• TABLE OF CONTENTS
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 Front Cover
 Table of Contents
 Dean's letter
 Anatomizing a disaster
 As fast as the wind
 Smoothing the way
 An optimized line is the rail to...
 Lightning vs. power lines
 Finding boundaries
 Smart homes plug into the...
 UF engineers develop a safer barrier...
 UF joins homeland security research...
 New Master's program targets Army...
 Mark Law named ECE chair
 Dean's office reorganizes
 Faculty footnotes
 Weil Hall considered for Historic...
 Alumnus profile: Edmund Moore
 Alumni update
 The Industry Programs office
 Gator Engineering links
 Native American student earns first...
 Human-powered vehicle rolls to...
 Steel bridge team is third in national...
 Robot vehicle outruns competit...
 John V. Atanasoff centennial...
 Upcoming events






Group Title: Florida engineer.
Title: Florida engineer. Fall 2003.
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 Material Information
Title: Florida engineer. Fall 2003.
Series Title: Florida engineer
Physical Description: Serial
Language: English
Creator: College of Engineering, University of Florida
Publisher: Engineering Publications, College of Engineering, University of Florida
Publication Date: Fall 2003
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Subject: University of Florida.   ( lcsh )
Spatial Coverage: North America -- United States of America -- Florida
 Record Information
Bibliographic ID: UF00076208
Volume ID: VID00017
Source Institution: University of Florida
Holding Location: University of Florida
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Table of Contents
    Front Cover
        Page 1
    Table of Contents
        Page 2
    Dean's letter
        Page 3
    Anatomizing a disaster
        Page 4
        Page 5
        Page 6
    As fast as the wind
        Page 7
        Page 8
    Smoothing the way
        Page 9
        Page 10
    An optimized line is the rail to ride
        Page 11
        Page 12
    Lightning vs. power lines
        Page 13
        Page 14
    Finding boundaries
        Page 15
        Page 16
    Smart homes plug into the Internet
        Page 17
        Page 18
    UF engineers develop a safer barrier for road construction zones
        Page 19
        Page 20
    UF joins homeland security research consortium
        Page 21
    New Master's program targets Army Corps of Engineers
        Page 22
    Mark Law named ECE chair
        Page 23
    Dean's office reorganizes
        Page 23
    Faculty footnotes
        Page 24
        Page 25
    Weil Hall considered for Historic Register
        Page 26
    Alumnus profile: Edmund Moore
        Page 27
        Page 28
        Page 29
    Alumni update
        Page 30
        Page 31
    The Industry Programs office
        Page 32
    Gator Engineering links
        Page 33
    Native American student earns first doctorate in unique program
        Page 34
    Human-powered vehicle rolls to first
        Page 35
    Steel bridge team is third in national competition
        Page 36
    Robot vehicle outruns competition
        Page 37
    John V. Atanasoff centennial anniversary
        Page 38
        Page 39
    Upcoming events
        Page 40
Full Text










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TheFloridaEngineer



Dean & Publisher Pramod P. Khargonekar

Publications Adviser Marc Hoit

Managing Editor Ron Franklin

Editor Martha Dobson

Text Martha Dobson

Contributing Writers Aaron Hoover, Patricia Casey


Design, digital imaging

Photography


Christina Loosli

David Blankenship, Ron Franklin


Printing Boyd Brothers, Inc.


Research


College


Faculty Footnotes


Alumnus Profile Edmund Moore


Alumni

Students


Published each semester by the
College of Engineering at the
University of Florida. The
magazine informs college
alumni and friends about the
accomplishments of its faculty,
alumni, and supporters. For
permission to reprint any part of
this magazine, contact the
Managing Editor,The Florida
Engineer, PO Box 116550,
University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL 32611.
Telephone: (352) 392-0984
E-mail: rfran@eng.ufl.edu. Visit
the magazine's home page:
www.eng.ufl.edu/home/pubs/


2 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER








































Pramod Khargonekar
Dean, College of Engineering


Dean's Letter

A s I write this letter a major news event dominates national

attention. Large parts of the Northeast and Midwest are without
power for the second day following a massive failure of thepower
grid the causes of which remain unclear

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, we have become much more
cognizant of the critical, pervasive role of cit vil infrastructure in ourlives
Many of us have had the unfortunate opportunity to learn fitst-hand how
much we depend on transportation, water electricity and the
telecommunications systems. This has given us insight into the situation in
developing societies, where economic growth and quality oflife are very
strongly dependent on the development ofmodern civil infrastructure. For
example, China has made dramatic progress in this arena in the last few years
as its economy has grown at a rapidpace.

Engineering is at the heart ofmany of these systems. Electrical engineers
have contributed to the development ofmodern telecommunications systems,
including the Internet. Similarly, civil engineers made very significant
contributions to the transportation system. We can add many other similar
examples of the role of engineering in developing major components of our
infrastructure.

Thepowergridbreakdown is just one among several major events that have
raised very important questions regarding the future of the civil infrastructure
in the years to come. Heightenedawareness of terrorism has caused us to
question the potential vulnerability of our water supply and transportation
systems. The periodic outbreaks of computer viruses, meanwhile, suggest that
our information system is not as reliable as we wouldlike.

As we look to the future, some trends seem clear Parts of our infrastructure are aging -- our bridges,
roads, power grid and more. Systems are increasingly globally interconnected -- the Internet being the
obvious example. We will need to develop new technologies that can help make our systems extremely
reliable against natural and man -made attacks. We will need to preserve this reliability while enabling
increased interconnectedness. It is possible that we can inject much greater levels of 'Intelligence "and "self-
awareness "in our infrastructure through the use of distributed sensors, actuators, processors, and
control/coordination algorithms. At the same time, we need to make our proposed technological solutions
economically feasible.

In this edition of the Florida Engineer we have chosen some activities in the College of Engineering
that highlight the work of our students and faculty on these issues. Ihope you will find these and other
stories informative and interesting. While we have focused on a few interesting stories, Ishould
emphasize that all departments ha ve activities that are making valuable contributions to addressing the
issues discussed above.

A final thought: Research universities, such as the University ofFlorida, are a keypillar in the
infrastructure of the society. Theyprovide new knowledge, an educated citizenry, and valuable services
for the betterment of society In such difficult economic and social times as today, it is critical that
universities receive support from all sectors of society in order to help our country solve and work past the
problems we face.


Gator Engineering 3

















Anatomizing a

Disaster

Massive experiment will help
University of Florida engineers
reduce the cost of bridges and
make them safer


Sometime this fall, a
tugboat will push a
barge up the
Apalachicola Bay,
point it at a major
bridge, and nudge it toward a
head-on collision.

In the close-knit world of civil
engineering, the barge's impact
with one of the bridge's major
supports will make history: It will
be the first-ever planned collision
between a real barge and a real
bridge.

The barge is not expected to
bring down the bridge, which
connects the small town of East
Point with the barrier resort
island called St. George's Island
in Florida's Panhandle. At worst,
the barge may sustain a large dent
and the pier may shift slightly,
which won't pose a safety
problem since a newly completed
replacement for the 1960s era St.
George's Island Causeway Bridge
will be open to traffic. Instead,
the collision is intended to jiggle
the innards of a gaggle of
carefully placed sensors,
providing the first ever
microsecond -by- microsecond
glimpse of the forces that unfold
when a 150-foot, 1,000-ton barge
slams into a major concrete
bridge pier.


In the wake of two
recent barge-vs. -bridge tragedies,
the massive experiment, headed
by the University of Florida, may
help reduce the cost of bridges
while making them safer. It will
certainly influence bridge design
for decades to come.

"There is very, very little
information available that deals
with the actual impact load when
a barge strikes a bridge. This will
fill in the blanks, and it will affect
national codes," says Henry
Bollmann, senior bridge designer
for the Florida Department of
Transportation, the main sponsor
of the research.

Planning for the worst case
Few motorists have crossed a
bridge without shuddering at the
thought of driving over a
precipice caused by an errant
vessel taking out a support below.
Although they are rare, accidents
stemming from just such a
scenario are not unheard of. In
Florida, the most infamous
occurred in 1980, when a
freighter took out part of the
Sunshine Skyway bridge, sending
35 people plunging to their
deaths. More recent tragedies in
other states have been caused by
errant barges. Last year a barge
struck the Interstate 40 bridge
spanning the Arkansas River in


Oklahoma, killing 14 motorists.
Two years ago, another barge-vs.-
bridge incident in Texas took
eight victims.

Although these tragedies
generate the most publicity, less
serious accidents are more
common. Between 1992 and
2001, there were 2,692 barge-vs.-
bridge accidents nationwide,
according to a report released this
spring by a working group of the
U.S. Coast Guard and American
Waterways Operators, a tug and
barge industry trade group. Some
2,532, or 94 percent, caused less
than $100,000 in damage while
61, or slightly over 2 percent,
resulted in damages exceeding
$500,000, or injuries or deaths.

With its extensive coastline
and lengthy Intracoastal
Waterway, Florida is a hot spot
for barges toting fertilizer, coal,
petroleum products, and other
cargo. Several hundred of the
state's roughly 10,000 bridges
span bays and rivers deep and
wide enough for barge traffic.
Although there hasn't been a fatal
barge-vs. -bridge accident in the
Sunshine State i.l. nil.. the
possibility worries Bollmann.


4 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER


A barge slams into a
bridge pier in this
computer-generated
image. The real version of
events will occur in
Florida's Panhandle this
fall. UF engineers relied
on computer simulations
to plan the event, which is
intended to generate the
first-ever data on the
stresses and forces
involved in a bridge
versus barge collision --
without bringing down the
bridge.







"We're fortunate in that so far
we've had good luck, that the tow
boat operators are doing a good
job," Bollmann says.

He added that, although the
project was in the works before
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
engineers are eager for better data
on protecting bridges in
vulnerable areas. "People are
concerned that terrorists could
use a vessel to knock a bridge
down," he says.

Like other states, Florida's state
engineers design all bridges using
widely accepted standards
intended to help the structures
remain standing even after major
impacts from barges or ships.
The major shortcoming of the
standards is that they are based
on tests with scale models, not
the real thing, say Bollmann and
Gary Consolazio, UF civil
engineering assistant professor
and lead researcher on the
experiment.

"Quite simply put, you can't
run a barge into a bridge
intentionally if the bridge is in
service," says Consolazio. "There
are just massive safety issues
involved, so there has not been an
opportunity to conduct full-scale
tests on structures."


After the Sunshine Skyway
incident, Bollmann floated the
idea of such an experiment, but it
never went beyond the
conceptual stage, he says. Over
three years ago, when the DOT
began working on replacing the
4.1-mile St. George's Island
Causeway Bridge, he pitched his
idea again. He says he suggested
UF civil engineers head the
research because others at the
DOT had worked with a UF-
developed bridge design program
called Florida Pier. The program,
which helps automate the bridge
design process, has become a
popular tool in the US and other
countries.

Bollmann's proposal proved
workable. Whereas most
replacement bridges are built on
top of or very near old bridges,
leaving them vulnerable to
damage from such an
experiment, the new St. George's
Island Causeway Bridge is a
short distance away. The
contractor heading up
construction of the new bridge,
Boh Bros. Construction, also says
it would accommodate the
experiment, even renting UF the
barge.

The engineering planning for
the project, now in its third year,
fell to UF's Consolazio. Perhaps


his biggest challenge was
determining how to ram the
barge into the bridge, a collision
expected to generate more than 1
million pounds of force, without
bringing down the bridge.

