6-2-11 -- UNM Mechanical Engineering graduate student Ben Rael won second place for his paper, “Characterization of Zinc Powder Compactions,” in the 2011 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Gulf South West Conference.
6-13-11- Ryan Morrison, who is pursuing a Ph.D in Civil Engineering at UNM, recently received a prestigious two-year, $94,000 fellowship from the Hydro Research Foundation. Fellows are selected based on research vision, innovation, academic performance, potential for leadership and overall strength of their research proposal. Morrison’s fellowship is for his study on analysis methods and modeling tools to optimize dam operations on the Rio Chama.
By Maggie Sims, Senior in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering senior Lauren Jaramillo successfully balances school, exercise, participation in student organizations, and having fun. Her achievements, enthusiasm, and passion for civil engineering are a reflection of hard work, dedication to her field of study, successful time management, and support from the CE community.
5-24-11 -- Donour Sizemore will put the pedal the metal next week when he combines his passion for sports car racing with his technical expertise in computer science and start work at Michael Waltrip Racing, a professional racing team focused on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Sizemore received a Ph.D. in computer science from UNM on May 14.
Three chemical engineering seniors were winners of the Student Poster Competition in their categories at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. Angelica Sanchez (pictured at right) won first place, Cynthia Douthit won second place, and Anne Hellebust won third place.
Two teams of chemical engineering seniors were winners in their categories at the 2009 WERC Environmental Design Contest. The first place for Sulfate Removal went to Norma Wells, Shelly Karlin, Danielle Rivera, and Toi Carden. Second prize for Brackish Water Pretreatment went to Cynthia Douthit, Jonathan Paiz, Anne Hellebust, and Marta Cooperstein.
Five of ECE Professor Pradeep Sen’s students (pictured above) were awarded copyrights for video games they developed in Sen’s course, ECE/CS 412 Introduction to Computer Graphics. Professor Sen (second from right) joins new copyright holders (left to right) ECE bachelor’s student John Harger, ECE doctoral student Craig Vineyard, ECE master’s student Jeremy Wright and ECE nondegree graduate student Justin Kellogg. Not pictured is computer science master’s student Guanyu Wang.
9-11-09 -- Patricia Jones has had a lot of practice communicating; as an environmental consultant, as a mother and as a graduate student seeking a master's degree in Civil Engineering. She came to UNM because the Civil Engineering Department has a strong reputation for working well with non-traditional students, allowing her to work toward her master's degree without forcing her to complete another bachelor's degree as a prequisite.
Jones recently presented her research at the 2009 Rocky Mountain Water Environment Federal/American Water Works Association Annual Student Conference, where she took first place for Best Oral Presentation. She is also presenting this month at the Rocky Mountain section meeting of the American Water Works Association and will present in October at a national conference.
Jones' research involves seasonal changes in the process operations of wastewater plants along the Rio Grande. She spent the last year frequently sampling bioreactors at eight plants to compare biomass densities and settling characteristics. She wanted to know whether these properties changed as the seasons changed.
She has determined that biomass density does indeed change with the seasons in systems she studied, and that these variations help to explain changes in settling rates. These results are important because they govern performance and could help advise operators how they might better control their systems for improved effluent quality and energy savings.
As part of her research she is recommending process changes that have been demonstrated to make settling of the solids more efficient, and noting the greater efficiency of the activated sludge plants. Jones plans to defend her thesis in mid-October, and hopes to return to her consulting career next year.
3-16-09 -- Chemical Engineering graduate student Jamie Reed has been accepted to the Lindau Nobel Laureate meeting this summer. The meeting is a globally recognized forum that brings generations of scientists together to share information and engage in and seminars. Reed will have the opportunity to interact with Nobel Laureates attending the meeting.