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Years of
Engineering
Excellence
fulton.asu.edu
FALL 07
Full Circle is a publication of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
at Arizona State University.
Editor-in-Chief
Jeremy Fountain
Managing Editor
Joel M. Horn
Art Director
Kathleen Harrison
“With this endowment, we
are building an engine of
educational and economic
growth that will endure
for generations. It is a gift
of opportunity, prosperity,
social equality and hope.”
Ira A. Fulton
Design and Production
SOLS Visualization group
sols.asu.edu/lsvl
The Schematic
03
Photography
Ken Sweat
Jessica Slater
03 Golden Memories
Celebrating 50 years
Contributing Writers
Deanna Evans
Ashley McNamee
Trisha Coffman [email protected]
Melissa Crytzer Fry [email protected]
08 To Walk Again
Reversing spinal injury,
restoring nervous system
function
Contact Us
Submissions, story ideas and letters to the editor should be sent to:
Also Inside:
Full Circle
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
Arizona State University
PO Box 879309
Tempe, AZ 85287-9309
480.727.8313
[email protected]
Support Engineering
If you are interested in learning about the many opportunities to
support the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, please visit our Web
site or contact the school’s development office at 480.965.9646.
fulton.asu.edu
© Copyright 2007. Arizona Board of Regents. All rights reserved.
Printed in the U.S.
On the cover: A collection of archive photos from the school of engineering's history.
Ira A. Fulton, founder and
CEO of Arizona-based
Fulton Homes, established
an endowment of $50
million in support of ASU’s
College of Engineering and
Applied Sciences in 2003.
The college was renamed
the Ira A. Fulton School of
Engineering in his honor.
The gift has enabled the
Ira A. Fulton School of
Engineering to provide
funding for scholarships,
fellowships, research
programs and investments
in faculty, all integral to
the school’s goal to move
from its position as a
highly ranked U.S. program
into the ranks of worldclass institutions.
08
14
28
12 What’s in the Water
Nanomaterials and the water
supply
14 The Sound of Engineering
Studying the science of song
22 Expanding Informatics
New academic programs
28 Focused Sunlight
Center’s research could result
in low-cost electricity
Vision
30 Giving Back
Engineering alum Bart Katz
becomes first member of
Dean’s Club
Leading engineering discovery and innovative
education for global Impact on quality of life.
34 News in Brief
Mission
Provide an environment rich in transdisciplinary
research, education, entrepreneurship and
leadership resulting in successful engineers
and technologies that benefit society.
Message from the Dean
The start of a new academic year
is always an exciting time, and an
added treat for me personally is that
fall 2007 marks the beginning of my
second semester as dean of the Ira A.
Fulton School of Engineering.
This promises to be a particularly
memorable year for our engineering
community. During 2007-08, the
school will commemorate 50 years of
excellence in engineering education
and discovery. The occasion of a
golden anniversary is an opportunity
for reflection and celebration, and we
embrace this moment in our history.
Deirdre R. Meldrum
Dean, Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
Engineering at ASU began as
the college of applied arts and
sciences, which initially included
divisions of agriculture, architecture,
engineering and industrial education.
Today the school is home to nine
academic departments, and offers
programs that encompass a range of
engineering disciplines: aerospace,
bio, biomedical informatics, chemical,
civil, computer science, construction,
electrical, environmental, industrial,
materials science and mechanical.
From its early days of offering
only undergraduate degrees to a
relatively small student body, the
school has grown to deliver topranked bachelor’s, master’s and
doctoral degree programs for nearly
6,000 current students. The school
maintains a significant presence at
one of the largest universities in the
nation. To date, nearly 29,000
ASU alumni have earned
engineering degrees.
As we honor the achievement and
success of the past five decades,
we look collectively to what lies
ahead. The school’s growth and
progress since the mid-20th century
demonstrate great potential, and we
are building on the past as we
shape the future of engineering.
Our first half-century was truly just
the beginning.
To lay the foundation for the next
50 years, we are growing our
capacity to deliver leading research
and education that will impact
global quality of life. The Fulton
Undergraduate Research Initiative
(FURI) offers students funded
opportunities to perform applied
research, providing enhanced
learning and competitive advantage
for undergraduates. Now entering
its third year, the number of FURI
students has grown by more than 60
percent since the program’s launch.
This fall we launched a new
master’s degree program in
biomedical informatics. This
emerging discipline combines
computer science and engineering
with biology, mathematics and
social sciences with the goal to
revolutionize modern health care.
It is just one demonstration of the
transdisciplinary approach we are
taking to training engineers of
tomorrow who will benefit their local
and global communities.
Our continuing progress is built on the
lessons and accomplishments of our
past. I invite you to join us in marking
this milestone in the school of
engineering’s history. Today we honor
what we have accomplished thus far,
and envision the achievements and
discoveries still to come.
In an article in the Jan. 6, 1957
edition of The Arizona Republic,
then University of Arizona (U of
A) President Richard Harvill was
quoted as saying a graduate
program in engineering science
at Arizona State “would be the
laughing stock of the country.”
Engineering archive photo
Golden
Memories
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
celebrates
50 years of engineering
education and discovery
That semester, for the first time, Arizona
State College was offering engineering
courses leading to a bachelor’s degree.
Harvill and Grady Gammage, then president
of Arizona State, had a heated exchange
triggered by a request Arizona State
made to the Arizona Board of Regents for
permission to offer programs leading to
master’s degrees in engineering, business
administration, psychology and subject
fields taught in high schools.
Gammage guided Arizona State Teachers
College at Tempe from 1933 until after it
attained university status in 1958. If he were
around today, one might imagine him saying
about the school of engineering, “So how do
you like us now?”
(More) >>
By Joel M. Horn
fulton.asu.edu
Fall 2007
Golden Memories
The school of engineering’s history at ASU actually began
in 1954, when the Arizona Board of Regents authorized the
establishment of the College of Applied Arts and Sciences
at Arizona State College (the name was changed from
Arizona State Teachers College in 1945, the same year the
Board of Regents was formed). The new college initially
was comprised of the divisions of agriculture, architecture,
engineering and industrial education.
1
2
Estfan recalls that one of his classes was in the slide rule.
Tests were all based on the slide rule, especially in statics and
dynamics.
In 1958, the engineering division became the School of
Engineering. Eight years later, it was renamed the College of
Engineering Sciences, and a separate College of Architecture
was established.
In 1970, a division of construction was added, and the
name of the Division of Industrial Design & Technology was
shortened to Division of Technology.
In 1976, the College of Engineering Sciences was renamed
the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Twelve
years later, the divisions of construction, technology and
agriculture were reorganized as the School of Construction
and Technology, and School of Agribusiness and
Environmental Resources.
In 1992, through a gift from the Del E. Webb Foundation, an
endowment was set up to create the Del E. Webb School of
Construction. A separate school was created for technology,
and, in 1996, the schools of technology and agribusiness
moved to ASU’s Polytechnic campus in Mesa.
“I have to admit the first time somebody told me about slide
rules, I said, ‘What’s that?’” says Jean Andino, currently an
associate professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
3
1. Engineering Center G-Wing. 2. Dr. Beakley, associate dean and one of the first
faculty members hired by Dr. Lee P. Thompson in 1958. 3. The hydraulics lab.
In 2002, the Department of Bioengineering was renamed the
Harrington Department of Bioengineering in honor of a $5
million gift from the Harrington Arthritis Research Center.
Then in 2003, Ira A. Fulton, founder and CEO of Fulton
Homes, one of the nation’s largest builders of residential
housing, established a $50 million endowment in support
of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The
College was renamed the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
in his honor.
“With this endowment, we are building an engine of
educational and economic growth that will endure for
generations,” Mr. Fulton said. “It is a gift of opportunity,
prosperity, social equality and hope.”
During the school of engineering’s 50 year history,
many significant achievements have occurred within
the engineering discipline. These include the transistor,
FORTRAN, the integrated circuit, the handheld calculator, the
CD-ROM, home video game systems, the Apple II, the laptop
computer, the IBM Personal Computer and the Boeing 777,
the first aircraft produced through computer-aided design
and engineering.
4
4. An experimental setup in Professor Peter K. Stein’s measurement engineering
lab in the F-Wing. 5. Wally Estfan, engineering class of ’58.
fulton.asu.edu
5
Estfan was an ex-GI who spent a short time at Phoenix
College and then a year at the U of A before transferring to
Arizona State. He and his wife now have nine children and 20
grandchildren. Two of his grandchildren have graduated from
ASU (one of them in engineering) and two others currently
attend the university.
Wally Estfan was a member of ASU’s first-ever engineering
graduating class in 1958. He was one of just 10 students in
the class, which was led by three teachers.
Andino grew up in New York City. Her family is originally from
Puerto Rico. She attended the renowned Bronx High School
of Science and, after also being accepted at MIT, decided to
attend Harvard.
“I wanted to go to a place where I could experience the best
of both worlds and not just be surrounded by engineers or
scientists all the time,” she says.
1
2
3
When Estfan transferred from U of A to ASU, he was called in
to meet with a secretary in U of A’s engineering department.
She said, “You know, this is probably the dumbest decision of
your life.
“How can you turn down an engineering school like the U of A
has?” she asked. ”You’ll be back.”
“I always remembered that,” Estfan recalls. “I said to myself,
‘I’m never going back.’”
