CETA Day Celebrated

Friday May 7 is CETA Day, when we celebrate the creativity of our Engineering, Technology, and Architecture students as they present senior capstone projects and Master’s thesis work. Here is a list of many of the presentations made today:

Audio Engineering Technology:

Rob Hoinsky: Acoustic Modification of a Space for Mixing Music

Diana Rosen: Independent Film Project—Videos for Real Art Ways Community Center

Keenan O’Connor: Harmonic Percolator Guitar Effects Unit

Andy Spalla: Commercial Sound System Installation in the University of Hartford’s Gengras Main Hall/Cafeteria

Computer & Electrical Engineering, ECE 483–Design II:

Jeremy Bredickas & Shruti Khare: Fire-fighting Robot

Michael Carbary: Bluetooth FM Transmitter

Sam Dick: Wondrous Wireless Super-Heterodyne Radiola

Klaudio Doko & Brad Deschenes: The Heat Is On

Michael Mancini & Giuliano Messina: Wireless Power Transfer

Scott Shepard: Pump Reliability/Behavioral Prediction Using Sensor Arrays & Neural Nets

Computer & Electronic Engineering Technology:

Ian Cluggish: Envelope Filter Guitar Effect

David Fairbanks: Hall Call Station Tester

George Thomson: Blues Bottle

Papa Asante, Luis Guzman Lazaro, Taylor McCall: Pick-a-Spot Parking Space Finder

Gavin MacDonald: Head Phone Amp

Rafael Rivera: Punch Smart

Civil Engineering:

Justin Howe, Luca Mineo, Neftali Torres: Replacement of the Goold Road Bridge over CSX Railroad; Chatham, New York

Raymond Culver, Daniel Melnik, Andrew Mukon: Design of a Three-Story Steel Frame Office Building; West Hartford, Connecticut

Ryan Bresnahan, Nickolas Corrozza, Elias Noujaim: Replacement of the Rt. 1 Bridge over Wepawaug River; Milford, Connecticut

Eric Benoit, George Bongart: Hebron Ave./House St. Traffic Study and Roundabout Design; Glastonbury, Connecticut

Biomedical Engineering:

Joseph Arascunaga, Erik Carlson, Stephen Charry, Billdicson Dely, Barry Hansen: Underwater Treadmill Lift

Master’s Thesis Presentations:

Erdem Kutuk: Bacterial Flagellar Motor—a Study

Dennis O’Connor: Simulation of the Thermal Performance of a Net Zero Energy Performing Arts Building

Faisal Rahmani: Wind Energy in Western Afghanistan

Chaitanya Sajja: Finite Element Analysis of Laser Machining Process

Srikanth Sanga: A Study of Carbon Nanotubes

R. Dave Staubach: Performance Analysis of 2-Spool vs. 3-Spool Aero Gas Turbine Engine

Girish Velamakanni: Finite Element Analysis of Machining

Rob Wheeler: Topology Optimization with Manufacturing Constraints

Seniors in Architecture presented their senior thesis design work on Wednesday, May 5, as follows:

Shannon Brown: USET Youth Equestrian Athlete Center

Analiza Fuentes: Learning Through Movement (gymnastics center)

Artur Korpiewnicki: Mercedes Formula 1 Museum and Track

Matthew O’Brien: Mars Research Station

Johanna Schumacher: Linking Through Science

Other seniors presented their thesis projects in an open forum as follows:

Sean Bucher: Dune Surfing Resort

David Flannery: Interactive Water Filtration Plant

Brian Kammerer: Sustainable Seaside Residential complex

Chris Kellogg: The Resort at Goshen

Donisia Martin: Clay Arsenal Gateway

Alex McKeton: Old Lyme Country Club

Amanda McLeman: Renovation of the Vern Theatre

Suzan Ozcelik: Earth, People and Heaven Theater

Robert Spencer: Haiti Parliament and Museum Center

Lauren Holzman: Kids in Motion Playhouse Museum

Also presenting this week on May 5 and 6 were students in ME 505, Mechatronics (the synergistic use of precision engineering, control theory, computer science, and sensor-actuator technology to design products and processes), as follows:

