Penn State will host the American Society for Composites' 28th Technical Conference September 9-11 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Charles Bakis, distinguished professor of engineering science and mechanics, organized the two-and-a-half day event with assistance from Judith Todd, P.B. Breneman Department Chair of Engineering Science and Mechanics, and Terry Reed, director of continuing and distance education for the College of Engineering.

The annual technical conference is the premier U.S. forum for networking and technical information exchange for researchers and students interested in composite materials and structures. More than 130 papers will be presented on a range of topics including active composites, armor, bio-based composites, damage modeling, design, dynamic behavior, electrical properties, environmental effects, fracture, manufacturing, micromechanics, nanocomposites, structural behavior, structural health monitoring, testing, thermal properties, three-dimensional reinforcements, and viscoelastic behavior. This year's special theme is integrated computational materials engineering.

For more information on the conference program and plenary speakers or to register, click here.

Forget mirrors, lenses and prisms. According to professor Tony Huang and his team, bubbles may be all that are necessary to bend light beams for use in high-speed circuits and displays.

Read more at Penn State News.

Ultrasonic waves can find bubbles and cracks in adhesive bonds holding airplane composite parts together, and now aerospace engineers can select the best frequencies to detect adhesive failures in hard-to-reach places more quickly, thanks to Penn State researchers.

Different ultrasonic modes work best for different materials and configurations using the right one will locate more flaws with higher precision, according to the researchers. The selection process could save time and effort for engineers who perform maintenance on complex structures made from composite materials -- like airplanes.

Adhesive bonds are better for attaching composite parts than nuts and bolts, which pierce and weaken structural integrity. But heavy operation can crack the glue, damaging the bond's effectiveness. Ultrasonic waves let engineers examine bonded regions without having to dismantle anything.

"This technique is very widely used in aerospace engineering because those structures require a very high reliability," said Baiyang Ren, postgraduate in engineering science and mechanics. "When something like an airplane or helicopter, bridge, ship has some component that fails suddenly, that could cause a severe accident."

Penn State’s Applied Research Lab (ARL) and the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics’ Composite Manufacturing Technology Center provided key support to the Penn State Racing team this past school year. Professors Tom Juska of ARL and Chuck Bakis of ESM guided the team as they prepared for the annual Formula Society of Automotive Engineers (FSAE) competition in May. The student-run group was tasked with designing and prototyping a formula-style race car for the competition.

Held at the Michigan International Speedway, the FSAE competition hosted 120 teams from across the globe that were judged on a variety of factors, including production cost, fuel economy, and a grueling endurance race. Penn State’s team was one of 19 competitors with a winged aero-package. This design included composite carbon-fiber front and rear wings and side pods and the car ranked competitively in many categories.

During a recent visit to campus, Congressman Glenn Thompson toured the College of Engineering’s Learning Factory, where the FSAE car is housed. ESM senior and FSAE team member Shawn Liang presented the car to Representative Thompson and described the students’ hands-on learning experience readying the car for competition.

ESM Graduation Ceremony
Friday, May 3, 2013; 1pm–3pm
Grand Ballroom, Ramada Conference Center
1650 South Atherton Street
State College, PA 16801
(814) 238-3001

Please RSVP at this website or contact Melissa Fink at mff3@psu.edu or (814) 865-4523 with the number of guests in your party. Refreshments will be served after the ceremony. Families are welcome to visit the Department. See this website for driving directions.

Students should arrive at the Grand Ballroom Foyer, Ramada Conference Center, no later than 12:40 p.m. The ceremony will start promptly at 1:00 p.m.

E MCH 212 Dynamics will be offered online by Professor Gary Gray in the Summer of 2013.

E MCH 212 is an introductory course in dynamics, which is the science of motion. In this course we will develop the ability to analyze engineering problems concerning the motion of objects and the system of forces acting on them. The solution of these problems requires the use of very few basic principles. We will develop and/or improve our engineering problem solving skills (think before beginning the solution, ask what principles apply, and critically judge our results), our visualization skills (e.g., free body diagrams), and our understanding of basic physical principles of dynamics.

For more information, please visit http://www.engr.psu.edu/cde/courses/emch212/

Non Penn State students (non-degree students) should contact Deb Zimmerman at dlz1@psu.edu or 814-865-7643 to register.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20
ESM ALUM RECONNECT AND CELEBRATE
FRIENDS • FOOD • FOOTBALL

Tailgate
10:00 am – 11:30 am , Stadium, on the corner of Park Avenue and Porter Road (see tailgate map for details)

Game Time
12:00 pm kickoff, Beaver Stadium, no tickets required

To learn more, visit http://www.esm.psu.edu/alumni/tailgate. RSVP by April 17, 2013. Timely responses are greatly appreciated. To register, contact Jason M. Lyons (814) 867 - 1569 OR JML43@PSU.EDU.

Dear Alumni and Friends,

The department of Engineering Science and Mechanics wishes you and your families a very happy holiday season and New Year. We thank you for all your contributions and support to the department and look forward to continuing our work together in 2013!

Also, please check out our fall 2012 newsletter online at our alumni homepage; a copy will be delivered to your address soon.

Happy Holidays!
Judy Todd, P.B. Breneman Chair and Department Head
Jason Lyons, Coordinator for Alumni and Development
ESM Faculty and Staff

Mirna Zamrik, wife of Professor Emeritus Sam Zamrik in Engineering Science and Mechanics, was honored as at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Auxiliary Board meeting in November by receiving the ASME dedicated service award. ESM Congratulates Mirna Zamrik for her accomplishments!

Penn State will receive $4.2 million over the next three years from the National Science Foundation to continue the work of the Nanotechnology Applications and Career Knowledge Network (NACK Network), founded at the Unviersity with a four-year grant from the NSF in 2008. The NACK network provides national coordination of workforce development programs and activities on behalf of NSF in an effort to meet industry needs for skilled micro- and nanofabrication workers. To learn more, please visit Penn State Live.
*Source: Penn State Live