completely understand each other. Getting a Ph.D. is hard so in our case we both understood why we had to stay late and work during weekends,” says Shafiei Shiva. “We would usually start our days at the same time walking to school and then some days we would have to stay until midnight. We would still have breakfast, lunch and dinner together and walk back home together.”

Majd and Shafiei Shiva found the close-knit civil and environmental department to be welcoming.

“Professor Chandler was a great advisor, friend and mentor for me. He was and still is a role model for me” says Shafiei Shiva. “We never felt like we were alone. One of the reasons that we love Syracuse University is that it was like a big family for us. On holidays like Thanksgiving we never felt we were alone.”

“You would feel supported. When we had an issue, everyone was approachable and wanted to know how they could help,” said Majd.

Being a couple also helped them connect to more people across the department and the College of Engineering and Computer Science.

“She was the TA for a course that my advisor was teaching and sometimes he would joke that we were having a family meeting,” says Shafiei Shiva.

When they learned their family would be growing, friends from the civil and environmental engineering department hosted two baby showers.

“Carolyn Mandel and Dr. Mandel offered to hold a baby shower for me, while another group of friends from the environmental group had asked Javad to surprise me with a baby shower! It was such an incredible and memorable moment in my life to see all my friends from Syracuse celebrating this new chapter of our life with us,” says Majd. “Also, Professor Chandler offered me another Fellowship through his NSF research grants to support me financially and he made sure I will be spending enough time with my newborn,” says Shafiei Shiva.

In 2020, Majd and Shafiei Shiva completed their Ph.D. degrees and are now working in California. Their life changing decision had worked out even better than they anticipated.

“Nafis and I are still working with our Ph.D. advisors on a few research works, and we appreciate the continued collaboration,” says Shafiei Shiva. “A Ph.D. program is not just about the academics and degrees. It’s also about learning communication skills and relationships, and taking care of others. There are some concepts that are hard to find in textbooks.”

They talk to their daughter about how much Syracuse University means to them and hope they can return.

“In my opinion it is the best place in the United States to live,” says Shafiei Shiva. “The lakes and the natural scenery, warm and welcoming people, and a community that look after one another – it’s hard to find anything like it in the United States.”

Chemical Engineering Student Profile: Ran Zhu G’21

Ran Zhu is the co-recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Chemical Engineering.

Hometown: Zhengzhou, Henan, China

CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Seminars and meetings with future faculty.

Favorite thing about CEN: Best faculty and staff that I’ve ever met.

Favorite thing about SU: Wonderful summer and the amazing big lake effect. (I really enjoyed the snow season!)

Plan after graduation: Postdoctoral fellow at MIT, looking for a position in academia or research-related position in the chemical engineering industry in China.

Aerospace Engineering Senior Selected for National Ammon S. Andes Award

Aerospace engineering senior Daniel Oluwalana ‘21 has been selected as the 2021 Ammon S. Andes National Award Winner from the national aerospace engineering honor society, Sigma Gamma Tau. The award is highly competitive and designed to recognize the top undergraduate aerospace engineering student in the United States.

There are 54 current chapters of Sigma Gamma Tau across the country and each chapter nominates one student for the Ammon S. Andes Award each year.  The national award winner is chosen from the above 54 nominees based on GPA, rank in their graduating senior AE class, academic honors and distinctions, engineering and non-engineering extracurricular activities and length of service in each, technical achievements such as published works, projects and technical hobbies, with emphasis on engineering creativity used, and on an essay written by the candidate about “near-term and long-range career goals and how you hope to use your aerospace education.” The Syracuse chapter of Sigma Gamma Tau is advised by mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Barry Davidson.

“I am very honored to be recognized in such a manner as an aerospace engineering major,” said Oluwalana. “I am extremely grateful for Dr. Davidson’s support as the Sigma Gamma Tau advisor and appreciate everyone else who supported me throughout the process.”

“Daniel displays the strength of character, the academic excellence, the research skills, and the compassion for others that are the hallmark of a great individual and a great scholar,” said Davidson. “It has been a pleasure for me to teach, mentor and interact with him over the past three years. I was so proud to have Daniel represent SU in this competition, and I’m so incredibly pleased that Sigma Gamma Tau recognized and honored him with this award.  It is certainly well-deserved.”

Oluwalana is the president of the Syracuse chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers, an Academic Excellence Workshop facilitator and has worked in two research labs in the College of Engineering and Computer Science as an undergraduate.

“Syracuse University exposed me to amazing research opportunities and instilled in me a balanced mindset. I have developed a deeper knowledge about my field and have become a better communicator by being a student here,” said Oluwalana.

While multiple Syracuse University students have won Sigma Gamma Tau’s Northeastern Regional Award in recent years, Oluwalana is the first Syracuse University student to receive the Ammon S. Andes National Award since the national honor society began recording winners on its website in 2001.

“Daniel is an incredible young engineer, leader and person. He is being honored for the ‘visible’ work that people notice, including his NSBE leadership, grades, and research. For each of those achievements, there is also the ‘invisible’ work where he supports his classmates, greets prospective students, and counsels other leaders about issues that are vital to our College,” said Engineering and Computer Science Dean J. Cole Smith. “I’m so excited for Daniel and for impact he will make in his next phase of life.”

Chemical Engineering Student Profile: Seth Reed ’21

Seth Reed ’21 is the recipient of the 2021 Engineering and Computer Science Alumni Association Service Award. This award recognizes outstanding service on behalf of the college community

  • Hometown: Rexford, NY
  • CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Researcher in Prof. Hosein’s lab, Engineering Ambassadors (current Program Coordinator), ECS Dean’s Advisory Panel, Men’s Club Volleyball Team (current Vice President), Orientation Leaders, Keys Player at Abundant Life Christian Center
  • Favorite thing about CEN: My favorite thing about CEN is the research experiences I had in the energy storage field within Dr. Hosein’s lab.
  • Favorite thing about SU: My favorite thing about Syracuse University is that I have been able to explore many opportunities outside of my academics. From being a setter on the club volleyball team to welcoming first-year students at the beginning of each semester, I grew as a person in varying aspects of my life during my last four years here.
  • Plan after graduation: I will pursue a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering at the Texas Materials Institute at UT-Austin.

Nandhini Rajagopal G’21 Receives the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Bioengineering

Nandhini Rajagopal is the recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Bioengineering and received national recognition for a breakthrough molecular computational tool.

Hometown: Mumbai, India

BEN/ECS/other activities:

  • WiSE associate(2017-2019)
  • Contributed in training undergraduates in ECS scholar program in summer 2018
  • Student mentor for REU at Nangia lab in 2018.

Favorite thing about BEN: Highly encouraging, supportive and easy-to-approach BEN faculty and staff!

Favorite thing about SU: In my view SU is the perfect place for research, with calm surroundings and friendly people, that nurture creativity and encourage excellence in research.

Plan after graduation: After graduation I will start a postdoctoral fellowship at Boehringer Ingelheim pharmaceuticals for antibody research.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineering 2021 Senior Design Capstone Presentations

Electrical engineering and computer engineering seniors worked together as teams on their senior capstone design projects. Each team built a working physical prototype and demonstrated their design, key components and technology to their classmates and faculty. Since teams were not allowed to present their designs to the public due to COVID-19 precautions, here are videos of the 2021 team presentations.

Train Driven Wind Turbine (Emerson Iannone, Miguel Gomez, Nick Fazzone, Ketan Dubey)

Smart Cup Holder (Brendan Ciarlone, Alex Cramer, Nick Mohan, Ian Dickerson)

Ride Along Autonomous Vehicle (Trevonne Davis, Han Gyul Kwon, Mrinal Mathur, Matthew Storozum)

Smart Home (Chongfang Xu, Shu Wang, Yifei Che, Guoliang Chen)

Etch-A-Sketch Control (Vincent Camarena, Andrew Kelsey, John Garcia)

Solar Tracking Panel (Isaiah Plummer, Daniah Alzubaidi, Roberto Salazar, Ryan Kane)

Fall Detection Alert (Dana Marie Castillo Chea, Matthew Gelinas, Kylie Nikolaus, Malkiel Asher)

Homebrew Radar (Jinzhi Cai, Eli Clark, Jack Guida, Erik Olsen)

Programmable Delivery Bot (Justin Geary, Stephen Rogers, Nicholas Landry, Ritwik Takkar)

Automatic Pet Feeder (Xionfeng Zhu, Shengran Cheng, Yuang Cao, Antian Liu)

Bioengineering Student Profile: Bailey Felix ’21

Bailey Felix ’21 is the winner of the 2021 Oren Nagasako Award.  This award is given annually to a Bioengineering senior who demonstrates outstanding dedication and hard work acting as a mentor or preceptor to fellow students.

