OSU MECHANICAL ENGINEERING E-BULLETIN

Issue #19

Week of February 27, 2006

 

 

 

MECOP Info Session this Wednesday at 5 pm

 

Dear ME and IME students,

 

The Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program provides students the opportunity for two paid six-month internships at two different companies. Every effort is made to ensure that students receive a diverse and relevant experience.  There are over 80 companies in the MECOP/CECOP program and well over 35 that take ME and IME students.  The internship periods for ME and IME students are normally Spring/Summer.  Each discipline has certain course requirements to be eligible for applying to the program and then course requirements that must be completed before your first and second internships.  The ME and IME course offerings have been developed to allow students to participate in this program usually with only a delay of two terms from your normal graduation date.  Selection is competitive and is based on written and oral communication, motivation, and other factors in addition to academic performance.

 

We will be holding a MECOP informational meeting for all mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering students on Wednesday, March 1, 2006 in Rogers 230.  The meeting begins sharply at 5 pm and is expected to last an hour to an hour and a half depending on your questions.  This is your chance to find out more about this excellent program and how it could benefit you! 

 

Note: MECOP applications will be available on-line around March 1st and require that you be accepted or in pro-school by Fall 2006.  The applications will be due on April 10th along with pro-school applications for Fall 2006.

 

 

Shop Talk for ME Students

 

Dear ME Students:

 

Please take heed of the following! You can only sign up to use the lathes and milling machines for one 2-hour block per day.  You cannot block off more than 2 hours at a time, even if you are signing up for someone else.  If, at the end of your allotted 2 hours, no one else has signed up for the next block of time, you may sign up for that block of time. 

 

The shop is getting extremely busy during the regular daytime hours and on the Wednesday., Thursday, and Saturday extended hours of operation.  I will start posting the next-week’s sign-up sheets each Friday, so I suggest you come to the shop on Fridays to schedule your time for the next week.

 

Also, Senior Project, 383, Baja, and Formula groups may only sign up for one machine per group per time slot.  This means if someone in your group is using a mill at 10 am, the other members of your group are only allowed to use one lathe at the same time.

 

Remember the shop closes promptly at 11:45 for lunch.

 

Thanks,

Steve Adams

 

 

 

UPCOMING EVENTS

 

This Week...

 

Monday, February 27: Final photo session for ME Graduate Student Directory. 2 pm–5 pm  in Rogers 304. If you’re a graduate student and haven’t yet had your picture taken for the grad student directory, show up today!

 

Monday, February 27: Weekly Pi Tau Sigma Tutoring Session for ENGR 211, 212, 213 students. 5–7 pm, Caliper Lounge (4th floor of Rogers). 

 

Tuesday, February 28: Linus Pauling Birthday Celebration. 12-1 in Gleeson Hall. Guest Speaker Steven Lawson, who worked with Linus Pauling at the Linus Pauling Institute of Science and Medicine in California and now administers the Linus Pauling Institute here at OSU, will share some personal details about Linus Pauling’s life, touching especially on Pauling’s undergraduate student years. This event is sponsored by the Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Environmental Engineering departments. The public is welcome;  cake and other refreshments will be served.

 

Tuesday, February 28: Center for Teaching and Learning Workshop for Faculty and Graduate Students “Discover Your Teaching Philosophy”, 3–5 pm in MU 211. Pre-registration requested.

 

Tuesday, February 28: Human-Powered Vehicle Team weekly meeting, 4:45 in Graf 210.

 

Tuesday, February 28: Mini Baja Team weekly meeting, 5 pm in the SAE shop (Rogers 132).

 

Tuesday, February 28: ASME meeting, 5:30 pm in Rogers 230. All ME students welcome! There will be hot pizza and ME Professor Rich Petersen will talk about his current research.

 

Tuesday, February 28:  Solar Vehicle Team weekly meeting, 6 pm in MU 211.

 

Wednesday, March 1: MECOP informational meeting for all mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering students, 5 pm in Rogers 230.  See special announcement at the beginning of this bulletin.

 

Wednesday, March 1: Microgravity Flight Team weekly meeting, 2-3 pm, basement of Graf Hall. (Look for the door with the DARPA sticker.) If you’re interested in finding out more about the MGFT and working on this year’s NASA research project, please join us!

