Capstone Engineer
Spring 2019
Spring 2019
The new H.M. Comer Hall radiates professionalism and class and is a one-stop shop for students to get all of their engineering needs met in one place. The newly renovated…
UA alumna returns to newly accredited program as faculty
UA’s Co-op and Career Center merge under Division of Student Life
Young alumna gives back
H.M. Comer Hall renovated to one-stop shop for students
Noteworthy News and Research
Stats from the College of Engineering
Events from Around the College
Items of Interest to Capstone Engineers
& Computer Scientists
Vicki Hollub found her purpose early. She joined Occidental Petroleum upon graduation and worked her way to the top, becoming the first female CEO of a major U.S. oil and gas company.
A patent-pending device developed by University of Alabama researchers can alert a cell phone when a human or animal is inside a parked vehicle getting too hot. It monitors carbon dioxide levels from human breath inside the vehicle along with temperature and car movement.
With a NOAA grant from the UA Center for Complex Hydrosystems Research will help improve scientists’ ability to predict when and where our country is most at risk of drought.
University of Alabama researchers are examining how a new 3-D printing technology could be used by the military.
Researchers at The University of Alabama will lead a project to develop and deploy radars that obtain information about snow and soil moisture to help manage the nation’s water resources.
Of all the internet has brought, 360-degree videos that let users see around a fixed point are among the coolest, but it is difficult at the rate data travels for all of a high-quality, 360-video to arrive at the end user perfectly from the start. A University of Alabama researcher is developing a method to smooth the associated lag.
With funding from a National Science Foundation CAREER Award, a pioneering bioengineering project at The University of Alabama will engineer environments that mimic conditions in the brain to gain insight into this process in metastatic breast cancer.
The University of Alabama College of Engineering will host more than 1,000 students for a day dedicated to educating young students about the world of STEM.
The University of Alabama will offer a wide variety of activities for all ages throughout the summer. From outdoor explorations to computer camps, UA’s summer programs cover the spectrum of common and unique interests.
DR. K. CLARK MIDKIFF,
professor of mechanical engineering, retired in August after 32 years at The University of Alabama. For the last seven years, he served as interim department head of the mechanical engineering department. Midkiff received his bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate from the University of Kentucky, and he also received a bachelor’s in economics from Yale University. Midkiff conducted energy research specializing in combustion and in energy conservation, management and conversion. He served as director of UA’s Center for Advanced Vehicle Technologies, which funds and develops research in a variety of fields of vehicle science and engineering. Midkiff’s most recent research focused on improving emissions, fuel economy and performance of spark-ignited and diesel internal combustion engines operated on a variety of conventional and alternative fuels. His previous research efforts included distance education challenges, thermodynamic concept inventory development, the design and testing of large-scale seasonal aquifer thermal energy storage systems, combustion in rotating flames, and the prediction and measurement of the fate of fuel nitrogen and the extent of heterogeneous versus homogeneous combustion in coal dust flames. From April 2011 to April 2012, Midkiff served as UA Faculty Senate President.
DR. JAMES A. RICHARDSON,
associate professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, retired after 29 years of teaching at UA on July 1. Richardson’s research focused on design, construction and maintenance of highway bridges and field measurement of reinforced concrete structures. He enjoyed working with students and led the UA Steel Bridge team for many years as the faculty advisor. Richardson also worked in the Center for Sustainable Infrastructure.
DR. ROBERT W. SCHARSTEIN,
associate professor of electrical and computer engineering, retired on June 1 after a 29-year career at The University of Alabama. His doctorate was earned at Syracuse University, and he has worked in radar and sonar systems with the General Electric Company and with Sensis Corporation. He has been a faculty member of Clemson University and The University of Alabama, and has been a visiting scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory and the Army Missile Command. Scharstein’s research is in the area of electromagnetic and acoustic scattering, phased array antennas and asymptotic analysis.
DR. WILLARD C. SCHREIBER,
associate professor of mechanical engineering, retired June 1. He worked in the ME department at UA for 33 and a half years. Schreiber studied thermal-fluid problems associated with environmental, materials and combustion applications. His latest efforts were directed toward modeling liquid jets and liquid sheets mathematically in an effort to understand instabilities leading to breakup. He has investigated the formation of patterns in a liquid sheet flowing from a slot. His research was intended to lead to a better understanding of spray breakup, and, consequently, better spray models for computing combustion processes. Schreiber also studied the dispersion of hydrogen as a means of understanding hydrogen safety related to hydrogen-powered vehicles. His other major research topic was the freezing of alloy melts including phase change and fluid motion of the melt. He was involved in a project for the NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates Fluid Mechanics with Analysis Using Computations and Experiments Program.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – For the second consecutive year, the UA Magnetics and Antenna team placed in the international Student Antenna Design Contest held by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics…
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – University of Alabama student team, Alabeama, recently placed third in the 2018 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Big Beam Competition. The objective of the national competition is to design,…
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded two University of Alabama mechanical engineering students a scholarship that covers their full tuition and secures them a job after graduation.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A team of six University of Alabama mechanical engineering students were selected to participate in testing at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The students were…
The University of Alabama Robotics team became the first UA robotics team in school history to win the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers SoutheastCon Hardware Competition.
