New Doctoral Program in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Boise State
December 2, 2005
 

The State Board of Education unanimously approved a new doctoral program in electrical and computer engineering at Boise State University, and university officials say they will admit the first students to the program in spring 2006. The new Ph.D. is the third doctoral program to be offered at Boise State. The university also offers a Ph.D. in geophysics and an Ed.D. in curriculum and instruction.

President Bob Kustra said the new Ph.D. program in electrical and computer engineering will bring many benefits to the Treasure Valley and to Idaho, and is an important step forward for Boise State as a metropolitan research university of distinction. Learning and research opportunities for undergraduate and master’s degree students will be greatly enhanced by the addition of this doctoral program, Provost Sona Andrews said. “The current talents and expertise of our exceptional faculty have positioned us well to initiate this program,” she said.

The degree will also provide new opportunities for partnerships with industry, government agencies and other Idaho universities, said Cheryl Schrader, dean of the College of Engineering.

Courtesy of Boise State University. Full Story at: http://news.boisestate.edu/newsrelease/122005/1202eng.phd.html
 

Idaho's David Atkinson Co-Authors Findings of Huygens Probe Entry, Descent and Landing, and Doppler Wind Experience

December 2, 2005

Dr. David Atkinson and an international team of scientists have successfully measured the zonal -east-west - winds of Saturn's moon, Titan. That data may provide valuable insights into the mysteries of earth's own atmosphere. Atkinson, UI electrical and computer engineering professor who also serves as associate director of the Idaho NASA Space Grant Program and the Idaho NASA Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), has measured the zonal winds on Titan from near the top of the atmosphere, about 160 kilometers, to the surface. His team's Doppler Wind Experiment is one of the six scientific investigations comprising the payload of the Huygens Probe, released from the European Space Agency's (ESA) Cassini spacecraft last December.

Atkinson sees the research as a grand adventure. "To be able to say that I've helped explore a world for the first time, to be the first person to know what the Titan winds are, to see a place that no one has ever seen before - it really is, has been, and continues to be a remarkable experience."

Courtesy of the University of Idaho. Full story at:

http://www.today.uidaho.edu/Details.aspx?ID=3336

National Science Foundation Awards ISU Biology Researchers Key Grants

November 29, 2005

Researchers in the Idaho State University Department of Biological Sciences are on a roll, having been awarded multiple competitive and prestigious National Science Foundation grants this summer and fall.

"I believe this impressive array of NSF grants speaks to the quality of the department of biological sciences and its faculty," said Dr. Terry Bowyer, department chair. "Our department is one of the best-kept secrets in educational excellence, but that will change as faculty members continue to make these major contributions to science and the education of our undergraduate and graduate students."

Recipients of the NSF grants awarded to the ISU biological sciences department this summer and fall include:

• Dr. Nancy Huntly, ecology professor, is a co-principal investigator with Dr. Herbert Maschner and Dr. Katherine Reedy-Maschner of the ISU anthropology department on a $1.15 million NSF grant to study the ecological complexity of Alaska's Sanak Island ecosystem. The results will be of value in understanding how to better manage resource exploitation, such as fisheries, to sustain both human societies and biological resources, such as fish and wildlife populations.

• Dr. Marjorie Matocq, assistant professor and director of the ISU Molecular Research Core Facility (MRCF), and Dr. Michael Thomas received a $140,000 NSF grant for "Major Research Instrumentation" for an expansion of sequencing capacity. The MRCF has experienced enormous growth in recent years due to increased usage of molecular tools by existing faculty and the recent arrival of six new tenure-track and one research faculty in the department of biological sciences.

• Dr. Ken Rodnick, professor of physiology, has received a three-year, $490,000 NSF grant to explain sex-specific effects of sex steroids on cardiac function in rainbow trout. His co-principal investigators are Drs. Richard Olson at the Boise VA Hospital and Carl Schreck at Oregon State University.

Courtesy of Idaho State University. Read the full story here.

UI Engineer Serves on National Research Council Committee Reviewing Louisiana Coastal Restoration Plans

November 14, 2005

Louisiana’s task in sustaining coastal wetlands dwarfs any previous environmental coastal recovery efforts that have been undertaken before, said University of Idaho engineering professor Peter Goodwin of Boise.