Estfan was hired by General Electric (G.E.) when he graduated,
and didn’t have to move far. G.E. had rented the second floor
of the engineering building, one floor above where his classes
had been held. “(I had) the same parking spot,” he says. “One
day I was a student, and the next day I was an engineer.”
1. A vacuum bell jar experiment setup in the old semiconductor lab, when it was
in the C-Wing. 2. Dr. Jean Andino, associate chair for graduate affairs of chemical
engineering. 3. A measurement engineering lab setup.
From the time when Estfan was an engineering student, the
school has grown from a single program to nine discrete
departments. Although he specialized in electrical engineering
and one of his classmates focused on mechanical engineering,
their degrees both said simply “engineering.” So, in a sense,
the school was transdisciplinary in its approach to engineering
education even then.
(More) >>
Fall 2007
Golden Memories
“My degree is a little bit similar to yours, in that I have a
general engineering sciences undergrad degree,” Andino
tells Estfan.
After graduating from Harvard, Andino decided to take
some time off from her education. She was recruited by the
Ford Motor Company to be a summer intern in its Chemical
Engineering Department. As her internship was ending,
she was offered a permanent position in the chemistry
department. While she was there, people kept encouraging
Andino to continue her studies.
Following a presentation at Ford by a Cal Tech professor
who was a leading atmospheric expert, Andino, with
encouragement from the visiting professor, enrolled in Cal
Tech’s Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering program.
After earning her Ph.D., Andino went directly to a faculty
position at the University of Florida, spending about 10
years there. One day she received a phone call from the
chair of civil and environmental engineering at ASU asking
her to come to campus and give a seminar. She did, and as
a result she was offered a permanent position with a joint
appointment in civil/environmental engineering and chemical
engineering.
“It’s been an excellent transition,” says Andino, who this fall
accepted an offer to become associate chair for graduate
affairs of chemical engineering. “I think ASU has changed
a great deal, even between the time that I first visited the
campus in 1995 and now. It’s amazing what’s going on. So
it’s interesting to hear (Estfan’s) stories about how ASU
engineering started.”
of the solutions that people come up with have to consider
some of these items beforehand.”
The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering now has nearly
6,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate and
doctoral degrees. It also has more than 200 faculty members
(including 11 National Academy of Engineering members, 29
National Science Foundation Career Award winners and two
Regent’s Professors), and is ranked among the top 15 percent
of all accredited engineering colleges in the country.
If there’s one constant in engineering, it’s change. As
a student at Arizona State College, Estfan defined
“transdisciplinary” by sharing a classroom with students
who specialized in areas of engineering other than electrical.
Now, Andino and other faculty members in Arizona State
University’s school of engineering define the word by
collaborating with faculty members from other engineering
disciplines, as well as non-engineers, for the betterment of
individuals, organizations and society.
The school’s new dean, Deirdre Meldrum, brought cuttingedge research to ASU that matches ASU President Michael
Crow’s ideal of an intellectual fusion of diverse disciplines to
advance knowledge in the cause of improving quality of life,
a cornerstone of the New American University model ASU
is pursuing.
“We’ve seen that over the last few years. But I think we’re
going to see a little bit more than that, so that engineers are
going to start to have to talk to people outside of the pure,
more traditional engineering disciplines. “
One thing hasn’t changed, however – the commitment to
excellence in education and research of a school that is
anything but a laughing stock.
Here’s to the next 50 years, and beyond.
1
2
3
1. Dean Deirdre Meldrum 2. A wind tunnel experiment in the
mechanical engineering lab. 3. Advanced flexible display research
and fabrication facility.
Indeed, much has changed, both at ASU’s engineering school
and in the overall discipline of engineering.
“I think engineering, as a field, is one that’s going to evolve
considerably over the next few years because some of the
problems that we’re facing really are ones that involve not
just the engineers. You have to consider other facets of the
problems,” Andino says.
“You have to understand how the general population is going
to deal with your new technology, so you have to include
some of the social sciences as well, some of the marketing,
some of the business,” Andino continues. “And I think some
1
3
2
1. Haptics technology allows humans to use computers to
interact with their environment.
2. Professor Paul Ruff (left), in his hydraulics lab in the
D-Wing. 3. Groundbreaking for the Engineering Research
Center (ERC) around 1982.
fulton.asu.edu
Fall 2007
Steve Vroman, who has an incomplete spinal cord injury, during one of the
exercise sessions at ANS with Jim Lynskey. The handheld CK200 device is
being tested for its ability to strengthen paralyzed muscles and to promote
recovery of function in muscles that are partially paralyzed.
By Melissa Crytzer Fry
When actor Christopher Reeve – best known as Superman – suffered a spinal
cord injury during an equestrian event, his real-life body, without its on-screen
superhero abilities, simply couldn’t repair itself.
But what if it could … with the help of science and engineering?
That’s what researchers in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering are working to
achieve. Their plasticity studies and the development of computational algorithms
are laying the groundwork for new therapies and rehabilitative devices aimed at
repairing lost nervous system function.
Ranu Jung and James Abbas, Ira A. Fulton School
of Engineering professors and co-directors of the
Center for Adaptive Neural Systems.
Fall 2007
Individuals with spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s Disease,
cerebral palsy and orthopedic injuries are already benefiting
from the research of Ranu Jung and James Abbas, ASU
engineering professors and co-directors of the Center for
Adaptive Neural Systems.
“We know the body is trying to repair itself,”
explains Jung, indicating that her group’s studies
are simply aimed at expediting that process. “The
question is, can we use a device to provide electrical
stimulus to the nerves and give back some of the lost
neural control so the body can use it – to fool it into
thinking it’s still there – and to get it to repair and
reorganize itself.”
“With partial spinal injuries, some communication between
the brain and spinal cord remains,” explains Jung. “There will
be some recovery, but we’re trying to answer: How much?
How fast will it occur? How will it occur? Our studies indicate
that locomotor skills can be modulated and improved with
rehabilitative therapy.”
Jung believes the answer is “yes.” Her team has
already made the first step with the creation of
computational algorithms currently being tested in
rehabilitative devices used by individuals suffering
spinal cord injuries.
To better understand this neuroplasticity – the ability of the
nervous system to change or repair itself with experience
– Jung works with rodent models that have partial spinal cord
injuries. “For 15 minutes a day, they receive neuromuscular
stimulation therapy,” says Jung, of the technique that
electrically stimulates nerves and innervates partially
paralyzed muscles, thus imitating regular muscle movement.
After a week of therapy, the animals’ gait and patterns
of movement are tested while walking on a treadmill. “In
preliminary studies, after only one week, they are showing
improvement,” says Jung. “When we see functional
improvement, we know something is happening in the nervous
system. Is it changes in connectivity between regions of the
spinal cord and brain, changes in the morphology of the neural
cells, or changes in the molecular neurochemistry?”
To address such questions, Jung and other researchers pay
close attention to spinal reflexes, connectivity of the spinal
neurons with those in the brain and the shape of the spinal
neuron cell bodies and dendrites – the receptive branches
that radiate from neurons. They also gather experimental data
about the electrical signatures of damaged spinal
cord neurons.
The data is used to create computer models that can be
employed to ask questions about the role of neuron shape
and electrical signatures under normal circumstances versus
after injury. “If we knew more about the cells, then we could
predict how changes in dendritic branches affect integration
of information,” explains Jung. Understanding the sequence
of reflexes and neural control is also helping them design
computer algorithms for programming electrical stimulation
devices to provide daily rehabilitation therapy.
10
fulton.asu.edu
James Abbas, co-director of the Center for Adaptive
Neural Systems, is vice president and co-founder of
customKYnetics. The Versailles, Ky.-based company has
developed the CK200 with support from the National
Institutes of Health and in partnership with the Center for
Adaptive Neural Systems and Banner Good Samaritan
Medical Center.
Steve Vroman uses the handheld CK200 with Jim Lynskey and
Jamie Stovall (middle).
CK200 customizes neuromuscular stimulation to activate muscles in the subject's
thighs to cause knee extension.
Because the musculoskeletal system is so intertwined
with neural and motor tasks, the research team is also
researching changes in muscle composition and examining
the bones of rodent subjects, using 3D-laser scanning. The
results are being used to develop computational models
of the musculoskeletal system. “This will allow us to see
how muscles contract, based on the muscle’s fiber type,
and how the change in the fibers after injury affects muscle
contraction,” explains Jung.
Supported by the National Institutes of Health, this
comprehensive experimental and computational modeling
effort will allow the research team to investigate the role of
complex interactions among an impaired central drive, spinal
reflexes and musculoskeletal changes – all geared toward
the design of appropriate rehabilitation therapies.
Impacting
the Future
The Center for Adaptive Neural Systems is
committed to investigating the effects of trauma
and disorders of the nervous system. In its efforts to
replace damaged or lost functionality and to repair
the nervous system, the center is also participating
in the following research projects, among others:
• Adaptive Electrical Stimulation for
Locomotor Retraining. In this NIH-funded
project, computer algorithms that are
automatically customized for each person are
being developed for use in electrical stimulation
therapy for individuals with spinal cord injury.
• Force Modulation Training in Children
with Cerebral Palsy. This NIH-funded project
involves bio-feedback training whereby children
with cerebral palsy participate in virtual reality
simulations to improve joint control, resulting in
improved standing and walking abilities.