Barry Hansen and Erik Carlson: Portable Surface Roughness Analyzer

Amy Waraksa: SC Single Mode Plug and Play Light Test

Ryan Hargreaves and Stephen Sobocinski: Failsafe System for a Generic Electronic Device

Michael Chowaniec and Richard Avery: Low-cost Surface Analyzer and Vibration Detector

Kervin Lochard: Automated Weight Sensing and Positioning System

Jesse Carmichael and Melissa Cassidy: Airfoil Testing System for the Wind Tunnel at the University of Hartford

Pawan Rai and Christopher Diyaolu: A System for Damping a Vibrating Flap

William Rivera, Mark Noujaim, and Dalil Masood: Design and Testing of a fan Response System Using P.I.D. Controller

David Kurtz and Christopher O’Connor: Sequential Control of a Conveyor System

Mohammed Islam, Susheel Veeraboina, and Mark Turner: Solar Tracking System and a Real-Time Illuminator

Anton Banks: Automated Rotor Imbalance Mitigation

John Fleck, Jonathan Scales, and Matthew Nisen: Automated Tempering Oven

Amy Scherma, Ryan Serbel, and Steven Buck: Automatic Charge Amplifier Test System

Jared Stearns: Digital Control of a Refrigerant Metering Valve

CETA congratulates all the students who presented their culminating projects on their hard work and excellent results.

Ian Cluggish presents his Envelope Filter Guitar Effect project to students from the University High School of Science and Engineering.

 

Analiza Fuentes presents her design thesis to the jury.

Jeremy Bredickas and Shruti Khare show their fire-fighting robot.

Students design solar water heaters

ES 242, Engineering by Design, is a course required of all engineering students, and it is a project-based class. That is, students are assigned to work in teams on a project specified by the professor.

For the last three spring semesters, Professor Barry Lubin’s class has been assigned to develop and test a device that uses the sun to heat water to a level acceptable for hygienic use.. The first teams, in 2008, developed preliminary designs based on a fixed design procedure. The second group of teams, in 2009, refined those first designs and built prototypes. This semester, the last in the series for this project, the teams had to evaluate the final design, make changes as needed, and then predict and measure performance.  Overall, the design project is directed at third world countries that have plenty of sun but lack sanitary facilities like hot water.

Here are photos of some of the students and their devices.

Team C's variation of the solar water heater.

Team C gathers data as the sun works.

Team A's device being tested as a student checks data.

The students in this semester's EN 242 project are

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  Team A: Cody Hucke, Eeric Steinberg, Daniel Wright, Martin Bowes, and Anthony Panebianco
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  Team B:  Jeffrey Portal, Harrison Flynn, Michael Thatcher, Vincent Hynes, and Simon Kudernatsch
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  Team C: Jessica Barringer, Sean Murnan, Sharif Al-Raqqad, Emily McMullan, and Brent Thibodeau

Michael J. Crosbie Wins Frey Award

Dr. Michael J. Crosbie, associate professor and chair of Architecture, in CETA has been named the 2010 recipient of the Edward S. Frey Memorial Award by the AIA (American Institute of Architects) Interfaith Forum on Religion, Art, and Architecture. The award is given to an architect for outstanding contributions to the field of religious architecture.
Dr. Crosbie is the editor-in-chief of Faith & Form, the only journal of religion, art, and architecture published in North America. He also contributes widely to architectural journals and other publications and is the author of many books on architecture, including a series for children, Architecture COLORS, Architecture SHAPES, Architecture COUNTS, and Architecture ANIMALS. Among Dr. Crosbie’s books are Houses of God: Religious Architecture for a New Millennium, Architecture for Science, and Architecture of the Cape Cod Summer: The Work of Polhemus Savery DaSilva: New Classicists, written with Cesar Pelli, Robert Venturi, and John R. DaSilva.

