Before his internship at Princeton University this summer, Wali Palmer knew lasers as highly focused beams of light. But his research experience at Princeton opened Palmers eyes to laser-based devices that could detect disease, perform surgeries and sense dangerous gases and put him on a path toward designing them.

Thats a whole next level of technology, said Palmer, who will begin his second year at Rutgers University-Camden this fall.

Palmer, who is interested in computing and electrical engineering, took an unusual path to Princeton. He is one of four formerly incarcerated students who took part in this summers internship program introducing them to research in STEM fields. The four labs that hosted this years interns were led by engineering faculty.

Bridgett vonHoldt, an associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, directs the program, which is funded by the National Science Foundation. VonHoldt launched the internship as a virtual program in 2021, in partnership with the Universitys Prison Teaching Initiative and the New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium (NJ-STEP), which helps identify and support candidates for the program.

Working closely with Ph.D. student Andres Correa Hernandez, Palmer helped Professor Claire Gmachls research team use software to design new lasers more efficiently, so they dont waste time and materials testing devices.

Education and knowledge are really for everyone, at every moment in life, no matter what, said Gmachl, the Eugene Higgins Professor of Electrical Engineering. Students with more life experience often have a much clearer vision of what they want to do, and that poses its own challenges, and makes it interesting to train students in a focused, efficient way, she said.

Palmer said his research experience has been liberating, because its given me a new perspective on technology thats going to change lives.

In addition to Gmachl, Princeton Engineering faculty members Craig Arnold, Jerelle Joseph and Andrej Komrlj served as mentors to interns in this summers program, along with graduate students from their research groups who served as day-to-day peer mentors.

Intern Paul Boyd worked with Joseph, assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, and Ph.D. student Ananya Chakravarti on a project to explore the impacts of mutations on the behavior of RNA binding proteins, which may play a role in some types of dementia.

In Komrljs mechanical and aerospace engineering research group, intern Ali Muslim worked with Ph.D. student Tejas Dethe on simulations to investigate the properties of phononic crystals materials that can interact with sound in precise ways to produce desired acoustic effects.

Intern Claude McDougal took a different path, analyzing university research transfer processes and how they might be applied to a new technology from Arnolds laboratory. Arnold, the Susan Dod Brown Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and vice dean for innovation at Princeton, is leading the development of carbon-based aerogels for applications such as water purification and desalination.

McDougal, a student at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas who spent the summer at Princeton, said he was interested in learning about the phases of moving that from research to something real in the marketplace. How do you go from a problem that needs to be solved, from research to an invention? And then, how do you protect that intellectual property?

McDougals peer mentor, Ph.D. student Mohd Shaharyar Wani, said the project deepened his own knowledge of the patent process. He also made a point of introducing McDougal to the techniques used to characterize new materials. Bringing together this knowledge broadens the thought process, said Wani. It helped him learn to put patent claims in a very precise manner to have more impact.

Before embarking on research projects, interns in the program spent two weeks taking a course on Scientific Thought and Practice, taught by Amanda Quirk of Columbia University; and a computing course led by Princeton Research Computing instructors from the University community.

Computing is now so important as the third pillar of scientific research along with theory and experiment, said Ma. Florevel (Floe) Fusin-Wischusen, manager of the Princeton Institute for Computational Science and Engineering. This was the first year that the institute partnered with this program to share and showcase Princetons computing resources, said Fusin-Wischusen.

The interns took a private tour of Princetons High-Performance Computing Research Center, a 48,000-square-foot facility north of the main campus. The group got a peek inside the data center that enables complex computations for research such as modeling the formation of galaxies and the collisions of subatomic particles. Curtis Hillegas, associate CIO of Research Computing, also highlighted the buildings energy infrastructure and the dual design goals of sustainability and reliability.

Getting to see the massive scale of things going on in the background at the highest of levels [of computing] in the academic world was just mind-blowing, said McDougal of the computing center tour.

The staff of the Prison Teaching Initiative (PTI) help recruit and support the programs interns. PTI has brought higher education classes to prisons around New Jersey since 2006, and is a founding partner of the National Science Foundations STEM-OPS network, which advances STEM learning opportunities for people who are currently and formerly incarcerated.

The program builds on the success of Princetons efforts to expand opportunities for students from other institutions who might not otherwise have access to research as undergraduates. Jannette Carey, associate professor of chemistry, has run a summer research program in molecular biophysics since 2014, and approached vonHoldt with the idea of starting a program specifically for students who were formerly incarcerated.

