Orange County Engineering Council Awards Banquet

Transcription

Orange County Engineering Council
2016 Awards Banquet
DoubleTree Suites, Anaheim
Saturday, February 27th
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P.O. Box 3012 Huntington Beach, CA 92605-3012
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National Engineers Week
2016 Annual Awards Banquet Agenda

Reception and Networking

Color Guard, Pledge of Allegiance and Invocation

Welcome Address

Dinner

Keynote Speaker:

Awards Ceremony

Adjournment
Chip Corso,
V.P.
Edwards Lifesciences
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Table of Contents
Board of Directors .....................................................................................................7
OCEC 2013-2015 Advisory Board ............................................................................8
OCEC President‟s Message .......................................................................................9
Keynote Speaker ......................................................................................................11
Outstanding Engineering Student Awards ...............................................................12
Outstanding Young Engineer Awards .....................................................................18
Outstanding Engineering Merit Awards ..................................................................30
Distinguished Engineering Merit Awards ................................................................34
Outstanding Engineering Service Awards ...............................................................36
Outstanding STEM Service Awards ........................................................................40
Outstanding Engineering Educator Awards .............................................................43
Distinguished Engineering Educator Award ............................................................54
Outstanding STEM Program Award ........................................................................55
Outstanding Student Project Awards .......................................................................56
Outstanding Engineering Project Awards ................................................................58
Project of the Year Award .......................................................................................72
President's Award ....................................................................................................75
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In Gratitude to our Sponsors
The OCEC Committee would like to extend a special thank
you to all of our Sponsors!
Platinum Sponsor: $2,000
University of Southern California
Gold Sponsor: $1,000
AECOM
Silver Sponsor: $500
City of Dana Point
Bronze Sponsor: $250
SPEC Services
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Board of Directors
President
Dr. Stephen Cheung, LASPE
Past President
Dr. Spiros Courellis
Senior Past President
Mohammad Sadiq, P.E., ASCE
President Elect
Dr. C.T. Bathala, P.E., ASCE
V.P. Engineering
Deborah Clarke, SWE
V.P. Professional Societies / President-Elect
V.P. Corporations
Noah Flaum, IEEE
V.P. Professional Societies
V.P. Education
Dr. Jesa Kreiner, P.E.
V.P. Communications
Dr. Steve Cheung, LASPE
Treasurer
Phil Ridout, FIAE, AIAA
Executive Director
Dr. Sam Sarem, P.E(OK), LASPE
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OCEC 2013-2015 Advisory Board
Dr. Sam Sarem,
Chair
Dr. Spiros Courellis
OCEC President
Paola Chavira,
SWE President
Don Clarke,
AAPG President-elect candidate
Dr. John Collins,
Past IEEE OC Chair
Dr. Tapas Dutta,
Past President, ASCE
Joseph E. Justin,
Boeing, Chair AIAA, OC Section
Douglas Kruse,
President, D. C. Kruse, Inc.
Rupal Nguyen,
MicroVention, Inc. A Terumo Group Co.
Jeff Plank,
California State Lands Commission
Matt U1ukaya,
VP, Orange and Ontario Operations Mgr AECOM
Transportation
Raj Upadhyay,
LASPE, Past VP Prod Research, Unocal Science and Tech
Marina Voskanian,
Div. Chief Mineral Resources Management, Cal State
Lands Commission
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OCEC President’s Message
Dr. Steve Cheung, OCEC President
On behalf of the Orange County Engineering Council Board
of Directors, I am very pleased to welcome all the attendees
to our Annual Honors and Award Banquet. I particularly
want to congratulate all those who are recognized for their
hard work, creativity and contribution to our County, our
society and to the engineering community of the region.
We are genuinely proud of you. We salute you.
Our goals are as follow.
1. Recognize engineering achievements through a program of awards,
2. Function as a forum to exchange information and to pursue common
goals among the Member Engineering Societies, University
Engineering Departments, and Corporate Sponsors, and
3. Improve educational opportunities for Orange County students by
encouraging engineers to work with local schools on in-class and
after-school programs
The first goal has been achieved in the establishment of the annual event through
which we recognize all those who have made major contributions and who are today
receiving their awards.
The second goal has been to serve as a center for sharing information about what
engineers do and to pursue publishing their achievement. This has been
accomplished by issuing the OCEC Quarterly Newsletter. OCEC has been
attempting to revive the newsletter. Glad to say that it has finally happened and let
us work together to make it a continuing success. In the newsletter, there are
attention-grabbing local engineering stories. For Example, SpaceX for aerospace
travel, Hyperloop Technology for super-fast bullet train development, ARTIC tour of
this civil engineering marvel, and so on. All these are happening in Southern
California because we have an excellent source of well-trained engineers. In the
Newsletter, we have also posted the interview with Dr. Sam Sarem, OCEC Executive
Director, and upcoming events such as the field trip to an offshore Oil production
artificial island in Long Beach. There are calendars of OCEC and member
organizations so you can attend events of engineering discipline beyond yours. The
Newsletter is the first step to exchange information among Engineering Societies,
University and Engineering Companies in Southern California. In addition, we are
planning Social Bashes for informal interactions within and among engineering
disciplines. We are also planning additional field trips and events.
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The third goal is to enhance the interaction of the educational institutions and
industry in our county and to encourage promotion of student projects which are
presented at the Orange County Engineering and Science Fair. We recognize and
award grants to deserving creative projects produced by the students and their
instructors. This year, we participated to be a speech judge for the Orange County
Academic Decathlon. We will offer a non-technical Skill Workshop on April 25,
2016. One of the main audience will be engineering students so we can help them
succeed in the career. We have formed a Education Outreach Task Force for this
purpose.
We have also formed a Sustainability Task Force to revisit OCEC Mission, Vision
and operational procedures. The goal is to make OCEC sustainable by understanding
the change of the local engineering community, the needs of our members and
identify ways to improve our internal and external protocols. This group has been
very active, and I have high hopes for valuable recommendations.
Finally, I welcome your attendance, congratulate the award winners, and most
importantly, I want to thank all the Sponsors of this event. Their support will
provide us funding to help the students.
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Keynote Speaker
Mr. Chip Corso
Vice President,Engineering & Operations of
Advanced Technology
Edwards Lifesciences
Mr. Chip Corso, Vice President, Engineering & Operations of
Advanced Technology at Irvine-based Edwards Lifesciences,
the largest heart valve company in the world. His
responsibilities include bringing products and procedures from concept into clinical
trials. Chip holds a BS in Biomedical Engineering and an MS in Materials
Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and holds 10 issued US patents.
Chip began his career at Cordis Corporation, with increasing responsibilities in
R&D, Manufacturing, Clinical Trials, and Commercialization on balloon catheters,
guidewires, and stent technologies. He was COO of wound-closure based start-up
BioInterventional, followed by CTO and Board Member at Neich Medical, a
Shenzhen, China, based manufacturer of interventional cardiology products.
Chip served as a Member of the Board of Governors for the Irvine Valley College
Foundation.
His talk will be on The Challenges of Innovation. Abstract:
Innovation starts when people convert problems into ideas, but it needs a system and
a culture. Companies can defend their products for some time without innovation,
but patents expire, customer needs change, and competitors innovate perhaps more
quickly than the company does.
In the innovation process, finding out what does NOT work is the path to success.
To avoid pitfalls,
 Don‟t have too many projects
 Don‟t forget feasibility precedes major investment
 Don‟t forget that most successful innovations build on a company‟s
strengths
 Don‟t forget to shoot ahead of the duck
Successful innovation is a blend of the right talent, creating realistic expectations
around risk, and planning for success.
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Outstanding Engineering Student Award
Eric Barba, California State University Long Beach
Mr. Eric Barba is a senior student in Mechanical
Engineering at California State University, Long Beach,
expected to graduate in May 2016. With a GPA of 3.7, Eric
is among the top 15% of M E senior students. He has been
On CSULB President‟s List. Before transferring to CSULB
in 2012, as a first generation high school and college
student, Eric received his Associate of Science degrees in
Math, Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering from El
Camino College with high GPA.
Mr. Barba is currently leading a team of 4 ME students working on their senior
design project on NoxEmission Reduction of Atmospheric Gas Burners sponsored by
the Southern California Gas Company. In summer 2014, Eric worked as an Intern
with the Port of Los Angeles where he was involved with the South Plaza Fuel Cell
project as well as Pier 400 Meteorological Tower project. His responsibilities
included: creating a 3-D model of port of LA Administration Building‟s South Plaza
using existing civil, structural and architectural plans; revising AutoCAD drawings
for structural supports; researching FAA requirements for determining lighting and
paint requirements for a proposed meteorological tower; creating a detailed report of
requirements as specified by FAA standards; and creating an AutoCAD drawing of
Pier 400.
In addition to an excellent academic performance, Mr. Barba has 17 years of work
experience working with Delaware North Company as a Busser/Food Runner,
Server, and Bartender at several major restaurants and hotels including LAX
Encounter Restaurant and Crown Plaza Hotel. Eric has also worked as a volunteer
Math and Science Tutor at DaVinci Science High School. Mr. Barba is very active in
several student organizations on campus which promotes engineering and sciences.
He has already made great contributions to meet societal needs and improving lives.
He has all the qualities of a successful engineer.
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Farah Itani, California State University Long Beach
Ms. Farah Itani is a senior student in Mechanical
Engineering expected to graduate in May 2016. She
transferred from Cypress to CSULB in 2014 where she
completed her AA in Science and Math in the top 5% the
college students. Since entering the BSME degree at
CSULB, Farah has performed excellently in her classes
and achieving her educational objectives. She has been
on the Dean‟s and President‟s Lists. While a full-time
student, Farah is currently serving as an Intern with L-3
Power Paragon where she conducts cross-functional
mechanical engineering tasks which involve use of technical and communication
skills, team work, and collaboration. She has already acquired many professional and
practical skills including extensive experience in various computer-aided design
(CAD) software such as AutoCAD, SolidWorks, CATIA, and Inventor; Microsoft
Office; MATLAB; Smarteam; Royal4; Docvision; Scheduling, Task Management,
and Optimization tools.