 

Wednesday, March 1: Forum on Scientific Ethics. 4 pm in the Valley Library Rotunda. Free and open to the public. Sponsored by the Spring Creek Project at OSU and the university's Department of Philosophy, this forum looks at the process of science, including peer review, scientific values and ethics. Following the panel discussion, there will be a question-and-answer session with the panelists, who include:

• Edward Brook, an associate professor of geosciences, whose studies of ice core evidence of global warming were reported around the world;

• Courtney Campbell, chair of the Department of Philosophy and former editor of the Hastings Center Report, a professional bioethics journal; he also teaches research ethics at OSU;

• John Cassady, vice president for research at OSU, and a nationally known scientist who studies anti-cancer properties found in plants;

• Anne Guerry, a Ph.D. candidate in zoology at OSU who works with faculty members Jane Lubchenco and Bruce Menge studying intertidal seaweed diversity;

• Jonathan Kaplan, an assistant professor of philosophy and director of OSU’s undergraduate program in applied ethics;

• Mary Jo Nye, the Horning Professor of Humanities at OSU and a professor of history, who is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

 

Wednesday, March 1: SWE Banquet, 6 pm in CH2M-Hill Alumni Center. Reservations required. For more information contact Ellen Momsen at 541.737.9699 or ellen.momsen@oregonstate.edu

 

Thursday, March 2: Center for Teaching and Learning Workshop for Faculty and Graduate Students  “Using Decision Support Systems (wireless feedback systems) in Large Classes.” 3­–5 pm in Apperson 2/2. CPS helps you hone your instruction by giving you feedback in real time, regardless of your class size. Every student has a response pad, so every student is engaged. CPS lightens your administrative load by offering you time-saving features through unobtrusive hardware and intuitive software. You can take and record attendance in a matter of seconds. Tests and quizzes are graded and recorded as they’re administered. The software is easy to begin using and has the depth of features to meet your needs. CPS lets you do more with less.

Pre-registration requested at http://oregonstate.edu/ctl/using_decision_support_systems_form.htm.

 

 

Plan Ahead...

 

Monday, March 6: Engineers Without Borders General Meeting, 6 pm in Apperson 101.

 

Tuesday, March 7–Friday, March 10: OSU Conference on Gender and Culture.  For a listing of events, visit http://oregonstate.edu/womenscenter/conference.htm.


Wednesday, March 8: Center for Teaching and Learning Workshop for Faculty and Graduate Students Open Forum on Motivating Students. 12-1:30 pm in MU 213. Bring your lunch; no pre-registration required.

 

Wednesday, March 8: Engineers Without Borders fundraising meeting, 6 pm in Apperson 101

 

 

 

 

FACULTY/GRADUATE SEMINARS

 

NO Faculty/Grad Seminar this week.

 

Note: The most current ME Seminar schedule and other OSU seminar information is available on the Rogers Hall bulletin boards near the ME main office.

  

 

 

MISCELLANEOUS ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

SPRING TERM REGISTRATION TIMES are posted on the bulletin board in the hall beside the office of Dearborn 102. You can also access this information online at http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/services/registration/priority.htm

 

THE ME UNDERGRADUATE ADVISING PERIOD ENDS THIS FRIDAY, March 3rd. If you have not yet signed up for an appointment, please come to the ME Undergraduate Office (Dearborn 102) ASAP. Before you sign up, be sure to check the advisor lists posted on the bulletin board right outside Dearborn 102, as you may have been assigned a new advisor.  Note: Pro-School students who were advised last term DO NOT have to make an advising appointment. Your PINs are posted on the bulletin board outside Dearborn 102.  If, however, you were not advised last term and/or you are on academic probation or suspension, you will need to schedule an appointment with your advisor in order to get your PIN. 

 

ATTENTION GRADUATE STUDENTS: The ME Department is creating a Graduate Student Directory that will be posted in Rogers Hallway and on the ME web site. We need your photos! For those of you who didn’t make either of the previous picture-taking sessions, your FINAL OPPORTUNITY is today, Monday, Feb. 20. Come to Rogers 204 anytime between 2 pm and 5 pm. If you can’t make this photo sessions, please contact Tracy.Ann.Robinson@oregonstate.edu to make alternate arrangements.

 

BUILDING/EQUIPMENT SECURITY ALERT. The ME department buildings and others in the college have been the recent targets of many thefts.  The state police have indicated that these recent thefts have been directed at laptop computers, which according to them are marketable for identify theft.  In many of these cases, the thieves have spotted a laptop through an office or lab window and have then broken it out to get at the items.  Many of these occurrences have happened in the Thursday night to Sunday period. Please be aware of anything unusual and report it to campus security.  Do not prop doors open after hours, and if you see doors propped open, please report it to the ME office. Be vigilant about keeping doors locked and secure.

                                                              

Did you graduate Summer or Fall of 2005, or are you graduating Winter or Spring of 2006? MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR THE ME GRADUATION CEREMONY, SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 4 - 6 P.M. This ceremony will be held in the Lasells Stewart Center, and will include individual recognition of each graduate. More information will be forthcoming.

 

NEW SPRING ’06 GRADUATE COURSE OFFERING: ME 667 Computational Fluid Dynamics (Spring 06, 3 credits). Instructor: Dr. Sourabh V. Apte, Department of Mechanical Engineering. This is an advanced graduate level course dealing with numerical methods used in simulation of turbulent flows. It is designed to understand and apply modern computational techniques to solve a wide variety of fluid dynamics problems involving incompressible and compressible flows. The course is intended for students from several disciplines interested in development and application of numerical schemes to a variety of problems involving fluid flows. Prerequisites include ME 560 or ME565 or ME566 and ME575 or instructor’s approval.