Hometown: Rochester, NY

BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Undergraduate research in the Henderson Lab, undergraduate design with Dr. Yung, peer leaders, SOURCE Student Research Mentor and Excelerators.

Favorite thing about BEN: Definitely the professors. They all genuinely care about student success and they have been the most incredible support system during my time here.

Favorite thing about SU: The culture at SU is amazing. Between the supportive academic environment and the passion for sports and school pride, I couldn’t imagine a better place to have spent the last 4 years.

Plan after graduation: I will be starting a Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at the University of Maryland this fall.

Electrical engineering and computer science and Upstate Medical University researchers win notable award at artificial intelligence conference

A research collaboration between electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) researchers and colleagues at Upstate Medical University on detecting Alzheimer’s disease won notable award at an artificial intelligence conference. Professors Asif Salekin and Senem Velipasalar, EECS graduate students Fatih Altay and Guillermo Ramon Sánchez along with doctors Yanli James and Stephen V. Faraone from Upstate Medical University won the IAAI-21 Deployed Application Award at the Thirty-Third Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence.

The team’s research centers on early detection of Alzheimer’s disease. The most common symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease include problems with communicating and abstract thinking, as well as disorientation. Early detection of the disease can help improve cognitive functioning with medication and training. The research paper from the Syracuse University/ Upstate Medical University team proposes two machine learning approaches for detecting Alzheimer’s disease from MRI images to help early detection efforts at a preclinical stage before symptoms have appeared.

In their paper the team described the impact their research could have. “Recent reports on Alzheimer’s disease (AD) suggest that change in the brain may be evident 20 years before dementia symptoms, typically when the disease gets diagnosed. But substantial neuronal loss happens during that latent period of the disease. The early-stage intervention of AD can significantly impact the neuronal degeneration process and treatment of symptoms that would expand the patients’ life expectancy and quality of life. Hence, accurate detection or indication of preclinical AD is a major interest in the medical community. Our research is the first to develop an effective machine learning approach that can identify the latent patterns due to preclinical AD from MRI brain scans, which can significantly improve AD patients’ intervention and treatment.”

Chemical Engineering Ph.D. Student Profile: Plansky Hoang

Plansky Hoang is the co-recipient of the 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in Chemical Engineering.

  • Hometown: Syracuse, NY
  • CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: WiSE, BMES
  • Favorite thing about CEN: are the faculty, staff and students I’ve been able to work with throughout my graduate career. Everyone I’ve met has been very supportive of my goals and pushed me to challenge myself in this career path
  • Favorite thing about SU: My favorite thing about SU is that it’s a great school that’s close to home
  • Plan after graduation: My plan after graduation is to work on my postdoc here at SU, and work towards a teaching faculty position

Bioengineering Student Profile: Natalie Petryk ’21

Natalie Petryk ’21 is the recipient of the 2021 Karen M. Hiiemae Outstanding Achievement Award in Bioengineering.

  • Hometown: Berkeley Heights, NJ
  • BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Alpha Omega Epsilon, Academic Excellence Workshop Facilitator, Engineering World Health, Excelerators, Relay for Life
  • Favorite thing about BEN: The many opportunities to get involved in research and take on independent projects outside of the classroom
  • Favorite thing about SU: All the friends and memories I’ve made while here
  • Plan after graduation: I will be here at SU one more year to complete my master’s thesis in Dr. Monroe’s Biomaterials Lab

This award was established in memory of Dr. Karen M. Hiiemae, beloved professor, mentor, and pioneer in science and research, for a senior who has combined outstanding academic achievement in bioengineering with the strength and spirit Dr. Hiiemae exhibited throughout her life.

Bioengineering Student Profile: Bearett Tarris ’21

Bearett Tarris ’21 is the 2021 recipient of the Bioengineering Founders Award.

  • Hometown: Sewickley, Pennsylvania
  • BEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Engineering World Health, Biomedical Engineering Society, Researcher in Dr. Ma’s Lab in SBI, Two-time SOURCE recipient (summer 2020 with Dr. Ma studying the effect of geometry on the self-assembly of tissue grown from mesenchymal stem cells and academic year 2020-2021 prototyping OttoRotate, an inclusive design for handicap vehicles with my capstone team) student-athlete (track and field), Alpha Phi Omega (service fraternity).
  • Favorite thing about BEN: I love how broad bioengineering is and how the curriculum at Syracuse caters to that. During my undergraduate career, I was able to learn about everything under the bioengineering umbrella from circuitry to human physiology to mechanical design.
  • Favorite thing about SU: I love how much people love it here. The excitement and passion that I saw in the students during my campus tour is what lead me to choose Syracuse.
  • Plan after graduation: I will be continuing my education at Syracuse University pursuing my Master’s in Bioengineering.

This award is in honor of Drs. Joseph Zwislocki and Earl Kletsky, initiators and nurturers of the bioengineering program, and is given to a senior who has demonstrated outstanding and wide-ranging skills

Chemical Engineering Student Spotlight: Connor Wescott ’21

Congratulations to Connor Wescott ’21! He is the 2021 recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award in Chemical Engineering

  • Hometown: Stillwater, NY
  • CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: Member of AIChE, ChemE Car Co-director, Physics Coach, Intramural Broomball
  • Favorite thing about CEN: The close-knit community we have in the department and how personable all of the staff has been throughout my four years here.
  • Favorite thing about SU: As an avid sports fan I loved being able to attend so many football and basketball games and be a part of the strong school spirit SU has. Go orange!
  • Plan after graduation: To enter the industry and enjoy a lifelong career of working and learning as a chemical engineer.

This award is endowed by I.A. Hotze, BEE ’43, for the senior with the most distinguished academic record

Bioengineering Ph.D. Student Receives National Recognition for Breakthrough Molecular Computational Tool

Nandhini Rajagopal’s accomplishments are massive even though her research focuses on small molecules. As part of biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia’s research group, the Ph.D. student has focused her work on minute interactions between protein molecules in the biological cells that make up all living things. These interactions between proteins are essential since proteins are the building blocks of all living things.  Rajagopal’s work is entirely computational and as part of her research she developed a new algorithm that could determine how two different protein molecules would interact.

“These small proteins are found in every tissue of our body,” says Rajagopal. “Using computers we literally visualize how these molecules move around each other and aggregate.”

Rajagopal’s computational tool can screen all possible orientations for how two proteins would interact with each other.

“How proteins interact has a direct impact on their functions,” says Rajagopal. “I wanted to create an algorithm that would also plot a graph showing an intuitive, easy-to-interpret three-dimensional energy landscape of the two interacting protein molecules.”

“The algorithm produces not only highly accurate results, it is also highly efficient. Nandhini’s algorithm can sample millions of protein-protein interactions in a matter of minutes, which otherwise used to take weeks to simulate,” says Nangia.

Rajagopal was selected to present her computational method at the 2020 Gordon Research Conference (GRC), a premier scientific conference where a select group of researchers meet to discuss cutting-edge research in biological, chemical and physical sciences. Rajagopal’s presentation was well received by the experts in the field and led to multiple national and international collaborations.

The algorithm was published in the Journal of Chemical Theory and Computation and featured on the cover. For her outstanding work, Rajagopal won several notable awards:

  • 2021 Merck Research Award from the American Chemical Society (ACS) Women Chemistry Committee
  • 2020 ACS Chemical Computing Group Excellence Award for Graduate Students
  • 2021 All University Doctoral Prize from the College of Engineering and Computer Science.
  • 2021 Outstanding Graduate Student in Bioengineering
  • 2021 Research Presentation Award, College of Engineering and Computer Science Research Day
  • 2020 Syracuse University Graduate Student Award for Distinguished Biomaterials Research

Rajagopal is finishing up an externship at Genentech’s pharmaceutical development division and will begin a postdoctoral research position at pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim this summer.

