WSU College of Engineering and Architecture Honors Outstanding Students, Faculty, Staff

April 17, 2007

By Communications staff, Washington State University

PULLMAN, Wash. The Washington State University College of Engineering and Architecture honored outstanding students, faculty and staff members at its annual convocation ceremony last week.

Among the 2007 honorees was Brian Lamb, regents’ professor with the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, who was named recipient of the Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Award.

A WSU faculty member for more than 25 years, Lamb is an international leader in the area of regional air quality research. He and his collaborators led the development of the Biogenic Emission Inventory System, which the Environmental Protection Agency adopted as a tool to address ozone problems. The system allows regulators to take into account how trees and natural organics impact pollution problems. Understanding vegetation’s role is also important in understanding the role and interaction of natural and human emissions in climate change.

Lamb’s research group also developed one of the first numerical air quality forecast systems in the nation. Currently operating on a daily basis in the Pacific Northwest, the system was developed originally to measure and predict the movement of emissions of ozone, carbon monoxide and fine particulate matter that affect human health. It has recently been enhanced to automatically include wildfire pollutant emissions and can also now for the first time predict the transport and dispersion of smoke and other pollutants from fires. The information has been used heavily by state and federal agencies for developing air quality control plans.

As the author of more than 110 peer-reviewed papers and several book chapters, Lamb is frequently cited by other researchers, particularly for his work on biogenic trace gas emissions. He has mentored 15 doctoral and 25 master’s degree students and was named a WSU Regents’ Professor in 2005.

“Brian Lamb is a highly successful researcher, internationally recognized and respected by his peers, and he has sustained a level of research productivity that is exemplary,’’ said Dave McLean, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. “His contributions to our understanding of biogenic emissions to air quality and to global climate change cannot be overstated. Dr. Lamb has, without a doubt, greatly contributed to WSU’s international reputation.’’

Lamb will discuss ‘Regional Air Quality Modeling: Short Term Forecasts and Long Range Climate Predictions’ at the Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Lecture at 3:30 p.m., April 20, in ETRL 101 on the WSU campus.

David Lin, assistant professor in the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, was named recipient of the Reid Miller Outstanding Teaching Faculty award.

Lin, who joined the faculty of WSU in 2002, is one of the founding architects of the new bioengineering degree program and was actively involved in the development of the bioengineering curriculum. He developed and taught several new courses, including Introduction to Bioengineering, Bioinstrumentation (BE 330), Unified Systems Bioengineering II (BE 440), and portions of a senior/graduate course (BE 425/525 Biomechanics).

In developing the BE 440 course, Lin collaborated with another faculty member to blend human physiology, engineering, control systems, and system dynamics. The emphasis in the course was on creating analogs between the systems learned in chemical engineering, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering courses to those found in the human body.

“This approach is novel and has proven successful at WSU, as current graduates are ready to apply their knowledge in the workforce,’’ Lin’s colleagues wrote in nominating him for the award.

“Dr. Lin’s commitment to the development of a reputable program in bioengineering here at WSU is remarkable,’’ they wrote. “He works hard to ensure students are well-prepared to enter whatever post-graduation endeavors they desire.’’

In addition to his contribution to course and curriculum development in bioengineering, students have said they greatly appreciate Lin’s teaching methods and style. As a successful researcher in the area of muscle mechanics, he has a depth of knowledge that he can share with his students. They also have said they appreciate that he explains the motivation for learning a topic and how it relates to other courses taught within the department and throughout the university.

One student wrote that she struggled in some of her classes as she pursued her bioengineering degree and considered changing her major

“I remember going to his office frustrated because I couldn’t solve a problem or not knowing what questions to ask, and leaving his office telling myself, ‘I can do this,’’’ she wrote. “Dr. Lin did not convince me of my potential by just telling me, but rather, he provided the tools and guidance to help me realize it.’’

Named the college’s outstanding sophomore was Stephanie Pitts, originally from Genesee, Idaho, who is studying bioengineering with a minor in German. Pitts has already received a number of other honors for her academic successes, including President’s Honor List and the WSU Mortar Board Outstanding Freshman Scholar Award.

