Dear Whiting School alumni, friends, faculty, staff, and students,

It is with dismay that I write to extend my sorrow to those of you who have suffered the loss of loved ones in last week's tragic events. While The Johns Hopkins University was not directly targeted, there are many here on campus connected by family members, friends, alumni, and colleagues who lost someone in the terrorist attacks.

When you look around the Johns Hopkins campus you see an international community of students, faculty, administrators, and staff. And though this is an American university, in a very real sense it is an international university. In this environment there is much that we can do to foster long-lasting bonds and good will among people of different nationalities. I believe this is important to embrace as we recover from this terrible disaster.

We recognize the role we play through this e-news in disseminating information. We are planning a special edition of e-news in the coming weeks to provide information on members of the Whiting School family who perished in the tragedy. Our hearts go out to everyone grieving. We offer our sincerest condolences and our willingness to help with keeping you informed.

Dean Ilene Busch-Vishniac

A revised and reorganized Web site for the Whiting School is now online at http://www.wse.jhu.edu. An important new feature of the site is an online faculty research directory, which replaces the former printed document (a one-page summary of the research interests, publications and other key information for each faculty member). The directory is designed to enable faculty, or a designated staff member, to update and change information regarding their own research, latest papers published, and other key information. The research directory is located on the new WSE Web site. Contact Jason Heinen (410-516-5189) or Jeff Silverman (410-516-5303) for additional information.

Lani Hummel joins the Whiting School in the newly created position of Director of Industrial Initiatives. Ms. Hummel will be responsible for organizing and maintaining an active program of collaboration between the Whiting School of Engineering and industry. Her efforts will also include soliciting research projects and summer internships for students, as well as funding for special programs that will increase the number of traditionally underrepresented populations in engineering. For additional information, contact Lani Hummel at lhummel@jhu.edu or 410-516-5262.

The Part Time Programs in Engineering and Applied Science (PTE) have several open houses scheduled for October, November, and December at its locations in the Baltimore/Washington area. The open houses are an excellent opportunity to meet with advisers and discuss the many program and certificate options available. The full open house schedule with times and locations can be found at the PTE Web site.

Welcome to Brenda Knox, who joined the PTE administrative staff in September. Brenda will lead the efforts to enhance and expand the online course development program. Ten fully online courses have been developed to date and four more are in development this fall. Watch the PTE Web site for further details.

Dr. B. Boro Djordjevic has been appointed the new Director of the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation (CNDE) effective July 1, 2001. Because he knows most people have a difficult time with his last name (pronounced like 'George-A-Vich'), he prefers Boro. Dr. Djordjevic received his Ph.D. in 1979 from WSE and has been appointed to the position of Principal Research Scientist in the Center since 1994. He has extensive management and research expertise from Martin Marietta Corporation (1980-1994). Boro's national and international recognition will help CNDE continue to have the worldwide recognition it attained during the past 17 years of leadership by Dr. Robert E. Green, Jr. Boro can be reached at Boro@jhu.edu or 410-516-6115. Visit CNDE's Web site for more information.

Dr. Robert E. Green, Jr., Theophilus Halley Smoot Professor, is stepping down as Director of the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation, which he started in 1984, to pursue his two loves, teaching students and performing nondestructive evaluation research in CNDE. He is also the recipient of the WSE 2001William H. Huggins Excellence in Teaching Award in recognition of outstanding faculty teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and for demonstrated dedication to students. Professor Green can be reached at robert.green@jhu.edu or 410-516-6115.

On April 25 & 26, 2002 the Center for Nondestructive Evaluation will be hosting its 2002 Annual Technical Review Meeting. Further information will be posted on the CNDE Web site at a later date.

The Center for Computer Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology (CISST) hosted 26 high school teachers this summer, who came to conduct hands-on research in projects encompassing physics, genetics, robotics, biology and environmental quality. This program - Research Experience for Teachers (RET) - sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) enables professional development by involving teachers in NSF projects and promoting relationships between local school districts and the engineering research community. The goal of the program is to aid teachers in transferring their knowledge to the classroom by preparing engineering challenges for their students. A long-term goal is to encourage high-school students to consider engineering as a career.

The WSE Professional Communication Program continues to expand--offering a number of courses aimed at improving the writing skills of engineering and arts and science students. This semester more than 130 students enrolled in nine sections of the basic Professional Communication course. Any of the courses in this program can be taken as electives by undergraduate students. In addition, a graduate level course is offered through the Part-Time Engineering (PTE) program. For more information visit the Professional Communication Web site.

HeadsUP, the Hopkins Engineering Advanced Summer University Program for pre- and early-college students has just completed its first summer of classes and was declared a success by students and parents alike! Twenty-two students enrolled in the Program, 10 of whom received internships in local (Montgomery County area) high-tech companies. The two courses offered this summer were Introduction to Programming in Java and Digital Systems Fundamentals. Four to six courses will be offered next summer to meet the anticipated demand. These college-credit courses are open to 11th and 12th graders as well as college students on summer break from their regular studies. Visit the HeadsUp Web site or contact Richard Scott for information, 301-294-7070.