She hopes to continue her current research and see how it could expand to cancer studies.

“With the new algorithm, we can decipher how interactions between proteins can be altered and could aid in finding new drugs for diseases whose treatment options were elusive. I am extremely proud of the Nandhini’s innovation,” says Nangia.

Chemical Engineering Student Profile: Spencer Tardy ’21

Chemical engineering student Spencer Tardy is the recipient of the 2021 Louis N. DeMartini Award for Outstanding Design Project. This award recognizes all-around outstanding achievements in scholarship, service and leadership at Syracuse University.

Hometown: East Brunswick, New Jersey

CEN/ECS/other activities you have been involved with: I have been involved with the Engineering Ambassadors and Excelerator programs, am a co-director of the AIChE: ChemE Car program, AEW Facilitator, Tau Beta Pi member, and former president of the SU Bowling Club.

Favorite thing about CEN: My favorite aspect of Chemical Engineering is that it provides a unique viewpoint of the world around me, as well as an ability to have significant impact on that world.

Favorite thing about SU: My favorite thing about SU is the sense of family that is created here. Everyone here knows that no matter what happens, or where they may be, the Orange Nation will always be there to support them.

Plan after graduation: After graduation I plan to pursue a career as a practicing chemical engineer in the food and beverage or pharmaceutical and bio-technology industries.

Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Shobha Bhatia Receives 2021 Judith Greenberg Seinfeld Scholar Award

Civil and environmental engineering Professor Shobha Bhatia has been honored by Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud with a 2021 Judith Greenberg Seinfeld Scholar award. The award recognizes exceptional creativity and a passion for excellence. It provides $10,000 for Bhatia to undertake an initiative or project of special interest to her.

Bhatia is an internationally recognized leader in geotechnical engineering and in fostering more equity, diversity and inclusion in the STEM fields. She was named as a “Geolegend” by the Geo-Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2020 and in 2001 she received the Laura J. and L. Douglas Meredith Professorship of Teaching Excellence. Bhatia also received a Chancellor’s Citation for Faculty Excellence and Scholarly Distinction in 2009, the highest recognition given to faculty at the university.

“I am honored to be selected as a Seinfeld Scholar,” says Bhatia. “The award will allow me to further research how to reduce the environmental impact of large-scale projects through the use of natural and sustainable materials, specifically the use of natural fibers, particularly jute and coir. Civil and environmental engineering is a very resource-intensive field that literally moves the earth, where any use of natural materials can have a very large impact.”

“Shobha’s work as an outstanding teacher, researcher and mentor have made her a leader both here on our campus and in her field,” says Dean J. Cole Smith. “She has had a singularly impressive career-long dedication to improving the representation of women in science and engineering. Indeed, when you talk to her current students or alumni you can see how dedicated she is to the success of all our students.”

Engineering and Computer Science 2021 Research Day Award Winners

Thank you to everyone who took part in the Engineering and Computer Science 2021 Research Day on March 12th! We would also like to give a special thanks to Dr. Joseph Helble, Provost of Dartmouth College, for the keynote presentation. Here are the winners as chosen by our panel of judges.

Energy, Environment and Smart Materials

First Prize: Light-Induced Self-Writing: A Novel Approach to Develop Organized Polymer Composite Materials. Shreyas Pathreeker; Advisor Dr. Ian Hossein

Second Prize: Development of Inside Out Solid Oxide Fuel Cells for Combined Heat and Power Systems. Alexander Hartwell, Advisor Dr. Jeongmin Ahn

Third Prize: HYDRUS-1D Modeling to Represent Hydrologic Performance of the OnCenter Green Roof. Courtney Gammon; Advisor Dr. Cliff Davidson

Communication and Security

First Prize: Optimized Virtual Antenna Array of Wideband Narrow Beam MIMO System for Overlapped Virtual Elements. Richard Tanski, Advisor: Dr. Jay Lee

Second Prize: Coverage in Networks with Hybrid Terahertz, Millimeter Wave, and Microwave Transmissions. Xueyuan Wang, Advisor: Dr. M. Cenk Gursoy

Third Prize: An Efficient Deep Capsule Network with Interleaved Sparse Connections and Attention-Based Routing. Chenbin Pan, Advisor: Dr. Senem Velipasalar

Sensors, Robotics and Smart Systems

First Prize: Towards Disaster Recovery: Incorporating the Uncertainties Caused by Cyber Attacks in Controlled Islanding. Sagnik Basumallik, Advisor: Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad

Second Prize: Real-Time Adaptive Sensor Attack Detection in Autonomous Cyber-Physical Systems. Francis Akowuah, Advisor: Dr. Fanxin Kong

Third Prize (tie): Data Generation for Transient Stability Assessment to Address Lack of Training Data. Rui Ma, Advisor: Dr. Sara Eftekharnejad AND Soft Crawling Inchworm Robot Enabled by Dynamically Tunable Friction. Siavash Sharifi, Advisor: Dr. Wanliang Shan

Health and Well-being

First Prize: Investigation of the Effects of Electrochemical Reactions on Complex Metal Tribocorrosion within the Human Body. Thomas Welles; Advisor Dr. Jeongmin Ahn

Second Prize: Prediction of Tight Junction Strand Architecture. Nandhini Rajagopal, Advisor Dr. Shikha Nangia

Third Prize: Persister Control by Leveraging Dormancy Associated Reduction of Antibiotic Efflux. Sweta Roy; Advisor Dr. Dacheng Ren

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Vir Phoha on the Ethics of Facial Recognition Software

The use of facial recognition technology has been controversial and it has been criticized as being prone to misuse and reinforcing existing biases. Cities across the United States have been banning the use of facial recognition software and in the past year, companies like IBM, Microsoft and Amazon decided to suspend selling facial recognition software to police.  Electrical engineering and computer science professor Vir Phoha says he agrees with taking a deep look at the use of facial recognition technology and holding it back until proper safeguards to prevent unintentional misuse are found  but still believes it can be beneficial.

On the suspension of selling face recognition technology to police by Amazon, IBM, and Microsoft, he says “My first reaction was that they did the right thing. At the same time, once I thought about it, it is a very good technology. It has a lot of potential but it is a double edge sword. You use it properly and it can do great things and if you don’t use it properly, it can hurt you.”

Phoha has done extensive research on artificial intelligence, machine learning and security. He says a lot of questions about facial recognition should start with the humans who built them.

“There are many ways to do face recognition, one is geometric. So you look at the points, for example the distance between eyes, the length of the nose – that is geometric,” said Phoha. “There are multiple other ways such as making a base model, looking at variations, and storing the variations as a template for a user.  There are methods that involve learning and associating specific face types to specific gender or history, or behaviors. There is a learning involved. If you use machine learning or artificial intelligence, any learning can be biased by the people who build those algorithms. Unconsciously, people who build those algorithms may be bringing their own biases in regard to gender, race and age.”

An algorithm that reflects biases can have destructive effects. Numerous studies have shown it misidentifies Black and Brown faces at a much higher rate. A Commerce Department test of facial recognition software found that error rates for African men and women were twice as high as they were for Eastern Europeans. Errors can lead to wrongful arrests.

“If you say 10% more of a specific racial group have been convicted of a crime compared to a majority race, then a random person from that racial group who is completely innocent – their chance of being labeled as a criminal could be 10% higher just due to this underlying statistic being part of the algorithm,” said Phoha.

Phoha says it will be an ongoing fight to combat inherent biases in algorithms.

“It is good technology but we must make sure there are safeguards. Enough science should be there to make sure the algorithms that are built are impartial,” said Phoha. “In replicating human capabilities, humans have bias.”

Software that attempts to identify people based on their facial structure can easily be misconfigured.

“Facial structure can be very different for differing ethnicities,” said Phoha. “People who are biased without knowing they are biased, implicit bias that will be translated into data.”

If the technology is going to move forward, Phoha and many other experts believe it is an area where sociology, psychology, machine learning, computer science, artificial intelligence need to come together.

“The science will be a mess if we don’t consider all these factors. We want an equitable society,” said Phoha. “The potential of misuse is very high. Social justice, empathy and equity should be part of research in this area. We do not want a group where any groups are marginalized for any reason.”

