OU Engineering

Matthias U. Nollert, associate professor in the School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering at the University of Oklahoma, was honored with the 2014 Teaching Scholars Award on October 31. The recognition rewards Nollert for his exemplary dedication to students, teaching, and the scholarship of teaching, and comes with a $1,500 cash award. In addition to his demonstrated excellence in teaching, Nollert also helps others become more effective teachers. According to Brian Grady, director of CBME, Nollert deserves this award for several reasons: excellent teaching evaluations, engagement with students and his efforts to secure a grant to enhance authentic research experiences for educators. Grady further noted the largest and most in demand graduate-level elective course, Bioengineering Principles, taught by Nollert. “The high demand for this class is both because of the material covered, but also specifically because of Dr. Nollert’s reputation as a teacher,” Grady sa...

Daniel E. Resasco Two University of Oklahoma professors—Daniel E. Resasco and Paul H. Weigel—have been named fellows of the National Academy of Inventors, a professional distinction awarded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development and the welfare of society. “Dr. Resasco and Dr. Weigel deserve this high honor, which brings great credit to the entire university,” said OU President David L. Boren. Resasco, professor of chemical engineering in the OU College of Engineering, has been recognized multiple times by his peers and international organizations for his innovative contributions to the body of knowledge in the areas of chemical engineering.   Chiefly noted as the inventor of a method for producing single-walled carbon nanotubes from catalysts at lower cost and in great quantity, his research focuses on indust...

Andrew Lambeth of Oklahoma City, a senior chemical engineering major at the University of Oklahoma, was named the College of Engineering’s Outstanding Senior. Lambeth and 18 other students chosen from other OU undergraduate colleges received this special recognition at a November ceremony and during halftime at the OU vs. Iowa State football game. Lambeth visited OU’s College of Engineering during his junior year in high school as part of the Junior Engineering Technical Society program. He visited several universities, but none felt quite as right as OU. While he said his original intent was to become a doctor, after immersing himself in the degree’s coursework and industry experience during a co-op, he now plans to pursue a career in the oil and gas industry. “Andrew is a leader in every sense of the word,” said Brian Grady, director of the OU School of Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering. “He is one of those people that make everyone around him f...

A team led by the University of Oklahoma professor who invented the interband cascade laser has reached a major milestone in the development of interband cascade lasers by creating a robust technology that operates at room temperature and works continuously—an important component for building practical systems. Rui Q. Yang , professor of electrical and computer engineering in the OU College of Engineering, proposed the concept for interband cascade lasers 20 years ago.   He continues to perfect the technology for use in multiple applications, such as detecting pipeline leaks, finding new oil and gas wells and in the NASA Mars rover Curiosity. At OU, Yang’s research group collaborates with Professors Matthew B. Johnson and Michael B. Santos and their research groups in the Homer L. Dodge Department of Physics and Astronomy in the OU College of Arts and Sciences.   This latest development of room-temperature and continuous wave interband cascade l...

From News9.com NORMAN, Oklahoma - Thanksgiving break for most students means spending time with family and food. But a group of OU students is sacrificing their break for service. They're headed more than 2,100 miles away to Central America. It's not your average trip these Sooners are packing for. They are carrying with them tools, a GPS unit, hefty bags and a bunch of tape; all for a trip to El Salvador for about a dozen OU students, who will fly out with five faculty members. View the video.

NORMAN – Big data – two small words that will have a major impact on how companies make key decisions about everything from improving productivity to predicting consumer behavior and, in some cases, the future strategy of the company. But the copious numbers only tell part of the picture – how the organization interprets and applies the data determines its business impact. The University of Oklahoma College of Engineering is helping shape the application of big data in its new interdisciplinary master’s degree of engineering with a concentration in data science and analytics. While many companies take advantage of big data to monitor and track everything from retail purchasing to product performance, being able to predict future operations and behaviors is the key that will revolutionize the way companies compete, produce and innovate. The new program’s curriculum teaches algorithm development from a systems perspective. OU graduates will have the skills to design and ...

Jim Sluss , the Morris R. Pitman Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, became the senior associate dean as of July 1. Previously, he served as the director of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His current research and teaching interests are in the areas of optical communications, photonics, and intelligent transportation systems. He has been awarded seven U.S. patents, has authored/co-authored numerous journal and conference publications, and has been principal/co-principal investigator on over $11 million in sponsored research grants and contracts. In his new role as senior associate dean, he will focus on career development of faculty including the full scope of teaching, research and service, as prescribed by our newly adopted PP03 policies and procedures. He will lead the research administration in the College of Engineering and will direct the Engineering graduate program. Learn more. John Antonio , became the associate d...

Senior Associate Dean and Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Simin Pulat, has moved to Evans Hall to serve OU as the Vice Provost for Faculty Development. Over the past eight years, Dr. Pulat has served our OU engineering community as Associate Dean and most recently Senior Associate Dean. While continuing to be highly productive as an ISE faculty member, she has had a transformative influence on the entire CoE. She has been a most effective agent for positive change in engineering education. She has given extraordinary leadership in the engineering accreditation process and led our initiatives in experiential learning, including first and second year courses that are attracting substantial private support and national recognition. We are grateful for all she has done and for the opportunity to continue working with her in advancing the University and the College, through STEM initiatives and faculty professional development.

