The Fulton Schools Maroon team competes in the 2019 ASU Academic Bowl. Photo courtesy of Melissa Stine

Fulton Schools students put their heads together and earned second place in the 2019 Arizona State University Academic Bowl. The Maroon team students — Kai Yin, a computer science junior; Geoffrey Wong, a computer science senior; Kyle Xue, a double-major biomedical engineering and computer science junior; Jack Fleitman, a computer science senior; Colton Sowers, a computer science senior; and Brian Kozik, a computer science junior and captain of the team — will split $10,000 in scholarship money.

In classic College Bowl style, the ASU Academic Bowl pits teams of four against each other in lightning-fast question and answer rounds for trivia in political science, pop culture and everything in between. Top teams earn scholarship money and bragging rights.

Calli Campbell operates a Molecular Beam Epitaxy machine.

Calli Campbell, a doctoral student studying materials science and engineering, won the Outstanding Student MBE Award for her oral presentation at the 20th International Conference on Molecular Beam Epitaxy in Shanghai, China. Out of 135 student presentations, Campbell earned one of the two Outstanding Student awards.

The conference is an international forum for sharing developments in the areas of molecular beam epitaxy research including techniques, new materials and devices. MBE is a method to deposit ultra-thin crystals used when creating nanotechnology and semiconductors, like solar cells or lasers.

Her presentation, “MBE growth and band-offset measurement of CdTe/InSb(002) heterovalent interface,” discussed using X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy to look at the junction between MBE-grown crystalline compounds cadmium telluride and indium antimonide. This measurement technique offers a clearer picture of the relationship between the two materials. Together, the materials are used in items like solar cells, lasers and multi-color photodetectors.

On September 7, Campbell received the award for the quality of her research and presentation. She appreciates the support of her co-authors Xingye Wang and Robert Nemanich and her advisor Yong-Hang Zhang, under whom she is a graduate research assistant in electrical, computer and energy engineering.

“I am incredibly honored since this is a community full of people I learn from and look up to,” said Campbell.  “It is nice to know that our work at ASU is being well-received by the global MBE community.”

Members of the INFORMS@ASU student chapter placed second at the Principal Cup after their presentation Friday, September 28, 2018.

The Principal Cup is an international operations research and management sciences analytics competition that challenges teams to develop an objective decision-making process to buy, sell or hold stocks which could be affected by emotional bias. Instead, the teams use historic data and operations research tools to decide what to do.

The team–Nathan Gaw, Logan Mathesen, Anson Park and Daniel Tran – developed kNN-Stock, a new decision framework that fuses machine learning and conventional stock-trading expertise to make optimal trade decisions.

The team will present their results to the sponsors of the competition, Principal Investment Firm in Des Moines, Iowa.

Hello researchers!

Our Student Engagement team in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering is so excited to work with YOU during Fall 2018! We invite you to come drop by the Poly Engagement Welcome Party for food, connections, swag, and more. This is a great opportunity to connect with fellow students, faculty and staff who will be participating in FURI, GCSP, Fulton Student Orgs, and more. We look forward to seeing you there!

September 14, 2018
11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Academic Center 145, Barrett Lounge on Poly [map]

Sign up for event reminders: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/polyengagewelcome

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Sami Mian, master’s degree student in computer engineering, and Alaina Sutherland work on a component of a portable refrigeration unit.

On September 23-25, the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s Generator Labs hosted a 48-hour design challenge known as the Fulton Furnace Fallout — a Devil’s Invent event.

The event, sponsored in collaboration with the ASU Kern Project and the Rossum Rumblers student org, got its name and inspiration from a post-apocalyptic game series known as Fallout, which refers to the radioactive residual after a nuclear blast.

The teams designed and manufactured various technology and devices that could be put to use in a Fallout scenario.

Students’ creations were made from everyday materials and were incredibly varied.

One team built a replaceable shoe sole, the Marfind Sole-Saver, to protect and preserve the wearer’s original shoes and allow for various activities, such as running, hiking or snowy conditions.

Another team created an informational booklet — or a survival booklet — for building tools, such as a water purifier or charcoal respirator, that can be used by the layperson with little to no technical background.

Another team built a portable refrigeration unit.

Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset

The Fulton Schools’ aim in hosting events like this it to develop an entrepreneurial mindset among engineering students.

Brent Sebold, director of the Fulton Schools Startup Center, gets students pumped up for the design-build event centered around a nuclear fallout scenario.

What is a problem that needs to be solved? Who can I collaborate with to achieve my desired result? How can I communicate the value of my product to others?

These are all questions that students addressed in the course of the event, and will further address in the course of pursuing entrepreneurial endeavors.