From simulation to
metal vs. concrete

Leaving the bridge standing is
crucial to the DOT, which
doesn't want to foul the channel
or pollute a bay famous for its
oysters and considered one of
Florida's most pristine.
Consolazio, an expert in
computer modeling, crafted
virtual versions of barges, the
bridge, the soils surrounding the
supports, and other elements.
Like a bridge builder gone mad,
he then orchestrated virtual
collisions, winnowing the realm
of possibilities to a specific type
of barge, weight, speed, and so
on. The expected result: a
collision forceful enough to
produce good data but weak
enough to leave the bridge
standing.

"The simulation has been an
incredibly useful tool,"
Consolazio says. "Really, in this
project, I don't think we could
have planned adequate physical
testing without it."


A new bridge will open to
replace the 4.1 mile St.
George's Island Causeway
Bridge this fall. The
experimental collisions will
begin shortly later.


Gator Engineering 5






Research


Researchers plan to use a 150-foot, 1,000-
ton barge in the collision experiments.
The barge will be similar to the many
barges that ply Florida waters carrying
bulk cargo ranging from petroleum
products to fertilizer to coal.
Researchers plan to ram the
barge repeatedly into two
different piers, a massive one next
to the shipping channel and a
smaller pier farther from the
channel. The big pier will get
maximum punishment, with a
tug slamming the barge into the
pier at speeds up to five miles per
hour, fairly typical for barge
traffic. One series of tests will
occur with the bridge
superstructure in place and
another after the contractor has
taken it down as part of the
demolition process. That's
important because the difference
in how the bridge piers respond
to the barge impact will help
engineers determine the role the
superstructure plays in
distributing the impact's force,
Consolazio says.

The next task is to ready the
bridge and barge for the planned
November collision. Still
planning the details as of this
summer, Consolazio says he
expects to place as many as 150
sensors or instruments on the
barge and bridge, and in the
muck below. Load cells attached
to the pier will record the load
during the one or two seconds of
the collision, and accelerometers
will measure the pier's sway. A
specially manufactured miniature
bridge pile, equipped with myriad
gauges and sunk into the soil
beneath the bridge's foundation,
will record the load force and
movement experienced by piles,


the hidden supports for the
bridge foundation. The sensors
may help determine how
different soil types, such as sand
or clay, conduct the collision
load's force against the pier.
"There's a lot of conjecture
about what the response will be.
Now we'll have actual data on
what the response was," says Paul
Bullock, an assistant professor of
civil engineering involved in the
soils part of the experiment.

The experiment is planned to
last a couple of weeks, with sets
of collisions occurring on separate
days. Consolazio and Bollmann
have high expectations for the
resulting data. Tops on their wish
list: the world's first quantitative
data on the dynamic or changing
load a bridge faces when a barge
smacks it. That's important
because, under current standards,
static or unchanging impact loads
dictate how tough bridges should
be made. Engineers typically
design bridges over waterways to
remain standing while sustaining
between 1 and 4 million pounds
of static load, which significantly
increases their cost, Bollmann
says. The tests may reveal that the
load declines precipitously
following impact, meaning the
standards could be loosened in
some cases, significantly reducing
the cost.

Or, maybe the reverse will be


"If it turns out the loads are
smaller that what we are currently
designing for, that could have a
major economic impact because
the foundations of a bridge are
such a massive component of the
cost of construction," Consolazio
says. "On the other hand, if it
turns out that the loads are larger
than what we are currently
designing for, then obviously
from a public safety standpoint
we want to know that so that
adjustments can be made to the
relevant bridge design
specifications."

Consolazio says the project's
end goal is a new load prediction
model that will more accurately
gauge impact loads. That model,
he predicted, is unlikely to make
a blanket determination that
current standards are either too
stringent or too lax. Rather, he
says, it will likely require
tweaking the standards for each
bridge's unique circumstances.

"We may find that certain piers
have to be increased in strength
slightly, but other piers can be
dramatically reduced --it
probably won't be all or nothing,"
he says. "There's going to be a
great deal of interest in this
because of the unique nature of
the data that will be recorded.
This doesn't just impact Florida,
it impacts any state that has
navigable waterways."
Aaron Hoover


http://www.ce.ufl.edu


6 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER











As Fast as thW


Hurricane
forecasters
tracking storms
along the
Florida coast
soon will have access to more
information to help make
predictions about the location
and speed of severe ground level
winds. Civil engineers at the
University of Florida have
developed a wind speed reporting
system that can send new data in
real time to National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) meteorologists.

The researchers gather wind
speed data as part of the Florida
Coastal Monitoring Program
(FCMP). The Florida
Department of Community
Affairs funds the program, which
is a coordinated research effort by
UF, Clemson University, the
Federal Emergency Management
Agency, and the Florida and
South Carolina Sea Grant
programs. The project began five
years ago to study the way
hurricane-force winds at ground
level affect structures. The real-
time reporting system, developed
by Forrest Masters, a civil
engineering doctoral student at
UF, was initiated during the
summer of 2003.

NOAA needs wind speed data
to feed into macroscale models of
storms as they move onshore.
"The people at NOAA take
information from various sites as
hurricanes flow over land to
predict as close to real time as
possible where peak wind speeds
will be in the immediate future,"
says Kurt Gurley, who


coordinates UF's
participation in the
FCMP.

"The real-time data
that we are now
providing is going to be
broadcast directly to
NOAA. They intend to
use this and other
sources of data to help
calibrate their models as
they run," Gurley says.

Wind speed, direction,
pressure, and other data
are collected by
instruments installed on
four portable towers that
can be towed into the
path of an oncoming
hurricane and deployed
to a 10-meter elevation
(a commonly used
reference height for wind
engineers). The data,
including the GPS
location of each tower,
are then transferred using
cellular equipment to the FCMP
Web site and to NOAA. The
data transfer is done every 15
minutes, providing near real-time
reporting of the wind field
behavior as the storm approaches,
then passes by the instruments.

The improved forecasts may
provide emergency managers
with better information about the
storm as it moves onshore,
allowing them to better allocate
response resources and make
more informed decisions. Better
predictions are important because
ground-level winds behave
differently than upper-level
winds of the kind measured by
hurricane hunter aircraft, Gurley


says. Structures, trees, and other
local terrain can deflect the
winds, resulting in local changes
in strength, direction, and gust
behavior. Digital cameras are
used during the tower set-up to
upload pictures of the area
surrounding the towers to
NOAA researchers, who use the
pictures to better interpret the
wind speed data for their models.

A better understanding of
ground-level winds could also
result in building more
hurricane -resistant homes,
Gurley says.


Gator Engineering 7


Wind measuring towers at
the Castillo de San
Marcos in St. Augustine,
Florida.






Research


"Not only is it important how
fast the wind is moving, but it is
also important how well
coordinated wind is as it
envelopes a home. If there is one
small gust hitting in one corner
and another hitting a different
corner, it has a different effect
than one large gust flowing over
the entire home. These
differences in the behavior of the
wind can result in a varying
likelihood of damage to the
structure at the same average
wind speed," Gurley says.

"Such behavior is what we are
trying to characterize using the
tower instrumentation," Gurley
says. The team puts four 10-
meter-tall towers in the path of a
storm, two of which have two
additional 5-meter-tall towers
about 50 feet off to either side.
"That allows us to measure the
lateral size of gusts. A gust flows
past three instruments at one
time, and we can estimate its
width," he says. Once the width
is estimated, the ensuing effects
of such gusts on homes can be
studied. The team's two other
10-meter towers will be
equipped with their own shorter
companions in the near future.

In addition to the towers, the
FCMP also has 30 homes along
the Florida coast ready to receive
sensors that measure the
pressures that produce damage.
In return for allowing their
homes to be used in what


amounts to full-scale wind tunnel
tests, the home owners receive $5
to $10 thousand worth of
upgrades to their houses, in the
form of hurricane shutters, new
roofs, and other retrofit measures
to make them more hurricane
resistant.

The researchers are thus able to
measure both the behavior of the
wind as it approaches a populated
area using the towers, and the
forces these winds impart directly
to the homes. When a storm is
coming, Gurley and his team put
the towers in its path and set up
the houses about 12 hours in
advance of any serious weather,
then get out of harm's way
themselves.

This research program is one
of a kind, and provides
information crucial to the goal of
finding cost effective means of
reducing the loss of life and
property to hurricane winds. The
Florida Department of
Community Affairs has been
supporting the project for five
years, and is dedicated to finding
real solutions to reduce Florida's
hurricane vulnerability.
Martha Dobson

http://www.ce.ufl.edu/-fcmp


Wind sensors are placed on
homes along the Florida coast.


8 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER








Smoothing the Way

UF civil engineering researchers have a new toolkit
for solving some very old problems with roads.


Radial Tire Contact Stress


Vertical Contact Stress Transverse Contact Stress


Typical measured radial
tire contact stresses.
Radial tires create large
transverse contact
stresses that cause
tensile stresses at the top
of the pavement.


oads have been
around for
millennia. So have
the cracks, ruts, and
otholes that roads
develop in their concrete and
asphalt pavements.

What is new are the high-tech
methods engineers are using to
figure out why pavements fail.
Researchers Bjorn Birgisson and
Rey Roque of UF's Center for
Pavements and Infrastructure
Materials are studying highway
cracking and rutting with
advanced micro-level analysis and
computer modeling techniques.
Their aim is to characterize what
causes the damage and what
pavement materials would be
most durable.

The biggest problem in road
pavement is cracking that starts
in the top surface and works
down, Roque and Birgisson say.
They cite studies that show 18
percent of all paved roads in


Florida have premature cracking.
Pavement ruts are also a major
problem, they say, because ruts
can hold water and create safety
problems.

More than one condition is
causing the pavement damage.
The aging of materials at the
surface and temperature and
moisture in the environment all
take a toll. However, the biggest
cause of pavement cracks is radial
tire contact stress. Radial tires
create large transverse contact
stresses that pull pavement apart,
Roque and Birgisson say.

Pavements are complex
composite materials, which
complicates the problem further,
the researchers say. Every
pavement mixture is different,
depending on the source of the
rock or cement or other
materials. The mixtures can even
vary on the same project from


one truckload to another, and
each mixture reacts to stress
differently.

To get a better understanding
of pavement materials and
systems and the mechanisms of
pavement failure, the center
researchers are applying high-
tech tools adapted from other
technical disciplines.

With advanced modeling
tools, they are able to do
computer simulations of
microstructural behavior and
fracture damage in pavements.
The researchers have developed a
self adapting, crack growth
computer modeling system that
can predict how cracks behave in
asphalt. The simulations of the
discontinuities in the cracks have
revealed that asphalt experiences
previously unknown stresses.

The behavior of asphalt is
controlled by the fact that it is
viscoelastic in other words, it
flows. Asphalt ruptures are
caused by accumulated damage
from stresses that pull it apart; it
doesn't shatter. The researchers
have had to develop a new kind
of analysis process, viscoelastic
fracture mechanics, to
demonstrate how asphalt behaves
at the microstructural level.

Asphalts and other pavement
materials need to be studied at
the microstructural level because
cracking behavior depends on
how the materials interact at the
smallest particle level, the
researchers say. By creating x-ray
tomography images of asphalt
pavement mixtures consisting of


Gator Engineering 9






Research


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Model in DDM


Model in FEM


A Superpave indirect tension test sample with a center hole and vertical crack and its representative displacement
discontinuity model (left) and a finite element mesh of Superpave indirect tension sample with hole and vertical
crack. The finite element model required over 8000 elements, whereas the displacement discontinuity method
required slightly over 100 elements.


materials from all over Florida,
they have been able to examine
the matrix of solids and air voids
that comprise the pavement
mixtures. They have then layered
the x-rays to produce 3-D images
that allow them to do simulations
of how varying factors would
affect the cracking behavior of
different mixtures.

Roque also has developed a
strength test for different
materials, aggregates, and
asphalts. Models based on these
tests have predicted cracking
behaviors that have been verified
in actual field conditions
throughout Florida.

