What in the world is a Band-Beesten?

ME News
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING • WINTER 2012
What in the world is a Band-Beesten?
It rocks! It rolls! It spins! Look! It flashes! The BandBeesten, a human-assisted robotic drumset, is the newest star
of the Sound of Idaho, aka Idaho’s Vandal Marching Band. The
Beesten, which walks with its drummer, debuted at the Dad’s
Day football game on the Moscow campus in November.
This project to create a walking drumset has been
underway for several years, but kept hitting roadblocks in the
area of movement. The first prototypes had wobbly wheels
or multiple intricate walking “feet” which operated with
limited or jerky motion. That major problem was solved when
team members discovered the ballbot, a recently developed
kind of robot which balances on top of a sphere, enabling
smooth movement in any direction. The Beesten’s feet look
suspiciously like basketballs, and are controlled by three
motors which enable unlimited motion in all directions.
The project members are master’s student Dan Mathewson, team leader, and
seniors Travis Doerzaph, Chris Ohlinger and Steven Watts. Students from computer
science added the high-powered LED lights that make the drum set so totally
spectacular it nearly takes your breath away.
For the full story and to see the Beesten in action, check out these websites:
http://www.uidaho.edu/engr/newsevents/features/band-beesten
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NngaQTGajeQ&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnTyloQz7Hc&NR=1
Photos by Joe Pallen, U of I Photographic Services: Band-Beesten played by Mat Schaefer, head of the drum
line in the Sound of Music Vandal Marching Band. The Band-Beesten is guided by a tiny computer which Mat
wears on his belt.
Kysen Palmer: what’s next?
Kysen Palmer
has been the kind
of student everyone
wishes for: studious,
curious, involved,
responsible, willing,
active in student
organizations and
with his colleagues.
After earning his BSME, a master’s
degree seemed like a logical next step.
A year into his MSME program, he was
looking at two more semesters and then
graduation, marriage, and a job.
An internship during the summer at
the Boeing Company’s Advanced Physics
Lab sponsored by NASA’s Idaho Space
Grant Consortium took his path on a
surprising and exciting turn. Early in
the fall semester two researchers with
whom he had worked at Boeing asked an
unexpected question: Was he interested
in going to Cambridge for a PhD?
Well of course! And suddenly
everyone was scrambling—paperwork,
visa, an earlier wedding at Thanksgiving,
finishing the master’s degree quickly
as an MEME. Was everything going to
fall into place by January when he was
expected to be in England? With the
help of a lot of people who were also
excited about this opportunity for Kysen,
it did. We wished him the best and
somewhat enviously saw him off to his
new adventure.
This website gives you more
information about Kysen’s experiences
in Moscow and what he is pursuing at
Cambridge:
http://www.uidaho.edu/engr/
newsevents/features/kysen-palmer
1
COE Capstone receives kudos
From Larry Stauffer, Dean, COE
A couple months ago President Nellis submitted an
application for our College’s capstone design program to
the National Academy of Engineering. They were seeking to
highlight programs as national examples of integrating real
world experiences into engineering education. The College of
Engineering’s capstone design program was selected as one
of 29 examples in the nation that demonstrate successful,
sustaining programs. We are also one of just seven capstone
programs selected for the report, which is impressive
considering virtually every engineering program in the country
has a capstone program.
Those of you who have attended one of our Engineering
Design EXPO events will understand the significant impact
the capstone design experience has on our students. This
NAE recognition is timely as this school year we will be
hosting our 20th Annual Engineering Design EXPO! Thanks
to faculty members Steve Beyerlein, Edwin Odom, and Jay
McCormack (Mechanical Engineering), Greg Donohoe
(Computer Science), Tom Hess (Biological and Agricultural
Engineering), Brian Johnson (Electrical and Computer
Engineering), Chris Wagner (Electrical and Computer
Engineering), Fritz Fiedler (Civil Engineering), and David Drown
(Chemical and Materials Engineering) who helped with the
nomination process and teach capstone design. I also want to
thank all of the other faculty in the College who have played
such an important role in our capstone design program over the
years. This recognition by the National Academy of Engineering
is a testament to the hard work and talents of many of our
faculty, staff, and students as well as our industry sponsors over
the years.