Ms. Itani is completing her senior design project this semester on “Designing a Waste
Heat Recovery System Utilizing a Tank-less Water Heater and a Heat Exchanger”.
The new design is expected to increase the efficiency of the system significantly.
Her project is sponsored by the Southern California Gas Company where she may
continue to work after graduation. She is also considering pursuing her education
towards a MS degree.
Farah is a member of several student and professional organizations including: The
Society of Women Engineers (SWE); Ladies Empowered and determined (LEAD),
and Engineering and Physics Club. She has one year of work experience working as a
sales agent with an auto company. Farah is dedicated to community service and has
served as a tutor and volunteer for after school programs for elementary schools.
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Nawid Mehrzai, University of California, Irivine
On the UC Irvine Anteater Racing Team, Nawid Mehrzai
has taken on the roles of Suspension Team Lead, Program
Manager, and Teaching Assistant. In the 2015 Formula
SAE competition season, Nawid led a team of eight students
in the design, manufacture, and development of the
suspension for the internal combustion engine powered car,
Savage. He contributed an average of 20 hours per week to
the project while being a full-time engineering student.
Since then, he has become the program manager for a team
of
90
engineering
students
developing
four
high-performance vehicles and is dedicating over 40 hours a week to the program. He
has recently become an undergraduate teaching assistant for three of the Racecar
Engineering courses at UC Irvine and is responsible for tracking the academic
progress of the students.
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Justin Quan, University of California, Irivine
Justin‟s goal as a mechanical engineer is to design devices that
will improve people‟s lives, solve problems, and make daily
tasks easier and more efficient. This ideal is evident in all his
activities as an engineering student: Justin is always working
hard at UCI to improve the lives of others, whether it‟s by
designing novel devices in UCI‟s robotics labs, or by putting
on events and workshops for UCI‟s ASME student chapter.
One of Justin‟s oldest research projects is the development of a
low cost rice-transplanting device to save time and labor for
rice farmers. Mechanized rice transplanters currently on the market can cost
hundreds or thousands of dollars, so many rice farmers in impoverished countries
cannot afford to purchase them. Justin currently leads a team of students to create an
inexpensive and reliable device that will cost a fraction of the price of competing rice
transplanters, using techniques in linkage synthesis, kinematics optimization, and
advanced fabrication such as 3D printing.
Justin‟s dedication and skill in mechanical design is also evident in another project:
the development of a unique, improved stroke rehabilitation robot designed to assist
wrist movement using a resonant system. This robot is designed to be affordable for
stroke victims, using a cheap and simple mass-spring system to provide active
assistance, with only one small motor to cancel out damping in the system. Justin is
currently working to integrate the robot‟s mechanisms into a much smaller, more
portable version that can be worn like a glove.
While Justin is constantly looking to improve his own skills as a student and
researcher, Justin also seeks to foster growth and partnership in the local mechanical
engineering community. As President of the ASME student chapter at UCI, Justin
has brought a variety of professional and social events to UCI‟s engineering students,
such as resume workshops, lab tours, programming tutorials, and even a ping-pong
tournament. He also regularly collaborates with the ASME Orange County Section
to bring even more enriching presentations and networking opportunities to inspire
and educate his fellow students.
Justin plans on continuing his education to bring his design skills to an even higher
level, and hopes to eventually apply his talents to R&D in industry.
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Rahul Ranjith, USC
Rahul is an amazing young leader who has provided a
positive organizational structure for USC SPE Student
Chapter and has been a source of inspiration to other
students.
He is also pursuing his graduate studies toward a MS degree
in Petroleum Engineering. He serves as a Web master for the
USC Global Energy Network gen.us.edu.
Under his leadership the USC SPE student Chapter has
advanced significantly for the community work he has led for
the young students.
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Soorena Moogooie, California State University Long
Beach
Mr. Soorena Moogooie is a Junior student in Mechanical
Engineering expected to graduate by May 2017. He transferred
to CSULB from Texas Tech University in fall 2015 where he
was studying Petroleum Engineering. During a short period of
time at CSULB, Soorena has shown outstanding academic
performance as well as student leadership. He is currently
serving as the CSULB Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE)
Student Chapter and has great plans to revive the chapter and
make it one of the most active chapters. He is also an active
member of the Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and a
member of Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Honor Society.
Soorena is the recipient of several scholarships and awards including: the
International Association of Drilling Contractor‟s Scholarship, Impact Presidential
Scholarship at Texas Tech University, and ConocoPhillips CPCEED Scholarship.
In addition to his excellent academic achievements, Soorena has gained great
practical experiences working with Fry‟s Electronic as an Audio Video
Manager-in-Charge and a Cellular Wireless Supervisor. In these positions, he has
developed new business and contributed to maximizing profit through analyzing
sales reports and district goals; created a highly competitive and challenging sales
contest to improve sales and employee moral; and established and implemented a
team builder exercise for 20 employees.
Mr. Moogooie has served as a volunteer with Humane Society and the Food Bank of
Lubbock, TX; SPE Clean the Highway project; Sunrise Senior Community Center in
Vista, CA; and City of Carlsbad Triathlon Setup. During his time in Texas, Soorena
has promoted Science and Engineering at South Plains College in TX and also
Lubbock High School. At CSULB, he has started his involvement with various
voluntary services including MESA program and outreach to high schools and
middle school‟s students in the area.
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Outstanding Young Engineer Award
Roxanne Follis, HDR, Inc.
Roxanne‟s passion for the industry is apparent in her
dedication to her work at HDR and YMF. She began her
involvement in OC YMF while in college and became the
current President within only three years. As OC YMP‟s
first UCI Liaison, she is an example the YMF truly does
help individuals transition from student to professional.
Through her involvement in YMF, Roxanne has assisted
with the coordination of numerous events, notably the
Women in Engineering Panel and Corazon Home Builds.
In YMF, Roxanne shares innovative ideas, supports and encourages the voices of
others, and sets an example for excellence in her duties. In only 3 years with YMF
she has been involved in over 250 events, 2 regional conferences, and every
committee.
Her passion is clearly Outreach; to the community, K-12 students, University
students and the industry as a whole. During her involvement in YMF, Roxanne has
been mentored by several extraordinary individuals and hopes to provide the same
guidance to her fellow YMF board members. She is committed to maintaining the
group‟s success and legacy.
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Armando Fuentes, US Technical
Mr. Armand Fuentes is a Stress Engineer and Stress
Team Lead at US Technical since 2013. He is also an
adjunct faculty member at California State Polytechnic
University, Pomona and teaches Aerospace Structure
Laboratory. Armando received his MS degree in
Aerospace Engineering with a 3.9 GPA from CSULB in
2011 and his BS degree also in Aerospace Engineering
from Cal Poly Pomona in 2007. Mr. Fuentes has several
years of experience working with aerospace industry
including: working on Boeing 767-300 USB
installation and interior reconfiguration; LifePort‟s patient loading and utility system
in a Pilatus PC-12/47; Boeing 777-200 Radome and Wi-Fi Antenna Installation;
Stemme S6-RT Glider Light ISR conversion; Bae 146 Air Tanker conversion, and
aircraft maintenance and repairs.
As a graduate student at CSULB, Armando served as a Teaching Assistant (TA). He
was also Research Assistant (RA) for various projects including: Experimental
Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) Competition; CFD simulation on 3 airfoils at
low Re numbers using a correlation transition model; design of a short take-off and
landing (STOL) military transport aircraft. As a key member of the ESRA team at
CSULB, Armando helped design and develop an Experimental Sounding Rocket
which competed very successfully in Green river, Utah and received recognition at
national and international levels.
Mr. Fuentes is the recipient of the NASA Leadership Scholarship for his leadership
role in the 2007 national AIAA Student Design Competition which earned his team
7th place nationally. He is an active member of several engineering professional
and honor societies including the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
(AIAA), Sigma Gama Tau Aerospace Engineering Honor Society and Tau Beta Pi
Engineering Honor Society.
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Brian James, Southern California Edison
Brian has worked as a project engineer for Southern
California Edison for 6 years. Having obtained his BS in
Materials Science Engineering from UC Irvine and MS
in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA,
Brian focuses on energy efficiency projects that contain
an emphasis in heat transfer and materials. Brian received
his Professional Engineering License in 2013.
Brian has been an active member in Orange County and
Los Angeles area engineering societies since 2008. He
joined ASME Orange County Section‟s revitalization effort in 2012 and has helped
the local section grow from a handful of engineers meeting in a library to dozens of
engineers meeting for monthly technical presentations and networking on campus at
UC Irvine.
Brian also participates on various technical committees in ASHRAE and ASTM at
the national level.
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Darin Koblick, Millennium Space Systems
Darin C. Koblick started his career as a mission
engineer working on the Orbital Express demonstration
program ground system operations team. After gaining
space flight operations experience, he worked on the
Space Superiority Architecture Development contract
as a modeling and simulation analyst. Subsequently, he
joined Millennium Space Systems as a Flight Systems
Integration Engineer where he applies his modeling and
simulation capabilities on flight programs and special
studies.
Darin has authored multiple conference papers, presentations, and journal articles
relevant to mission planning & scheduling, Space Situational Awareness studies, and
numerical high-precision orbit propagation. He received his Bachelor of Science
degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Colorado at Boulder, his
Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering at California State University
Long Beach, and is currently pursuing his Joint PhD in Industrial Applied
Mathematics and Engineering at California State University Long Beach and
Claremont Graduate University.
