Researchers at UConn’s Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center (CTSRC) are working to develop an app to address the problem, which can result in drivers parking on highway entrance and exit ramps or on the shoulder of the road to comply with federal rest requirements. The three-year pilot project, funded through a $1.46 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and $258,981 from the Connecticut DOT, calls for the development of a Truck Parking Information Management System (TPIMS) to disseminate information on the availability of commercial vehicle parking in real time.

Eric Jackson, a UConn research professor and director of CTSRC and Connecticut Transportation Institute (CTI), worked with FMCSA to develop the idea for the project. Mohammad Razaur Rahman Shaon, an associate research scientist at CTSRS and CTI is primary investigator. Monika Filipovska, an assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering, is co-PI.

“Parking in the northeast has always been an issue because our interstates were built in the 1950s and are in more densely populated areas,” says Jackson.

“Truck parking is a safety issue,” adds Shaon. “If we can provide parking information beforehand, drivers may decide they want to take a break before they get to Connecticut. This will allow them to make more informed decisions about their itinerary, routes, and connections.”

UConn is developing the app in partnership with the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). They hope that advancing the technological capabilities of CMV parking notifications in Connecticut will encourage the use of intelligent transportation system (ITS) applications throughout the northeast.

Their team is more than a year into the first phase of the project, which will include a review of the literature on TPIMS, development of an ITS framework for real-time data collection, and the app itself. The team will also inventory the supply of public and privately available truck parking and assess demand for it. A separate survey of CMV drivers to better understand the parking issues they encounter in Connecticut will be conducted by students.

The proposed ITS framework will consist of sensors – a mix of video cameras, in-ground and infrared sensors, radar, and laser scanners –a data processing component supported by a state-operated Advanced Traffic Management System or private server, and an assortment of technology that drivers can use to determine where parking is available. Such technology could include in-cab electronic logging devices (ELDs), and Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) units, a wireless communication technology that enables vehicles to communicate with each other directly without using cellular or other infrastructure. Digital message boards known as Electronic Dynamic Message Signs (DMS), feeds to mobile apps, interactive voice response and websites are among the other means of relaying real-time parking updates being considered.

“These technologies allow us to collect, process, and share valid real-time parking information to enable informed decision-making for truck drivers, which can be critical to safety,” says  Filipovska.

Jackson and his team at CTSRC are best known for their work with motor vehicle crash data, including crashes involving CMVs. The idea for a truck parking app took root, he says, at a time when the state DOT was finishing up an inventory of public CMV parking and had just released its 2022-2026 Statewide Freight Plan, which included a review of CMV smart parking solutions employed by the states of Texas, California, and Minnesota.

“Part of the Freight Plan was to expand CMV parking,” Jackson says. “Their inventory included only public spaces. Our project will look at public and private parking together“.

The share of goods being transported by truck has steadily grown in recent years, with an estimated 72.5 percent of total domestic tonnage – nearly 12 billion tons – shipped in 2019, according to the American Trucking Association. The extensive network of expressways in the U.S., larger and heavier trucks, stable fuel prices, increased competition, and a reduction of branch rail lines, have all contributed to the growth and heightened concerns about safety and the need to offer CMV drivers a convenient way to find a safe place to park and sleep.

FMCSA “hours-of-service” (HOS) regulations are designed to ensure that drivers are rested, awake and alert on the road. The rules require 30-minute driving breaks for every 8-hour stretch of continuous driving, and limit consecutive hours of driving to a maximum of 14 hours with a passenger or 15 hours without one, followed by 10 consecutive hours off the clock.

FMCSA introduced a “Smart Park” program to demonstrate nationally how technology might be used to identify and convey real-time parking availability information. As the federal agency responsible for regulating and overseeing commercial motor vehicle safety, FMCSA had been pushing hard for Connecticut to implement some sort of solution, Jackson says.

In the Midwest, an association of transportation officials representing the states of Iowa, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin, is working to develop and implement a TPIMS truck parking management solution serving that region. Other states are implementing lower tech solutions. Kentucky, for example, has introduced a “Truck Haven” program that allows CMV parking at weight and safety inspection facilities. Iowa has turned several weigh stations into truck parking locations and rebuilt rest areas with expanded truck parking.

Expanding public truck parking facilities in Connecticut would be more challenging and is not currently under consideration, Jackson says. The app will instead offer truck drivers a way to locate existing parking facilities in the state or identify available parking in neighboring states when none can be found in Connecticut.

The supply and demand analysis conducted in Phase I will be used to develop the framework for the Phase II placement of cameras on roadways, Jackson says. Once approved by state DOT, the cameras will be deployed to begin providing real-time parking updates. Phase II will also include collecting user feedback on the app with an eye toward refining and improving it for users.

During a three-day competition at Michigan International Speedway May 8-11, UConn competed against 118 other national and international teams and placed 4th overall, the highest in UConn’s history.

“The team was totally ecstatic,” explains UConn Formula SAE (FSAE) President and mechanical engineering major Abhiemanyu Sukumaran ’24 (ENG). “As they were announcing the overall places, we heard 8,7,6, etc. Then they called our name, and everyone started jumping and screaming for joy! We celebrated like we won the national championship. It was bliss to have broken the record for our highest placement ever.”

UConn FSAE is a student-run organization that combines students’ passions for motorsport and engineering. The 80-member-club consists of students from different majors and class years who work towards the goal of racing a Formula-style car competitively. Each component of the car is designed and assembled by students.

The annual competition, organized by SAE International (previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers) challenges college students to conceive, design, fabricate, develop, and compete with formula-style vehicles. “Formula” vehicles are small, single-seater racecars characterized by a low-to-the-ground aerodynamic design, an open cockpit, and exposed wheels. These high-performance vehicles can reach speeds over 110 mph on certain tracks.

During the event, teams receive points for participation in static events (cost presentation; design presentation; and business presentation) and dynamic events (acceleration; skidpad; autocross; and endurance). UConn placed 27th in cost; 11th in the design; 6th in business presentation; 8th in acceleration; 8th in skidpad; 5th in autocross; and 6th in endurance.

“We indeed have an exceptional FSAE team at UConn,” says team advisor Wajid Chishty, professor in residence of mechanical engineering.

This was UConn’s 14th year competing at the Michigan International Speedway. In 2023, the team placed 11^th overall and strived to make the 2024 project—named CT-151IC—even better.

“We improved many of our controls systems to make them more adjustable, we improved our suspension design, our aero package is much more durable,” Sukumaran says. “We also really focused on track testing to setup the car as best we could.”

The UConn team isn’t stopping with their combustion-engine model. In June, the team will debut their first-ever electric vehicle to competition.

For more information visit https://www.uconnformulasae.com. To view additional photos of the competition, visit https://www.instagram.com/uconnformulasae/.

Monday, April 22 was the final pitch day and culmination of the Technology Innovation and  Entrepreneurship courses for Spring 2024. The two-part series is offered by the College of Engineering and the School of Business. 

The course is led by Dr. Leila Daneshmandi, Assistant Professor in Residence of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the College of Engineering and Director of the Entrepreneurship Hub (eHub) and Sam Nanayakkara, Professor and entrepreneur. Professor Nanayakkara is a serial entrepreneur specialized in startup operations and digital technology who uses his skill sets as an adjunct professor within the School of Business.   

Students in the TIE courses hailed from the College of Engineering, the School of Business, and the School of Nursing. This year the course opened to nursing students, a partnership through the Nursing and Engineering Innovation Center. 

The student ventures that presented were Green Grid Farms, Puppy Palace, Transplant Rescue, KLAD, eKardia, and Alevia Pharma OraSpray. 

“These students have worked hard over one or two semesters building technology-enabled ventures in areas that require significant innovation to drive change,” says Daneshmandi. “Today is a time of celebration as they look back at all they have achieved.” 

Engineering Associate Dean Leslie Shor, Connecticut Invention Convention Executive Director Nick Briere, Nursing Visiting Professor Tiffany Kelley, Connecticut Technology Council Executive Director Melina Erwin, FORGE Senior Program Manager Aaron Monikowski, Entrepreneur Mori Beheshti, and UConn Digital Media and Design Graduate Student Nooshin Farashaei judged the event. 

This year’s event also featured two new additions.  

Thanks to the Connecticut Invention Convention, the UConn community heard from three young inventors in the K-12 inventor space. Kaylee Vengruskas presented the Bucket Unstucker, a device to prevent 5-gallon buckets from sticking together while stacked. Rhea Doshi presented CocoPure, a filtration device to clean drinking water. Finally, Liam Jurado presented his 3D printed device to easily pull Play-Doh from its plastic container. 

The judges were impressed with the children’s inventions, and encouraged them to consider additional aspects for their budding entrepreneurial projects. 

The group also heard from top student ventures making waves outside of the TIE course. They include ParticleN, Genesist, and Toribio Labs Zemi Platforms, some of which were alumni of past TIE courses.  

“Engineering faculty and staff are paving the future of entrepreneurship and innovation,” said Dean Kazem Kazerounian who attended the event to meet the students. “I applaud Professor Daneshmandi and her colleagues for inspiring these students and promoting the College as an epicenter of entrepreneurship and innovation.” 

More information about the College of Engineering’s technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship courses, which are open to undergraduate and graduate students from all Schools and Colleges are available through the Entrepreneurship Hub. Photos from the event can be viewed online. 

Things will look a bit different this May, some 141 years after that humble gathering.

In the newly launched website dedicated to this year’s graduates, you will meet Huskies who are veterans, Huskies who are philanthropists, Huskies who are already well into professional careers, Huskies who saw UConn as the pathway to a new life, and Huskies who are carrying on a family tradition of earning a UConn degree.

More than 8,000 degrees will be awarded to Huskies who have come from as far away as Malaysia and as close to home as Mansfield, their ranks full of doctors, nurses, dentists, teachers, Air Force officers, professional basketball players, engineers, entrepreneurs, attorneys, farmers, artists, social workers, pharmacists, chemists, biologists, journalists, and other things that J.M. Hubbard and his audience of six could have scarcely conceived all those years ago.

One thing hasn’t changed, though: the commitment to education for and by the public that rests at the heart of UConn’s mission.

The Class of 2024, having weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and a host of less dramatically disruptive challenges, strides forward in May to serve their towns, state, nation, and world. In big and small ways, in endeavors that will make headlines and in everyday acts of grace that will never be known by more than a handful of people, the newest UConn Husky alums will make the world a better place.

Congratulations, and remember: you may no longer be students today, but you’ll always be Huskies Forever.

The oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the NSF-GRFP recognizes and supports outstanding students in NSF-supported disciplines who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited institutions in the United States. In addition to a three-year annual stipend of $37,000, plus another $12,000 paid to the student’s home institution, fellows have access to a wide range of professional development opportunities over the course of their graduate careers.

The Graduate Research Fellowships are highly competitive, with annual acceptance rates of about 16% from among more than 12,000 applicants.

“The application for the NSF-GRFP is extremely demanding. To succeed, students must be able to articulate themselves not only as researchers, but as future leaders in their academic disciplines,” says Vin Moscardelli, director of UConn’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships. “This year’s results once again reveal the combination of talent, ambition, and support that exists here at UConn.”

UConn’s 10 recipients lead all New England public universities for 2024. UConn has produced at least ten NSF-GRFP recipients in eight of the past nine years. The school also had nine students, five graduate and four alumni, who earned honorable mention laurels in this cycle.

“The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship is truly a great achievement,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation and entrepreneurship. “It acknowledges our students’ talent and their potential to shape the future of science and technology. More than that, UConn’s GRFP recipients reflect our commitment to excellence and offering outstanding research opportunities to our students. Our students are competitive for the GRFP because of the sustained hard work our exceptional faculty have put into building our research programs and sharing their expertise with our students.”

The three UConn graduate student recipients are:

Lorraine Pérez-Beauchamp ‘23 (CLAS) earned her undergraduate degree from UConn in biological sciences. She is a first-year graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology, and her faculty mentor is associate professor Sarah Knutie. Pérez-Beauchamp is currently performing research in the Galápagos Islands.

Cynthia Webster ’20 (CLAS) is in her second year as graduate student in ecology and evolutionary biology, working under the direction of associate professor Jill Wegrzyn. Her research interests reside at the intersection of computational biology, genome evolution, and conservation genetics. In her fellowship, she will build the first pangenome for the butternut, which is endangered due to its low tolerance to a non-native fungal pathogen.

“In graduate school, it’s common to experience imposter syndrome and question whether you’re making a significant contribution to society,” says Webster. “So many talented individuals apply for the GRFP each year, but only a handful are awarded. As a young scientist, this recognition is incredibly validating.”

Bre-Anna Willis is a first-year graduate student in chemistry studying chemical synthesis. Her faculty mentor is associate professor of chemistry Gaël Ung. Willis earned her undergraduate degree in 2023 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

The three UConn undergraduate recipients are:

Charlotte Chen ’24 (ENG & CLAS) is a senior from Weston, pursuing dual degrees in materials science & engineering and molecular & cell biology.  Her research in the lab of associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering Kelly Burke aims to modify silk films with antibacterial monomers to potentially prevent catheter-associated urinary tract infections.

“Being awarded an NSF-GRFP means that I get a lot more freedom with my doctoral studies– what my research project is, who my research advisors are, and where I want to conduct the research,” says Chen.

She will be a doctoral student at Brown in the fall to pursue a degree in biomedical engineering with the long-term goal of a career in the biotech industry.

Sila Inanoglu ’24 (CLAS) is an ecology major and her faculty mentor is also Knutie. She is a member of Knutie’s lab this year and is working on the group’s Nest Parasite Community Science project. Her research investigates the direct and indirect effects of alpha-pinene, the volatile compound in pine needles, on ectoparasite resistance in tree swallows. After graduation, she will be staying a UConn as a doctoral student in Knutie’s lab.

“Winning the NSF-GRFP feels surreal,” says Inanoglu. “I did not even pursue STEM until my sophomore year at UConn and being awarded the NSF-GRFP has made me realize how far I have come. Being in this field as a student and researcher has been some of the most fulfilling and exciting work I have gotten to do. I am beyond excited to be able to continue my research and scientific outreach goals with NSF’s support.”

Paxton Tomko ’24 (CLAS) is a molecular and cell biology major and her faculty mentor is Assistant Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology/Microbiology Geo Santiago-Martínez. In the fall, she will be starting a master’s in oceanography at UConn Avery Point, working with Professor of Marine Sciences Pieter Visscher. Tomko’s research interests are in geobiology and astrobiology and is interested in stromatolites as biosignatures and the role that methanogens play in microbial mats.

