Dr. S. Ashok, Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, will travel to Orlean, France on February 10, 2012. During his travel, he will visit Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), in order to meet with colleagues and graduate students pursuing the PhD degree in Solar Cell areas. Additionally, Dr. Ashok will discuss long-term participation through their LABEX (Laboratory of Excellence) proposal to the French government on “The Study of Materials under Extreme Environments.”

People with Parkinson's disease swing their arms asymmetrically -- one arm swings less than the other -- when walking. This unusual movement is easily detected early when drugs and other interventions may help slow the disease, according to Penn State researchers who used inexpensive accelerometers on the arms of Parkinson's disease patients to measure arm swing.

"Scientists have known for some time that people with Parkinson's disease exhibit reduced arm swing during the later stages of the disease, but no one had come up with an easy way to measure this," said Stephen Piazza, associate professor of kinesiology. "We found that not only do people with the disease exhibit reduced arm swing, but they also exhibit asymmetric arm swing, and this asymmetric arm swing can easily be detected early in the disease's progression."

No cure for Parkinson's disease exists, but according to Piazza, if taken early, certain drugs can improve some of the disease's symptoms and even reduce the likelihood of death, making early diagnosis important. Some people also believe that changes in nutrition and other lifestyle factors can modify the progression of the disease.

The scientists found significantly higher acceleration asymmetry, lower cross-correlation between the arms and reduced synchronization of the arms in the early Parkinson's disease patients. According to Joseph Cusumano, professor of engineering science and mechanics, the lower cross-correlation and reduced synchronization suggest that the arm movements are poorly coordinated.

"In other words, if I measure the location of your right arm, it is difficult to use that measurement to predict the location of your left arm," he said. "It is well known that Parkinson's disease has an impact on how people move -- neurologists have been using this fact as the basis for clinical examinations for a very, very long time -- but here we are for the first time precisely quantifying how the disease not only affects the relative amount of limb movements, but also how well coordinated in time these movements are."

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**Source: Penn State Live

Dr. Akhlesh Lakhtakia, Charles Godfrey Binder Professor, visited Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia), where he presented two lectures. The first lecture, entitled Sculptured Thin Films, was delivered on January 4, 2012. The second lecture, entitled Surface Multiplasmonics, was delivered the following day.

Dr. Osama Awadelkarim, Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, traveled to Washington earlier this month to attend the “Community Colleges in Evolving STEM Education Landscape Summit,” at the Carnegie Institutes for Science. To learn more, please visit their web page.

Dr. S. Ashok, Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, will travel in December to Kanpur, India. While on travel, Dr. Ashok plans to attend, chair a session and participate in the 16th International Workshop on the Physics of Semiconductor Devices at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur.

Dr. Osama Awadelkarim, Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics travels in late November to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. While Dr. Awadelkarim is in Egypt, he will give an invited talk and presentation in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) meeting in Cairo. Dr. Awadelkarim will then travel to the United Arab Emirates, he’ll be attending a meeting for the Arab Science and Technology Foundation in Alsharjah.

Dr. Steven Schiff, Brush Chair Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics and Director for the Center of Neural Engineering, has recently been named Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Council. Each year, the Council elects members whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished.” ESM Congratulates Professor Steven Schiff for this honor.

Dr. Tony Huang, Associate Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, has received the 2012 Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award from the Society of Manufacturing Engineers' (SME) International Awards and Recognition Committee. The SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award is conferred in recognition of his significant achievements and leadership in the field of manufacturing engineering as a young engineer. Congratulations Dr. Huang!

Dr. Reginald Hamilton, Assistant Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, has been named the new faculty advisor to the Engineering House. Penn State Engineering House (E-House) hopes to provide students with a constructive and positive live-in community that supports projects and activities relevant to their majors within the College of Engineering. E-house is conveniently located in McKee Hall, a sector of the West Halls residence area sited next to Recreation Hall and the Lion Shrine. E-House is considered a co-ed special living option, available only to those full-time students accepted into the College of Engineering at University Park. E-House provides students with the opportunity to take on leadership roles through various executive positions and committees within the house. In addition, E-house supports numerous social events, such as sporting events and picnics, to promote a sense of community and friendship amongst its members. In order to continually improve the living environment, members of E-house have the opportunity to attend house meetings where they may offer opinions and suggestions. Overall, E-House's commitment to its members offers a comfortable living environment where engineers may share their common interests through their studies and their social involvement.

Dr. Patrick Lenahan, Distinguished Professor in Engineering Science and Mechanics, travelled to Stanford University in California from October 15 through October 20 to attend and present talks at the IEEE International Integrated Reliability Workshop. To learn more about the meeting, please visit this web site.