The modeling techniques
developed by the engineers can
also accurately represent the
beneficial effects of polymers on
pavement mixtures. Tests have
shown that fewer ruts develop in
pavements with added polymers.


The polymers reduce the flow
characteristics of asphalt and help
keep it from coming apart. The
polymers create a tighter matrix,
giving the asphalt better
cohesion.

The polymers used are
elastimers, synthetic elastic
substances which are readily
available on a mass scale. They
are coming into common use in
pavements, the researchers say,
and should be increasingly cost
effective. The computer model
developed at UF will help
determine how much more cost
effective they will be by
predicting how much
improvement occurs.

The researchers will soon be
looking into materials at the nano
level, thanks to a new
environmental scanning electron
microscope (ESEM), the first to
come into use at UE The ESEM


will allow investigations down to
5 nanometers. The ESEM will
also enable studies of materials
that are uncoated, a real
advantage in examining
pavement materials, the
researchers say. (Older version
electron microscopes required
that materials under examination
be coated.)

Roque and Birgisson believe
that a better understanding of
materials behavior at the nano
level will make it possible to start
engineering better pavement
mixtures. The payoff will be that
potential mixtures can be
modeled and guidelines
developed for the best materials
for each circumstance, they say.
Martha Dobson

http://www.ce.ufl.edu/


10 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER


_ -1,






















1.111.pi. .1 .11.. system infrastructures
are complex and costly to run. To be
economically viable, operations need
to be efficient. UF industrial and
systems engineers, who have studied
the problem, believe they have some innovative
ideas that would help.

For example, locomotives cost railroads billions ci
dollars a year to operate. Industrial engineering
professor Ravi Ahuja and his students have
developed software that, if adopted, could reduce
the number of locomotives needed to move the
trains and save the railroads time and money.

Ahuja, who specializes in network optimization
algorithms, began working on the problem in 1999
for CSX Transportation. CSX operates the largest
rail network in the eastern United States. It has
about 3,500 locomotives, worth 2 -3 million
dollars each. Each one costs about $400,000 to
operate each year, for a total outlay of about a
billion dollars, Ahuja says.

Railroads assign locomotives to trains based on
how much pulling power is needed to move the
weight the train is carrying. For cost efficiency, a
train should be assigned the fewest number of
locomotives that can produce the right amount of
pulling power.

Ahuja explains that several variables must be
considered in assigning the locomotives. CSX must
determine which of its seven types of locomotives
should be assigned to each train. Some types of
engines cannot be used together; some cannot be
used to pull certain types of trains.

The transfer of locomotives from one place to
another must also be considered. After completing
a trip, a locomotive may need to travel to another
location for its next assignment. When making the
transfer, locomotives sometimes "deadhead"; they
are attached to a scheduled train but pull no weight.
Locomotives also "light travel" that is, they make
a group and one locomotive pulls the other


locomotives to take the group from one location to
another. Light travel differs from deadheading in
the sense that deadheading is restricted by the
existing train schedule, whereas light travel can take
place between any pair of locations. "Active"
locomotives actually pull the train.

"The railroad network has an imbalance of
power; there are some power sources and some
power sinks. For example, Chicago is a major
consumption city. Freight trains come full with
goods pulled by several locomotives but leave
empty, requiring fewer locomotives. It thus makes a
power source. Consequently, Chicago is a power
source and locomotives must deadhead or light
travel from there.


Gator Engineering 11






Research


"The decision problem is to assign
active locomotives while simultaneously
deciding deadheading and light travel
in the most cost efficient manner,
which gives an optimization problem
with millions of decision variables," says
Ahuja.

Larry Shughart, former director of
the locomotive division at CSX,
authorized the project, which was
originally planned in two phases. The
first phase was spent working out how
many locomotives could be saved using
optimization analysis. The project
looked at optimizing the use of about
2,000 locomotives. Shughart hoped
that the project would show the way to
0. i use 50 fewer locomotives per year.

"The software developed by Liu Jian, a Ph.D.
student, demonstrated that about 400 locomotives
could be saved, pointing to a substantial
improvement over CSX's current operating
practice," Ahuja says.

The second phase of the project was intended to
include additional features to the software so that it
could generate implementable solutions. But the
project was not funded for the second phase as
Larry Shughart was transferred and the new
management of the locomotives division adopted a
different approach for locomotive scheduling.

CSX is still working out locomotive assignments
using simple rules which leave room for major
efficiency improvements. As a result, Ahuja says,
the locomotives are pulling appropriate loads about
30 percent of the time. The pulling efficiency could
be improved by 5-10 percent by proper
computerized scheduling. However, Ahuja says,
changing business practices in a large organization
is always difficult and requires taking risks. There is
often some reluctance to do that. Ahuja is hopeful
that his software eventually will be used by CSX or
other railroads.

"The railroad would be willing to buy and use a
pre-existing software package that had a decision
support system, had proven savings, and is
maintained," Ahuja says. "But they are less


interested in a unique system developed by
students, especially since the students who write the
software graduate and move on, leaving the system
unsupported," he says.

Despite stepping back from the locomotive
problem, CSX asked Ahuja to work on its blocking
problem. "Blocking" refers to the need to group rail
cars together according to their destinations. A
similar problem is encountered by the mail service,
where parcels and envelopes must be sorted and
sent to a regional destination, then resorted there
into local destinations. Efficient sorting procedures
reduce materials -handling time and costs.

The same is true for railroad cars, Ahuja says.
Each group, or bundle, of cars going to the same
destination is called a "block." To reduce costs, each
bundle needs to travel by the shortest route. Each
bundle costs $50 per car to create, with blocks
costing a total of a half billion dollars annually.

"The cost of developing a mathematical model
and software would be about $200,000 and would
have a 50 percent chance of success, but the savings
are substantial enough to justify the risk and
investment," Ahuja says. Applied across the
industry, the model potentially could save US
railroads tens of millions of dollars annually, he
believes.

The railroads may not be ready to implement
programs like those developed by Ahuja and his
students, but he feels academic researchers need to
work on real-life problems like those posed by the
railroads. "Optimizing a system using mathematical
models alone is not enough to solve real problems.
We need to incorporate business rules or practices
which are critical to generating an implementable
solution. We academicians worry too much about
optimality of the solution, but in the real world,
implementability is more important than
optimality," Ahuja says.
Martha Dobson

http://www.ise.ufl.edu/cao/


12 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER


















Lightn^^B^^^^^^^^^^B ing sB3<*twrikes are "T^^ffii^Theeaefe lcs htae ici we h ln si

^^^^^^B^^^^^^^be very expensiive. ightnTing lB~Titte igtnig"Unsy, liei itb ihtig h
poe ouae ar lihnn 66c as th Sahar deer. *urn6t6h6gonod





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-R 66ear-h-Ins -t6itute -PI ). The -I6 666T66 t
-lightning experimentsinvov1e6
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^BfnTesing ICLT ) afH7t Camp ^ TFloria Poer& Lgh, wic
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^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^filljIRIIP^^j^~fl^l^annd f~follows thir tacs ow lies Frter th goud od
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^B^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^inTTa wmanner thacn b~e inMTT^tendd o isipteth
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ "Power should be pure and o^^^KTTbsepTrvdandiistuied.BT ^^^^^TThe curet atuaB~llyac a
unin^^^^^^^^^^^^^Blterrupted,"L saysjUian, researcM~he'rs have ivsiae itretr.Aecnaeo
w^^^^^^^^^^^^^^hoin w i~HTO~iTith EProesor wh7at hapeswe lgtigte urn oe ne h
Vlad^^^^^^^^^^^^^Timir Rakov, ijfts co-director its poer inehwthyfi, ytmthog hegon
^^of the ICLRT. how to fix them, how to rods and can cause damageiT
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^~j~h~jTi^^^protec^^Bt frithem, andeqaly nth sstm
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Bj7Sismpoirtani^Tt, te hyscsofthat^^^BTiiT*w
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^Florida, with its high l^^^K~iT*Migh tn~ing. *i~ ^iii~^^^^^^^^^^^
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is the ideal location for the conducted an experiment o
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lightning protectio during equipped wih arresters and "grund" was unexpected
^^^^^^^^^^the las^^^^^^B t seveT*~j~(5ralyas veha run ie.A
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^arrester behaves like an openHIT=E

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^E~........ .................^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^






Research


The researchers built a small
structure with a typical lightning
rod system at the ICLRT.
Lightning rods placed on a
home's roof are supposed to route
the current from a strike into the
soil via wires connected to buried
vertical ground rods. The
established international standard
for these systems allows no more
than 50 percent of a lightning
strike's current to enter a home's
electrical system.

The experiment demonstrated
that more than 80 percent of
current from a lightning strike
flowed into an electrical system
when the ground rods were in
sandy soil of the kind found in
the southeastern states. Sandy
soil tends to remain dry beneath
the surface and therefore does not
conduct electricity well.

Rakov says more research
needs to be done to determine
how lightning current is
distributed through a system.
The ICLRT studies have shown
that in 50 percent of lightning
strikes, the strong initial pulse of
the current is followed by a tail of
continuing current of variable
duration. It is not now known
how the continuing currents
divide or if they flow through
arresters. This is important


because arresters are designed for
and tested against strong pulses
only, Rakov says.

In the meantime, the studies
indicate that homeowners should
probably use surge protectors at
the electric meter and in the
home. Wire ring grounding
systems are also desirable. These
systems involve lightning rods
connected to a buried wire loop
that circles the house. Because
the loops have more surface area
than ground rods, they can better
dissipate current into the ground.

As for power lines, the solution
lies with the power companies,
Uman says, given the available
results of the experiments. It is
theoretically possible to make
power lines lightning proof if
overhead ground wires are
combined with line arresters of
the proper power and energy
rating. And although there are
several types of new lightning
elimination or dissipation devices
now sold that are advertised as
able to protect against lightning
by diverting it away from the
power lines, they have not been
proven to work in that situation,
he says.
Martha Dobson

http://www.lightning.ece.ufl.edu/


14 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER








Finding Boundaries

Imagine trying to build a
house or start a business
without a loan. You might
get a loan if you could use
your land for security. But
you can't prove the land is yours
because you can't find or never
had documents showing you
have legal title to the land. So you
build outside the law.

Millions of people in
underdeveloped nations live and
work in extralegal situations
because they cannot, for many
reasons, prove that they own their
land. UF geomatics engineer
Grenville Barnes has focused his
research on ways to solve this
problem. He has developed a
methodology to use the
worldwide Global Positioning
System (GPS) to document local
property boundaries in remote


areas. Defined boundaries are an
TOP RIGHT: Grenville Barnes at essential step along the path to
the rooftop GPS base station in legal ownership.
Tirana, Albania


ABOVE: Old property registry in
Albania


In 1994, Barnes, an associate
professor in Civil & Coastal
Engineering, began doing


research on using GPS to define
and map parcels more cost
efficiently. Through this research,
he developed a surveying
methodology that is 10 times
faster than standard methods and
one-tenth the cost.

"I have worked in more than
20 countries, literally from A to
Z, Albania to Zaire. These
countries are located in Latin
America, the Caribbean, eastern
Europe, Africa, and the old
Soviet Union," said Barnes.
Barnes serves as the cadastral
specialist (dealing with the spatial
aspects of property) on projects
sponsored by government
agencies in the host countries and
funded by such agencies as the
World Bank and USAID.

