Engineering Commons^™

Ece Department Wraps Up Major Renovation | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering recently finalized a six-month renovation of its office headquarters. The new facility in the Engineering Labs Building features a beautiful new glass storefront, reception area and renovated conference room.

Intermountain Biological Engineering Conference A Success | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Intermountain Biological Engineering Conference at USU on Nov. 9 was tremendous success. About 150 people were in attendance.

College Of Engineering Welcomes Advising Center Assistant | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU’s College of Engineering welcomes new academic advising center staff assistant Madeline Walker. She will play an important role in managing the day-to-day operations of one of USU’s most active student advising programs.

College Of Engineering Welcomes New Computer Technician | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU’s College of Engineering welcomes new computer technician Ross Palmer.

College Of Engineering Welcomes New Academic Advisor | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU’s College of Engineering welcomes new academic advisor Valerie Daines. She will provide advising services to mechanical engineering students with last names A through J.

Usu To Host Intermountain Biological Engineering Conference | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Utah State University’s Department of Biological Engineering will host a regional conference featuring academic, industry, and government research in biological engineering on Saturday, Nov. 9. About 75 faculty, staff and students will engage with industry researchers and government employees in the daylong event on the USU Logan campus.

Usu Engineering Advising Center Gets Major Update | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

The College of Engineering continues its effort to improve all aspects of the student experience. On November 1, crews wrapped up a major renovation of the advising center located on the 3rd floor of the Anderson Engineering Building.

Redefining Power In The Engineering Classroom | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Secrets are not welcome in Idalis Villanueva’s engineering classroom. She doesn’t believe in withholding information or making assumptions about what students may or may not know. On day one, she asks students to refer to her as Dr. Villanueva or Dr. V; she clearly posts assignment due dates; she lists the objectives of each lesson; and she clarifies uncommon terms to make sure everyone is on the same page. This seemingly basic approach to instruction is nothing new, but emerging research suggests it is crucial to the success of would-be engineers.

Developing Solutions For Utah’S Rising Water Management Crisis | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

According to a 2014 household survey, Utahns are expressing rapidly growing interest in protecting water resources for outdoor recreation and environmental benefits.

Usu Professor To Receive Coveted U.S. Air Force Research Grant | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU Assistant Professor Ryan Berke is one of 40 researchers nationwide to receive the prestigious Air Force Young Investigator Research Program award. He is the only researcher from Utah among the 2019 awardees from 30 research institutions across the U.S. The Air Force Young Investigator awards go to the most promising scientists and engineers who have received a PhD in the last seven years and who demonstrate exceptional capabilities for conducting research of military interest.

Poise Under Astronomical Pressure | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

At Brigham City-based HyPerComp Engineering, USU alumnus Jake Walker can be found wrapping composite vessels in endless strands of black carbon fiber. His colleague Tucker Smith, also a mechanical engineering alumnus, is nearby testing another vessel to its bursting point in an underground test chamber. Intern Colby Jones, a senior in mechanical engineering, is using what he learned in class to modify the hardware and software tools the team uses every day to build and test these high-tech, high pressure tanks. The three USU alumni make up HyPerComp’s engineering workforce.

A Running Start | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Mechanical and aerospace engineering alumna Amy Jo Moore is making strides at every turn in her career.

College Of Engineering Welcomes New Academic Advisor | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

USU’s College of Engineering welcomes new academic advisor Sierra Browning. She will provide advising services to mechanical engineering students with last names K through Z.

An Initial Exploration Of The Perspectives And Experiences Of Diverse Learners' Acceptance Of Online Educational Engineering Games As Learning Tools In The Classroom, Kimberly Cook-Chennault, Idalis Villanueva

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This Work-In-Progress falls within the research category of study and, focuses on the experiences and perceptions of first- and second year engineering students when using an online engineering game that was designed to enhance understanding of statics concepts. Technology and online games are increasingly being used in engineering education to help students gain competencies in technical domains in the engineering field. Less is known about the way that these online games are designed and incorporated into the classroom environment and how these factors can ignite inequitable perspectives and experiences among engineering students. Also, little if any work that combines the …

A Global Influencer | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

The people who work and study at the Utah Water Research Lab will remember outgoing director Mac McKee in many different ways.

Gelatine Cavity Dynamics Of High-Speed Sphere Impact, Akihito Kiyama, Mohammad M. Mansoor, Nathan B. Spiers, Yoshiyuki Tagawa, Tadd T. Truscott

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

We investigate the impact and penetration of a solid sphere passing through gelatine at various impact speeds up to 143.2 m s^-1 Tests were performed with several concentrations of gelatine. Impacts for low elastic Froude number Fr_e a ratio between inertia and gelatine elasticity, resulted in rebound. Higher Fr_e values resulted in penetration, forming cavities with prominent surface textures. The overall shape of the cavities resembles those observed in water-entry experiments, yet they appear in a different order with respect to increasing inertia: rebound, quasi-seal, deep-seal, shallow-seal and surface-seal. Remarkably, similar to the We – Bo phase …

“I Was An Aggie And Dang Proud Of It” | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Jim Nottingham was on the fence about whether college life was a good fit for him. He dreamed of playing football, but life as a newlywed and new father was quickly changing his focus.

