Spring 2020 Newsletter
VOL. 4, ISSUE 2
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Message from the Chair
This Newsletter is being published at a moment in time like none we have seen before. As I write this, a memorable Spring 2020 semester is about to come to an end. The Department transitioned successfully to a virtual mode of instruction and operation in March, just as the entire University did, in response to the COVID-19 crisis. The situation evolved so rapidly that it was almost surreal. I am impressed and proud of our Faculty, staff, and students who, over a period of just several days in March, worked hard in a dynamically evolving situation to pivot to telework and virtual/online teaching. All through the transition there was a strong commitment on the part of the Faculty to continue to deliver high quality education in extraordinary and challenging times. The response to the crisis went beyond just adjustments to modes of work and instruction. One of our Faculty members worked with his graduate students to successfully develop a low-cost ventilator to meet the shortage in ventilators. Please see the video and check out the links featured in this Newsletter. Our student clubs responded by collecting face masks purchased for club needs and donating them to front-line workers in the community. Crisis brings out the best in us.
While we have been consumed with the COVID-19 situation within the last two months, the Department has thrived in the academic year which is coming to an end. Our Faculty have attracted about $2.5M in external research funding and won several recognitions, our students have received several awards for their achievements, our student clubs have been hard at work on their builds and we have continued to engage with our industry partners in San Diego and beyond. Within the current academic year, three faculty members have joined the Department. They were featured in the Fall 2019 Newsletter. We have successfully hired two additional faculty members for the 2020-21 academic year.
The Department participated in the first-ever Virtual Explore SDSU 2020 Day(s) held on March 21 and April 18, and in the first-ever Virtual College of Engineering Design Day on May 6 where 43 departmental capstone program design teams presented their projects. A link to the Mechanical Engineering projects is given below in this Newsletter, and you can view the projects there. Many of these projects were sponsored by industries and non-profit organizations. If you are interested in partnering with us on future projects, please let us know. Please stay connected with us. We would love to hear from you and have you visit us, virtually for the time being and physically in the not too distant future. We will persevere through this challenging time and emerge stronger and wiser.
Sincerely,
John Abraham, Ph.D., Professor and Chair
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ME FACULTY RESPONDS TO COVID-19 CRISIS
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Dr. Kevin Wood
designed the ventilator in just nine days, after hearing the government's urgent need for ventilators to treat people who have contacted the virus.Dr. Wood's prototype has been featured on NBC 7 News and the SDSU Newscenter.
Read the full article here...
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Professor Tom Johnston to retire after teaching 27 years in the Department
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ME Full-Time Lecturer, and Award-Winning Teacher, Professor Tom Johnston, reflects on his years in the Department, its growth, and says he will miss his interactions with Faculty, Staff, and Students...
Read More.
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2020 Student Research Symposium Awards
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Maricruz Carrillo
Maricruz Carrillo is a Joint Doctoral Program student, currently working in the Powder Technology Lab under the supervision of Dr. Eugene Olevsky. Her research involves the fabrication of ceramic bone scaffolds by solvent jetting 3D printing and sintering towards load-bearing applications.
Read More...
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Christopher Oyuela is a Mechanical Engineering undergraduate student, currently working in the Advanced Materials Processing Lab, under the supervision of Dr. Khaled Morsi. His research includes the use of tri hybrid ultra light composites for Bio-applications.
Read More...
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Dean's Award: Engineering
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Vi Vu, a Joint Doctoral Program student, is currently working under the supervision of Dr. Karen May-Newman in the Cardiovascular Bioengineering Lab. The objective of her research is to measure the velocity field of the LVAD-supported left ventricle (LV) in a mock circulatory loop and evaluate the fluid dynamics of the Artificial Pulse.
Read More...
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Undergraduate Research Excellence Award
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Rene Arvizu
Rene Arvizu is a Mechanical Engineering with Bioengineering emphasis undergraduate student, currently working under Dr. Samuel Kassegne in the NanoFabrication Lab. His research includes the manufacturing of a spinal implant device, which uses glassy carbon electrodes and a penetrating shank to detect and stimulate motor neurons.
Read more...
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Approximately 300 students are expected to graduate with a BSME degree in academic year 2019-2020. Featured below is the one of our highest achieving graduates, who is also the Valedictorian for the 2020 graduating class.
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Spring 2020 Outstanding Graduate: Anna Stahlak
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Anna Stahlak is a Mechanical Engineering student graduating in May 2020. Her academic and athletic story has been an unforgettable journey to where she is today, soon to have a degree in hand. She transferred to San Diego State University in Fall 2017 to pursue her goal to be a mechanical engineer as well as a Division I athlete. She was on the Women’s Swimming and Diving team as a swimmer, earning the James Malik Award for a 4.00 GPA for Spring and Fall 2018 and has been a Scholar Athlete and on the Dean’s List for every semester.
Read More...
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ME Seniors Showcase their Capstone Program Projects on Fall and Spring Design Days
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Fall 2019 Senior Design Day
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Our Fall 2019 Senior Design Day was held on December 10, 2019 in Montezuma Hall. 110 Seniors showcased 24 projects at the event after working on them for two semesters. The projects were sponsored by industry, non-profit organizations, and Faculty. Hundreds of visitors attended the 3-hour event. A link to the event is given below.