With the GPS system,
accuracy is possible to within a
meter, Barnes said, which is
adequate for rural land parcels in
these countries. In fact, GPS can
measure the coordinates of a
landmark anywhere in the world
to an accuracy of a few
centimeters, decimeters, or
several meters, depending on the
type of receivers used. Often
property corners are physical
features such as canals, trees, or
fences and are known to local
people. A field surveyor goes to
the property with a GPS receiver,
finds the corner, and stays in that
spot for a minute so the receiver


can collect satellite data for
determining the coordinates of
the point. The process is repeated
at each corner. A ground base
station with known coordinates is
used to provide error corrections
to the receiver coordinates.

The purpose of GPS mapping
is to define boundaries and create
documentation so that the land
and its resources can be used as
capital for loans and
improvements, Barnes said. "In
the US, for example, 70 percent
of businesses use land to secure
loans for startup capital. Most
homeowners also use their land
as collateral to secure mortgages,"
Barnes said.

By contrast, Barnes
commented, in developing
nations many people are poor,
live in remote areas, and have
little access to the legal system.
They live on land that they have
occupied often for generations,
but because they have no
adequate legal documentation,
they are not secure in their
ownership and are unable to use
the land as mortgage collateral.

"In some places, getting the
piece of paper that establishes
first title to the land can take
more than 10 years," Barnes said.
"The cost of surveying and
mapping property using
conventional methods can often


Gator Engineering 15






Research


Recently privatized farmland in Moldova, eastern
Europe. The challenge is to systematically define and
record property rights in an affordable and efficient
manner.


cost more than the value of the
land itself. So, informal systems
spring up where land is passed
among friends and family. But
these systems leave no records
to enable landowners to take
loans or have legal protection.
And in many cases, because
people cannot establish a long-
term interest in the property,
they are less apt to maintain it
or conserve its resources and
environment," Barnes said.

Barnes did the first test mapping
project in Albania. Like every other
country where he has worked, Albania
proved to have special problems. The
base stations usually require electricity.
Even though the base station was set
up on a rooftop in Albania's capital
city, Tirana, electric service was spotty
at best, requiring use of a generator.
Even this proved inadequate at times.

"Eastern European countries also
have an unusual situation because
when they were communist nations,
there was no private property. Most of
these countries did have private
property before communism, and a
few have chosen to reestablish the
status of property as it was just prior
to communism. In other countries,
they were essentially determining
boundaries for the first time," Barnes
said. Variable tree cover, legal
requirements, and local social


structures are other considerations
Barnes has had to cope with in the
countries he has visited.

Barnes has proven that the
methodology can work. But its
adoption is slow because the
technology is new to the people and
does not build on the old surveying
methods, he said.

To bring the technique into wider
use, Barnes sees a need to do what he
calls "capacity building" in other
words, to educate local people in the
various options for defining and
registering property rights. To do this,
he developed a distance education
course on this topic, in Spanish, for
delivery via the Internet. He has given
the course once in Central America,
and hopes, with additional funding, to
give it again soon.

"To encourage acceptance of the
process, it is necessary to understand
and work within the realities of the
local societies," said Barnes. "I see
myself as a mix between engineer,
anthropologist, and lawyer."

"I like the interdisciplinarity of the
work. It stimulates c .,i i\% i %." Barnes
said.
Martha Dobson

http://www.surv.ufl.edu/


16 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER


















































university of Florida researchers have
been leading a national effort to
leverage the embedded electrical
wiring in homes and other buildings
for broadband powerline (BPL)
communications.

HomePlug system adapters and other products
make it possible to use existing electrical wiring to
access the Internet, and to network computers and
peripherals such as printers. Powerline networking
technology can provide more consistent service
than competing wireless systems and reduce the
need for expensive cable installations in homes built
before the Internet boom.


to the Internet

"Powerlines for many years have been ignored as
a communication channel because they were too
noisy and unpredictable," said Haniph Latchman,
Electrical & Computer Engineering professor. "But
recent advances at UF and elsewhere have changed
that scenario, and those advances are now reaching
the consumer."

Latchman is among several UF engineering
researchers who have worked with engineers at
Ocala-based Intellon Corp. in the research,
development, simulation, and testing of the "no new
wires" technology over the past three years. Intellon
builds the computer chips at the heart of wall outlet
adapters, cards, and other products that several
companies market nationwide.

Latchman and Intellon's VP for Research and
Development Larry Yonge were guest editors of a
Focus Theme in the April 2003 issue of the IEEE
Communications AMagazine on Powerline Local Area
Networks. Richard Newman, assistant professor in
the Computer & Information Science &
Engineering department, and Latchman were also
guest editors for the June 2003 Special Issue of the
International Journal on Communication System on
Powerline Communications and Applications.

Latchman said the need for simple and effective
local area networks (LANs) is skyrocketing as
people add more computers to homes and so-called
"smart" appliances steadily become a reality.

The main barrier to such developments is that
millions of older homes are not equipped with the
computer cable that supports high-speed networks,
and many newer homes do not have the network
cable in every room. Laptops and handhelds,
meanwhile, are most useful when they can access
the network virtually anywhere, such as poolside or
on the patio.

One solution is wireless networking, but the
commercially available technology has limitations,
Latchman said. The service may become severely
degraded or disappear entirely if multiple walls or
structures impede the signal from the network
access point, or if the user becomes too far away.
Also, current wireless technology does not prioritize
data streams, meaning video or voice can appear or
sound choppy when the system is busy, he said.
Cable TV and phone wiring also are candidates for


Gator Engineering 17






Research


in-home networking, but again these
usually are available only in a few
selected rooms.

Powerline communication within the
home uses the existing low-voltage
110/220 volt lines that deliver electrical
power to outlets and lights in every room
in a building. Electrical wires inside the
home were not designed to convey the
high-frequency signals needed to send
and receive data, so they produce
interference and noise. Electrical
appliances are the main sources of noise.
Other sources include halogen and
fluorescent lamps, motors, dimmers and
broadcast radio frequency signals.

Powerline communication researchers
have developed ways to maintain clear
communication through new or
improved digital signal processing, signal
modulation, error control coding, and
novel protocols, Latchman said. A
coalition of manufacturers, the
HomePlug Powerline Alliance,
established a new industry standard for
Ethernet-class home networking via
power lines, the HomePlug 1.0
Standard. The coalition members offer
adapters and other equipment for power-
line communication containing chips
which adhere to the HomePlug 1.0
standard.

The technology is similar to wireless
in that it distributes the Internet to the
in-home network from a central digital
subscription line (DSL) or cable modem
access point. But in contrast to wireless,
it is available wherever there is an
Ii electrical outlet, and it recognizes video
or voice data and ensures smooth delivery at a rate
of about 10 Mb/second.

The technology is ideal for smart homes because
it makes the network so accessible. "If you plug your
refrigerator or air conditioner in, they're
automatically part of the network," Latchman said.


The cost of equipping the average home is
presently about the same as wireless technology,
Latchman said. But because the technology does
not require a radio transceiver or other basic
wireless components, he said, the cost is likely to
undercut wireless as the technology gains
popularity.

The powerline communication system is
designed to cope with such events as intermittent
power surges, or switching to a back-up generator,
but a complete power outage will disable the
powerline communication system.

Although consumers have to use specialized
Ethernet or USB powerline adapters now,
developers hope the technology soon will be
directly integrated into computers and smart
appliances. Manufacturers are developing
HomePlug AV, scheduled to be out in 2004, which
will deliver multistream digital video and audio,
including high definition television, at 100
Mb/second, available in every room in the house.

In addition to its use for in-home local area
networks, several companies are also pioneering the
use of powerline communications for broadband
Internet access, as a competitor to DSL or cable
modems. This potential is particularly appealing in
providing Internet access to homes in areas where
the telephone network and cable TV are not
available. On the other hand, electrical power is
generally available and this infrastructure can be
used to provide Internet connectivity. Telephone
service can then be provided over the broadband
powerline Internet connection.

To study the effectiveness of such a system in
developing nations, Latchman and his associates
will be field testing a system for Internet access via
powerline communication in Jamaica over the next
several months.
Martha Dobson

http://www.list.ufl.edu


18 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER

























S-A ..
J.. '.-.j


UF Engineers Develop a


Safer Barrier for Road


".:, AConstruction Zones


.' Mills, an engineer with the The FDOT does not track
FDOT's Roadway Design how many accidents happen ii
Office. work zones on highways versu
l ". With 56 deaths in 2001, those on secondary roads, Mil
. Florida ranked fourth in the said. However federal rules no


AC
~ e


he culprit in more
than 1,000 fatalities
and 40,000 injuries
annually
nationwide,
construction zones are
notoriously dangerous places for
road workers and motorists.

But help may be on the way.
Using a combination of computer
simulations and traditional crash
tests, a team of University of
Florida civil engineers has
designed and successfully tested a
new barrier for secondary roads
that prevents errant vehicles from
entering construction zones while
minimizing danger to motorists.

The Florida Department of
Transportation, or FDOT,
expects to begin using the barrier
on urban and suburban roads
with maximum speeds of 45 mph
as early as next year. The barrier
also could be adopted by other
states, according to FDOT
officials.

"As the crash tests on this new
device have shown, we believe
this device will be an effective
and safe way to shield motorists
from hazardous objects and drop-
offs and work zones," said Jim


nation in roadway construction
fatalities behind Texas,
California, and Georgia,
according to the National Work
Zone Safety Information
Clearinghouse at the College
Station-based Texas
Transportation Institute.
Between 1997 and 2001, an
average of 27 motorists and
workers died and 2,475 were
injured in work-zone crashes
annually in Florida, according to
FDOT statistics. Road worker
injuries and deaths have become
such an issue nationally that
many states, including Florida,
double the fines for speeding in
construction zones, while others
add points to driving records for
speeding in construction zones.


n
is
ls
w


being phased in seek to increase
the safety of all road barriers.

The rules prompted the
FDOT to seek an alternative to
its traditional work-zone barrier
for slower-speed roads, which
consisted of 9-inch-high curbs.
The agency hired UF civil
engineering researchers Ralph
Ellis, Kurt Gurley, and Gary
Consolazio to come up with the
new design.

The goal: Devise a barrier that
could prevent a 4,400-pound
pickup approaching from an
angle of 25 degrees or less from
crashing into the work zone. The
rules specify the pickup because it
is as heavy, or heavier, than most
cars and SUVs, while 25 degrees
is the maximum angle at which a


Gator Engineering 19


^^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^ ^^ ^^ n 0 ^ B ^ b i df :I ^ R H f i^ ^ ^ ^







Gary Consolazio (left)
and Jae Chung,
postdoc researcher,
evaluate barrier
connection forces
predicted by a finite
element impact
simulation.







vehicle can reasonably
be expected to
encounter the barriers,
which are typically
placed along
roadsides. The new
barrier also had to be
relatively safe for those in the
colliding truck or car and break
down into 12-foot segments that
were inexpensive, and easy to
install and move around.

Using a UF Civil & Coastal
Engineering supercomputer and
computer simulation software,
the engineers conceived,
designed, and tested four new
designs without ever building a
single physical version. The
supercomputer contains 20 high
performance processors that work
together simultaneously,
performing tasks in hours that
would require months to solve if
only personal computers were
used.

The result: moving digital
images of simulated crashes that
allowed the engineers to estimate
what would happen in collisions.
The simulations not only
produced data on impact-related
stresses in the barriers helpful in
the design work, they also saved
the cost of multiple real-life crash
tests, which run $20,000 each.


"We did all of the concept
development using simulation,"
Consolazio said. "Even the size of
the bolts connecting each
segment of the barrier was tested
based on computer simulation -
whether a 1-inch or 1 1/2-inch
bolt worked best."

A simulation of one design
showed the pickup truck
"snagged" shortly after the
collision, bringing it to such a
rapid stop that the accident likely
would cause serious injury to any
occupants. The engineers rejected
that design and three others,
finally settling on a version
shaped like an upside-down
pyramid with the tip cut off.
Each segment of the barrier is
connected to the next with a bolt,
but none are connected to the
roadway. When a truck hits the
barrier, the force of the impact
disburses down the barriers.


