Louis F. Heilig Graduate Fellowship Fund established

In honor of her husband and AEM alumnus, Louis "Bud" Heilig, Patricia Heilig generously established a fellowship fund benefiting AEM graduate students.
During World War II, Bud volunteered for service with the U.S. Navy. Upon his return, he completed his education and graduated summa cum laude from the U of MN with bachelors ('48) and masters degree ('49) in aeronautical engineering.
His forty-year aerospace career began with a position at United Aircraft's Pratt and Whitney Aircraft Engine Operations and culminated with his retirement from Ford Aerospace Corp. in Newport Beach in 1986 after nearly three decades of service. One of his major achievements was his work on the first US Airforce inter-continental guided missile. Throughout his career, he received both Defense department and Joint Chiefs of Staff commendations.
"We are indebted to Mrs. Patricia Heilig for her generous support to establish a graduate student fellowship in her late husband's name," Department Head Gary Balas said. "We are fortunate to have alumni and their families who are helping provide opportunities for the next generation of engineers and scientists."
The funds provided will support AEM graduate students. The first Louis F. Heilig Graduate Fellowship will be awarded in Fall 2009.

Old shop sees new life as graduate student offices

In support of the department's teaching and research initiatives, more functional space has been created in Akerman Hall through the conversion of the machine shop area to the AEM Teaching and Learning Center.
Several years ago, the AEM shop closed when, to make better use of resources, the department partnered with the ECE shop for machining services. While a strategic plan for building development was finalized the space has been used mainly as a transition area while other changes were made throughout the building.
Housing as many as sixteen teaching assistants, the shop area was completely redesigned and features new furniture, air conditioning, carpet and storage units. The area also includes a meeting room with space and technology for collaborative learning and a more formal space for our students to connect with industry partners, a frequent occurrence.
This project was completed for Spring 2008. The department paid for the majority of the $160,000 project with the support of the Dean’s office in the form of a $50,000 contribution.

University seeks support for Akerman Hall classroom renovation

Akerman Hall, constructed in the late 1940’s, has been targeted to study the design, cost and feasibility of individually renovating classroom space within an existing building without any renovation to the base building systems, structure, façade or general spaces. The University’s Office of Classroom Management supports this initiative, as it will improve the teaching and learning support available on the East Bank campus. The project will directly support the University’s capital plan by providing functional teaching and learning space during the renovation of Folwell Hall.
The existing classroom spaces generally all have limitations or nonconformance to the University Classroom Standards, including: no ventilation system, uneven heating, poor lighting, no air conditioning (no air system), limited power availability and low voltage distribution provisions. The project would renovate existing space to meet instructional requirements and replace many windows, tiles and ceilings. Electrical renovations will include new power and lighting in each room. A new HVAC system will be provided in each classroom, and heating infrastructure will be replaced or upgraded. Additionally, the renovation would install the standard Projection Capable Classroom technology system in each classroom.
Alumni can support this effort by talking with their legislators about supporting the University's capital request.
Akerman Hall, constructed in the late 1940’s, has been targeted to study the design, cost and feasibility of individually renovating classroom space within an existing building without any renovation to the base building systems, structure, façade or general spaces. The University’s Office of Classroom Management has issued support this initiative, as it will improve the teaching and learning support available on the East Bank campus. The project will directly support the University’s capital plan by providing functional teaching and learning space during the renovation of Folwell Hall.
The existing classroom spaces generally all have limitations / nonconformance to the University Classroom Standards, including: no ventilation system, uneven heating, poor lighting, no air conditioning (no air system), limited power availability and low voltage distribution provisions, dated/worn finishes and materials, security and access limitations and limited or no adaptation to newer teaching technologies The project would renovate existing space to meet instructional requirements, replace many windows, tiles and ceilings. Electrical renovations will include new power and lighting in each room. A new HVAC system will be provided in each classroom, and heating infrastructure will be replaced or upgraded. Doors and hardware will be replaced and card readers will be added per U of M central security standards. Additionally, the renovation would install the standard Projection Capable Classroom technology system in each classroom.
Alumni can support this effort by talking with their legislatures about supporting the University's capital request.

New Alumni relations officer joins University staff

Kathy Peters-Martell is a new Senior Development Officer for the Institute of Technology, specifically assigned to the Departments of Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics and Chemistry. She is very excited to be a part of these interesting departments and looks forward to working with the faculty, staff and alumni of these renowned programs and the Institute of Technology.
If you are interested in discussing giving options, contact her at 612-626-8282 or kpeters@umn.edu.
Kathy has more than 20 years of experience in educational fundraising, most recently as the Director of Development for Mounds Park Academy where she just helped complete a $13 million dollar capital campaign.
Prior to Mounds Park Academy she served as a Major Gifts Officer for William Mitchell College of Law from 1995-2004. Kathy was also the Director of Development for the Raptor Center at the University of Minnesota from 1990-1995.

Faculty news

Richard James gave the first Southern California Mechanics Tour on December 3-7. Modeled after the long running Midwest Mechanics Tour and organized by Professor Sia Nemat-Nasser at UCSD, the Southern California Tour includes stops at UCSD, UCLA, Caltech and USC. James spoke on "Lessons on Structure from the Structure of Viruses" and "A relation between compatibility and hysteresis and its role in the search for new smart materials".
Cambridge Press published Professor Daniel Joseph's book, Potential Flows of Viscous and Viscoelastic Fluids, with co-authors Toshio Funada and Jing Wang.
Ellen Longmire has been invited by the J.M. Burgers Centrum to give lectures at the Technical University of Delft, the University of Twente, and the Annual Meeting of the Foundation for Fundamental Research of Matter (FOM) in the Netherlands in January 2008. She gave an invited lecture at University of Maryland in December 2007. She begins serving a three year term as Associate Editor for the journal Physics of Fluids in January 2008.
Thomas Schwartzentruber received the AIAA Orville and Wilbur Wright Graduate Award.
Ryan S. Elliott received a NSF CAREER grant.
Kaushik Dayal, a postdoctoral associate supervised by Ryan Elliott and Professor James, left to start as an Assistant Professor in the Civil and Environmental Engineering department at Carnegie Mellon University