The four UConn alumni who earned NSF Graduate Research Fellowships are Brigid Bernier ’23 (CLAS), who is now a graduate student at the University of Oklahoma; Samuel Degnan-Morgenstern ’22 (ENG), who is now a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Jackson Kaszas ’23 (ENG), who is now a graduate student at Rutgers University; and Rebecca Lee ’22 (ENG), who is now a graduate student at the University of Texas.

The Office of National Scholarships & Fellowships (ONSF) is a resource for students interested in learning more about the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship and other prestigious scholarships and fellowships that support graduate study in all fields. ONSF is part of Enrichment Programs and is open to all graduate and undergraduate students at the University, including students at the regional campuses. For more information contact Vin Moscardelli, Director of UConn’s Office of National Scholarships and Fellowships.

They’re already wet though, waiting in the early April rain for the first activity of the four-day exercise to begin.

Dressed in a mix of camouflage uniforms – muddy greens and pixilated tans – this group of college juniors, known in ROTC lingo as MS3s, are warned that streams they may have been able to step across during earlier trainings might not be as easy to traverse today.

For certain, on a timed journey through thicket and trees in the land navigation portion of the weekend, each seeking out an individualized series of markers using paper maps, protractors, compasses, and the length of their stride to get from A to B, someone will land in the drink.

“Well, sometimes there’s a lake in the way,” says Geoffrey Takacs ’24 (ENG), an MS4 from the UConn Army ROTC program who’s grading the MS3 platoon leaders on their performance.

Spring FTX, that’s field training exercises, divides these 450 cadets from UConn, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Siena College, and the universities of Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont into two groups.

Basic camp is for freshmen and sophomores, MS1s and MS2s, who sleep in communal tents and on cots, while the juniors in advanced camp rough it in the outdoors three nights without hot meals, running water, and the other comforts of home.

MS4s from each school – these are the graduating seniors who’ve gone through all the levels of their military science training, that’s the MS part – both keep the weekend of obstacle courses, land navigation, and STX lanes – situational tactical exercises – moving and serve as graders for the MS3s who are preparing for Cadet Summer Training.

For them, and in lay terms, this is like taking the PSAT to get ready for the SAT this summer.

“Trainings like this are important because the cadets are learning skills that are very new to them. A lot of what they’re doing is not intuitive, so they learn these military tasks that eventually help them become good leaders, or at least someone who understands leadership,” says Lt. Col. Seth M. Allen, who’s at the top of the UConn Army ROTC chain of command.

And activities like land navigation, he says, oftentimes humble even the straight A student.

‘How many UConn students can say they’ve dropped out of a helicopter?’

Takacs, a computer science major, says he long ago felt the proverbial urge to serve, after watching family members work in various government capacities; his dad is in the FBI. In his hometown of Monroe, Takacs became a volunteer firefighter in high school and when he was a senior successfully earned the ROTC National Scholarship to come to UConn.

That pays tuition and fees, while additional scholarships cover room and board. In exchange, he owes four years to the U.S. Army, and will start his active-duty time in the infantry this summer.

“The training we get in ROTC is second to none, especially when it comes to the leadership activities that we do,” Takacs says. “We’re in the UConn Forest once a week, getting that hands-on experience through mud, rain, and snow. We’re pushed to such great lengths that I don’t think traditional college students are. I mean, how many UConn students can say they’ve dropped out of a helicopter?”

Olivia Bowes ’24 (CLAS) can.

Jackson Bright ’24 (CLAS) can.

“You don’t realize how heavy 90 feet of rope dangling below you is going to be,” Bowes, a molecular and cell biology major, says. “Then you also have the down pressure of the aircraft.”

“The trick is to try to pause a little bit up there,” Bright adds. “I had a lieutenant tell me to try to stay up there an extra half second so you can look around because the view is unlike anything you’ve ever seen before.”

Bowes and Bright also are MS4s from UConn, joined by Eden Hyatt ’24 (CLAS) and 14 others in the Storrs program that has about 70 cadets in total.

Bright is majoring in economics and Spanish, the latter of which he hopes will help him as he heads into active duty in intelligence. He came to UConn and ROTC for financial reasons, much the same as Bowes and the others. The Rhode Island native was a freshman at a private university that recruited him to play baseball when he faced the sudden realization of paying for it all another three years.

He says during the pandemic he was working at a deli near school and in the university parking lot, the Connecticut Army National Guard had set up a COVID testing station. When the soldiers would come in for a sandwich, he’d pepper them with questions about what benefits the Guard offered.

That’s when he bit and met with a recruiter about joining, going to basic training, transferring to UConn, and becoming an ROTC student. It means he has drill weekends with the National Guard once a month, which gives him some spending money with tuition paid for by the military and a job as an RA paying for housing and meals.

“There are very few people who aren’t interested in the things I’ve done. I mean, rappelling out of a helicopter, that’s just a good conversation starter,” he says.

“We joke that they sent me to space camp,” Takacs adds. “It was actually the Army Space Cadre Basic Course where I got to learn about missiles and satellites. They looked at my major and told me the course would help me in a civilian career even if I don’t stay in the Army. It’s a certification that makes me so much more competitive than my peers.”

Bowes says her resume already includes a long list of opportunities, awards, certifications, and qualifications – never mind her citizenship.

She was born and raised in Belfast, Ireland, before moving to West Hartford the last two years of high school. As a track athlete, she says she applied to three colleges, including UConn, and was about to settle on a private school when she had an ah-ha moment: What happens if she loses her track scholarship? How would she pay for it all?

“Then I did the Husky-for-a-Day program and my Husky said to me, ‘You can make a big school feel small, but you can’t make a small school feel big.’ As soon as she said that, and I remember it clearly, I was like, she’s totally right,” Bowes says.

She came to Storrs in 2019 before the pandemic and realized quickly she needed to find a way to pay for the rest of her time here. With an eventual goal of becoming a reproductive endocrinologist to help people with infertility, she knew there would be a lot more school ahead.

Bowes says she saw National Guard posters, the promise of 100% free tuition, and much the same way Bright bit, she did too, joining as a combat medic, which gained her citizenship and an EMT certification, along with weekend drills and the extra paycheck that comes along.

UConn Army ROTC was a no-brainer decision once she returned to campus.

“I was a sophomore and brand new to the program, I had no clue what I was doing,” she says. “I felt out of my depth every single Friday lab in the UConn Forest. People seemed like they knew what they were doing, but I was just running around with my 35-pound ruck waiting for it to be over. I was like, ‘I have no idea what’s happening.’ But now, I can run all of it, not on my own, but I understand all of it.”

As an RA to pay for housing and meals, Bowes now will metaphorically pay for her undergraduate degree with a six-year commitment to the National Guard upon graduation.

Battle buddies and 5 a.m. PT

Hyatt, a psychology major from Windsor, works the basic camp registration tent at Spring FTX. As cadets from each school arrive – on a staggered schedule to avoid an intake backup – she crosses off their names, gives them a cot assignment, and makes sure they have an MRE in hand.

That’s a Meal Ready to Eat, or essentially a tan pouch filled with smaller pouches of food prepared for a long shelf life. Pork sausage patty with maple flavoring. Beef stew. Cheese tortellini in tomato sauce. Beef patty with jalapeno and pepperjack.

Each MRE is supposed to contain coffee grounds with instructions on how to brew a cup, in a provided bag, filled to the line with water, shaken, flavored with powdered cream, and warmed in the sun – or not on this cold, rainy April day.

Two of Hyatt’s grandparents were in the military and both her parents are UConn alums, so when it came time for her head to college neither UConn nor ROTC were a surprise. She joined the UConn Air Force ROTC first only to leave soon after joining because of a scheduling conflict.

“But I knew I needed to pay for college, so during winter break of my sophomore year I talked with the Air Force lieutenant colonel who asked if I ever considered the Army instead,” she says. “That’s when I decided to join the Army National Guard to pay for school.”

She’s assigned to an aviation unit near Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks and tries to get on flights every drill weekend – although it hasn’t yet panned out. Since she commutes to Storrs, her tuition waiver pays for school and she has spending money.

“ROTC has given me built in friends. They’re battle buddies, which is literally what we call them, just a bunch of people who at any given moment if I said, ‘Hey, I need some help,’ or ‘Hey, I just want to go out,’ I could call at least one of them and they would show up,” Hyatt says. “It’s this kind of brotherhood, sisterhood. You can get that elsewhere in college, but it’s not as automatic or as easy.”

Like Takacs and Bright, Hyatt also is headed to active duty upon graduation; she as a quartermaster, basically a logistics coordinator for everything from ammunition to food.

One unifier among all of them is a 5 a.m. wakeup most days to do PT, that’s physical training, around campus. At first, Hyatt says, her friends outside ROTC would grumble about how exercising at that hour is crazy.

“I was like, ‘Yes, but that’s life,’” she says. “And then this year, those same people remarked to me that the Rec Center is actually open and empty at 6 a.m. and now they’re getting up early too. It’s not like everybody’s suddenly doing everything I’m doing, but a couple of my friends have become 1. Desensitized to the conversations I have, and 2. Have picked up some habits.”

Still, none of them can say they had tracer rounds fired above their heads, while they low-crawled in all their gear, think flak vest and helmet, through the sand, over barbed wire and around rocks while a drill sergeant in the rear yelled to keep the pace.

Hyatt did that during NIC – that is, the Night Infiltration Course she completed during basic camp, which she did instead of basic training her junior year. NIC, she says, absolved her from taking a turn in the gas chamber.

“And you’re thinking to yourself, ‘What have I signed up for?’ I’ve definitely had that thought a few times,” Bowes chimes in. “You’ll be out there knee-deep in mud, completely drenched, your face camo dripping off, and you’re just standing there thinking, ‘How did I get here?’”

She continues, “But you can throw a situation at me now and I can assess a million different possible outcomes and decide faster than any of my peers outside of ROTC because they’re not typically put in situations where they have to make a decision fast and it has to be the right decision. Being able to determine what is going to be the best-case scenario for everyone, or most everyone, is a skill that you gain in ROTC and, for me, is so valuable in the medical field.”

UConn Army ROTC: 26th in size out of 274

Land navigation at Fort Devens is just another part of getting to know oneself, another step in the journey to leadership and maturity.

“In assessing the MS3s, we use various tactics to assess their leadership capabilities. It sure helps if you can make the best tactical decisions, but if you make a wrong decision in ROTC, yet can justify it and there’s a thought process, that’s leadership. That’s what we’re looking for. It’s when you start panicking that we can see you didn’t prepare and there’s a failure of leadership,” Takacs says.

Upon graduation and commissioning in May, Bowes, Bright, Hyatt, and Takacs, along with 14 other graduating MS4s, will enter the military world as second lieutenants. It’s something they say is exciting. Bittersweet. Sad.

“For all of us, it’s graduation but it’s not the end of education. Bowes is going to be a doctor. Hyatt wants to be a psychologist. Bright talks about law school. I’m going to Ranger School. We’re all here to continually learn, adapt, and grow,” Takacs says.

Allen explains that everything they’ve done at UConn and in Army ROTC has been used to evaluate them, hone their talents, give them direction, and eventually send them on their way. The process of applying for, interviewing with, and being accepted to the branch, or military career, they want to pursue has been a big part of the last several years.

“All of them did so well over their time in ROTC that they all essentially got their top choice of what they’re going to do in the future. There’s no one truly upset or disappointed in what job they’re going to do in the Army,” he says.

As for the future of UConn’s program – ranked in size at No. 26 out of 274 in the country – Allen, who has one more year in his post at UConn, says he wants simply to keep turning out well-rounded, leadership-ready cadets.

“The better they do, the more opportunities come our way,” he says, explaining that a relationship with the Connecticut Army National Guard meant the UConn cadets got to ride in a Chinook helicopter at the Fall FTX. “You have freshmen who came in and they had only been here for two months and, suddenly, they’re sitting in the back of a Chinook. They probably never imagined that would ever happen, much less two months into their time.”

He also says the program needs to continue to educate civilians – that is, high school guidance counselors, teachers, and parents – about what it is and isn’t. ROTC does not deploy students overseas while they’re in college, he stresses, they’re students first.

And when they graduate, they have the choice of entering the Army National Guard, Army Reserves, or active duty – each with different levels of commitment.

By that time, with the progressive training they’ve gotten through things like Friday labs in the UConn Forest and Spring FTX, they’re ready.

“I was someone who maybe never would have put myself out there and try to reach for something this soon,” Bright says. “For a lot of people, college is going to class and having a social life, and while you can still do that, ROTC forces you to stay disciplined and it gives you opportunities to achieve what you really want to achieve. It’s teaching me how to manage my time well and how to evaluate myself, to know what I can and can’t handle.”

While chemical engineers may more commonly be known for working in areas of pharmaceutical development, materials processing, and petroleum industries, Kanisha Desai ’24 (ENG) is brewing up her own innovative idea for putting her chemical engineering degree to use.

Desai, along with engineering classmates Cameron Hubbard ’24 (ENG), Hailey Tam ’24 (ENG), and Ethan Krouskup ’24 (ENG), debuted their project—a non-alcoholic beer brewing process—during Senior Design Demonstration Day on April 26 in an energy-buzzed Gampel Pavilion. (View the photo gallery online here.)

“We wanted to solve a problem that most people wouldn’t normally classify as an ‘engineering problem,’” Desai says. “Brewing has always been a fascinating topic to us as chemical engineers, and since many people love the taste and creative flavors of craft beers, but don’t want the added alcohol, this project allows us to help small breweries develop a thriving alcoholic and non-alcoholic beer brewing business.”

The team’s project, “Spirit of Sobriety: Of Non-Alcoholic Brews,” was among 242 student-led endeavors showcased during the 2024 Senior Design Demo Day. Sponsored by the College of Engineering (CoE) and under the mentorship of Associate Professor in Residence Jennifer Pascal, the project took first place of all senior designs from the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department.

Senior Design is two-semester capstone course where faculty and industry engineers mentor students as they work to solve real-world engineering problems for university and company sponsors. Through the experience, students learn about the principles of design, how ethics affect engineering decisions, and how professionals communicate ideas. In addition, they acquire valuable teamwork skills and professional skills while interacting with industry professionals and other mentors.

“Each year, dozens of leading manufacturing companies, pharmaceutical and medical firms, consulting practices and utilities present the College of Engineering with design challenges or problems they are encountering in their business,” explains CoE Dean Kazem Kazerounian. “For a modest fee, the companies suggest a particular problem and our senior engineering students, under the joint mentorship of engineering faculty and practicing experts from the sponsoring entities, work to properly frame the problem and develop meaningful solutions.”

Senior Design Demo Day provides the soon-to-be UConn graduates an opportunity to share the results of their independent research projects with fellow students, faculty, alumni, and community members.