"When one segment is hit,
essentially all the barriers down
the line absorb the impact, so
they all work in unison," Gurley
said.

The research team ordered 15
of the barrier segments built and
hired a California company that
specializes in vehicle impact
testing to pit them against a real-
life collision with a pickup. The
result mirrored those of the
computer simulation. In a video
replay, the pickup approaches and
slams into the barrier then barrels
along its perimeter, without
either flipping over, stopping too
fast, or jumping the barrier and
entering the construction zone.

Mills said it is possible other
states will begin using the UF-
designed barrier as well.

"We definitely have an interest
in doing what we can to make
our roads safer as well as our
work zones," he said.
Aaron Hoover


20 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER











UF Joins Homeland Security

Research Consortium


SUniversity
of Florida
has been
'. ,selected to
S' 'participate in a
research consortium
S, funded by a
...: contract from the
S..Defense Threat
S,: Reduction
S" Agency
," (DTRA).
.DTRA's mission
is to safeguard
the United States
and its allies from
weapons of mass
S' destruction,
including chemical,
/ '.. -' biological, radiological
'..:' / (electromagnetic pulse),
% ''' nuclear, and conventional
high explosives, by reducing the
"'-y present threat and preparing for any
future threat. DTRA's strategic partnership
objective with the university consortium is
to obtain innovative ideas and products
related to its mission. Such ideas and
products will address issues in technology,
policy, strategy, and related infrastructure
considerations.


In addition to UF, the consortium
includes Pennsylvania State University, the
University of California at San Diego, the
New Mexico Institute of Mining and
Technology, Florida A&M University, and
North Carolina A&T University.

Professor Joseph W. Tedesco, chairman of
the Civil & Coastal Engineering
department, and Dean Pramod P.
Khargonekar will serve as technical director
and administrative director, respectively, for
the University of Florida. The initial three-
year award is for $51 million, with two
consecutive three-year awards at $51 million
each pending, for a total of $153 million
over nine years.

The award elevates the University of
Florida into a nationally recognized
leadership position for homeland security. It
is anticipated that UF researchers from the
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and
the College of Medicine, in addition to the
College of Engineering, will participate in
this major research initiative.


Gator Engineering 21






College


New Master's Program Targets Army Corps of Engineers


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;ill











Mark Law Named ECE Chair


Mark E. Law, professor of Electrical & Computer
Engineering, was named chair of the ECE department
effective August 8. Law, who joined the department in 1988,
also served as co-director of the Software and Analysis of
Advanced Material Processing (SWAMP) Center.

Law received his PhD from Stanford University in 1988.
He has received numerous awards and honors including the
NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship, Semiconductor
Research Corporation Technical Excellence Award, IBM
Young Faculty Development Award, University of Florida
Research Foundation Professorship, and the UF College of
Engineering Teacher of the Year award. He is a Fellow of
IEEE.

Law succeeds Professor Martin Uman who served as chair
of ECE for 12 years. In this capacity, Uman provided
outstanding leadership in all aspects of the department's
work. In particular, he fostered tremendous growth in
graduate programs and research activities. Uman, a world-
renowned scholar in electromagnetics with a specialization in
lightning, will return to his research and teaching duties.
Patricia Casey

http://www.ece.ufl.edu/


Environmental Engineering Sciences
Names New Chair


James P. Heaney, professor of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural
Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, became chair of
Environmental Engineering Sciences at UF effective September 12.

Heaney taught environmental engineering at UF from 1968-1991
and served as director of the Florida Water Resources Research
Center. In 1991, he joined the University of Colorado at Boulder
where he was chairman of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural
Engineering until 1994.

Heaney received his PhD from Northwestern University. He is an
internationally prominent scholar in urban water infrastructure
systems and earned many honors and awards. He won the New York
Water Environment Federation Best Paper Award in 1991 and the
Association of Environmental Engineering Professors Montgomery
Watson Award in 1996. He is a diplomat of the American Academy
of Environmental Engineering and chair of Urban Water Resources
Research Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a
member of the National Academies' Panel Evaluating Restoration
Alternatives for the Everglades. He has served as associate editor of
several journals including Water Resources Bulletin, International
Journal of Environmental Engineering and Policy, and Urban Water.
Patricia Casey


http://www.ees.ufl.edu/


Dean's Office Reorganizes


The new team in the College of
Engineering dean's office is now
in place.

Timothy J. Anderson is the
Associate Dean for Research and
Graduate Programs. Professor
Anderson was formerly chair of
the UF Chemical Engineering
department.


Jonathan EK. Earle is now the
Associate Dean for Student
Affairs. He has served for many
years as Assistant Dean for
Academic Programs in the
college. He is also an associate
professor in Agricultural &
Biological Engineering.

Marc I. Hoit has assumed the
responsibilities of Associate Dean
for Academic Affairs. He served
as Associate Dean for Research


and Administration in the college
for the past two years. He is also
a professor in Civil & Coastal
Engineering.

Karen Kirkman is now the
Director of Finance and
Personnel and reports directly to
Dean Khargonekar. She was
formerly Business Manager for
the college.


Gator Engineering 23











Mark Law Named ECE Chair


Mark E. Law, professor of Electrical & Computer
Engineering, was named chair of the ECE department
effective August 8. Law, who joined the department in 1988,
also served as co-director of the Software and Analysis of
Advanced Material Processing (SWAMP) Center.

Law received his PhD from Stanford University in 1988.
He has received numerous awards and honors including the
NSF Presidential Faculty Fellowship, Semiconductor
Research Corporation Technical Excellence Award, IBM
Young Faculty Development Award, University of Florida
Research Foundation Professorship, and the UF College of
Engineering Teacher of the Year award. He is a Fellow of
IEEE.

Law succeeds Professor Martin Uman who served as chair
of ECE for 12 years. In this capacity, Uman provided
outstanding leadership in all aspects of the department's
work. In particular, he fostered tremendous growth in
graduate programs and research activities. Uman, a world-
renowned scholar in electromagnetics with a specialization in
lightning, will return to his research and teaching duties.
Patricia Casey

http://www.ece.ufl.edu/


Environmental Engineering Sciences
Names New Chair


James P. Heaney, professor of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural
Engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder, became chair of
Environmental Engineering Sciences at UF effective September 12.

Heaney taught environmental engineering at UF from 1968-1991
and served as director of the Florida Water Resources Research
Center. In 1991, he joined the University of Colorado at Boulder
where he was chairman of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural
Engineering until 1994.

Heaney received his PhD from Northwestern University. He is an
internationally prominent scholar in urban water infrastructure
systems and earned many honors and awards. He won the New York
Water Environment Federation Best Paper Award in 1991 and the
Association of Environmental Engineering Professors Montgomery
Watson Award in 1996. He is a diplomat of the American Academy
of Environmental Engineering and chair of Urban Water Resources
Research Council of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He is a
member of the National Academies' Panel Evaluating Restoration
Alternatives for the Everglades. He has served as associate editor of
several journals including Water Resources Bulletin, International
Journal of Environmental Engineering and Policy, and Urban Water.
Patricia Casey


http://www.ees.ufl.edu/


Dean's Office Reorganizes


The new team in the College of
Engineering dean's office is now
in place.

Timothy J. Anderson is the
Associate Dean for Research and
Graduate Programs. Professor
Anderson was formerly chair of
the UF Chemical Engineering
department.


Jonathan EK. Earle is now the
Associate Dean for Student
Affairs. He has served for many
years as Assistant Dean for
Academic Programs in the
college. He is also an associate
professor in Agricultural &
Biological Engineering.

Marc I. Hoit has assumed the
responsibilities of Associate Dean
for Academic Affairs. He served
as Associate Dean for Research


and Administration in the college
for the past two years. He is also
a professor in Civil & Coastal
Engineering.

Karen Kirkman is now the
Director of Finance and
Personnel and reports directly to
Dean Khargonekar. She was
formerly Business Manager for
the college.


Gator Engineering 23



































\\in Phillips Receives ASEE Lamime A.ard


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Aaron Hoover


Chemical Engineering
Timothy J. Anderson, professor
and Associate Dean for Research
and Graduate Programs, received
the American Institute of
Chemical Engineers 2003
George Lappin Award.

Spyros Svoronos, professor and
associate chair, is now the interim
department chair as of July 1,
replacing former chair Tim
Anderson who has been named
Associate Dean for Research and
Graduate Programs.

Civil & Coastal Engineering
Fazil Najafi, professor, gave several
presentations at the American
Society for Engineering
Education's 2003 Annual
Conference and Exposition held
June 22-25 in Nashville, Tenn.


24 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER











Electrical & Computer
Engineering
Jose Principe, distinguished
professor and director,
Computational
NeuroEngineering Laboratory, led
a plenary session at the
International Conference on
Intelligent Control Systems and
Signal Processing in Faro,
Portugal. He attended the
DARPA Bio-Computation Joint
Principal Investigators meeting in
Fort Lauderdale, May 13-16; the
Portuguese Science Board in
Lisbon, Portugal, May 19-22; the
Portuguese Ministry of Science
and Technology in Lisbon, May
23-26; and was a guest speaker at
the Emotion and Brain Workshop
in Lisbon, May 28-31.

Vladimir A. Rakov, professor and
co-director, International Center
for Lightning Research and
Testing, gave an invited lecture on
"Review of Triggered-Lightning
Experiments at the ICLRT at
Camp Blanding, Florida" at the
2nd Seminar on Lightning
Physics and Protection in the
South of Brazil May 9-10 in Porto
Alegre.


Industrial & Systems
Engineering
Panos Pardalos, professor and
co-director, Center for Applied
Optimization, was elected a
Foreign Member of the National
Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
He was co-organizer of the 4th
International Conference on
Frontiers in Global Optimization
at Santorini, Greece on June 8-
12. On July 7 2003, he spoke on
"Recent Advances and Trends in
Global Optimization" at the
international workshop on
Energy Minimization Methods
in Computer Vision and Pattern
Recognition in Lisbon, Portugal.

Materials Science &
Engineering
Reza Abbaschian, Vladimir A.
Grodsky professor, received the
2003 American Society for
Engineering Education Donald
E. Marlowe Award in
recognition of his outstanding
accomplishments as a scholar and
educator.

Brij Moudgil, professor and
director, Particle Engineering
Research Center, received an
honorary appointment to the
University of Melbourne,
Australia, as a Professorial Fellow
with the title of Professor
effective from July 1, 2003 Dec.
31, 2005.


Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering
D. Yogi Goswami, professor and
director, Solar Energy & Energy
Conversion Laboratory, was
elected president of the
International Solar Energy
Society. His term will run from
January 2004 to December 2005.

James F. Klausner, professor, was
named a Fellow of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers
for outstanding contributions to
the understanding of two-phase
flow and heat transfer with phase
change, highly recognized
archival publications, and creative
and high quality research in heat
transfer and power transport.

Win Phillips, professor, UF vice
president for research, dean of
the Graduate School, and former
dean of the College of
Engineering, received the
American Society of Engineering
Education's Benjamin Garver
Lamme Award.

Charles E. Taylor, professor
emeritus, received an Honorary
Doctorate degree from Purdue
University. Taylor is
internationally recognized for his
scholarship and mentorship.


C ae 4 w


25



























W As the University of Florida National Register are at least 50
W e1 H a celebrates its 150-year history, years old and are significant in
Weil Hall may soon reach a American history, architecture,
C considered milestone of its own: The half- archeology, engineering, or
i .century old building is on a short culture.
for H historic list of campus buildings to be


considered for the National
Register Register of Historic Places.