A co-valedictorian of her high school class, Pitts’ includes among her hobbies horseback riding, for which she was named Youth of the Year by the American Morgan Horse Association, resulting in an all-expense paid trip to Austria. She is chapter president of the WSU student chapter of the BioMedical Engineering Society and serves also on the College of Engineering and Architecture Coordinating Council and as an officer for the WSU chapter of Society of Women Engineers. Pitts works in WSU Wood Materials and Engineering Laboratory and hopes to continue her studies in biomedical engineering and work in medical technology research and development.

Majoring in civil engineering with a second major in Spanish, David Anthony Street, originally from Bothell, Wash., was named as the college’s outstanding junior. He has received many scholarships and honors, including WSU Distinguished Regents Scholars, President’s Honor Roll, Spanish Student of the Year in 2006. In 2005, he spent a summer studying Latin American culture and Spanish language at the Universidad de La Serena in Chile.

An Eagle Scout and the valedictorian of his high school class, Street also plays trumpet in the Cougar Marching Band and is a member of WSU’s student chapter of American Society of Civil Engineers and the Honors Student Advisory Council. He has served also as an Honors College Ambassador. In his spare time, he enjoys playing piano, as well as backpacking, skiing, and biking.

Originally from Boise, Idaho, Michael Turi , majoring in computer engineering, was named the college’s outstanding senior. Currently doing research with Jose Delgado-Frias on low-power, high-performance static random access memory (SRAMs) for reconfigurable hardware, Turi was named an outstanding student in computer engineering in both 2005 and 2006 and has often been on the President’s Honor Roll.

He has received numerous engineering scholarships and a Cougar Academic Award. He is active in the WSU chapter of Tau Beta Pi, where he is serving as president. He is also active in the student chapter of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. This year, he also worked as an undergraduate lab teaching assistant for EE214, introduction to digital circuits. He is planning on pursuing a doctorate in computer engineering at WSU.

Named Outstanding Teaching Assistant was Mohammad Al-Khedher, a native of Irbid, Jordan, and a TA for ME 401, Mechatronics, for the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He has taught the mechatronics lab for five semesters and also has lectured and supervised senior design projects. He was also a TA for thermal system design. One student wrote that he particularly enjoyed how Al-Khedher treated the students as professionals and commented as he did an assignment, “This makes me feel like a real engineer.’

“Mohammad Al_Khedher is a dedicated and effective teaching assistant,’’ wrote his nominator. “He has made a significant contribution to our undergraduate program through his conscientious and enthusiastic efforts as a TA.’’

Al-Khedher is working toward a doctorate in mechanical engineering, in which he is studying carbon nanotubes characterization and quality analysis through artificial intelligence. He aspires to a career in research and teaching.

Staff Excellence Awards were presented to Paul Golter, instructional supervisor, School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering and Lola Gillespie, fiscal manager, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Gillespie serves as fiscal specialist for the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is known for being organized, knowledgeable, and diligent in providing support to a wide variety of activities. She is able to meet short deadlines and completes work accurately and with a positive attitude.

“I never hesitate to ask Lola for help, knowing that my request will be professionally and cheerfully acknowledged and dealt with in a timely manner,’’ wrote her nominator.

Golter has worked as a laboratory technician and as computer systems operator for the School of Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, where he is responsible for maintaining the computing system and all of the instrumentation and equipment in the program. He has also become an integral part of instruction in senior laboratory classes, has been heavily involved with engineering education research projects, and has recently entered a doctoral program focusing on engineering education.

“Paul is highly dedicated to his responsibilities, strives to assist students to the best of his ability, has a high concern for the safety of the students, and most of all, I feel that he has contributed a great deal to my learning experiences here at WSU,’’ wrote one student.

Named as the college’s Employee of the Year was John Yates, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, who has worked 24 years in the EECS electronics shop, where he maintains lab equipment, handles special lab needs, and helps students carry out their design projects. Yates works also with students from all departments within the college, both as employees and in supporting their course work with the services of the EECS shop. He has volunteered as a mentor for senior design projects and. in the past year, has taken over as head of the computer systems staff, where he has transformed the area by setting performance expectations for handling service requests and customer communications.

“He’s a jack-of-all trades, literally,’’ wrote one of his nominators. “It doesn’t matter if our requests fall within his job description. He does it anyway, or sees that it gets done.’’

Brian Lamb
Anjan Bose Outstanding Researcher Award