News Updates - 2013

Balebako wins Google Scholarship
May 2013

Congratulations to EPP PhD student Rebecca Balebako for being named a Google Anita Borg scholar!  30 students from North America were selected (and 6 of them are at Carnegie Mellon).  tinyurl.com/q5em3o2

Jenn's work recognized
May 2013

EPP PhD student Alan Jenn recently presented his work on "Automotive transition to sustainable technology mix, a response to CAFE standards" at the 2013's International Symposium on Sustainable Systems and Technologies, where it won 3rd place for best student paper.   Corporate Average Fuel Economy, or CAFE, standards were recently passed as a joint effort between the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to increase fuel efficiency and reduce carbon emissions of passenger cars and light trucks. The paper, which is co-authored with Christian Blanco, William Chernicoff and EPP Professor Inês Azevedo, examines the effects of this policy on the future vehicle fleet mix, broken down by vehicle class and vehicle type, specifically improving on earlier works by capturing consumer behavior. 

Matthews to serve on BEST
May 2013

EPP faculty member, Scott Matthews, has been elected to serve on the board of Environmental Studies and Toxicology (BEST). BEST is the National Research Council’s principal unit for organizing and overseeing studies relating to environmental problems affecting human health and environmental impact and the assessment and management of related risks to human health and environment. tinyurl.com/buw5rj3

Morgan discusses need for research guidelines
May 2013

Granger Morgan discusses the need for research guidelines for solar radiation management in the latest publication from ISSUES in Science and Technology. 
tinyurl.com/c69rdsx

Morgan, Narayanan part of Washington speaker series
May 2013

Granger Morgan will moderate CMU's upcoming Washington Speaker Series, "Natural Disasters & Terrorism: Strategies for Protecting Critical Services &  Infrastructure" on Thursday, May 30 at Cosmos Club in Washington DC.  EPP alumna Anu Narayanan '12 will serve as guest speaker for the event.  tinyurl.com/dxm3vec

Hug receives award
May 2013

Gabriela Hug, assistant professor of EPP won the 2013 IEEE PES Outstanding Young Engineer Award. The award recognizes young engineers who have made outstanding contributions in the leadership of technical activities.

Peña receives scholarship
May 2013

EPP PhD student Ivonne Peña was awarded one of the five available scholarships to participate in the Summer Academy on Sustainable Energy Finance held by the Frankfurt Finance School and the UNEP Collaborating Centre for Climate and Sustainable Energy Finance, in July 14-19th. This is a highly competitive program, directed towards professionals and experts from different disciplines that work on areas related with Financing of Climate Change

Scott Institute to give policy briefing
May 2013

The Scott Institute for Energy Innovation will host a policy briefing on a new policymaker guide that summarizes research by the RenewElec project. The 3-year project comes to the conclusion that reaching a 20-30% renewable portfolio standard goal is possible, but not without changes in the management and regulation of the power system including accurately assessing and preparing for the operational effects of renewable generation.  The results of the project will be presented by EPP professors Jay Apt, Paulina Jamarillo, and EPP student Stephen Rose.  EPP professor Deborah Stine will moderate. tinyurl.com/caya6qu

EPP researchers find modest rebound effects from energy efficiency efforts
May 2013

EPP professor Ines Azevedo and post-doc Brinda Thomas report in a pair of papers (part 1 and part 2) in the Ecological Economics journal that the once popular "rebound effect" in energy savings or carbon emissions that occur when homeowners buy a hybrid vehicle, switch to a CFL light bulb, or make any other energy efficiency investment is modest in comparison to recent reports.  tinyurl.com/d9pgumc

Horner, Vaishnav top runners
May 2013

EPP students Nathaniel Horner and Parth Vaishnav, are, for the second year in a row, selected as the top runners for the student case competition organized by USAEE, http://www.usaee.org/usaee2013/. Last year the two CEDM students ended up second place.

Fuchs receives career fellowship
Apr 2013

Erica Fuchs has been awarded one of four Dean’s Early Career Fellowship across CIT!  These Fellowships are a new program just established by dean  Jim Garrett.  Candidates are nominated by their Department Head and reviewed by the CIT Faculty Review Committee, who then make recommendations to the Dean. 