U.S. Army Awards Meritorious Civilian Service Medal to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Mark Glauser

Mechanical and aerospace engineering Professor Mark Glauser was awarded a Meritorious Civilian Service Medal award by the U.S. Army for his work with the Army Science Board. Glauser joined the Army Science Board in 2013 as a contractor after a colleague reached out to him to see if he would be interested.   He became a full member of the board in 2014 and just finished his second 3 year term this past year.  The Army Science Board provides independent recommendations to the Secretary of the Army, the chief of Staff of the Army and the Secretary of Defense on important science, technology and management issues.

Glauser had previously worked as a program manager for the Air Force Office of Scientific Research from 1996 to 1999 and the Army Science Board was looking for someone who had experience at a leading research university and an understanding of how the Department of Defense operates.

“When I had the opportunity, I was pleased to be able to do it. I felt I wanted to use a skill set I have to contribute to our soldiers,” said Glauser.

In an announcement of the award, the Army described Glauser’s commitment to the Army Science board. “He has earned a remarkable reputation for selfless service throughout the United States Army and the Department of Defense. His exceptional devotion and dedication to duty reflect great credit upon him, the United States Army and our Nation.”

Glauser’s experience with current technologies, especially his work with UAVs and research on turbulent flows and nonlinear stochastic systems in general was valuable to a number of Army Science Board studies. On multiple instances, Glauser was asked to brief high-level Army leaders on next generation technology or research.

“It has been a great experience for me, I have been able to make some significant contributions and work on some interesting problems,” said Glauser.

Glauser just completed 6 years of service on the Army Science Board in 2020 and is open to returning to full board member status in the summer of 2021 and providing guidance for years to come.

“It is a nice way for me to contribute and stay active,” said Glauser.

Fall 2020 Engineering and Computer Science Dean’s List

In recognition of superior scholarship, the following students have been entered on the Engineering and Computer Science Dean’s List for Fall 2020.

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.

Students: Please email engineering@syr.edu if you have questions about your current Dean’s List status.

