Washington Engineer - October 2010

In this issue:

Dean's Message
Research - Harnessing Citizen Brainpower; Taming Driver Distraction; Signing by Cell Phone; Grant to Study Animal Flight
Campus News - Molecular Engineering Director Named; Lidstrom Named Interim Provost; Engineering Education Study; EnerG2 Groundbreaking
Events - Fall Lecture Series; Bioengineering Hoffman Lecture; NAE Seattle Summit Broadcast
In the Media

Dean's Message

Dean Matt O'Donnell talks about advances in hiring interdisciplinary faculty, and a new report on undergraduate engineering education prepared by the UW's Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education. Play video »

Research

Gaming for a cure: Computer gamers tackle protein folding
Two years after Foldit turned a molecular biology problem into a game, UW researchers find humans trump computers on some complex problems, especially ones that require intuitive leaps or major shifts in strategy.
New York Times | The Economist | Nature | NPR

Distracted drivers benefit from in-car driving coach
Can coaching using an eye tracker to monitor drivers' gaze put eyes back on the road? With just a small amount of coaching, high-risk drivers more than doubled their time until a virtual crash.
Seattle PI | Discover | UPI

student Josiah Cheslik signs over a cell phone

Deaf, hard-of-hearing students do first test of sign language by cell phone
UW engineers have developed the first software application able to transmit American Sign Language over U.S. cellular networks. The tool had its initial field test by participants in a UW summer program for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.
New York Times | Wired | Seattle Times | CNET

UW leading $7.5 million study of animal flight and aerial vehicles
Aeronautics and astronautics associate professor Kristi Morgansen leads the Office of Naval Research MURI grant looking to study bats, birds and insects for inspiration in building autonomous aerial vehicles.

Campus News

	Bioengineer Pat Stayton to lead new MolE Institute Stayton will lead the UW's newly established Molecular Engineering and Science Institute. The Institute’s research will focus on sustainable energy and medical applications.
	University of Washington names Lidstrom interim provost Mary Lidstrom, a professor of chemical engineering and microbiology, this fall became the UW’s interim provost. Lidstrom had served as UW’s vice provost for research since 2005.
	UW-led National Study Identifies Range of Opportunities to Improve Engineering Education Enabling Engineering Student Success, a new report released by the NSF funded Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education (CAEE), identifies key opportunities for improving how engineering students are currently being prepared for professional practice. Download the report and read the NSF article.
Clean-energy spinout breaks ground on $28 million facility In August, energy storage company EnerG2, a spinout from UW material science and engineering, broke ground in Oregon on a $28 million ultracapacitor manufacturing plant. See EnerG2 creators and UW partners on YouTube and read UW alum, EnerG2 co-founder's guest column on carbon storage.

Events

		Engineering in the Headlines Lecture Series Presented in partnership with the UW Alumni Association. All lectures will be held at 7 p.m. in Kane Hall. Lectures are free but registration is required. Register online or by calling (206) 543-0540. Going for the Green: London 2012 Thursday, Oct. 21, 7 p.m. Robert G. Card, CH2M Hill, UW alumnus (’75) Driven to Distraction Wednesday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. Linda Ng Boyle, Industrial & Systems Engineering and Civil & Environmental Engineering
The entire series — including High-Pressure Crisis in the Gulf, which was held Oct. 13 — will be available on UWTV later in the year.
UW Bioengineering's 4th annual Hoffman Lecture Friday, October 22 at 3:30 p.m. S-060 Foege Building Speaker Dr. Robert S. Langer, professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT, is known for his development of innovative biomaterials for controlled drug release and tissue regeneration that have saved and improved the lives of millions of people.

National Academy of Engineering 2010 Seattle Grand Challenges Summit The Seattle Summit is now out as a six-part series available online and by broadcast on UWTV.

In the Media

Killer animals, life-saving cures: Why venom is good for you
FoxNews.com | August 23, 2010
Materials scientist Miqin Zhang is showing how scorpion venom can be used to treat brain cancer.

The Web means the end of forgetting
New York Times Magazine | July 21, 2010
Posting too much personal information online reveals the perils of the digital age. UW computer science and engineering project Vanish, which makes electronic information self-destruct, is mentioned.

Christophe Bisciglia photo by Robyn Twomey

Smartest engineer in tech: Christophe Bisciglia
Fortune Magazine | July 2010
Fortune chooses UW computer science and engineering alumnus Christophe Bisciglia, who taught the UW's pioneering Google 101 course, as one of its "smartest people in tech."