The College of Engineering and Mines at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has been educating engineering students since 1922 when the school was founded as the Alaska Agriculture College and School of Mines. Over the years, students from around the world have pursued their engineering degree with us, taking advantage of the opportunity to learn one-on-one from outstanding faculty in the unique environment of Interior Alaska. UAF is Alaska's top teaching and research university, but our classroom environments in engineering and mines are more like what you would find at a small college. UAF is the only university in Alaska that offers six undergraduate degrees fully-accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology. In addition the College of Engineering and Mines offers 14 graduate degree programs for undergraduates wishing to continue their studies after receiving their baccalaureate degree.  | The Institute of Northern Engineering is the research arm of CEM. It has several distinct research centers and provides facilities and support to dozens of researchers working in conjunction with the College. |
Current News CEM professor honored with Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award15 May 2012
 Mechanical engineering professor Debendra Das is no stranger to professional awards and honors (his resume reveals 44 years’ worth of accolades), but his most recent honor—the 2012 Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Award— stands out. “It is one of the most valuable, one of the high points among those in my career, and will be very cherished,” Das said of the honor he received from the University of Alaska in May. The Emil Usibelli Distinguished Teaching Research and Service awards have been presented annually since 1992 to individuals who display extraordinary excellence in teaching, research and public service. Das has clearly earned the honor during his tenure at UAF, but his outlook in regard to his work in the classroom remains humble. “My role is to prepare our students as best as I can for their future work. I am helping to build a solid foundation in engineering so when they go out and work they have that solid, basic knowledge base to guide them,” Das explained. “I am there to give them confidence.” It seems to be working: During his 28 years at UAF Das has received feedback from industry representatives regarding his students who have advanced into the mechanical engineering workforce. They are succeeding, and have knowledge and skills comparable to much larger universities around the country. Das’ own career has involved constant growth, building upon an academic and research foundation. He moved to the U.S. after earning his bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering at Sambalpur University in India in 1972. His master’s degree came from Brown University in Rhode Island (1974) and his PhD from the University of Rhode Island (1983). He felt drawn to teaching while working in the classroom as part of his doctoral duties at University of Rhode Island—“that cemented the thought that I’d like to be a teacher,” he said— but he first spent time building his knowledge foundation in industry and research. He worked as an engineer for BIF, a Unit of General Signal in Rhode Island and the Naval Surface Weapons Center in Virginia before seeking an academic position. His past experience and research involvement are vital in his approach to teaching. “I have found that teaching and research complement each other. The research keeps us interested and in touch with new technology,” Das said. “If we don’t have new things to learn we will lose interest. We need to bring new ideas and concepts into the classroom.” Das embraced his academic calling in 1984 when he was hired as assistant professor of mechanical engineering at UAF. He was chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1997-1998 and 2006-2007. He’s led many courses in mechanical engineering, focusing most on fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Asked about the biggest challenges in his career, Das noted the continual challenge faced by all research faculty: Securing funding for research and graduate student support. His time in the classroom, he noted, is the comparatively easy part. “For teaching, there is absolutely no challenge or difficulty. If you put your heart and soul in it you can fulfill the demands of teaching,” he said. “The challenge has been the research, which enriches the teaching by giving new technology and concepts. The hardship these 28 years has always been finding funding to support graduate students.” Throughout his career, Das has made the transformation from a junior faculty seeking guidance from senior colleagues to a seasoned mentor himself. Now contemplating retirement, he reflected on his time in academics. “I love to interact with the students. I try to keep an open mind because we’re really all in it together,” he said. “We’re discovering something new together. I’m not the supreme person; it is a two-way interaction and we’re learning together.” In the future, Das plans to devote more time to his community service callings—he has volunteered for numerous causes over the years, most notably with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. He is not ready to leave his students just yet, however. “I am advising four PhD students right now, and I really try to keep an open door policy,” he said. “I remember how I felt back then, and I don’t want them to feel lost in this work. Working with them as they navigate (doctoral studies) is my greatest pleasure.” |