ME 223 Final Project features Arduino*
By Christian O’Bryan
Christian O’Bryan and Stephen Elsbury
ME News is the newsletter of the University
of Idaho Mechanical Engineering Department,
PO Box 440902, Moscow, ID 83844-0902.
Phone (208) 885-6579.
Any opinions expressed herein are those of the
writers and do not necessarily represent the
official position(s) of the university or its Board
of Regents.
Editor: Elaine Queener
2
Our final project
for our ME223 design
class was assigned
with simple guidelines.
We were told to build
a prototype for a
technology product
featuring arduino.
Our product was to
be something that
was motivating to us
and that would be
marketable. We chose
to prototype a system Power & Torque in real time
to measure power
output of a cyclist
arduino to take force and angular velocity
that would ideally be both affordable
measurements. We then computed this
and convenient to install. We found this
data to get graphs of torque and power
product idea appealing first because it
output vs. time.
is challenging, secondly because two
The team was made up of Stephen
of our team members are cyclists, and
finally because all of the existing products Elsbury, Austin Tanner, Kelsey Rayborn,
and Christian O’Bryan.
are incredibly expensive (on the order
of $1000-$3000) and inconvenient to
*Arduino is an open-source
install.
electronics prototyping platform based
Our final product plan is a pedal or
shoe that would wirelessly transmit force
and angular velocity to a bike computer
that would calculate and display power
output. Our prototype used forcesensitive resistors and pushbuttons with
on flexible, easy-to-use hardware
and software. It’s intended for artists,
designers, hobbyists, and anyone
interested in creating interactive objects
or environments. This information from
the Arduino website.
U-Idaho Transportation Institute receives $3.4 million in further research funding
Article by Tara Roberts from U-IDAHO NEWS
The extension of a federal grant will
allow researchers at the University of
Idaho to continue working to improve
the nation’s transportation system for
people and the environment.
The U.S. Department of
Transportation awarded the University
of Idaho’s National Institute for
Advanced Transportation Technology
(NIATT), a total of $3.4 million to run a
Tier 1 University Transportation Center
for a second year. There are only 10 Tier
1 centers in the country.
to achieve a more sustainable
transportation system,” said Ahmed
Abdel-Rahim, one of NIATT’s lead
researchers.
Two of NIATT’s major research
areas are engine design and trafficcontrol technology. Improved engines
can reduce pollution, but so can
transportation control systems that
reduce traffic congestion and encourage
fuel-efficient driving habits, or “ecodriving.”
NIATT Director Karen DenBraven said
the center’s goal is to reduce both fuel
consumption and pollution emissions
by finding ways to better manage and
operate the transportation system and
improve education for drivers.
“We’re working at the intersection
of those two areas, and nobody has
really done that to the extent that we
are doing here before,” DenBraven said.
“We’re envisioning this is going to be an
entirely new area of research. There is so
much to be done.”
“Basically, the theme is integrating
the vehicle, vehicle operator and the
transportation control infrastructure
Other NIATT projects include using
driving simulators to teach users how
to reduce the environmental impact of
their driving, gathering and studying
real-time vehicle data, improving
engineering education methods and
developing alternative-fuel vehicles
such as a hybrid Formula One race car,
constructed by university students.
Abdel-Rahim said the grant’s first
year funded foundational research,
and the second year will allow
NIATT to move into the testing and
implementation phase for the new
tools and methods the institute has
developed.
“We want what we develop to be
used,” DenBraven said. “The University
of Idaho is a national leader in
technology transfer.”