Robinson recognized
Apr 2013

Allen Robinson, EPP professor and Head/Professor of Mechanical Engineering, has been named the Raymond J. Lane Distinguished Professor in Mechanical Engineering.  Allen is also a member of the Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies.  Allen is not only an outstanding educator, but also his research focus on the atmospheric transformation of particulate matter emissions from cars, trucks, and other combustion systems will have a lasting impact on our environment.  Allen is a natural fit for the Lane Professorship, which Ray and Stephanie Lane endowed in memory of Ray’s late father, a graduate of Mechanical Engineering at CMU.  A celebration will be held this fall.

Mauter to collaborate with CEE faculty
Apr 2013

CEE Professors Jeanne VanBriesen and David Dzombak were awarded funding from the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology Alliance (PITA) to evaluate an organic carbon characterization method as a way to better predict membrane fouling potential in wastewaters.  They will be collaborating with EPP's Meagan Mauter, Aquatech, a Pennsylvania company led by CEE Alumnus Venkee Sharma (E' 87), and CEE graduate student Lauren Strahs.

Whitacre developing edible electronics for medical device industry
Apr 2013

It sounds futuristic, but today Carnegie Mellon University researchers are developing edible electronic devices that can be implanted in the body to improve patient care.   "We are creating electronically active medical devices that can be implanted in the body," said Christopher Bettinger, an assistant professor in MechE and Biomed Engineering at CMU. "The idea is for a patient to consume a pill that encapsulates the device."  Bettinger, along with EPP professor Jay Whitacre,  is creating edible power sources for medical devices that can be taken orally using materials found in the daily diet.  tinyurl.com/bvs9let

Scott Institute receives $30 Million
Apr 2013

Carnegie Mellon University has received a $30 million gift from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to dramatically expand its strategic initiative to address energy research, education and innovation. The gift - the largest private foundation grant in CMU's history - will propel the Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation to coordinate university-wide activities with the overall goals of improving energy efficiency and developing new, clean, affordable and sustainable energy sources.
http://tinyurl.com/cwo2n6k

Frey to chair EPA committee
Apr 2013

Dr. H. Christopher Frey (EPP '91), Distinguished University Professor of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering at North Carolina State University, has been appointed by US Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson to chair the independently chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) for two years. Frey began his new role Oct. 1.  http://tinyurl.com/cx3ue9j

EPP students receive NSF fellowships
Apr 2013

EPP doctoral students Leslie Abrahams and Casey Canfield have been selected to receive 2013 National Science Foundation (NSF) Fellowships.

Schweizer's work recognized by ERL
Apr 2013

The work of Vanessa Schweizer (EPP PhD '10) and Elmar Kriegler (EPP visiting scholar, 2006-08) is featured among the best papers published by Environmental Research Letters in 2012. They examined the internal consistency of the prolific IPCC SRES scenarios and found wide variation in their internal consistency. They also found that, in the absence of climate policy, futures with high carbon dioxide emissions had strong internal consistency under a variety of socioeconomic assumptions, while low emissions futures did not.  tinyurl.com/bmm3jkm

Apt's work recognized by ERL
Apr 2013

"Cost analysis of stratospheric albedo modification delivery systems," a paper co-authored by EPP professors Jay Apt and David Keith has been recognized as one of the best papers published by Environmental Research Letters in 2012. tinyurl.com/d9ndk63

Breaux joins EPP
Mar 2013

Travis Breaux  is now officially an affiliated member of the EPP faculty. His web page can be found at: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~breaux/

Ovon receives fellowship
Mar 2013

EPP grad student Carol Ovon has received the 2013-2014 Schlumberger Foundation "Faculty for the Future" fellowship. 
http://www.facultyforthefuture.net/content/about-faculty-future-program

CMU wins DoE Better Buildings Case Competition
Mar 2013

Continuing Carnegie Mellon's streak from last year, a team of students from CMU won the Best Proposal award for "The Everything Store" case study and the Most Innovative award for "Fort Worth" case study.  Team members include EPP students Alan Jenn, Mili-Ann Tamayao and Allison Weiss.   tinyurl.com/bwbpmjv