Deadline extended for CMMI student travel grants 6 April 2012 The deadline for 2012 CMMI Conference Student Travel Grants has been extended to April 16. The 2012 NSF CMMI Engineering and Research Innovation Conference will be held July 9-12 at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. Up to 200 student fellowships will be available to selected students. Student fellowships will cover conference registration fees and accommodations in student housing on Northeaster University's campus. Students are expected to participate in pre-conference activities July 8. Applicants must submit an application form, a 1-2 page research description and a 1-page resume/CV. Interested students should submit complete application packages via email to cmmi2012@neu.edu no later than 5 p.m. EDT April 16. Applications will be reviewed by an ad hoc committee and selections made based on factors listed in the application form. Students will be notified of their application status during the week of April 29, 2012. Conference information is available on the conference website. UAF team dominates regional cyber competition, heads to nationals20 March 2012
Members of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Collegiate Cyber Defense Competition (CCDC) team took first place in the 2012 At-Large Regional CCDC competition. The team defeated four competitors in the March 3-4 competition hosted virtually in the UAF Advanced System Security Education, Research and Training (ASSERT) Laboratory. Team members—captain Robert Hartshorn, alternate captain Ben Hartman, Greg Klupar, William Showalter, Jan Pruce, Tim Grediagin, Michael Tait and Jon Klein—will travel to the national competition in San Antonio, Texas in April. “I was very impressed by their teamwork, uptime, and positive attitude during the contest,” said team faculty advisor Orion Lawlor, assistant professor of computer science at UAF. Team member Grediagin, a senior and first-year team member, said the competition was not just preparation for the real-world careers but real-world disasters. “(It provides) a better idea of what might be asked of a sys(tem)-admin in the business world, and a nightmare of a day,” he stated via email. “CCDC is as one friend described it, ‘a sys-admin’s day of hell’.” Click here for a full story. |
UAF tops Clean Snowmobile Challenge, earns NSF invite to Greenland 19 March 2012 | The challenge: Modify a standard snowmachine to battery power and reduced noise output while maintaining power and performance; do it for minimal cost; and complete it in eight months. Then travel more than 3,200 miles to put the machine up against other competitors in a variety of technical and performance challenges. Members of the University of Alaska Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) Zero Emissions team rose to the challenge, taking home first place in the 2012 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge Zero Emissions Category held at the Michigan Technical University campus March 5-9. The win earned UAF an invitation to Greenland to contribute to clean Arctic research efforts. The Zero Emissions category, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, is an attempt to support innovations in the area of clean snow travel. NSF funds an array of research endeavors in Arctic areas where results are vulnerable to contamination from transportation vehicles like snowmachines. To preserve the integrity of such research, NSF is seeking zero emissions vehicles for on-site transportation. Nanook EV team co-captain Isaac Thompson, electrical engineering senior in the College of Engineering and Mines, will travel with the winning sled to Greenland on NSF's dime. "They are taking snow and atmospheric samples, and don't want to contaminate their samples," Thompson explained. "If all goes well, I will be in summit camp for about three days. The machine, if it is working properly, will stay in summit camp for the rest of the summer." Dates are not yet set for the trip as they depend on scientists' research schedule. Thompson said the machine will likely be shipped back to Fairbanks in the fall. | 
Members of the UAF SAE Clean Snowmobile team pose with awards from the 2012 competition. From left to right are Craig McKenzie, Ian McKee, Christin Davis, Isaac Thompson, Rubert Russell, Samual Brewer, Ben Neubauer and Amanda Mertes.
Photo Credit: Michael Golub | The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, sponsored by SAE International and hosted by the Keweenaw Research Center and MTU, is SAE's response to the snowmachine industry's concern about environmental impact while preserving the speed and power riders demand. This year's competition was the thirteenth annual event. Team co-captain Michael Golub, a graduate student in CEM's mechanical engineering program, credited the team’s success to experience and preparation: "In a competition like this, every point counts; we came prepared for everything." That helped garner points in each event—weight, range, draw bar pull, acceleration and load event, handling/drivability, cold start, static display, and noise—as well as oral presentation and written paper on sled design. The team earned awards for cold start display; best design; draw bar pull; most improved machine and best hybrid paper. "By being an Arctic university, an Arctic competition like this is really right up our alley. We should be a dominating force in this competition," Golub said. "I think we’re really close to that." | 
UAF electrical engineering student and SAE Zero Emissions team co-captain Isaac Thompson drives the team's electric snowmachine during the acceleration event at the 2012 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge held in Houghton, MI March 5-9.
Photo Credit: Michael Golub | UAF faced off against MTU, Clarkson University, McGill University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology and University of Wisconsin Madison. Nanook EV team members were co-captains Golub and Thompson, and undergraduate students Christin Davis, Russell Carroll, Craig McKenzie, Ben Neubauer, Amanda Mertes, Karlin Swearingen and Adam Burnett. The Nanook ICE team competed for the second year, tasked with re-engineering an internal combustion engine to reduce emissions and noise. Sleds are required to utilize biofuels and are judged for design, noise, exhaust emissions, fuel economy, cold start ability, acceleration and handling. The team consisted of co-captains Golub and mechanical engineering graduate student Sam Brewer; and undergrads Tachit Chairat, Robert Russell, Ian McKee and Mitchel Halverson. The team finished eighth among 12 competitors. Faculty advisor Ed Bargar said a key benefit of the competition is to prepare students for real-life engineering projects. The SAE event not only requires students to design and build an effective machine, but to get a "taste" of other tasks required to complete an actual project. "The two teams involved in these competitions, and the members of the student SAE group in general, have been involved in this competition for several years. Each year their overall efforts improve," he said. "Hopefully they will again learn from their experiences this year and make further improvements for the next competition." Golub noted that "a lot of coordination went into making it all possible." The team overcame such challenges shipping 72 batteries and a backup motor to Michigan, and securing funding. Both teams garnered strong local support from various university entities—College of Engineering and Mines, UAF Sustainability Fee, and others—and a variety of businesses that offered monetary and in-kind donations such as parts and discounts. Golub said neither construction of machines or travel would have been possible without such sponsors. Next up for the team is to compete in the Shell Oil Eco-marathon, a national energy efficient vehicle competition, held in Houston, Texas March 29-April 1. Following that it’s on to plans for SAE 2013. | CEM Annual Open House - February 25, 2012  | The UAF College of Engineering and Mines will be hosting its annual open house on Saturday, February 25th from 11am-3pm. Come and find out what engineers do and what engineering is contributing to Alaska! This free-of-charge exhibition features on-going demonstrations and exhibits throughout the Duckering Building. FREE PARKING ON CAMPUS ALL DAY. For information contact Ryan Smith at 474-7391 rosmith@alaska.edu |
$1 million Pogo gift supports engineering research, students - September 15, 2011 | The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Sumitomo Pogo Mine today announced a gift to support graduate student research in mining engineering at UAF.
The three-year, $1 million endowment from Sumitomo Pogo Joint Venture will provide a steady source of research funding for mining engineers seeking advanced training through graduate degrees.
For more information please see the corresponding UAF Press Release | $1 million Kinross Gold gift supports engineering students - August 16, 2011 | The University of Alaska Fairbanks and Kinross Fort Knox today announced a gift to support graduate student research in mining engineering at UAF.
The $1 million engineering research endowment will allow UAF to provide advanced training for mining engineers by establishing a steady source of research funding.