“For our students, this experience is the culmination of their undergraduate education, and an opportunity to showcase their skills and education as they venture into the next steps of their careers,” says Daniel Burkey, associate dean for undergraduate education and Castleman Term Professor in Engineering Innovation. “Even after Demo Day, some students continue working on their project, especially if they accept a job with their project sponsor.”

While the “Spirit of Sobriety” team also implemented a pasteurization process on a home-brewing scale to ensure the safe drinkability of the non-alcoholic beer, materials science and engineering majors Charlotte Chen ’24 (ENG), Sanjana Nistala ’24 (ENG), Jenna Salvatore ’24 (ENG), and Allison Determan ’24 (ENG) designed a “Joint-On-A-Chip” to emulate the in vivo environment of a knee joint affected by osteoarthritis. The chip mimics the immune response and mechanical strain that cells in an affected joint experience in the human body.

Through their Senior Design project, “Deblurring of Digital Images,” electrical and computer engineering majors Andrew Feliciano ’24 (ENG) and Colby Powers ’24 (ENG) evaluated blur reduction or removal algorithms that could be implemented on imaging systems found on United States Coast Guard ships and naval vessels.

And Gary Zhu ’24 (ENG), Jack Crocamo ’24 (ENG), Ryka ChandraRaj ’24 (ENG), Alicia Chiu ’24 (ENG), Ryan Mercier ’24 (ENG), and Donny Sauer III ’24 (ENG) completed a systems engineering project titled, “Data Collection and Analysis for an Autonomous Electric Vehicle System.” With the support of sponsor Pratt & Whitney, the team developed a data analysis framework capable of precisely predicting a self-driving vehicle’s reactions to input directives. The foundation of this initiative rests upon a data-driven control system tailored for electric vehicles, harnessing the power of machine learning algorithms.

Solving Problems Statewide

One of the goals of Senior Design is to help solve problems on a local level.

In Madison, Conn., the Connecticut Department of Transportation wants to expand a rest stop along the heavily traveled Interstate 95. Environmental engineering majors Rory Cavicke ’24 (ENG), Kelsey DiCesare ’24 (ENG), and Alexander Brita ’24 (ENG) worked with industry sponsor CHA Consulting to design a septic system and stormwater infrastructure for an expanded tractor trailer rest stop. The team developed their designs in accordance with the CT Public Health Code 2023 Technical Standards and the CT Stormwater Quality Manual.

And in Woodstock, residents are working to restore and preserve the historic Chamberlin Mill, which produced wood shingles in the 19th and early 20th centuries. For their senior design project, mechanical engineering majors Alexander Guzman ’24 (ENG), Will Goss ’24 (ENG), and Vinicius De Souza ’24 (ENG) conducted a mechanical analysis and working CAD model of the mill’s 1860s shingle machine, which will be used by the mill to teach future STEM students.

Catalyzing Campus

Other projects focused on benefiting UConn itself.

Under the guidance of faculty advisor Shinae Jang, civil engineering majors Joshua Maccione ’24 (ENG), Christian Maignan ’24 (ENG), Connor Behuniak ’24 (ENG), Ryan Baj ’24 (ENG), and Darren Lin ’24 (ENG) designed a multi-story, modernized building to accommodate the expanding engineering programs within the newly designated College of Engineering. The team obtained geotechnical data from past construction projects and identified an optimal new location for this proposed facility on campus. The design incorporated composite and non-composite beams, along with a combination of steel and braced frames. Their project, “Proposed College of Engineering Building at the University of Connecticut,” took second place of all civil engineering senior designs.

Also, mechanical engineering majors Christian Bjork ’24 (ENG), Alanna Barzola ’24 (ENG), and Nicholas Trottier ’24 (ENG), along with electrical engineering majors Patrick Place ’24 (ENG) and River Granniss ’24 (ENG), collaborated on the design, development, and analysis of a scaled-down, concentrated photovoltaic/thermal system (CPV/T) that could be integrated into a greenhouse roof at UConn. Photovoltaic and thermal systems are considered conventional green energy methods used to power a greenhouse, however combining them is relatively new concept.  Because photovoltaic systems can become inefficient when they reach high temperatures, for this project, the team proposed cooling the photovoltaic system with a combined thermal system while simultaneously producing thermal energy to heat the greenhouse.

Their project, “Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses” was advised by Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala and sponsored by Sonalysts, Inc. It received first place in systems engineering projects and third place in mechanical engineering project.

For Grannis, the senior design process proved to be challenging, but rewarding. With his electrical engineering knowledge, Grannis was tasked with making the system’s sun tracking device operate correctly, in a minimal amount of time.

“The tracking system design we ended up using was not finalized until about a month into the second semester of senior design. After that, I spent all of my time working on the electronics and software for the tracking system pretty much until Demo Day,” Grannis says. “The biggest thing I learned was coding in C++ for Arduino. In many cases the hardest parts of the project were not the most interesting to present, so learning to show off what is interesting while continuing to work on the hard stuff—while also informing sponsors and advisors about what difficulties there are—is a balance that needs to be found early on. The most important thing Senior Design reinforced is how important interpersonal communication is, even in engineering where things are heavily results-driven.”

A Little Competition …

Demo Day isn’t the only venue students share their novel projects. For Senior Design, Ashley Sciacca ’24 (ENG), Nathan Garala ’24 (ENG), Ryan Maguire ’24 (ENG), and Spencer Alsup ’24 (ENG) fabricated a fully electric-powered, waterproof boat. Along with other members of UConn’s Promoting Electric Propulsion team— Christopher Capozzi, Andrews Marsigliano, Ian Pichs, and Xavier Purandah—the group competed in a five-mile course in Virginia, sponsored by the American Society of Naval Engineers. Students designed the boat using a simulation software and combined this data with test results to determine power requirements.

“This was the first year of competition for the UConn team, and of 39 schools, we finished in the top 10, which is a great accomplishment,” said project advisor Vito Moreno, professor in residence of mechanical engineering.

Similarly, electrical and computer engineering majors Matthew Silverman ’24 (ENG), Spencer Albano ’24 (ENG), and Nicholas Wycoff ’24 (ENG) participated in a Software Defined Radio (SDR) university challenge in Ohio with their Senior Design project, “Physical Layer Network Slicing.” They created an access point that can establish a network and communicate across both Wi-Fi and Zigbee (a Wi-Fi alternative) devices. The competition, hosted by the Wright Brothers Institute (WBI) and Air Force Research Laboratory, encouraged hands-on skill building and explore experimentation through SDR hardware. UConn’s team was among the top 8 finalists and received the Most Outstanding Project Award. Shengli Zhou, professor of electrical and computer engineering, served as the team’s advisor.

“There are some routers that can communicate over both Wi-Fi and Zigbee but are typically two separate devices bundled in the same enclosure,” Albano explains. “Having one device that communicates across both standards provides ease to a network administrator that can manage devices in both standards. The benefits include efficiency, flexibility, and security.”

And the Winners Are …

Senior Design Demo Day began more than 40 years ago. Today, it features the projects of students majoring in biomedical engineering, chemical and biomolecular engineering; civil and environmental engineering; electrical and computer engineering; environmental engineering; materials science and engineering; systems engineering; management and engineering manufacturing; multidisciplinary engineering; the School of Computing; and the School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering.

Each CoE department and school awarded prizes for the best poster presentations. The 2024 winners are:

Biomedical Engineering

1st place: “Joint-On-A-Chip Osteoarthritis Disease Modeling for Evaluating Anti-Inflammatory Drug Performance,” by Charlotte Chen (MSE), Sanjana Nistala, Jenna Salvatore, and Allison Determan. Advisor: Syam Nukavarapu. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

2nd place: Singular Part 3D-Printed External Prosthetics for Mastectomy Patients Without Reconstruction,” by Yukti Ummaneni, Ashwini Patel, Mia Haynes, and Jamie Trinh. Advisor: Liisa Kuhn. Sponsor: Beekley Lab for Biosymmetrix

3rd place (tie): “Circuit and Sensor Design for Smartphone-Based Electroretinography,” by Rory Harris, Rodrigo Tuesta, and Yuexi Hao. Advisor: Hugo Posada-Quintero. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

3rd place (tie): “In Vitro Model for the Study of Traumatic Brain Injury” by Mark Cristino, Rudin Lloga, and Kaiya Pringle. Advisor: Kazunori Hoshino. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
1st place: “Spirit of Sobriety: Of Non-Alcoholic Brews,” by Cameron Hubbard, Kanisha Desai, Hailey Tam, and Ethan Krouskup. Advisor: Jennifer Pascal. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

2nd place: “Design And Optimization Of A Multi-Effect Desalination Unit Integrated With A Gas Turbine Plan,” by Wasif Zaman, Katelyn Honegger, Alanna Smith, and David Gan. Advisor: Burcu Beykal. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

3rd place: “Redefining How to Process Body Wash: Creating A More Efficient and Agile Supply Chain,” by Aadil Shahzad, Samantha Miel, Megan Shiring, and Matthew Silver. Advisor: Anson Ma. Sponsor: Unilever.

Civil Engineering
1st place: “Blue Line Extension,” by Anson Lau, Yuanlong Dai, Helen Pruchniak, Nicholas Vestergaard. Advisor: Wei Zhang. Sponsor: Construction Industries of Massachusetts-Labor Relations Division (CIM-LRD).

2nd place: “Proposed College of Engineering Building at the University of Connecticut,” by Joshua Maccione, Christian Maignan, Connor Behuniak, Ryan Baj, and Darren Lin. Advisor: Shinae Jang. Sponsor: Slam Collaborative.

3rd place (tie): “Design of Pedestrian Walkway For The Gold Star Memorial,” by Shaun McGuire, Kayla Turner, Steven Anderson, Juan Javier Mejia. Advisor: Manish Roy. Sponsor: HNTB Corporation.

3rd place (tie): “Worcester Union Station Center Island Platform Project,” by Conor Murphy, Harley Jeanty, Jakub Patrosz, Benjamin Ragozzine. Advisor: Wei Zhang. Sponsor: HDR, Inc.

Environmental Engineering

1st place: “Remedial Design of a PFAS Contaminated Site in Connecticut,” by Valentine Falsetta, Wilmalis Rodriguez, and Nicola Bacon. Advisor: Alexander Agrios. Sponsor: Amine Dahmani.

2nd place: “Stormwater/Septic Design,” by Rory Cavicke, Kelsey DiCesare, and Alexander Brita. Advisor: Alexander Agrios. Sponsor: CHA Consulting, Inc.

3rd place: “Stones Ranch Road Drainage Upgrades and Erosion Control,” by Grace Carravone, Amanda Jacobson, Sara Makula, and Jason Contreras. Advisor: Manish Roy. Sponsor: Connecticut National Guard.

School of Computing
1st place: “Solubility Data Management,” by John Bogacz, Connor Brush, Maniza Shaikh, Jianhua Zhu, Walson Li, and Peter Filip. Advisor: Qian Yang. Sponsor: Boehringer Ingelheim.

2nd place: “Light Scattering Automation,” by Zachary Hall, Nikolas Anagnostou, Alden Dus, Jacob Montanez, Avaneesh Sathish, Zakarya Zahhal, and Nikolas Kallicharan. Advisor: Qian Yang. Sponsor: UConn School of Computing.

3rd place: “Responsive Multimodal Care Coordinator (MCC) Development,” by Randy Yu, James Frederick, Betul Agirman, Cameron Ky, Quincy Miller, and Mir Zaman. Advisor: Suining He. Sponsor: University of Connecticut and Bastion.

Electrical and Computer Engineering Projects
1st place: “Robotic Perception Sensor Characterization Platform,” by Hritish Bhargava and Samuel Gresh. Advisor: Shan Zuo. Sponsor: Draper Laboratory​.

2nd place: “Air Force Research Laboratory Software Defined Radio (SDR) University Challenge: Physical Layer Network Slicing,” by Spencer Albano, Matthew Silverman, and Nicholas Wycoff Advisor: Shengli Zhou. Sponsor: UConn Electrical and Computer Engineering Department.

3rd place: “Automated Angle Table for AS5,” by Alexander ReCouper and Mitchell Bronson. Advisor: Liang Zhang. Sponsor: OEM Controls.

Materials Science and Engineering
1st place and Student Choice Award (tie): “Joint-On-A-Chip Osteoarthritis Disease Modeling for Evaluating Anti-Inflammatory Drug Performance,” by Charlotte Chen, Sanjana Nistala, Jenna Salvatore, and Allison Determan. Advisor: Fiona Leek. Sponsor: UConn Biomedical Engineering Department.

2nd place and Student Choice Award (tie): “Citric Acid Passivation Process Development,” by Kevin Li and Matthew Maramo. Advisor: Alexander Dupuy. Sponsor: ARKA.

3rd place: “Bio-Based Material Commercial Door Components Footprint,” by Yuexuan Gu and Jaclyn Grace. Advisor: Fiona Leek. Sponsor: ASSA ABLOY.

Management and Engineering for Manufacturing
1st place: “Enhancing Smartfood Popcorn Line Efficiency to Reduce Downtime And Boost Production Performance,” by Anna Lidsky, Valeria Nieto, Isabelle Bunosso, and Lauren Hart. Advisor: Craig Calvert. Sponsor: PepsiCo Frito-Lay.

2nd place: “Modernizing Raw Material Marking and Inventory System To Enhance Traceability,” by Nimai Browning, Quinn Reelitz, Steven Jaret, and Austin Muzzy. Advisors: Craig Calvert and Rajiv Naik. Sponsor: HORST Engineering.

3rd place: “Reliability Testing and Design Risk Assessment to Enhance Product Quality and Business Sustainability,” by Alex Domingo, Madeline Corbett, Brett Pierce, and Alexander Pearl. Advisor: Rajiv Naik. Sponsor: Belimo Americas.

School of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Manufacturing Engineering
Professors Award: “Designing and Operating An Experimental Facility To Study Non-Premixed Flames Of Pre-Heated (And Pre-Vaporized) Reactants,” by Al-Yaman Zoghol and Tyler Dickey. Advisor: Francesco Carbone. Sponsor: UConn College of Engineering.

1st place: “Multifunctional Metamaterial to Attenuate Acoustic and Elastic Waves,” by Evan Kluge and Lindsey Japa. Advisor: Osama Bilal. Sponsor: ACC Masters.

2nd place (tie): “Improved Performance of Magnetic Speed Sensor Analyzer,” by Kristen Angeli and Emily Root. Advisor: Farhad Imani. Sponsor: AI-Tek Instruments.

2nd place (tie): “Belt Based Continuously Variable Automatic Transmission Prototype,” by Ajeeth Vellore, Luka Ligouri, Ethan Wicko, and Ryan Zwick. Advisor: David Pierce. Sponsor: Transcend Bicycle LLC.

3rd place: “Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses,” by Christian Bjork, Alanna Barzola, Nicholas Trottier, Patrick Place and River Granniss. Advisors: Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala. Sponsor: Sonalysts, Inc.

