Inside AME

Leave a comment Posted on by Margaret Cross Donors, Inside AME

Boomer Rocket Team Selected for OU Thousands Strong

boomer-rocket-team-fundraiserDuring the past several months, the Boomer Rocket Team (BRT) has been working to design a rocket for the Spaceport America Cup, an incredibly competitive international rocket competition. To help achieve this, the Boomer Rocket Team’s fundraising campaign is being featured on OU’s Thousands Strong website.

BRT is an engineering competition team which focuses on the design and construction of high-powered rockets. The team has 3 main goals: participating in rocket based engineering competitions, certifying members to fly individual rockets, and gaining experience in rocket design and manufacturing techniques. Each year, the team chooses one or more competitions to enter, challenging them to explore innovative changes to standard rocket designs.

The goal of the BRT fundraising campaign is to raise $3000 in just over thirty days, ending on December 16th,2016. To give a donation or learn more information about the campaign, please visit http://bit.ly/2fndPbj.

UPDATE: The Boomer Rocket Team has had an absolutely incredible first week! In 7 days, with 19 sponsors, we already reached our initial goal of $3,000. We want to send a huge thank you to all of our sponsors! Your contributions have made competing possible this year.

However, we still have 3 weeks to go and we have no intention of quitting now! The Boomer Rocket Team is stretching its goal to $5,000 to help front the cost of participation in other competitions, and allow us additional design space for our Spaceport America Cup Rocket.

We are very excited to see what the next 25 days bring us. Thanks to your incredible support, the team can push farther than we ever planned to. You can continue to help us by telling friends and family about our campaign, and sharing our link wherever you can.

Thanks again for your support!

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Inside AME, Robotics

Sooner Rover Team Featured on KOKH Fox 25

The Sooner Rover Team was featured on KOKH Fox 25 news on Tuesday, April 12th. Check out the segment below. The Sooner Rover Team will be at the Norman Public Library on Saturday, April 30th at 2:00PM to showcase their rover and tell you all about the upcoming competition. For more information, visit www.soonerrover.com

View photos of the segment on the AME Facebook page.

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Events, Inside AME

Student Advisory Council

On the evening of October 21, 2015, the 2015-2016 Student Advisory Council (SAC)  held their first meeting of the semester. SAC consists of student team and student organization leaders at AME. In addition, a chair of SAC is appointed by the AME Director. The SAC is organized to represent the undergraduate and graduate student body at AME.

At the meeting, the students introduced one another and shared current information about their organizations/teams such as recruitment, retention, participation, competitions, branding, etc. Jawanza Bassue, SAC Chair, created a brief activity for attendees, which included submitting words that come to mind about AME and the student organizations/teams using their phones. Students posted words like funding, growing, opportunity, hard-work, direction, tradition, stewardship and participation. This led to discussion about what AME is doing well as a school and student population, as well as some things that need to be improved.

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The SAC is as follows:

  • Jawanza Bassue, SAC Chair
  • Dalton Gregory, DBF
  • Travis Phifer, AIAA
  • Dustin Rann, AIAA
  • Aaron Allred, ASME
  • Brianna McGuire, ASME
  • Alejandro Rivas, ASHRAE
  • Amber Kapoor, GSC
  • Mortaza Saeidijavash, GSC
  • Jerry Varughese, Pi Tau Sigma
  • Lawrence Dahunsi, Pi Tau Sigma
  • Mike Dillon, SPV
  • James Ross, SPV
  • Wes Reynolds, SRT
  • Sam Faux, SRT
  • Gatlin Arnold, SOR
  • Wyatt Osborn, Sooner Rocket Team
  • Chelsea Williams, Sooner Rocket Team
Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Faculty, Inside AME, Staff

OU School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering recognized for Diversity and Inclusion

EurekAlert! The Global Source for Science News published a news release regarding AME’s selection and participation in Transforming Engineering Culture to Advance Inclusion and Diversity (TECAID) program.Tecaid Logo The five-person TECAID team represented by AME includes M. Cengiz Altan, Director and Professor; J. David Baldwin, Associate Professor; Wilson Merchan-Merchan, Associate Professor; Zahed Siddique, Professor; and Rebecca Norris, Office Manager. To read the article, please click here.