Scott Institute to explore solar, wind & smart grid technologies
Mar 2013

The Wilton E. Scott Institute for Energy Innovation, led by EPP professor M. Granger Morgan, is focused on improving energy efficiency and developing new, clean, affordable and sustainable energy sources. "When we put out our first call for short proposals, we quickly received 26 innovative ideas from across the campus," Morgan said. "The response demonstrates the many opportunities to build new bridges and undertake new innovative projects on our campus." tinyurl.com/bq485wy

Scott Institute publishes shale gas guide
Mar 2013

A team of Carnegie Mellon researchers visited Capitol Hill recently to encourage legislators to establish a government-university-industry research and education initiative to inform the public about issues surrounding shale gas and the environment so the nation can better prepare for its energy future.  The team included Jeanne VanBriesen, EPP professors Michael Griffin and Allen Robinson, and Austin Mitchell, a Ph.D. student in EPP.  tinyurl.com/agzjkoc 

Scott Institute hosts shale gas symposium
Mar 2013

The Scott Institute and the National Academy of Engineering will host a symposium titled "Shale Gas: Implications for America's Regional Manufacturing Economies" from 8:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m., Thursday, April 4 in McConomy Auditorium.   The event features an overview by President Cohon, followed by three panel discussions on "Industrial Development," "Natural Gas for Transportation" and "Environmental Impacts."   tinyurl.com/a3jhojr
 

CIT ranks fifth in the nation
Mar 2013

U.S. News & World Report has released the 2014 edition of "America's Best Graduate Schools" and ranked CIT as fifth in the nation for graduate engineering schools, two points better than the last ranking, in a three-way tie with Georgia Tech and University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Cranor's work in WSJ
Mar 2013

EPP faculty member Lorrie Cranor wrote a short guide to navigating FB privacy options that was published in the Wall Street Journal. Check out her article, info graphic, and video at: http://on.wsj.com/XDvyvz

Mashayekh Named 2012 CMU T-SET UTC Student of the Year
Feb 2013

Yeganeh Mashayekh has been selected to receive the 2012 CMU T-SET UTC Student of the Year Award in recognition of her accomplishments, scholarship and contributions to transportation technologies. T-SET is a University Transportation Center that focuses on technologies that will make transportation safer and more efficient and is comprised by well-established transportation experts from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pennsylvania (Penn).

Hoss featured on Science website
Feb 2013

EPP doctoral student Frauke Hoss was recently featured on Science Now.  It was reading a scientific article about problems with the Red River flooding predictions that motivated her to study the error inherent in such forecasts. Frauke has developed a new method for communicating this uncertainty to emergency responders.  http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/02/handicapping-the-rivers-rise.html?ref=hp
http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2013/02/six-second-science-6secsci.html

Aquion Energy recognized
Feb 2013

Aquion Energy, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off and battery technology company founded by EPP professor Jay Whitacre, has been named as one of MIT Tech Review's 50 Disruptive Companies of 2013.  http://www2.technologyreview.com/tr50/2013/

Hendrickson part of new NRC study
Feb 2013

EPP professor Chris Hendrickson serves on the National Research Council Committee to Evaluate Energy-Efficiency and Sustainability Standards Used by the Department of Defense for Military Construction and Repair.  According to a new study by the committee, the U.S. Department of Defense should continue to require that its new buildings or major renovations to facilities be designed to achieve a LEED-Silver or equivalent rating, says a new report from the National Research Council.

Michalek Discusses Electric Vehicles and Public Policy in The Daily Beast
Feb 2013

In an interview in The Daily Beast, Associate Professor Jeremy J. Michalek discusses hybrid and electric vehicles, batteries, costs, emissions, charging infrastructure investments, and public policy, identifying technical and economic challenges & opportunities and discussing strategies and issues for policy.
http://tinyurl.com/bck3waj

Michalek Compares Hybrid and Electric Cars on Pittsburgh's NPR news station
Feb 2013

In an interview with The Allegheny Front on WESA, Pittsburgh's NPR news station, Associate Professor Jeremy J. Michalek compares hybrid, electric, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, identifying differences in range and refueling needs, cost, and potential benefits for national security and air emissions.
www.alleghenyfront.org/story/cmu-studies-electric-vs-hybrid-cars

Ilic receives award
Feb 2013

EPP professor Marija Ilic has is the recipient of the 2013 Steven J. Fenves Award.  She selected based on her significant contributions to electric power systems and nominated by José M. F. Moura. 
www.cit.cmu.edu/faculty_staff/faculty_awards/fenves.html.