Systems Engineering
1st place (tie): “Robotic Perception Sensor Characterization Platform,” by Isabella Fabrizi, Liam Mohan, Samuel Gresh, Aveline Mills, Gerardo Robles-Luna, and Hritish Bhargava. Advisor: Osama Bilal. Sponsor: Draper.

1st place (tie): “Design and Development of PV/Thermal System for Greenhouses,” by Christian Bjork, Alanna Barzola, Nicholas Trottier, Patrick Place and River Granniss. Advisors: Wajid Chishty, Nathan Lehman, and Ravi Gorthala. Sponsor: Sonalysts, Inc.

Multidisciplinary Engineering
In addition to the Demo Day awards, six seniors were honored for being among UConn’s first multidisciplinary engineering majors: Edward Wilkinson, Matthew Koniecko, Sean Tan, Patricio Salomon-Mir, Josephine Luby, and Kelly Russell.

Distinguished Educator Engineering Award (nominated by students)
Jasna Jankovic, associate professor of materials science and engineering, and Manish Roy, assistant professor in residence of civil and environmental engineering.

]]> https://today.uconn.edu/2024/04/mccutcheon-uses-membrane-technologies-to-engineer-a-cleaner-future/ Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:57:42 +0000 https://today.uconn.edu/?p=213222 During graduate school, Jeffrey McCutcheon aspired to filter his area of expertise within the field of chemical and biomolecular engineering.

Under the mentorship of Professor Menachem Elimelech at Yale, McCutcheon explored an emerging technology that uses membranes to clean salt, debris, and toxins from water.

“It was there that I gained a love for membrane science and water treatment technologies that I still carry with me today,” says the newly named General Electric Professor in Advanced Manufacturing in the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

More than two decades later, McCutcheon continues to dedicate his work and research to bettering membrane technology. And this May, his efforts will be recognized by  the North American Membrane Society (NAMS) with the newly established “Permeance Prize.” The award honors mid-career faculty for outstanding achievements in the field of membrane science and technology. McCutcheon, alongside Professor Jason Bara from the University of Alabama, will receive the honor during the 33rd NAMS Annual Meeting in Santa Fe, N.M.

“Receiving this award is a testament to the hard work of my graduate students and collaborators,” McCutcheon says.

Mastering Membrane Science at UConn 

Through membrane technologies, scientists and engineers, like McCutcheon, work to separate the good stuff from the bad. They can remove pathogens, viruses, and salt from water; purify and separate gasses; create sterile drugs and biologics during pharmaceutical manufacturing; produce food and beverages with an extended shelf life; assist in environmental cleanup and remediation; and even generate energy using electromembrane processes (fuel cells, flow batteries, and electrolyzers).

“Overall, membrane technologies offer versatile and efficient solutions for various separation and purification processes, contributing to advancements in water treatment, energy production, healthcare, food safety, environmental protection, and many other fields,” McCutcheon says. “In essence, membranes play a key role in ensuring we have clean air, clean water, and clean energy.”

McCutcheon joined the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering in 2008, shortly after receiving a B.S. in chemical engineering from the University of Dayton and a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Yale.

“When I started at UConn, I was largely focused on water treatment technologies,” he recalls. “Since then, I’ve branched out into other fields such as gas separations and ion separations.”

These separation processes, along with desalination, organic solvent filtration, and vapor permeation, are among a handful of methods used at UConn’s Connecticut Center for Applied Separations Technologies (CCAST). There, McCutcheon, who serves as director, and his team of researchers use membrane technologies for various industrial processes in order to lower energy use, reduce carbon footprint, limit waste, and prevent adverse environmental and health impacts.

“I’m grateful for the facilities that UConn has created that have enabled some of this work. CCAST is becoming a world-renowned membrane testing, characterization, and fabrication laboratory,” he says. “We have the potential to drastically reduce the cost, energy consumption, and carbon footprint of many commodities while also reducing the environmental impacts of many industries.”

“We have the potential to drastically reduce the cost, energy consumption, and carbon footprint of many commodities while also reducing the environmental impacts of many industries.” — Jeffrey McCutcheon

In addition to leading CCAST, McCutcheon also serves as a deputy topic area lead for the National Alliance for Water Innovation’s Energy Water Desalination Hub. This program, supported by the Department of Energy and just renewed for a second five-year term, addresses water security and quality issues in the United States.

The NAMS Permeance Prize is among a long list of McCutcheon’s achievements. He previously received the 3M Nontenured Faculty Award, the Solvay Advanced Polymers Young Faculty Award, the DuPont Young Faculty Award, and the FRI/John G. Kunesh Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Separations Division. In 2021, the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE) inducted McCutcheon into its membership.

To date, McCutcheon is the author of more than 100 journal articles on membrane science and he’s raised over $12 million to support research endeavors at UConn.

“Our work fits in well within UConn’s mission to ensure a sustainable future for Connecticut and beyond,” he says.

The Collaboratory for Biomedical and Bioengineering Innovation fosters a vibrant and unified environment where biomedical and bioengineering researchers work together to invent, develop, and adapt existing biotechnologies to solve new problems in the biological sciences.

“There seems to be an artificial divide between researchers who focus on biomedical studies and those working on other biological problems,” says Leslie Shor, associate dean for research and graduate education and co-director of Collaboratory for Biomedical and Bioengineering Innovation. “This is especially strange for engineers, because we are often leading the technical aspects of the work, and an enabling technology such as a novel sensor or new imaging technology works the same regardless of the biological application.”

The Collaboratory, however, aims to help researchers establish new interdisciplinary collaborations outside their existing research networks.

“By promulgating emerging technologies across fields, we enhance the value of the emerging technology and simultaneously unlock new areas of inquiry and accelerate new discoveries,” Shor explains.

Bio-based technology, or biotechnology innovation refers to the development and advancement of technologies that are based on biological systems or use biological materials. This can include a wide range of innovations such as biomedical devices (prosthetics, medical imaging equipment, drug delivery systems); bio-systems (biofuels production, bioremediation of pollutants, agricultural biotechnology); and bio-computation (bioinformatics for analyzing genetic data, computational modeling of biological systems, or machine learning algorithms for drug discovery).

Members of the Collaboratory are nationally and internationally-renowned faculty.

Thanh Nguyen, associate professor of mechanical engineering and biomedical engineering, works at the interface of biomedicine, materials and nano/micro technology. He’s already collaborating with researchers on campus and UConn Health for vaccine, drug, tissue-engineering and biomaterials research, but expects the Collaboratory for Biomedical and Bioengineering Innovation will help strengthen those relationships and allow him to explore more research opportunities.

“UConn is already a collaborative and terrific environment for interdisciplinary research. But this initiative makes biomedical and engineering research from different groups much more visible to all researchers at UConn.” Nguyen says. “The Collaboratory also could eventually lead to more impactful studies and grant funding.”

Like Nguyen, Sabato Santaniello, associate professor of biomedical engineering, is interested in potential collaborations with UConn Health and other medical centers in the region. His work in neuromodulation of the cerebellum is primarily targeted to clinical neuroscience—providing new ways of probing the diseased brain and improving treatments of patients affected by movement disorders.

“My work has potential to translate into new, patentable products down the road, but now, my program can benefit the initiative by intercepting the needs of clinicians, especially neurologists and neurosurgeons,” he says.

Santaniello describes the Collaboratory “as a unique platform” that will regionally advertise the many cutting-edge biomedical technologies that UConn faculty develop and better intercept the needs that come from the healthcare industry and the clinical research.

“It will benefit greatly those PIs at UConn who are looking for new, exciting applications for the tools that are developed in their labs,” he says.

The group aims to promote bio-based technologies through collaborative research; boost economic growth in Connecticut by creating new bio-based products and businesses; train students for biotech careers by involving them in research and innovation; and establish UConn as a global leader in bio-based technology innovation.

“Our goals are to drive research, investment, and possibilities in Connecticut,” explains Guoan Zheng, associate professor of biomedical engineering and co-director of the Collaboratory for Biomedical and Bioengineering Innovation. “By advancing technology, we believe we can make a significant impact on scientific discovery and its applications driving socially impactful research and benefiting Connecticut’s economy and workforce.”

Shor, who’s also Centennial Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, leads the Engineered Microhabitats Research Group at UConn, where she mentors an interdisciplinary team focusing on biotechnology for sustainability. “My lab simply adapted established microfluidics or ‘lab-on-a-chip’ technologies to a completely different field of biology: soil microbes living near plant roots. This approach directly led to new understanding about soil moisture regulation by bacteria and fungi and a new appreciation for how soil protists can be used to promote more sustainable food production. I want to see the same interchange of approaches advance all types of biological sciences to advance a healthy and sustainable future,” she said.

The Collaboratory is seeking student, faculty, and corporate partners. For more information, contact the UConn Collaboratory.

The Collaboratory for Biomedical and Bioengineering Innovation celebrated its launch April 2 with a networking symposium and poster session. Faculty from several engineering disciplines attended to learn about the interdisciplinary relationships related to biomedical and bioengineering research and technology innovation. Photos of the event are below and in this UConn College of Engineering Flickr album. (Chris LaRosa/UConn)

In March, the DOE announced $750 million in funding for 52 projects nationwide, many of them pairing university research with industrial production. The funding is the first phase of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorizes $1.5 billion for clean energy projects and aims to create thousands of new jobs. Additionally, the selected projects will provide support to 32 disadvantaged communities across the country.

“Clean energy technology presents so many opportunities for our state and country,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. “Beyond the critical importance of producing clean, renewable energy that mitigates the impact of climate change, the industry’s growth brings with it excellent employment opportunities and the chance to establish Connecticut as a leader in the field.”

UConn faculty are directly involved with three of the funded projects, each relating to electolyzers – devices utilized to split water atoms into hydrogen and oxygen, allowing generation of green hydrogen as a clean energy carrier and a carbon-free feedstock for a number of industrial processes. The work continues a legacy of University researchers collaborating with private and public entities to advance fuel cell technology.

“This is the largest hydrogen program ever to come out of the Department of Energy,” says Jasna Jankovic, an associate professor of Materials Science and Engineering and Center for Clean Energy Engineering (C2E2), and one the primary investigators being funded. “This is really a huge moment in the story of clean energy and we are very happy to be selected with our collaborators to continue our work.”

Jankovic is involved in two of the projects as the UConn PI. She and co-PI Qian Yang, Assistant Professor in the School of Computing, are collaborating with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Plug Power Inc., the lead of the project, on gigawatt-scale electolyzer component manufacturing and assembly, a project receiving $45.7 million in total funding. UConn will receive approximately $1.9 million of that funding.

Associate research professor for the UConn C2E2 Stoyan Bliznakov is a co-P.I. with Jankovic on a second manufacturing project. They are working with the Farmington-based Mott Corporation on advanced porous transport layer design and manufacturing for electrolyzers. UConn’s portion of the $10 million grant is approximately $2.1 million.

C2E2 and UConn researchers, PI Xiao-Dong Zhou and Co-PIs S. Bliznakov, S. Santos, Y. Wang, and N. Xu, are beneficiaries of the third grant, led by NexTech (d.b.a. Nexceris), funding work on scaleup and demonstration of high temperature electrolysis technology. Collaborators include Georgia Tech, the Idaho National Laboratory, Clark Atlanta University, and Florida A&M. Of the $30 million for the project, UConn will receive close to $1.7 million.

According to C2E2 Director Xiao-Dong Zhou, UConn’s role will continue to build understanding of best techniques to manufacture fuel cells. The industry collaborations allow researchers to understand scaling through the interpretation of system-level data.

“In many ways, producing hydrogen focuses in green energy by using water as the source,” Zhou says. “Dr. Jankovic and her team are focused on the low-temperature side of things. Other members are working on hydrogen sourcing. UConn has expertise and experience in both areas.”

UConn’s research and interest in clean energy technology runs deep. President Radenka Maric – herself a world-renowned researcher and expert in clean energy – has declared climate change as one of the most critical issues facing the world.

“These projects support the initiatives that President Maric lay the foundation for and will contribute to our recognition as leaders,” Jankovic says.

The DOE estimates that the awarded projects will create 1,500 new jobs and reduce the cost of clean energy production. Thousands of additional jobs will support regional economic activity as communities grow the industry.

Stephany Santos, UConn’s executive director of the Vergnano Institute for Inclusion, is pleased with the DOE’s mission to support underserved communities. She says that the process of generation clean energy can sometimes have “dirty” side effects, notably the sources of materials used.

“We are supporting communities that have historically been marginalized,” Santos says. “We are ensuring that those involved are not being exploited and that resources are cleanly sourced.”

At UConn, the projects are creating invaluable opportunities for students to learn from top faculty, as well as contribute to research. Fullbright Scholar Mariah Batool, a Ph.D. candidate in Materials Science, who will work as a postdoctoral fellow on the project with Plug Power, says she has been presented with a huge opportunity.

“It is allowing me to employ all my knowledge and expertise in a more practical approach to bringing forth clean energy advancement, not just only in the academic sense but also in practical and industrial spaces.”

This year, two new award categories were added, including the Faculty Award for Community Impact, recognizing engaged scholarship work beyond research and teaching, and the Institutional Transformation Award, which honors those who transform UConn’s ability to align instruction, research, practice, and values in service of the common good.

Please join us in congratulating the following 2024 PAECES winners:

Faculty Category

Stephany Santos

Emerging Faculty Instructor Award

Associate Director of the Vergnano Institute for Inclusion and an assistant professor-in-residence in Biomedical Engineering, Santos is known for her devotion to equity in access and experience within the STEM field stemming back from her work as a UConn undergraduate.

Since 2012, Santos has been an instructor for the Institute’s BRIDGE program, a five-week summer immersive for incoming UConn Engineering students from underrepresented groups to bridge the gap between high school and college. She recently co-developed and co-instructed a new course supporting underrepresented STEM women. Known as the BOSS LADI course, it is designed to build students’ confidence, communication, and leadership skills, particularly for Black and Latinx women in STEM, so that they have the agency to step into leadership roles and know their ability to affect change.

Her other innovative courses and programs include Exploring Mechanics: The Multiscale Mechanics of ME!, a camp and workshop for middle school girls, and the School of Engineering’s annual Explore Engineering event for high school students. She has taught multiple instances of the Engineering for Impact (ENGR 3025), a leadership development course for present and future leaders of engineering student organizations, including the National Society for Black Engineers, the Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers, and the Society for Women Engineers.

Santos has also focused on improving how faculty and staff in STEM fields support students from underrepresented groups, where she has been essential in developing critical DEI workshops and training opportunities. One example is the Inclusive Justice, Equity, Transformation (or JET) program initiated in the Fall of 2020, which has participants meet regularly to review DEI best practices, learn from current DEI literature, and work on action-oriented projects that each can bring back to their departments or classrooms.