Earlier this month a prototype of a wave energy conversion system, which desalinizes water, was deployed in the Shannon estuary, just off the coast of Ireland's Clare County. Professor Michael E. McCormick of the Civil Engineering Department has been involved in the research and development of the McCabe Wave Pumpwith its inventor, Dr. Peter McCabe. Dr. McCormick's contribution has been in conducting both theoretical and experimental studies that have optimized the system.

The McCabe Wave pump consists of three barges hinged together in a 40-meter long floating system that pumps salt water at high pressures to a reverse-osmosis desalination system--producing potable water. The wave-powered desalination system will produce about 100,000 gallons of potable water per day. The system has been designed to supply water to remote locations, such as the more than 100,000 inhabited islands throughout the World's oceans and the desert coastlines such as those of Namibia, Chile and Baja California.

Welcome to New Faculty…

Professor Donald Geman joins the Department of Mathematical Sciences and the Center for Imaging Science from the University of Massachusetts where he has worked since obtaining his Ph.D. in mathematics from Northwestern University in 1970. Dr. German's research is at the interface of applied mathematics, computer science and computational vision, with an emphasis on the semantic interpretation of natural scenes using tools from information theory and stochastic analysis. Other current interests include medical imaging, natural vision and image retrieval.

Assistant Professor Jennifer Elisseeff joins the Biomedical Engineering Department. With degrees from Carnegie Mellon and Harvard- MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technologies, Dr. Elisseeff's postdoctoral work at the National Institutes of Health involved studying developmental biology to apply to tissue engineering. Her research focuses on biomaterials development, in particular designing novel hydrogel systems for cell encapsulation and tissue engineering. Dr. Elisseeff is working primarily on cartilage tissue engineering to replace cartilage lost due to trauma, disease, or congenital abnormalities. Her goal in the laboratory is to use principles of biomaterials and developmental biology to engineer tissues in a rigorous manner.

Assistant Professor Kevin Yarema joins the Biomedical Engineering Department with a Ph.D. from MIT in Biological Chemistry, and postdoctoral work at the University of California, Berkeley, in cellular engineering. Dr. Yarma's work at Berkeley demonstrated, in a laboratory setting, a new, metabolic substrate-based approach to cellular engineering. His goal is to develop practical applications for this emerging technology. Potential applications include using this methodology as a tool for basic research to unravel intracellular metabolic processes, using it to study molecular abnormalities characteristic of human disease, developing anti-cancer diagnostic and therapeutic agents, and engineering cells for use in the construction of artificial tissues or organs.

Assistant Professor Michael Yu joins the Materials Science & Engineering Department. Dr. Yu has degrees in Chemistry and Organic Chemistry from Korea University and a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in Polymer Science and Engineering. His postdoctoral work as an NIH Fellow was done at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Dr. Yu's research interests lie primarily in the synthesis, characterization and application of organic materials with controlled molecular architecture, particularly materials that are inspired by biological systems. Dr. Yu's research involves developing and applying various polypeptide synthesis methodologies to create novel protein-based materials for future technologies such as biomedical materials, liquid crystal materials, and nonoelectric materials.

Welcomes are also extended to Assistant Professor Andre Levchencko in Biomedical Engineering, and Assistant Professor Sanjeev Khudanpur in Electrical & Computer Engineering. More information on their research will be highlighted in the next newsletter.

Many WSE faculty were recognized over the past year for their outstanding work. In this issue of EngineeringNEWS the young faculty awards are highlighted. Please visit the WSE Web site for a more complete listing of all faculty awards.

Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE):

Gert Cauwenberghs, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Christopher Chen, Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Lori Graham, Assistant Professor, Civil Engineering

Office of Naval Research (ONR) Young Investigator Program:

Ralph Etienne-Cummings, Assistant Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering
Jin U. Kang, Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Awards:

Jonah Erlebacher, Assistant Professor, Materials Science & Engineering
Konstantinos Konstantopoulos, Assistant Professor, Chemical Engineering

It is with great sadness that we convey the news that Professor Robert H. Scanlan, who joined the Department of Civil Engineering in 1984 and was Homewood Professor at The Johns Hopkins University, died on May 27, 2001, at the age of 86. His unique career encompassed a broad range of studies in mechanics, aerodynamics and acoustics, as well as pioneering work in the fields of aeroelasticity and wind engineering. In recognition of his research, Dr. Scanlan received numerous awards, prizes and citations from his peers. Among these are the James Croes Medal, the Nathan Newmark Medal, the von Karman Medal, and the Wellington Prize of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He served in leadership roles on technical committees of the American Society of Civil Engineers (in which he was an honorary member), was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, and an elected fellow of the American Academy of Mechanics. Throughout his career, Professor Scanlan was known as an exemplary scholar, engineer, teacher, adviser, mentor and role model for countless undergraduate and graduate students and for his colleagues. He will be missed.

The Civil Engineering Department is compiling a booklet of memories of Bob that will be presented to his family. If you wish to contribute to this booklet, please fax to 410-516-7473 or email (awampler@jhu.edu ) as soon as possible.