SEAS Colonial Cable
Greetings, SEAS Alumni:
Here's a look at recent and upcoming SEAS activities and events:
SEAS Celebrates Graduation 2007
SEAS honored its 452 graduates at the 2007 SEAS Celebration on Saturday evening, May 19th. With a full complement of parents, siblings, spouses, children, and other relatives and friends present to honor their accomplishments, the engineers and computer scientists individually walked across the stage at the Smith Center to receive their diplomas, handshakes, and congratulations from Dean Tong and the SEAS faculty.
The ceremony included the presentation of 26 student awards to recognize various forms of student achievement; the Engineer Alumni Achievement Award, which was presented to Dr. John Chino (D.Sc. '86) and Mr. James Martin (B.S. '50) (in absentia); the keynote address by Dr. Maria Klawe, the president of Harvey Mudd College; a student speech by Vishal Khatri, the winner of the SEAS Celebration speech competition; and the recognition of each graduate.
After the ceremony, graduates, their guests, and SEAS faculty, staff, and alumni, gathered at the Marvin Center for a post-Celebration reception.
See more photos.
John Chino and James Martin Receive the Engineer Alumni Achievement Award
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EAA President J.P. Blackford (left) presents the Engineer Alumni Achievement Award to John Chino (D.Sc. '86) at the SEAS Celebration. |
During the SEAS Celebration on Saturday, May 19th, the Engineer Alumni Association (EAA) presented its Engineer Alumni Achievement Award to two SEAS alumni, Dr. John J. Chino (D.Sc. '86) and James L. Martin (B.S. '50).
John is deputy of electronic systems and sector vice president and general manager for Northrop Grumman Corporation and has executive responsibility for the Electronic Systems Sector’s performance. In addition, he oversees the sector’s capital resources and the program management homeroom.
John joined the company, formerly known as Westinghouse Electric Company, in 1971 and has held numerous positions in engineering, engineering management, program management and business area management. He has been responsible for all engineering and manufacturing operations and for the continuous improvement of processes, performance, systems and facilities. In addition, John is a licensed professional engineer and holds 38 patent disclosures and eight patents. He is also a member of the SEAS National Advisory Council.
James Martin received his bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from SEAS in 1950 and is a registered professional engineer. During his career, Jim was the Public Works Director for the City of Fresno, California. He was responsible for several areas of the city’s public works department, including traffic engineering, wastewater treatment, sewer maintenance, and airports. He oversaw a staff of over 530 persons and a budget of $60 million annually.
Prior to his time in Fresno, Jim was the director of public works for the city of Berkeley where he was responsible for the delivery of the city capital improvements program, including the design and initial construction of the city marina and coordination with design of the BART system facilities through the city.
Jim has served on several boards including the American Public Works Association and League of California Cities. He has also published many books and periodicals and has received several honors and awards.
John Chino accepted his award at the Celebration, and then addressed the graduates. James Martin was unable to attend the Celebration, so J.P. Blackford--the president of the EAA--accepted the award on his behalf and then read remarks that Martin had prepared for the graduates.
SEAS congratulates these two men on their career achievements and on receiving the 2007 EAA Engineer Alumni Achievement Award.
SEAS Helps Students Secure Summer Internships
Nearly 50 SEAS undergraduates were able to get internships this summer with the assistance of the SEAS Student Career Services Office and its director, Mr. Scott Amey (M.S., '75).
Scott works to identify internships, both locally and across the country, and then distributes announcements about these opportunities in a database, through e-mails to the students, and in various postings throughout Tompkins Hall. Scott has also been working with GW alumni to try to increase the pool of possible internships for our students.
If your company or organization can benefit from having an intern--during the summer or the academice year--please contact Scott at 202-994-7892 or at scott.amey@scottamey.com. Scott will be happy to talk with you about the benefits that interns can provide and to help publicize your internship. And remember, providing an internship to a current SEAS student is a great way to help your alma mater.
See the list of our students' Summer 2007 Internships.
SEAS Inducts Newest Members Into the Order of the Engineer
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| Inductees showing off their new rings |
Preparing to read the Obligation of an Engineer |
Being welcomed to the Order of the Engineer |
The Engineer Alumni Association (EAA) and the SEAS Engineers’ Council hosted the 2007 Order of the Engineer Induction Ceremony on Friday, May 11th at Alumni House here on campus. Fourteen graduating seniors, one Fall 2006 graduate, and one alumnus were inducted into the Order at the ceremony.
Dr. W. M. Kim Roddis, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, gave the keynote address at the ceremony. Her lively talk touched on the ways that civil and environmental engineering practices embody the essence of the Order of the Engineer by serving the public and keeping it safe. She also shared a personal anecdote that showed how insistence on following ethical principles and engineering regulations saved a group of construction workers from injury or death.
Also speaking during the ceremony were Howard Davis, the director of SEAS Undergraduate Student Services, Advising, and Records, and Professor Richard Soland. Mr. Davis presented the history of the Order, and Professor Soland spoke about the significance of the ring that members of the Order wear and led the new inductees through the Obligation of the Order.
Following this, EAA President J. P. Blackford talked briefly about the EAA and led a toast to the new members, and SEAS alumnus Andrew Lue made concluding remarks. EAA member Ms. Fatemeh Razjouyan served as mistress of ceremonies and worked on the planning committee.
SEAS Thanks Our Alumni Survey Respondents
During February, March, and April, the Office of the Dean conducted a survey of SEAS alumni who graduated from our undergraduate programs between 1996 and 2006. The survey addressed your impressions of the quality of your education from SEAS, and the extent to which you feel this education has prepared you for employment as an engineer or computer scientist, and/or your pursuit of post-baccalaureate education.
SEAS wishes to thank all of you who participated in the survey. We received 190 completed surveys, either electronically or in paper format. This is a 22% response rate, for which we are very grateful to you!
We will use this information as part of our self-study for ABET (Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology) accreditation of our bachelor’s programs, as well as for Academic Program Reviews, which are required by the University.
Thank you again for your time and thoughtful comments in completing this survey. It is essential to SEAS that we have feedback from our alumni, so we can continue to improve our undergraduate academic programs.
CEE Students Complete Their Senior Design Presentations, With Help From a SEAS Alumnus
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REAL Design team members (left to right): Sang Chae, Ragy Darweesh, Moussa Cisse, and Nicholas Valcourt |
Team G-MAC’s members (left to right): Timothy Garman, Mamoudou Cisse, Roman Azizian, and Steven Marlowe |
In presentations that mirrored the “real world” of civil engineering design firms, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering seniors participated in the department’s senior design presentation on Friday, May 4th.
The eight seniors were divided into two teams of four civil engineers, who created and presented their design for a four-story, 120,000-square foot office building that will be built in Northern Virginia. The purpose of the project, which is part of a semester-long design course taught by Professor Pedro Silva, is to teach the students real life interaction among engineers and to develop design concepts that can be built both from an aesthetic and economic point of view.
Dressed in coats and ties and armed with posters, binders, and PowerPoint slides, the two teams in the competition presented their designs and the processes they went through to determine the design choices they made. Both teams had to consider the same factors in the design process. They had to: 1) determine the base loads; 2) select the beams and girders for the structure; 3) select columns; 4) select a lateral bracing system; 5) design the structure’s foundation; and 6) design the connections.
The students were aided greatly in the exercise by the generous help of SK&A Structural Engineers, headed by SEAS alumnus Dr. Azer Kehnemui. Dr. Kehnemui and two of his associates, Mr. Matt Herrenga and Mr. Guy Razzi, selected the office building project for the students, met with them throughout the semester to serve as consultants on the project, and served as the expert panel of judges in the competition.
Computer Science Students Present Their Senior Designs
Twenty-one seniors in the Department of Computer Science completed senior design projects this year, creating an interesting range of products to meet various needs.
The senior design project gives the student a chance to go through the complete product development cycle beginning with market research, followed by a detailed design and finishing with a functional product prototype. All projects are individual and are designed and constructed over a two-semester sequence. The first semester is largely devoted to the project design, with each project going through four increasingly detailed design iterations. At each stage the student delivers a formal written report and formal in-class presentation.
Two awards are given for senior design projects. Awards are determined by a panel of judges including: the course instructor, representatives of the department curriculum committee, and Professor Emeritus Arnold Meltzer. The Arnold C. Meltzer Award is given for the best over-all project, and this year it was awarded to Benjamin Fielden for “Virtual Course Planner,” an academic schedule generator. The Bard Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence was given to Gregory Gross for “Design of a Secure Communications Standard.”
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Senior Design Project Showcase
On May 18, 2007, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) held its annual Senior Design Project Showcase. Seventeen seniors and eight juniors presented an extremely wide range of projects in electrical, computer, and biomedical engineering. In attendance were other students; family and friends; faculty project mentors and other faculty members; Professor Can Korman, the chairman of the ECE Department; Deans Myklebust, Pardavi-Horvath and Tong; Dr. Elliot Hirshman, the chief research officer at GW; and Mr. David M. Le Vine and Mr. Stu Haber, members of the ECE external advisory board.