Darin, a CSULB graduate research fellowship recipient has won several awards and
special recognition for his unique contributions to the astrodynamics community
which include: first place standing in the 2015 CSULB Student Research
Competition, nomination as keynote presenter at the 2015 ICCES conference on
experimental methods in celestial mechanics, and a down selected finalist at the 2014
CSULB Innovation Challenge. His research and astrodynamics algorithms are used
throughout the world including the Harvard ABCD Forge Collaboration Server, the
department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Hawaii, and the
Norwegian University of Science and Technology.
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C C Lampon, AECOM
Catherine has excelled within the transportation group
and has demonstrated not only excellent technical skills
but also strong organizational and management skills.
She has quickly become a key member of the group and
is a mentor to more junior staff. This leadership she has
exhibited is exceptional, particularly given her relatively
young career, and she has continued to accelerate in her
contributions as she has gained experience and
confidence. In addition, she has assisted in engineering
industry events and contributed to humanitarian efforts
in Mexico and elsewhere.
Catherine has worked, or is working, on several highway projects including the I-5
Widening Project between I-405 and SR-55, the I-215 Central Widening Project in
Riverside County, and SR-210 Lane AdditionProject. These projects involve
various phases of the project development cycle (i.e., preliminary engineering, final
design, etc.) and have provided a tremendous amount of technical knowledge from
each project. Catherine has eagerly utilized this acquired experience on subsequent
projects thereby leveraging talent. Her quick learning and good judgment are
extremely valuable and are recognized by each of the project teams on which she has
participated.
Her combination of technical skill, judgment, and active involvement in other
community activities are the reasons for this nomination. On the SR-60 Central
Avenue Improvement Project, Catherine performed in the project engineer role and
contributed by preparing technical reports while directing other staff throughout the
project initiation phase of the project. This role is typically performed by engineers
with more years of experience, but Catherine rose to the challenge and proved herself
at the next level. She delivered a high quality project ahead of schedule. This is
just one example of her high level of contribution and why she is exceptionally
qualified for this nomination.
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Rachael Lomax, Southern California Gas Company
Rachael Lomax is an Account Executive for SoCal
Gas, where she provides energy efficiency analysis for
commercial and industrial customers. Rachael is a
project manager where she helps customers enhance
their interactions with SoCal Gas in receiving rebates,
incentives, new service, and any other customer
requirement.
Rachael earned her Bachelor‟s degree in Chemical
Engineering with an emphasis with Biochemical
Engineering from The University of California,
Riverside. She is currently finishing her Master‟s degree in June in Engineering
Management from California Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Rachael has been involved with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) since her
undergraduate years at the University of California, Riverside, and has received
recognition from SWE as a future leader. She also continues to serve the professional
SWE-OC chapter as their Vice President and Outreach Director. Rachael is also
involved with SWE at the region level as a Collegiate Leadership Coach and at the
Society level as a Scholarship Judge.
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Robert J. Martinez,AECOM
Robert has been making significant contributions to
civil projects and has become a key member of not only
his project team but the entire office dynamic. He has
shown excellent technical skills, taken ownership of
tasks and shown capacity to be thorough and complete.
Robert also cares for his fellow employees, which was
displayed by his influential role getting GP2W, an
office wide initiative to provide employees a Great
Place to Work, reinstated. Often times he will stay late
to help plan, host, organize and participate in office wide events that are designed to
promote wellness, communication, camaraderie and teamwork.
Robert is also great at recognizing ways of being preemptive and getting ahead of a
problem before it becomes one. He is being nominated for his quality work ethic,
sense of leadership, and compassion for others.
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Sergey Piletski, California Resources Corporation
Sergey is a secretary of LASPE. and president for LASPE
Young Professionals. He successfully organized Social
events for students and young professionals to connect in
LA area and raised over $5000 in sponsorship funds.
He has expanded not only to engineers in the oil and gas
industry but to engineers in energy which has allowed for
people to mix and exchange knowledge and friendships
across different industries.
Sergey is a tour guide for THUMS islands for the local
community and nearby schools.
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Simon C. Pun, Aerojet Rocketdyne
Mr. Simon Pun is the current Section Chair of ASME-OC.
He has always been very active in volunteering in various
professional societies while he was going to school.
He has won many awards and he sets an example for other
young engineer profession to follow.
His hard work, and volunteerism deserve to be recognized
and encouraged.
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Paul Young, SPEC Services Inc.
During his short career, Paul Young has already
demonstrated his ability to recognize and resolve
challenging engineering issues.
Although he
primarily works with rotating equipment, Paul has also
developed solutions to process and operational
engineering issues which are not directly related to his
primary area of expertise. He has demonstrated an
ability to approach engineering challenges on both a
holistic basis and on a detailed basis without becoming
myopic at either end of the spectrum.
Paul is often consulted by his more experienced colleagues and his contributions are
accepted and implemented routinely. Such acceptance results from Paul‟s personal
ability to work cooperatively with engineers who have a wide variety of experience
and expertise. He listens to and works well with his colleagues to seek optimal
solutions based on input from all contributors as well as from his own experience and
intuition.
Paul is adept at understanding when he needs contributions from outside his
experience and expertise and he keeps his focus on resolving issues and successfully
completing projects rather than being concerned with who gets the credit.
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Peter Yu, SPEC Services Inc.
As a young engineer with only 8 years of experience,
Peter has developed and demonstrated a mature ability
to take on a complex project, understand its engineering
objectives and needs, and move that project to a
successful conclusion.
Peter‟s performance rivals that of a high quality senior
engineer with 2 – 3 times his experience. Peter has
acquired a broad range of skills in a short time and
works very well with his colleagues and his clients.
His ability to work synergistically with a project team and to lead projects that
include senior team members speaks to his interpersonal skills as well as to his
professional and engineering skills. Peter‟s unparalleled dedication to delivering a
high quality engineering product has made him a strong contributor to all of his
project teams.
In addition to his dedication to the engineering profession, Peter shows a similar
dedication to the support of numerous charitable organizations. When he is not
working, he is helping others. He is recognized for dedicating his time and talent to
a broad range of humanitarian support efforts.
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Roberto C. Zamudio, Gemini Film and Bag, Inc.
Roberto hasn‟t stopped expanding and improving as a
professional and as a person. He is a committed man with
his work and people. Because of the success he had
managing WEG Mexico export sales division, he was
rapidly appointed to manage additional accounts in Central
America which eventually turned in to an offer to become
export sales supervisor.
His willingness and determination to undertake projects and
follow them through to successful completion has
repeatedly impressed me over the years. While pursuing his masters Roberto
volunteered to lead a project at the IIE, Los Angeles to streamline Ability First,
document shredding facility. This project was of great relevance since Ability First
needed to acquire financial health in the short term to secure offering jobs to
handicapped adults and ultimately allowing them to stay truthful to its core values.
By the end of the project his team had helped increase 20% productivity with a 15%
growth in revenue.
After the completion of his Master studies in 2014 it opened the door to him at
Gemini and Bag Film. Under his tenure as General Manager, he has been able to
share a clear vision with his peers and has taught them how to defy status quo by
encouraging participative management and bottom-up team members‟ involvement,
challenging old processes and comfortable ways of doing things. Today after 10
months of hard work Gemini Film and Bag is a clear reflection of this vision, from
implementing safety protocols and having housekeeping records to developing
quality standards and procedures for material disposition to finally managing metrics
and having established KPI‟s. With all this Roberto has gained his team and
coworkers trust and respect.
In his own words “Building trust and lifting up team morale are the two key
ingredients that any healthy and sustainable company must do”. As of right now his
team is currently working on developing 2 new product lines, Nylon and string
zipper, which he predicted both businesses could position Gemini Film and Bag on a
whole different level industry wise in 2016.
Currently he is focused in creating his own startup in Latin America and US. Under
his management, the startup is a couple of months away of becoming a reality. He has
negotiated deals with the needed partners and created a reliable workforce, which
ensures the realization of this project. He pays special attention to all details and does
not lose sight on the objective.
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Outstanding Engineering Merit Award
James Devey, PreScience Corporation
Mr. Devey is an associate vice president with PreScience
Corporation, an engineering firm based in Santa Ana, CA. He
has extensive experience in managing heavy civil construction
projects totaling over 8 Billion Dollars in construction costs
these past 15 years in California. He has represented numerous
public agencies including the State of California, Metrolink,
OCTA, SANDAG and several cities in various capacities for
major projects such as the new San Francisco-Oakland Bay
Bridge Self Anchored Suspension project, and the Gerald
Desmond Cable-Stay Bridge. His construction experience
expands to China where he spent 1.5 years performing materials engineering and
inspection for steel fabrication of Bay Bridge elements on behalf of Caltrans.
Prior to moving to California, Mr. Devey worked for Boeing as a manufacturing
engineer providing international support for Aircraft On Ground (AOG) and Incident
Repairs around the globe with their 24/7 support team. Currently, he is a senior
construction consultant to major public agencies in California. As a lead engineer,
Mr. Devey supervises his staff, makes engineering recommendations, and serves as
the primary point of contact to the client managers for budget, technical, and
managerial issues.
Mr. Devey is a well-rounded engineer with experience in both public and private
sectors in various capacities: contractor, project manager, structure representative,
resident engineer, and materials engineer. His long list of certifications and
diversity of his experience has enabled him to serve the California Public Agencies as
an expert. He has traveled domestically and internationally to fabrication shops to
perform Quality Assurance audits. Mr. Devey has contributed his experience in
development of the latest provisions and guidelines of the California Department of
Transportation. He has been a member of the Caltrans Mechanical Committee in
2011 who reviewed and developed testing procedures known as California Test
Methods (CTMs) to ensure consistency with California and ASTM standards.
31
Outstanding Engineering Merit Award
Dr. Amir S. Gohardani, International Rectifier HiRel
Products, Inc.
Dr.
Amir
S.