I often struggle with how to conduct effective outreach and science communication, said vonHoldt, whose research uses genetics to understand the ecology, diversity and evolution and of wild and domesticated canines. I do a lot of seminars and social media, but there are certain populations of students that we have done a disservice to. This, to me, was the most tangible way of reaching a population of students to give them the support that sometimes is really hard to come by.

Along with research and technical training, the internship included career development and support from Dameon Stackhouse, an alumnus of the molecular biophysics summer program who is now a social worker for Somerset County, New Jersey.

Building relationships is a key part of the experience for students, said Stackhouse, who began earning his Rutgers degree while in prison. Only individuals that have been through incarceration can fully understand the dynamics of pursuing your educational goals in this context, with all the challenges and triumphs it entails, he said.

McDougal said that getting to know researchers and the community at Princeton has changed his outlook on the future.

I didnt see myself in the academic world. I didnt really look at that as a possibility, he said. But now I see it as a possibility. Being around younger students keeps you young. It feeds your inner creativity.

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Formerly incarcerated students dive into engineering research ... - Engineering at Princeton University

JAMESTOWN The Jamestown Public Works Committee in a 4-0 vote recommended approval of an engineering agreement with Interstate Engineering for expansion of the inert landfill.

Councilman David Schloegel was not present at the meeting on Thursday, Aug. 24.

City Engineer Travis Dillman said the city of Jamestown has an existing agreement to work on permits with the North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality for the expansion of the existing cell at the landfill.

What we got is the inert landfill is filling up, he said. We need to actually do some expansion of the existing cell which will ... actually where the road is now, push it a little bit to the north to buy us some time.

Dillman said the engineering agreement would be for creating a new cell on land adjacent to city limit boundaries in Bloom Township.

He said there are projects where the city would like to receive materials to collect the tipping fees associated with it.

One of them is actually even at the (North Dakota) State Hospital as far as the buildings that are looking to come down, he said. Lets be in a position where we can collect that and accept those tipping fees.

The state Legislature approved a one-time appropriation of $4 million to demolish unused buildings at the State Hospital campus, including the administrative building, employee building, associated tunnels, water tower, pig barn and water treatment plant buildings. The buildings are to be demolished by June 30, 2025.

In September 2022, a drone survey conducted on the inert landfill in Jamestown found that it doesnt have much space left for storage of waste, The Jamestown Sun reported.

In other business, the Fire Chief Jim Reuther told the Jamestown Police and Fire Committee that the Jamestown Fire Department is down to 23 firefighters.

Reuther said he will be interviewing two applicants next week.

In other business, the Public Works Committee:

Masaki Ova joined The Jamestown Sun in August 2021 as a reporter. He grew up on a farm near Pingree, N.D. He majored in communications at the University of Jamestown, N.D.

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Engineering agreement for landfill expansion in Jamestown gets ... - The Jamestown Sun

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Maria Carreon, Associate Professor, Chemical Engineering

The Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering is excited to welcome Maria Carreon to the department as associate professor. Carreon brings an emerging research program in non-thermal plasma processing to the University of Arkansas.

"I'm so glad to be among chemical engineer peers and students who are truly committed to learn about the limitless chemical transformations in science and engineering," said Carreon. "I'm very excited for the future talent we can shape into excellence."

Adding to the excitement is that this new chapter at the University of Arkansas will be a family matter. Joining Carreon at the university is her daughter, Lucia, who will be enrolled as a first-year student in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences.

Carreon's research includes plasma catalysis, production of platform chemicals, and materials synthesis and design. Her work has recently been published in Catalysis Today, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics and ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering. She will lead the Carreon Research Group within the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering.

"We are excited to welcome Maria to the department and have her research and teaching expertise strengthen our department," saidKeisha Bishop Walters, department head and professor of chemical engineering.

Carreon joins the chemical engineering department this month after serving as a faculty member at the University of Tulsa, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, and most recently, at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Coinciding with her research, she has developed a "Plasma Materials" course and published an online tutorial on "Plasma Catalysis."

Carreon completed her bachelor's and master's degrees in chemical engineering at Universidad Michoacana in Mexico and holds a doctorate in chemical engineering from the University of Louisville.

About the Department of Chemical Engineering: Chemical engineering has been a part of the University of Arkansas curriculum since 1903. Today, the Ralph E. Martin Department of Chemical Engineering has an enrollment of over 300 students in its undergraduate and graduate degree programs and houses five endowed chairs and eight endowed professorships to support its faculty. Faculty expertise includes cellular engineering, chemical process safety, advanced materials, computational modeling, and membrane separations. A wide range of fundamental and applied research is conducted in the areas of energy, health, sustainability, and computational chemical engineering. The department is also home to the Chemical Hazards Research Center and is one of three national sites for the Membrane Science, Engineering, & Technology (MAST) Center. The Department of Chemical Engineering is named for alumnus Ralph E. Martin (B.S.Ch.E.'58, M.S.Ch.E.'60) in recognition of his 2005 endowment gift.