Goodwin, UI DeVlieg Presidential Professor in Ecohydraulics, directs the Center for Ecohydraulics Research at the Idaho Water Center, the university’s new primary location in Boise. He served on a committee of experts who began reviewing Louisiana coastal wetland issues in 2002.

The team’s report, “Drawing Louisiana’s New Map: Addressing Land Loss in Coastal Louisiana,” was issued by the National Research Council.

“We can do the science; we can do the engineering even on such a bold scale,” he said. “But the most difficult aspect is the merging of the best-available science with public policy. As soon as you factor in the people and what these efforts will mean to them, their livelihood and culture, it becomes very complicated. There will always be perceived winners and losers in any plan, and the issue becomes how you get community buy-in.”

In addition to rising sea level and sinking sediments, impacts of channelizing the Mississippi River and building levees along it were long recognized as threats to coastal stability, Goodwin said. The hurricanes made the problems real.

The UI Water Center, which was completed last year, provides Goodwin’s group with a new state of the art flume to study water flow and sediment transport.

“On a system like the Boise River, recent studies by the City of Boise, the USGS and other agencies have developed a good understanding of how it works and what the risks are,” Goodwin said. “It is important that our community also considers the consequences of different management strategies related to the flood risks and changes in the ecology of the river corridor”.

Courtesy of University of Idaho. Full story at: http://www.today.uidaho.edu/Details.aspx?ID=3319

November 11, 2005

Idaho State University researchers are studying how single-celled bacteria living in Pacific Northwest geothermal areas may eventually be used to assist in the clean up of metal contamination, nuclear waste and other hazardous materials.

"We're just trying to take advantage of what nature already offers by using microbes to clean up hazardous waste," said Timothy Magnuson, ISU biology assistant professor. "The geothermal features of this region are potential 'gold mines' to be explored for utilizing and understanding these organisms."

Most of the organisms now being studied came from a geothermal area in southeast Oregon's Alvord Desert, but ISU researchers are beginning to take a look at organisms living in Idaho geothermal features.

The organisms being studied by ISU researchers can be used to clean up metal pollutants such as uranium, arsenic, and chromium. They may have practical applications at the Idaho National Laboratory and could be used to help clean up selenium and other by-products of southeast Idaho and Wyoming phosphate mining operations.

ISU researchers are studying how "thermophilic organisms," those living in a hot springs ecosystem, can reduce metals through their respiration. The hot-springs projects and related sub-projects have been funded for about $500,000 through grants from the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Energy, Inland Northwest Research Alliance, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. They are also working with the Department of Energy on a project to look at a subset of iron-reducing organisms that are acid-specific, which means they thrive in acidic conditions. This project is bringing in about another $500,000 to ISU researchers.

Courtesy of Idaho State University. Read the full story here.

Boise State College of Engineering Receives Funding for New Instrument Nicknamed 'Million Dollar Baby'

September 7, 2005

A grant for a new analytical transmission electron microscope has been awarded to Boise State University by the National Science Foundation and will benefit research in materials science, electrical engineering, computer engineering, physics, biology, chemistry and geosciences.

The NSF recently notified Boise State that it had approved a $691,910 award. The award was matched by a $125,000 grant from the Micron Technology Foundation and $180,000 from Boise State, for a total funding level of $996,910 for instrumentation and support services.

“This award represents a truly interdisciplinary focus and a new avenue for scholarly work,” said Janet Hampikian, associate dean of the Boise State College of Engineering, who procured the grant along with colleagues in a number of science and engineering fields.

“State-of-the art materials characterization made available through access to a transmission electron microscope is critical for research development in a wide range of technology areas including biomedical, microelectronics and nanotechnology,” said Hampikian. “This new instrument is a tremendous asset for Boise State and will enhance our efforts to prepare students for future jobs in the region’s growing high-technology sector.”

Four Boise State co-investigators submitted the TEM grant proposal, including Hampikian, engineering professor Peter Muller, physics professor Alex Punnoose, and biology professor Julia Oxford. Boise State scientists and engineers whose research programs and efforts supported the proposal included chemistry professors Dale Russell and Tomoko Fujiwara, biology professor Marcelo Serpe, physics professor Byung Kim, engineering professor Bill Knowlton, who has joint appointments in materials science and engineering and electrical and computer engineering, Sean Donovan, research professor of materials science and engineering, and Amy Moll, chair of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

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'Ecology' Article Earns Award for ISU Stream Ecologist

September 7, 2005

Idaho State University stream ecologist Dr. Colden Baxter has been honored by the world's leading professional society for the study of streams and rivers.

