Washington Engineer - October 2011

In this issue:

Dean's Message
Research - Proton-based Transistor; the Physics of Grocery Display Cases; Turning Slash Piles into Soil Benefit
Campus News - Shwetak Patel Wins MacArthur Award; AMTAS in Spotlight for Creating Composites Jobs; Intel Science & Technology Center; New Chair for EE
Events - Engineering Lecture Series; Engineering Networking Night
In the Media

Dean's Message

Dean Matt O'Donnell kicks-off the new academic year with exciting news from the College. Shwetak Patel wins a MacArthur award and UW is selected for an Intel Science & Technology Center focused on pervasive computing. Play video »

Research

	Proton-based Transistor Could Let Machines Communicate with Living Things Materials scientists at the University of Washington have built a novel transistor that uses protons, creating a key piece for devices that can communicate directly with living things. The study is published online in the interdisciplinary journal Nature Communications. IEEE Spectrum \| PopSci \| Gizmag
	Improving the Physics of Grocery Store Display Cases to Save Energy Aeronautical engineers are devising ways to boost the efficiency of open-air refrigerated cases, which are increasingly common in supermarkets. Results could lower the energy use of existing cases by up to 15 percent—potentially saving $100 million in electricity costs each year.
	Turning Slash Piles into Soil Benefit Students at the University of Washington have teamed up on a startup that promises to turn slash piles of forest refuse into biochar, a crumbly charcoal-like product for farmers that helps their soil hold water and nutrients.

Campus News

	Shwetak Patel Wins MacArthur "Genius" Award Shwetak Patel, an assistant professor in CSE and EE, has been named a MacArthur Foundation 2011 Fellow. Patel has invented a series of sensor technology systems for home environments with the goal of saving energy and improving daily life through a broad range of applications.
	New Leader for Electrical Engineering Vikram Jandhyala, a UW professor of electrical engineering, has been named the new chair of the department. Jandhyala has been a UW faculty member since 2000 and directs the applied computational engineering lab.
	Dieter Fox to Co-lead New Intel Science and Technology Center UW computer scientist Dieter Fox will co-lead an Intel Science and Technology Center focused on "pervasive" computing, which aims to incorporate computing and sensing into everyday devices and environments.

Sen. Cantwell with MSE prof Brian Flinn and students

AMTAS in Spotlight for Creating Composites, Jobs
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) recognized the UW's federally funded Center of Excellence for Advanced Materials in Transport Aircraft Structures (or AMTAS). The center helped Boeing develop the first commercial airplane made largely from composite materials, or carbon fiber.

Events

		Re-Engineering Aerospace: Flying Cleaner, Greener, Smarter Lecture Series Presented in partnership with the UW Alumni Association. Register online for this free series. Shrinking the Aerospace Carbon Footprint Wednesday, Oct. 26, 7 p.m. Mary Armstrong, Vice President - Environment, Health and Safety, The Boeing Company, UW alumna ('79) Repowering the Military with Alternative Energy Wednesday, Nov. 9, 7 p.m. Tim Vinopal, Director - Environment, Health and Safety, The Boeing Company, UW alumnus ('91) Flying Smart with Autonomous Vehicles Wednesday, Nov. 16, 7 p.m. Mehran Mesbahi, Professor, Aeronautics & Astronautics, and Principal Investigator, Distributed Space Systems Lab
The entire series will be available on UWTV later in the year.

two participants in a previous networking night

Engineering Networking Night
Wednesday, Nov 2, 7 p.m.
Paul G. Allen Center for Computer Science & Engineering
Engineering Networking Night is an opportunity for UW engineering alumni and engineering students to connect and discuss career opportunities.

In the Media

	Game leads to possible AIDS breakthrough CNN \| September 20, 2011 Foldit players were able to determine the structure of an enzyme of an AIDS-like virus. The results provide new insights for the design of antiretroviral drugs. The "fun-for-purpose" Foldit game was developed under the leadership of CSE's Zoran Popović.
Remote control, with a wave of a hand The New York Times \| September 10, 2011 Scientists at Microsoft Research and the UW have come up with a new system that uses the human body as an antenna. Computer scientist and electrical engineer Shwetak Patel and affiliate computer science professor Desney Tan are quoted.