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theTrend Autumn 2006: Volume 56, Issue 2 in engineering Hot Ideas out of the lab and into the world... Page 6 Message from the Dean News Spotlight Great Expectations As fall quarter kicks off, you can “Ideas to Innovation” (i2i) summit feel the energy of new and returning attended by 65 top executives of students. As a new kid myself, I’m as area companies as well as key local, excited as a first-year student. state and federal leaders. Among a Since mid-August, I’ve met with number of things, we talked about many faculty and staff members UW Engineering and its excellent in a series of “boot camps.” Each track record in taking innovations session introduced me to more of to market. As dean, I will strengthen the college’s work. Lots of days, it these partnerships. was intense, like drinking from a fire UW Engineering has a strong How do students fit into this hose. We hashed out our strengths, culture of interdisciplinary teamwork picture? Great expectations. We train our challenges, our plans for re- and research innovation, but the students to be more than competent search and education initiatives, all bar needs to be higher, with goals engineers seeking design or project in big chunks. It was exhausting and stretching to the global arena. This management jobs. We prepare them exhilarating, but gradually a theme requires significant resources, always to work in a complex, highly tech- emerged: the importance of commu- a major challenge. nological world. It means more nity, not just our internal university An August 22 feature article in undergraduates will participate in community, but our connection to The Seattle Times reported that interdisciplinary research projects the communities where we live. overall research funding at the UW and industry internships. We teach “We teach students to be innovators and entrepreneurs who improve com- munities and solve the world’s big problems. We teach them to be leaders.” We came up with words describ- this past year declined for the first students to be innovators and entre- ing what we want for our commu- time in at least two decades. In some preneurs who improve communities nities: health, security, prosperity, areas federal research support is and solve the world’s big problems. diversity, and sustainability. To make shrinking while, nationwide, compe- We teach them to be leaders. this vision a reality, we need commu- tition is increasing dramatically. You can learn more about the nities, inside and outside the Univer- UW Engineering proved a bright i2i summit at www.washington.edu/ sity, working together to address the exception. During the 2005–2006 research/industry. In this issue of big societal issues facing us in the fiscal year, we set an all-time record The Trend you can also learn about twenty-first century. Technology will for grant awards for research — some of the latest UW Engineering be essential in providing solutions. nearly $95 million — an almost 20% innovations moving from the lab into increase over the prior year. One our communities for everyday use. major reason is that young faculty All this makes me excited to be recruited during the past five or six here at the University of Washington. In This Issue years are now recognized for their exceptional research promise and Matthew O’Donnell News Spotlight 3 are thus receiving major grants. Frank and Julie Jungers Dean of Engineering Innovators 4 Under President Mark Emmert’s Alumni News 5 leadership, the UW is also focusing Hot Ideas to Market 6 more attention on its important Creating Futures 8 partnerships with industry and gov- ernment. UW Engineering played a Lecture Series 12 major role in the University’s recent 2 TREND • Vol 56:2 • Autumn 2006 Message from the Dean News Spotlight UW Will Celebrate Life of Denice Denton Tributes from UW colleagues, friends, and admirers nationwide arrived following news of Denice Dee Denton’s death on June 24. Known by many as “D3,” she led UW Engineering from 1996 to 2004. During her tenure Associate Dean Eve Riskin Professor Cindy Atman Assistant Professor Susie Pun as dean, the college rose signifi- cantly in the national rankings Faculty Win Prestigious National Honors and she attained national stature Eve Riskin, professor of electrical engineering and associate dean of academic as a dynamic leader and advocate affairs will receive the 2006 Hewlett Packard/Harriet B. Rigas Award from for drawing women the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Education Society at an and underrepre- October 30 conference in San Diego. The award recognizes women who are sented students to making significant contributions to electrical and computer engineering edu- engineering. She cation and encouraging increased participation of women in these disciplines. became chancellor Riskin directs the ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change at the UW. of UC Santa Cruz in February 2004. Cindy Atman, professor of industrial engineering and a leader in engineering Her passing is education, has scored triple honors over the past year. On the national level a great loss. The she became a Fellow of the American Association of the Advancement of tributes to her are Science and of the American Society for Engineering Education. On June 1 posted at www.engr.washington. she was installed as the inaugural holder of the Michael T. Bowie and Lella edu/denton. All are welcome to Blanche Bowie Endowed Chair. Atman directs the Center for Engineering celebrate her life at a memorial at Learning and Teaching at the UW and the Center for the Advancement of the UW on November 2. Engineering Education, a federally funded national initiative. Memorial Program Susie Pun, assistant professor of bioengineering, received a Presidential Early Thursday, November 2, 4–5 pm Career Award for Scientists and Engineers at a White House ceremony on Kane Hall 130, reception to follow in the Walker-Ames Room July 26. NSF director Arden Bement (photo) presented the award. Pun will receive up to five years of research funding for her work to develop a new technology to deliver genetic material to the nuclei of non-dividing cells. Ferguson Appointed Acting Chair of CEE Professor John Ferguson will serve Illusion Tower Survives Shake, Rattle, and Roll as acting chair of Civil & Environ- Onlookers proclaimed the 5’8’’ twisting mental Engineering, following Scott Four twisting columns circle tower the “coolest” structure, but never Rutherford, who completed a five- a structural core supporting thought it would withstand the series year chair tenure in June. The col- 29 square floor plates. of rigorous tests in the Undergraduate lege will conduct a national search Below: The proud team with Seismic Design Competition at the 8th for a permanent chair. its winning creation. National Conference on Earthquake Engineering in San Francisco last April. Ferguson is no stranger to the By the end of the shake to failure test, chair’s seat, as he filled that role the Illusion Tower, an aptly named from 1992–1997. “underdawg,” had emerged unscathed. An environmen- It was the only design with no structural tal engineer, he damage among the entries from eight specializes in water universities, including Georgia Tech and quality and waste- UC Berkeley. Kudos to our talented team of Civil & Environmental Engineering water treatment. students for their ingenious design and He earned his PhD impressive victory. at Stanford. TREND • Vol 56:2 • Autumn 2006 3 Innovators Alumni News & Events Recent innovations from UW Engineering are benefiting consumers, public agencies, and businesses through patents and licensing agreements arranged with the assistance of the UW Office of Technology Transfer. Web Crystal Ball Predicts Air Fare Trends Ever bought an airplane ticket well in advance of depar- ture to get the cheapest price and then learned the fare Where Is My Bus? later dropped significantly? In the volatile world of seat pricing, fares constantly fluctuate as airlines strive to Tracking System pack planes and maximize revenue. A new Web-based Lets You Know service, Farecast.com, is aiming to ease at least one signi- ficant frustration of air travel — estimating when to When does the next bus leave my stop? Is it on time or whip out the credit card to get the best possible fare to behind schedule? Riders in Seattle and Chicago with your destination. Internet access through a computer, cell phone, or other Farecast is the inspiration of Computer Science & hand-held device can get quick answers through Bus Engineering Professor Oren Etzioni. He and colleagues Tracker, an online system using My Bus software devel- created a data-mining program to gather airline pricing oped by Electrical Engineering Professor Daniel Dailey. information from the Web and then developed sophisti- Clever Devices, a New York company, licensed the cated algorithms to predict whether ticket prices on software from the UW and links it with GPS devices specific routes are likely to rise or fall within the next on buses that continually feed location data to a transit seven days. Backed by $8.5 million in venture capital, agency computer. On a Bus Tracker Web page, a rider the site went live in June and consumers can now com- enters a route number and stop to get arrival time or pare prices — and, unique to this site — check fare track the bus in real time on a map. The Chicago Transit predictions for most major U.S. airlines to more than 55 Authority is testing Bus Tracker on one route to enthu- airports nationwide. Farecast plans to expand to cover siastic response. “We hope to extend it system wide and all significant markets in the U.S. and abroad. then take it to other major U.S.