Rey DeLeon receives President’s Minority Doctoral Candidates Award
In an effort to promote diversity
within graduate education and to recruit
the best and brightest in the fields of
science, technology, engineering and
mathematics, the University of Idaho’s
President’s Doctoral Scholars Award
helps minority students continue their
studies and research.
President M. Duane Nellis has
named mechanical engineering student
Anthony Rey DeLeon the recipient of
this year’s award. DeLeon will receive
$50,000 annually for three years,
covering tuition and fees and providing
him a stipend. The scholarship may be
renewed for a fourth year. “I feel greatly
honored to receive such a prestigious
award,” he said.
DeLeon, who is from Filer, ID, and of
Hispanic heritage, received his BSME and
MSME degrees with highest honors from
Boise State University and is studying for
his doctorate under Dr. Ralph Budwig,
director of engineering at U-Idaho’s
Boise campus.
DeLeon’s “home-built” tile display
cluster, an assembly of multiple monitors
that act as a single, high-definition
viewing display. He uses the GPUs of the
tile display for the computations and the
high-definition display to visualize the
results.
DeLeon’s research involves
developing a novel, short-term
wind forecasting capability on GPUaccelerated supercomputers that
resolves the wind on smaller spatial
resolutions than current regional
weather models used in wind
forecasting. The goal is to produce
accurate wind power forecasts to help
reduce the difficulty of balancing energy
Rey DeLeon
resources that electrical grid operators
face because of the intermittent nature
of the wind.
This project started in 2007 with Dr.
Inanc Senocak at Boise State University.
DeLeon joined the development team in
2011 to begin working on this project for
his Master’s thesis. He graduated from
BSU in 2012 with an M.S. in Mechanical
Engineering and continues to work on
the wind forecasting simulation as the
primary software developer. He said he
continues on pg 8
3
ALUMNI NEWS
Baisikeli Ugunduzi has the answer
FOR!
PEOPLE!
John Gershenson, PhD
WHO!
CEO, Co-founder
001 906-370-5352 (USA)
DEPEND!
20 0705092587 (Kenya)
ON!
BAISIKELI 254
John@baisikeliugunduzi.com
www.baisikeliugunduzi.com
UGUNDUZI BICYCLES!
Imagine starting out for work in
your car in the morning, in the dark,
your car is loaded with 50 lb bags of
wheat destined for the market. Suddenly
you find that you have a flat tire. You
have no spare. Now imagine that this
happens maybe on average one or two
days a week. Imagine that your family is
counting on you getting that wheat to
market so that they can be sustained for
another week with necessities.
The spare parts shop in Kitele, Kenya
You still have the heavy bags of grain.
You still have a family to sustain, and
you still have flat tires several days of
the week; no reliable spare tube, or
pump.
Imagine hearing about Milele Tubes,
a miraculous bicycle tube that never
goes flat, is affordable, and, better yet,
is available in your village market! Such
is the brainchild, now a reality, of John
Gershenson, PhD ME ’95, CEO and cofounder with Ben Mitchell of Baisikeli
Ugunduzi (innovative bicycle) in Kitale,
Kenya.
A section of the milele tube; it never
flats.
4
http://www.uidaho.edu/engr/
newsevents/features/baisikeli-ugunduzi
Internship in Africa!
How would you like to spend your
summer working in Kenya AND even
be an influential team member in the
design of Baisikeli Ugunduzi’s next
product? Baisikeli Ugunduzi is looking
for two interns to join the team in Kitale,
Kenya, during the summer of 2013. For more information about the
internship visit,
www.BaisikeliUgunduzi.com, or email
info@BaisikeliUgunduzi.com, with
questions.
Ben Mitchell, Titus and John Gershenson
Change the picture. Imagine that
instead of a car, all you have to transport
your wheat (or in this case, maize) is
a bicycle, and not a nice new Trek or
Cannondale, but a rather rickety—but
serviceable—second-hand Huffy or
Roadmaster that has seen better days.
problem with flats routinely caused
the loss of at least one day’s wages per
week, and often more. The information
on Baisikeli Ugunduzi’s website will
amaze you. The way many people in the
world live is unimaginable to those of us
in the U.S.