Gohardani
is
an
Aerospace/Aeronautical/Mechanical
Engineering
Professional and Manager in Orange County (OC),
California, USA. He is a Senior Program Manager at
International Rectifier HiRel Products and the President,
CEO, and Co-Founder of the Springs of Dreams Corporation
(SODC) in OC, California, USA. Dr. Gohardani currently
purses orbital debris research with aims to address the
technical, legal, and economic challenges of orbital debris
removal through his research duties at SODC. Dr. Gohardani
has worked as a Propulsion-Procurement Manager at OHB-Sweden (formerly
Swedish Space Corporation Space Systems Division) in Sweden and at the
Aerospace Division of Rolls-Royce University Technology Center in the United
Kingdom where he investigated and designed future aircraft, intended for years
2030-2040. In 2014, Dr. Gohardani was presented the American Institute of
Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Orange County Engineer of the Year award in
California, USA.
In 2012, the first official definition for distributed propulsion technology in subsonic
fixed wing aircraft was globally presented by Dr. Gohardani and followed up by the
very first book on distributed propulsion technology - entitled Distributed Propulsion
Technology - with additional contributions by authors from among others NASA and
the United States Air Force. Dr. Gohardani, is the Chairman of AIAA (OC,
California), a United States Wakonse teaching fellow, and the recipient of a
once-in-a-lifetime Vertical Flight Foundation graduate scholarship from the
American Helicopter Society (Arizona Chapter) along with 20 other
national/international scholarships/awards. He has numerously been awarded for
teaching excellence in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of
Arizona. Upon completion of a distinctive teaching program in Learner-Centered
Education, Dr. Gohardani was awarded a College Teaching Certificate from the
University of Arizona (summa cum laude) in 2008 and was further bestowed the title
Honorary Citizen of Tucson, Arizona, USA, in the same year.
Dr. Gohardani's research contributions are cited by among others, the United States
Air Force Research Laboratory, NASA, FAA, ONERA, DLR, NATO, and the Von
Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics.
32
33
Outstanding Engineering Merit Awards
Tasha M. Kamegai-Karadi, Geosyntec Consultants
Tasha Kamegai-Karadi has made significant
contributions to the environmental engineering field
since obtaining her B.S. degree in Civil and
Environmental Engineering from UC Berkeley in
2009 and M.S. degree in Environmental Engineering
from Stanford University in 2011. After graduating
from UC Berkeley, she worked for the Department
of Defense as a Nuclear Engineer, performing
engineering analysis for the Navy‟s fleet of
submarines stationed in Hawaii. Additionally, she
managed the design of a high purity water treatment
system for reactor core cooling water in Guam.
After graduating from Stanford University, she joined Geosyntec Consultants as an
Environmental Engineer in their Remediation Department. With Geosyntec, she
has contributed significantly to technical design and project management for large
scale remediation projects in California. Her projects have included design and
management of a large scale groundwater extraction and treatment system for potable
use, multiple vapor intrusion investigation and assessments, LNAPL conceptual site
model, and groundwater monitoring. Ms. Kamegai-Karadi is a California
Registered Professional Engineer.
In addition to her professional contributions, Ms. Kamegai-Karadi is dedicated to the
advancement of women in the engineering field as an active leader in the Society of
Women Engineers (SWE). Currently, she is the vice president of the SWE Orange
County Section and has served as the Professional Development Chair for the SWE
Hawaiian Islands Section. Additionally, Ms. Kamegai-Karadi has organized
multiple outreach events for K-12 students
Tasha Kamegai-Karadi has made significant contributions to the environmental
engineering field since obtaining her B.S. degree in Civil and Environmental
Engineering from UC Berkeley in 2009 and M.S. degree in Environmental
Engineering from Stanford University in 2011. After graduating from UC Berkeley,
she worked for the Department of Defense as a Nuclear Engineer, performing
engineering analysis for the Navy‟s fleet of submarines stationed in Hawaii.
Additionally, she managed the design of a high purity water treatment system for
reactor core cooling water in Guam.
34
Distinguished Engineering Merit Awards
Andrea Armani, Fluor Early Career Chair in
Engineering, University of Southern California
Professor Andrea Armani, Associate Professor of Chemical
Engineering and Materials Science at the University of
Southern California, is a pioneer not only in the development
of new polymeric and dielectric materials but also in the
utilization of these materials to fabricate novel optical devices.
She then uses these devices to study biological and chemical
systems and to enhance optical communications applications.
This breadth of research activity is enabled by both her broad
academic training, which includes degrees in physics, applied
physics and biology with post-docs in chemical engineering
and biology, and the diversity of her research group which spans biomedical
engineering, chemistry, electrical engineering, biochemistry, materials science, and
chemical engineering.
By combining her discoveries in material and devices, Armani has explored a range
of applications, including sensing and imaging platforms. For example, she has
developed novel biochemical detection methods based on the lasers that her group
invented. By improving the signal and reducing the noise, this method improved the
overall sensitivity by 60x. Using another device platform, she has measured binding
kinetics (protein-protein interactions) in real-time. She also developed algorithms
to enable the cross-correlation of independent signals to further improve the accuracy
of detection. This work was enabled by her development of phase-shift cavity
ringdown spectroscopy, and represented the first application of cross-correlation
statistical analysis in resonant cavity detection. She has also integrated many of
these devices into larger systems, which include 3D cell cultures. These
measurements will enable real-time investigation of systems biology and epigenetics.
35
Distinguished Engineering Merit Award
Tom Bogard, PE, Hill International
Tom Bogard has been a leader of public and private
engineering projects for over 40 years. Starting as a
structural engineer, he went on to plan and manage
capital projects throughout the world. He has worked
and led projects for engineering firms, construction
firms, and public agencies. During his career, Tom has
planned, designed, and directed multibillion dollar
public works projects and led the business operations of
private engineering and construction firms. He has had
a special role in Orange County with his leadership of the
Measure M transportation program that has impacted us all.
Tom was the Director of the Highway Program for the Orange County Transportation
Authority, one of the ten largest transportation agencies in the nation. He was
responsible for managing projects under both the original and renewed Measure M
programs, the half-cent sales tax programs that will generate $12 billion for
transportation improvements. Tom has influenced the planning and implementation
of improvements to Orange County‟s freeway system for over 20 years.
In addition, Tom has been a lead and manager for four major private engineering and
construction firms. He also has taught engineering management courses at two
universities.
Tom has a bachelor‟s and Master‟s degree in civil engineering and a master‟s in
Business administration. He is a registered professional engineering in California
and New Mexico.
36
Outstanding Engineering Service Award
Mujahid Chandoo, PE, Michael Baker International
Mujahid Chandoo, PE, is an Associate and Project Engineer
in RBF Consulting‟s Surface Water group with extensive
experience in surface water management.
Mujahid is recognized for his leadership and ability to
coordinate and develop solutions to complex challenges
collaboratively with multiple stakeholders. He understands
the complete engineering, planning, and environmental
processes and is willing to take ownership of the project,
consistently providing clients with a quality product.
Like exceptional leaders do, Mujahid strives to advance his
career and the educational development of others by continually seeking
opportunities to collaborate with other professionals and identifying new
opportunities to work on challenging projects. His “go-getter” attitude sets him
apart from his colleagues and showcases his enthusiasm to achieve exceptional
outcomes personally, for the industry, and internationally.
Mujahid‟s dedication to further everyone‟s education through his work with EWRI,
EWB, and Mull Children‟s International Education Program has established him as
an expert for both his leadership and technical skills.
37
Fred Minagar, Minagar & Associates, Laguna Niguel
Councilman
President of Minagar & Associates, Councilman Fred
Minagar is a recognized authority in the areas of
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), traffic
engineering, and transportation planning.
He is currently serving as the Senior Project Manager
for Metro‟s South Bay Measure R PM/QA/QC
project. He also served as the Metros‟ Project
Manager for I-210 Freeway‟s Truck OD project.
For over 20 years, he has served his home community
of Laguna Niguel as Planning Commissioner (8 years with 3 years as Chairman and
Vice Chairman) and also as Traffic and Transportation Commissioner (10 years, with
4 terms as Chairman and Vice Chairman).
He was elected to the City Council of the City of Laguna Niguel in November 2014
for a 4-year term. He was a Citizen of the Year nominee for 2012.
38
Ravi Shah, Mark Thomas & Company
Ravi‟s dedication to the industry is exceptional for any
engineer to have accomplished. However, given that
he‟s only been in the industry for 8 years, it‟s actually
phenomenal.
In his current roles, he continues to be heavily
involved with ASCE reinvigorating the Government
Relations committee and start a successful mentorship
program along with managing his work assignments.
As the 2012-2013 President of ASCE OC YMF he led
an amazing growth for the LA Centennial and OC
60th Anniversary. He led a fresh group of 22 young engineers to host/participate in
95 events, increased the diversity of the events, brought university students and
professionals closer together, increased the active membership of younger members
in OC, and became one of the 2014 New Faces of Engineering. The great
accomplishments of the 2012-2013 year would not have been as possible without his
leadership, dedication, and passion.
Wherever Ravi puts his dedication, everyone involved thrives as a part of it. From
his project work to ASCE and even beyond, his impact on our industry is great for
any engineer, but phenomenal for a young engineer.
39
Idania Takimoto, Petroleum Engineering Program at
MS. Idania Takimoto is being nominated for more than a
decade of service to facilitating educations to professionals in
the oil and gas industry.
Ms. Takimoto has outstandingly and singlehandedly provided
more than 10 years of professional services to oil and gas
professionals pursuing graduate studies. Thanks to her
sacrifices and service commitment, management of courses
are handed no matter where the professionals travel.
Hundreds of professionals who have received their graduate
degrees in Petroleum Engineering have done it with the help of Idania Takimoto and
her detailed attention to the specific academic needs of many of these professionals
who take graduate courses via USC Distance Education program. She has been a
source of comfort to international students away from their families.
40
Outstanding STEM Service Award
Amy Choi. RailPros, Inc.