Aerospace Engineering

Sean  Adams

Zar Nigar  Ahmad

Mukhammed Shamil  Askarov

Justin Douglas Blowers

Katherine Elizabeth Braun

Madeline Constance Brooks

Richard L Bruschi

Owen P Clyne

Nicholas Daniel Crane

Brian James Cronin

Ryan  Demis

Aleksandar  Dzodic

Kaleb Jonah Eddy

Hans-Christian  Esser

Kassidy  Fields

Christian Scott Fitzgerald

Elan  Fullmer

Benjamin Daniel Gerard

Alexandre J Gill

Sareta Rose Gladson

Jacob D Gomez

Zachary William Haas

David Leo Hadley

Alyssa  Henley

Aidan  Hoff

Jiaji  Hu

Sydney F Jud

Harrison  Kayton

Trevor Anthony Knight

Justin  Kohan

Trevor D Kroells

Isaac Alan Lehigh

Jacob Eric Long

Powers Craig Lynch

Noah  Martel

Maxwell Joseph Martin

Jason W McElhinney

Mariana C McManus

Alexander T Metcalf

John P Michinko

Vincent Anthony Miczek

Kendra Teresa Miller

Maximus Jules Mintz

Paul Robert Mokotoff

Evan Gregory Moore

Brendan Pierce Murty

Mark  Namatsaliuk

Daniel  Oluwalana

Randall McGinnis Osborn

David Dang Pham

Madeline G Phelan

Logan D Prye

Kazi Golam Rafee

Kip  Risch-Andrews

Tracey Josephine Rochette

Jared M Rodriguez

Gregory Joseph Ruef

William J Saueressig

Fred Evan Schaffer

Justine John A Serdoncillo

Vraj  Shah

Prabha  Singh

Gregory C Slodysko Jr

Zachary Michael Stahl

Ethan J Stocum

Marco  Svolinsky

Richard A Tedeschi

Darlene A Tinsley

Anthony R Tricarico

Sasha  Valitutti

Cody Joseph Vannostrand

Mason Alexander Weber

Timothy Dwayne Wiley

Aliza Marie Willsey

Xinyu  Wu

Melissa  Yeung

Bioengineering

Samantha Michelle Abate

Jordyn Danielle Abrams

Bianca Louise Andrada

Gabriela  Angel

Oumou  Azika

Colin J Babick

Paige  Bencivenga

Ailla Frances Bishop

Colby James Black

Anna Mae Brunson

Zeynep Sue Cakmak

Britnie Jean Carpentier

Jade Ashlee Carter

Maria G Catalane

Elizabeth Ann Clarke

Dominic Thomas Clinch

Mya R Cohen

Lukas  Cook

Shane A Corridore

Shaila S Cuellar

Linzy M Dineen

Anthony Mark Dragone

Alejandro J Durand

Bailey M Felix

Akweshie A Fon-Ndikum

Gabriela Renee Gonzalez-Beauchamp

Skyla  Gordon

Nathaniel Fee Gur-Arie

Grace  Haas

Lauren Elizabeth Hamilton

Victoria Li Rui Hathaway

Brenna  Henderson

Avinash  Jagroo

Madeline  Jones

Simran  Karamchandani

Gabriel  Khan

Mohamed F Khan

Olivia Lynne Kmito

Kiana Yanira Lally

Sara Anne Leonardo

Isabelle S Lewis

Trevor Daniel Amnott Liimatainen

Xinyan  Lin

Alejandra Eugenia Lopez

Mark Maximilian Macios

Ethan L Masters

Aelish  McGivney

Caitlin R Mehl

Lindy M Melegari

Hallie Teresa Morgan

Connor G Mulligan

Hannah V Murphy

Jonathan  Ngo

Mark  Nicola

Nicole E Nielsen

Matt Evan Orlando

Megan Isabel Perlman

Natalie Marie Petryk

Connor  Preston

Alexander C Rateb

Beatrice Elizabeth Reilly

Gavin David Richards

Rebecca A Schaefer

Brielle L Seidel

Alyssa  Shelburne

Justin N Stock

Elizabeth Tarami Su

Bearett Ann Tarris

Zhuoqi  Tong

Edgardo  Velazquez

Royce Robert Weber-Pierson

Nathaniel D Wellington

Maximillian Meier Wilderman

Lauren Margaret Woodford

Rui  Xie

Alina  Zdebska

Julian Marcus Smucker Zorn

Samantha  Zysk

Chemical Engineering

Paige O Adebo

Adriana M Archilla

Steven Matthew Axelsen

Olivia Anna Babu

Athena Andrea Basdekis

Sandy Ynhu Cao

Karley M Chambers

Trinity Joy Coates

Olushola  Coker

Kelly  Correa

Hao  Dai

Dennis  Dao

Samantha  Esparza

David Anthony Fikhman

Edward Coleman Fluker

Priya S Ganesh

Brent Tadao Gosselin

Avery  Gunderson

Oduduabasi James Isaiah

Aiden A Jacobs

Stanley  Jimenez

Sayf  Karim

Laxmi  Khatiwada

Adam J Klinger

Simran Dharmendra  Lakhani

Rawia F A M  Marafi

Angela L Martinez

Oliver  Mutu

Fabiana Nohelia Perez

Seth  Reed

Ivan  Sarbinov

Arsh Saifahmed Shaikh

Jacob Matthew Shellhamer

Dakota Alexander Story

Jason  Tan

Spencer T Tardy

Megan  Varcoe

Briana Nicole Vlacich

Connor Andrew Wescott

Nia  Williams

Melita  Zejnilovic

Civil Engineering

Orges  Agolli

Osama  Alkasabra

Anna Rose Arcaro

Nicole  Ayora-Gonzalez

Vincent  Barone

Noah J Bonett

Ryan  Bourdeau

Arielle  Bramble

Matthew Emmet Brewster

David Michael Brodsky

Emma Jane Brown

Alycia Joline Bruce

Joli L Cacciatore

Trevor  Caviness

Alejandro E Correa

Aymeric P Destree

Thomas  Driscoll

Bradley Charles Frederick

Maraea K Garcia

Stephen  Goffredo

Bensen  Gu

Zelin  Guo

Kyle Jacob Huff

Zachary Stephen Jodice

Kate Astrid Kemnitz

Alexander Gregory Klee

Adam Paul Landry

Abigail G Laschalt

Haben  Legesse

Daniel  Leyva

Emma Marie Liptrap

Emilija Alise Lizins

Erick  Lojano-Quispe

Lluvia Margarita Lopez Garces

John M Mazza

Michael J McDonough

Jessica M McGowan

Amira A Mouline

Marissa R Nicole

Erin E O’Brien

Kevin B Ordonez

Benjamin Joseph Putrino

Svetislav  Radovic

Victoria Isabella Rea

Isabella  Salgado

Cassie Elizabeth Saracino

Emma Hayes Schoonover

Juha Wesley Schraden

Ravyn  Smith

Caitlin Jane Spillane

Erin Meagan Splaine

Adrian  Stiefelmann

Anand  Veeraswamy

Nathan  Viramontes

Joseph Peter Wollke

Isabelle  Wong

Paige H Yamane

Computer Engineering

Adekunle J Akinshola

Chikeluba K Anierobi

Malkiel  Asher

Mergim  Azemi

Gavin M Beaudry

Kyle J Betten

Jackson Thomas Bradley

Jinzhi  Cai

Edward Patrick Caraccioli

Dynasty Da’Nasia Chance

Yifei  Che

Dana Marie Castillo Chea

Guoliang  Chen

Kongxin  Chen

Hossain  Delwar

Xavier  Evans

Elizabeth A Fatade

Isaiah Armando Fernandez

Aidan Robert Harrington

Ethan  Hensley

Benjamin N Johnson

Fundi  Juriasi

Ryan Anthony Kane

Andrew Edward Kelsey

Bikash  Khatiwoda

Connor  Kinahan

Jason C Kirk

Nicholas Gerard Lee Landry

Jessica K Lat

Matthew B Leight

Jiaxiong  Li

Cayden T Lombard

Nicholas Kent Magari

Kyle David Maiorana

Mrinal  Mathur

Isabel M Melo

Nicholas J Mohan

Benjamin Hudson Murray

Jose L Olivera

Jiannuo  Pei

Jessica A Reslan

Alfonso E Rivas

Kevin  Robertson

Daniel  Rose

Hongyi  Ruan

Alexander  Segarra

Ritwik  Takkar

Shu  Wang

Ryan  Wolff

Renjie  Xu

Andy  Zheng

Xiong Feng  Zhu

Computer Science

Aashutosh  Acharya

Aaron  Alakkadan

Genesis  Alvarez

Kwaku  Amofah-Boafo

Garret W Babick

Simon C Barley

Giovanna Elizabeth Barsalona

Julia R Barucky

Samantha E Bastien

Dazhi  Bi

Maxwell William Hans Bockmann

Joshua Jordan Boucher

Dane B Brazinski

Bryan Bladimir Bueno Reyes

Bryce  Cable

Christopher Manuel Calderon Suarez

Liam M Calnan

Megan J Campbell

Benjamin Elliott Canfield

Ta’Yea A Cano

Yuecheng  Cao

Abby  Chapman

Jackie  Chen

Kelvin  Chen

Siyu  Chen

Xinglin  Chen

Yixing  Chen

Yuhao  Chen

Doung Lan  Cheung

Season  Chowdhury

Konstantinos  Chrysoulas

Melissa  Chu

Bram H Corregan

Matthew  Cufari

Ryan Matthew Czirr

Otitodirichukwu Oto  Darl Uzu

Salvatore  DeDona

Rudolph  DelFavero

William Stuart Devitt

Matthew E Dickson

Ting  Dong

Russell Carl Doucet

Christopher  Edmonds

Xueyan  Feng

Nathan B Fenske

Lucas Kuebler Fox

Jeremy  Gavrilov

Grant Thomas Gifford

Brianna S Gillfillian

Brian J Giusti

Justin S Glou

Justin  Gluska

Dayong  Gu

Athanasios  Hadjidimoulas

Erika R Hall

Andrew  Hamann

Jillian Elizabeth Handrahan

Taisei  Hashimoto

Zitao  He

Miranda Rose Heard

Karen  Herrera

Wendy  Hesser

Cameron  Hoechst

Nicholas A Hoffis

Laurel  Howell

Jacob  Howlett

Natalie  Huang

Xuanye  Huang

Nathakorn  Jitngamplang

Austin Dean Johnson

Michael Wesley Jones

Alan  Jos

Aarya Tara Kaphley

Cynthia Sze Nga  Kar

Jaehun  Kim

Ekaterina  Kladova

Jared Michael Kozak

Polina  Kozyreva

Miksam  Kurumbang

Rami L Kuttab

Eric C Lee

Gaeun  Lee

Janet Jihoo Lee

Andy  Li

Hao  Li

Jiaqi  Li

Modi  Li

Rick M Li

Ruowen  Li

Ziqi  Li

Arvin  Lin

Haochen  Lin

Chang  Liu

Erxi  Liu

Jiaming  Liu

Jing  Liu

Junzhang  Liu

Steven  Liu

Yuyuan  Liu

Yiheng  Lu

Runzhi  Ma

Hunter O’Neal Malley

Kanoa  Matton

Anthony Louis Mazzacane

Noah  Mechnig-Giordano

Jose R Mendoza

Yiheng  Meng

Preston  Mohr

Thomas J Montfort

Gregory Philip Morneault

Jacob  Morrison

Jovanni Nicholas Mosca

Chenxi  Mu

Andi  Muhaxheri

Paige C Mundie

Phuc Nguyen  Nguyen

Kayla  Nieto

Carlyn M O’Leary

Maduakolam  Onyewu

Maya  Ostoin

Daniel  Pae

William Anderson Palin

Xiaofeng  Pan

Yulin  Pan

Michael J Panighetti

Joshua S Park

Jun Hyoung  Park

Brian Joseph Pellegrino

Siwei  Peng

Anthony  Perna

Duy  Phan

Fiona Colleen Powers Beggs

Shane Michael Race

Alexis Hope Ratigan

Maxwell Johnson Reed

Christopher  Rhodes

Lauryn Ashley Rivers

Julia R Ruiz

Sadikshya  Sanjel

Yousaf  Shahid

Huahao  Shang

Benjamin William Smrtic

Yijie  Song

Jeremy P Stabile

Kevin  Sullivan

Tasfia  Sultana

Mohammad Murtaza Ali Syed

Louanges Essohana Marlene Takou-Ayaoh

Melissa Li Tang

Rae  Tasker

Jonathan Ezra Thomas

Kyra Danielle Thomas

Griffin E Timm

Maxwell D Townsend

Brendan J Treloar

Fiona Mirabella Tubiana

Courtney Patricia Tuozzo

Randy C Vargas

Anthony Michael Verdone

Bermalyn Maricel  Vicente

Christopher Mark Vinciguerra

Tristan C Waddell

Puxuan  Wang

Ruobing  Wang

Zicheng  Wang

Robert  Ward

Daniel  Weaver

Jack Andrew Willis

Nolan Gabriel Willis

Ethan  Wong

Sio Iok  Wong

Tianyi  Wu

Zhiang  Wu

Zongxiu  Wu

Yurui  Xiang

Yujie  Xu

Jinyang  Xue

Chen  Yang

Chen  Yang

Jintao  Yang

Jishuo  Yang

Rory  Yang

Yisheng  Yang

Stella R Yaunches

