2008 Duke Engineering

8/2/2019 2008 Duke Engineering

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E N G I N E E R I N G C H A N G E

Societys most pressing problems lie at the intersection of not only

science and engineering, but also policy, business, human behavior and

more. As a result, Engineeringboth as a professional discipline and as a

university curriculum and training ground for future problem solversis

clearly at a crossroads.

Whether the issues relate to energy and the environment,

medicine, security or learning and computation, we as engineers

have the opportunity to be the integrators who bridge wide-

ranging expertise and perspectives from diverse teams into

elegant, effective solutions.

Duke is committed to engineering research and education

in service to society. In March 2009, we will host a Summit on

the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenges in

Durham, North Carolina. Intended to be a national conversation

and call to action, the summit will engage the foremost thinkers

in engineering, science, policy, social sciences, business, law and

the media to set the stage for change that drives a sustainable future. Learn

more about the summit at: www.summit-grand-challenges.pratt.duke.edu.

The idea that a modern engineering education must bridge other disciplines

is a theme throughout our undergraduate and graduate programs. From

launching our LEED Platinum live-in engineering laboratory known as The

Home Depot Smart Home, to teaching undergraduate classes in a state of the

art cleanroom, to giving all students an opportunity to conduct research side

by side with our facultya Duke engineering education is an ambitious,

challenging, big-picture-focused endeavor.

And our research is having an impact across the globe as well. Duke faculty

developed new algorithms to detect improvised explosive devices that are

now being used by the military in Afghanistan. Duke engineering students

designed sustainable technology to provide villagers in Uganda and Peruwith a clean and safe water supply and traveled to those locales to put their

systems in place. Its not enough to build a prototype; our faculty has

developed noninvasive optical methods for detecting early-stage cancer

and then successfully shepherded their technology to clinical use.

Duke engineering is making a difference.

Sincerely,

Tom Katsouleas

Dean and Professor

1

Energy & Sustainability 2

Engineering Health 10

Beyond Bits & Bytes 22

Unique Facilities 32

Faculty Focus 40

Contacts & Board of Visitors 48

C O N T E N T S

Balanced Diet . Chasing Wave Power . Predicting the Weather .

Clean Water Needed . Key to Efficiency

Brain Pacemaker . Early Detection . Shining Light on Cancer .

Tiny Spies . Life Versus Death . Sneaking Through

Microrobotic Ballet . