McCraw, SC A ’56, was also a lifetime trustee of Clemson University, his alma mater. Read the obituary

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Eileen Moss, Ph.D (OH B ’01), is leading a team of researchers on a biomask project. Her work is funded by the U.S. Army Medical Research & Material Command.

Her current research is focusing on “developing a pliable, polymer mask embedded with electrical, mechanical and biological components” to speed up healing from facial burns sustained by soldiers. Click here to read the full article

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The Penn State Board of Trustees recently announced the election of three new trustee officers. Keith E. Masser, PA B ’73, was elected vice chair. Read the news release

Masser is president of Sterman Masser Inc. and an agricultural engineering graduate of Penn State.

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Dr. Evans heads the Advanced Techniques Branch as en engineer at NRL.

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Former founding director of the MIT Energy Laboratory and faculty member, David Calvin White passed away this month at the age of 89.

White, OR A ’46, served for 16 years as the founding director of MIT’s Energy Laboratory. Read the obituary

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Lt. Col. Andrew J. Muser will be awarded the The Maj. Gen. L. Dean Fox Award, for Senior Military Manager, at the 50th Annual Civil Engineer Awards dinner in February.

Lt. Col. Muser, SD B ’94, is currently commander of the 4th Civil Engineer Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base (NC). See the full list of US Air Force engineering achievement here

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In the article, Ms. Gardner discusses the “modernization” of coal mining. She says “the future of energy includes coal.” Gardner is a senior majoring in mining engineering and member of the Kentucky Alpha Chapter of Tau Beta Pi.

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Gonzaga University was awarded a National Science Foundation recently, “aimed at bringing more women into science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers.”

Click here for the full article and more information on plans to “change the current culture in STEM fields.”

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The University of Michigan’s College of Engineering was highlighted by The Chronicle of Higher Education for a recent video that “may be the world’s fastest-ever campus tour.” Watch the video:

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The Rude Goldberg challenge this year, requires teams to place a stamp on an envelope. Visit the Iowa Alpha chapter website for more information

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The California Tau Chapter of Tau Beta Pi, at the University of California, Irvine, recently put together a slide show “of the many events hosted throughout the 2011 Fall quarter.”

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A reminder to Tau Beta Pi chapters that the 2011 Convention ratification ballot on constitution amendment is due to TBP Headquarters by April, 2012.

Click here to download the PDF form

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Helms was President and CEO of Piper Aircraft Corp. from 1974-1980. According to the obituary from The New York Times, he was recognized for exceptional service during the Korean War as a Navy test pilot.

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The BEYA annual Black Engineer of the Year STEM Conference recognized several outstanding engineers. Christine S. Earle, P.E. (DC A ’03), was honored with a special recognition award. She is currently a civil engineer at Black & Veatch.

In February, the BEYA STEM Conference will be in Philadelphia. Click here for more information

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This past weekend the FIRST LEGO League state championship tournament in Oregon took place. There were teams composed of ages 8 to 14 competing. Read the full article

Co-director of the tournament, Roger Swanson, says (that the tournament) “accurately reflects what an engineer does.”

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Ben Statler and his wife, Jo, pledged the largest single gift commitment to WVU. Statler earned his bachelor’s degree in mining engineering from WVU and later served as president and CEO of PinnOak Resources LLC.

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The Contra Costa Times recently profiled a partnership between the College of Engineering at UC Berkeley and the Shanghai Zhangjiang Hi-Tech Park (China).

The article also highlights Dean S. Shankar Sastry of Berkeley and discusses the importance of experience in the global marketplace for current engineering graduates.

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A personal gift from retired president of Frank’s Casing, Donald Mosing, to the University of Louisiana Lafayette College of Engineering is the largest of its kind.

Mosing graduated in 1950 with a degree in mechanical engineering. His gift will fund “an endowed chair, a new computer-aided design laboratory for students, and a student career development program.” Click here, for more details

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He received the award at the annual Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) STEM Conference. Dr. Jones recently retired from the Connecticut Air National Guard as a lieutenant colonel. Click here for a full bio

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Facebook’s Director of Engineering, Jay G. Parikh (VA B ’94), was interviewed recently while visiting Facebook’s engineering offices in Seattle.

In the article from Geek Wire, Parikh discusses growth in Seattle and managing an expanding engineering workforce. The question and answer segment offers a unique look inisde Facebook.

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With an engineering and Applied Physics background, Dr. Robert J. Lang, CA B ’82, “is one of the foremost origami artists and theorists in the world.” In 2001, he left JDS Uniphase to start Langorigami.

Robert Lang origami, BiCurvePot13

Dr. Lang, according to his Wikipedia biography, uses computers to study theories behind origami and is still an engineering consultant.

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There are several applications for this technology, including new highly efficient refrigerators and cooling systems with no moving parts. Read the full news release to learn more about this research.

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A partnership between researchers at the University of Wyoming, the University of Notre Dame, and Zhejiang University in China, has led to genetically engineered silkworms to spin silk containing spider silk proteins. “Those fibers are stronger than fibers normally spun by silkworms and almost as tough as spider silk.”

According to the article, the successful genetic engineering of silkworms has attracted worldwide media attention and the team’s research was publicized in the January edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

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Imagine a smart phone that can determine your mood based on your physical interaction with the phone. Samsung researchers say they have developed such a phone.

The prototype to be presented will “enable people in a social network to view symbols alongside posts that indicate that person’s emotional state.” Read the article here, to find out how certain inputs will be measured to determine a user’s mood

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Dr. Su previously worked at Freescale Semiconductor Inc., as senior vice president and general manager, networking and multimedia. She has also worked for IBM and has co-authored more than 40 technical publications. Read the press release

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An academic team from Michigan Tech has developed a new Family Engineering program and “released a book containing 15 engineering challenges and 22 short engineering activities to engage children age 5-12 years and their parents in learning and doing engineering.”

Joan Chadde and Dr. Neil Hutzler, WI A ’69, of Michigan Tech are co-authors of the book and have been hosting training/workshop sessions for Tech students on how STEM training. Click here for more information on the book

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The Detroit Free Press has profiled the 16-year career of Sheri Hickok, MI Z ’00, at General Motors. Currently, Hickok is chief engineer for midsize and full-size sedans. She was also successful leading GM’s global noise and vibration operations.

According to the article, she is a “risk-taker and motivator with a sense of humor.” She is also family oriented and recently ran her first marathon.

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Effective May 1, 2012, Dr. Lex A. Akers, TX B ’71, will become the founding dean of the Caterpillar College of Engineering and Technology at Bradley University.

Currently, Dr. Akers is the associate dean for academic programs and a professor at the University of Missouri. He is author or co-author of more than 100 scientific articles and book chapters, and two books. Read the news announcement

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Alumnus Andrew J. Ryan, P.E., NY X ’81, has been appointed vice president for facilities at Manhattan College. Ryan has extensive corporate operations experience and will be leaving his position as senior director of engineering and maintenance at Weill Cornell Medical College.

In his new position, Ryan will “provide leadership for the College’s extensive sustainable initiatives” and will be responsible for the daily operation of the physical plant. For more information, read the press release

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