• Neuromorphic Control System for Powered
Limb Splints. In partnership with a spin-out
company, Advensys LLC, this U.S. Army-funded
project is evaluating an intelligent control system
for powered lower limb orthoses designed for
use in acute-care combat settings to provide
functional bipedal mobility to injured soldiers.
• Active MEMS Neural Clamps. In this NIHfunded project Microelectromechanical System
(MEMS)-based neural electrodes that could
actively clamp onto the spinal roots are being
developed to provide a novel approach for
recording distributed neural activity from the
peripheral nervous system.
Fall 2007
11
An automated solid phase extraction system used to remove carbon-based
nanoparticles (fullerenes) or other emerging chemicals of concern from water
prior to analysis by other instrumentation.
What's in the Water
Environmental engineering professor
conducts pioneering research in
nanomaterials
By Joel M. Horn
Paul Westerhoff, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
Nanomaterials. They are structures no larger than a billionth of a meter wide, are
becoming increasingly common in manufactured goods, and are frequently found
in products ranging from cosmetics to sunscreen lotions, air fresheners to stainresistant paints.
They also are increasingly being found at wastewater treatments plants and will
be found in our rivers, lakes and streams within five or 10 years.
That is, unless Paul Westerhoff and his team are able to provide the fundamental
knowledge needed to manage them.
Westerhoff, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
at the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, is one of the world’s leading researchers
on the environmental implications of the nanotechnology revolution. He won the
prestigious Paul L. Busch Award from the Water Environment Research Foundation
Endowment for Innovation in Applied Water Quality Research in 2006 for his
investigations into the fate of commercial nanomaterials in drinking water and
wastewater treatment plants, and their potential human toxicity. The Paul L. Busch
Award carried with it a $100,000 grant that Westerhoff and his team will use to
work to improve operations of existing wastewater treatment plant processes,
such as membranes, filters, sedimentation basins and ultraviolet radiation, and
12
fulton.asu.edu
Freeze-drying water samples to concentration organic matter to characterize the amino acid content
of biogenic nanomaterials.
catalyze research opportunities on the beneficial
use of nanotechnology in diagnostic tools or
treatment processes.
characterize more naturally occurring biogenic
nanomaterials that are produced by bacteria
within biological wastewater treatment plants.
He also has received numerous other awards,
including the Quentin Mees Research Award
from the Arizona Water and Wastewater
Association and the Walter L. Huber Civil
Engineering Research Prize from the American
Society for Civil Engineers.
Westerhoff, who has been actively conducting
research and teaching since he arrived at ASU
in the fall of 1995, was chosen by the Provost’s
Office as a university-wide “exemplar” when he
was promoted from associate to full professor
earlier this year.
Westerhoff’s large group of graduate students
and post-doctoral researchers focuses its
attention on emerging inorganic and organic
chemicals, and environmental nanotechnology
processes. He defines emerging contaminants
as “things that maybe have been in the
water for a long time (and) people haven’t
measured them, or they’re newly produced
chemicals that are just now starting to get into
the water.”
In August, he was recognized as one of the
country’s most promising young engineers
through his selection to participate in the
National Academy of Engineering’s U.S.
Frontiers of Engineering Symposium Sept.
24-26 at Microsoft Research in Redmond,
Wash. Participants, who must be 30 to 45
years old, are selected based on the academy’s
assessment that nominees “have demonstrated
accomplishment in engineering research and
technical work with recognizable contributions
to advancing the frontiers of engineering…and
have potential to be future leaders in the U.S.
engineering endeavor.” He was one of 83
engineers chosen from among 260 nominees for
this year’s event.
Although nanotechnology creates advanced
products and scientific advances that benefit
humanity, little scientific information is
available on nanomaterials’ fate in water and
wastewater treatment plants, whether they are
found in biosolids or effluent, or how they might
impact treatment processes.
Using his and other quantification tools,
Westerhoff will seek to quantify the capability
of wastewater treatment plants to remove
commercial nanomaterials before water is
discharged to local surface waters. He also will
Westerhoff’s team aids in the development of
analytical methodologies, and helps him lead
a group of ASU faculty members and outside
organizations such as the Arizona Department
of Health Services on a large number of
interdisciplinary, collaborative projects.
Fall 2007
13
Bioengineering undergraduate
student Justin Kiggins
Kiggins, a Chandler High School graduate, will earn a
bachelor’s degree in bioengineering and move on to
graduate school. He hopes to attend the University of
California-Davis or McGill University in Montreal, to
pursue a cognitive neuroscience program and advance his
understanding of music, how it is processed and how it is
analyzed.
At the end of his freshman year at ASU, Kiggins changed
majors from music to mechanical engineering. A year later
he changed to bioengineering, “to take the tools and the
frameworks of engineering, and to utilize some of the
biological knowledge and engineering-analysis knowledge
that I had come to learn, and to apply those (things) to the
framework of neuroscience and psychology of music.
“(I wanted) to try to start to understand music not only as
art, but understand how music interacts with the body on an
emotional level, on a physiological level,” Kiggins says.
Kiggins, a member of Barrett, The Honors College at ASU,
currently is working on his undergraduate honors thesis,
which is concerned with the role of auditory feedback during
recovery from brain injury. The question of the origins of
music initially inspired his interest in song bird research,
which he currently is doing at Barrow Neurological Institute.
the
of Engineering
Bioengineering undergraduate
synthesizes engineering and music
By Joel M. Horn
“Because there are some people who are trying to look at
analogies between animals and humans in terms of language,
in terms of music,” he says. “Birds become an interesting
model for language acquisition, song birds in particular
because they actually learn their songs when they’re young,
which is something that other primates don’t do.
“Humans do. We have certain windows where we learn
particular sounds. We start to integrate these
and synthesize these into a full language
and into speech. Song birds do
something similar in that – at least for zebra finches – they
learn their song from a tutor bird, usually the father, at a
really young age. And then as they develop there are very
specific windows for acquisition and for development. So
they learn their song at a young age, and they will sing that
song for the rest of their lives.”
Kiggins first became interested in song bird research when
he attended a National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored
summer program Boston University, where he was exposed
to a professor who was doing that kind of research. After
a few short conversations with the professor about his
research, Kiggins decided he wanted to look for something
similar at ASU. He found Dr. Eric Vu, an adjunct professor
in bioengineering.
In addition to Boston, Kiggins has had the opportunity
to travel to Istanbul, where, funded by the NSF and
Barrett, The Honors College at ASU, he participated in a
biocomplexity summer school founded by Dr. Metin Akay,
professor and interim chair of the Harrington Department
of Bioengineering. In addition, because he is a recipient
of the Flinn Foundation Scholarship, the most prestigious
honor offered to Arizona students, he has been able to travel
to Armenia, Ecuador and Germany (where he presented a
poster) while a student at ASU.
The Flinn Foundation Scholarship program, run by a private
philanthropy, includes tuition, room, board and books; a
three-week intensive seminar in Eastern Europe; at least
one additional study and travel experience abroad or in
the United States; mentorship by a faculty member in the
student’s field of study; invitations to cultural events and
activities; and opportunities to participate in research
programs and professional meetings.
“I’ve really enjoyed trying to expand my brain outside of
engineering every once in a while,” Kiggins says.
Justin Kiggins first enrolled at Arizona State
University with the intent of becoming a
professional oboist, and in December he will
graduate with a level of knowledge about music he
may not have been able to attain if he stayed with
his original plan.
If nothing else, he certainly has a different
perspective about it.
Fall 2007
15
A Family Affair
Can Your Brain Grasp It?
Jim and Jo-Ann Armstrong provide scholarships
to engineering students who need them most
ASU bioengineer, kinesiologist join forces to test
possibility of a cortically controlled prosthetic hand
By Joel M. Horn
By Deanna Evans
Kinesiology doctoral student Jamie Lukos wears a CyberGlove to track movement
of the fingers and display them in a virtual reality environment. From left: Cluster
co-director Marco Santello, Lukos, and co-director Stephen Helms Tillery.
In the desert, the act of drinking from
a glass of water is completed almost
subconsciously: reach, grab and drink.
Unnoticed are the mind’s calculations
such as how, when and where to
touch; the signals sent to the body
from the brain to perform the act; or
the sensory information sent back to
the brain from nerve endings under
the skin.
Jim Armstrong (back row, left) with ASU students and residents of Vecinos, a unique affordable housing program for
displaced families in Agua Prieta, Mexico.
Jim and Jo-Ann Armstrong have been
involved with Arizona State University
for a number of years. In addition,
their daughter Alison and son-in-law
Derian Silver both earned master’s
degrees from ASU, in education and
mass communication. Yet they are most
involved with the Ira A. Fulton School
of Engineering.
Jim and Jo-Ann set up the Armstrong
Family Foundation in 1996, when their
company first went public, and they
wanted it to be something that their
whole family could participate in as
time went by. Their oldest daughter
helped them establish their relationship
with ASU, and now their other children
are involved in the foundation as well.
“I’ve always been interested in
engineering because I have a technical
background with my company,” Jim said
about JDA Software Group (www.jda.
com), a provider of integrated software
and professional services for the retail
16
fulton.asu.edu
demand chain. Jim is the company’s
chairman and founder.
of the dire circumstances that they’ve
come from.”
The Armstrongs have supported
initiatives in the School of Computing
and Informatics (part of the school of
engineering) and other ASU programs.