Previously awarded the Inspiring STEM Equitability Award by the Connecticut Technology Council,  Santos was named one of only five UConn Office of Diversity and Inclusion Faculty Affiliates in 2021.

Professor Dan Burkey

Distinguished Faculty Instructor Award

Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education and Diversity for the School of Engineering and professor-in-residence in the Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering Department, Burkey is revered as a creative, out-of-the-box thinker and educator dedicated to introducing UConn students to real-world issues and challenges.

One example of his work includes the UConn service-learning program with the WeHa Unified Business Club, an organization run by students from the Hall and Conard high schools in West Hartford dedicated to helping their peers with disabilities develop their micro-businesses. Burkey has partnered with the club for the past three years to have 220 first-year UConn engineering students work on nationally featured inclusive design projects to benefit young adults on the autism spectrum.

Burkey has also sought novel ways for students to understand and apply key engineering concepts such as process safety and ethical decision-making. Using two educational grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF),  Burkey has worked with collaborators to develop a set of game-based pedagogies that allow instructors to “change the rules” by having students consider actions and pathways that may not usually be considered, including a video game played by engineering students at institutions nationwide. In recognition of this work, Burkey received the 2020 Award for Innovation in Chemical Engineering Education from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE).

In 2017,  Burkey was elected to serve as director of the AIChE Education Division. In this role, he created the Future Faculty Mentoring Program. It has matched approximately 100 senior graduate students with established faculty to help them develop their research and teaching ideas before applying to faculty positions. This work on a national scale mirrors his work at UConn, where he created the Undergraduate Teaching, Mentoring, and Leadership Program in the School of Engineering (ENG), which has provided more than 500 additional teaching assistants for the college since 2014.

Since joining UConn, he has become a five-time recipient of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) Educator of the Year award and was inducted into the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (CASE).

 Tatiana Andreyeva

Emerging Faculty Community Impact Award

Tatiana Andreyeva, an associate professor in Agricultural and Resource Economics, has been the Director of Economic Initiatives at the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Health since 2008. In this role, she has provided critical expertise for its work through her outstanding community engagement scholarship surrounding the critical social issues of food insecurity and nutritional health experienced throughout Connecticut, the U.S., and the world.

Since joining UConn in 2015, Andreyeva has received 26 grants from government and non-government sources to support her research program, with funders including the World Health Organization, United States Department of Agriculture, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association, and the Connecticut Department of Public Health.

Andreyeva is a national expert on the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP), where she has worked closely with CT state government offices to document the impact of strengthening the nutrition standards of CACFP, as well as the barriers to implementing this program. She has further examined CACFP implementation nationwide to make actionable, community-based recommendations to ensure children from low-income households can access better nutrition.

Andreyeva has also built a national reputation internationally as a food and beverage tax policy expert. She, alongside economist Frank Chaloupka (University of Illinois at Chicago), created an online sugary drink tax calculator that allows policymakers and advocates to calculate the predicted revenue from a sugary drink tax based on several parameters. The World Health Organization also invited her in 2018 and 2019 to conduct reviews on the impact of food prices on dietary and health outcomes and the fiscal and pricing policies on foods and non-alcoholic beverages.

At the state and local level, Andreyeva has partnered with the CT Department of Public Health to create 11 evidence-based training modules for future childcare providers and to research the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on obesity-related factors in young children through close collaboration with the CT WIC office, Hartford-based physicians, CT employers, and mothers who gave birth between 2020 and 2024.

Andreyeva also actively promotes community-engaged work in her field through her co-creation and direction of the Tufts University/University of Connecticut Research Innovation and Development Grants in Economics (RIDGE) program. Funded by the USDA Economic Research Service, RIDGE supports scholars conducting economic research on food assistance programs to guide subsequent policy changes.

 Angela Bermúdez-Millán

Distinguished Faculty Community Impact Award

An associate professor-in-residence in Public Health Sciences, Bermúdez-Millán has dedicated her career to direct and intentional engagement with communities vulnerable to food insecurity and related health issues – a path which she has paved through her scholarship and teaching.

Central to Bermúdez-Millán’s research is a focus on the social determinants of health in minority populations and their effects is a community-based participatory framework. One of her works examines the impact of food insecurity on dietary quality, emotional eating, binge eating, mental distress, and diabetes markers to inform the development of a decisive, culturally appropriate community-based intervention for food-insecure Latinas at risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Bermúdez-Millán and her collaborators also gathered quantitative and qualitative data to inform the design of a community-based intervention promoting appropriate and healthy weight through increased fruit and vegetable consumption among overweight/obese, low-income children participating in the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

As a co-investigator in the Diabetes Risk Reduction Through Eat, Walk, Sleep and Medication Theory Management (DREAM) study, Bermúdez-Millán developed a community health worker nutrition intervention targeting depressed Cambodians. These are just a few examples of the embeddedness of local communities within her work.

Aside from the many forms of community-based participation in her research, Bermúdez-Millán intentionally engages community experts and stakeholders in her teaching, lecturing alongside organizations like the Hartford Food System, the Hispanic Health Council, Foodshare Institute, and End Hunger Connecticut. She also developed the Introduction to Interprofessional Public Health Practice, a community-engaged graduate-level course required for all master’s in public health (MPH) students.

Bermúdez-Millán also revised and taught the Food, Health, and Politics graduate seminar, which attracts UConn MPH, dual degree, public policy, social work, and allied health students and students from Trinity College. She developed the Public Health Nutrition graduate seminar, which introduces community and global principles and practices of public health nutrition. She co-precepts the MPH Practicum, a course designed to allow students to integrate public health theory and practice into practical, real-life experiences that serve the greater community through placement in specific community-based organizations such as the Hispanic Health Council Family Nutrition Program and the Bristol Health Department.

Roman Shrestha

Emerging Faculty Research Scholar Award

Roman Shrestha, an assistant professor in Allied Health Sciences, is known for his innovative methods in overcoming barriers to healthcare access, engaging critical stakeholders who can effect change, and building community capacity to sustain positive changes.  Shrestha’s research centers on health disparities in sexual and gender minority (SGM) communities, with a specific focus on HIV, substance use, and mental health. With a solid foundation in public health and community-engaged research, he develops and implements evidence-based interventions and leverages digital health technology to bridge gaps in healthcare accessibility and outcomes. He has long been committed to understanding and mitigating health disparities among marginalized populations, leading him to the forefront of research in SGM communities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Malaysia and Nepal.

Over the years, Shrestha has led and collaborated on several federally funded research projects globally. His community-engaged approach involves working directly with diverse community stakeholders – including researchers, community members, healthcare systems, community-based organizations, and governmental agencies – to ensure a holistic and inclusive perspective in addressing health disparities among SGM communities.

Shrestha is also involved with the Community Advisory Board (CAB), which comprises representatives from rural and urban settings, including researchers, members of the LGBTI+ community, clinicians, and community leaders. Additionally, he actively engages with other stakeholders such as the Ministry of Health, the Malaysian AIDS Council, clinical partners, and various NGOs, working directly with key populations and international donors to facilitate research impact in the community.

Shrestha utilizes innovative methodologies in his research, including leveraging cutting-edge digital health technologies to scale up HIV prevention and treatment and other support services (e.g., mental health, addiction) in marginalized populations. He recently completed two projects in Malaysia: one which implemented Malaysia’s first web-based HIV self-testing platform, which was conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Ministry of Health, and another that developed and evaluated the first ‘clinic-affiliated’ smartphone app that offers a discreet means for members of SGM populations to access HIV prevention, mental health, and gender-affirming support services in the face of multifaceted barriers in Malaysia.

Shrestha’s willingness to mentor other budding scientists and build the capacity of the community members further demonstrates his excellence in community-engaged scholarship. He serves on the ‘Multidisciplinary Advisory Committee’ on several NIH-funded training institutes and, as part of his expanding digital health research portfolio in Malaysia, his team has established the multidisciplinary mHealth Capacity Building (MCB) committee to enhance the capabilities of researchers, clinicians, and members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

Richard Pomp

Distinguished Faculty Research Scholar Award

The Alva P. Loiselle Professor of Law and Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor Richard Pomp’s services represent a sustained record of a profound impact on the daily lives of citizens and the structure of government and have made him indispensable to many legislatures throughout our country and the world.

Pomp is among the most sought-after UConn professors as a visiting scholar, consultant, and expert witness. He has provided services to the governors and legislatures of nearly half the states and has served as an expert witness on tax disputes in over 100 instances. His testimony is often cited by judges in their opinions.

He has authored or co-authored numerous briefs to the United States Supreme Court, with his argument prevailing in most cases. Among them was the landmark decision in Wayfair v. South Dakota, which established the right of states to tax their residents’ online purchases from out-of-state vendors, reaching up to $13 billion in otherwise missing tax receipts and contributing to the public coffers of the states.

Pomp has also been a leading force in global taxation. In 1979, he was part of the first group of four tax academics invited to the People’s Republic of China since the Cultural Revolution. Professor Pomp was key in establishing the Law School’s exchange program with a Chinese institution, and many Chinese students came to the Law School to study with him.

Pomp further designed an independent tax court for New York and reformed that state’s personal and corporate income tax. He also helped draft the Zambian value-added tax, the Navajo tax code, the Connecticut income tax, the Alaskan personal income tax (currently pending adoption), the federal Internet Tax Freedom Act, and parts of the Uniform Division of Income for Tax Purposes Act (as proposed by the Multistate Tax Commission).

Pomp has served as an advisor to cities, states, the Multistate Tax Commission, the Navajo Nation, the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Treasury, the Department of Justice, the IRS, the UN, the IMF, the World Bank, and numerous foreign countries, including Indonesia, Gambia, Zambia, Mexico, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, and Vietnam. His services bring skill, energy, and focus to this field in a way that has improved government operation and the fairness of our tax regimes in scores of jurisdictions in the U.S. and worldwide.

Student Category

Erin Cova

Graduate Student Award

A graduate student in the School of Medicine, Erin Cova has dedicated her time, energy, and research to advancing health equity. She is the co-founder of the UConn Health Leaders (UCHL), a program whose mission is to train the next generation of healthcare providers who will address the social determinants of health for patients throughout Connecticut. Cova has collaborated closely with local primary care clinics to assist them in identifying and addressing the unmet social needs of their patient populations, including performing community assessments to determine available resources and establishing a partnership with local community organizations to create a patient resource referral system.

Cova was instrumental in establishing the UCHL program’s inaugural clinical site, which has grown to encompass multiple sites across the state, three of which she oversees. As site coordinator, she has served over 3,000 hours, acting as a point of contact for clinic staff, performing site evaluations and training, advising over 200 volunteers, and briefing medical providers regarding the results of their patients’ screenings to enhance holistic patient care.

Cova further developed an intervention screening tool that volunteers continue to use across clinical sites, enabling them to screen patients for social risk factors and provide them with resources during the same encounter. After four years, the UCHL program has trained over 350 UConn volunteers, screened over 12,000 people, and addressed over 2,500 social needs. Cova has disseminated findings from the UCHL program at multiple local, regional, and national meetings and through a peer-reviewed publication in the Journal of General Internal Medicine (JGIM) to inform future practice further.

Aside from her dedicated leadership in the UCHL program, Cova shows a passion for preparing pre-health undergraduate students for their future careers, mentoring individual students both one-on-one and through an annual lecture series focused on guiding them through the graduate school application process, helping them to find summer internships, and advising them on their overall career goals. She has further organized panels of health professionals and graduate students to provide UCHL volunteers with specific information and networking opportunities regarding careers in health care. Through her mentorship, other students have been inspired to create health-equity-based programs addressing lung and breast cancer screening disparities.

Letian Sun

Undergraduate Student Award

A second-year political science student, Letian Sun founded the Housing Community Project for the Storrs community, acting as a policy analyst to gather reflections from the community that will inform a policy paper on future housing developments in the area. Additionally, Sun has directly applied his major within state government, including his most recent position within the Office of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont. In this role, he assists constituents in resolving their voiced issues, often collaborating with other departments, participating in assembly conferences, and drafting valuable policy memos and proclamations that have improved government accessibility and responsiveness.

Aside from his professional and research activities, Sun has formed running groups that connect local and international UConn students and perform charity shows with UConn’s Piano Club.

Staff Category

Megan Delaney

Staff Award

Joining UConn’s School of Pharmacy in 2020, Megan Delaney has dedicated herself to the University community, specifically UConn students. Since then, she has served as the sole academic advisor for over 120 students in the pre-professional program and numerous prospective students to support them through their educational trajectories and future careers.

In addition to formal academic advising, she operates the Pharmacy Learning Community, organizing events and teaching over 40 learning community seminars. She further plays a crucial role in three School of Pharmacy committees and advocates for students and staff as a School of Pharmacy Representative in the Regional Campus Forum and Undergraduate Advising Council.

Outside of academic advising, Delaney is the advisor of the Wellness Committee’s Holistic Wellness Subcommittee. In this role, she led the initiative to establish the ‘Wellness Locker,’ a locker containing personal hygiene and menstrual products for School of Pharmacy community members in need. She also started a pharmacy peer advising program in 2023 that connects pre-professional students with professional student mentors, allowing student pharmacists to build transferable skills for their future clinical practice. Due to the program’s success, it has been used as the basis for an upcoming Academia Track for professional students interested in becoming pharmacy educators.

Delaney’s dedication to student success can be traced to her previous role as an academic advisor in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS), where she supported students who were academically at risk and co-founded the college’s Staff Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Cohort. Additionally, in her Ed.D. capstone project, Systematic Whiteness, Racial Consciousness, and Deconstructing Becky(s): A Phenomenological Study of White Women STEM Academic Advisors, she analyzed how the advising practices utilized at historically white institutions (by academic advisors who tend to be white women) can negatively impact the experience of BIPOC students. She made further recommendations that have the potential to have a significant impact on the UConn community, including professional development focused on anti-racism for white advisors, the review of university hiring practices, and having UConn as an institution take a firmer stance on the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion, and access.

Community Partner Category

Auerfarm

Community Partner Award

A 120-acre, non-profit, educational farm situated in Bloomfield, Connecticut, Auerfarm has functioned as a vital partner for UConn Extension and an indispensable resource for linking the university to the diverse population it serves. UConn staff, students, and participants in various Extension programs benefit from using the Auerfarm facilities for hands-on field experiences and collaborations.

Annually, over 12,000 youth participate in 4-H educational programming at the farm. These programs include seven weeks of summer 4-H Camping, 4-H STEM school programs, 4-H Clubs, 4-H particular interest field trips, and 4-H after-school enrichment. Auerfarm further provides facility space for grant-based activities that were developed in partnership with UConn and include the National 4-H Council Pollinator Pathway Grant; USDA grants, including the UConn Children, Youth, and Families at Risk (CYFAR) Healthy Homes Project; and the Food, Agriculture, and Career Biotechnology 4-H Program.

