What's New at ESM?

The Student Society of Engineering Science recently elected their 2008-09 officers. The officers are:

President: Matt Verlinich
Vice President: Stephen Koytek
Secretary: Brennan DeCesar
Treasurer: Brian Bontempo
Social Chair: Scott Jacobs
Webmaster: Rich Mattes
Underclassmen Envoys: Shane Lani and Ben Russo

Congratulations to the new officers! We look forward to working with you next year!

Murat Cetinkaya, a doctoral student in Prof. Melik Demirel’s group, gave an invited talk at the Nanomaterials session of American Chemical Society New Orleans meeting on April 6-10.. His talk was entitled: “Crystalline phase transitions of nanostructured poly-(p-xylylene) films”. Mr. Cetinkaya has defended his PhD thesis recently and would start a postdoctoral research position in Europe this summer. More details are available at the ACS web site.

Jon Pitt, Doctoral candidate in Engineering Science and Mechanics, under the advising of Dr. Francesco Costanzo, has been selected as a recipient of the Science, Mathematics And Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship program. The program is designed to support undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines. ESM Congratulates Jon on his educational achievements to receive such an award. To learn more about the SMART scholarship program, please visit their website.

The College of Engineering, Tuesday, hosted their 2008 College of Engineering Research Symposium. John Petrilli, master’s degree candidate in engineering science, under the advising of Dr. Barbara Shaw, won first place for his graduate paper. The Engineering Graduate Student Council presented John with a certificate of recognition for his work on an outstanding paper. This award is the highest honor awarded at the Symposium event.

Jinjie Shi, graduate student in engineering science and mechanics under the advising of Dr. Tony Huang, had a paper featured and cover image in Applied Physics Letters on March 17. The article featured his work in surface acoustic waves. Jinjie’s current research work mainly focuses on Micro/nano acoustics, microfluidics, acousto-plasmonics and BioNEMS. Last month, Mr. Shi won the grand prize at the ESM Today on his graduate student work. To read more about the article published in Applied Physics Letters, please visit this website.

Yuebing Zheng, graduate student in engineering science and mechanics, under the advising of Dr. Tony Huang, has been selected as a King Abdullah Scholar with the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST). This prestigious award carries a $50,000 stipend per year and up to $10,000 per year for research activities. The King Abdullah Scholar Award is a unique opportunity to recognize excellence in academics and research by graduate students around the world. Selecting Yuebing for this award was based on his outstanding research capabilities and achievements in his area of study with his work at Penn State.

Yuebing has been invited to a Recognition Event in Washington, DC on April 5, 2008. The event will give him an opportunity to meet with KAUST officials and to conduct a brief presentation on his research.

To learn more about this award, please visit the KAUST website.

Omar Rosas, graduate student in materials, received a Kennametal Graduate Student Fellowship. The criteria used in the selection process was outstanding academic performance and original research. Omar is a Mexican CONACyT fellowship student working on CO2 corrosion for problems in the oil industry on pipeline systems. Through Omar’s educational achievements and research, ESM congratulates him for his many accomplishments.

Congratulations to the forty-five students who have achieved the Dean’s List for the Fall 2007 semester. The following students were honored and have been on the Dean’s List for:

One semester

• Kathryn Barber, fall 07
  
• Windsor Bisbee, fall 07
  
• Joshua Burak, fall 07
  
• Justin Hammond, fall 07
  
• Arwen Kandt, fall 07
  
• Britt Kern, fall 07
  
• Matthew Lewinshn, fall 07
  
• Minna Ranjeva, fall 07

Two semesters

• Adam Ostrich, fall 07 and spring 07
  
• Dana Scott, fall 2007 and spring 05

Three semesters

• Timothy Byrne, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Jason Hunter, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Shane Lani, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Brandon Montemuro, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Nghia Nguyen, fall 07, fall 04 and spring 04
  
• Ravendra Nohar, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Jonathan Ross, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Benjamin Russo, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Aimee Tu, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06
  
• Michael Ulizio, fall 07, spring 06 and fall 04
  
• Matthew Verlinich, fall 07, fall 06 and fall 05
  
• Jillian Woolridge, fall 07, spring 07 and fall 06

Four semesters

• Michael Conway, fall 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Eli Katz, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06 and fall 05
  
• Chad Ostrowski, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06 and fall 05
  
• Keith Stern, fall 07, fall 06, spring 05 and fall 04
  
• Jacqueline VanPelt, fall 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Christopher Winter, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06 and fall 05

Five semesters

• Michael Anderson, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Dustin Bauknight, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Brian Bontempo, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Miranda Hitchcock, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Scott Jacobs, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Benjamin Koch, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Stephen Koytek, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Scott Kozlowski, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06 and fall 05
  
• Russell Love, fall 07, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04

Six semesters

• Stanton Sollenberger, fall 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04

Seven semesters

• Kevin Graves, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04
  
• Kevin Howorth, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04
  
• James Moses, fall 07, spring 07, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05, fall 04 and spring 04
  
• Abdalla Nassar, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04
  
• Bendan Purcell, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04
  
• Zackary Stratton, fall 07, spring 07, fall 06, spring 06, fall 05, spring 05 and fall 04

ESM Congratulates each of you on your achievements!

Abdalla Nassar, undergraduate student in engineering science, has been selected to be the Student Marshal for the Engineering Science program for the Spring 2008 Commencement. This honor is given to a student in the graduating class who represents the best of the program graduates and will participate in a special way during the ceremonies on May 16 at the Bryce Jordan Center. ESM congratulates Abdalla on his high academic achievements throughout his career at Penn State.

Santiago Lopez, senior in engineering science, is not your everyday classman on campus. Mr. Lopez, a Mexico native, learned at a very young age that his drive for athletics brought him to the gymnastics mat. Through his early adolescents and continuing in adulthood, he explains that the sport is challenging to him each and everyday. The reputation of engineering and the Penn State gymnastics team, attracted his arrival and education at the University.

Upon graduation, Santiago plans to move back to Mexico with his family and continue to compete, with hopes of qualifying for the Olympics in 2012, London England. To learn more about this aspiring scholar and athlete, please visit this website for additional information.