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Events, Inside AME, Just for Fun

AME Photo Challenge

From September 8-14, 2015, the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering hosted its first Photo Challenge where students were encouraged to complete various challenges in return for a complimentary AME t-shirt. Students had to complete three out of four photo challenges and post the photos to the AME social media sites using the hashtag #AMEChallenge by the end of the day on Monday, September 14th in order to receive the complimentary t-shirt.

The challenges were as follows:

1. Take a photo of yourself with an AME faculty member.

He, Jason Hughes, Derien2. Take a photo of yourself inside or outside of Felgar Hall.

Tran, Viet 2Dashti 2

3. Take a photo of yourself in front of the trophy case outside of the AME Office.

Bradshaw, Jacki 2 Campbell, Evna

4. Take a photo of yourself in the mezzanine (2nd floor) of the Rawl Engineering Practice Facility.

Arment, Alex 3 Rann, Dustin 3

Over 60 students participated in the AME Photo Challenge receiving the t-shirt. Click here to view all the photos from the AME students. It was a nice little study break for the students and a fun time for all!

Saeed, Mohammad 2

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics, Alumni, AME Friends and Family, Biomedical Engineering, Donors, Events, Faculty, Inside AME

AME Newsletter 2014

A MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR:

Greetings from the OU School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering. It’s been a busy year with exciting developments in research, renovation, student success and faculty accomplishments. I would now like to share with you our annual e-newsletter for 2014.
Happy Holidays from all of us at AME!
Best regards,
Altan medium black copy

 

Newsletter_Cover_MyEmmaJ

Click Here to Read

 

 

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Inside AME

AME Student Spotlight

Lauren ReinersLauren Reiners is a senior in Mechanical Engineering at AME. Lauren has exemplified herself as a dedicated engineering student throughout the course of her academic career. She has displayed academic excellence with honors including the College of Engineering Dean’s Honor Roll, President’s Honor Roll, Chesapeake Scholar, multiple scholarships, and Outstanding Junior in Mechanical Engineering. Lauren is also an active member of several organizations including President of the Dean’s Leadership Council, Secretary of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Gamma Beta Phi Honor Society, and Chi Omega Sorority. She currently works as an undergraduate teaching assistant for the freshman engineering orientation class for Associate Dean Dr. Antonio. Lauren knew AME would offer a great education, but she was unsure of what to expect in the beginning, “After just a short time at AME, my expectations were to gain the necessary skills to become a well-rounded Mechanical Engineering major. I think the professors in AME have done a great job in fostering my creativity and providing me the skills to succeed,” said Lauren.

Furthermore, engineering experience is not scarce with Lauren. She has completed multiple summer internships with companies such as Cronus Technology, Inc., Shell Oil Company, and Chevron. This past summer, Lauren interned for Chevron as a Subsea Facilities Engineering Intern in Houston, Texas, where she performed fluid dynamics analyses, gas breakout analyses and conducted an analysis for bearing capacity of a subsea mudmat.

After graduation in May 2015, Lauren will move to Houston, Texas, and join Chevron as a full-time Facilities Engineer in the Subsea Unit. In the next five years, Lauren hopes to work on major capital projects within Chevron in the Gulf of Mexico or internationally. She also hopes to attend graduate school for a Master of Business Administration degree to assist in her ultimate goal of a project manager. Regarding her time at AME, Lauren said, “I have really enjoyed the relationships between the faculty and the students at AME. The professors take the time to get to know the students and help them grow as engineers.”

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Jeremy SmithJeremy Smith is a first year graduate student pursuing his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering. He completed his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in May 2014 with Cum Laude honors at OU AME. Attending graduate school at AME was an obvious next step for Jeremy, “I decided to attend graduate school because I love the environment. The free exchange of ideas is liberating compared to what we’re fed from television all the time. The AME faculty are very passionate about their concentrations, as it’s their life’s work; just ask them!”

Jeremy was on the College of Engineering Dean’s Honor Roll every semester during his undergraduate degree and was also the recipient of many scholarships. His academic excellence did not stop there. Jeremy presented at two separate conferences last spring with a presentation titled Design and Modeling of a Martian Rover Leg to Assist Sandy Slope Traverse. His interest and knowledge of the design and modeling of a Martian rover leg led to his master’s thesis topic, a passive actuation system to assist sandy slope traversal, which he is now developing.