Auerfarm is home to the UConn Master Gardeners Garden, a 1⁄4-acre garden annually serving as a teaching space for over 200 gardeners. This civic-oriented program addresses critical societal issues around food deserts and underserved populations while contributing to the public good. Annually, the garden harvests nearly two tons of food for Connecticut Foodshare.

Auerfarm has partnered with UConn faculty in scholarly presentations for the National Association of 4-H Youth Development Professionals, the National Ag in the Classroom Conference, and the National Association for the Education of Young Children. This willingness to collaborate on scholarship-applied research grants and other creative activities dramatically enhances the UConn 4-H program.

Herb Virgo, Keney Park Sustainability Project

Community Partner Award

Founded and directed by Herb Virgo, the Keney Park Sustainability Project (KPSP) has been an essential community partner for many units and faculty at UConn and with external organizations within the Hartford area. It has served Hartford communities with comprehensive health, nutrition, and environmental education programming for over 15 years.

KPSP was established to provide hands-on training, on-site demonstrations, outreach, and community collaborations that help Hartford families become more self-sustainable and environmentally conscious while preserving historic Keney Park. KPSP’s experiential opportunities for community members include urban agriculture, beekeeping, mushroom production, aquaponics, animal husbandry, forest management, composting, maple syrup production, stormwater collection, and woodworking.

Virgo has worked tirelessly to bring together community stakeholders – from city government, universities, businesses, organizations, and community members – to facilitate environmental stewardship efforts throughout Keney Park and provide enriching programs that offer a multitude of benefits to community members (including nutrition education, building social capital among community members, and developing environmental literacy).

Virgo coordinates part-time staff and over 2,000 volunteers to facilitate KPSP’s operations and programs throughout the 693-acre public park. He has guided the development and sustainability of community-based food systems, including farmers’ markets, greenhouses, community gardens, school-based gardening, home gardens, a composting site, an aquaponics farm, and a backyard-raised garden program. Many of these projects have been co-created and co-developed with Hartford residents, including youth served by the community garden sites, Youth Service Corps volunteers (through KPSP’s youth job-training program), and additional lifelong learners and community volunteers.

In addition, Virgo and KPSP have helped to redevelop a significant portion of the trails within Keney Park, including three years of managing a state-funded trails project. Virgo has also managed the installation of 15 miles of trails in Keney Park, a project that required the collaboration of multiple organizations, local and state entities, volunteers, and contractors.

KPSP has partnered with UConn departments and programs since 2018. Hundreds of students, faculty, and staff from 13 UConn colleges and schools have volunteered thousands of hours with KPSP. A few of the successful programs that have resulted include partnerships with food and agriculture extension faculty to support urban farmers, working with faculty in pharmacy to assist with wellness pop-up events for Hartford residents, and partnering with faculty in natural resources on urban forestry efforts. He has been a vital community partner in tying resources at UConn into the critical community-based work of KPSP, which has enormously impacted Hartford communities.

Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN)

Community Partner Award

The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation (MPTN) began a close partnership with UConn through the Federally Recognized Tribes Extension Program (FRTEP), a USDA-NIFA funded project initiated in 2017 as a response to the need to enhance food security and sovereignty within the MPTN while also reducing rates of childhood and adolescent obesity and Type II diabetes within the tribe. The program was designed with specific objectives to increase the capacity of the agricultural enterprise on Tribal land, to provide workforce development training for Tribal members, and to deliver health and nutrition education to reduce obesity and diabetes in young people.

Tribal needs for Extension programming in agriculture, workforce development, youth development, nutrition, health, Pequot language, and cultural preservation were identified and prioritized through multiple meetings, interviews, and a focus group discussion. Tribal leaders, members, and the UConn FRTEP team (including crop specialists, 4-H, nutrition Extension educators, and business planning and evaluation specialists) participated.

The FRTEP project has achieved several measurable outcomes since 2017. The project goal to improve food security in the MPTN was accomplished by establishing a meechooôk farm and cultivating more land. Since 2022, the meechooôk farm-grown produce and meat have been distributed to 180 Tribal community members (15 percent of the MPTN population) every other week in food boxes. Additionally, 30 diabetic patients have been prescribed fresh produce from the farm since 2022, supported by the Food Rx Program. Over 8,000 lbs. of produce were harvested in 2023, and farm products are being sold at the Foxwoods Resort and Casino and local supermarkets. Additionally, the project has encouraged more households to start their backyard gardens.

The FRTEP project has significantly strengthened the relationship between UConn Extension and MPTN. The FRTEP grant has built on the relationships and infrastructures that have enabled MPTN to secure additional funding from other agencies, including USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Native American Agricultural Fund. The project’s success has led to the creation of the MPTN Department of Agriculture in 2021, which continues the education, nutrition, and farming work previously done in collaboration with UConn Extension.

Donald Swinton

Community Partner Award

As Senior Director of Development for the School of Engineering at the UConn Foundation, Donald Swinton has built a successful development operation. Over 15 years, he has raised over $95 million in funding and sponsorship for many institutes and research centers that drive economic development, foster groundbreaking academic research, and prepare highly trained students.

Swinton has leveraged business-facing relationships that have had a direct and far-reaching impact on the ability of the School of Engineering to produce students capable of meeting the ever-evolving needs of industry and innovating next-generation solutions. His ongoing contributions have enriched scholarship, research, and creative activity and enhanced curriculum, teaching, and learning in transformative ways. Swinton has also helped advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as human rights and sustainability in the engineering field through the development of crucial university institutes, including:

The Vergnano Institute, Altschuler Cybersecurity Laboratory, Eversource Energy Center for Excellence, UConn-FEI Center for Excellence in Microscopy & Materials Characterization, Pratt & Whitney Scholars Program, Cigna Computer Science Scholars Program, Krenicki Institute for Arts & Engineering, United Technology Institute for Advanced Systems Engineering, Engineering for Human Rights Institute, Avangrid Clean Earth Partnership, Nursing and Engineering Innovation Center, and the Belimo Scholars Program.

Building on a three-decade effort by the School of Engineering to diversify student recruitment by collaborating with Mark and Betsy Vergnano and other prominent alums, he transformed the College’s Bridge to Engineering program – scaffolded recruitment, mentorship, and professional development initiative for under-represented students – into the nationally recognized Vergnano Institute that has positioned UConn as a leader in transforming the face of the engineering field.

Another example is the Eversource Energy Center, which is both a catalyst for groundbreaking research on storm preparedness and a new study on the transition from conventional energy to a green energy economy using wind, solar, hydrogen, and other new forms of power. Swinton wrote the 2011 proposal that created the center and, in the years since, has generated $30 million in support. Faculty and students involved in the center work with ENG and CAHNR, CLAS, and Social Work colleagues on various issues related to equitable access to energy and public opinion on energy transitions.

Throughout his tenure, Swinton has also had a hand in organizing numerous outreach events promoting School of Engineering industry partnerships, such as the Sikorsky Helicopter UConn Fly-in, Pratt & Whitney Nights, and the IPB monthly Connecticut Manufacturers’ Meet-Up. In October 2022, he organized a conference that brought elected, industry, research, and advocacy leaders together to showcase new UConn research and its potential implications.

Institutional Transformation Category

UConn Writing Center

Institutional Transformation Award

Formed through the UConn Writing Center in 2009, the Secondary School Outreach Program supports learners and educators through mutually beneficial programming and developing strong learning communities centered around literacy. The Outreach Program engages the vast network of teachers affiliated with the Connecticut Writing Project to source teacher recruits as tutors for high school writing centers and to encourage middle and high schools to create their own. Beginning with just one tutor, one high school teacher, and one school, the program has grown to fit an increasing demand, with approximately 70 writing centers currently operating.

Through the Secondary School Outreach Program, the UConn Writing Center has created an initiative throughout northeast Connecticut that includes three signature activities: an intensive collaboration with one new secondary school each year, an annual conference on and for secondary school writing centers, and ongoing programmatic support for writing center teachers.

The Outreach Program also regularly provides opportunities for faculty and students in secondary schools across the state to visit the UConn Writing Center and partake in tutor-led learning activities to strengthen their tutoring skills and approaches and learn how to create their own programs.

The Writing Center’s Secondary School Outreach Conference attracts hundreds of secondary school administrators, faculty, and students with the opportunity to enhance their understanding and practices surrounding secondary school peer tutoring. Importantly, students also present their work and lead workshops at the conference, which allows them to showcase their knowledge and skills and to serve as a resource for others. With learner-created and centered presentations and activities, the conference provides myriad opportunities for collaboration and growth.

The impact of the Outreach Program is tremendous. With an estimated ten student tutors per school across 70 schools over 17 years, the program has reached almost 12,000 students who are now trained as tutors and support countless other students in peer writing centers across the state. High school students formerly trained by undergraduate tutors are now coming to UConn and seeking employment as writing tutors. The UConn Writing Center has also worked closely with the Neag School of Education and the Early College Experience (ECE) program to recruit pre-service English teachers to become involved in writing center outreach as relevant pre-career experience.

Nadine Brennan, David Embrick, Cynthia Miranda-Donnelly, Janice Castle, and Kim Schwartz, the Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, & Equity Initiative (RRCRE)

Institutional Transformation Award

Nadine Brennan is the Associate Campus Director at UConn Hartford. Chief among her responsibilities is establishing and maintaining partnerships with community organizations in the greater Hartford area.

David Embrick is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Africana Studies with an appointment as Director of UConn Hartford’s Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, & Equity Initiative (RRCRE).

Cynthia Miranda-Donnelly is Director of Finance and Operations at UConn Hartford.

Janice Castle is the Director of the Office of Community Engagement for the City of Hartford.

Kim Schwarz is the Director of Event Services at UConn Hartford. Since the opening of the campus, she has forged partnerships with Hartford-based event venues and restaurants to support programming for students and our extended communities.

In a short period, this team has formed a collaboration that has helped advance the newly established UConn Hartford campus as a central hub for community engagement in the city, developing innovative programs that deliver place-based, authentic, and high-impact learning opportunities that resonate with students and Hartford community members.

Building on scholarship in Psychological Science, Human Development and Family Sciences, Social Work, Public Policy, Business, Law, Urban and Community Studies, and other Hartford-based units, this team leverages the campus’s proximity to state and local government, corporate entities, other regional academic institutions, and non-profit and arts organizations to support students, enhance research productivity, and serve the wider community.

The first of its kind at a regional campus in the university system, Research on Resilient Cities, Racism, & Equity Initiative (RRCRE) has been a catalyst for this community-engaged work. RRCRE serves as a collaborative research hub that integrates and enhances the global urban studies scholarship and community practice of UConn Hartford’s faculty by connecting their projects to community-relevant initiatives.

The collaboration of Brennan, Schwarz, Miranda-Donnelly, Castle, and Embrick has manifested this work by building essential relationships with local organizations and submitting grant proposals for new research projects. The team has built partnerships with organizations such as The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, MetroHartford Alliance, Hartford Urban League, iQuilt, Keney Park Sustainability Project, Connecticut Health Foundation, Charter Oak Cultural Center, HartBeat Ensemble, Trinity College, and the University of Hartford.

The team has drawn on these partnerships to apply for and receive numerous grants. The “Hartford Love Your Block—Oral Histories and Evaluation Project,” supported by a $60,000 grant from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, brings researchers, students, community members, local philanthropic foundations, and government officials together to examine and find solutions to challenges in some of Hartford’s most historically underserved and marginalized neighborhoods. Utilizing data analytics and GIS survey tools, the Hartford Project supports the evaluation and sustainability of local community beautification efforts while building democratic participation in city and state governments.

RRCRE also received a $2.9 million U.S. Department of Commerce: Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program grant to build research infrastructure, create jobs, and provide learning pathways and opportunities for Hartford’s youth. The most significant single regional campus grant ever awarded, the Connecting Minority Communities Program, also supports UConn students as part of our federally designated Minority Serving Institution status.

On April 19, leaders from the two organizations recognized the newly named Pratt & Whitney Engineering Building in a ceremony at UConn Storrs.

The renaming of the building, formerly known as the United Technologies Engineering Building, served as a timely reminder of the interconnectedness of academia and industry. By bridging the gap between theory and practice, UConn and Pratt & Whitney are paving the way for transformative discoveries and advancements that will shape the future of engineering and beyond. 

“The prevalence of the aerospace industry has been a constant in Connecticut,” UConn President Radenka Maric said during Friday’s event. “We come full circle today, recognizing Pratt & Whitney as one of the state’s longest established aerospace companies, and for its ties to UConn College of Engineering and the UConn mechanical engineering teams.” 

Friday’s event brought UConn stakeholders including Maric, Anne D’Alleva, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs; and Kazem Kazerounian, engineering dean.  Also in attendance were the students benefitting from the Pratt & Whitney Scholars Program.

UConn Growth 

In 1920, the Division of Mechanical Engineering moved into its own building on the Storrs campus and graduated its first engineering student.  The original building first opened on campus in 1986 following a $1.5 million contribution from United Technologies. Since then, the building has seen the mechanical engineering department grow into the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering. Currently, about 65% of Connecticut’s engineers are UConn graduates, and the continued demand for engineers in the state has driven growth in the school’s enrollment, degree offerings, curricula, industry partnerships, and research impact over the last several years. 

Industrial Advancement 

Pratt & Whitney is a global leader in aerospace innovation and has long been synonymous with groundbreaking advancements in engineering. With deep connections to the state of Connecticut, Frederick Rentschler founded the company in 1925. Its first engine, the R-1340 Wasp, transformed military and commercial aviation and is still in use today. In April 2020, United Technologies merged with Raytheon Company, and together became the RTX Corporation. Pratt & Whitney is an RTX business. 

“The newly named Pratt & Whitney Engineering Building is a testament to the strength of the partnership between UConn and Pratt & Whitney, which dates back decades and is built on two key pillars: research and talent,” said Pratt & Whitney Vice President Geoff Hunt during Friday’s event. 

Educating, and Transporting, a Modern World 

Both UConn and Pratt & Whitney are committed to a future of environmental responsibility, social equity, and economic viability.  

UConn has established an ambitious goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030. As part of the UConn Sustainability Action Plan, the university will also conserve resources; integrate sustainability across UConn’s academic and research activities; ensure equity and engagement; and establish partnerships and support innovation that addresses sustainability challenges. 

Pratt & Whitney is committed to supporting the aerospace industry in its goal of reaching net zero aviation carbon dioxide emissions by 2050. Progress includes smarter technology like hybrid-electric propulsion and building engines to burn cleaner fuel. The company has partnered with key sustainable organizations like the Air Transport Action Group, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and the Commercial Aviation Alternative Fuels Initiative to meet those goals. 