Anaheim Unified High School District /
Chapman University – CASP Program - Amy attended a
meet and greet mixer with the Anaheim Unified High
School District, which included both junior and high
school teachers. The event was an opportunity for a
teacher to partner with a professional to help bring
engineering elements into the classroom. She served as
the professional correspondence to 12 teachers from 4
different schools. At Brookhurst junior high school, she
assisted 8th grade teachers in panning a Solar Sprint Car
lesson that connects classroom concepts to real world applications. She also worked
with South junior high to incorporate the Engineering Design Process into the
students‟ project based learning units. Amy used the model of the Engineering
Phases (Preliminary Engineering to 100% Design Phase) to help the students tie
practical applications into their science projects.
2nd/8th Grade Saturday Engineering Day - Amy teamed elementary and junior high
students to learn about engineering. She worked closely with Phyllis Fukumoto and
Laura Lockwood to draw parallels between 2nd and 8th grade science classes. Both
curriculums address different aspects of physics. The 2nd graders are introduced to
gravity while the 8th graders study Newton‟s Three Laws of Physics. Amy assisted
in preparing an interactive presentation connecting household items with various
engineering disciplines, where the teamed students built a paper helicopter, a
spaghetti tower with masking tape, a spaghetti tower with marshmallows, and a straw
rocket. The students were able to design, build and test engineering in an
environment that simulated research.
California STEM Symposium – As a result of the successful Saturday Engineering
day, Amy presented, to teachers from across California, how engineering
professionals can collaborate with teachers of all grades to bring engineering into
their science curriculum.
Amy has also been invited to hold a workshop at the 4-H State Leadership
Conference; speak at the Women‟s Transportation Seminar‟s Girls Engineering Day;
and as a part of Achievement Institute of Scientific Studies, coordinated visits of high
school seniors (many disadvantaged) to local engineering firms so that the students
can see a day in the life of an engineer.
41
P. Scott Hara, Chair of Community Outreach Committee
LASPE
Scott has served as one of the board members for the
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement
(MESA) program at the Statewide office in Oakland for
many years. MESA provides educationally and
economically disadvantaged students with the
necessary skills and resources to be successful in
academics and careers in science, technology,
engineering and math (STEM) disciplines. Being a
board member required attending several quarterly
meetings with key stake holders from higher education,
engineering firms, and K-12 educators.
Scott became keenly aware of the growing need to engage young engineering
professionals with middle and high school students. As a result, aside from serving
as a board member, Scott took it upon himself to also volunteer at local universities
with MESA pre-college programs. His volunteer efforts extend to the Los Angeles
area MESA programs like: California State University, Los Angeles (CSULA);
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and University of Southern California
(USC).
42
Lisa Marquez, Anaheim Union High School District
Lisa Marquez is the founding teacher
of the celebrated South Junior High
MESA (Mathematics, Engineering,
Science Achievement) program in
Anaheim, California. This innovative
program, a partnership between the
Anaheim Union High School
District, Chapman University, and
the University of California,
introduces Jr. High students to hands-on, project based experiences that allow them
to develop skills in critical thinking and problem solving, while building real-world,
in-demand skills in the engineering design cycle, electronics and robotics, and
computer aided design and manufacturing (CAD and 3D printing). The goal of
MESA is to give exposure and serve as a pipeline to bring students who are low
income or traditionally underrepresented into the field of engineering. Mrs. Marquez
is whole-heartedly dedicated to this pursuit.
In Mrs. Marquez‟s class students compete in a number of engineering based contests
held throughout Southern California. The idea behind these contests is to show how
engineering involves creativity, problem solving, knowledge, skill, camaraderie and
fun. The MESA Day competitions her students enter include designing and building
model bridges, mousetrap cars, egg drop devices, balsa wood gliders, windmills, and
prosthetic arms. Mrs. Marquez‟s students also compete in the OC Maker Challenge, a
county event where students use CAD and3D printing to solve a problem by
designing something new or significantly repurposing an existing item to solve a
need. They also enter the CSUF Sustainability Showcase, a TED style speech
contest, designed to encourage students to learn to advocate for, and develop
solutions to, issues involving the unintended consequences of rapid population
growth, economic growth, and consumption of natural resources. Another contest the
MESA students are involved in is the Plastic Ocean Pollution Summit (POPS), a
weekend symposium where students from around the world come together to learn
about current scientific research on plastic pollution, share their action projects with
their peers, and work directly with mentors to help improve their projects‟ next steps.
In all of these events Mrs. Marquez‟s encouragement, guidance and support have
allowed her students to excel.
Under Lisa Marquez‟s leadership the South MESA program has become a model for
innovative STEM/ STEAM education. Last year South Jr. High was awarded the
California Gold Ribbon Schools Award for their STEAM programs. Mrs. Marquez‟s
work played a critical role in the school receiving this recognition.
43
Outstanding Engineering Educator Award
Dr. Mohammad Javad Abdolhosseini Qomi, University
of California, Irvine
Dr. Mohammad Javad Abdolhosseini Qomi is an
assistant professor in the department of civil and
environmental engineering at the University of
California, Irvine. He received his master‟s degree from
Sharif University of Technology and awarded Tavakkoli
Prize for performing outstanding research in the area of
computational mechanics. Later, he received Schoettler
Fellowship from Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
where he received his PhD in the field of Mechanics,
Materials and Infrastructure.
During his PhD, he conducted fundamental research on optimizing molecular
structure of cement paste at the nanoscale using tools of statistical physics. He has
published several research articles, featured in prestigious journals such as Nature
and Physical Review that are featured in news outlets, on employing basic science
approaches to reduce carbon footprint of civil infrastructure.
Besides research, he is extensively involved in training the next generation of civil
engineers in the area of engineering mechanics for which he has received Fariborz
Maseeh Award for Excellence in Teaching. He currently teaches basic principles of
classical mechanics and their applications in solving materials and structures
problems.
44
Dr. Amir Aghakouchak, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Aghakouchak is an outstanding civil engineer,
educator, mentor, and researcher. In the four years he
has been at the University of California, Irvine (UCI)
Civil Engineering Department he has proven himself as
a brilliant thinker and creative individual.
Dr. Aghakouchak„s scientific ideas have received the
attention of many funding agencies including NASA,
NSF, NOAA, U.S. Department of Energy, U. S.
Department of Army Research, and the State of
California Department of Water Resources as well as Energy Commission. In the
short time he has mentored a large number of Ph.D. students and Post Docs working
on his projects. He has already graduated several Ph.D. Students who have
successfully gained employment in government and academia. His publication
record is over 60 in peer reviewed journal articles that are well cited. His work
related to problems of drought in the Western United States has received a lot of
attention by the media and was recently featured in the video “El Nino” – UC Irvine.
He is truly a talented young man who was recently named as the 2015 Henry Samueli
School of Engineering Outstanding Junior Faculty.
45
Dr. Albert Flores, California State University Fullerton
Dr. Albert Flores is a professor emeritus of philosophy at
California State University, Fullerton. During his service at
the university he was recognized as the Outstanding Professor
of the University as well as by the Faculty Leadership in
Collegial Governance Award for his outstanding service. He
chaired the Academic Senate of the University, the department
of philosophy as well as many other committees. Of particular
note is his work on engineering ethics and professional
responsibilities of engineers and their role in society and
teaching values in practicing engineering.
Dr. Flores‟ BS degree is from Cleveland State University and his MS and Ph.D. are
from Ohio State University. He was also honored by the Orange County Board of
Supervisors as the Outstanding Hispanic Educator of Orange County. D
r. Flores was deeply involved in every aspect of the University life as chair of board
member of Health Professions program, President‟s Scholars program and Retention
of Minority and Women faculty as well as with the Intellectual Property rights
assessment. He has published numerous articles dealing with engineering ethics and
has organized numerous symposia and conferences dealing with this topic.
46
Dr. Kaustabh Ghosh, University of California, Riverside
Since July 1, 2011, Dr. Ghosh has been serving as an Assistant
Professor of Bioengineering at UCR. His research group
integrates the multidisciplinary principles and techniques related
to vascular physiology, mechanobiology, nanomaterials, and
bioengineering to understand and treat chronic vascular
inflammation associated with diabetes.Over the past four years,
Dr. Ghosh‟s novel research findings have been published
invarious world-renownedscientific journals including the
Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). His research, which has
important clinical implications, has also led to an invention
disclosure and a patent application.
Dr Ghosh is alsoa highly committed mentor to eightgraduate and undergraduate
students in his research group, with whom he interactson a daily basis and during
weekly group meetings. The research performed by his graduate students have
resulted in „Best Presentation‟ awards at the Annual Meeting of AAAS Pacific
Division, several poster presentations at national conferences, and
peer-reviewedresearch publications. Further, undergraduates in his lab have received
numerous fellowships such as the prestigious UCR Chancellor Research Fellowship,
the Bilderback Endowed Bioengineering Scholarship, and the HSI Undergraduate
Research Fellowship.
Further, Dr Ghosh has contributed significantly to the UCR Bioengineering
curriculum by creating and teaching both undergraduate (three) and graduate-level
(two) courses. His passion for teaching and subject knowledge are greatly
appreciated by students, who consistently rate him among the top instructors within
both the department and the university.
Dr Ghosh has also been working with the Riverside County Office of Education
(RCOE) on various outreach activities, including one-on-one consultations with high
school students as well as their parents and teachers. Fittingly, he was invited as a
„Focus Speaker‟ at the 2013 Annual California Science Education Conference.
47
Dr. Fred M. Johnson, California State University,
Fullerton
Dr. Fred Johnson is Professor Emeritus at California State
University, Fullerton. During his stellar career Dr. Johnson
taught at Columbia University in New York City and at CSUF
where he was chosen Outstanding Professor of the University,
the grandest achievement at the school.
During his service Dr. Johnson was the Physics department chair
and served on numerous committees. His industrial experience
included being the manager of the Laser Research Department at
RCA Laboratories and at the Xerox corporation in Pasadena.
