Dean Ilene Busch-Vishniac will step down as dean of the Whiting School of Engineering a year from now, on June 30, 2003. Though she will no longer serve as dean, she will remain with the Hopkins community as a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. In making this decision, Dean Busch-Vishniac cited both the need to spend more time with family and her election as president of the Acoustical Society of America, the major professional society in her discipline. During her tenure, Dean Busch-Vishniac has fostered an increase in student enrollment along with the substantial growth of sponsored research for the School. In addition, she has strengthened undergraduate programs and overseen the successful establishments of both the Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute and the Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Institute. A national search for Dean Busch-Vishniac's successor will be launched this summer. We all wish Dean Ilene the best as she takes on this new leadership role with the Acoustical Society and resumes her research in the field of acoustics.

New Initiatives:

In a new partnership with Northrop Grumman Corporation, the Whiting School will receive funding to support a number of research-related initiatives in the coming year. Grants will provide funding for two graduate level engineering fellowships for the 2002-03 academic year in mechanical, electrical and computing, or computer science engineering. Northrop Grumman will also support several mechanical senior design projects and is providing funds for collaboration with the mechanical engineering department to support short-term research projects and other consulting activities. For additional information about this partnership, contact Lani Hummel at lhummel@jhu.edu or 410-516-8941.

Associate Professor A. Lynn Roberts in the department of Geography and Environmental Engineering will lead a team of environmental engineers to study the effects of prescription drug pollution nationwide on human and aquatic life. Funded by a three-year Environmental Protection Agency grant for $525,000, Roberts and team will study pharmaceuticals and antiseptics in drinking water, sewage treatment plants, and coastal waters. The research involves testing water before and after it emerges from drinking water treatment plants to determine how effectively pharmaceuticals are being removed. In addition, tests will be conducted to see how well pharmaceuticals are being removed at sewage treatment plants in Massachusetts and Maryland. Water samples will also be collected in the upper Chesapeake Bay to check for the presence and concentration of drugs and antiseptics, and Roberts' team will try to determine how efficiently nature's self-cleansing processes eliminate these man-made pollutants.

Research Centers:

The Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute (JHUISI) celebrated the opening of its newly remodeled Wyman Park space with an Open House and awards ceremony this spring. It was an opportunity for members of the Hopkins community- faculty, staff, alumni and friends-to meet and discuss collaborations regarding information security. Dean Ilene Busch-Vishniac, Provost Steve Knapp, and JHUISI Director Gerald Masson spoke to the lunchtime audience regarding the mission and progress of the Institute as it enters its second year. Several researchers associated with JHUISI were recognized, including assistant professor Giuseppe Ateniese of Computer Science for receiving the prestigious Career Award from the National Science Foundation for promising work in information security and cryptographic systems, and associate professor Harold Lehman of the School of Medicine, Bloomberg School and Computer Science for his recent grant in Medical Informatics from the National Institutes of Health. JHUISI also welcomes to Wyman the Systems Research Laboratory (SRL) under the faculty leadership of Jonathan Shapiro and Christian Scheideler of the department of Computer Science. SRL is making major strides in secure operating systems, systems development practice and assurance evaluations and other areas of research. JHUISI demonstrates a strong technical research component matched by programs considering policy and management. For more information please visit their website.

Academics:

Hopkins Engineering ADvanced Summer University Program (HeadsUP) launched its second summer of engineering classes this month. If you follow EngineeringNEWS you will know that HeadsUP is the innovative summer program at the JHU Montgomery County Campus that offers undergraduate, introductory engineering courses to high school juniors and seniors in conjunction with a possible internship in a technology/engineering company. If you know of students who would be interested in this exciting and challenging summer activity or of companies that might provide internships (paid or unpaid) for these top-tier students, please contact Richard Scott, Director of HeadsUP, JHU Montgomery County Campus, 301-294-7070, or at rscott@jhu.edu.