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David Olivares (Left), Eddie Fernandez, Cole Seeley and Ryan Seeley, Future of Human Enhancement team members represent for the Human Machine Integration Lab. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

Speeding through Wells Fargo Arena in a jet pack and testing mental and physical agility in a Rube Goldberg-style challenge were two of the most popular interactive attractions at the ASU Emerge 2016 festival – and both came from engineering labs at the Polytechnic School.

Professor Tom Sugar and Associate Professor Sangram Redkar and their students exhibited innovations from the Human Machine Integration Lab, including the Pogo Suit, which is designed to diminish the physical toll of a backpack weighing up to 70 lbs., and the Spider Man Suit, which uses a vacuum pump and soft foam material cups to create a near air-tight seal between the device and a wall, allowing the user to scale just about any surface. Guests of the event were able to go for a jog across the Arena wearing a Jet Pack, a device designed to enable soldiers to run a four-minute mile. Small children tried on the suit without activating the power module, but felt they were able to run faster, nonetheless.

The Rube Goldberg-inspired Escape Challenge Room was born during a collaborative effort between ASU athletes and students in the National Science Foundation’s Broadening the Reach of Engineering through Community Engagement (BRECE) Scholars Program.  A two-day brainstorming workshop at the STEAM Labs at The Polytechnic School led to the innovative attraction, according to Assistant Professor Shawn Jordan, who noted that some of the athletes were also engineers.

“Initially, the students discussed what types of activities would lend themselves to an escape challenge,” Jordan explained. “When it was decided that each wall of the escape room should have a different project, the group broke up into teams to work out the details and build mini models.” The end result was a large, self-contained room inside the arena and a 10-minute escape challenge.

Jordan and some of the originating students were able to attend Emerge after the Polytechnic School’s Innovation Showcase, which was held on the same day. “It was exciting to see how different groups approached the challenge,” he said. “Some of teams would divide up and each take a wall, while others would approach each problem together.”

The activities overall served to get families with children excited about engineering. Even the “cheats,” as Jordan referred to the child-level peepholes in the Escape Room, got participants engaged in problem-solving thinking.

Super Cyborgs: The Future of Human Enhancement, presented by The Polytechnic School’s Human Machine Integration Lab 

Assistant Professor Sangram Redkar (left), Eddie Fernandez, Cole Seeley, Ryan Seeley and David Olivares show off the Pogo Suit, designed to lighten a backpack’s load by keeping it balanced. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

David Olivares demonstrates the Cooling Suit, designed to keep U.S. Air Force pilots cool in the cockpit. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

Assistant Professor Sangram Redkar with daughters Veena (age 8) and Rucha (age 4), Professor Joel Garneau (wearing a jetpack), Founding Director of the Emerge Center, and Professor Tom Sugar had almost as much fun as the guests when demonstrating the Super Cyborg Suits. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

The Future of Games: Rube Goldberg-style Escape Challenge Room, presented by The Polytechnic School’s STEAM Labs 

The Rube Goldberg-style Escape Challenge Room, designed by a team of ASU athletes and Polytechnic School STEAM Labs students, was a major attraction at Emerge 2016. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

Members of ASU’s 942 Crew, a Sun Devil Athletics Booster Club, team up to face the Escape Challenge Room during Emerge 2016. From left: Alex Linse, Kyle Bathe and Joey Palomarez. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

Kyle Bathe, a member of Sun Devil Booster Club 942 Crew, is amused by Joey Palomarez and Natalie McKee’s attempts to beat the Challenge Room’s puzzles. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

942 Crew Booster Club member Alex Linse evaluates his Escape Challenge options. Linse and his team beat the 10-minute time limit. Photographer: Mihir Bhatt/ASU

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Khira Momodu

Fulton Schools student Khira Momodu attended the Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference in Phoenix, Arizona on April 17-19, 2016.

The purpose of the conference is to provide women in the technology industry an opportunity to network with fellow women innovators and develop their innovative ideas. The three-day event included keynotes from a multitude of successful women in technology, workshops, and discussion sessions.

Momodu is a residential community assistant and a member of Women in Computer Science, National Society of Black Engineers, Fulton Ambassadors and Alpha Kappa Alpha. She maintains involvement in numerous organizations and attended the Catalyst Conference because she desires to gain the knowledge and resources to make a difference and ultimately better herself.

On Monday April 18, Momodu attended a workshop on Finding Your Sweet Spot, led by Vice President of Data Center Group and General Manager of Storage Group at Intel, Bev Crair. Her main takeaway from the workshop was that while it can be hard to climb to the top of the corporate ladder as fast as men, Crair encourages women to find their passions and provided advice on how to grow in the technology industry as a woman.

The Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference allowed for the innovative women in attendance to network and develop themselves professionally. Momodu encourages women to attend the next conference; “Life is about opportunities and it’s important to take advantage of all opportunities.”