Dr. Johnson is the author of a large array of publications published in most
prestigious professional engineering and physics journals as well as two books and
recipient of numerous research grants by NASA, Office of Naval Research, US
Army, US Air Force and many industrial firms. His work dealt with energy
conversion, plasma physics. Non-linear optics, medical and dental applications,
Raman scattering and many other areas too numerous to list.
48
Dr. Azad Madni, University of Southern California
Dr. Azad M. Madni is a Professor of Astronautical
Engineering and the Technical Director of the Systems
Architecting and Engineering Program in University of
Southern California‟s Viterbi School of Engineering. He is
also a Professor (by courtesy) in USC‟s Schools of
Medicine and Education. He has served in Senior Executive
positions in private and public companies, and is a graduate
of Stanford‟s Executive Program for senior executives. He
is the founder and Chairman of Intelligent Systems
Technology, Inc., a high tech R&D company specializing in
game-based educational simulations, and methods, processes, and tools for complex
systems engineering. He received his BS, MS and PhD degrees from the University
of California, Los Angeles. His research has been sponsored by both government
research organizations such as DARPA, OSD, ARL, ONR, AFOSR, DHS S&T,
DTRA, NIST, DOE, and NASA and aerospace and automotive companies such as
Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, and General Motors. He has successfully
commercialized DOD-sponsored research and has created award-winning
engineering and web-based learning software products including ProcessEdge™
Enterprise Suite, MainTrainEnterTrainment™ Suite, PERCNET™ and CACE®.
These products were adopted in aerospace and automotive industries, and by the
DOD. He also created a series of part-task, game-based simulators for US military
and successfully transitioned them into the Armed Forces.
He has served as General Chair or Program Chair at IEEE International Conferences,
and serves as General Chair (every three years) of the Conference on Systems
Engineering, co-founded by the University of Southern California. He has
co-authored and co-edited books on systems engineering with Springer and Elsevier
as publishers. His new book on Transdisciplinary Systems Engineering (publisher:
Springer) is slated for release in the summer of 2016. He currently serves on the
Steering Committees of USC Provost‟s STEM Consortium.
49
Dr. Maja Matarić, University of Southern California
Beginning with her graduate work at MIT under Prof. Rodney
Brooks, Dr. Matarić made fundamental contributions to our
understanding of systems of robots and their applications. For
her MS, Dr. Matarić was the first to demonstrate that
behavior-based systems (BBS) could be endowed with
representation and thus have the expressive power to plan and
learn. Her well-known system, Toto, was the first BBS to learn
maps online and optimize its behavior. It is highly cited and
remains one of the milestones in BBS.
Dr. Matarić‟s next major contributions came when she became a
faculty member, and focused on multi-robot coordination and learning. She and her
students provided the first formal analysis of existing multi-robot coordination
approaching, demonstrating that the majority of fielded systems (e.g., foraging, robot
soccer) utilized greedy task allocation strategies that were efficient but had
formally-understood limitations and pitfalls. She was thus a pioneer and then an
established leader in multi-robot coordination, which has become a large and thriving
area of robotics.
Dr. Matarić‟s current research is focused on assistive human-robot interaction (HRI)
aimed at endowing robots with the ability to help people with special needs. In the
last few years, her group has demonstrated control and learning algorithms for
assistive HRI in the context of post-stroke rehabilitation, social training for children
with autism spectrum disorders, and cognitive and movement exercises for healthy
elderly users and those with Alzheimer‟s Disease. This work places her firmly in a
leading position in her field, as no other researcher today has the breadth and depth of
interdisciplinary expertise and results that directly connect robotics with real-world
users from large beneficiary populations (stroke, Alzheimer‟s, traumatic brain injury,
autism) with immediate and broad-reaching interdisciplinary impact.
50
Dr. Kelly Sanders, University of Southern California
Dr. Kelly T Sanders is nominated f or the outstanding educator
award because of her significant role on focusing issues related
to water safety and energy needs in engineering applications.
Dr. Sanders has developed the Sustainable Systems Research
Group at USC to increase environmental literacy in various
communities.
She is a great speaker and has participated in significant number
of outreach presentations to deliver the message for engineers‟
responsibilities and technological needs to handle the water
safety and Energy needs issues
51
Dr. Praveen Shankar, California State University, Long
Beach
Dr. Shankar is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical and
Aerospace Engineering and Undergraduate Advisor for the
Aerospace Engineering Program at California State
University Long Beach. He also serves as the Coordinator
of the BSME Degree Completion Program for the CSULB
Antelope Valley Engineering Program, a CSULB satellite
program offered in Lancaster. Before joining CSULB in
2011, Dr. Shankar was a Research Associate and Lecturer in
the School of Engineering, Matter, Transport, and Energy at
Arizona State University. for 4 years.
Dr. Shankar received his Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree from
Bangalore University in India in 1999 and his MS (2004) and Ph.D.(2007) degrees, in
both Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering from Ohio State University. Hewas
instrumental in upgrading the CSULB Aerospace Engineering degree program
curriculum, enhancing MAE existing laboratories, establishing new laboratories,
bringing new research projects, supervising many MS and Ph.D. students,
supervising several major student nationally/internationally competed projects.
Dr. Shankar provided outstanding research mentorship to many undergraduate and
graduate students across the College of Engineering. He engaged these award
winning students in his research activities and mentored them to become very sought
after researchers. He developed a new research laboratory for Collaborative
Autonomous Systems. Graduate and undergraduate engineering students purse
research on robotic systems including aerial vehicles, underwater vehicles, surface
water vehicles, and ground rovers. His students have received over $30,000
scholarship awards and over $100,000 for research projects. Dr. Shankar was the
recipient of the prestigious 2015 CSULB Outstanding Faculty Mentor for Student
Engagement in Research, Scholarly and Creative Activity Award given annually to
only one university faculty member. He is the recipient of several major awards
including the Orville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Award from AIAA. Dr. Shankar
has been the PI or Co-PI of 15 research projects totaling more than $800,000 from
companies and government agencies such as NASA, Northrop Grumman, Raytheon,
Boeing, and California Space Grant Consortium. He has over 20 refereed journal and
conference publications in AIAA, IEEE, and ASME journals.
Dr. Shankar served as Technical Co-Chair of AIAA Guidance, Navigation, and
Control Conference; a member of Editorial Board of Journal of Aeronautics and
Aerospace Engineering; Associate Editor of American Control Conference; a
Reviewer for several AIAA, IEEE, ASME, and AIP journals. He is a Senior Member
52
of AIAA and active member of ASEE. Healso volunteers at local K-12 schools.
Robert “Smitty” Smith, University of California, Irvine
Robert “Smitty” Smith graduated from Alabama Institute of
Aviation Technology with a degree in Aviation Science. He
has been a professional crew member and crew chief for
national championship I/O Boat, Stock Car, Champ/Indy
car, and Reno air racing teams.
An expert in WWII aircraft restoration, he has also been
employed by Cessna aircraft, Kenworth trucks, International
Harvester trucks, and Toyota Racing Development for his
expertise in aerodynamics and power-plant technologies.
Smitty has worked for over ten years to advance the racecar engineering program at
UCI. With Prof. McCarthy he created and managed the UCI Energy Invitational,
where cars compete for the best balance of performance and efficiency by racing on
$1 worth of fuel. He has served as an FSAE California design judge and is the Energy
Invitational Head Safety Steward.
A lifelong motorcycle racer, sports car enthusiast, and master engine builder, he is
still actively competing in motor sport events.
53
Dr. Melvin L. Wasserman, California State University,
Fullerton
Dr. Melvin Wasserman is a lecturer in engineering at
California State University where he has taught since 1969.
He has taught the widest array of courses in Civil Engineering,
Electrical Engineering, General Engineering and Mechanical
Engineering.
The spectrum of classes taught by Dr. Wasserman ranged
from undergraduate classes to the highest level of graduate
classes including Optimization Methods, Analysis of Random
Signals, Operational Analysis Methods in System
Engineering, Engineering Economics and many others.
Dr. Wasserman enjoyed superb ratings in all classes taught while being a rigorous
and demanding instructor. His lectures are highly structured and universally
appreciated for their organization and rigor. He was also successful in bringing his
broad research and industrial experience in conduct of his classes.
54
Distinguished Engineering Educator Award
Dr. H. Kumar Wickramasinghe, University of California,
Irvine
H. Kumar Wickramasinghe, Ph.D., is a
member of the National Academy of
Engineering and respected pioneer in
nanotechnology. Prior to joining UC Irvine,
Wickramasinghe managed nanoscience and
technology research at IBM‟s Almaden
Research Center in San Jose, Calif. Holding
70 patents, some of his most significant
inventions and contributions to the nano field
include the development of the vibrating mode
atomic force microscope (AFM), the magnetic
force microscope, the electrostatic force
microscope, the Kelvin probe force
microscope, the scanning thermal microscope,
and the apertureless near-field optical
microscope. Most of these scanning probe
microscopes are standard instruments used today for nano-scale characterization.
His AFM jet device for rapid molecule sorting and delivery was named one of the 25
most innovative products of 2006 in the inaugural “MICRO/NANO 25” competition
held by the editors of R&D magazine and MICRO/NANO Newsletter.
Wickramasinghe is an IBM Fellow, a member of the IBM Academy of Technology, a
Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Institute of Physics, the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and the Royal Microscopical Society.
Inventions relating to AFM‟s and Thermally Assisted Magnetic Recording drove
major strategic directions involving large groups within IBM.
-Author/co-author of over 150 publications covering the areas of nano photonics,
scanning probe microscopy, storage, scanning optical microscopy, acoustics, optics,
thermal waves, non-destructive evaluation, in-situ sensors for manufacturing and
single cell genomics. Editor/co-editor of five books. 144 invited presentations
--HOLDER OF OVER 100 US PATENTS in areas of nanotechnology, scanning
probe microscopy (SPM), metrology, thermal physics, storage, ultra-sensitive
measurements and biological sensors. Several of my SPM patents were a key part of
the sale of the AFM business to Veeco Inc. The Thermally Assisted
55
Outstanding STEM Program Award
Summer Science Enrichment Program, Mendez
Fundamental Intermediate School
Mendez Fundamental School is in a low income neighborhood and many of the
students are challenged with crowded living conditions. These students get very
few opportunities like this to be involved in an exciting challenge. The teachers Andrea Earl, Harold Garrett, and Patrick Chang - deserve a lot of credit for giving of
their time to make this available to their students.
