SEAS Colonial Cable
Greetings, SEAS Alumni,
Here's a look at recent and upcoming SEAS activities and events:
SEAS Hosts Successful Symposium
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Approximately 60 people attended the GW Symposium on High-Performance Computing and Applications hosted by SEAS and held at the Marvin Center on October 18th.
The symposium was conceived to provide a forum to showcase advanced computing work at GW and to learn about the direction and key programs of the federal government in high performance computing. It was the first of an annual series of conferences that SEAS intends to host to explore common grounds among our faculty, federal labs/agencies, and industry for joint efforts to advance multidisciplinary computational science and engineering research frontiers.
Among the topics covered at the symposium were computational fluid dynamics, crash analysis simulations, advanced computer systems and programming models, computational high-energy physics, and computational chemistry. Faculty from departments across SEAS and the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences noted that in spite of their interests in different scientific problems, the mathematical frameworks and the computational techniques to solve these problems are often similar and, therefore, provide fertile grounds for productive collaboration.
In addition to the presentations given by SEAS and other GW faculty, leaders from various federal agencies and government laboratories also addressed the symposium. Among them were the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Science Foundation, Naval Research Laboratory, and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Colonials Weekend 2006
More than 100 alumni, parents, students, and faculty gathered during Colonials Weekend 2006 for a Saturday morning breakfast reception with Dean Timothy Tong. Dean Tong hosted the reception in Tompkins Hall and shared updates on research and other activities here at the School. After the breakfast, parents and alumni were able to tour Tompkins to see the labs and classrooms.
The weekend provided opportunities for former classmates to see each other again, with alumni from the classes of 1956, 1976, 1981, 1996, and 2001 celebrating their reunions. One alumnus traveled as far as Malaysia to be in town for Colonial's Weekend. Alumni, students, and other members of the GW community also had the opportunity during the weekend to attend the Jerry Seinfeld show, lectures by various GW faculty members, and President Trachtenberg's reflection on his tenure as president of GW and on the current state of higher education in America.
Spudis Delivers Frank Howard Lecture
More than 100 SEAS alumni and friends gathered at the Media and Public Affairs building in October of this year to hear the Frank Howard Lecture, delivered by Dr. Paul Spudis, a geologist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. In a presentation entitled "Robotic Exploration of the Moon: Preparing the Way for Human Return," Spudis covered several themes related to space exploration.
Starting at the foundation of all space exploration, Spudis briefly commented on the "very human impulse to explore," stating, "Exploration excites creative energy within human societies, and creativity is what we use to solve problems that we otherwise would not be able to solve." He continued, saying, "The history of life on earth is species extinction. . .and the fundamental impetus that sends us into space to explore is to preserve the human species."
Spudis told the audience that the new vision for space exploration calls for humans to return to the Moon sometime in the next decade, and he offered several reasons why the Moon is next. In addition to being a good training lab, the Moon is also a good platform for doing sensitive, precision experiments. In addition, it is resource-rich in space terms; and the drama of seeing other human beings on the Moon can help encourage the next generation of engineers to take up space exploration.
Visiting the Moon extends human reach beyond low Earth orbit and offers new material and energy resources for creating new space faring capabilities. In several future missions, robots will collect knowledge and create infrastructure on and around the Moon, and according to Spudis, these robotic missions to the Moon will be crucial to gathering information about how people and machines can be utilized to explore and utilize planetary surfaces.
Spudis was deputy leader of the Science Team for the Department of Defense Clementine mission to the Moon in 1994 and is the principal investigator of an imaging radar experiment on the Indian Chandrayaan-1 mission, to be launched to the Moon in 2007. He also served as a member of the President's Commission on the Implementation of U.S. Space Exploration Policy, and received the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal for his work on that body.
The Frank Howard Distinguished Lecture Series is sponsored by SEAS, the EAA, and the GW Alumni Association. It is an endowed lecture fund established in 1945 by a gift from its namesake to bring outstanding leaders of science and industry to GW to discuss timely topics in engineering and allied subjects.
Dinner to Honor Professor Ray Pickholtz
More than 90 family, friends, colleagues and former students gathered on October 20th to honor Professor Emeritus Raymond L. Pickholtz for a long and distinguished career.