The Edward S. Frey Memorial Award was established in 1981 to recognize contributions to religious architecture and support of the allied arts. It commemorates the contributions of the Reverend Edward S. Frey who, as the executive director of the Commission on Church Architecture for the Lutheran Church of America, inspired architects to foster spiritual values in design and worked for half a century writing, lecturing, and mentoring individuals working in religious art and architecture. He shepherded three organizations that ultimately became the Interfaith Forum of Religion, Art, and Architecture (IFRAA), which in 1981 became part of the AIA.

To be selected for the Frey Award, an individual must be nominated by an IFRAA member and must meet these criteria:

• Be an architect and a member of the AIA,
• Demonstrate a passion for and dedication to high-quality worship and sacred spaces,
• Foster spiritual values, and
• Promote a cross-denominational community focused on religious arts and architecture.

Recipients are selected by a panel comprising two previous Frey award recipients, three architects who are subject-matter experts in the field, and two AIA architects who are also members of IFRAA.

 CETA congratulates Dr. Crosbie on this singular honor.

In Memoriam

CETA reports the death, on April 16, 2010, of David N. LaBau, architect and friend and advisor to the Architecture programs here.

Mr. LaBau, a native of Ridgewood, New Jersey, served in the U.S. Army during World War II, then attended the Syracuse University School of Architecture, from which he graduated in 1952. He founded and was past chairman of the S/L/A/M Collaborative Architects of Glastonbury, Connecticut; Atlanta, Georgia; and Boston, Massachusetts, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), and past president of the Connecticut chapter of AIA. He also chaired the AIA committee that worked with the University of Hartford on the creation of the graduate program in Architecture here and advised on accreditation of that program by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB). In addition, he was a founding member of the University’s Construction Institute. He continued to advise the Architecture programs until his recent illness and was a frequent participant in juries for student work.

Besides his work in CETA, Mr. LaBau was a member of the Board of Visitors of the Mortensen Library at the University, past chairman and member of the Board of Trustees of the Open Hearth (a charity that provides shelter and recovery counseling for homeless and addicted men in Greater Hartford), a member of the Board of Advisors for the Connecticut Junior Republic in Litchfield, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Elizabeth Colt Bequest, and an advisor for SCORE, the counseling division of the Small Business Administration in West Hartford (helping people who wish to start their own business), as well as an active member of Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Bloomfield, Connecticut.

A memorial service will be held at 11A.M. on Saturday, May 1, at Old St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 59 Tarriffville Road, Bloomfield. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Old St. Andrew’s Church or to the David N. LaBau Architectural Scholarship Fund at the University of Hartford, in care of Michael Crosbie, Department of Architecture, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford, CT 06117.

Mr. LaBau will be deeply missed by everyone in CETA.

News from CETA

The Connecticut Space Grant Consortium, led by the University of Hartford, marked the 40th anniversary of the rescue of the Apollo 13 mission with three events the week of April 12. Three engineers who worked for Hamilton Sundstrand, which was involved in developing the rescue plan, participated in the events. Dick Wilde, former UTC (United Technologies Corporation) Apollo Program chief systems engineer; Jerry Pasco, UTC Apollo 13 Exhibit Committee chair; and Don Rethke (also known as Dr. Flush for his work on the shuttle bathroom facilities), former NASA life support system technology expert; talked about their experiences during the 1970 mission.

Dr. Flush explains the Apollo missions to school children at the Connecticut Science Center as the Apollo 13 Mission is remembered.

The three events, at the Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford on April 13, at the University of Connecticut on April 15, and at the University High School of Science and Engineering on April 16, also included a display of artifacts from NASA’s space program including a space suit and backpack and a replica of an Apollo-era lunar module.

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Dr. Lou Manzione, dean of CETA threw out the first pitch on CETA Day, April 20. The Hartford Hawks played the Quinnipiac Bobcats and won, 10 to 4, spurred by an eight-run third inning.

Dean Manzione coaches a Little League team in West Hartford, so he was well prepared to pitch.

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Dr. Ivana Milanovic, associate professor of Mechanical Engineering and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in CETA, has received a 2010 NASA Fellowship Award. She will be hosted by the Turbomachinery and Propulsion Systems Division at NASA’s Glenn Research Center this summer, where she will investigate wake vortices in a jet in cross-flow. Her work will provide projects for graduate students interested in computational simulation studies.