Over 50 years ago, the College
of Engineering experienced
tremendous growth following
World War II. Weil Hall was
built to accommodate the need
for more space. At that time, the
building housed the entire
College of Engineering. The
college now spreads across the
university campus and beyond,
but Weil Hall retains its historical
significance.

UF recently received a
$150,000 Getty Campus
Heritage Grant to develop a
Preservation Master Plan and
Training Program and a $25,000
grant from the Florida Division
of Historical Resources to define
the campus historic impact area
and prioritize significant
buildings of the post World War
II era. One goal of the project is
to study campus buildings that
have reached the 50-year
benchmark and nominate these
buildings to the National Register
of Historic Places. Generally,
properties eligible for the


Twenty-two UF campus
buildings are currently on the
National Register of Historic
Places, according to Susan Tate,
principal investigator for the
grant research. Tate is a professor
in the College of Design,
Construction and Planning and a
registered architect and general
contractor specializing in historic
preservation and interior design.

"A boom in construction
occurred on campus after World
War II," Tate said. "We will select
only the buildings of the most
historical and architectural
significance as examples of that
era. Weil Hall is a key element in
the compatible transition to the
new directions of the post World
War II era. Weil interprets the
materials and form of Collegiate
Gothic with a streamlining of
detail and horizontal emphasis
associated with new social and
architectural directions."


E Weil Hall, back when it
could be seen from
inside Florida Field.

Many buildings in the
northeast corner of the campus
are listed as part of an Historic
District on the National Register.
"This project proposes to expand
the existing historic district," Tate
said. "Newly eligible buildings are
scattered throughout the campus
but are connected by their
function and architectural
significance."

The two-year project proposes
the nomination of six to 10
additional buildings to the
National Register. In addition to
beginning development of a
Preservation Master Plan for the
UF campus, the project team will
examine historic campus plans,
study the visual linkages of
historic buildings and pedestrian
ways, and develop a walking tour
map.

The team began its evaluation
of Weil Hall in August. If Weil
Hall is added to the National
Register, the listing would
acknowledge not only its historic
value to the College of
Engineering but its contribution
to the history of the university.
Patricia Casey

UNIVERSITY OF

SLORIDA.


Honoring the past, shaping the future


26 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER






/PRmns

PRO F


LE


SEdmund Moore
PhD MSE 1993
Engineer, Air Force Research Laboratory Materials
and Manufacturing Directorate


Edmund Moore has a college at Florida A&M University, I was
serious commitment to ahead of many of mv fellow students."


2003]I Blc Enine Iof [


the Year Special
I iitio Award

-ponsored by USI Blk.
EniermgzieBh wr









asgvnt itnuse


minority students and
young engineers. He
developed a program to
bring more blacks,
women, and other
minorities into science
and research jobs with the
Air Force. Outside work,
he actively mentors
youngsters in the hope
that they will take up
technical studies in college.

Moore is carrying forward the caring
commitment shown to him by parents
and teachers.

The son of George R. Moore, Sr. and
Ruth H. Moore, he was born in Newnan,
Ga. He and his brother, George Jr., were
raised in LaGrange, Ga., about 60 miles
southwest of Atlanta.

"My father was a brick layer and an
assistant principal. My mother was a
teacher and always encouraged me to do
my best in anything that I did," Moore
says.

He also found strong role models in his
uncle, McDonald Moore, a chemist, and
Herbert Jones, a physics professor at
Florida A&M University.

Moore never took the easy path in
school. "I was blessed to have the
background that I received. Growing up
in LaGrange, I was fortunate to be in the
highest level classes. That allowed me to
take geometry, trigonometry, and
calculus. I also was able to take chemistry,
physics, and biology. When I started


Moore says.

"Actually, my worst subject in high
school was physics," he says. "Being a
competitive person, I decided to major in
that field in college." In studying physics,
Moore took so many math courses that
he decided to do a double major. He
graduated with a BS in math and a BS in
physics in four years from Florida A&M
University (FAMU) in Tallahassee.

Moore chose FAMU because it was far
enough from home to let him assert some
independence. Once enrolled, he
discovered that FAMU faculty and
students had an excellent rapport.

"My instructors expected the best out
of us. They were also accessible if one
needed assistance. The biggest factor was
that students worked together to learn,"
Moore says.

Summer programs offered Moore
interesting challenges. He did high
energy physics modeling at Fermi
National Accelerator Laboratory in
Batavia, IL. He was also introduced to
materials science and engineering
research at Bell Laboratories in Murray
Hills, NJ, which ultimately changed his
career direction.

Moore decided to study materials
engineering at MIT, where he did
research in chemical metallurgy on
plasma processing of metal powders.
After receiving his master's degree in
1989, he joined the Air Force civilian
Palace Knight program as a materials
engineer in 1991.
Gator Engineering 27






Al umnus

PROFILE


Palace Knight is a program designed to increase
the number of civilian PhD engineers and scientists
working in Air Force research laboratories. The
program pays full salaries to students while they
pursue degrees and work in an Air Force laboratory.
Palace Knight interns agree to continue in federal
employment for a time after receiving their degrees.

The program allowed Moore to attend UF for his
doctoral work. With his principal adviser, Professor
David Clark, Moore did research on the removal of
polymeric binders from ceramic compacts using
microwave energy. After receiving his PhD, Moore
continued in ceramics research at the Air Force
Research Laboratory Materials and Manufacturing
Directorate (AFRL/ML), Wright-Patterson Air
Force Base, Ohio.

Moore now manages a materials evaluation
program for the Air Force. His research measures
mechanical properties of carbon foam materials and
of ceramic matrix composites and ceramic coatings
for aircraft exhaust environments.

In October 2000, Moore took on responsibility
for implementing the Directorate's Historically
Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU)/ Minority
Institutions collaborative R&D effort. The
collaboration is part of a very active effort toward
recruiting talented black, women, and Hispanic
engineers and scientists.

"The collaboration is based on our Science and
Technology Workforce for the 21st Century
Initiative," Moore explains. "Our objectives are to
identify and characterize HBCUs with materials
and manufacturing R&D backgrounds and
experience to become major technology
collaborators with AFRL/ML. Our long-term goal
is to expand to Hispanic- serving institutions and
tribal colleges," Moore says.

The agreements allow the transfer of surplus
laboratory equipment to the HBCUs. Air Force lab
employees teach courses at the HBCUs, which in
turn send faculty and students to ML to conduct
research. ML also hopes to recruit qualified
graduates from the collaborative universities.


The HBCU program has worked so well that it
has been selected as a "best practice" model and
been adopted at the AFRL level and at the Air
Force Materiel Command (AFMC) level, Moore
says.

Moore is taking the recruiting message into the
community. He hopes to encourage young minority
students to try technical studies. His outreach work
began at UF when he worked with the Program for
Academic Counseling and Tutoring (PACT). He
was also a coordinator for the Bridge Program, an
Upward Bound program which allowed college
eligible high school students to enroll at Santa Fe
Community College.

"Any day that one comes across a minority youth
or young adult is a day to encourage them to
consider a career in the exciting fields of math,
science, and engineering," Moore says.

To that end, Moore spends a lot of time at
workshops, career fairs, advisory boards, and task
forces speaking about opportunities in math,
science, and engineering. Among the many groups
he belongs to are the National Minority Science
and Engineering Institute and the National Society
of Black Engineers.

Moore favors starting young, as early as fourth
grade, when offering math and science programs for
pre-college students. As he explains, "Most students
and youth grow up to glamorize sports,
entertainment, and business. Why work hard to
become an engineer and make $50K a year if I see
an entertainer, sports star, or successful high school
drop out become a multi -millionaire business
person?"

Moore believes that elementary and high school
teachers could benefit from more math and science
education, too. "Universities must adopt local
schools and educate teachers, administrators, and
youth about science, math, and engineering. The
focus must be long-term and involve university
faculty and students. Technical organizations can
help spread the word as well," Moore says.

For students who decide to try technical studies,
Moore strongly supports efforts like UF's STEPUP
freshman mentoring program. He cites a study
done while he was working in UF's PACT office.


28 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER






Alumni



The study showed that minority freshmen
who were admitted with higher GPAs and
SAT or ACT scores actually did less well at
UF than special admission minority students
with lower GPAs and test scores. He
attributes the difference to the support
system offered by programs like STEPUP.

"These programs provide students with a
more focused experience. In light of the
University of Michigan Affirmative Action
Supreme Court cases, some universities have
voluntarily ceased offering these types of
programs or opened the program to
everyone. I do not have a problem with
opening the program to everyone; however,
minorities, women and educationally
disadvantaged youth may benefit more from
these technical opportunities and should
receive additional consideration," Moore
says.

Alumni can take a valuable role in
partnering with universities to recruit
minority students, Moore says. If minority
alumni are not involved, universities should
ascertain why and make an attempt to
resolve the situation.

"We should all strive to become
ambassadors for our home universities and
serve to encourage minority students to
attend college, period," Moore says.
Martha Dobson


Marking Time

The College of Engineering clock tower is currently under
construction after several years in planning and re-designs. The
clock is an unusual blend of old and new. Located at the west
entrance of Weil Hall, the 26-foot-tall tower boasts four different
faces, each a replica of an antique pocket watch. Time is kept by a
1913 Howard clock movement, which was donated by alumnus Dr.
Theodore Crom. Because the clock movement is not capable of
running the four-foot-diameter dials concurrently, a laser will read
the clock movement and transmit the elapsed time data to the
electric stepping motor of each dial. The tower was initially
planned by the UF chapter of Chi Epsilon, the National Civil
Engineering Honor Society. Funding has come from many
generous donors, including hundreds who purchased bricks
incised with their names that will be installed around the tower.


Gator Engineering 29






Letter


Alumni Update

1984
William H. Dunlop, P.E., MSCE, was
named 2003 Engineer of the Year by
the Illinois Chapter of the American
Public Works Association. The award is
for major achievements and
exceptional technical innovation in
public works.The city of Champaign, ...
IL, nominated Dunlop for his work on
the Campustown Infrastructure/
Streetscape Project completed in
August 2002. He is a consulting civil
engineer with Daily &Associates,
Engineers, Inc. in Champaign. He
retired in 1994 from the US Army following service as the Deputy District
Engineer, US Army Engineer District, Rock Island, IL.

1991
Robert Lindsay Wells, P.E., PhD, is the
chair of the Mechanical Engineering
department, University of Texas at
Tyler. He completed his doctorate in
the UF Machine Tool Research 1 l
Center with the late Dr. Jiri Tlusty,
specializing in vibration analysis and
machine condition monitoring. UT-
Tyler is an East Texas regional
component of the University of Texas
system. The engineering program
was founded in 1997 and offers
B.S.M.E., B.S.E.E., and M.E. degrees.

2000
Eric Otoo, MECE, has worked with the Turner Construction Company,
Orlando, FL office, since graduating. He is currently a cost engineer
working with the joint venture of Turner/PPI on the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
expansion project. Otoo received his bachelor's degree in civil engineering
from University of Science and Technology in Ghana. He has over three
years' experience in construction supervision and project engineering. He
is a registered engineer intern and a licensed general contractor with the
State nf Flnrida


Dear Ms. Dobson:

I read your article 'Engineering Advisory Council (Spring 2003) with interest.
Imust take issue with your statement that M"Motivation is complicated by the fact
that public awareness of engineering is poor "Isubmit that the public is all too aware
of the status of engineering in our society One need look no farther than the comic
pages where the very successful strip Dilbert exposes daily the experiences of a typical
working engineer The degrading cubicles, the politician management, the wage
compression, the lack of support etc. are displayed daily You may say this isjust a
comic strip but you can be sure it would not be so popular if there was not a whole lot
of truth in it and a lot ofpeople didn't identify with it.
Also note the wayyour article contradicts itself On page 11 you state "' ..resulting,
in turn, in a critical need for engineers, scientists, and technologists. "Then on page
12 you make several contradictorystatements:

"The demand for newhires, in many areas, will be less than inyearspast"

"The EA Cmemberspredicted the market for computer and electrical engineers
will be tough"

"The need for aeronautical engineers also willbe down"

"The membersreporteda limited need for nuclear engineers"

"The students also spoke ofexperiences at large recruitment fairs where they were
given discouraging feedback on the likelihood ofjobs being available."