Titus has been a reliable tester and
excellent salesman for milele tubes.
On a typical day Titus rides nearly 100
km, buying and selling maize in many
villages.
A bicycle is the vehicle of choice
among many rural/poor Africans for
moving people, produce, raw materials,
and anything else that needs to be
transported. The Milele Tube will
change people’s lives for the better in
a multitude of ways. In the past, the
Jessica Aldecoa, BSME S12, now
employed in the aerospace industry by
Boeing, was featured on the “Inspiring
Futures” University of Idaho website.
Jessica works in re-configuration of
aircraft interiors for different airlines
from all over the world. She found
her time at the University of Idaho
to be completely satisfying, “There’s
something for everyone at the University
of Idaho.”
Get the complete story:
http://www.uidaho.edu/inspire/stories/
jessica-aldecoa
NEWS FROM THE IDAHO FALLS CAMPUS
Clemente Parga goes the extra mile
University of Idaho Nuclear Engineering doctoral student,
Clemente Parga, is willing to go more than the extra mile to
earn his degree. Parga, a native of Texas, began his UI degree in
France after a brief stopover in Idaho Falls.
Parga is recipient of a three year fellowship to perform
doctoral research at the PLINIUS facility in CEA Cadarache,
France. The PLINIUS facility is dedicated to the experimental
study of hypothetical nuclear reactor severe accidents (core
meltdowns). His research goal, simply stated, is to improve
the accuracy of temperature measurements in the VULCANO
and KROTOS facilities. VULCANO is a corium melting facility;
KROTOS is a facility used to study fuel-coolant interactions
(steam explosions).
Along with occasional visits to Idaho Falls, Parga connects
by e-mail or Skype with his Major Professor, Dr. Akira Tokuhiro
and is a regular participant in weekly meetings with his research
group. Tokuhiro is based in Idaho Falls at the Center for
Advanced Energy Studies (CAES) which is a partnership of the
Idaho universities and the Idaho National Laboratory.
Parga with research equipment in Cadarache, France, one of the
largest nuclear research sites in Europe, hosting 21 fixed nuclear
installations including reactors, waste stockpiling and recycle
facilities, and research centers. It employs over 4,500 people,
and approximately 350 students and foreign collaborators carry
out research in the facility’s laboratories.
Students score high at ANSS Conference
Ammon Williams, master’s student in Chemical Engineering
and Rob Hoover, doctoral student in Nuclear Engineering,
earned high honors at the American Nuclear Society Student
Conference in Las Vegas. They received first and third place
respectively.
Dr. Supathorn Phongikaroon is the advisor for both
students. “I congratulate both of them for doing awesome work
showing the great impact to Nuclear Science and Technology.
All of their successes are coming from the support of the Center
for Advanced Energy Studies, Idaho National Laboratory and
the Department of Energy (DOE) in recognizing the potential
and growth of the Nuclear Engineering Program at the
University of Idaho – Idaho Falls campus.”
Ammon Williams, Rob Hoover and Supathorn Phongikaroon
at EXPO 2012.
Hoover’s published paper on a computational model of the
Mark IV electrorefiner placed first in the Chemical Separations
category for the 2012 Innovations in Fuel Cycle Research
Awards. This highly competitive, very prestigious recognition
comes with $3000 in prize money and an all expenses paid trip
to the American Nuclear Society Winter Meeting to present his
paper.
Hoover said, “It’s very exciting to receive this prestigious
award and recognition for the energy research we do here at
University of Idaho in Idaho Falls and Center for Advanced
Energy Studies.”
5
Tokuhiro and Omotowa speak at World Institute for
Nuclear Security
Nuclear Engineering
faculty member, Dr. Akira
Tokuhiro, was a guest speaker
at the World Institute for
Nuclear Security (WINS) in
Abuja, Nigeria, in September
2012. PhD student Olumuyiwa
Omotowa, a member of Dr.