The dinner and program to honor Professor Pickholtz was held at the City View and Terrace in GW's new Elliott School of International Affairs building. The festive evening began with a cocktail hour during which guests, some of whom had not seen each other for years, enjoyed the chance to become reacquainted and share stories.
The program included remarks from several family members, former students, colleagues and friends, as well as remarks from Professor Pickholtz. Ya-Qin Zhang, one of Professor Pickholtz's former doctoral students and a current vice president of Microsoft Corporation, sent well wishes in a letter that included his indebtedness to Pickholtz. "To me, Ray . . . symbolizes wisdom, confidence, and excellence. He was the reason why I studied at GWU. He is the inspiration to my career. He is a teacher, a coach, a mentor, a friend, and a father figure. He is my hero!"
Also during the program, Professor Can Korman, the chair of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, presented the first recipient of the Raymond Pickholtz Graduate Scholarship to doctoral student Jinhong Wu. The scholarship was established in 2004 by a lead gift from Professor Pickholtz and by contributions from some of his faculty colleagues and former students.The fund supports a graduate scholarship in communications engineering within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
In his remarks, Professor Pickholtz thanked everyone for coming and sharing in the festivities, and he also thanked the colleagues, family, friends, and former students who have made gifts to support the Pickholtz Fund.
For more information on the Pickholtz fund and/or to make a gift to support the Fund, please visit www.seas.gwu.edu/ifaf/pickholtz_scholarship.php or call Doug Honker, SEAS executive director of advancement, at 202-994-4121.
To see more photos of the celebration, please click here.
Luce Scholars Program: Study in Asia
ELIGIBILITY: Graduate students, graduating seniors, graduate and undergraduate alumni under age 29; GPA 3.7 recommended
DEADLINE FOR GW NOMINATION - November 10, 2006
The Luce Scholars Program provides stipends and internships for 18 young Americans to live and work in Asia each year. Dating from 1974, the program's purpose is to increase awareness of Asia among future leaders in American society. Nominees should have a record of high academic achievement, outstanding leadership ability, and a clearly defined career interest with evidence of potential for professional accomplishment.
The Luce Scholars program is distinctive in that it seeks students who have NOT had significant experience in Asia or Asian studies. Those who already have significant experience in Asia or Asian studies are NOT eligible for the Luce Scholars Program. Luce Scholars have backgrounds in virtually any field - other than Asian studies -including medicine, the arts, business, law, science, environmental studies, and journalism. For more information, please visit the Luce Scholars Program website at www.hluce.org/3scholfm.html.
Placements can be made in the following countries in East and Southeast Asia: Brunei, Cambodia, China and Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Candidates must be American citizens who have received at least a bachelors degree and are no more than 29 years old on September 1 of the year they enter the program.
If you are interested in learning more about the Luce Scholars Program, please contact Francis DuVinage at duvinage@gwu.edu to set up an appointment.
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
Lecture - SEAS Alumna Anousheh Ansari, World's First Female Private Space Explorer
Date: |
Thursday, November 2, 2006 |
Time: |
7:00 p.m. |
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Location: |
Frontiers of Flight Museum
Main Exhibit Gallery
6911 Lemmon Avenue
Dallas, TX |
Price: |
Admission $15
Museum and WAC Members $10
Students 17 and Under Free |
Join the Frontiers of Flight Museum for a special "Welcome Home" as the local entrepreneur and space explorer Anousheh Ansari speaks about her adventure at a North Texas public appearance.
For additional event information and to RSVP, please click here to download the PDF.
Engineer Alumni Association Board Meeting
Date: |
Tuesday, November 14, 2006 |
Time: |
6:30 p.m. |
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Location: |
Dean's Conference Room, Tompkins Hall, Room 106
725 23rd Street, NW |
For more information on the EAA, please visit www.seas.gwu.edu/eaa. RSVP to seasalum@gwu.edu and indicate "EAA Board Meeting" in the subject line. Or call the SEAS Advancement Office at 202-994-8474.
GW Colonial Cable
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Archives: SEAS Colonial Cable
SEAS Colonial Cables from the 2005-2006 Academic Year
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