The North American Benthological Society awarded Baxter its annual Hynes Award for New Investigators "in recognition of the excellence in science represented by his recent publication entitled, 'Fish Invasion Restructures Stream and Forest Food Webs by Interrupting Reciprocal Prey Subsidies,' which was published in the prestigious professional journal Ecology."

The Hynes Award is named for Dr. H.B. Noel Hynes, whom many consider the world's most renowned freshwater biologist and the father of modern stream ecology.

Baxter joined the ISU faculty in December 2004 as assistant professor in the department of biological sciences. He was previously at Colorado State University. The study, which he authored with Kurt Fausch, Mashashi Murakami and Phillip Chapman, showed that exotic species can degrade both the ecosystems they invade and adjacent habitats as well.

-Courtesy of the Idaho State University

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New Center For Environmental Sensing at Boise State Provides Opportunities for Collaboration

September 2, 2005

A new center for sensor research at Boise State University will provide opportunities for collaboration and support for university scientists and engineers who are pursuing a broad range of funded projects, from studying air quality during inversions in the Treasure Valley to using ground penetrating radar to study Arctic stream channels.

The Center for Environmental Sensing at Boise State was recently approved by the State Board of Education, and will begin operations this fall under the direction of Boise State civil engineering professor Molly Gribb.

“There are a growing number of research projects at Boise State that involve sensors, including projects in the environmental sciences, health sciences, engineering, chemistry, physics and geophysics,” Gribb said. “The Center for Environmental Sensing will allow us to more easily share information, use our laboratories more efficiently and increase our visibility.”

Gribb is leading a $1.6 million grant from the EPA to develop multipurpose sensors for the investigation of environmental contaminants. This research project involves faculty, staff and students from three engineering departments and the biology department at Boise State to develop an ion mobility spectrometer, or IMS, sensor system for detecting contaminant vapors in unsaturated soils. In addition, sensors to detect chemical and biological warfare agents are also under development. The grant, which received EPA approval for funding in fiscal year 2005, builds on nearly $2 million in EPA grants awarded to the College of Engineering since 2002 for sensor research.

Gribb and other members of the sensor research team recently completed a prototype for the IMS sensor. The device is placed in a cylindrical housing that can be pushed into the subsurface using a truck-mounted hydraulic jacking system. Data collected by the sensor is converted from an analog to digital signal and then transmitted via satellite to an Internet site, providing researchers with live information about the identity, concentration and location of the vapors and a means to continue to monitor them.

The new Center for Environmental Sensing will also collaborate with the university’s Center for Geophysical Investigation for the Shallow Subsurface, or CGISS. CGISS is involved in a number of funded projects that involve imaging and studying the Earth’s shallow subsurface.

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NASA Enhances Capacity of Seven Space Grant Consortia

September 1, 2005

NASA's Office of Education has competitively selected the Idaho Space Grant Consortium as on of seven consortia in the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program (Space Grant). They were selected to expand their role assisting NASA to inspire students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Each consortium will receive a one-time increase of $353,000 to their existing grant to advance programs in education, research and public service. The award may be expended over a two-year period with at least $100,000 allotted for fellowships or scholarships.

"Guided by the Vision for Space Exploration, these awards will provide Space Grant with opportunities to expand their work of preparing talented individuals for NASA-related careers. The program exemplifies an investment by the agency in the future of our nation's scientific and technological workforce," said Diane DeTroye, Space Grant program manager.

Space Grant, mandated by Congress in 1987, is a national program to promote partnerships among universities, aerospace industries, federal, state and local governments. In an effort to help maintain America's preeminence in aerospace science and technology, the first 21 Space Grant consortia were competitively selected in 1989.

NASA received 13 proposals in response to this Space Grant program announcement. Proposals were peer-reviewed by programmatic experts from academia and government.

-Courtesy of NASA Newsroom

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$9 Million Grant Will Boost Water Research at Idaho Universities

June 15, 2005

A $9 million federally funded research program announced Wednesday will bolster Idaho’s ability to study critical water and aquaculture issues.