Tokuhiro’s doctoral research
group in Idaho Falls, also
made a presentation at the
workshop.
examples of this in action.
His talk was attended by
participants drawn from
government organizations,
academia, research and
industry. Omotowa, better
known as “Olu,” discussed
his perspective, as a research
student at University of
Idaho, on the role of a
research engineer or scientist
in ensuring the safety of
nuclear or highly radioactive
materials. Areas such as risk
assessment of threats to
proprietary materials and data
were also covered.
WINS, an international
non-governmental
organization, aims to provide
a platform where nuclear
Akira Tokuhiro in discussion with a colleague at the WINS
experts share best practices
conference.
on handling and security
This trip to Abuja, Nigeria,
of nuclear materials. The
held special meaning for
September workshop, titled “Scientist Engagement,” was
Olu since it is his “hometown.” Olu selected the University of
a collaboration of WINS, the Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory
Idaho’s Idaho Falls location for his doctoral studies in Nuclear
Authority and the Nigerian Atomic Energy Commission. The
Engineering after completing a master’s degree at the University
event was an opportunity to share experiences in nuclear
of Sheffield in the U.K. UI’s partnership with the Idaho National
security matters and to identify relevant skill competencies.
Laboratory (INL) in the Center for Advanced Energy Studies in
Speakers were from agencies in the U.S., Nigeria, Ghana and the Idaho Falls made it an ideal place to continue on to the PhD. INL
United Kingdom.
is the leading national laboratory for nuclear research.
Dr. Tokuhiro spoke about ways to engage scientists and
engineers in the process and practice of security and to give
Tokuhiro receives PST Award
Dr. Akira Tokuhiro, Director of the UI Nuclear Engineering
program and Mechanical Engineering Department faculty
member, was been chosen to receive the 2012 Energy Educator
of the Year Award. The award is given the by Partnership for
Science and Technology (PST).
PST (www.p-s-t.org) has a long history of support of
energy education. Its predecessor, the Atomic Committee, was
formed in 1949. PST is a non-profit, public organization whose
mission is “advocating for advancement of science, energy and
technology…”
Lane Allgood, Executive Director for PST, states in the
notification letter for the award that Dr. Tokuhiro was selected
for “leadership, passion and vision to advance nuclear energy
education…” The award will be presented at an Idaho Falls
banquet in mid-February.
Dr. Tokuhiro and master’s student Caitlin Harker
6
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
Dear Alumni and Friends of the Mechanical
Engineering Department,
One of the great things about my job is the opportunity to
see freshmen become seniors who in turn become engineers.
For the last two years I have taught a section of our freshman
Introduction to Mechanical Design class, alternating each
semester with Bob Stephens. For our brand new students this
is the first exposure to engineering concepts at the university
level. Many of our younger alumni know Dr. Stephens because
he has taught the Intro class since 2002. He has remarked more
than once that because of that class he has known virtually
all of our graduates for the last ten or so years, and has seen
them grow and mature into engineers. He kindly lent me his
notes and gave me pointers on how to teach various concepts,
and I could always turn to him with questions I had about how
to deal with a particular issue. I have been very appreciative
to him for that. Coming from teaching primarily senior and
graduate level courses, it was a big, but rewarding, change for
me. In the class students learn about vectors and units while
using that funny green engineering paper. They also learn
important life skills, such as turning in homework on time,
attending classes, and working with other students on lab or
design projects. We sometimes wonder if anything we teach
them has sunk in. Then we see them later on in upper-division
courses and see the tremendous technical progress they have
made, as well as a distinct increase
in maturity. It is no wonder that
universities have been training-grounds
for young people for hundreds of years.
As a faculty, we discuss our
curriculum, and occasionally ask
ourselves whether or not it is worth
continuing to offer an introductory
engineering course. Such a course was
not available when I was a freshman.