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Spring 2020 Virtual Engineering Design Day
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The College of Engineering held its first-ever Virtual Engineering Design Day on May 6, 2020, registering more than a thousand attendees. Mechanical Engineering showcased 43 projects completed by 190 seniors enrolled in the year-long capstone program. 10 of the projects were sponsored by industry, 23 by non-profit organizations, 7 by Faculty, and 3 by students. Three of the projects were a joint effort between Mechanical Engineering and Electrical and Computer Engineering, and two of the projects were a joint effort with the Fowler College of Business. The virtual experience included interactions with the team members in virtual rooms. The teams employed posters, videos and slide presentations to enhance the experience. The projects can be viewed at the link below.
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FACULTY AWARDS & RECOGNITION
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Dr. Wood is a co-PI on a $1.9 million California Energy Commission (CEC) award
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Dr. Kevin Wood is a co-PI on a $1.9M California
Energy Commission (CEC) Award on "Validating Capability of Second-life Batteries to Cost-Effectively Integrate Solar Power for Small-Medium Commercial Building Applications".
Read more...
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-Dr. Kassegne awarded $297,679 grant from the University of Washington
The grant will help continue the research in the NSF Engineering Research Center for Neurotechnology (CNT) at SDSU. The center creates wearable/implantable wireless interface (EEG/Ecog) modules to recieve information from the skin and command motor (muscle) controls.
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Dr. Olevsky received $130,000 grant from General Electric
Dr. Olevsky received a $130,000 grant for his research on "Sintering of 3D-Printed Complex Shape Porous Components" from General Electric, and $64,814 from the Minority Serving Institutions R&D Consortium for research on “Stable Manufacturing of Advanced Powder Components by Ultra-Rapid Pressure- and Field-Assisted Sintering”.
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Dr. Bhattacharjee received grant to continue research for NASA
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Dr. Bhattacharjee received a $50,000 grant from NASA to continue his research on "Residence Time Driven Flame Spread Over Solid Fuels." The research investigates steady and unsteady flame propagation over solid fuels in a microgravity environment. For more information on his research, visit his
research website
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Dr. May-Newman received grant from Becton Dickinson and Company
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Dr. May-Newman received a $9,600 grant from Becton Dickinson and Company for research on "Design Project of Roller Clamps for Intravenous Administration Sets."
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-Dr. Youssef named 2019 Outstanding Engineering Educator
-Dr. Youssef selected as SAE Outstanding Faculty Advisors Award
Dr. Youssef was selected as the recipient of the SAE Outstanding Faculty Advisors Award. This award recognizes the dedication and contributions to SAE and the Collegiate Chapter that the faculty advises for.
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Dr. Bhalla's research featured in various scientific and engineering outlets
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Dr. Camacho interviewed by FOX 5 and NBC 7 News regarding fire safety in San Diego
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Dr. Camacho was interviewed by both Fox 5 and NBC 7 News in regards to the local fires that broke out in October 2019. To watch the interviews,
click here.
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Dr. Naseradinmousavi appointed as Associate Editor for the 8th IEEE RAS/EMBS International Conference for Biomedical Robotics and Biomechatronics
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Dr. Yang's research featured on front cover of AMI Journal
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ME Alum Part of Team Working on Telescope at SLAC National Accelerator Labor
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Hannah Pollek is currently part of the team responsible for testing and assembling the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) at the Department of Energy’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory at Stanford University. Hannah graduated in 2019 with her BSME Degree and was a part of the Aztec Baja team at SDSU.
Read More...
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Aztec Racing Formula SAE Team
is to promote collegiate education through the design, manufacturing and marketing of a small, open wheel race car. The cars are built with a team effort in under one year and are taken to the annual Formula SAE in Lincoln, Nebraska
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Baja SAE
t
eam consists of 35+ members who are challenged every school year to design, test, and build a single seat off road buggy that will compete in 3 nation-wide events where 100 global universities are evaluated in static and dynamic events.
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The
Mechatronics Club
consists of 40 members who are developing an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for the 2019 RoboSub Competition.
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Aztec Electric Racing
, commonly referred to as AER, is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, electric Formula SAE team at SDSU. They design, build, and race a small-scale, high performance race car each year.
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ASME
Club sponsors workshops, tours and guest speakers to prepare students for a career in the field of Mechanical Engineering.
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Our mission is to promote the education of our members by supporting academic and professional excellence, and innovative research.
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Quality of Life +
brings together America's brightest engineering students at leading universities nationwide to create life-transforming assistive technology for our country's injured and ill heroes. Their mission is to foster and generate innovations that aid and improve the quality of life for those who have served our country.
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From the Baja Car to Senior Capstone Projects to Scholarship support, your generous giving makes a tremendous difference for our students. Please consider making a gift to support the Department of Mechanical Engineering
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Welcome | Mechanical Engineering | College of...
The Department is the vibrant home to about 1400 undergraduate and graduate students, several active and award-winning student clubs and organizations, multiple teaching and research laboratories, internationally-renowned faculty who are...
Read more
mechanical.sdsu.edu
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San Diego State University | Mechanical Engineering |
5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA 92182-1323
619-594-7050 | me@engineering.sdsu.edu
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