They now provide scholarships for more
than 20 ASU students, five of them in
the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
They use several criteria to determine
which students to support. The first is
that the students must be financially
independent from their parents.
The Armstrongs host regular dinners
for the scholarship recipients. In
addition, twice each year they travel
with the students to Agua Prieta, a
town on the Arizona-Mexico border, to
do service work. It’s mandatory for the
students to make the trips, and to do
an additional 40 hours of service work
per year.
The second criterion, according to Jim,
is that the students must be interested
in careers that “can add to the whole
concept of what ASU is all about.” The
Armstrongs look for students who want
to be engineers or computer scientists,
or who want to work in the medical or
education fields. They look for people
who, Jim said, “have that kind of fire
in their eyeballs about getting their
education behind them, in spite of some
“(The students) come from backgrounds
where they don’t get a lot of family
support, so we think we can help that
situation out by playing part of that role
for them,” says Jim, a native of Elliott
Lake, Ontario, who studied engineering
at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute in
Toronto.
The students are lucky to have Jim and
Jo-Ann Armstrong as mentors, and the
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering is
fortunate to count them as friends.
Clearly, dissecting the art of human
movement is a complex endeavor. But
it can lead to enormous advances in
human health.
As more becomes understood
about the brain’s role in movement,
researchers are getting closer to
developing prosthetic devices that can
be operated solely by a person’s brain
signals. Stated differently, by volition.
arm to feed themselves using only
their brain signals.
Today, he is a part of a team of
researchers attempting to build a
prosthetic human hand to be controlled
entirely by brain signals.
In redirecting the focus of research
from the arm to the hand, Helms Tillery
encountered a new set of challenges.
The hand’s reliance on sensory
information for its effective use and its
comparatively complex configuration
requires extensive knowledge of the
hand and the way the mind controls it.
For this, Helms Tillery turned to Marco
Santello, professor of kinesiology
and director of the Neural Control of
Movement Laboratory at ASU.
Steve Helms Tillery, professor of
bioengineering and head of the
SensoriMotor Research Group at
ASU, has worked for years to
advance the technology of braincontrolled prosthetics.
In 2006, the pair’s research proposal
was selected for funding by the
National Institutes of Health as a
part of its Bioengineering Partnership
Project entitled “Cortical Control of a
Dexterous Prosthetic Hand.”
Five years ago, he teamed with
Dr. Andy Schwartz, professor of
neurobiology at the University of
Pittsburgh, and Dawn Taylor, professor
of bioengineering at Case Western
Reserve University, to demonstrate
that monkeys could operate a robotic
The multidisciplinary project brings
together researchers from the
University of Pittsburgh, the University
of Washington, Carnegie Mellon
University, the University of Minnesota
and Columbia University.
“This research is exciting because
we are working to build something
that can be of use to disabled
individuals and at the same time, we
are pushing the frontiers of knowledge
regarding how the brain controls a
complex system like the hand,” Helms
Tillery says.
In their lab, Helms Tillery and Santello
monitor the neuronal activity that
takes place when the hand grabs
objects, allowing them to identify
the various sets of muscle and joint
combinations employed by the brain to
carry out the task.
They also are devising a system for
sending information back to the brain,
replacing the sensory information that
would be produced by a natural hand.
“Our long-term goal is to help ASU
become one of the leading research
institutions regionally and worldwide
in neural control of the hand,”
Santello says.
“We’ve made substantial progress
in this direction by pairing expertise
at ASU with clinical partners in the
Valley and promoting graduate training
across disciplines. This project has
given us an opportunity to build on
the momentum and make significant
contributions in the field of
motor neuroscience.”
Fall 2007
17
Close-up view of an integrated optical system allowing five-color analysis of DNA
fragments during their separation for DNA fingerprinting.
Dr. Frederic Zenhausern, director of the
Center for Applied NanoBioscience.
The tiniest in technology leads to big contracts for ASU’s
Center for Applied NanoBioscience (ANBC) in The Biodesign
Institute at Arizona State University. Researchers at the
center are using miniaturization technology, as well as
polymer expertise, to further develop fuel cell technology
under a contract with STMicroelectronics, and to develop a
DNA-processing platform for the FBI.
Minute Technology, Huge Contracts
Center develops hydrogen fuel cell generator for mobile electronic appliances,
DNA fingerprinting system for the FBI
By Trisha Coffman
Micro-power systems offering up to 20 watts of power are
one reason for the development of micro-fuel cells. “The
idea was a power source that could be used for portable
electronic appliances, like cell phones or laptops, but that
could also power medical devices, such as an intravenous
pump for dialysis,” says Frederic Zenhausern, ANBC director
and a professor in the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering.
He has a dual appointment in the Department of Electrical
Engineering and the School of Materials.
Don Gervasio, an associate professor of research, discovered
how to exploit the already well-known fuel sodium
borohydride to meet the requirements, which include a fuel
that is high-density energy and that can work at one low
temperature. The goal is to develop a product by the close of
the two-year contract with STMicroelectronics.
The “very complementary collaboration” between ANBC
and the company involves STMicroelectronics’ “unique
capabilities in terms of miniaturization technology regarding
the conversion [of the compound to hydrogen], while
the center is helping them with hydrogen storage,” says
Zenhausern.
Close-up view of a polymer-based cartridge for the fully automated sample
processing of a mixture of sperm and epithelial cells for DNA profiling.
Similar microfluidic technology is also being used in ANBC’s
development of a system for the FBI that will process
samples from sexual assault crimes, under a $4.1 million
contract from the Department of Justice. The system will
be fully automated and miniaturized, and cased within a
cartridge that will sort the two different cell populations
of offender and victim, then process the DNA in parallel
before linking to the FBI database. The advantages include
prevention of contamination and a four-hour processing time.
The FBI technology also is being evaluated by several
international crime labs in Canada and Europe, as well
as the largest DNA analysis lab in the U.S., the California
Department of Justice’s Jan Bashinski DNA Laboratory.
In addition, negotiations are being held for a multi-million
dollar commercial development for future deployment of the
platform technology at the crime scene.
“This is part of our grand vision,” Zenhausern says. “The
object of the center is to develop fully integrated molecular
diagnostic devices using miniaturization and polymer
expertise. We can profile the individual, but we can also
profile the disease – the two processes are really alike.”
Zenhausern also is co-founder of the Flexible Display Center
at Arizona State University, a $100 million, ASU-led national
research facility established by the U.S. Army in 2004 in
partnership with five universities and more than 20 industrial
partners.
Fall 2007
19
Dustin Petty’s parents were involved in construction, owning
a window company they sold in 1996.
“Growing up, everyone that I knew, that I saw working hard
earning a good living for themselves was in construction,” he
says. “I thought, ‘Well, hey, that’s something that I can do.’”
Dustin Petty
Learning and
Leading By Example
Construction senior shines in classroom,
as president of student organization
By Joel M. Horn
And now Petty, a senior in the Del E. Webb School of
Construction, is setting an example for others as a member
of Barrett, The Honors College at ASU and president of the
National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) student
chapter for the past three years.
figure out who’s going to buy it.” How to manage the project
in terms of manpower, as well as cash flow, also is a very
integral part of the pro forma process. Then they present
that in front of a panel of industry judges at the international
builder’s show that’s held every year, the past three years
in Orlando.
Petty was born and raised in the Valley and attended
Brophy Prep, which he credits for preparing him well for the
workload he has at ASU.
When the students get the projects, the real-life
development upon which the problem statement is based
is halfway completed. The students have the opportunity to
visit the actual sites, the past three of which have been in
South Carolina, Texas and Virginia. The 35-40 student teams,
all from four-year construction schools nationwide, typically
put in more than 1,500 man hours and must raise all of their
own funds. The cost is about $20,000. The past three years,
the ASU team has been comprised of 13-15 members.
“The first thing that I really liked (about ASU) was being in
the School of Construction, specifically,” he says. “Students
were just real involved in extra-curricular activities,
internships. It got me excited to become more involved.”
“Things have just been great, especially in a market like this
right now. It’s kind of in a downturn,” Petty says of the NAHB
student chapter. “Our students are the first to get internships
and get summer jobs. It’s really worked out well.”
And get involved he did. The NAHB student chapter was
active in the early 1990s, with six-person teams participating
in national competitions that were just starting up and
always placing in the top five, but it had grown dormant until
Petty attempted to revive it in his freshman year.
Speaking of working out well, Petty has been in a star in the
classroom, as well as with NAHB. He specifically mentions
two associate professors, Howard Bashford (one of the
residential emphasis professors) and Jim Ernzen (also the
director of the Del E. Webb School of Construction), but says
there are two main reasons for his academic success:
“It kind of fell apart. People weren’t that into it, and at
the last minute we had to drop out rather than embarrass
ourselves,” he says of the national competition. “So I said,
‘There’s really some value to this. We should be on the map,
because we’re the best construction school – and I really
believe that.”
So Petty got a team together, and since then the group’s
membership has been up and it even has a new Web site
coming out this fall, www.nahbasu.org.
It also has been placing well in the national competition;
three straight years, in fact, all under Petty’s leadership.