Part-Time Programs (PTE):

A new information security concentration has been launched for the 2002-03 academic year. The first students enrolled in courses in this specialty this summer. In other program news, PTE and the department of Geography and Environmental Engineering have established a partnership with the Army Corps of Engineers to offer a part-time program in water resources management. Students will complete the first half of the degree on the Homewood campus and the remaining courses via online instruction.

The PTE administrative staff from the Homewood Campus and admissions staff from the Applied Physics Laboratory have relocated to the Dorsey Center in Howard County this month. This move represents an exciting opportunity to join the staff together in one location to better serve students, faculty, and staff.

Students on the Cutting Edge:

Two Whiting School undergraduates designed and fabricated a new whitewater recreation helmet to better protect rafters and kayakers from life-threatening head injuries. Developed for the Senior Design Project course, Michael Cordeiro, a mechanical engineering major, and Chang Lee, majoring in both biomedical engineering and engineering mechanics, teamed up to design this lightweight helmet (less than 30 ounces) that protects against high speed impacts, stays in place even in fast moving water, and will not absorb water. The project was co-sponsored by The Whitewater Research and Safety Institute and JHU's Bloomberg School of Public Health. A nonprofit foundation plans to patent the prototype, mass-produce the headgear, and sell it at cost.

In another Senior Design Project, Jonathan Hofeller, a mechanical engineering major, Christina Peace and Nathaniel Young, both biomedical engineering majors, designed and built a voice-activated grasping tool. This device was designed specifically for a disabled man (who wishes to remain anonymous) who suffers from muscle deterioration and is unable to grasp his fingers and lift even small objects. This muscle enhancement device consists of a motorized plastic shell that fits over the arm and is wired to a control box, fitting into a small pack that can be worn around the waist. Sponsored by the Volunteers for Medical Engineering, this project and device will likely be adapted for other people with disabilities.

Congratulations to senior Rory Thomas, who received the prestigious GE Fund Graduate Fellowship. Awarded to Rory in recognition of his excellent academic performance, the fellowship funds a year of graduate study and includes a stipend of $15,000. The GE fund was established to help develop diversity in future university faculty. Graduating with a double major in mechanical engineering and mathematical sciences, Rory plans to pursue a career in academia and will eventually seek a Ph.D. at Carnegie Mellon University. Rory expects to focus his research in the field of robotics, and has spent many hours working with professors Gregory Chirikjian and Louis Whitcomb in the Whiting School's robotics laboratory. In talking about his interest in an academic career, Rory says, "I like the process of going through a research experience, creating and adding to the knowledge."

Congratulations to Alex Maestretti, a computer science major, for winning this year's undergraduate business plan competition sponsored by the W.P. Carey Program for Entrepreneurship and Management at Hopkins. Alex's plan, "Digital Moments," focuses on the use of digital technology to enhance an existing event photography business model. Each year the W.P. Carey Program sponsors this competition, carrying a grand prize of $5,000. The competition was established to encourage students to pursue ideas for new businesses and to provide an opportunity to test concepts for new business ventures. For additional information about the Entrepreneurship Program and the annual competition, click here.

Alumni News:

On May 4th, more than 800 people gathered for a gala dinner to celebrate the public announcement of The Johns Hopkins Campaign: Knowledge for the World, and to pay tribute to Michael R. Bloomberg '64, outgoing Board Chairman. Raymond "Chip" Mason became the new Chairman of the University Board of Trustees on May 5, 2002. The new campaign, Knowledge for the World, will play a major role in the future of Johns Hopkins and specifically the Whiting School of Engineering. The volunteer leaders, Gil Decker '58, William Ward '67, and Kwok-Leung Li '79, will lead the Whiting School's campaign, Innovation: Creating the Future. For more information, click here.

If you visit the Homewood campus this summer you will see the Great Excavations 2 (GE2) project in full swing as the University continues to make the campus more pedestrian friendly and attractive. Much of the work should be completed by this fall. For more details, visit the GE2 website.