In the TARC challenge, students are challenged to design, build, and fly a rocket to a
specific set of design specifications. Students worked in teams at the school, then
flew their rockets in the Mojave Desert and near San Diego. In SPARC, students
were challenged to build a rocketry payload and fly it, recording data during flight
onto a small SD card that was part of their payload
The project began as a five-week summer “Science Enrichment” program building
rockets and testing them. Students worked in teams and kept engineering logs.
This went on to become a year-long program with students involved in the Team
America Rocketry Challenge as well as the Student Payload and Rocketry Challenge .
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Outstanding Student Project Award
The effects of space drying the skin of astronauts,
Mendez Fundamental Intermediate School
Mendez Fundamental Junior High entered a contest for an experiment to fly on the
International Space Station. From schools across the country, 14 were picked for
the final decision and the Mendez project was selected. Astronauts have
complained of very dry skin and the students wanted to determine which lotion
would be best to help prevent this. They saturated cotton balls with several different
commercial products in addition to one home-made remedy. The project will be
flown to the Space Station early 2016.
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Outstanding Student Project Award
Mars Rover, California State University, Long Beach
In recognition of activities supporting the design, build and test of a planetary rover
for the NASA sponsored RASC-AL Robo-Ops Competition; outstanding team
performance and activities; significant contributions to student learning and
engineering practice, the CSULBMars Rover - NASA Robo-Ops Student Project is
nominated to receive the 2016 OCEC Outstanding Engineering Student Project
Award.
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Outstanding Engineering Project Award
Bristol Street Improvements Phase II, City of Santa Ana
The Bristol Street improvements project was planned and designed to incorporate
complete street concepts with storm drain quality features and implementation of
Green Street technologies. The project also brings native and organic landscaping
that beautifies a fully developed urban area.
59
Cerritos Avenue Reconstruction and Sanitary Sewer
Improvement Project, City of Anaheim
The County of Orange/OC Public Works, City of Anaheim, and Garden Grove Sanitary
District joined forces to minimize public inconvenience and save tax payer dollars while
making needed sanitary sewer and road improvements. The Cerritos Avenue
Reconstruction and Sanitary Sewer Improvements Project took place on Cerritos Avenue
between South Brookhurst Street and Gilbert Street in the unincorporated County area of
Southwest Anaheim. The County, as Lead Agency for construction, combined their
street improvement with GGSD and Anaheim‟s sanitary sewer improvements to create
one project.
The sanitary sewer improvement project addressed the sewer deficiency in capacity and
mitigated the risk of sanitary sewer overflows by replacing 2,472 feet of 8-inch vitrified
clay pipe (VCP) with 15-inch VCP. This new system provides adequate peak flow
capacity and better service for approximately 40 house connections.
The project also reconstructed the existing pavement, sidewalk, curb and gutters, and
driveway approaches to improve access and to meet current Americans with Disabilities
Act standards. Through close coordination and innovative design/planning, under the lead
of Tiberius Rosu from Anaheim, the City estimates combining projects saved Anaheim
and GGSD approximately $148,000 through elimination of usual duplicative pavement,
traffic loop replacement, and similar costs. This minimized inconvenience to the public,
maximized efficiency, and protected the integrity of the pavement to be reconstructed.
By coordinating these projects, the community was less inconvenienced and tax payer
dollars were saved for the community‟s benefit.
60
Recycled Water Expansion Project, City of San Clemente
The City of San Clemente has shown continued diligence to promote the use of
recycled water as they significantly expand their recycled water system. Through
smart planning, proactive management, and a little-bit-of-luck, the City has quickly
expanded their recycled water system demand from 700 AFY to over 1,600 AFY
through the City‟s Recycled Water Expansion Project.
The City of San Clemente‟s $25.1 million Recycled Water Expansion project more
than doubled the amount of tertiary treated recycled water produced at the City‟s
wastewater treatment plant from 2.2 to 5 million gallons per day and included
construction of 9 miles of pipelines, a 2-million-gallon reservoir conversion to
recycled water, a new 200,000-gallon potable water reservoir, and a pressure
reducing station. The 2½ year long project, which was completed in October 2014,
represents the third largest project in the City‟s history and single civil engineering
endeavor completed by the City. The project will extend access to recycled water to
over 150 new recycled water services throughout San Clemente. Over the past two
years, the City has been expanding its customer base by maximizing Metropolitan
Water District‟s On-Site Retrofit Program Incentives for Recycled Water Use and
obtaining almost $1 million in grant funding to assist with the on-site conversions to
recycled water.
61
Cow Camp Road Design – Phases 1A & 1B, Rancho
Mission Viejo
Cow Camp Road is a vital east-west 4- mile highway on the Orange County Master
Plan of Arterial Highways. It serves as an important arterial link that will provide
parallel capacity to SR-74 Ortega Highway and support existing and planned
development in south Orange County.
It is a major infrastructure link for both regional and local traffic for current and
future Planning Areas located in Rancho Mission Viejo. The first phase of Cow
Camp Road included a new 7,000 ft. long roadway with a major twin bridge over
Chiquita Canyon with significant geotechnical and seismic considerations. The
initial bridge of the twin bridge system is a 1,400-foot-long, 8-span structure that
faced numerous design challenges and site constraints. Columns ranged in height
up to 70 feet with 10 feet diameter drilled shaft foundations ranging in depth from up
to 90 feet. Michael Baker International coordinated with the Transportation Corridor
Agency, County of Orange, and Rancho Mission Viejo Company for all approvals
and permits. Phases 1A and 1B were successfully completed in 2015.
62
DEN Program at Viterbi School of Engineering,
Distance Education at the Viterbi School of Engineering, the oldest such project in
the world, has been ranked No 1 in the nation by U S News and World Report and it
has allowed engineering professionals to continue their graduate degrees without
being on campus. This project has positively affected the lives of thousands of
engineering professional during the last 40 years. On-campus attendance is not
required to earn the degree, students can also choose to come to campus to attend
courses and interact with other classmates on campus and off campus through DEN's
unique blended delivery systems.
https://gapp.usc.edu/den#sthash.3fVI1lDy.dpuf.
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Gobernadora Multipurpose Basin, Santa Margarita
Water District
Rancho Mission Viejo, Santa Margarita Water District, and Orange County Public
Works collaborated to develop a new water supply source by recycling urban
nuisance runoff.
Through the construction of a truly unique multi-functioning 26-acre basin system,
urban runoff is captured and recycled while providing regional flood protection and
water quality improvements benefitting over 155 thousand residents.
64
Groundwater Replenishment System Initial Expansion,
Orange County Water District
The Groundwater Replenishment System (GWRS) is the world‟s largest water
purification system for indirect potable reuse and helps increase Orange County,
California‟s water independence by providing locally controlled, drought-proof
supply of high quality water.
In 2015, the GWRS initial expansion increased the capacity of the GWRS by 30
MGD, bringing its total capacity to 100 MGD, and generating enough near-distilled
quality water to meet the annual needs of 850 thousand people.
65
Lincoln Avenue Widening over the Santa Ana River,
County of Orange
As an Orange County gateway linking the City of Anaheim to the City of Orange is
the Lincoln Avenue Bridge over the Santa Ana River. The $8 Million Lincoln
Avenue Bridge widening project successfully provides a safe, multi-use accessible
six (6) lane corridor with bike lanes and raised sidewalk on each side from Batavia to
the 57 Freeway.
This project not only improves traffic to a Level of Service (LOS) A, but acts as the
main Anaheim Cove entry to the Santa Ana River Pedestrian and Bike Trail through
cooperative efforts by the County, Cities, and Water District.
Other major improvements include installation of pedestrian railing, construction of
retaining walls on both sides of roadway embankment through Orange County Water
District (OCWD) detention basins, relocation of utilities, and replacement of
trapezoidal concrete channel with underground storm drain. The Lincoln Avenue
Bridge Widening is a significant achievement for all stakeholders involved.
66
Marina Park, City of Newport Beach
Marina Park encompasses a 10.5-acre site and includes a new public park; a 24,000
square foot Community and Sailing Center building, California‟s newest 23 slip
visitor serving marina; a reconstructed public restroom; a freestanding lighthouse
playground feature and restroom; a nautical themed children‟s playground; an
outdoor fitness circuit; an on-site restaurant; 177 parking spaces; and the future home
of the Girl Scout Leadership Center.
The park site is located off W. Balboa Boulevard, between 15th and 18th streets on
the Balboa Peninsula. The City of Newport Beach has owned the property for
decades and a mobile home park formerly occupied a large portion of the sire. The
park‟s development, including planning, permitting, and construction occurred over
the past 33 years.
Construction began in December 2013 with an estimated completion in Spring 2016
and an “all-in” project cost of $39.5 Million. However, the project was completed
ahead of schedule, in December 2015, and under budget with final project costs
estimated at $36 million.
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Newland, Edinger, and East Garden Grove Wintersburg
Storm Channel Confluence System, Orange County
Public Works
The
East Garden Grove-Wintersburg Channel, Edinger Channel, and Newland Channel
all converge at the I-405 Freeway where the cities of Huntington Beach and
Westminster share an intersection. The project consisted of three phases: a physical
hydraulic model of the freeway-channels confluence, the Edinger Channel project
(which included a tunneling project under the I-405 Freeway), and the Newland
Channel project which included over a mile of drainage improvements down the
center of Newland Street.