So which is it, critical need or discouraging feedback?
By the way, the pointy haired boss wasn 't on this council by any chance was he?
Also telling is another quote: "The members also expressed concern about a trend
toward outsourcing technical work to engineers in other nations. "This is also a
situation that is a feature ofDilbert. Itis done to keep engineering salaries down in
this country and will be a fact oflife for anyone foolish enough togo into engineering
In both the space shuttle disasters, engineers tried to warn management but they
were ignored and at least one engineer was forced out forpressing the matter So
much for the status of engineers.
Finally when the public thinks of engineers, what words come to mind?Isubmit
they include geek, nerd, pocket protector etc. What an image!

Sincerely,

EdwardJ. Telander BEE, 1952


Editor's note:
Pointy-haired managers may not appreciate critical thinking, but we do. Thank
you for your comments.









www.eng.ufl.edu/home/pubs/

30 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER













Hend


Friends We Will Miss


1931 Widmer E. Haas, BSCE, of Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, died
January 22,1995
1932 RobertA. Thompson, BSME MSME 1937, of Naples, FL, died
January 13,1992
1933 Robert I. Sarbacher, BSEE, of Palm Beach, FL, died July 1986
1938 Frederic W. Sutton, BSCHE, of Port Saint Joe, FL, died April 20,1998
1939 Clyde M. Turner, BSCE, died September 23, 2002
1940 Gregory J. Hobbs, BSCE, of Tampa, FL, died June 1984
Herbert R. Quina, BSCHE, of Lakeland, FL, died February 21, 2003
William C. Schaub, BSIE, of Tampa, FL, died January 31,2003
Harry K. Siler, BSEE, of Satellite Beach, FL, died August 1986
1941 Thomas N. Evans, Jr., BSEE, of Jacksonville, FL, died February 13, 2003
Robert L. Swoope, BSCHE, of Des Plaines, IL, died July 17,1996
Julius F. Wernicke, Jr., BSCHE, of Pensacola, FL, died May 4, 2003
1942 John S. Telfair, Jr., BSCE, of Cedar Key, FL, died January 1986
Nicholas Tricarico, BSIE, of Hillsdale, NJ, died March 9,1994
1943 George R. Clark, BSCHE, of New Smyrna, FL, died May 9, 2003
1946 Weaks G. Smith, BSCE, of Providence, NJ, died February 1,1983
1947 Dewitte T.Thompson, Jr., BSME, of Inglis, FL, died July 1982
1948 Bernard D. Kitching, BSME, of DeLand, FL, died March 29, 2003
William J. Steed, Jr., BSCHE, of Greenville, SC, died May 28, 2003
1950 Arthur R. Finney, Jr., BSCE, of Clearwater, FL, died May 24, 2003
Paul G. Shupe, BSEE, of Melbourne, FL, died July 11, 1999
James P. Trebes, BSAE, of Atlanta, GA, died November 5, 2000
1951 George L.Walters, BSIE, ofVero Beach, FL, died June 8, 2003
1952 Leslie E. Phillips, BSCHE, of Plainfield, IL, died December 18, 2002
1953 James V. Anders, BSEE, of Succasunna, NJ, died April 19,1995
James B. Cooley, BSCE, of Graceville, FL, died September 23, 2002
Donald D. Dyer, BSCE, of Oviedo, FL, died November 11,2002
Orville J. Porter, BSME, of Beaufort, SC, died January 10,1999
1955 Emil F.Anderson, BSME BSIE 1956, of Massena, NY, died
December 14,1992
Alanson D. Morehouse II, BSIE, of Satsuma, FL, died August 11,2002
1956 Harold Easton, Jr., BSEE, of Huntington Beach, CA, died
September 10, 2001


pubsmail@eng.ufl.edu

Editor, The Florida Engineer
University of Florida
PO Box 116550
Gainesville, FL 32611-6550


1957 Ralph A. Saffer, BSEE, of New York, NY, died August 17, 2002
Tazewell Saunders, BSIE, of Pompano Beach, FL, died July 1977
FrancisA. Silva, Jr., BSEE, of Concord, NH, died October 8,1997
Joe Spivey, Jr., BSEE, of Birmingham,AL, died June 1984
1958 Thomas A. Nichols, Sr., BSEE, of Milton, FL, died December 15, 2002
1959 Herbert L. Oliver, BSME, of Huntsville, AL, died January 11,1997
Frank I. Redding, BSEE, of Orange, CA, died October 12,1995
1960 FrederickW.Weber, BSCE, of Chula Vista, CA, died April 25, 2003
1962 Donald J. Belz, MSE PhD 1964, of Washington, DC, died December 1,1985
1963 John M. Dowler, BSIE, of Warner Robins, GA, died December 30, 2000
MaxV. Robinson, BSIE, of Boulder, CO, died September 1972
Gary L. Smith, BSEE, MEEE 1964, of Pensacola, FL, died January 15,1999
William L. Storch, BSEE, of Watertown,TN, died December 27, 2002
1964 John R. Todd, BSEE, of Malabar, FL, died August 17, 2001
1965 Lambert 0. Gooding, BSIE, of Winter Park, FL, died October 13,1999
1966 William M. Bunker, BSME PhD 1969, of Ormond Beach, FL,
died December 4, 2001
Jose L. Sanchez, BSEE, of Miami, FL, died July 5,1991
1967 Claude M. Adams, BSCHE, of Port Saint Joe, FL, died November 1,1980
Jesse E. Pipkin, BSEE, of Berkeley, CA, died September 1982
Richard L.Thompson, BSEE, of Lakeland, FL, died October 1988
1969 Waldo E. Albert, Jr., BSME, of Dunedin, FL, died April 5, 2001
1970 Robert E. Conant, Jr., BSEE, ofTrenton,TN, died June 11,2002
1972 Roger C. Jackson, BSEE, of Perry Hall, MD, died January 1,1977
1974 Gustavo Vargas, BSCHE, of Mission Viejo, CA, died September 4, 2000
1976 Edward A. Fitzgerald, BSEE, of Myakka City, FL, died June 1,2003
1982 Robert H.Avant, BSME, ME 1985, of Jupiter, FL, died February 26, 2003
1998 Rodney M. Powell, MEEE, of Cantonment, FL, died June 11,2002
Brian G. Sander, BSME, of Venice, FL, died November 18, 2001
2000 Sean V. Becht, MSBME, of Gainesville, FL, died March 9, 2003
2002 Daniel F. Lunger, Jr., BSEE, of Hanahan, SC, died May 26, 2003
Philip C. Thomas, BSCEN, of Clewiston, FL, died May 28, 2003


Gator Engineering 31


Alumni


e










The Industry Programs Office

Building New Bridges for Engineering


Recognizing the value of industry partnerships, the
College of Engineering has created an Industry
Programs Office dedicated to building collaborative
relationships with major companies and industries.

Erik Sander, the program director, points out
that it is unusual for an engineering college to have
a dedicated office focused on industry programs.
Usually these contacts are driven by individual
faculty members or by grants and research offices,
Sander says. This has also been true at UF, where
industries have provided advice, research support,
and education opportunities to the college for many
years. Industry currently provides 14 percent of the
college's sponsored research funding, which is
higher than the national average.

Now, Sander says, the college wants to build even
closer ties with major
industries whose
research interests
dovetail with some of
the college's strongest
programs. The plan is
to create
multidisciplinary
programs of value to
targeted industries and
encourage an industry
focus to college
research. Industry
Programs will help
.- develop these ties,
working closely with
the UF Office of
Technology Licensing
on technology transfer
and intellectual
property issues.

"Equitable
intellectual property
agreements that benefit
all parties are becoming
ever more important to
academic researchers,"
Sander says. "In order
to build our industrial


partnerships, it's critical to work closely with
industry in understanding how universities treat
this."

The college also wants to encourage an
entrepreneurial culture among the faculty and
students, Sander says. Industry Programs is ready to
help faculty and students who want to launch
spinout companies and can connect them with
groups and individuals on the outside who can offer
help. The college, in collaboration with the
Warrington College of Business Center for
Entrepreneurship and Innovation, is also offering
students an Entrepreneurship for Engineers course.

The role of the Industry Programs Office is built
on that of the Industrial Collaboration and
Technology Transfer office at UF's Particle
Engineering Research Center, where Sander was
associate director since 1998. In his role, Sander has
built close relationships with entrepreneurial groups
such as the Center for Entrepreneurship and
Innovation in the Warrington College of Business;
the Entrepreneurs' Club on the UF campus; the
Gainesville Technology Entrepreneurial Center; the
Sid Martin Biotechnology Development Institute;
the Gainesville Area Innovation Network; and the
Buchholz High School Academy of
Entrepreneurship, a magnet program.

Sander welcomes contact from companies
wanting to work with the college. For those not
already familiar with the process or ways in which
the college can work with industry, Sander can
serve as a first contact. His job is to make the
relationship as easy and mutually beneficial as
possible.

"I am here to be a facilitator," Sander says. "My
office augments and coordinates with other campus
entities like the Office of Technology Licensing
and the UF Foundation. My role is most akin to
that of business development in industry I
develop contacts and help close deals," Sander says.

Sander also hopes to hear from alumni working
in industry. "I would like to bring them back to the
college, to involve them as mentors and advisers, in
giving talks, or in other ways to help connect faculty
and students more closely to industry," Sander says.
Martha Dobson


32 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER









A S 3.*S T S








Subsc e to *





and offers a short update on activities and successes of the^^^

^^To add your naBmeto B~aitheEinksmiing ist, go8to the


a^t htt://wwCTlleinguffled/nwht.


Research Pact Signed
with Harris

The College of Engineering has signed a new
partnership with Harris Corporation to do research
projects, technology transfer, and other activities.

Harris supplies communication equipment for
broadcasters and the government. The UF/Harris
collaboration will be in the area of wireless
communication networks.

The agreement builds on the long-time support
Harris has given the college for student projects and
laboratories. Harris is also a major employer for UF
engineering graduates.


Kominowski Named
Development Officer

Edward M. Kominowski
has been named a Director
of Development for the
College of Engineering.

Kominowski received his
bachelor's degree in
telecommunications and
master's degree in college
student personnel
administration from Indiana University. He served
for almost 10 years in various capacities with the
Indiana University Foundation. From 1997-1998,
he was Assistant Director of Capital Campaigns. In
2000, he became Director of Development. Since
2001, he served as Regional Development Director
covering the territory of Indiana and Louisville,
Kentucky.

Kominowski can be contacted at the
Development Office, 352-392-6795 or e-mail
ekominowski@eng.ufl.edu.
Patricia Casey


Gator Engineering 33






Students


Native American Student Earns First

Doctorate in Unique Program


Richard V. Scholtz, a Native
American doctoral student in
Agricultural & Biological
Engineering, became the first
University of Florida student to
obtain a degree through a unique
National Science Foundation program
aimed at recruiting more minorities to
enter academic careers.

Scholtz is working as a post-
doctoral student at UF after earning
his doctorate in December 2002
through the National Science
Foundation's Alliance for Graduate
Education and Professorate program.