The senior design experience in the ECE Department consists of a unique, three-semester course sequence that begins in the spring of the students’ junior year. This course is specifically designed to expose our students to many aspects of the work of an engineer in a commercial firm or government organization. These tasks range from simple, technician-level construction of devices, all the way to management-level cost estimation and tracking. Most projects have both hardware and software components, and all students are required to submit lengthy project reports and give presentations typical of real-world engineering projects. Throughout all three semesters, the students are required to demonstrate comprehension and integration of the fundamental concepts of their new profession.
The Spring 2007 project mentors were Professors Dave Nagel, Jason Zara, Vesna Zderic, Matt Kay, and Mr. Esam Al-Araby. Professor Tom Manuccia is the lead instructor.
More photos are available here, and a list of projects may be seen at http://ecesrd.seas.gwu.edu/overview.html#projects-GraduatingSeniors.
SEAS is proud to announce the GW Engineering group on LinkedIn, an independent, commercial, online networking tool.
SEAS has partnered with LinkedIn to provide this service for SEAS alumni, students, faculty, and staff, and we invite you to join the GW Engineering group. We hope that you will find it a useful tool for business networking, job searches, or simply for locating other members of the SEAS community.
To join the GW Engineering group, just click here and complete a LinkedIn member profile. Access to the group is free, completely optional, and is available only to members of the SEAS community.
About online business networking: You can use LinkedIn to expand and track your network in an organized and systematic way. The GW Engineering group on LinkedIn provides an ideal starting point, and it also provides a point of contact for people outside the SEAS community who are connected to your fellow GW Engineering group members.
About privacy: Please read the LinkedIn privacy policy to answer any concerns about privacy.
Upcoming SEAS Events
Los Angeles/Orange County SEAS Alumni, Students, & Parents
Date: |
Sunday, June 24, 2007 |
Time: |
3:00-5:00 pm |
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Location: |
Home of Rick Barry (Member, SEAS National Advisory Council)
Co-Founder, Sycamore Networks, Inc.
201 Ocean Ave, # 1809 P
Santa Monica, CA 90402 |
SEAS National Advisory Council member Rick Barry will host a reception in his home for GW Engineering alumni, parents, friends, and current and incoming SEAS students to meet Dean Timothy W. Tong and Academy Award-nominated alumnus Bill Westenhofer, MS’95. Bill is visual effects supervisor with Rhythm & Hues Studios and will share some behind-the-scenes secrets from his nominated work on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Formal invitations have been mailed. Please e-mail seasalum@gwu.edu or call the SEAS Office of Advancement and Alumni Programs at 202-994-8474 to RSVP or for additional information.
Upcoming GW Angels Event
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Thursday, June 28, 2007 |
Time: |
3:00-6:00: Mini-workshop
6:30-9:00: Reception/Trading Floor |
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Location: |
1957 E Street, NW
The City View Room, 7th Floor
The George Washington University
Washington, DC |
The mini-workshop will be led by active angel investors, serial entrepreneurs, regional venture capitalists, and private equity experts. Immediately following the workshop we will be hosting a reception where area start-up companies will present their new businesses on the start-up trading floor.
The registration fee for the workshop is $450, but GW alumni, and members of the GW network will be offered complimentary registration.
Please RSVP by June 15, 2007 to seasalum@gwu.edu or call 202-994-8474. For more information about this event, please visit www.aiogw.org.
Seattle SEAS Alumni, Students, & Parents – SAVE THE DATE!
Date: |
Thursday, July 12, 2007 |
Time: |
6:30-8:30 pm |
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Location: |
Home of Alice & John Tawresey (Parents of Gwendolyn, SEAS Class of 2009)
213 Gowen Place Northwest
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110 |
Local Seattle SEAS parents, Alice and John Tawresey, will host a reception in their home for GW Engineering alumni, parents, friends, and current and incoming students of SEAS to meet Dean Timothy W. Tong.
Formal invitations will be mailed in mid-June. Please e-mail seasalum@gwu.edu or call the SEAS Office of Advancement and Alumni Programs at 202-994-8474 for additional information.
San Diego SEAS Alumni, Students, & Parents – SAVE THE DATE!
Date: |
Tuesday, July 17, 2007 |
Time: |
6:30 - 8:30 pm |
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Location: |
Home of Dr. Byung K. Yi (D.Sc.’99, Applied Scientist’ 91)
Senior Executive Vice President, LG Electronics
12772 Jordan Ridge Court
San Diego, CA 92130-2747 |
Local San Diego SEAS alumnus, Dr. Byung K. Yi, will host a reception in his home for GW Engineering alumni, parents, friends, and current and incoming students of SEAS to meet Dean Timothy W. Tong.
Formal invitations will be mailed in mid-June. Please e-mail seasalum@gwu.edu or call the SEAS Office of Advancement and Alumni Programs at 202-994-8474 for additional information.
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