For more information please see the corresponding UAF Press Release | CEM Annual Awards Banquet Saturday April 30 | At its annual awards banquet, the College of Engineering and Mines will honor Joe Usibelli Jr., president of Usibelli Coal Mine, Inc. with this year's Outstanding Alumnus Award, and Jack Wilbur, president of Design Alaska, with the Distinguished Service Award. The banquet will be held this year on Saturday, April 30, at Pikes Waterfront Lodge. CEM will also recognize students for academic achievements and the winning UAF Steel Bridge team which took first place at the Pacific Northwest Regional Conference held recently in Anchorage. Tickets are $40 per person, $20 per student. Please contact Linda Ilgenfritz at linda.i@alaska.edu or 474-7135 to sign up for more information. | UAF Steel Bridge Team Dominates Regional Competition 
Photo Credit: Todd Paris | | The University of Alaska Fairbanks Steel Bridge Team competed at the Pacific Northwest Regional Student Conference on April 1st and 2nd, 2011. UAF won the Regional Steel Bridge competition, bringing home first place overall and in addition received first place in five individual categories: efficiency, stiffness, economy, lightness and construction speed. UAF also placed fourth in aesthetics. UAF will go on to compete in the National Steel Bridge Competition held at Texas A&M University, on May 20th and 21st, 2011.The top three schools at Regionals will compete at Nationals; UAF will be joined by our regional competitors; the second place team University of British Colombia and the third place team Washington State University. Faculty advisors Dr. Leroy Hulsey, professor of structural engineering and Wilhelm Muench, adjunct professor assisted the team in their victory. The team members include: Patrick Brandon, Nicholas Brehm, Gordon Dufseth, Pauline Fusco, Jennifer Holland, Jeromy Jones, Louis Landry-Michaud, Aaron Simpson, Greg Smith, Aubrey Swallows, Julien Tessier-Lessard, Stephanie Young, and Jason Zottola. The competition score sheet demonstrates exactly how well the UAF team did. Dermit Cole has also given our team some coverage in his Fairbanks Daily Newsminer column. | UAF Wins 12th Annual Clean Snow Machine Challenge | 21 March 2011 University of Alaska Fairbanks won awards for Best Design and Most Improved Snowmobile in the 12th Annual Clean Snowmobile Challenge held March 7-12 at Michigan Technological University. Nine UAF engineering students (two graduate, seven undergraduate) competed in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) event. The SAE Award for Best Design is presented to the team receiving the highest total score in the Engineering Design Paper, Oral Design Presentation, and Static Display Events, after attaining passing scores in Noise and Acceleration Events. University of Wisconsin Madison (UWM) has won this award for the past three years. The Aristo Intelligent Catalyst Technology Award for Most Improved Snowmobile is presented to the team that in the opinion of the organizers has improved the most since last year. There is only one award for both categories (Internal Combustion and Zero Emissions). Competition organizers created a new award for the Challenge based on UAFs hard work and determination. The Phoenix Award will now be awarded for teams that "rise from the ashes to compete". Both UAF teams (Internal Combustion and Zero Emissions) were awarded the NGK Spark Plugs/NTK Sensors Cold Start Award for passing the Cold Start Event. Co-Team Leader Alan Spangler caused some excitement during the event by using all 20 seconds allotted to start the machine. This is the fifth time UAF has competed in the competition. This is the second attempt for UAF to compete in both the Internal Combustion (IC) and Zero Emission (ZE) categories. They competed against teams from University of Wisconsin Madison (UWM), MTU and Clarkson in both categories. The ZE sled finished in a respectable 4th place. The total order of finish was Madison, McGill, Clarkson, UAF, MTU, South Dakota, North Dakota. The ZE team was also selected among 6 other schools as a finalist for the Altair Engineering Award for Simulation-based Design which is presented to the team that demonstrates a successful simulation of their design. The UAF IC sled posted a school record of 8th place and edged out Kettering, University of Maine and University of Waterloo. http://www.facebook.com/pages/Society-of-Automotive-Engineers-UAF-student-chapter/113099978765037 | 