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Engineering takeaways and global snapshots from spring break
Fulton Schools students from four different ASU groups recently returned from trips to San Diego, the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Peru over spring break. Like any spring breakers, they had plenty of fun in the sun, but these groups did more than take in the sights of their destinations — each group went to make a difference.

SenSIP striving to make solar energy systems more sustainable
Making photovoltaic cells more effective is critical to unleashing the potential of solar energy to become a major source of clean renewable power. ASU engineers’ expertise in sensor, signal and information processing promises to help maximize the output and reliability of facilities for converting sunlight into electrical power.

Mechanical engineering faculty help prepare students for licensing exam
The Fulton Schools mechanical engineering faculty is doing their part to help students with the Fundamentals Engineering Exam, or FE Exam. They offered students a  free, eight-week workshop to prepare their students for this milestone in their engineering careers.

Engineering Smiles looks to mobilize dental care abroad
For millions around the world, proper dental care is an unattainable luxury. Since fall 2013, an engineering-led team of six ASU students has been working to help provide dental services to those in need. Engineering Smiles, a project that started in Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS), has spent the last three years working to design, build and deliver a mobile dental clinic which will bring dental care to developing nations. The team is now in their final fundraising push, with a total goal of $180,000.

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ASU alumni illuminate new way to treat jaundice
In less than two years, a group of Arizona State University alumni have taken the seed of an idea and transformed it into a medical tech startup that secured a $600,000 investment in a seed-funding round earlier this year. Neolight, a medical device company focused on the development of phototherapy devices to treat jaundice in newborns, was started in the summer of 2014 by co-founders Vivek Kopparthi, Sivakumar Palaniswamy, Chase Garrett and Deepak Krishnaraju.

Inspiration springs from engineering education outreach effort
Mechanical engineering doctoral student Michael Thompson started a small outreach project in 2012 to introduce youngsters and teens to the basics of engineering design. His series of Saturday instruction sessions have to date attracted more than 160 middle school and high school students — and drawn praise from their teachers.

New faculty member working on gene therapies for cancer treatment
For the last few years Samira Kiani has been working at the intersection of genome engineering and synthetic biology. Now, as a new faculty member in the Fulton Schools, she is hoping to further meld those disciplines to develop the next generation of gene therapies in the fight against cancer.

Student Panfil, alumnus Sikes win Engineers Week awards
Academic and professional accomplishments, along with public service contributions, earned an undergraduate student and an alumnus of the Fulton Schools recent awards from the Greater Phoenix Area Engineers Week organization. Daniela Panfil received the Outstanding Engineering Student of the Year Award and Melanie Sikes, a 2004 ASU graduate, received the award for Outstanding Young Engineer of the Year.

Fluidic Energy: ASU academic start-up attains global reach
Cody Friesen’s alternative research team at Arizona State University set out to create an energy storage breakthrough that would dramatically reduce costs and eliminate toxic and rare metals in batteries. The solution was found by innovating a way to make zinc-air batteries rechargeable — a solution that launched Fluidic Energy Inc. as a private company now set to power 500 remote Indonesian islands.

ASU enters partnership to imbue entrepreneurial mindset in engineering education
ASU recently received a $2.86 million grant from The Kern Family Foundation, launching a partnership dedicated to furthering the entrepreneurial mindset in engineering education on a mass scale. Facets of entrepreneurially focused programs like Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) will be applied across the curricula of the Fulton Schools to develop a model entrepreneurially minded engineering program within a public research institution.

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The Aero-mechanics Summer in England 2016 faculty directed program is accepting applications until March 22.

This unique program opportunity allows rising junior and senior Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students to gain a global perspective on Aeronautics.  Spend a week in London and four weeks in Winchester in the south of England learning how the United States and the United Kingdom collaborated in shared technology innovation.  Through museum visits and guest lectures, students will see many examples of European aircraft design.

Quick Facts:

• Program dates: July 11 – August 13, 2016
• Open to rising junior and senior Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering students from the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy (SEMTE)
• Earn 6 credits in MAE 400 Engineering Profession (3 credits) and a technical elective MAE 394 Special Topics: Aeronautics in England (3 credits). The MAE 400 prerequisites of MAE 322 or MAE 325 will be waived for students participating in this program
• See how these credits fit into your degree requirements here
• Faculty Director: Dr. Timothy Takahashi

Students must apply and confirm their enrollment by March 22 at 11:59 p.m.

Questions? Contact the faculty director; Amy Sever, associate director of Undergraduate Student Engagement at amy.sever@asu.edu; or Mandy Nydegger, international coordinator in the Study Abroad Office at mandy.nydegger@asu.edu.