President David L. Boren and Dean Tom Landers enjoy listening to the student presentations at the Software Studio's project report out. Sridhar Radhakrishnan, director of the School of Computer Science, had an idea to develop a Software Studio, a working environment designed to help students explore high-level computer programming, develop computer programs, collaborate with non-computer disciplines and connect to business professionals. “The Software Studio gives students from all areas of study the access and support to bring their big ideas to digital life,” Radhakrishnan said. “This is not organized by a professor, but rather by groups of students who have the desire to learn and apply computer science.” In the program’s first year, three student teams developed apps for mobile devices and one team is developing an interactive video game to address bullying. One team will begin beta testing their app, a road condition monitoring system called Siren, with more than 1,...

David Gavia, holding the Regents' Alumni Award, stands with President David L. Boren and members of the OU Board of Regents. Nine exceptional University of Oklahoma alumni and friends received Regents’ Alumni Awards for their dedication and service to OU in a ceremony on May 9, on the Norman campus. Gavia, who earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 2000, is the sole holder of two U.S. patents and the co-inventor on three patents, all related to drill bit technology. He has been published twice by the Society of Petroleum Engineers. A walk-on member of the Sooner cross country team for two years, Gavia studied abroad at Polytechnic University in Valencia, Spain,  was a member of the Multicultural Engineering Program and an officer of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers. Professionally, Gavia was instrumental in encouraging Baker Hughes, where he serves as product manager of drill bits in the North America region, to sponsor mechanical...

From left, Alan Armstrong, Dean Thomas L. Landers, Anil Gollahalli and Charles Richard "Dick" Sivalls. Alan Armstrong Alan Armstrong graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He is the president and chief executive officer of Williams, as well as chairman of the board and chief executive officer for Williams Partners L.P. Since joining Williams in 1986, his notable career has included previous appointments as president of Williams’ midstream and olefins businesses in North America, vice president of gathering and processing, vice president of commercial development, vice president of retail energy services, and director of commercial operations for Williams’ midstream business in the Gulf Coast region. Armstrong served as a board member and past chairman of the OU College of Engineering’s Board of Visitors. He is committed to education and community service, and serves on the boards of directors of several educ...

TULSA, Okla. – A team of OU-Tulsa telecommunications engineering students took top honors in the ITERA (Information and Telecommunications Education and Research Association) Student Business Case Study Competition, held at ITERA’s 12th Annual Conference on Telecommunications and Information Technology, April 4-6, in Louisville, Kentucky. Students Rasha El Hajj, Kyrus Kuplicki, Kashish Jaiswal and Rupesh Nomula were awarded first prize for their presentation, “Critical Infrastructure Secure Network.” They developed their project in response to a solicitation by the U.S. government and the governments of Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee for the design, implementation and operation of a secure and sustainable communications system linking five sites that store dangerous materials. “ITERA’s annual conference is highlighted by a challenging network design case study open to teams of graduate and undergraduate students,” said ITERA Board Chairman Michael Bowman, associate pro...

Biomedical Engineering Seminar presented by the University of Oklahoma College of Engineering John (Jack) H. Linehan Biomedical Engineering Advisor from Stanford University and Northwestern University TITLE: Medical Device Innovation: Engaging our Students Thursday, April 3, 2014 7:15 - 8:30 p.m. Devon Energy Hall, Room 120 RSVP: kdboren@ou.edu ABSTRACT: Medical devices can save lives and improve our quality of life. Disruptive medical devices often emerge from small, entrepreneur-led, start-up companies. In present times, funding for early-stage companies has been challenging. Investors tend to be risk adverse. To minimize risk, understanding the process of medical device innovation is critical. While not formulaic, the steps leading to a successful medical device innovation are known. Training opportunities can help make the innovation process more efficient. This lecture will discuss the medical device industry and current training opportunities in the medical device space. S...

Tulsa, Okla. – Pramode Verma, Ph.D., Director of the Telecommunications Engineering Program at the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, recently returned from New Delhi, where he received one of the highest awards bestowed upon non-resident Indians by the Government of India. Dr. Verma was honored with the Hind Rattan award, (translated to English as “jewel of India”), given annually by the NRI (non-resident Indians) Welfare Society, under the umbrella of the Government of India. The award is given to people of Indian origin in recognition of their research, professional accomplishments and positive contributions to the scientific community and a growing world economy. James Sluss, Jr., Ph.D., Director and Morris R. Pitman Professor, University of Oklahoma School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, said, “The fact that Dr. Verma has been presented with this prestigious award is a clear indication of the high rega...

“Becoming a Regional Transportation Center presents a great opportunity to OU to become an even stronger leader in the field,” said OU President David L. Boren.   In addition to OU, the Southern Plains Regional Transportation Center consortium includes Oklahoma State University, Langston University, University of Arkansas, The University of New Mexico, Louisiana Tech University, The University of Texas at El Paso and Texas Tech University. Regional transportation centers differ from other U.S. Department of Transportation funded centers in that consortium members must be located in the region they serve and address regional needs. “Oklahoma’s central location positions our state at a critical crossroad for the shipment of goods and travel across the nation,” said U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe, a senior member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Two primary constitutional duties of the government are providing a strong national defense and supporting...