Scholtz, who also obtained both
bachelor's and master's degrees in
engineering from UF, is the first
graduate from among about 20 UF
students enrolled under the program.
His adviser for both master's and
doctoral work which centered on
water reuse techniques and
technologies was agricultural
engineering Professor Allen
Overman.

"He's a highly motivated student
with a lot of initiative," Overman said.


Among other things, the program
stresses the development of
instructional skills by requiring that all
students serve as teaching assistants or
in similar roles. Scholtz, who was the
lead instructor in at least three classes,
said he believed this experience would
prove especially useful to graduates
seeking faculty positions.

"You can always do better with
more diversity," Scholtz said. "But I
think it's more important to have
people who are trained more
effectively in the professorate,
especially in the teaching area, and I
think that's one element this program
addresses."

Scholtz, 29, whose mother is a
member of the Seneca-Cayuga tribe
of Oklahoma, earned his doctorate in
three years. Along the way, he co-
authored a book with Overman,
Mathematical Models of Crop Growth
and Yield, as well as several journal
articles.
Aaron Hoover


34 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER






























-. -ea- .W i -- :-,

Front row Philippe Simon; Standing (L-R) Ryan Mackey, William Joseph Bacawat, Jared M. Greenberg, Karin Cole,
Suzanne M. Atyeo, Manson Gup, and Jason Barber.


Human-



Powered



Vehicle



Rolls to



First


UF Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering students came home
from the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers HPV
challenge with four first place
trophies and a $500 check from
ASME. The University of
Missouri at Rolla hosted the
competition May 2-4. Teams of
top engineering students from 16
universities competed in ASME's
20th Annual HPV East
Coast/Midwest Competition.

UF's two-seater HPV, the
InstiGator, weighed about 150
pounds and consisted of thick-
walled steel tubing, the material
used for race car roll cages. The
race went smoothly until the last
competition when the InstiGator
suffered a broken faring. The
front rider had to maneuver the
course while holding the faring
out of the way as the InstiGator
dashed to the finish.


UF won four first place
trophies: mulitrider sprint
(second overall which includes
single rider bikes), mulitrider
endurance, utility endurance, and
overall mulitrider.

"Last year we won five first
places," said Jared Greenberg,
team treasurer. "Due to lack of
funding this year, we couldn't
build a new design, so we didn't
win the design part of the
competition."

Although only eight team
members attended the event, the
efforts of the whole team made it
possible for UF to go to the
competition. The team especially
thanks its president, Josh Blower,
who has since graduated, and
secretary, Shawna Snow.

Next year, the team plans to
build a new bike and compete
with two bikes. However,
funding will be a deciding factor.


"Our goal is to beat University
of Missouri Rolla in the single
rider category," said Greenberg.
"We won the multirider category
for the last two years, so next year
we want to compete in both
categories. Since Rolla is the
main powerhouse in the single
rider event, with their all carbon-
fiber bike, we have our work cut
out for us."

The UF team also has
submitted a bid to host next
year's competition.

"The University of Missouri at
Rolla did a really nice job hosting
last year's event," Greenberg said.
"It will be difficult to beat their
hospitality, but we definitely will
have a more grueling course that
will really put the bikes through
their paces."
Patricia Casey


Gator Engineering 35






Students


Steel Bridge Team Is

Third in National

Competition


The UF Steel Bridge Team,
sponsored by Civil & Coastal
Engineering, placed third at the
2003 National Student Steel
Bridge Competition held May
23-24 at San Diego State
University.


Top right: Steel Bridge
Team (left to right): Adrien
Lane (Co-Captain), Chet
Zabik (Captain), Jereme
Williams, Ryan Thrun,
Jagath "Jag"
Samaraweera, Todd Kelly,
Tim Fillbach, Andre
Tousignant, and Chris
Lee.

Below: In the assembly
competition, the team
assembles the bridge in 1
minute 19 seconds.


UF has placed in the top 10
nationally eleven times and won
first place once. This year, again,
UF placed in the top 10 for all
categories. The UF bridge
weighed 101 pounds, ranking
sixth in lightness. The deflection
of the structure with 2,500
pounds was a mere 0.59 inches,
low enough to score eighth in
stiffness.

UF placed sixth in structural
efficiency. The minimum
structural score, a function of
weight and deflection, was 100
pounds and 1 inch, respectively.


"Our bridge was nearly under construction economy and fifth
both of these values, meaning in aesthetics.
that we designed and fabricated


an incredible structure," said
project leader Chet Zabik.

Assembly time was also
important. The team assembled
the bridge in 1 minute 19
seconds without any penalties,
fast enough to place third in
construction speed. The team
earned fourth place in


"While we did not finish first,
we are still proud of our
accomplishments," Zabik said.
"The level of competition was
much tighter this year than in the
past, and a difference of 4
seconds slower on our assembly
time would have cost us two
places in the overall rank."

To qualify for the national
competition, the team took first
place for the eighth consecutive
year at the 2003 Southeastern
Regional Student Conference
held in March at Florida
International University. The
2004 team will begin designing
in September, working toward
another national championship.

The American Institute of
Steel Construction and The
American Society of Civil
Engineers sponsor the national
competitions, which allow
students to put their engineering
knowledge, organizational skills,
and fabrication ideas into
practice.
Patricia Casey

http://www.ce.ufl.edu/-steelbridge/


36 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER












Robot Vehicle


Outruns Competition





Mechanical & Aerospace
Engineering students from the
Center for Intelligent Machines
and Robotics (CIMAR) placed
first in two of four categories at
the 11th Annual Intelligent
Ground Vehicle Competition
held May 31 -June 2 at
Oakland University in
Rochester, Mich.

The UF vehicle, named
Tailgator, placed first in the
navigation challenge and
follow-the-leader competitions.

As part of the navigation
challenge, teams were given the
latitude and longitude of nine
goal points located on an 80 x
80 meter field. The vehicle had
to navigate autonomously to
within two meters of each goal
point without colliding with any
obstacles. The UF team finished
first and was the only team to
reach all nine goal points.


In the follow- the -leader
competition, the vehicle had to
autonomously follow a lawn
tractor through an obstacle
course. The UF team finished
first and was the only team to
complete the entire course.

UF finished third in the
autonomous obstacle course
challenge and sixth in the
vehicle design competition.

Twenty-six teams registered
for the competition, sponsored
by the Association for
Unmanned Vehicle Systems
International (AUVSI).


l<i ""M i ig na-l ." == ir. ,,,,-i.= wn, .-"s n ]
UF team members (left to right) and the
Tailgator: Carl Crane, Tom Galluzzo,
Duk Sun Yun, David Armstrong, Donald
MacArthur, Erica Zawodny, Roberto
Montane, and Danny Kent.


The UF team received
support from the Air Force
Research Laboratory, Tyndall
Air Force Base, Florida and
input from the members of the
Joint Architecture for
Unmanned Systems (JAUS)
Working Group. The vehicle
used JAUS Reference
Architecture, which greatly
accelerated the systems
integration process.
Martha Dobson


http://www.me.ufl.edu/CI MAR


Gator Engineering 37











John V.


Atanasoff


Centennial


Anniversary

UF alumnus was father of
the digital computer


John VincentAtanasoff, who created and built the
first electronic calculatingmachine 60 years ago,
was born October 4, 1903. He graduated from the
University ofFlorida in 1925 with a BS degree in
electrical engineering He received his MS degree
from Iowa State University in 1926 in
mathematics andhis PhD in physics and
mathematics from the University of Wisconsin in
1930.

In the late 1930s, Atanasoffsought a way to
facilitate linear algebraic calculations needed for
his research. In 1939, he created prototype of the
first digitalcalculator which possessed many
features ofmodern computers a binary system,
regenerative memory, logical schemes as elements of
software, and electronic components for storing
data. The prototype, built with his student,
Clifford Berry was finished in 1942 The concepts
were borrowed, withoutpermission, to build
ENIAC in the 1940s. A 1973 lawsuit established
that A tanasoff was indeed the inventor of the
digital computer.

A tanasoff received the National Medal of
Science and Technology in 1990. He died in 1995.

In 1984, the Florida Engineer magazine
published a profile of John Atanasoff. Excerpts
from the article are reprinted here.



Science Prodigy Huck Finn
By Patricia A. Morris

Selected by what he terms "an accident of
fate," a young physics professor named John
Vincent Atanasoff built the first electronic
digital computer.

That fact has gone largely unrecognized, in
spite of the ruling of a federal judge that
established Atanasoff's original contribution to
the computer age and declared his right to be
noted by his colleagues and in history as "the
inventor of the computer."

Atanasoff, "J.V." to his friends, is one of the
most distinguished alumni of the University of
Florida College of Engineering. He was so


38 TheFLORIDA ENGINEER


recognized with an honorary doctorate of
science degree from UF in 1974. He received
his bachelor's in electrical engineering from the
University of Florida in 1925.

"I always wanted to be a theoretical
physicist," said Atanasoff. "But of course
offerings were limited at the time and electrical
engineering was the next best choice."

Atanasoff's father, John, came to the US
from Bulgaria in 1889. He, too, was an
electrical engineer. His mother, Iva Purdy,
taught mathematics. The family moved to Polk
County, Florida, in 1912. Atanasoff attended a
two-room public school. He learned to use the
slide rule and studied logarithms when he was
only nine years old.

Atanasoff finished high school in 1920 and
worked during the summer as a prospector for
a phosphate mine for $3 to $4 a day to save
money to attend UE He saved about $500, but
the money ran out shortly after his first year at
UF He began working odd jobs to make ends
meet.

At that point, he met Fritz Buchholz,
Alachua County public school superintendent.
Buchholz asked Atanasoff to head the high
school science department. Atanasoff, then in
his junior year in engineering, would first have
to pass the state exam in physics, agriculture,
and biology. Atanasoff studied for three days
and passed the tests with flying colors.

Atanasoff, who was nicknamed "Pelican" at
UF, was active in Sigma Tau, Phi Kappa Phi,
the Polk County Club, and the Benton
Engineering Society, which he served as both
vice president and president.

After graduating with his BS degree,
Atanasoff wanted to teach physics at UF
during summer school. The job was given to
someone else, because, he was told, he didn't
have the needed background in education, so
he worked as the campus electrician.

After that summer, Atanasoff did his
graduate work in mathematics and theoretical
physics. He began his university teaching






























career at Iowa State
University, where he and
his graduate student,
Clifford Berry, began
work on the ABC
(Atanasoff Berry
Computer) in the
basement of the physics
building.


The ABC was the
subject of a lengthy patent
trial almost 30 years after
the prototype was built.
The suit was initiated by
Sperry Rand Corporation,
holder of the ENIAC
patent assigned to its
inventors John Mauchly
and J. Prespert Eckert,
when Honeywell
challenged the royalties it
had been paying Sperry
Rand for the ENIAC. In 1973, Judge Earl Larsen
concluded that the builders of the ENIAC, long
considered the first computer, "did not themselves
first invent the automatic digital computer, but
instead derived the subject matter from one Dr.
John Vincent Atanasoff." Atanasoff never received
any financial compensation or royalties from the
outcome of the patent suit.

Atanasoff left Iowa State University at the start of
World War II. He held various positions in the US
Naval Ordnance Laboratory and several other
military programs. He received the Navy's highest
civilian honor, the Distinguished Service Award, for
his work.


He started his own corporation, the Ordnance
Engineering Company, following the war. He sold
the company to the Aerojet General Corporation
and stayed on as its vice president until he retired in
1961.

Whether or not he was "selected by an accident or
fate" to move in the direction of computers, it is
evident that Atanasoff has had a tremendous, if not
well known, impact on the development of the
computer and the course of history which can
probably never be fully measured.


Gator Engineering 39


Atanasoff pictured with
components of the
Atanasoff-Berry
Computer.












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