How the competition works is this: Schools get a group of
students together and they work on a project. Basically, they
are given plans and a piece of dirt. They have to say, “OK,
if we were the ones and we wanted funding for this, this is
how much we’d need, this is how we’d go about building
it, this is what we’d do as far as research, this is how we’d
“My folks are definitely my heroes,” he says. “I just grew
up watching them work hard and not stop until it was
done right.
The second reason, he says, is,” As corny as it may sound,
I want to be the best at what I do. A lot of people still hear
‘construction’ and think, ‘Oh, we’re digging ditches with a
shovel.’ But there’s a lot more to it, and there’s a lot to learn.
I still have tons to learn, and I just try to make the most out
of every opportunity I have. And so far it’s worked out well
for me.”
Petty will graduate in December, and then hopes to get a job
in residential construction.
“Just building homes, building communities,” he says of his
ambition. “And do that as long as I can.”
Fall 2007
21
Expanding
Informatics
School of Computing and Informatics
offers two new academic programs
By Trisha Coffman
Two new programs in the School of
Computing and Informatics (SCI) in the
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering are
designed to give students not only a solid
foundation in the science of informatics,
but also a heightened understanding of its
real-world pertinence.
Students in the M.S. program in the new
Department of Biomedical Informatics
(BMI) will get an in-depth overview prior to
specializing. “The philosophy and rationale
behind the program is that anybody
who completes it should know all four
biomedical informatics areas,” including
bioinformatics, clinical, imaging and public
health informatics, says Vice Chair of
Education and Training Vimla Patel. “We
want students to be practically oriented,
but strongly grounded in the science behind
practice.”
22
fulton.asu.edu
Greenes Named Chair of the
Department of Biomedical
Informatics
Vice chair of education and training, Vimla Patel (left)
and Sethuraman Panchanathan, director of the School
of Computing and Informatics.
The new Arizona Biomedical Collaborative in
downtown Phoenix.
Introductory and foundational BMI courses are designed to
expose students to the theories and methods for all areas. Then
students will choose their electives based on their domain focus,
Patel says.
The program is one of a kind because not only will it join
clinicians and researchers in teams, it also includes a core
research area in cognition and decision making, which “crosses
all domains,” Patel says. There is also a mandatory course in
problem solving, where “we’re going to bring in professionals
and scientists to teach solutions t o problems from their
perspective.”
Such courses fulfill the aim—on the part of both new
programs—to not only drive home the basics, but also show
them at work.
A certificate in Informatics is being offered this fall to students
in most disciplines. “We want to show students how to use
informatics tools in their field of work and increase productivity
and make them more marketable,” says Dianne Hansford,
associate research professor. “Even learning about informatics
gives you another way of thinking about problems, and that’s our
goal. The whole certificate is all about making the tools they’ll
need in their lifetime accessible to them.”
Courses are designed to further that accessibility and
understanding. Introduction to Information Science will “cover all
the aspects of informatics in a survey sort of way. We’re going
to approach it with respect to things students are familiar with,
such as YouTube or Google. How do those work and what sorts
of informatics make up YouTube?” says Hansford. Additional
courses will provide students with an understanding of the
“language of math,” used in information science, as well as basic
programming principles.
Dr. Robert Greenes is bringing experience
gained during almost four decades at
Harvard University to help lead Arizona
State University’s Department of Biomedical
Informatics.
Greenes is the Ira A. Fulton Chair of the new
department in the School of Computing and
Informatics, a part of the Ira A. Fulton School
of Engineering. He is also a professor of
biomedical informatics.
The department is co-located at ASU’s
main campus in Tempe and in the Arizona
Biomedical Collaborative 1 building on the
downtown Phoenix Biomedical Campus,
home to the University of Arizona College
of Medicine-Phoenix in Partnership with
Arizona State University.
Greenes left posts as professor
of radiology at Harvard Medical School,
and Distinguished Chair in Biomedical
Informatics at Brigham and Women’s
Hospital, where he was also a professor
of health policy and management at the
Harvard School of Public Health.
He also has been a professor in the Health
Science and Technology Division, a joint
division of Harvard Medical School and
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and
program director of the Boston Biomedical
Informatics Training Program, which is
supported in part by the National Library of
Medicine.
Fall 2007
23
Staying in the Loop
Building a Future
ASU civil and environmental engineering
professor studies photo radar camera program
Mother and math teacher earns
master’s degree in construction
By Joel M. Horn
By Joel M. Horn
Six photo radar cameras were activated along Loop 101 in
Scottsdale from Feb. 22-Oct. 23, 2006, and nearly 190,000 drivers
– more than 778 per day – were issued speeding citations.
Only those traveling more than 10 mph over the 65 mph speed
limit were cited. The highest number of detections in a 24-hour
period was 1,684, on March 11. The top speed recorded was 142
mph, southbound at Shea Boulevard.
The numbers are staggering, and nobody knows that better than
Simon Washington, an ASU professor of civil and environmental
engineering who released a 92-page report evaluating the Loop
101 cameras in early January. Washington’s report found that
the average speed of drivers on Loop 101 dropped about 9.5 mph
while the cameras were in effect, that the 8-mile portion of the
101 with cameras was between 30 and 60 percent safer when
the cameras were activated, and that there was a decrease
in the total number of accidents of nearly 50 percent and a
reduction in the total number of injuries of 40 percent.
Simon Washington, professor of civil and environmental engineering.
In addition, Washington’s report concluded that there was a large
economic benefit – about $1 million – to the city of Scottsdale.
More importantly, motorists had about $10 million in reduced
crash and injury costs.
The report looked at the effect the cameras had on traffic flow,
speed, following distances, crash frequency and crash severity,
and was used by the Scottsdale City Council to decide whether
to resume the enforcement, ask the Arizona Department of Public
Safety (DPS) to take over the program or end photo enforcement
on Loop 101.
“I really see my job as telling them what happened and they
decide what to do with that information,” Washington told The
Tribune, adding that agencies from around the country were
awaiting his analysis.
In January, the Scottsdale City Council voted 5-1 to reactivate the
cameras effective Feb. 22. Gov. Janet Napolitano, who praised
the photo radar enforcement in a letter to Scottsdale Mayor
Mary Manross and wants to deploy the program across the state,
asked DPS to take control of the cameras after June.
24
fulton.asu.edu
Kathleen Bonnano earned her undergraduate degree in finance
25 years ago from that “other” university down south. She
recently earned a Master of Science degree from the Del E.
Webb School of Construction at Arizona State University (ASU).
Bonnano decided to go into construction because she always
enjoyed mathematics and the building process. She knew the
Del E. Webb School had a great reputation and had worked on
a fundraising committee with Mike Markham, an alumnus of
the school who owns a contracting company where Bonnano
had interned.
Markham convinced her to take a closer look, and she read
the construction school’s catalog, which stated, “If you have
a background in business, architecture or engineering, the
construction program encompasses all three.” Bonnano had a
background in the first two, and wanted the third.
She now has it. After defending her thesis this summer, she
is actively looking for a construction position that utilizes her
mathematical and leadership abilities.
For her thesis, she interviewed 18 local contracting CEOs
and many distinguished members of the National Academy
of Construction (NAC). The CEOs represented more than
500 years of leadership experience and had a direct effect
on the lives of 25,000 employees and family members. The
NAC members had experience all over the world in many
monumental civil engineering projects, including the Panama
Canal Consortium, Oakland Bay Bridge and geological studies
on the Sicily-Calabria bridge (more on that later).
Among Del E. Webb School of Construction faculty, Professor
Bill Badger had the most influence. “He is not only the chair on
my graduate committee, but a true leader with great wisdom
and advice” she says. “He is open, honest, knowledgeable and
just plain nice. He is a true leader and a magnet at attracting
talent.”
Soon after she graduated with her undergraduate degree,
Bonnano and her husband – whom she met in an Italian 101
Kathleen Bonnano
class – got married, and after working in the financial field
she gave birth to three boys. Since then, she has been
raising her children, and she currently teaches calculus and
physics at Bourgade Catholic High School.
Bonnano says she always will be a mom, no matter what
age her children are (all three are teenagers), but she also
is a mathematician and can see herself benefiting the
construction industry in many different ways, including
construction operations and, hopefully, management of a
contracting company.
“When I become established in the construction industry, my
husband, a Phoenix physician, is looking forward to retiring
and playing golf,” she says. “I am looking forward to using
my God-given talents to build and contribute to a community
in a heavy-civil contracting firm.
“I am amazed that I have the potential to be part of a team
that builds the structures that get people to where they
work, play and pray. That is awesome.”
Back to the bridge. Bonnano had read an article in National
Geographic about an engineering firm that had submitted
designs for a bridge from Messina, Sicilia to Reggio,
Calabria. She does not think the bridge will ever come to
be, but she wants to be in a position to work on the project
that would join her family’s hometown to her husband’s
native island.
She says she is passionate about learning and wants to be
an example for her boys.
“If you are passionate about something,” she says, “your
dreams will become reality.”
Fall 2007
25
Spotlight On:
Full Name:
Donna Rose Mary Schnell
Donna Schnell
Current occupation: I work as a graduate research associate for Dr. Subhash Mahajan. The
focus of my research is on improving the performance of electronic devices by reducing defects
in semiconductors.
After working in business management and technology for almost 20 years,
Donna Schnell came to ASU to get a bachelors’ degree in materials science
and engineering. She had worked for the U.S. Department of Defense for 11
years and at Intel Corporation for another three before re-assuming the role of
student. After obtaining her undergraduate degree, she decided to continue her
studies and is now pursuing her Ph.D. in the School of Materials.