Part of Pratt & Whitney’s recent commitment to the UConn College of Engineering includes the Pratt & Whitney Scholars Program, a $1.25 million investment to serve underrepresented minorities. Those scholars were recognized in a Vergnano Institute for Inclusion showcase later that night. 

This partnership was also recently recognized by the Connecticut Office of Workforce Strategy. The Vergnano Institute and Pratt & Whitney earned an honorable mention for the inaugural Governor’s Workforce Partnership Awards and were recognized last week.

Past, Present, and Future 

The 1986 groundbreaking ceremony program ended with a simple, but timeless, note that still rings true today: “Our common goal is a building filled with students, faculty and staff working and learning together in a first-class teaching and research facility.” Friday’s event offered a chance to reflect on the soaring progress of the last century. From Wilbur and Orville Wright’s earliest attempts to take to the skies, to the latest advancements in sustainable aviation fuel, UConn and Pratt & Whitney humbly join an ever-growing crew of aerospace innovators. Together, Pratt & Whitney and UConn aim to shape the future of aviation by creating well-rounded engineers ready to tackle the challenges of the next century.  

More photos from the rededication ceremony are available online.

Zhao currently serves as the department chair of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Clark Distinguished Chair Professor of the University of Maryland, College Park.

“Dr. Zhao brings a wealth of experience from an illustrious career spanning academia, industry, and government,” says Anne D’Alleva, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. “He is dedicated to continuing to build on the College of Engineering’s strengths, expanding its research footprint, fostering transformative and impactful educational programs, and advancing the College’s relationships with local, national, and international partners.”

Zhao’s appointment begins August 12, 2024.

“Even though I’m sad to depart the excellent MSE Department at the University of Maryland, I am very excited to join Husky Nation and to leverage my combined experience in industry, government, and academia for the betterment of the UConn College of Engineering,” Zhao says.

Academic and Government Experience

Zhao joined the University of Maryland in 2019. There, he gained experience in managing complex budgets, leading cross-functional teams, building industry partnerships, and engaging in development work. In addition, Zhao’s research has focused on the design of advanced alloys and coatings, additive manufacturing (3D printing) of alloys and composites, materials science methodologies, computational thermodynamics and kinetics, and hydrogen/energy storage materials.

Prior to his tenure at the University of Maryland, Zhao was a professor at Ohio State University’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering and also served as a program director at the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E (Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy), managing approximately $100 million in projects to develop energy-efficient and green technologies.

Zhao earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree in MSE from Central South University in China. He then earned his doctorate in MSE from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania.

Honors and Prestigious Memberships

Zhao is the recipient of many awards, including the William Hume-Rothery Award from the Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society (TMS) and the J. Willard Gibbs Phase Equilibria Award and Alfred H. Geisler Memorial Award from ASM International. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), ASM International, the Materials Research Society (MRS), and TMS. He served on the Subcommittee on the Materials Genome Initiative of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and on the Board of Trustees of ASM International.

Zhao is currently associate editor for the Journal of Materials Informatics, the Journal of Phase Equilibria and Diffusion (Springer), and is on the editorial board of Intermetallics (Elsevier). He’s also on the advisory boards of Rare Metals (Springer), Progress in Natural Science: Materials International (Elsevier), and Advanced Engineering Materials (Wiley-VCH).

Industry Connections

Before working in academia and government, Zhao was a senior materials scientist and project leader at General Electric (GE) Research Center in New York for 12 years. There, he invented new materials and processes, mostly for gas turbines and jet engines, leading to 48 US patents covering a range of materials, processes, and systems. His industrial experience at GE will be an asset for UConn to strengthen its collaboration with Raytheon Technologies and other businesses in Connecticut and beyond.

Before leaving GE, he earned the Albert W. Hull Award from GE Global Research— the highest individual achievement award at GE Research for young scientists. His citations detailed his leadership in advancing innovation, for his leadership skills in advancing innovative, state-of-the-art development methodologies that aim to decrease cycle time for materials discovery while increasing robustness of the work.  He also was recognized for his expertise and leadership regarding the in the critical nature of coatings and high temperature materials, and for his enormous energy and perseverance in solving real business challenges.

Changing of the Guard

Zhao will take over the Dean of the College of Engineering role from Kazem Kazerounian, who is returning to teaching and research after 12 years as dean. Kazerounian has said it is his time for change, and will be stepping down, back into the School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Manufacturing Engineering, as Zhao steps up into the deanery in August.

During Kazerounian’s time as dean, enrollment in the College of Engineering has more than doubled, research expenditures have quadrupled, and industry partners to date now offer 46 students full scholarships.

“I am confident that Dean Zhao will bring fresh ideas, new perspectives, and a renewed energy to UConn Engineering,” Kazerounian says. “I extend a warm welcome to JC (as we will dearly call him) as he embarks on this exciting journey to lead UConn Engineering. With his expertise and vision, I am excited that our college will continue to thrive and innovate under his capable stewardship.”

The six are:

* Daniel Bolnick, a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

* Ming-Hui Chen, a professor and head of the Department of Statistics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

* Brenton Graveley, Health Net, Inc. Chair in Genetics and Developmental Biology, chair of the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences at the UConn School of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Institute for Systems Genomics.

* Dr. George Kuchel, Director of the UConn Center on Aging and The Travelers Chair in Geriatrics and Gerontology in the UConn School of Medicine.

* Guozhen Lu, a professor in the Department of Mathematics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

* Guiling Wang, a professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Center for Environmental Science and Engineering.

Bolnick is interested in how evolution maintains genetic variation within species. Natural selection is usually thought of as a filtering process that removes all but the most-fit variants within a population, thus reducing variation. Yet, most natural populations of organisms harbor substantial genetic diversity. Bolnick’s research explores several possible solutions to this paradox. Recently, his work has focused on how parasites and their hosts co-evolve, and how their antagonism shapes variation in host immunity.

Chen has published more than 470 peer-reviewed journal articles and five books, including two advanced graduate-level books on Bayesian survival analysis and Monte Carlo methods in Bayesian computation. He served as president of the International Chinese Statistical Association and the New England Statistical Society and the chair of the Eastern Asia Chapter of International Society for Bayesian Analysis. He is currently co editor-in-chief of Statistics and Its Interface and co editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Statistics in Data Science.

Graveley’s research interests are focused on studying RNA biology, particularly for advancing our understanding of the Drosophila transcriptome, alternative splicing, and human RNA binding proteins, as well as the fundamental mechanisms of CRISPR biology. A major focus of Graveley’s lab has been the Drosophila Dscam1 gene, which contains 95 alternative exons and has the potential to express over 38,000 isoforms through extensive alternative splicing.

Kuchel was recognized for distinguished contributions to the field of medical sciences and aging research, particularly using multidisciplinary translational approaches to improve the lives of older adults. His work defining the role of biological aging in functional declines involving host defense, mobility, cognition, and voiding has contributed to the emergence of the field of geroscience and to the testing of gerotherapeutic interventions for their ability to delay the onset and progression of varied chronic diseases of aging by targeting biological aging.

Lu is well-known for his contributions in harmonic analysis (particularly multiparameter harmonic analysis), geometric analysis. and partial differential equations. He is a leading mathematician in the areas of sharp geometric and functional inequalities, particularly using the Helgason-Fourier analysis. He has published over 200 research articles and his impactful works have been cited widely by his peers. Lu is an American Mathematical Society fellow and has awarded the prestigious Simons Fellowship twice. He serves as the editor-in-chief for both the premier journal Advanced Nonlinear Studies and the De Gruyter flagship book series Studies in Mathematics. Lu’s doctoral students have taken postdoctoral positions at prestigious universities in the United States and Canada

Wang studies the Earth’s hydrological cycle, its interaction with the terrestrial ecosystems, and its variability, change, and extremes. Her research spans the topics of land-atmosphere interactions at the subseasonal to seasonal timescales, ecosystem-climate interactions at the decadal to centennial timescales, and climate change impact on water, energy, and food security. She makes use of theoretical and process-based models of various complexity, empirical modeling including machine learning, satellite remote sensing and ground observational data. Her research led to improved predictions of regional climate and hydrological extremes.

The latest class of AAAS Fellows includes 502 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines who are being recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements. AAAS first started naming Fellows in 1874.

The AAAS is the publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more.

UConn and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are continuing their partnership with a new $10.5 million contract. The funding will support the University’s research into aerospace manufacturing challenges. To date, project funding is approaching $30 million.

“For generations, defense technology has been a backbone to Connecticut’s economy,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship, as well as a recipient of AFRL funding. “Our work with the AFRL continues a tradition that extends from flight and navigation to world-class engines to undersea technology. UConn scientists and engineers are using knowledge and applied science to advance the aerospace industry.”

The new funding focuses on manufacturing obstacles in aerial systems intended to fly at very high speeds. Seven faculty members – along with teams of post-graduate and graduate students – will conduct research into welding-related challenges for high temperature metallic materials and into the development of advanced materials for high temperatures. These connected, interdisciplinary projects include researchers from material science and engineering, mechanical engineering, civil and environmental engineering, and chemistry.

The primary investigator on the project is Professor Rainer Hebert, also the Director of the Pratt & Whitney Additive Manufacturing Center and associate director of the Institute of Materials Science. Several major companies fund research labs within the Innovation Partnership Building (IPB) at UConn Tech Park, collectively investing hundreds of millions of dollars to advance Connecticut’s technology capital.

“Working with AFRL for the last years has sharpened our sense of application relevance,” says Hebert. “In our latest contract, we now work very closely with industry including Raytheon, Pratt & Whitney, and Collins Aerospace, continuing to improve the model of government, industry, and academia integrated research collaborations.

The relationship with the AFRL has been fruitful for both UConn and its partner.

“For us in academia, seeing our research transition towards a product is an interesting alternative to other research projects that remain at the fundamental research level,” Hebert says. “For AFRL, our solutions to applied problems that derive from basic research offer an alternative of its own kind, one that sets us apart from industry and their solutions that are often dictated by tight production schedules.”

The new grant will fund a four-year research project that combines experimental and theoretical approaches to advance materials provided to corporate partner RTX (formerly Raytheon). Hebert says the project tasks include addressing the behavior of non-metallic, high-temperature materials under different processing and service conditions.

Research will also be conducted into additive manufacturing of high-temperature refractory metals and the design and processing of metamaterials. Hebert says the metamaterials can modify heat- and electromagnetic fields with tailored structures, achieving, for example, unprecedented thermal management.

UConn’s partnership with the AFRL extends back to 2018 and the launch of the first contact, which leveraged UConn expertise in several areas related to advanced manufacturing. Such disciplines include casting, heat treating, ceramics, additive manufacturing, systems engineering, and several more.

The collaboration includes several industry partners deeply rooted in Connecticut, More than 15 UConn faculty members as well as dozens of graduate and post-grad students have contributed to efforts to provide transformative capabilities on manufacturing technologies to the AFRL, original equipment manufacturers, and supply chains.

“Covering research from functional materials and photonics to casting, welding, and additive manufacturing, the UConn team has established itself as a valuable partner for the AFRL and other key industry partners,” Hebert says.

The following faculty members will work on projects covered through the $10.5 million contract:

Mark Aindow, Material Science and Engineering (MSE)
Pamir Alpay, Vice President for Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship
Osama Bilal, Mechanical Engineering
Lesley Frame, MSE
Jeongho Kim, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Rainer Hebert, MSE
Steven Suib, Chemistry

Evaluations for promotion, tenure, and reappointment apply the highest standards of professional achievement in scholarship, teaching, and service for each faculty member evaluated. Applications for promotion and tenure are reviewed at the department level, school or college level, and finally at the Office of the Provost before recommendations are forwarded to the Board of Trustees.

This process involves significant work on the part of each faculty member, as well as assistance and support of colleagues and administrative staff who provide guidance and manage many of the logistics through each stage of the promotion and tenure cycle. It is a notable milestone for each faculty member awarded these promotions, as well as for their colleagues.

The listing of faculty promoted and/or granted tenure is listed below, organized by school, college, or other academic unit. Please join us in congratulating our colleagues on this momentous occasion.

Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources

Promotion To Professor

Jason Henderson, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture

Elaine Lee, Kinesiology

Charles Towe, Agriculture and Resource Economics

Promotion To Associate Professor

Neha Mishra, Pathobiology and Veterinary Sciences

Promotion To Associate Professor And Tenure

Sohyun Park, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture

Haiying Tao, Plant Science and Landscape Architecture

Promotion To Associate Professor In-Residence

Maryclaire Capetta, Kinesiology

Eleni Diakogeorgiou, Kinesiology

Promotion To Extension Professor

Thomas Worthley, Extension

Promotion To Associate Cooperative Extension Educator

Shuresh Ghimire, Extension

Business

Promotion To Professor

Resul Cesur, Finance

Vishal Narayan, Marketing

Promotion To Associate Professor And Tenure

Stefan Hock, Marketing

Chrstina Kan, Marketing

Tao Lu, Operations and Information Management

Promotion To Associate Professor In-Residence

Alexander Amati, Finance

Engineering

Promotion To Professor

Ali Bazzi, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Kay Wille, Civil & Environmental Engineering

Liang Zhang, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Promotion To Associate Professor And Tenure

Derek Aguiar, Computing

Necmi Biyikli, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Kristin Morgan, Biomedical Engineering

Sina Shahbazmohamadi, Biomedical Engineering

Xueju Wang, Materials Science & Engineering

Yuanyuan Zhu, Materials Science & Engineering

Yi Zhang, Biomedical Engineering

Tenure As Associate Professor

Shalabh Gupta, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Promotion To Professor In-Residence