EPP research to be presented at upcoming conference
Feb 2013

Carbon capture research done by EPP faculty members, Sean McCoy and Mitch Small, and EPP doctoral students Olga Popova and Stephen Rose, will be presented at the STGlobal 13th Annual Conference on Science & Technology in Society.   Their paper is titled 'Spatial stochastic modeling of sedimentary formations to assess CO2 storage potential. A case study for the Pennsylvania Part of the Appalachian Basin'.

Max Franklin discusses E&TIM dual degree
Feb 2013

E&TIM Dual Degree alumnus Max Franklin (E&TIM '11) was featured in the Fall/Winter 2012 Carnegie Mellon Engineering Magazine. Max describes how the program has prepared him for the workplace.  "I have the technical depth of an M.S. student, but many of the concepts I was introduced to include innovative methodologies or new ways of looking at produce development."  
http://www.cit.cmu.edu/alumni/magazine/winter_fall_2012/franklin_etim.html

E&TIM students participate in Heinz College challenge
Feb 2013

Congratulations to 2013 Heinz College's Social Innovation Solutions Challenge participants!  The Challenge calls upon students to submit innovative product solutions to remedy specific social concerns.
1st place team: Jillian Chen (ETIM '13), for a social media site for Latin American school teachers
2nd place team: Prateek Arora (ETIM '13), for a backpack-like water transportation and filtration system
3rd place team: Dhir Kothari (ETIM '13), 3rd place team for a nutrient bar with an oral re-hydration solution
4th place team: Anisha Jhaveri, Apeksha Mehta, and Ameya Bhat, (ETIM '13) for rehabilitation equipment for paraplegics using NASA anti-gravity technology and electric stimulation.

Peha takes part in Global Young Scientists Summit
Feb 2013

The Global Young Scientists Summit, recently held in Singapore, brought together the next generation of leading researchers from around the world to rub shoulders with laureates from the fields of medicine, chemistry, and physics. The invitation-only meeting was the first such event of its kind held in the country.  EPP professor Jon Peha was in attendance and spoke about the new era for radio spectrum management.  http://theinstitute.ieee.org/ieee-roundup/opinions/ieee-roundup/nobel-laureates-and-young-scientists-work-to-solve-global-challenges

Azevedo contributes to NRC committee report
Feb 2013

EPP Assistant Research Professor and CEDM Executive Director Ines Azevedo contributed to the recently released  National Research Council (NRC) committee report on "Assessment of Advanced Solid State Lighting". More information on the report can be found here.  http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=18279

Sutanto to compete in Disney design competition
Jan 2013

A team of Carnegie Mellon University engineering students are among six finalists to compete in a nationwide design competition created by Walt Disney Imagineering to promote diversity and showcase design skills.  EPP undergrad Andre Sutanto will travel to California with a team from CMU to showcase a new interactive adventure that tells a compelling story.  The finalist teams were awarded a five-day, all-expense-paid trip to Imagineering headquarters in Glendale, Calif. Each team will be judged on a variety of factors including their ability to collaborate across different disciplines and backgrounds, the mastery of their individual skills, and the ability to tell an engaging story.  http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2013/january/jan29_disneycompetition.html?utm_source=January+31%2C+Vol.+23%2C+No.+27&utm_campaign=Jan.+31&utm_medium=email

EPP alumna Shalini Vajjhala working to fight flooding
Jan 2013

Recently, The Rockefeller Foundation pledged $3 million in support of a new public-private program to help cities finance and build defense systems against severe weather events and rising sea levels. The project is a collaboration including c.dots development and CH2M Hill. Shalini Vajjhala is cofounder c.dots development, a company committed to “public service and private sector innovation.”  Read more here:  http://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2013/01/22/archive/8 and http://cdotsdevelopment.com