Hometown: Taylor, Arizona
By Deanna Evans
She has received numerous awards during her time at the Department of
Defense (DoD) and Intel Corporation including the DoD’s On-The-Spot Award,
Unsung Hero Award and several Outstanding Performance Awards. At ASU she
has been awarded two Dean’s Scholarships, two Barrett’s Scholarships and was
selected to participate in the Collaborative/Maricopa Engineering Transition
Scholars (CIRC/METS) Academic Scholarship Program, funded by the National
Science Foundation.
Childhood dream: I've always wanted to be the CEO of a company
What inspires you? I lost a very close friend to cancer a few years ago when she was quite
young. It was a huge wake-up call for me. I decided to put my career on hold for a few years in
order to get my degree, so that I can do what I want with my life because I don't know how much
longer I will have.
The draw to ASU: I didn't come to ASU to run away from business, but rather, to get the
education needed to go further. Ultimately, I'd like to tie business and engineering together.
The two arenas are very different and there is often times difficulty communicating across the
two. I'd like to be a liaison bridging that gap.
I've truly benefitted from the application-based curriculum at the School of Materials. The work
we do in class is consistent with industry needs. I think that if a student were to be thrust into
the workplace with only theoretical knowledge, they would struggle. The approach at ASU really
sets up engineers for success.
Challenges: Leaving industry and coming back to school required many sacrifices.
To a certain degree, there's a social sacrifice. There are times when I would like to meet a friend
for dinner, but can't because I have a test the next day. And, financially there are enormous
sacrifices, but I consider it an investment in my future to further my education.
To the next generation of women in the sciences: I would tell young women interested in a
career in engineering or the sciences to never give up their dream. Not for anyone or anything,
never give it up. Sometimes that may mean you have to be really tough and stick with it through
the hard times, but it will be worth it in the end.
What’s next? I'd like to make a difference. I think that the engineering field presents tremendous
opportunities to improve our quality of life and to improve the health of our environment. I want
to be part of a company that works toward these goals.
Ph.D. candidate Donna Schnell.
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fulton.asu.edu
Fall 2007
27
(From left) Jason, James and Michael Fann.
Yong-Hang Zhang, director of the Center for Nanophotonics.
Teach Them Well
Focused Sunlight
Center’s research could result in low-cost electricity
By Trisha Coffman
It’s reminiscent of that much-tested childhood science
experiment: focus sunlight through a magnifying glass to set
flame to a piece of paper. Only the “experiments” going on
in the Center for Nanophotonics, led by Director Yong-Hang
Zhang, professor of electrical engineering in the Ira A. Fulton
School of Engineering, are hardly kid stuff – it’s research
with the potential to generate low-cost electricity.
In order to develop devices that will convert light energy into
electrical energy more efficiently with lower cost, Zhang’s
team is using compound semiconductors and nanowire
structures instead of conventional single-conjunction silicon,
for photovoltaic—or solar—cells. The expertise of his team
is in semiconductor materials, lasers and photodetectors;
the latter also converts light signals into electrical signals.
“From a physics perspective, they’re identical to solar cells,”
Zhang says.
Zhang uses the magnifying glass example as a way
of explaining his approach, part of which uses light
concentration as a means to reduce the amount of
semiconductor material required. “You focus sunlight
28
fulton.asu.edu
down to a very small piece of semiconductor—through a
concentrator—to generate electricity, rather than using a
paper-sized semiconductor wafer,” he explains. The silicon
supply, making up 90 percent of the current solar cells in use,
is running low, Zhang says. So concentrator solar cells are
important because they capture solar energy by focusing it
onto an area 200 to 1000 times smaller. “This technology has
a great potential for both space and terrestrial applications.”
To further their study of energy conversion materials and
devices, faculty members from the center submitted a
proposal to Science Foundation Arizona (SFAz), hoping to be
considered for its Strategic Research Group program. The
proposal garnered a special vehicle for funding, a $500,000
one-year SRG Discovery Award. “We are the only ones
to receive this kind of development award,” Zhang says.
“We are very, very excited. We believe ASU and Arizona
really should be leaders in the world [with respect to this
research]. Look at the sunshine here. This program and
additional funding from ASU initiatives and federal agencies
will enable us to do that.”
Construction school grad donates
scholarship in his father’s name
by Ashley McNamee
When Michael Fann wanted to make a charitable donation
to a worthy cause last December, he knew exactly where
to go – the Del E. Webb School of Construction.
Fann, who graduated from the construction management
program in 1980, made a gift of $250,000 to help students
from central Arizona (Yavapai County) who have an
interest in a career in the construction industry. “Going to
a university in today’s world is very expensive, and a lot
of people are shut out from it because they don’t have the
financial means to attend,” Fann says.
One such person was Michael’s father, James Fann, who
started the Prescott-based Fann Contracting Inc. in 1960
that Michael now runs.
“We’re a relatively small company,” Fann says. “My
dad left high school to attend a trade school and never
received any form of higher education, but he loved to
teach and had a great deal of respect for teachers.”
A memorial service was held after James passed away
in May of 2006. A number of people spoke and reflected
on what they had learned from James, and how they
considered him their teacher and mentor. It was apparent
that James had a profound effect as a teacher to a number
of people. Michael became inspired to establish the
James L. Fann Memorial Scholarship in his father’s name,
thereby providing students the opportunity to learn from
other teachers within the industry.
“My dad was the kind of guy who didn’t spend a lot of
time in the office. He was always out in the field showing
guys how to lay pipe, showing them how to lay asphalt,
just showing them how to do quality work,” says Michael,
whose own son, Jason, graduated from the Del E. Webb
School of Construction in 2002 and started working for
Fann Contracting in September.
“I think everyone in the construction industry should be
looking to invest in its future,” Fann says. “We need a
good, healthy and educated work force when it comes to
managing construction projects. I think it’s up to everyone
in our industry to give back in order to educate and train
the next generation of construction leaders.”
Fall 2007
29
The success of the
Port of Guaymas
is dependent on
its capacity for
providing reliable,
consistent service to
and from the United
States market.
Giving Back
Engineering alum Bart Katz becomes
first member of Dean’s Club
By Joel M. Horn
Del E. Webb School of
Construction “Building
Foundations” Campaign
Dean’s Club members provide critical resources to help support faculty and
students and meet the school’s most pressing needs. By making annual gifts of
$5,000 or more, they become partners with the school as it moves forward under
the vision and leadership of Dean Deirdre Meldrum.
In January 2005, the Del E. Webb
School of Construction launched its
“Building Foundations” campaign
with the goal of building a new
facility for the school and creating
new, enhanced programs. The
ambitious effort is being led
by two of the school’s alumni:
Dan Withers, president of DL
Withers Construction, and Ron
Rogers, chairman of the New
Horizons Foundation. Since the
official launch, the school has
received more than $8.5 million
in endowment support, more than
$2 million towards the building
campaign and more than $2 million
non-endowed support.
“You really shouldn’t be giving your time and money unless you’re really passionate
about something,” says Katz, who owns six companies and is a Phoenix native who
has lived in the Valley his entire life. “I come from the engineering school, and I
found a way to engage with it in a very beneficial way.”
Alumni gift helps to open
door for new construction
students
Bart Katz
Bart Katz is an engineer and an entrepreneur. A partner in Phoenix-based BKM
Technology Partners (www.bkmtechnologypartners.com) and a 1983 graduate of
Arizona State University’s engineering school, he recently added a new title to his
résumé – inaugural member of the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering’s Dean’s Club
– and is encouraging others to join him.
Katz’s initial involvement with the engineering school came under its former dean.
He says he has grown fond of Meldrum, from whom he received a handwritten
note after the recent loss of his mother.
“I think a well-rounded person giving back to a university has to do a little bit of
everything,” says Katz, who earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical, bio
and materials engineering. “That’s providing money for scholarships, as well as
many types of committees or councils you’re on, as well as your time.”
Katz first found out about the Dean’s Club as Meldrum was forming the Dean’s
Corporate Advisory Board, of which he also is a member. He jumped at the
opportunity to further support the dean, who arrived at the school in January 2007.
“Certainly everybody I talk to who is engaged with her at the school is quite
impressed,” he says, “and I am too.”
30
fulton.asu.edu
The Del E. Webb School of
Construction now has an in-house
student recruiter. Melissa Luna
joined the construction school in
2006, after Jeff Ehret, a Del E.
Webb alumnus and president of
the PENTA Building Group, donated
$200,000 to the construction
program in November 2006. In her
first year on the job, Luna increased
the enrollment figures for first-time
entering freshman by 32 percent.
Female enrollment figures for the
fall 2007 semester are three times
higher than any other year in Del E.
Webb history.
Aerial photo of the port of Guaymas, Sonora and
map of the Guaymas-Tucson corridor.
Exporting Efficiency
Industrial engineering professor leads logistics capacity
study of the Guaymas-Tucson corridor
By Joel M. Horn
The port of Guaymas, Sonora is located in the
northwest of the Pacific coast of Mexico, 258 miles
from the nearest border crossing point in Nogales,
Ariz. It has unused capacity, which could allow for
fast and efficient vessel turnaround since it does
not experience the congestion of larger, regularlyscheduled ports of call. Thus, there is the potential
for a smooth flow of inbound and outbound materials
through its docks.