Furthermore, Jeremy’s list of extracurricular activities is endless. He was the Chair of the AME Student Advisory Council, President of Pi Tau Sigma Mechanical Engineering Honor Society, President of Oklahoma Energy Club, and Mechanical Lead of the OU Solar Racing Team. During Jeremy’s time at OU, he held several positions on the Sooner Off-Road Team including Chief Engineer and Powertrain Lead. As Powertrain Lead, he successfully designed a powertrain which earned a first place finish in the Acceleration Dynamic Event in Auburn, Alabama. Jeremy also mastered advanced machining techniques such as CNC machining utilizing G-Code and MasterCam. As Chief Engineer, Jeremy oversaw design changes of the whole team. He also led an effort to test the vehicle by implementing Data Acquisition systems and instrumentation.

Jeremy has a long-term goal of earning his Ph.D., “I plan to earn my Ph.D. I really am enamored with learning. I would like to become a professor someday, and I think I would be good at it.”

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics, Faculty, Inside AME

AME Welcomes New Faculty

Jivtesh GargDr. Jivtesh Garg, AME Assistant Professor, attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering in 2011. Dr. Garg will teach AME 5573 Advanced Engineering Analysis beginning Fall 2014.

Dr. Garg has a background and research interests in first-principles prediction of transport properties of materials, thermoelectrics, coupled conduction and radiation heat transfer across nanoscale gaps, and thermal properties and rheology of nanofluids.

He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers and the Materials Research Society.

The excellent research in the field of nanostructured composite materials for applications ranging from energy to mechanical properties is just one reason Dr. Garg joined the AME Team.

Click here to view Dr. Garg’s page on the AME website.

Yingtao LiuDr. Yingtao Liu, AME Assistant Professor, received his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Arizona State University in 2012. Dr. Liu will teach AME 2113 Statics beginning Fall 2014.

Dr. Liu’s research will focus on developing novel multifunctional nanocomposites and smart sensor systems, which can be potentially integrated within the next generation structural health management systems to improve the structural safety and to reduce the life-cycle maintenance costs.

He is a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and Society of Photonics Engineers.

Dr. Liu looks forward to the collaborative work environment and outstanding faculty, staff, and students at AME and joining a team full of “A” players while having the opportunity to serve as a scholar.

Click here to view Dr. Liu’s page on the AME website.

Leave a comment Posted on by Danielle Academics, AME Friends and Family, Events, Faculty, Inside AME

Vietnam Delegation Visits AME to Discuss Possible Collaboration

On Monday, July 14, 2014 a delegation group from Thai Nguyen, Vietnam visited the School of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the University of Oklahoma. The trip occurred to discuss a possible collaboration with the mechanical engineering program between OU and Thai Nguyen University of Technology (TNUT).  If this program were put into place, it would send Vietnamese students selected by the government to OU and AME for Ph.D. completion. Those students would then return to Vietnam to become faculty members.

In order for TNUT students to qualify for the potential program, they must first be selected by the university, must have completed their advanced program which is a 5-year curriculum taught in English. To enter the program, students have to take a highly competitive entrance exam to qualify. Once that is completed, the student must apply through the Graduate College at OU before acceptance into the graduate program. This collaboration between AME and TNUT would have support for at least four years from the Vietnam government.

Dr. Feng C. Lai, AME Professor, has spent time in Thai Nguyen, Vietnam teaching students during the summer and winter intersessions. He is hopeful for the possible collaboration as he says the students in Thai Nguyen study hard and the overall quality is great. “This is a win-win situation for all,” said Dr. Lai, “This is a great opportunity to increase the number of Ph.D. students in our graduate program, while recruiting these highly qualified students.”

Details are in the works and still being finalized. The program may begin as early as Spring 2015, but the ultimate goal is to begin in Fall 2015.

Pictured from left to right: Dr. Quang T. Phan, Rector of TNUT, Ms. Le Ha Do, Director of International Training Cooperation Center, Mr. Quoc H. Nguyen, Head of Management and Services Department, Mr. Ba Dung Ho, Director of Service Center, Dr. Feng C. Lai, AME Professor, and Dr. M. Cengiz Altan, AME Interim Director and Professor.