Elin J Yaworski

Linsong  You

Yulun  Zeng

Chengyuan  Zhang

Liaotianbao  Zhang

Rixiang  Zhang

Weikun  Zhang

Liuyu  Zhou

Mochen  Zhou

Yixuan  Zhou

Ziying  Zhou

Raymond  Zhu

Sida  Zhu

Joseph Patrick Zoll

Engineering Undeclared

Olivia R Conlin

Andrew J Esposito

Elliane Reut Greenberg

Nicholas John Jacobs

Gavin Thomas Macisaac

Sean R Maddock

Sean  O’toole

Eric  Rodriguez

Haoran  Wang

Xinyi  Wang

Carly J Ward

Abigail Meghan Wischerath

Haven M Wittmann

Electrical Engineering

Mohammed A Aljohani

Tianle  Bu

Kevin E Buciak

Vincent Alec Camarena

Arianna Maxine Cameron

Yuang  Cao

Mingfu  Chen

Shengran  Cheng

Brendan Robert Ciarlone

Eli Aiden Clark

Nicholas Shawn Connolly

Alex Lev Cramer

Trevonne  Davis

Nicholas  Fazzone

John Charles Garcia

Justin P Geary

Matthew R Gelinas

Christopher  Gill

Jose I Ginorio

Jack Orlando Guida

Emerson  Iannone

Qingwen  Jia

Michael Matthew Kelly

Han Gyul  Kwon

Jemma  Mallia

Liam Fuller Marcato

Tyler Sean Marston

Zixun Nian  Nian

Kylie Elizabeth Nikolaus

Julia  Pepin

Stephen Joseph Rogers

Gilberto E Ruiz

Roberto Alexander Salazar-Ramirez

Jenna Mei Stapleton

Luke J Terris

Jared William Welch

Abigail  Wile

Zheyuan  Zhang

Environmental Engineering

Ana Cristina  Baez Gotay

Luke M Borden

Benjamin R Cavarra

Evan James Cibelli

Cambre Rae Codington

Elizabeth Bryant Cultra

Cameron Nicole Edwards

Anna  Feldman

Allyson  Greenberg

Jessenia Paola Guzman

Brady E Hartnett

Christopher Graham Harvey

Anna M Holdosh

Eva Rose Kamman

Abigail Rose King

Nicholas Colin Axel Kohl

Birch  Lazo-Murphy

Audrey B Liebhaber

Carleigh A Lutz

Kevin A Lynch

Molly M Matheson

Matthew Edward Nosalek

Yongfang  Qi

Kaura Yanse Reyes

Mary H Schieman

Noah Michael Sherman

Ian  Storrs

Husna M Tunje

Jacob M Tyler

Maria Antonia  Villegas Botero

Savannah Marie Wujastyk

Qiuyu  Zhou

Reilly  Zink

Mechanical Engineering

Owyn Phillip Adams

Joshua Carl Arndt

Timothy G Arnold

Arda  Arslan

Michael James Battin Jr

Rachael O Beresford

Renee Allison Brogley

Arnaud  Buard

Meaghan Patricia Loan Burns

Ryan G Burns

Tyler  Burns

Adrian L Caballero

Alexander Joseph Callo

Joseph Timothy Capra

Caleigh J Casey

Rishov  Chatterjee

Artur  Chuvik

Santiago  Correa

Samuel Joseph Corrigan

Cooper P Crone

Peter M Daniels

David Matthew Denneen

Madeline  Doyle

Katherine Grace Driscoll

Henry C Duisberg

Griffin Thomas Estes

Luke Samuel Fink

Andrew John Gagan

Clinton Edward Farina Garrahan

Samuel Ryan Getman

Derrick Edward Goll

Emily Ann Greaney

Daniel Robert Greene

David M Griffin

Connor  Hayes

Melissa Jane Hiller

Elliott J Holdosh

Yongsong  Huang

John Christopher Inzinga

Nicholas W Jebaily

Zhao  Jin

Dong Myeong  Kang

Daniel Jacob Kenney

Finnian James Kery

Teagan L Kilian

Cherry  Kim

Savannah Mae Kreppein

Elizabeth Marcy Kretzing

John  Larkin

Lily  Larkin

Peter  Le Porin

Samuel Robert Livingston

Honorata  Lubecka

Bei  Luo

Katherine Elizabeth Macbain

Ryan Patrek Martineau

Ryan A Melick

Sarah Ann Michael

Georgios  Michopoulos

Leilah  Miller

Wiley Robert Moslow

Allison  Mullen

Yuanhao  Nong

Beau M Norris

Aidan T O’Brien

Nicholas Joseph Papaleo

Scott  Reyes

Aidan  Riederich

Colin  Santangelo

Nathan  Schnider

Shane M Sefransky

William Kaspar Sherfey

Jake Matthew Sheridan

Zachary Ryan Shuler

Eric  Silfies

Nathaniel  Slabaugh

Griffin  Smith

Owen Nicholas Smith

Austin James Sumner

Yiyuan  Sun

Matthew K Swanson

Ethan William Tracey

Evan R Tulsky

Nicholas Erik Vestergaard

Taj Asim Whitney

Michael  Wong

Tszho  Wong

Sean T Wuestman

Ruohan  Xu

Maxwell James Yonkers

Xiaoqing  Yu

Systems & Information Science

Sean  Chen

Ryan Thomas Congdon

Yiyang  Dai

Anuj P Gupta

Connor W Gurnham

Rodcliff  Hall

Skyler Marie Hall

Stacy  Kim

Mitchell F Liang

Anthony  Moon

Niara A Phoenix

Aerospace Engineering Alumni Profile: George Kirby ’92

Great technology requires an equally impressive business plan supporting it. The goal is to have a company led by someone who understands what makes the company innovative and also the business and analytical skill to grow it into an industry leader. It takes passion and drive to lead a large scale, publically held company and keep driving creative solutions. For George Kirby ’92, the business of innovation has defined his career. He currently serves as CEO of Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and it’s an accomplishment built on a series of transformative steps that began with a single goal.

“I was brought up in a very hands-on environment. I always worked around farms and heavy equipment, and I’ve always had an affinity for engineering. My very first achievement was getting my degree at Syracuse University,” said Kirby. “It was a very emotional time for me and for my family because it was something I wanted to do from a young age. It’s very personal to me.”

As a student, Kirby had an industrious schedule, even by engineering standards. He was taking an average of twenty credit hours while working forty hours a week at multiple jobs. He was on the varsity ski team, and nights and weekends were spent in the sub-basement of Link Hall working with classmates.

“I had originally thought the aerospace program would be very focused, but it ended up being a pretty broad education,” said Kirby. “I ended up spending much of my career in the utility scale electric generation and transmission industries in engineering and product development. A lot of what I learned in my undergrad was directly applicable for design and engineering in that industry.”

Engineering programs are particularly specialized, but enrolling at Syracuse University granted Kirby access to a diverse group of students and a broader collection of programs, which enabled him to study useful skills in other fields.

You’re taking classes with people from all walks of life and it really expands your mind. I took some creative writing courses and I can remember those classes really helped me to develop my written communication skills. Those skills are essential today.” said Kirby. “Overall, my Syracuse University education really provided a solid foundation in engineering fundamentals and problem solving, but I think just as important and something I value today, is how I learned critical thinking.”

The first of a number of pivots in Kirby’s career came right after graduation.

“When I graduated in ’92 the bottom was falling out of the aerospace industry. I took a different route and made my career in civil engineering and learned steel structure design. Then I circled back around and started working for General Electric (GE) in nuclear steam turbine product development,” said Kirby.

Being employed by a company the size of GE came with a key benefit. Kirby had the opportunity to venture into new areas. Outside of engineering and product development, he gained his first experience leading sales teams, he transitioned to project finance, and ended up developing global power projects. The timing was perfect.

“This was in the early 2000’s when onshore wind energy really started to boom and wind farms were being developed all over the world. Wind energy is another field where an aerospace background is so applicable. It’s all the same concepts, but a totally different application.”

While Kirby’s experience at GE built on the foundation he established in college, it also revealed a gap in his skillset. It prompted him to get his MBA, and in combination with his engineering background, sales leadership and product development and finance experience, Kirby had the adaptability necessary to lead OPT and guide the company through a complete strategic pivot.

Initially the role was focused on creating new markets, developing new products, and commercializing. Then, in early 2020 during the global pandemic it immediately became apparent OPT needed to add a new focus.

“Our management team was watching what was happening globally. We had a team coming back from Milan and Rome as Italy was shutting down and we knew we needed to prepare for this,” said Kirby. “We thought we have engineers, designers, and operations people. We understand production, and supply chain. Let’s put that to work here in New Jersey.”

For months OPT teams worked twenty-four hours a day to produce and donate face shields to first responders and the medical community, all while simultaneously keeping the business running and continuing to work with their customers on designing the future.

Autonomous systems, decentralized electrification, connectivity, and data are all areas Kirby sees an opportunity for OPT to provide solutions for global issues like climate change and maritime security. OPT has developed a smart buoy capable of monitoring the ocean to provide environmental intelligence on a myriad of problems.

“We can attach surveillance systems to our buoys and place them in remote locations to track illegal fishing and territory encroachment,” said Kirby. “What we have realized is subsea electrification and digitalization really drive the need to rethink equipment design and connectivity. The industry is quickly moving toward electrifying the sea floor.”