This project was unique due to its complexity. The channel/drainage hydraulics
were so complex that a $600,000 physical hydraulic model of the channel system at
the I-405 Freeway was constructed to determine the hydraulic constraints for
upstream improvements. Once the channel hydraulics through the freeway were
determined improvements to Edinger Channel and Newland Channel could be
designed with confidence. The Edinger Channel project required the addition of a
72"x113" elliptical RCP under the I-405 Freeway which required an extensive low
height fill tunneling operation under the I-405 Freeway in addition to major drainage
improvements upstream. The third phase of the project included the construction of
a facility that bifurcates its flow at the freeway, sending half of its flow to the East
Garden-Grove-Wintersburg Channel (C05) upstream and the other half through a
tunnel under the I-405 Freeway to confluence downstream. The Newland Channel
extends approximately 6,200 feet upstream in the middle of Newland Street, a very
busy arterial highway in the cities of Huntington Beach and Westminster. The
drainage improvements included expanding the existing concrete trapezoidal channel
to a larger rectangular channel and reconstructing drainage improvements under five
street intersections requiring the redesign of each intersection.
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Orange County Bridge Program, Orange County
Transportation Authority
As increased activity at local ports created a rise in the frequency of freight traffic
along the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Orangethorpe Corridor, the Orange
County Transportation Authority (OCTA) explored ways to mitigate the impacts to
local communities. OCTA‟s solution was to develop a program of grade separation
projects called the OC Bridges.
The OC Bridges program, with a budget of $634.66 million, is on track to deliver its
promise to the voters as part of Measure M‟s early action plan. A major milestone in
the program was recently met with all seven grade separations in the construction
phase for the first time since the program began in 2008. It has begun to achieve its
purpose by providing safety and improved mobility to the traveling public and
railroad operation, with effective partnerships with BNSF, nearby cities and many
other stakeholders.
With the completion of two of the seven projects, located at Placentia Avenue and
Kraemer Boulevard, the public is already experiencing the benefits from improved
safety, elimination of railroad crossing delays, enhanced economic vitality and
improved air/noise conditions. An overall better quality of life is achieved with the
OC Bridges program.
69
Oso Creek Multi-Use Trail, City of Laguna Niguel
This project was a lynchpin in the plan to redevelop the City of Laguna Niguel‟s
Gateway District from an aging low-rise commercial area into a vibrant, substantial
community.
The new trails alongside Oso Creek offered local pedestrian and bikeway access from
new high-density residential complexes to the Metrolink Rail Station.
Space for the trails was carved out by narrowing the existing overly-wide Forbes
Road cross-section to bring it down to a more pedestrian-friendly scale, and utilizing
OCFCE maintenance access way.
Impervious roadway pavement was replaced with permeable asphalt, decomposed
granite, and landscaped bio-retention areas to help reverse the hydrologic and
water-polluting impacts on the creek channel, and reduced the area‟s carbon footprint
by encouraging walking, biking and mass transit ridership by residents in the 3,000
new dwelling units planned for the neighborhood.
70
Pacific Coast Highway /Del Prado Street Improvements,
City of Dana Point Public Works Department
For exceptional design and construction management of a $20 million complex and
comprehensive urban downtown revitalization street and right-of-way and
transportation circulation project.
The complexity of the civil right-of-way design was significant with the 144 existing
properties located along the eight blocks of this two avenue couplet. Project design
required individual evaluation of each entry doorway and integration of curb
drainage, sidewalk drainage and ADA accessibility.
Temporary or permanent right-of-way acquisitions were required at 19 locations
where detailed interface grade and access work was necessary on private as well as
public property.
The unique acute angle intersections at both ends of the couplet were quite
challenging and integration of traffic calming chicanes, transit cutouts, pedestrian
crossings, bike lanes, and traffic circulation changes made this quite a unique project.
Two unique structural elements, the outsized banner poles and suspension cables and
the historic archway both presented architectural and structural engineering
integration as well as installation challenges.
71
Raymond Avenue Grade Separation Project, AECOM
This Project Report evaluates feasible alternatives in order to determine the preferred
alternative for the construction of the Raymond Avenue Grade Separation project.
72
Project of the Year Award
Fusion Energy Technology, Magneto-Inertial Fusion
Technology, Inc.
Magneto-Inertial Fusion Technology, Inc. (MIFTI), a Tustin, California based
company, has invented a patent-pending, breakthrough fusion methodology called
Staged Z-pinch (SZP) with the potential to provide the world with an
environmentally safe, carbon-free, clean source of unlimited energy.
Following 25 + years of research, MIFTI scientists, working at the University of
California, Irvine (UCI), have demonstrated the feasibility of SZP fusion, and
attained many milestones including scientific proof of principle. Billions of dollars
are being spent on complex, fusion-based systems that may or may not prove viable.
However, MIFTI‟s SZP technology, of all methods currently in progress, is the
simplest, most cost-effective approach to fusion-based power for electricity.
Recently, MIFTI‟s SZP technology was recognized by the US Department of
Energy, ARPA-E Division as “excellent,” and granted MIFTI a $5.1M award to
further our research and develop SZP for fusion energy production. Currently,
MIFTI is conducting experiments at the University of California, San Diego
Engineering Department and the University of Nevada, Reno National Terawatt
Facility in our quest to reach breakeven (equivalency in power in to power out) and
ignition/net energy gain (an exponentially higher energy output in relation to the
energy required to produce the effect). Moving forward, our mission is to proceed
through three phases: science, engineering, and ultimately commercialization of a
small-grid device that will change the landscape in how electricity is generated and
provided worldwide.
For years, the scientific community has understood that fusion, the process that
powers the sun and stars, is the answer to the world‟s energy crisis. Unlike
fission-based methods used in current nuclear reactors, fusion is environmentally
friendly, creates no long-term hazardous waste, and is not vulnerable to natural or
manmade disaster. Moreover, it is generally recognized that carbon-based fossil
fuels such as coal and oil are a depleting resource of energy, and have serious
catastrophic effects on the environment. SZP fusion is safe, environmentally
friendly and operates on an isotope of hydrogen from seawater; a virtually unlimited
fuel source. In fact, estimates show that one gallon of seawater can produce the
equivalent energy of three hundred gallons of gasoline. Other green energy
producing methods, such as wind, solar, and geothermal have their place. However,
unlike fusion energy, these have locality constraints that limit their applicability.
Though scientists have attempted for many years to create, capture, and stabilize
fusion energy, success has been elusive. MIFTI‟s SZP technology has placed the
73
transformative power of fusion energy production within arm‟s reach. SZP is
flexible, scalable, and will fulfill mankind‟s growing need for electrical power for
generations to come.
MIFTI is proud and confident in our accomplishments, and looks forward to a bright,
non-petroleum based, non-proliferating future in power production.
Unlike the stars, or the hydrogen bomb, where hot plasma is spherical in shape, the load in staged Z-pinch is of a
cylindrical shape, where hydrogen gas is enclosed in a thin liner, similar to a can of cola or beer. The electrical energy is
stored in capacitor banks (i.e. batteries). The batteries are discharged in such a fashion that the current is a million times
larger than that of household current. This current flows through the cylinder for less than a millionth of a second and
produces an enormous magnetic field that compresses the hydrogen gas within the container. During this compression,
which is enormously supersonic in nature, the hydrogen gas is heated and compressed for a very short period of time to a
level similar to the core of the sun. Initial heating occurs in the manner of Ohmic heating, similar to an electric
heater. Due to supersonic compression, a shock front develops that propagates back and forth, and heats the gas to an
extremely high temperature. This preheated plasma is heated to a level where fusion can occur by simple compressional
heating. Once ignition starts, fusion energy begins to release in the form of charged particles. These charged particles
deposit their energy inside the super hot plasma, due to a very large magnetic field. This heats the plasma further to a
degree at least five times higher, causing the plasma to fuse further. For a millionth of a second, the release of fusion
energy is almost 100 times larger than the energy initially stored. Detailed computer simulation and experimental
observations show that this mechanism maintains a stable compression unlike any other scheme. The fusion energy
released manifests in the form of neutrons. These neutrons can have numerous uses, including the production of
radionuclides and the generation of power.
One of the most difficult challenges in fusion energy research has been stability. The example below demonstrates how
SZP has overcome this problem.
Figure. 3 shows the time evolution of staged Z-pinch, using the streak imaging technique for the last 200 nanoseconds. The
top panel shows the classical pinch is highly unstable. Whereas the middle and bottom panels of staged Z-pinch show a
remarkably stable implosion Z-pinch where the Krypton shell implodes on a deuterium target plasma.
74
75
President's Award
Behrooz Fattahi, EnerTrain Institute
Dr. Behrooz Fattahi holds Ph.D. degrees in Aerospace
Engineering and in Mechanical Engineering from Iowa
State University. After 37 years of working in the
industry, he retired from Aera Energy LLC, an affiliate
of Royal Dutch Shell and ExxonMobil companies in
2014. He was the Heavy Oil Development Coordinator at
Aera, and in his last position as the Learning Advisor, he
taught several internal company technical courses
including topics on reservoir engineering and enhanced
oil recovery.
Prior to joining the oil industry, he conducted research
for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Science
Foundation, and taught a variety of courses in fluid dynamics and solid mechanics at
Iowa State University.
He joined the petroleum industry in 1977 by joining Shell International. Dr. Fattahi is
a past member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and
American Association of University Professors. He served as the Executive Editor of
the SPE Reservoir Evaluation and Engineering Journal, and on the board of the
Society of Petroleum Engineers International (SPE) as the Director of the Western
North America Region, President of SPE Americas Inc., and Vice President-Finance.
He served as a member of the United States National Petroleum Council. He is
currently a member of the Board of the SPE Foundation. Dr. Fattahi served as the
Chairman of the Board, and the 2010 President of SPE International. He was the 2014
President of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum
Engineers, AIME. He is now the president of EnerTrain Institute, providing
petroleum technical training internationally.
76
Thank you and congratulations on your
accomplishments

Orange County Engineering Council Awards Banquet

Transcription

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