 

UPDATE ON MACHINE SHOP PROCEDURES: All students wishing to use the Lathe and Milling machines must now use the machine sign-up sheets located on the inside door of the ME shop.  In addition, all students who use the shop after hours should use the after-hours sign-up sheet. These sheets provide an important record of Machine Shop use. Thanks!

 

ENGINEERING COMPUTING SERVICES FACT SHEET now available. For the convenience of engineering faculty who need information on our computing and networking facilities for proposals, the College has put together a "fact sheet" that lists all our capabilities.  The information is available at    http://engr.oregonstate.edu/it_boilerplate and will be updated as the CoE CS facilities improve.

FACULTY RESEARCH GRANT OPPORTUNITY: The Human Frontier Science Program has issued a Call for Letters of Intent for Research Grants for Interdisciplinary Research.  This program is encouraging collaborative research across a wide range of disciplines including engineering, life sciences and physical sciences.

Link to program information: http://www.hfsp.org/about/AboutProg.php.

Link to application instructions: http://www.hfsp.org/how/appl_forms_RG.php.

 

WORKSHOP OPPORTUNITY FOR FACULTY AND GRADUATE STUDENTS: How to Engineer Engineering Education. July 17-19, 2006, at Bucknell University.

For the fifth consecutive year, faculty from Bucknell University are proud to offer this hands on workshop for engineering and science faculty and graduate students to enhance their skills in course design by: Writing clear instructional objectives; Using active, cooperative, & problem-based learning; Teaching teamwork and problem solving skills; Assessing learning outcomes; and Sharing experiences about what works and what doesn't work. Workshop Tuition and Meals:  $600 Before May 15th, $650 After May 15th. (Tuition is non-refundable after May 30.) On-campus room ($120) is available but optional. Apply for the workshop online @ www.bucknell.edu/Engineering/ProjectCatalyst on or before May 30. Accepted applicants will be notified on or before June 15.  Late applicants will be considered depending upon availability.  QUESTIONS? Contact Professor Michael Prince, Chemical Engineering Department, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA 17837.   Telephone:  570.577.1781, email: prince@bucknell.edu

 

 

 

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

 

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS (ASME)

Want to know why you should become a student member of the ASME? Find out the 10 Top Reasons for joining at http://www.asme.org/jointoday/. You can apply for membership online, or pick up a paper application form from Murty Kanury, OSU ASME chapter advisor, Rogers 324. You are also invited to join the ASME mailing list (go to lists.oregonstate.edu group: ASME)

ENGINEERS WITHOUT BORDERS

OSU (EWB-OSU) is a student chapter of EWB-USA with a mission to implement sustainable engineering projects in developing countries while developing responsible engineering students. We are currently working on developing and implementing a potable water delivery system for a small community in rural El Salvador. We have many opportunities to participate in this multi-disciplinary group (currently, about 30 academic majors and programs are represented!) and on the project. If you would like more information, please contact EWB-OSU at ewb_osu@yahoo.com. To see pictures taken by EWB-OSU members on a recent trip to El Salvador, go to the new EWB-OSU forum at http://ewbosu.bbfunplus.com/?mforum=ewbosu. (Please register as a user.)

 

HUMAN POWERED VEHICLE TEAM

The HPV team is affiliated with the OSU chapter of ASME and shares a similar role in the College of Engineering as the Mini Baja and Formula One teams. Members of the HPV team bring experience from many different areas including exercise science, biomechanics, manufacturing, aviation, composite structures, and automotive repair. Many of our team members are dedicated cyclists and athletes. If you’re interested in joining the team this term and helping us build this year’s vehicle, come to on of our weekly meetings (Tuesdays, 4:45 pm in Graf 210) or contact team advisor Dr. Brian Bay or team captain Heidi Wolfe. Team web site: http://groups.engr.oregonstate.edu/hpv/index.htm.

 

MICROGRAVITY FLIGHT TEAM

Want to work on a research project for NASA? Want to develop something that will help put a person on Mars? You like engines, why not work on a prototype nuclear engine that powers a plasma rocket? Do you want to conduct an experiment in zero gravity at 26,000 ft? If you answered yes to any of these questions, come check out the OSU Microgravity Flight Team! We meet in the basement of Graf (look for the DARPA Sticker, we’re in there), Wednesdays at 2–3 pm. For more information, contact Adam Reiner at adamreiner@hotmail.com.

 

SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS (SAE)

Formula SAE group meets every Monday at 6 pm in  Rogers 132. Baja SAE group meets every Tuesday at 5 pm, also in Rogers 132. 

 

OSU SOLAR VEHICLE TEAM (OSUSVT)

OSUSVT is currently designing a solar powered vehicle to compete in the 2007 American Solar Challenge and the 2007 World Solar Challenge in Australia. This is a university-wide project and interested people may still join in. (Winter term meetings are on Tuesdays, 6 pm, MU 211. For more information, see the team web site at http://oregonstate.edu/groups/osert/