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Maria Carreon Joins Chemical Engineering Faculty | University of ... - University of Arkansas Newswire

Ever since its construction in 1985, project manager Keith Westmoreland said the Chemical and Petroleum Engineering (CPE) building, while full of interconnected faculty and students, felt disjointed and separate with its dark isolated rooms. The construction of a new Engineering Discovery Building brings a fresh environment for collaborative learning and research.

Carried out by architecture firm CO Architects and construction company Vaughn Construction, the 210,000 square foot building will provide space for 32 faculty researchers and 335 graduate students who are part of the Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering and Chemical Engineering departments. The project aims to improve research and teaching through an open and integrated environment, said John Ekerdt, associate dean for research at the Cockrell School of Engineering. Construction is expected to finish in 2026.

Where (in the building) do you meet to work and talk? Eckerdt said. Where do you learn from others and network? Thats lacking because those spaces were all occupied as offices.

Ekerdt said the new building resembles a neighborhood, with offices and labs grouped together by research topic to increase teamwork. It also includes free teaching spaces for different departments across the University.

The project will demolish the Service Building, constructed in 1951. The project will take its spot next to the Engineering Education and Research Center (EER), Westmoreland said.

Petroleum engineering professor Eric van Oort said he worked in the CPE building before relocating to the Engineering Research Center. While originally focusing on petroleum, van Oort said he now researches geothermal wells and carbon capture.

There is a lot of diversification going on and a lot of new developments, van Oort said. What you need is really the flexibility to address that quickly.

Van Oort said the architects talked to the professors and researchers, giving them a chance to personalize their own labs and offices.

(The University) needs to continue to attract talent, and if (we) can offer these very high-tech lab environments, that is an additional selling point to attract talent, van Oort said.

Ekerdt said the CPE building feels dingy with the lack of windows and the secluded offices and labs. The new center will welcome more natural light with windows stretching from floor to ceiling throughout the building.

I dont know how you measure that, but you can feel it, Ekerdt said. Imagine sunshine behind every door and everyones got a smile. Thats (what) this building will do.

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Engineering Discovery Building begins construction, aims to ... - The Daily Texan

WCU Stories August 21, 2023

Basel Alsayyed Ahmad

By Brooklyn Brown

Basel Alsayyed Ahmad, assistant professor in Western Carolina Universitys College of Engineering and Technology, recently taught a series of courses on Lean Six Sigma to students in Palestine.

The students earned a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt certification. The course was administered through WCUs Educational Outreach.

I am originally from Palestine and from the same town as the students, Dura, Ahmad said. I had five students on the other side of the world where Im from.

Ahmad taught Lean Six Sigma, a process improvement strategy, to a group of professionals hoping to hone their skills. Lean Six Sigma is a strategy for continually improving on whatever we are doing in every aspect of our life in manufacturing, in teaching, in training, even in your personal life, he said. If something doesn't add value, you are wasting your resources for nothing, basically.

From left to right: Saed Dasa; Ihab Sharha; Akram Awawda; Fareed Sayyed; Mohammad Sayed Ahmed; Ali Abuznaid; Eng. Mariam Abu Atwan; Heba Sharha; Reem Abd Allatif; Eng. Rawan Alnajar.

The students completed a final project that will help hospitals in Palestine save money and provide medicine more efficiently.

In the project we did, the idea was very simple, Ahmad said. In a hospital, they looked at one of the medicines they use and it comes in sizes of 10 milligrams. They use part of it sometimes for the patient and they throw the rest away. In order to throw the rest away, because it was a controlled medicine, two nurses had to be in attendance and do the paperwork and dispose of it in a certain process that is time consuming.

The improvement was just to introduce five milligrams instead of 10. That one improvement will save about $300,000 a year.

Wes Stone, professor and director of the School of Engineering and Technology, is impressed with the outcome of the course.

Im very grateful to Dr. Callaghan and Educational Outreach for their support, and especially to Dr. Alsayyed for his time and commitment to delivering this very important topic around the globe, Stone said. Lean Six Sigma principles apply across all industries in all countries. Its comforting to know that Palestinian health care will be improved directly as a result of this training.

Ahmad sees this as a positive move forward not just for his students and himself, but for the campus community as a whole.

I felt like it was kind of a win-win-win situation. I'm very happy that we managed to establish this channel for Western, he said.

We managed to help people wherever they are. They will be better equipped professionals. They'll be better serving their community and humanity at large, which is our scope as engineers.

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