Leaders of the Idaho Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research announced the new grant during a meeting of the Governor’s Science and Technology Advisory Council at Moscow.

“This funding will contribute significantly to Idaho’s existing expertise in water research and help Idaho universities become more competitive in attracting future support for their scientists,” said Doyle Jacklin, the Post Falls businessman who leads the statewide Idaho EPSCoR committee.

“The fact that this is a multi-university award is good for the state,” Jacklin added. “The all-encompassing subject of water that this grant will explore is of paramount importance in Idaho.”

The Research Infrastructure Improvement grant will build on Idaho’s existing water research strengths, Jacklin added.

The committee received word late last week that Idaho had won the three-year, $9 million National Science Foundation grant. Researchers at the University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University will share the funding.

The funding will support expanded computer analysis tools to address water issues and research on nitrogen and carbon cycles in Idaho landscapes, stream ecology, aquaculture and environmental nano-scale sensors.

New computer capabilities for the UI Ecohydraulics Laboratory at the Idaho Water Center in Boise will benefit scientists throughout the state, said Jean’ne Shreeve, the Idaho EPSCoR Program director and UI chemistry professor.

The Idaho program was one of four nationally that was fully funded, Shreeve said. Nevada, South Carolina and Kentucky were the other states receiving full funding from among the 13 that submitted proposals.

Idaho’s wealth of watershed research remains largely untapped by scientists elsewhere and will gain visibility with the new projects. The state’s leadership in aquaculture and agricultural water research was another asset that helped land the funding.

The grant also reflects the state’s desire to support a growing high-tech industry and Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s desire to expand Idaho universities’ scientific expertise in select areas.

Other aspects of the grant include establishing closer scientific ties with Idaho’s Indian tribes and the Columbia River Inter-tribal Fish Commission by expanding existing public outreach and education efforts. Other elements of the grant will support programs to educate the general public and legislators about benefits from Idaho research.

Since the Idaho EPSCoR program won its first major National Science Foundation grant in 1989, the state’s scientists have received some $112 million in direct funding through the program and related funding totaling an additional $74 million, Jacklin said.

The new grant will establish an Idaho Experimental Watershed Network that will draw together scientists from all three public universities. Scientists from UI will monitor Mica Creek in northern Idaho, ISU will monitor the Portneuf River in southeastern Idaho and Boise State will monitor Dry Creek in southwestern Idaho. Boise State will also develop a sophisticated water quality lab on its campus to support researchers statewide. Future cooperative watershed monitoring efforts by UI and BSU researchers will add Reynolds Creek in southwestern Idaho to the network. ISU scientists will focus on how streams and rivers carry carbon from watersheds and the ways human activity may affect the global carbon cycle. Changes in land use and agricultural and industrial activities can greatly influence carbon and nutrient flows in streams.

-Courtesy of the University of Idaho

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Alex Punnoose Wins Prestigious NSF CAREER award

Materials Research Yields Top Paper in 2004

May 20, 2005

A unique research paper by Dr. David McIlroy and his colleagues was recently acknowledged in one of the world’s most authoritative sources of information for condensed matter physicists and materials and surface scientists. Their research is featured in the Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter’s Top Papers 2004 Showcase focusing on the leading and most frequently downloaded papers of the year.

The paper, Phase transitions in quasi-2D structures, is a major step closer to an understanding of how to harness “wasted” energy (such as the energy that a refrigerator pumps into the room). The discoveries made by Dr. McIlroy and his team have revealed new details about zirconium telluride, which may help in the future development of more efficient thermoelectrics. Thermoelectrics are a class of materials with very unique properties; when one side is heated while the other side is kept cooler, the material produces electrical energy! In the case of zirconium telluride, researchers have been trying to understand the physics behind its properties for a quarter of a century. The featured research involved the University of Idaho, Clemson University, the University of Wisconsin, and the Ames National Laboratory. University of Idaho undergraduates Brad Kempton and Jayson Wharton made significant contributions to this research project. In fact, Mr. Kempton received a prestigious Undergraduate Research Award for his work from the Materials Research Society, and international organization dedicated to the science and engineering of materials. Dr. McIlroy is the leader of Idaho EPSCoR’s Nanoscience research initiative funded by the National Science Foundation.
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