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Dr. Akram Abu-aisheh, assistant professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering in CETA, will conduct a workshop in Sustainable Energy Sources at Palestine Polytechnic University in Hebron in May (10 to 13). The workshop is orgranized by the Power Electronics and Signal Processing Research Unit (PESPRU) at Palestine Polytechnic with the cooperation and support of the Consulate General of the United States in Jerusalem. The goal of the workshop is to introduce and train Palestinian academic staff and engineers in alternative energy sources, their applications and modeling.

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On April 22, several CETA students were honored to present their projects at the Undergraduate Research and Creativity Colloquium. 

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  Sadie Heald, Dan Luedke, Clay Pipkin, Ellen Skoczenski, and Keith Vaccaro; an interdisciplinary group from the College of Arts & Sciences and CETA; “A Multidisciplinary Approach for Increasing Access to Clean Water, Providing a Sustainable Water Supply, and Improving Sanitation in a Rural Indian Community”; advisor: Dr. David Pines 

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  Neftali Torres; CETA; “Hydrogen Refueling Station Network Development and Analysis”; advisor: Dr. Clara Fang

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  Brad Deschenes and Klaudio Doko; CETA; “The Heat Is On: A Research Project on Microwave Simulation”; advisor: Dr. Patricia Mellodge

CETA congratulates all the students who participated in the Colloquium for their fine research work.

CETA Senior Recognized by the State of Connecticut

Neftali Torres, a CETA senior majoring in civil engineering, was honored by the Connecticut General Assembly during its annual College Academic Day at the state capitol, on Wednesday, April 14. Along with other honorees, Torres received an official citation noting his accomplishments from the General Assembly.


State lawmakers honor one outstanding student from each of Connecticut’s public and private colleges and universities based on academic and extra-curricular achievements. The students are chosen by their schools for this honor.

Torres has received a number of honors this year: He has been selected as the winner of the University of Hartford’s John G. Lee Medal, given each year to a graduating student from Greater Hartford who has excelled academically and demonstrated deep commitment to the community. He has also maintained a 3.93 GPA (on a 4.0 scale) and has been on the Dean’s and President’s Lists every semester. He has also received the Regents’ Honor Award and fellowships from the Connecticut NASA Space Grant Consortium to work on alternative-fuel vehicle infrastructure.

His extracurricular activities include memberships in the American Society of Civil Engineers, Students in Free Enterprise, Habitat for Humanity, and the Hartford Paintball team. As a member of the student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, Torres helped to design and install a rainwater harvesting system in Abheypur, India, in 2009 to help provide clean drinking water to the residents.

CETA congratulates Neftali Torres, a graduate of Hartford Public High School, on this well-deserved recognition from the State of Connecticut.

CETA Co-Hosting Computer Conference

On Friday, April 16, and Saturday, April 17, Computer Engineering in CETA and the Computer Science Department in the College of Arts & Sciences are hosting the 15th Annual Northeast Computing Conference of the Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges. The conference brings together faculty, staff, and students from academic institutions throughout the northeastern region of the United States for discussions and presentations about undergraduate computing curricula. Various vendors, including booksellers, will also attend this event.
Of particular note are an undergraduate student poster presentation session and a programming contest for students. It is expected that more than 100 students will attend.

The chairs of the conference are Dr. Hisham Alnajjar, Professor of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering and associate dean of CETA, and Dr. Ingrid Russell, professor of computer science.

The Consortium for Computing Sciences in Colleges focuses on promoting high-quality computer curricula and the effective use of computing in smaller post-secondary institutions that are generally oriented toward teaching. It supports activities that help faculty decide about computing resources and educational applications of computer technology. Because departments in smaller colleges and universities are typically small, the Consortium also encourages sharing of expertise, effective curricula, and efficient technology applications. The goal is to promote the betterment of computer-oriented curricula in both two- and four-year colleges, to improve the use of computing as a resource for all disciplines, and to promote a national discussion among various organizations working toward the same purpose.

For more information about the conference, please click here.