Diversifying his career with skills outside his specialization has been critical to Kirby’s success. Particularly immersing himself in the world of business and understanding data. In 2019 he participated as a judge in Invent@SU and the program’s focus on teaching students to think like entrepreneurs resonated with him.

“It was as much about innovation as it was about how they thought broadly about the applicability and marketability of that innovation. It was really a phenomenal experience to see the talent at Syracuse University,” said Kirby

Kirby credits similar study opportunities for helping him advance. He appreciates as an undergraduate at Syracuse University he was able to engage in industry and work alongside professors working on real world projects.

“The one bit of advice I would give to a class of seniors right now is to be cognizant of everybody that helps you along the way. When you’re done with your career, it’s really a series of helping hands that gets you to where you are,” said Kirby. “I have a list a mile long of people that have helped me to get to where I am today.”

College of Engineering and Computer Science Honored by the American Society for Engineering Education’s Diversity Recognition Program

Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science received bronze level status by the American Society for Engineering Education’s (ASEE) Diversity Recognition Program. The program’s goal is to help engineering, engineering technology, and computing programs promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in member colleges and ultimately in the workplace.

“I am thrilled that our collective efforts to support the college’s strategic goals, and the DEI advancements in our policies, procedures, practices and programs, positioned Syracuse University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science to be among select best in class institutions who received this national recognition,” said Assistant Dean for Inclusive Excellence Karen Davis.

Syracuse University’s bronze status from the ASEE is valid for three years and begins in 2021. The ASEE says timetables for silver and gold recognition will be posted in the future.

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor Farzana Rahman Awarded ExploreCSR 2020 Grant by Google to Introduce and Engage Underrepresented Students in Computing Research

Electrical engineering and computer science (EECS) Professor Farzana Rahman received a 2020 Google exploreCSR award to fund the development of an undergraduate student engagement workshop program, Research Exposure in Socially Relevant Computing (RESORC).

The RESORC program will provide research opportunities to undergraduate students from Syracuse University and nearby institutions targeting populations underrepresented in computing, including Latinx, African American, American Indian or Indigenous and LGBTQIA+ students.

According Rahman, the population of students pursuing CS and computing degrees is not representative of the diversity of people in the U.S., with women and other groups persistently underrepresented. Additionally, research has shown that computing research pipeline is not diverse since women and underrepresented students face many barriers like lack of self-confidence, stereotype threat, and lack of women role models. There is also lack of knowledge regarding research opportunities and the potential benefit of research careers. Many unrepresented students are never exposed to research due to coming from institutions with limited research capabilities. The intersectionality of these students also places more structural barriers for them to explore anything other than a regular degree. RESORC aims to diversify the Ph.D. pipeline through peer-assisted, team-based research exposure that places special emphasis on mentoring women.

The primary objectives of this workshop are to –

  • Introduce women students to graduate education and research career opportunities.
  • Share best practices and resources to conduct research.
  • Support students to become stronger candidates for doctoral programs.
  • Create a network of future women scientists in the area of computing.

The RESORC experience will expose participants to research in socially relevant computing though close mentoring provided by the graduate students of the SU EECS department. These graduate mentors will attend a training session informed by best practices for mentoring underrepresented students by NCWIT.

The workshop will use Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) that will help to influence the career ambitions and choices of participants in computing through guided research exploration. It will also use a Peer-Assisted Team Research (PATR) model that will involve participants in research experiences within teams with a dedicated graduate mentor’s supervision. PATR will improve student’s scientific reasoning abilities, research self-efficacy, and sense of belonging in computing.

“I expect that this experience will enable our Ph.D. student volunteers to be better, more inclusive mentors as they pursue their own careers,” said Rahman.

After an initial proof-of-concept year, Rahman hopes to sustain and expand RESORC to reach more students at Syracuse University and nearby other institutions in the area.

Syracuse University Ranked in the Top 25 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs by U.S. News & World Report

Syracuse University’s School of Information Studies (iSchool) and the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) have been recognized as No. 11 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs for Veterans and No. 25 for Best Online Graduate Information Technology Programs by U.S. News & World Report for 2021.

The full rankings, released earlier today, are available on the U.S. News & World Report website.

The College of Engineering and Computer Science offers online master’s degree programs in cybersecurity, computer science and computer engineering.

The iSchool offers M.S. degree programs in applied data science, information management, information management for executives and library and information science online.

“This ranking reflects the outstanding work our faculty have put in to make Syracuse University a leader in online education. The online computing master’s programs offered by the College of Engineering and Computer Science allow students to take classes on a schedule that is right for them and it can be an opportunity to advance their career while still working full time,” said Jae C. Oh, chair of the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the David G. Edelstein Professor for Broadening Participation.

“The iSchool is pleased to receive this recognition of our high-quality online programs from U.S. News and World Report,” says Victoria Williams, director of online education and post traditional education at the iSchool. “For over 25 years, our online programs have attracted working professionals from around the world. The iSchool’s interdisciplinary and applied-learning approach allows students to customize a degree to gain the skills needed to meet their career goals and immediately apply what they’re learning in the classroom to their professional roles. We’re proud that our programs remain highly ranked for Information Technology and Info Tech for Veterans as the field continues to be competitive.”

“Our online programs are an outstanding option for people having a diverse array of educational and personal backgrounds. We have been intentional in designing a high-quality, rigorous online educational program while also giving students the flexibility they need,” said College of Engineering and Computer Science Dean J. Cole Smith. “It is gratifying to see our Syracuse University programs in the top 25 of the national rankings.”

iSchool Dean Raj Dewan adds, “There is a long history of groundbreaking work being done at Syracuse University’s iSchool. This 2021 ranking underscores that standing as well as the school’s ongoing commitment to innovation in the digital age. The iSchool is exceptional at offering today’s students and professionals the kinds of education and experiences they will need for successful careers in a wide range of fields, and our graduates are highly sought-after for their skills in information technology and management, cloud computing, data analytics, machine learning, library science, and more.”

Innovation & Entrepreneurship at Syracuse University Webinar

A discussion between the Executive Director of the Blackstone LaunchPad, Linda Dickerson Hartsock, and aerospace engineering and Invent@SU alumna Kayla Simon ’19 about the many ways Syracuse University supports students in designing, prototyping and pitching their new businesses.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Faculty Profile: Mary Beth Monroe

Name: Mary Beth Monroe

Title: Assistant Professor

Research Topics:

  • Shape memory polymer foam hemostats for hemorrhage control in gunshot wounds
  • Antimicrobial shape memory polymer hydrogels for Crohn’s fistula treatment
  • Shape memory polymer hydrogel chronic wound dressings

Why did you chose to be part of the Orange Family?

I was drawn to BMCE at SU in large part because of the people. My colleagues are easy to talk with, fun, and supportive of me as a researcher, teacher, and human. The faculty in BMCE are well-balanced; they do great research and teaching while maintaining interesting hobbies and spending time with their families.

I also love the lab space within the Syracuse Biomaterials Institute. It is the perfect place to carry out my research on shape memory polymer-based biomaterials.

Finally, Syracuse is such a great place to live. As a native Texan, I think that the snow is beautiful, and winter activities are really fun. I also enjoy having distinct seasons. There are so many amazing parks, waterfalls, and activities in the area that allow us to explore outside year-round.

What is you advice for incoming freshman?

Get to know your professors! As I mentioned above, the BMCE faculty are interesting and fun, and we are all here because we love students. Show up to office hours, get involved in student organizations, and do undergraduate research (it’s never too early to join a research lab!) so that you can get to know us. It will make you more successful in college and as you choose a long-term career.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Faculty Profile – Viktor J. Cybulskis

Name: Viktor J. Cybulskis

Title: Assistant Professor of Biomedical and Chemical Engineering

Research Topics: Heterogeneous Catalysis, Zeolite Synthesis, Kinetics and Reaction Mechanisms, Chemicals Production and Environmental Remediation

Why you chose to be part of the Orange Family? From my very first interactions with Syracuse faculty, staff, and students I felt welcomed and like a valued member of the Orange community. The supportive culture, contagious energy, and exciting campus initiatives, such as the cross-disciplinary research clusters, make Syracuse the ideal place to launch a career as a new faculty member.