Photo Credit: Jay S. Meldrum Sr | High School Robotics Championship | 24 February 2011 Saturday, March 5th from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. in The Patty Center, UAF, CEM and other partners will host the "First Tech Challenge High School Robotics Championship". This event is free for the public. This printable event flyer has the schedule. |  | 2011 UAF Engineering Open House | 24 February 2011 Saturday, February 26th from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Duckering building will be open to the public and will host dozens of demonstrations and hands on learning opportunities. The complete schedule and room locations are listed in the open house brouchure. | John C. King Selected as Recipient of the Coal and Energy Division Scholarship Award | 24 January 2011 The Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration's division of Coal and Energy has awarded John C. King a $2500 scholarship and will present it to him at its annual meeting and exhibit in Denver, Colorado this March. John King was in competition with other students from student members chapters of the society. The award is based on academic merit as well as engineering background and interest in coal mining. |  | Fort Knox Helps Establish Mining Engineering Research Fund | 18 January 2011 The Fort Knox gold mine helped start the Mining Engineering Research Endowment by making a $25,000 donation. The picture shows Lauren Roberts, General Manager, Fort Knox mine, and Rajive Ganguli (red sweater), Chairman, Department of Mining and Geological Engineering. |  | UAF to Design CubeSat in NASA Launch Initiative | 10 August 2010 UAF has been selected as a participant in NASA's Cubesat Launch Initiative. CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called picosatellites, having a size of approximately four inches, a volume of about one quart, and weighing no more than 2.2 pounds. The CubeSats are planned as auxiliary payloads on launch vehicles already planned for 2011 and 2012. The UAF payload will be designed by engineering and science students with supervision from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at CEM. This opportunity is sponsored by the Alaska Space Grant Program. Students interested in participating should contact Dr. Denise Thorsen. Details of the NASA CubeSat Launch initiative are online: http://www.nasa.gov/directorates/somd/home/CubeSats_initiative.html |  | Graduate Research Assistant Opening on INE Vehicle Team | 10 June 2010 The All Season Terrain Vehicle Interaction project at INE has an immediate opening for a graduate research assistant with a background in mechanics and materials. A graduate student in engineering is preferred. Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, and should have strong written and oral communication skills. Please contact Professor Jonah Lee, jonah.lee@alaska.edu, for details. | Petroleum Engineering Undergraduate Wins Conference Award | 1 March 2010 UAF senior Joe Patz recently won recognition for team work, original research and presentation skills at the December 2009 International Petroleum Conference (IPTC) in Doha, Qatar. Joe was selected to attend the conference as an undergraduate based on faculty nominations, gpa and writing skills. He joined other students from 35 countries around the world an the all expenses paid trip to Doha and was among the top 80 nominations from a pool of 215, representing 58 academic institutions. Once at the conference undergrads were placed in random teams and given a topic and one week to prepare presentations. Joe's project was "Alternative Energy Sources". Dr. Abhijit Dandekar, Joe's faculty advisor and UAF professor, notes that he, "personally attended all nine team presentations and it was clear that Joe's team was up against some serious competition." Dr. Dandekar adds that organizers commented on the quality of student presentations, ranking them higher than some from the conference technical sessions! Patz's team placed second in the competition. |  Joe Patz, pictured fifth from the left, stands with his award winning team at IPTC. | UAF MicroMouse Team Takes First in IEEE NW Area Contest | 14 February 2010 For the fourth consecutive year the UAF MicroMouse team has again placed first in the IEEE NW Area MicroMouse contest. This year's team of Steven Kibler and Andrew Hauer won $600 for their first place finish. The event was held in the Boeing Museum of Flight at the Puget Sound Engineering Council Engineering Fair as part of National Engineers Week. There were 25 engineering booths and IEEE's MicroMouse area, which was prominent in that it was closest to the entrance from the museum area and it was the largest area by far. There were about 1000 people in attendance. The lighting conditions in the Museum of Flight were challenging with one 5-story wall being glass, creating differential lighting conditions on the maze walls. Considerable changes to the way the mouse read the IR sensors had to be programmed at the last of the testing period. Kibler and Hauer calmly reprogrammed their mouse to deal with the unexpected lighting issues, demonstrating why UAF remains the team to beat. Other students interested in learning about MicroMouse should contact Steven Kibler or Andrew Hauer. |  From left to right: Steven Kibler and Andrew Hauer with their second place Seattle University competitors  The maze that challenged the MicroMouse robotic devices
photos by: Joe Decuir | |