Reza Sheikhi, Mechanical, Aerospace & Manufacturing Engineering

Fine Arts 

Promotion to Professor           
Solomiya Ivakhiv, Music

Promotion to Associate Professor and Tenure 

Jennifer Scapetis-Tycer, Dramatic Arts

Sophie Shao, Music

Alexander Woodward, Dramatic Arts

Law

Promotion To Professor And Tenure

Jessica De Perio Wittman

Promotion To Clinical Professor

Mary Beattie

Promotion To Associate Clinical Professor

Ashley Armstrong

Rachel Reeves

Rachel Timm

Liberal Arts and Sciences

Promotion To Professor          

David Embrick, Sociology

Delia Furtado, Economics

Debarchana Ghosh, Geography

Julie Granger, Marine Sciences

Jason Hancock, Physics

Jie He, Chemistry

Nicholas Leadbeater, Chemistry

Marcus Rossberg, Philosophy

Beth Russell, Human Dev And Family Sciences

Michael Whitney, Marine Sciences

Sarah Willen, Anthropology

Yaowu Yuan, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology

Jing Zhao, Chemistry

Promotion To Associate Professor And Tenure

Dexter Gabriel, History

Aoife Heaslip, Molecular And Cell Biology

Sean Li, Mathematics

Daniel McCarron, Physics

Linnaea Ostroff, Physiology And Neurobiology

Alexandra Paxton, Psychological Sciences

Evan Perkoski, Political Science

Debapriya Sarkar, English

Ilya Sochnikov, Physics

Clay Tabor, Earth Sciences

Tracy Llanera, Philosophy

Xiang Chen, Geography

Tenure As Associate Professor         

Scott Wallace, Journalism

Promotion To Professor In-Residence     

Lisa Blansett, English

Michael Finiguerra, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology

Susan Herrick, Ecology And Evolutionary Biology

Sherry Zane, Women’s Gender And Sexuality Studies

Promotion To Associate Professor In-Residence

Jessica Dafhne Aguirre, Chemistry

Anne Basaran, Communication

Tianxu Chen, Economics

Sarah Decapua, English

Jeffrey Divino, Physiology And Neurobiology

Vindya Pathirana, Mathematics

Promotion To Clinical Professor     

Nicole Gallagher, Speech, Language, And Hearing Sciences

Promotion To Associate Clinical Professor

Kacie Wittke, Speech, Language, And Hearing Sciences

Promotion To Associate Research Professor     

Jamie Vaudrey, Marine Sciences

Library

Promotion To Librarian 2

Thomas Lee

Promotion To Librarian 3

Roslyn Grandy, Roslyn

Hilary Kraus, Hilary

Edward Junhao Lim

Renee Walsh

Neag School of Education

Promotion to Professor

Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Curriculum and Instruction

Devin Kearns, Educational Psychology

Allison Lombardi, Educational Psychology

Bianca Montrosse-Moorhead, Educational Psychology

Jennie Weiner, Educational Leadership

Promotion to Associate Professor and Tenure   

Grace Player, Curriculum and Instruction

Nursing 

Promotion To Associate Professor and Tenure

Louise Reagan

Promotion to Associate Clinical Professor

Valarie Artigas

Denise Bourassa

Social Work

Promotion to Professor

Kathryn Libal

Conducted by a team of UConn researchers, the Nordic Institute of Theoretical Physics (NORDITA), and Stockholm University (SU), the study involves “driven quantum matter.” In the process, atoms and electrons in a material are constantly agitated by external light sources.  

The goal of this process is to manipulate the material to undergo certain transformations when illuminated with light, such as becoming superconductors or developing magnetism. These quantum behaviors hold massive potential in the future of technology.  

These behaviors, which defy the rules of classical physics, are a subject of fascination in the field. So far, researchers have only been able to induce quantum behaviors like magnetism and superconductivity at extremely low temperatures in controlled lab environments. This limits the potential of quantum research to certain conditions.  

Now, there has been a breakthrough. In 2016, UConn Physics professor and Institute for Materials Science researcher Alexander Balatsky worked with collaborators to develop a theory. The team of researchers from UConn, NORDITA, and SU are the first in the world to induce quantum behavior at room temperature, making a non-magnetic material magnetic using laser light.  

This process is detailed in an upcoming Nature publication. It involves using short bursts of intense laser beams to “stir up” atoms and electrons in an oxide based on titanium and strontium (STO).  

The basis of the study was inspired by Balatsky’s theory of “dynamical multiferroicity,” which predicts that when titanium atoms are stirred in STO with circularly polarized light, the atoms and electrons can be “tricked” into circulating in loops that generate a magnetic field that makes the material as powerful as a refrigerator magnet. 

“It’s essentially the atomic single cell version of an electric motor,” Balatsky says. “You spin the charges, and they produce a magnetic moment.” 

This is the first time that a study has confirmed the theory. SU researcher Stefano Bonetti led a collaboration with Balatsky and his team to provide clear evidence of room temperature magnetization in STO. This breakthrough paves the way for ultrafast magnetic switches that can be used for more energy-efficient computers and faster information transfer.  

 “Tapping into this for quantum technology applications, that holds the potential for the future,” Balatsky says. “It’s not only about qubits or quantum computing. Quantum materials are going to underpin this technology in the future.” He added that new applications of these ideas to quantum materials have led to collaborative projects between UConn and RTX. 

This achievement underscores UConn’s commitment to advancing quantum materials research, from the Quantum Initiative to strategic partnerships such as Quantum CT, a joint effort with Yale University aimed at establishing Connecticut as a national hub for quantum technology.   

The course, which combines engineering and entrepreneurship for critical defense applications, is open to both graduates and undergraduate students: ENGR 3195-034 for undergraduates and ENGR 5300-010 for graduates, referred to nationally as Hacking for Defense® (H4D).

The course uses a project-based approach to get students out of the classroom and into the community, engaging with defense industry professionals.

Organizers compare it to the College of Engineering’s undergraduate senior design capstone project “in miniature.”

“Students are not required to stick to any specific discipline,” says UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition Graduate Fellow in Naval Security Alexander Grey. “Our goal is to make connections inside and outside of engineering in all fields.”

Grey says the course has a heavy focus on soft skills, round-table collaboration, and limitless imaginations.

By bringing together engineering, venture capital, and policymaking, students can solve real-world dilemmas faced by the military and defense contractors across the national security space.

In the course’s inauguration in the 2022-2023 academic year, students participated in a project for the Naval Information Warfare System Command (NIWC) – Atlantic. The project focused on satellite communications and their intel gathering limitations.

The Navy was looking for improvements because of limited receivable bandwidth and loss of signal or weak signal.

Engineering students Drew Cietek, Zachary Young, Matthew Li, John Santangelo, and Usama Sheikh needed to develop a modern solution that has more potential for growth, with flexibility, improved safety, and no size constraints.

The team created an innovative communications solution they called Husky Watch. It combines the phased rays, like those used in Starlink, with the advanced capabilities of drone technology.

“Having a mix of undergraduate and graduate students was really important,” says Cietek, a materials science and engineering Ph.D. candidate. “The undergraduate students really rose to the challenge and brought the project to a new level.”

H4D is one of several courses in the College of Engineering dedicated to innovation and entrepreneurship.

“Normally, I consider courses to fall into two categories: lectures or laboratories,” Cietek says. “But this course was something new: I would say it had a networking base. I have spent some time in industry, and this is the closest experience I’ve had to what a real industry problem would be like in the real world.”

According to H4D organizers, 850 problems have been addressed by more than 3,000 students nationwide. Those students have gone on to form 54 startups.

Organizers say the program allows program sponsors at the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community to increase the speed at which their organization solves specific, mission-critical problems.

The national H4D organization also offers an alumni network, something Cietek says has been very beneficial to him.

Grey encourages students to register for the fall 2024 course.

No prerequisites are required, however, undergraduate students would find the course most beneficial if they were at a junior or senior level.

For students interested in registering for the course, or for businesses and organizations interested in sponsoring a project, contact UConn-URI Navy STEM Coalition Graduate Fellow in Naval Security Alexander Grey at grey@uconn.edu.   For information about NIUVT, contact NIUVT Global Programs Director Lisa Donegan at lisa.donegan@uconn.edu. 

The H4D program is powered by BMNT, Inc. and the Common Mission Project.

Researchers at UConn are answering the call for the development of innovative technologies and defense systems, as well as education and training programs for the energy-sector workforce, through a new regional collaborative that brings together universities and industry partners to tackle the cybersecurity infrastructure needs of the northeast corridor.

The new Northeast University Cybersecurity Center for Advanced and Resilient Energy Delivery, or CyberCARED, will formally launch in early May following a commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) of $2.5 million over the next two years to support the project.

The project is one of six nationwide that were selected by the DOE’s Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) to address gaps in research surrounding energy security.

“This investment in university-based cybersecurity centers will enable us to simultaneously grow the U.S. cyber workforce and build the expertise we need to take on the evolving cyber threats to our nation’s energy systems,” says CESER Director Puesh M. Kumar. “The U.S. competitive advantage has always depended on cutting-edge research and a high-skilled workforce. Through these projects, we are advancing our economic and national security.”

A team of industry partners have committed an additional $1.1 million – for total project funding of $3.6 million – to launch the initiative out of UConn’s Eversource Energy Center, based at UConn Storrs.

“The main goal for this center is to build and unify the regional collaborations across academic institutions and power industry enterprises across northeast, along with the participation of national laboratories and regional government agencies,” says Junbo Zhao, an assistant professor in UConn’s College of Engineering, associate director at the Eversource Energy Center, and the principal investigator for CyberCARED. “It’s paramount to develop and broaden innovative programs dedicated to cyber-security education, training, and workforce development within the power industry. Currently, the northeast region lacks such a curriculum tailored specifically for the energy sector.”

The five northeastern universities joining UConn in the effort include the University of Rhode Island, University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Vermont, Central Connecticut State University, and New York University. Also involved in the project as either partners or team members are an additional 20 public and private-sector stakeholders, including Eversource Energy, Avangrid, and the National Renewable Energy Lab.

“Continuing to enhance the security of our grid is a high priority for the state and the regional grid operator, the ISO-New England,” state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Commissioner Katie Dykes says. “The cybersecurity center led by UConn is a welcome addition to these efforts and will significantly increase our ability to maintain a secure grid while adding smart technologies, which help optimize grid performance at the lowest possible cost.”

In addition to education, continuing education, and training programs, the center will engage in high-level research to further development of new tools for the energy sector that consider the distinctive characteristics of the northeast’s electric system and infrastructure network.

UConn is uniquely positioned to lead this research effort, explains Emmanouil Anagnostou – the Eversource Energy Chair in Environmental Engineering at UConn and director of the Eversource Energy Center – because of the resources that the University has developed through its years-long partnership with Eversource but also because of the trust that the University has built with both federal regulators and the industry.

“Cybersecurity research is important for ensuring reliable and resilient grid operation,” Anagnostou says. “Eversource has contributed significantly to our ability to conduct these efforts through the donation of the Advanced Real-Time Digital Simulation lab, which has been a critical stepping stone. Our lab and our center have established a well-defined framework to do this kind of research, and eventually to also expand this work into educational activities, due in large part to the faith Eversource has in the capabilities of our team.”

Anagnostou adds, “Through our extensive work on projects involving issues like resiliency and clean energy, we have developed a very trusted relationship with the utilities and the utility industry that spills to other companies that come to work with us. For cybersecurity, this is even more important.”

“Eversource is committed to providing its customers with safe and reliable service,” says Digaunto Chatterjee, vice president of system planning and interim senior vice president of engineering for Eversource. “Cybersecurity is a significant emerging threat to the power grid, especially given the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and climate change-driven weather events. Eversource is therefore proud to support the cybersecurity research performed at the RTDS lab within the Eversource Energy Center as well as to be the utility partner in the CyberCARED DOE award.”

The new CyberCARED center also builds on a growing legacy of cybersecurity research, development, and education at UConn.

The University has been designated three times as a National Security Agency/Department of Homeland Security Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense Research and is home to several additional research and education centers focused on cybersecurity, including the Center for Hardware and Embedded Systems Security and Trust (CHEST), the Synchrony Center of Excellence in Cybersecurity at UConn Stamford, and the Center for Voting Technology Research (VoTeR).

“Cybersecurity is one of UConn’s key research pursuits, and with good reason,” says Pamir Alpay, UConn’s vice president for research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. “With so much personal information out there, it’s incumbent on us to understand how we can safeguard our future against cyberattacks and other threats. We’ve been recognized for our work in cybersecurity, evidence of the excellence of our faculty and student researchers who are leaders and pioneers in the field.”

CyberCARED, however, takes UConn’s cybersecurity research and development into a new domain, says Zhao.

“This presents an incredible opportunity to collaborate with other centers in tackling the challenges within the energy domain,” Zhao emphasizes. “They’ve already established a strong reputation, which paves the way for collaboration. Now is the moment for energy.”

For more information about the research and initiatives underway at the Eversource Energy Center at UConn, visit eversource.uconn.edu.

Engineers Without Borders USA (EWB-USA) is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that supports community-driven development programs worldwide through partnerships that design and implement sustainable engineering projects. Nationwide, 155 colleges and universities have EWB chapters, of which 42 are in the Northeast region.

“UConn’s EWB Chapter was delighted to host the 2024 conference and learn about how other chapters are contributing their knowledge and skills to help communities around the world,” says EWB-UConn faculty advisor Davis Chacón-Hurtado, assistant research professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Gladstein Family Human Rights Institute. “The conference provided an ideal opportunity to network and bring our ideas together while offering the undergraduates several skill-building sessions.”

Held at the Innovation Partnership Building (IPB), the conference provided sessions on career development, resume writing, public speaking, fundraising, documentary filmmaking, and trip planning.

Special guests included hydrogeologist Nadia Glucksberg and geologist-environmental scientist Helena Hollauer who presented a talk on “Finding Water: How and Where to Set the Well.” Both speakers are active with Engineers Without Borders. Glucksberg has made more than a dozen trips to developing communities where she’s worked to provide potable water or infrastructure to support public health.

In addition, EWB partner organization Community Engineering Corps set up an information booth. The volunteer-led group works with communities across the U.S. that are unable to easily retain or afford traditional engineering services.

Conference attendees also shared their recent projects during a day-long poster session. While EWB-UConn did not compete, Worchester Polytechnic Institute (Massachusetts), Northeastern University (Massachusetts) and Stevens Institute of Technology (New Jersey) took the first, second, and third place awards for their presentations. The poster session also featured projects from EWB chapters as far as University of Maryland.

“The conference brought together students and professionals that want to use engineering to make the world a better place for more people,” says Jeffrey McCutcheon, Centennial Professor in the Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering Department. “It’s a very important change in the way that engineering is perceived and I believe better addresses the interest of our next generation of engineers.”

“The conference brought together students and professionals that want to use engineering to make the world a better place for more people.” — Jeffrey McCutcheon

Members of EWB-UConn spoke to other chapter members about their ongoing projects: a sanitation mission in Peru and sustainable, fresh water access in Kenya.

The event was sponsored by Pratt & Whitney, Fuel Cell Energy, Unilever, Connecticut Center for Applied Separations Technology, and UConn Technology Park. Gabriella Frey ’15 (ENG), senior scientist at Unilever, along with Josue Martinez and Uma Lakshman from EWB-NY led the organization of the 2024 conference. Frey served as a member of EWB-UConn for four years.

“The conference went wonderfully,” says EWB-UConn president and mechanical engineering major Brian Machado ’25 (ENG). “We had a very good turnout, and everyone seemed to have a great time meeting members of other chapters and professionals. Every chapter there was well represented.”

Read more about UConn EWB in this recent UConn Today article.

EWB UConn meets at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in McHugh 110. New members are welcome.