What advice do you have for incoming freshman? Be like a sponge and soak up as much as you can from your experiences here. Involve yourself beyond the classroom by getting to know your professors and learning about the latest advancements in your field of study. You never know what areas or topics may resonate with you and spark your interests for a lifetime to come.

Biomedical and Chemical Engineering Professor Shikha Nangia Selected as Associate Editor for the ACS Applied Bio Materials Journal

Biomedical and chemical engineering Professor Shikha Nangia was selected as the associate editor for the ACS Applied Bio Materials journal.

ACS Applied Bio Materials is an interdisciplinary journal publishing original research covering all aspects of biomaterials and biointerfaces including and beyond the traditional biosensing, biomedical and therapeutic applications.

“It is my immense pleasure to join the editorial board of ACS Applied Bio Materials,” said Nangia. “I wish to use this opportunity to contribute to the scientific community and boost Syracuse University’s research in biomaterials.”

Nangia is an accomplished researcher who most recently has been studying the blood-brain barrier which blocks toxins, as well as crucial medications, from entering the brain. Her research group, which includes undergraduate and graduate students alike, uses computer modeling to identify ways to open and close the blood-brain barrier to deliver medical treatment to the brain non-invasively.

Chemical Engineering Alumni Profile: Jen Chen ’16

Name: Jen Chen

Current Job Title/Industry: Quality Operations Supervisor, Estee Lauder Companies / Cosmetic Industry

Major at SU: Chemical Engineering

Minor: Exercise Science, Dance

Graduation Year: 2016

Why did you chose to be part of the Syracuse University family?

I chose SU initially for how pretty the campus was but then I fell in love with SU for everything they had to offer.  Let’s be honest, a Chemical Engineering curriculum is not the easiest to accomplish but what made it attainable was the support you have from the faculty, staff and, most importantly, your peers.  I was attracted by the architecture but fell in love with the people.

Were you part of any clubs or organizations on campus?

  • Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE)
  • Pathfinders
  • Career Ambassadors
  • Off-Campus and Commuter Services – Community Ambassador
  • Resident Advisor for Summer Start
  • Study Abroad Hong Kong

Advice for incoming freshman?

Take every opportunity to try new things.  You never know what you might find.

If I could go back, I would have studied abroad more or taken the opportunity to do so over the summers as the programs are well organized and there are so many places to go.

Electrical Engineering Alumni Profile: Ed Swallow ’80

When Ed Swallow ’80 first visited the Syracuse University campus, he was not certain what engineering major he would pursue with his Air Force ROTC scholarship. Following a meeting with the electrical engineering program director, Swallow learned something he thought made electrical engineers unique and he knew what he wanted to do.

“Electrical engineers learn problem solving,” said Swallow. There isn’t one answer. In electrical engineering there are dozens or hundreds of ways of accomplishing the same thing.”

His initial Syracuse experience had an immediate and lasting impact.

“My advisor was really good about trying to get me to broaden my horizons. It was good the University allowed me to engage in a variety of experiences. It’s the multi-disciplinary education that my advisor helped me get that was the greatest takeaway,” said Swallow. “Knowing that I was Air Force ROTC and I was going to become an officer, my advisor basically said recognize you are not going to do a lot of engineering, you’re going to lead engineers and being a generalist is going to be better for your entire career. He was incredibly right about that. More than anything else, that one conversation made a big university feel very personal to me.”

That meeting formed the foundation of what would become the theme of his career. Swallow went on active duty in August of 1980 and started in satellite operations.

“I was very interested in image processing. I focused on infrared image processing by the time I graduated and that’s what ended up having the Air Force send me out to California to fill an electrical engineering slot,” said Swallow. “Back then it was highly classified, but I worked on the Gambit and Hexagon film return reconnaissance spacecraft and I heavily used my Syracuse background.”

While on active duty, Swallow went into space operations and helped on the front-end building first of their kind space systems. He gained leadership experience as an acting commander while stationed at Thule Air Force base in Greenland. Before entering the reserves in 1985, Swallow gained his first experience with NASA working as one of the payload communicators on space shuttle STS-4. From there things moved rapidly. Swallow took a job with a company named Ultrasystems Defense and Space, which through a series of mergers and acquisitions eventually became part of Logicon.

“I went from an individual contributor, to task manager, to assistant program manager, to deputy program manager, to program manager to director of programs for the entire Silicon Valley office. A lot of that was because I understood the customers and how to solve problems for them as a generalist, which helped me grow the business. I went to work for a company called Space Applications Corporation as tech director, but quickly moved to division general manager, and in 1997 I became the vice president of business development. Not long after that, they promoted me to the equivalent of COO,” said Swallow. “By 2001 we sold the company to L3 Communications, so I went to work at Northrop Grumman.”

Following the events of September 11th in 2001, Swallow’s work had him building relationships with the Department of Homeland Security and he helped deploy the homeland secure data network. He would then go on to play critical roles in some of the largest IT projects in the country, including the New York City secure broadband wireless system for first responders and the first cloud deployment for the federal government. Swallow’s team even helped bring together the opening sequence of the 2008 Academy Award winning film “The Hurt Locker.”

“If you look carefully, that robot had a Northrop Grumman logo on it and I was the one that signed the deal that allowed them to use the robot for the film,” said Swallow. “They did not actually blow it up. Thank goodness.”

Like his Syracuse University advisor had told him, being a generalist had become the primary thread in his career. Following a brief retirement from Northrop in 2014, Swallow accepted his current position as senior vice president, Civil Systems Group at The Aerospace Corporation.

“It is the best job on the planet. I get to work with senior leaders in the space world, help advise them on policy and help them find solutions to deep technical problems,” said Swallow.

His current position has put him at the heart of the human exploration system. Recently, he co-chaired the program status assessment for Artemis, the mission to put the next man and first woman on the moon by 2024. He oversees a team building a next-generation space suit and he has people managing the extravehicular activity of astronauts.

Swallow has ten simple rules for success he shares with students and young professionals. One of them is invest your time, don’t just put in the hours. This is a reminder to always think about what you are going to take away from working on a project. It’s a habit that helped him begin developing critical soft skills his last semester at Syracuse University when ROTC made him the cadet corps commander and he had to give weekly addresses.

“I sought leadership positions and it was that leadership training I received through the ROTC that I think was incredibly important,” said Swallow.

Now, as an industry leader, Swallow has some ideas about the next big growth areas for aerospace and electrical engineering.

“In aerospace engineering, where things are headed very quickly is hypersonics [pun intended]. High-speed point to point transportation. On the electrical engineering side, building trust into autonomous systems is the big thing,” said Swallow. Building trusted AI systems that always have a predictable outcome is really a tough nut to crack and if somebody figures that out at the graduate level, they’re going to find a job just about anywhere.”

Ed Swallow’s ten simple rules for success:

  1. Invest your time, don’t just put in the hours
  2. Dress for the job you want, not the one you have
  3. Trying to show how smart you are usually backfires
  4. W.A.I.T: Why Am I Talking?
  5. There are no “gut courses” in business — always do your best
  6. Build a brand, internally and externally, and honor that brand
  7. Verbs matter: Take blame; accept credit
  8. Make your boss a hero, help her get promoted, never surprise them
  9. Don’t confuse activity with results
  10. Integrity, honesty, and strong ethics outweigh all else

Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professors Qiu and Gursoy Receive 2020 IEEE Region 1 Technological Innovation (Academic) Awards

Electrical engineering and computer science Professors Cenk Gursoy and Qinru Qiu received 2020 IEEE Region 1 Technological Innovation (Academic) Awards. Both were nominated by Distinguished Professor Pramod Varshney.

Qiu was recognized for her pioneering contributions in stochastic power management and brain-inspired architectures to achieve energy efficient computing.

“I want to thank Dr. Varshney for the nomination, and thank my colleagues, friends and students for their support,” said Qiu. “I’m honored to be recognized by this award and also encouraged to further my research in the area of energy efficient and brain-inspired neuromorphic computing.”

Gursoy was recognized for his significant contributions in wireless communications and networking.

“In my research group, we have been working to solve the challenges in the design of 5G wireless networks. More recently, we have started to analyze next-generation 6G wireless systems by incorporating machine learning into the network design. It is a great honor to have these efforts and contributions recognized with the IEEE Technological Innovation (Academic) Award,” said Gursoy. “I also would like extend my sincere thanks to Prof. Varshney for nominating me for this award.”