Small to chair NRC study
Jan 2013

EPP professor Mitch Small to chair a new National Research Council (NRC) study on Risk Management and Governance Issues in Shale Gas Extraction.  The Committee will oversee two workshops this summer as it principal activity.  
http://sites.nationalacademies.org/DBASSE/BECS/CurrentProjects/DBASSE_069201#.UPQq7288B8E

Balebako and Frankenstein join GSA
Jan 2013

EPP doctoral students Will Frankenstein and Rebecca Balebako have been elected to serve on the CMU Graduate Student Assembly (GSA).  Their responsibilities include attending monthly GSA meetings, distributing GSA announcements, joining a university committee to represent graduate student views, and managing the EPP GSA budget.  To learn more about GSA, please visit: www.cmu.edu/stugov/gsa/

Nandakumar discusses marcellus shale research
Jan 2013

A team of  students at Carnegie Mellon University evaluated new ways of transforming valuable natural gas liquids from Marcellus Shale deposits into aromatic chemicals.  "It was a pretty creative project where we took an existing process as guidance and used it to invent our own new, innovative process," said EPP undergrad Neha Nandakumar (E'13).  The team was required to design an entire process plant and perform a technical analysis in which they calculated the chemical details of the plant through heat and material balances.
http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/environment/2013/winter/innovative-aromatics.shtml

Cranor to take part in privacy panel
Jan 2013

CMU will observe Data Privacy Day, Jan. 28, with a panel discussion about the ways that mobile phones and social networks make it harder for people to maintain their privacy.  Norman Sadeh will moderate the panel discussion, "Will the Mobile Web and Social Networking Mark the End of Privacy?" from 2 to 3:15 p.m. Jan. 28 in Newell-Simon Hall 3305. The panel includes Alessandro Acquisti, associate professor of information technology and public policy; Lorrie Cranor, associate professor of computer science, engineering and public policy and co-director of the privacy engineering masters program; Jason Hong, associate professor of human-computer interaction; and Travis Breaux, assistant professor of computer science.  Following the discussion, the university's research and educational activities regarding privacy will be showcased at a poster fair in the Newell-Simon Hall atrium.

Michalek discusses electric vehicle chargers and the fiscal cliff
Jan 2013

The “fiscal cliff” bill passed by the U.S. Congress includes extensions to energy tax credits, including credits for installing electric vehicle chargers. But a new study by EPP professor Jeremy Michalek suggests that chargers are among the least cost-effective ways to save gasoline.
http://www.cmu.edu/news/stories/archives/2013/january/jan7_chargersnoteffective.html

CMU Portugal Hosts Symposium Jan. 21
Jan 2013

The CMU Portugal program will hold an Inaugural Symposium for the second phase of the partnership on Monday, Jan. 21 in Portugal. The symposium will include presentations by several program officials and professors, including: João Claro, national director of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program; José M.F. Moura, director of the Carnegie Mellon Portugal Program at CMU; and EPP professors Pedro Ferreira and Marija Ilic. See the agenda at http://www.cmuportugal.org/tiercontent.aspx?id=4466.

Allen Robinson returning to CMU
Jan 2013

Allen Robinson will become Department Head of Mechanical Engineering, effective February 2013.   Allen is currently a professor in the Departments of Atmospheric Science and Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University. He was on the faculty in CIT for 14 years with a joint appointment in Mechanical Engineering and EPP.

Hug receives NSF grant
Jan 2013

Gabriela Hug, an assistant professor in electrical and computer engineering and engineering and public policy, has received the National Science Foundation Early Career Development Award, its most prestigious award for junior faculty. She was awarded a five-year, $400,000 grant to make the electric power grid more secure and flexible. Hug reports that she is recommending a "distributed approach" to grid operations, which is capable of handling the computational complexity resulting from the placement of a large number of power flow devices in the system. Read more.

Canfield selected to attend NIEES seminar
Jan 2013

EPP Doctoral Student Casey Canfield has been selected to attend the The National Institute for Energy Ethics and Society (NIEES), a week-long seminar in energy research to examine ethical and societal issues associated with US energy choices.  The seminar will take place at Arizona State University in early April.