This ease of flow could be very attractive to shippers
located in Sonora, Arizona and other states that have
been identified as within the area of influence of the
port of Guaymas. Of particular importance is the notion
of using the port of Guaymas as a relief port for the
congested ports of Long Beach, Calif. and Los Angeles.
The success of the port of Guaymas is dependent on
its capacity for providing reliable, consistent service
to and from the United States market. A critical
link between Guaymas and the United States is
the Guaymas-Tucson corridor, and the capabilities
of that link have to be assured. To accomplish this
objective, J. Rene Villalobos, an associate professor
in ASU’s Industrial Engineering Department, and
fellow researchers have proposed a two-phase study
of the corridor. The first phase of Dr. Villalobos’
study was supported by the Arizona Department of
Transportation. The second phase is still pending.
In the first phase, they will perform a quick operational
assessment of the current capability of the GuaymasTucson corridor. Their attention will be on assessing
the capacity of the corridor in terms of 20-foot
equivalent units (how container capacity is measured)
the corridor currently can handle.
In the second phase, they will expand the study to
include prescriptive recommendations in terms of
logistics practices and security practices for the port,
which will allow it to become globally competitive.
They also will identify how Guaymas can serve as a
strategic point of collaboration between Arizona
and Sonora.
Fall 2007
31
Remembering Rob
No Testing? No Problem
Golf tournament held in memory of friend,
to benefit bioengineering students
Professor helps ensure safety, reliability
and performance of nuclear stockpile
by Ashley McNamee
By Joel M. Horn
When a heart condition took the life of Rob
Chamberlain unexpectedly in January 2005, his
friends and family wanted a way to remember the
31-year-old and what he stood for.
“The golf tournament came about to celebrate
him, his birthday and his life,” says Mel Mesias,
the tournament director and Chamberlain’s former
roommate. “It was what he enjoyed doing – getting
people together, having fun and playing golf.”
Rob Chamberlain
Chamberlain, who received his bachelor’s and
master’s degrees in bioengineering from the Ira A.
Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona
State University (ASU), had a real passion for
helping others, especially other Sun Devils.
So the golf tournament, which originally began
to remember Chamberlain, has evolved over the
past three years into a way to help current ASU
bioengineering students. The tournament has
doubled each year and now includes a barbecue
for students and family.
“Students can now meet professional
engineers, people that went to ASU,” Mesias
says, “and on top of that we can create some
financial assistance for students through Rob’s
scholarship.”
All proceeds raised from the Nov. 10 tournament
at Lone Tree Golf Club will be donated to
Chamberlain’s scholarship fund that benefits
current bioengineering students in the school of
engineering.
For more information or to register, please
call Mel Mesias at 602.769.1097 or email
[email protected]
Pedro Peralta, associate professor of mechanical and civil and environmental engineering.
Talk about a heavy responsibility.
Pedro Peralta, an associate professor in both mechanical
engineering and civil and environmental engineering
at Arizona State University (ASU), is participating in
the Stockpile Stewardship Program (SSP), a scientific
approach to ensure the safety, reliability and performance
of the nuclear stockpile in the absence of nuclear testing.
The stewardship mission stresses increased
fundamental understanding of physical phenomena
associated with stockpile performance, safety and
reliability, as well as the preservation and enhancement
of core science and technology competencies within
the National Nuclear Security Administration/Defense
Programs (NNSA/DP) complex.
The SSP funds the work Peralta is doing through the
Directed Stockpile Work at the Los Alamos National
Laboratory and the Stewardship Science Academic
Alliances (SSAA) program with a direct grant to ASU.
Areas of expertise for Peralta, who earned his M.S. in
Mechanical Engineering and Ph.D. in Materials Science
and Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania,
include mechanical properties of materials, fatigue and
fracture in metals and shock loading.
ASU was one of the universities selected to receive
an SSAA Award in 2005 for a project titled “Effects
of Microstructural Heterogeneity on Deformation and
Failure of Metallic Materials under Dynamic Loading: A
Multicrystal Approach.”
Los Alamos is one of three NNSA/DP laboratories at
which most of the research activities supporting the SSP
are conducted. The others are the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory and the Sandia National Laboratories.
Research also is done at several NNSA-supported
32
fulton.asu.edu
organizations, including the Nevada Test Site, the Naval
Research Laboratory and the University of Rochester
Laboratory for Laser Energetics.
The SSAA program’s objectives include:
• Growing the U.S. scientific community through the
funding of research projects at universities in areas
of fundamental science and technology relevant to
stockpile stewardship, with a focus on those areas
that have not been traditionally supported by other
federal agencies and for which there is a recruiting
need within the NNSA/DP laboratories complex.
• Providing fundamental-science information and
develop advanced experimental measurement
techniques in selected areas of physical sciences:
condensed matter physics and materials science,
hydrodynamics, plasma and high-energy-density
physics, fluid dynamics and low-energy nuclear
science.
• Training scientists in specific areas of research
relevant to stockpile stewardship.
• Promoting and sustaining scientific interactions
between the academic community and scientists at the
NNSA/DP laboratories through exchange of personnel.
• Increasing the availability of unique experimental
facilities sited at the NNSA/DP laboratories to the
academic community, particularly for collaborations in
areas of relevance to stockpile stewardship.
• Developing and maintaining a long-term recruiting
pipeline to the NNSA/DP laboratories by increasing
the visibility of the NNSA/DP scientific activities to the
U.S. faculty and student communities.
SSAA research focus on three areas: properties of
materials under extreme conditions and hydrodynamics,
high-energy-density physics and low-energy
nuclear science.
Fall 2007
33
News in Brief
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering Dean Deirdre
Meldrum joined the academic advisory board
of the External Research and Programs group
of Microsoft Research, a worldwide leader in
computer science and software engineering
research. The company’s headquarters are in
Redmond, Wash. “The board exists because we
are interested in obtaining feedback and advice
from thought leaders in academia to inform the
directions of our initiatives and programs,” says
Tom McMail, director of Strategic Collaborations
for the group. The eight-member board includes
academic leaders from Georgia Tech, Rice, Penn
State, the University of Washington, Harvey
Mudd College, Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory and Ecole Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne, Switzerland. Meldrum officially joined
the board on July 1. She could serve for up to
three years.
Ronald J. Adrian, a professor in the
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace
Engineering, was selected to receive the
American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA) 2007 Fluid Dynamics Award.
A fellow of the institute, Adrian was chosen
for his contributions to the understanding of
the behavior of liquids and gases in motion as
related to needs in aeronautics and astronautics.
Specifically, it recognizes his contributions to
the development of laser Doppler velocimetry,
particle image velocimetry and stochastic
estimation techniques, and for sustained
leadership in fluid dynamics. Adrian was
presented with the award at the 37th AIAA
Fluid Dynamics Conference and Exhibit in
Miami, June 26. Adrian is also a Fellow of the
American Physical Society, American Society
of Mechanical Engineers and the American
Academy of Mechanics; he also is a member
of the United States National Academy of
Engineering. In 2001, he was awarded the
Nusselt-Reynolds Prize for experimental fluid
mechanics research and in 2002 the AIAA
recognized his role in developing the particle
image velocimeter, presenting him with the
Aerospace Measurement Technology Award.
Jean Andino, associate professor in the
Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering and the Department of Chemical
Engineering, is featured in the June issue of
34
fulton.asu.edu
the National Society of Professional Engineers
magazine, PE: The Magazine for Professional
Engineers, in an article that reviewed highlights of
the past 100 years in engineering and recognizes
engineers who are making significant impacts in
the field. Andino also was recently honored by
the National Council of Examiners in Engineering
and Surveying for five years of service to the
organization’s work in examination development.
Andino helps write the Fundamentals of
Engineering exam taken nationally by students
and professionals as a first step toward licensure
as a professional engineer.
Joe Fernando, a professor in the Department
of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has
been consulting with the Phoenix Sustainability
Committee on strategies for improving thermal
comfort by reducing the urban heat island effect
in the city. Fernando’s work in this area, funded by
the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality,
is focused on developing models showing how
various environmental factors contribute to the
urban heat island effect, particularly the impact
of air quality. The models can be used to evaluate
a variety of possible environmental scenarios
related to the urban heat island effect. One facet
of the work involves using the center for the Ira A.
Fulton School of Engineering’s High Performance
Computing Initiative to devise complex
calculations demonstrating the relationship
between ozone pollution increase and the urban
heat island effect.
Trevor Thornton, a professor in the Department
of Electrical Engineering and director of ASU’s
Center for Solid State Electronics Research,
will receive $215,000 from Science Foundation
Arizona to introduce a new cost-effective option
for companies that require high-efficiency,
low-power integrated circuits. Seth Wilk, a
research professor in the Department of Electrical
Engineering, and Joseph Ervin, an electrical
engineering doctoral student, have worked on
the technology development necessary for the
project. They also contributed to the project
business model presented to the foundation. The
model was based on Wilk's and Ervin's experience
with ASU's Edson Student Entrepreneurship
Initiative competition in which Wilk and Ervin
placed in the top eight. The project is part of a
$2 million investment through the foundation's
2007 Small Business Catalytic Program. It will
support eight Arizona-based research programs
in further developing existing research to achieve
technology commercialization. The program
focuses on making “seed” investments to create
catalysts for technology development, company
formation and high-tech job creation in Arizona.
Ranu Jung, an associate professor in the
Harrington Department of Bioengineering and
director of the Center for Adaptive Neural
Systems at ASU, and Sharon Cook, an assistant
professor in the Department of Mathematics
and Statistics and the School of Life Sciences,
participated in the 16th annual International
Computational Neuroscience meeting July
7-12 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Jung is
president of the Organization for Computational
Neurosciences, which sponsors the annual
meeting. Crook is on the program committee for
the meeting. Four ASU graduate students also
participated, along with more than 300 faculty,
researchers, postdoctoral fellows and students
from 22 countries. Three ASU graduate students
presented research posters. Abstracts of the
presentations were published as a supplement
by the journal BMC Neuroscience. The ASU
faculty also used the meeting as an opportunity
to train doctoral students in developing symposia
and workshops. Under their guidance, Mini
Kurian, graduate student in mathematics and
statistics and Joe Graham, a graduate student
in bioengineering, led the organization of a
workshop entitled "Neuro-Machine Interfaces:
Integrating Biology and Technology to Develop
Functionally Relevant Devices.” Jung presented
an introduction and overview of the topics
for discussion at the meeting, followed
presentations by experts on information theory,
neural plasticity and deployment of medical
devices for pain management.
Paul Westerhoff, a professor in the Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was
recognized as one of the country’s most
promising young engineers through his selection
to participate in the National Academy of
Engineering’s U.S. Frontiers of Engineering
Symposium Sept. 24-26 at Microsoft Research
in Redmond, Wash. Participants, who must be
30 to 45, are selected based on the academy’s
assessment that nominees “have demonstrated
accomplishment in engineering research and
technical work with recognizable contributions
to advancing the frontiers of engineering . . . and
have potential to be future leaders in the U.S.
engineering endeavor.” Westerhoff’s research
focuses on water treatment and quality. He is
a co-organizer of a symposium session on safe
water. Westerhoff was one of 83 engineers
chosen from among 260 nominees for this
year’s event.
The largest grant amount ever awarded to
fund mathematical research at Arizona State
University will support a project involving
the work of Douglas Cochran, assistant
dean of research for the Ira A. Fulton School
of Engineering and associate professor in
the Department of Electrical Engineering.
The National Science Foundation grant will
provide $1 million over three years to the
project entitled “Mathematical Foundations of
Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The goal is to
increase the understanding of the mathematics
and algorithms that can lead to technological
advances to improve magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI). The team is led by Rosemary
Renaut, a professor in the Department of
Mathematics and Statistics. The team also
includes other mathematics department
members: professor Randall Eubank; professor
Anne Gelb; and assistant professor Svetlana
Roudenko. The project involves a partnership
with the Barrow Neurological Institute in
Phoenix, specifically with the institute’s MRI
system designers James Pipe and Josef Debbins.
The researchers are seeking to improve the
clarity of imaging and the speed at which images
can be produced, as well as enable development
of diagnostic methods that can more precisely
perform functions such as measuring patients’
levels of blood and other biological fluids.
Joseph Wang, director of the Center for
Bioelectronics and Biosensors in ASU’s
Biodesign Institute and professor with joint
appointments in the Ira A. Fulton School of
Engineering and the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences, has a leadership role in two
major research projects. He will serve as
principal investigator at ASU for a Motorola
Partnership grant for a project entitled “Sensor
System for Explosive Detection Based on
Multiple Orthogonal Detection Schemes.” The
$1 million grant supports research to improve
the detection of explosives with minimal
false alarms. Nongjian Tao and Douglas
Cochran, professors in the Department of
Electrical Engineering, are collaborating with
Wang on the project. Wang will also serve
as ASU principal investigator for the project
“Wearable Nanosensor Array for Monitoring
Diesel Exhaust.” The project will be supported
by a grant of $500,000 from the National
Institutes of Health to be shared with University
of California–Riverside. Wang’s role will include
developing vapor detection of toxic metals and
related supportive portable instrumentation. ASU
collaborators on the project include electrical
engineering professors Bertan Bakkaloglu and
Andreas Spanias.
Yong-Hang Zhang, a professor in the
Department of Electrical Engineering and
director of the Center for Nanophotonics (CNP),
has received a $500,000 Discovery Award
from Science Foundation Arizona ‘s Strategic
Research Group (SRG) Program. The award
supports a collaborative research project
involving Zhang and his team at CNP: CunZheng Ning and Shuiqing Yu in the electrical
engineering department; Fernando Ponce and
Jose Menendez in the Department of Physics;
engineering research scientist Shane Johnson;
associate professor of electronic systems
at ASU’s Polytechnic Campus, Govindasamy
Tamizhmani; and professor of optical sciences
at the University of Arizona, Alan Kost. The
project is aimed at developing novel solar cells,
using semiconductor heterostructures and
nanowires. Zhang’s proposal was chosen as
one of eight out of 28 submissions. The SRG
program is “designed to seed major, high-impact
collaborations between Arizona researchers and
industrial partners” that impact three areas of
“strategic importance” to Arizona: sustainability,
information and communication technologies,
and biosciences.
An ASU research team led by Andreas
Spanias, a professor in the Department of
Electrical Engineering, has been awarded
a three-year $400,000 National Science
Foundation (NSF) grant as part of the
foundation’s program entitled Explosives and
Related Threats: Frontiers in Prediction and
Detection. The grant will fund signal processing
research on ion-channel sensors for use in
detecting harmful substances such as the
anthrax virus. His research partners are fellow
electrical engineering department faculty
members professor Stephen Goodnick,
who also is ASU’s associate vice president
of research, Stephen Phillips, chair of the
department, and professor Trevor Thornton,
director of the Center for Solid State Electronic
Research. ASU researchers have already devised
a silicon ion-channel sensor using principles from
biology to develop a device with the potential
to detect harmful substances. It can achieve
detection in extremely small concentrations of
substances. The signal processing aspects of the
project involve removing the noise from ultra-low
electrical currents produced by the sensor and
using current signatures to identify specific
substances or harmful agents. Specific signal
processing problems to be examined include the
development of real-time algorithms that detect
and categorize electrical current signatures
while minimizing false alarms. The ASU Sensor
Signal and Information Processing(SenSIP)
consortium, headed by Spanias, and the Arizona
Institute of Nano-Electronics, headed by
Goodnick, will be leading the research. The team
has been sent a letter of congratulations on the
NSF grant by United States congressman Harry
Mitchell, who represents Arizona's
5th District.
Nongjian Tao, a professor in the Department of
Electrical Engineering, has been awarded a fouryear, $2.3 million dollar grant by the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) as a part of its Genes,
Environment and Health Initiative, to develop
a wearable wireless system for real-time
monitoring of chemical toxicants. Tao will work
with co-principal investigator Erica Forzani,
an assistant professor of research in the
electrical engineering department. The program
is aimed at developing new genomic tools and
instruments that will measure environmental
factors to determine how various factors affect
risk for a number of human health problems.
The research focuses on the ability to reliably
and quickly detect chemical toxins in the air
using a wearable sensing system instead of the
current bulky spectroscopic and chromatographic
techniques. The goal is to create a wearable
sensor system that accurately detects chemical
toxins and is affordable and easy to upgrade. The
project is a joint effort between chemical sensor
researchers at ASU, toxicologists at University
of Arizona, engineers and scientists at Motorola,
and field-testing experts at the Arizona Division
of Occupational Safety and Health.
For more school of engineering news,
and to subscribe to RSS feeds of
news articles and bulletins, please
click the “Newsroom” link on our
Web site.
Fall 2007
35
Viewpoint
Engineering students Rob Henry (left), Don Takeuchi
(middle) and an unidentified student, perform
an airflow experiment in one of the mechanical
engineering labs around 1976. Takeuchi went on to
earn a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering
and has worked for Honeywell for more than 30
years. His son, Tim, later attended ASU and received
a master’s degree, also in mechanical and aerospace
engineering, working with Dr. Ramandra Roy (Tim
now works at Intel). Tim’s wife, Dawn, another ASU
graduate, is the business operations manager for the
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
fulton.asu.edu
Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering
PO Box 879309
Tempe, Arizona 85287-9309
The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering’s
50th anniversary celebration begins during
Homecoming 2007!
Homecoming displays and presentations include:
u
Biomedical Informatics
u
Biomedical Engineering Design Studio
u
Sustainable High Performance Cementitious Composites
u
A New Approach to Fuel Cells
u
Polymer for Advanced Applications
u
Identifying Biomarkers for Early Detection and Treatment
of Alzheimer’s Disease
u
Asset Decommissioning and Investment Recovery
u
50 years in Electrical Engineering at Arizona State University
u
Environmental Fluid Dynamics program
Four engineering units turn 50 during 2007-08:
Del E. Webb School of Construction
Department of Electrical Engineering
Photo credit: Tom Story.
Department of Industrial Engineering
Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
The Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering is
celebrating 50 years of excellence. We invite
you to click on the anniversary logo at
fulton.asu.edu to learn more about the
school’s history, view (and help identify) vintage
photos, and read the first-hand account of
a member of the school’s first graduating class.
While you’re at it, please e-mail full.circle@
asu.edu and let us know about news in your
personal or professional life. Information
submitted may be published in the Class Notes
section of a future Full Circle. We look forward to
hearing from you!