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – The University of Alabama’s Chem-E Car Team received the most creative design award and placed third in the poster competition at a recent conference, marking the best…
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Two teams of nine metallurgical and material engineering students took first and second place in a local casting competition held April 9. The American Foundry Society Casting…
UA’s Board of Trustees named Dr. Gregory B. Thompson, professor in the department of metallurgical and materials engineering, a University Research Professor earlier this month.
Faculty members receiving Fulbright Awards: Dr. Angela D. Benson, professor of instruction technology; Dr. Steven Jones, professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering; and Dr. Catherine M. Roach, professor in New College in cultural studies and gender studies.
The 18th Annual Capstone Engineering Society Golf Tournament was held Sept. 17, 2018, at Old Overton Golf Club in Vestavia Hills, Alabama. Thanks to generous contributions, more than $39,000 was…
University of Alabama alumna Jody Singer has been named director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, becoming the first woman to assume the role in the center’s history.
1975
Garry Lyles, BSME, received the 2018 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics George M. Low Space Transportation Award for his visionary leadership in the development of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Lyles has served as the SLS chief engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, since the program’s beginning in the fall of 2011. He has been at NASA since 1976.
1982
Vice Admiral Charles A. “Chas” Richard, BSEE, was named commander of U.S. Navy Submarine Forces, Submarine Force Atlantic and Allied Submarine Command in August 2018. As commander, he is the undersea domain lead and is responsible for the submarine force’s strategic vision; oversees all Atlantic-based U.S. submarines, their crews and supporting shore activities; and provides advice to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Strategic Commanders on submarine related issues.
2008
Dr. Olivia Underwood, BSMtE, MSMtE ’09, was featured in the news release “Sandia materials scientist looks to inspire students through STEM program” on sandia.gov for her volunteer work with HMTech, a Sandia-sponsored summer STEM program for middle and high school students.
2009
Dr. Chad Hornbuckle, BSMtE, MSMtE ’12, PhD ’14, a materials scientist with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory’s Weapons and Materials Research Directorate, was featured in several articles published in August 2018 about his research. He specializes in microstructural characterization using electron microscopes and atom probe tomography, and is working on atomic-level research.
2013
Rachel Mitchell Hughes, BSChE, released the official music video for “Search Me O God,” the first single from her album “There You Are” in August 2018. Mitchell is the director of asphalt processing at TAMKO Building Products.
2014
Nathan Butler, BSAE, MSAE ’15, received a performance award from management within the Materials and Processes Lab at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The performance award was in recognition of his work over the past fiscal year in support of the Space Launch System Core Stage manufacturing, production, testing, certification and qualification. The award recognizes an early career employee deemed to have adapted quickly and made significant contributions to the NASA MSFC mission.
Evan Graves, BSEE, MSEE ’15, was featured in the article “Where Are They Now: UA’s Evan Graves,” on EcoCAR3.org. Since graduating, he has been an active safety integration engineer at General Motors in Milford, Michigan.
Clinton Chad Henderson, of Tuscaloosa, died July 17, 2018, at Hospice of West Alabama in Tuscaloosa. He graduated from Winfield City High School in 2002, and was a 2006 graduate of The University of Alabama with an electrical engineering degree. His wife, Aimee DeLauro Henderson, is also a graduate of UA in electrical engineering.
Walter Schoel Jr., of Vestavia Hills, died July 29, 2018. He was born and raised in Birmingham, where he lived his entire life. Schoel graduated from Phillips High School in 1942. He attended The University of Alabama until his education was interrupted by World War II. Schoel enlisted in the Marines, serving until honorably discharged in 1945. He returned to UA and graduated in 1957 with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. Schoel worked his entire adult life for Walter Schoel Engineering Company. He became a partner in the firm in 1960, and became company president in 1968. Walter served in that position until 1998, and remained an officer in the firm until his death. Schoel was a life member of the American Society of Civil Engineers. He was named a Distinguished Fellow of the UA College of Engineering and a Distinguished Departmental Fellow of the civil engineering department of The University of Alabama.
James Bruce Thomason died on Aug. 3, 2018, in Daphne. He was a native of Fayette, and graduated from The University of Alabama with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1974. He was a registered professional engineer and worked as the ninth division traffic engineer with the Alabama Department of Transportation and led numerous major transportation improvement projects in Alabama until retiring after 25 years. After retiring from ALDOT, he worked for 15 years with Volkert, Inc., supervising construction management projects in Florida and Alabama. He was a member of the Capstone Engineering Society.