A Next-Generation Aerospace Pioneer | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Early in her academic experience, Grace Graham learned the secret to success. The young aerospace engineering and economics double major from St. George, Utah, jumped into university life eager to get involved and meet new people. Her optimistic attitude and warm personality are a recipe for achievement that’s already yielding positive results.

Q&A With Dr. Elizabeth Vargis | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Q: What motivated you to pursue a career in biological engineering? What motivates you to stick with it? A: My father is a mechanical engineer and my mother is a microbiologist. I grew up working with my dad on projects around the house (whether they were necessary or not) and learning about weird diseases and new diagnostic tools from my mom. When I started college, I considered becoming a doctor but found myself more interested in working to make healthcare more effective and accessible. I work on those problems now, making better models of the human eye and developing new …

Usu Students Take Third At National Wastewater Design Challenge | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Utah State University students grabbed another national victory at a wastewater design challenge last month in Chicago.

From Buildings To Boeing | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Jorge Espinoza followed a lot of pathways in search of his future career.

Evaluating The Pitch | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Mechanical engineering Professor Barton Smith is best known for two signature characteristics: he’s a baseball fan; and he’s skeptical when someone claims to know something with absolute certainty. His Twitter handle, after all, is @NotRealCertain. Smith’s reluctance to embrace what others consider final truth makes him an ideal candidate to study one of the most perplexing questions in sports science. It’s one that has captivated fans and conspiracy theorists for months: What’s behind the increase in home runs in pro baseball?

Powering Student Success | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

Rocky Mountain Power Foundation contributed a $25,000 gift that will provide scholarships to undergraduate engineering students. The generous donation is one of dozens of gifts the organization has made to USU in the past decade.

College Welcomes Newest Faculty | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

The College of Engineering at Utah State University is excited to welcome five new faculty members.

Mechanical Engineering Seniors Develop Low-Cost Therapy Tricycle | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

A group of mechanical engineering seniors developed a therapeutic tricycle designed to help families that provide physical therapy for a child at home.

Aggieair Flies For Nasa Airspace Study | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

In the skies above Reno, Nevada, USU engineers fly drones above the high-rise hotels and casinos, hopping from rooftop to rooftop. The flights were part of a NASA-led study to develop a new unmanned aerial traffic management system.

The Engineering Writing Center | College Of Engineering, Utah State University

College of Engineering News

The tradition of technical writing is ancient, and the demand for engineers who are skilled technical writers has been constant. Employers consistently identify the ability to communicate in written and verbal form among the top skills required of new engineers. The College of Engineering at USU has taken an aggressive approach to meet this demand.

Wetland Arid Vegetation – Studies Of Vegetated Stormwater Management System Performance In Northern Utah – Field & Lab Experiences, Ryan Dupont, Margie Rycewicz-Borecki, Trixie Rife

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Motivation for the Work We’ve Done – The Why

Summary of the Work We’ve Done - The What & The How

Findings - The How Well

Conclusions & Recommendations – The So What

An Open-Source Data Manager For Network Models, Stephen Knox, James Tomlinson, Julien J. Harou, Philipp Meier, David E. Rosenberg, Jay R. Lund, David E. Rheinheimer

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Developing simulation and optimisation models for resource networks like water or energy systems increasingly involves integrating multiple data sources and software. Connecting multiple models and managing data accessed by different groups of analysts is a software challenge. Many resource systems are represented in computer models as networks of nodes and links, driven by a range of objectives and rules. We present a data storage platform, written in Python, which exploits the commonality of network representations to store data for multiple model types within a single deployment. This open-source platform provides a common source of data to multiple models using consistent …

Analysis Of The Effects Of Dam Release Properties And Ambient Groundwater Flow On Surface Water‐Groundwater Exchange Over A 100‐Km‐Long Reach, Stephen B. Ferencz, M. Bayani Cardenas, Bethany T. Neilson

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Hydroelectric dams often create highly dynamic downstream flows that promote surface water‐groundwater (SW‐GW) interactions including bank storage, the temporary storage of river water in the riverbank. Previous research on SW‐GW exchanges in dammed rivers has primarily been at single study sites, which has limited the understanding of how these exchanges evolve as dam releases travel downstream. This study evaluates how dam releases affect SW‐GW exchange continuously over a 100‐km distance. This is accomplished by longitudinally routing water releases through a synthetic river and modeling bed and bank fluid and solute exchange across transverse transects spaced along the reach. Peak and …