We come to the conclusion that it is
important for us as a faculty to get to know our students as
soon as they come into the program. Otherwise we wouldn’t
see them until the latter part of their sophomore year or when
they are juniors. By that time, many may have already left
the program. By working with them early on, we can provide
better guidance to them and get better feedback on their
performance. We also want them to understand what a great
career engineering is!
We are grateful to you for your support of the Department.
As always, let us know how you are doing. We would love to
hear from you.
Warmest Regards,
John Crepeau, Ph D, P.E.
Keep in touch! We want to hear from you!
Mail to:
Mechanical Engineering Department, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter Dr. MS 0902, Moscow, ID 83844-0902
or e-mail: medept@uidaho.edu
Name E-Mail Address Phone City State Zip UI Degree and Year Employer Position Comments Donate to the ME Department either by check sent to the address above; or electronically by going to
www.uidaho.edu/inspire and clicking on “Give Now.”
Under “Select a Fund or Priority,” type in “mechanical” to search funds. Suggested choices are:
;; Mechanical Engineering Scholarships
;; Endowed Chair for Mechanical Engineering
;; Mechanical Engineering - Senior Design Projects
;; Or another of your choosing
7
Robotic Technology in Rehabilitation
Hossein Taheri, ME PhD student
working with Dr. Eric Wolbrecht,
demonstrated Robot-Assisted Guitar
Hero for Finger Rehabilitation after
Stroke at the “Unconference” associated
with the 34th Annual International
Conference of the IEEE Engineering
in Medicine & Biology Society on
Engineering Innovation in Global Health.
The purpose of the one-day
unconference is to bring together all
those who care about addressing key
challenges in the translation of robotic
technology in rehabilitation. Attendees
are expected to include clinicians,
engineers and individuals from the
private sector.
The unconference format is such
that the agenda/schedule for the day
is created live the day of the event.
This format facilitates discussions on
emerging developments and new ideas
in rehabilitation robotics.
Taheri demonstrates the Robot-Assisted Guitar Hero
This site will take you to Hossein’s abstract and also a video of the Robot-Assisted
Guitar Hero:
http://embc2012.embs.org/unconference/demo-competition-abstracts
Los Alamos Laboratory funds research
Continued from pg 3
is thankful for the chance to continue
this important work as part of his PhD
studies at UI Boise.
DeLeon is the second recipient
of the President’s Doctoral Scholars
Award which is funded by Idaho
EPSCoR, INBRE, and the Institute for
Bioinformatics and Evolutionary Studies,
or IBEST. The award, given annually
as long as funding is available, was
established to provide competitive
financial support on par with the best
universities in the country and to foster
opportunities for minority doctoral
students in STEM programs at the
University of Idaho. President Nellis
stated, “Our institution is committed to
be a leader in science and engineering
innovation, a commitment that relies on
diversity and multiculturalism to drive
that innovation.”
8
Internships can provide valuable
work experience and connections
with future employers and other
professionals in the field. For Leslie
Kerby, all of this and more is true. Leslie,
an Idaho Falls-based doctoral student
in Nuclear Engineering, has also been
able to find and fix “ancient little bugs”
in computer code that bypassed the
critical eyes of experts. Some of the code
had been used by hundreds of different
people.
Leslie was selected to do a summer
internship at Los Alamos National
Laboratory (LANL) in Nevada last
summer. Her mentor, Dr. Stepan
Mashnik, tasked her with “studying…the
emission of light fragments from various
nuclear reactions.” Within her first week
on the job, Leslie learned the specified
model and code system, discovered a
problem and fixed it. Not bad for the
first seven days. Later in the summer she
went on to find and fix another “bug” in
Leslie talking with fellow PhD student
Richard Skifton (ME) at a recent Pizza,
Posters and Presentations research event
for students.
code that is used in several locations in
the world.
Upon her return to Idaho Falls to
continue her doctoral studies, Leslie was
awarded funding from LANL to support
her research. Leslie’s Major Professor is
Dr. Akira Tokuhiro.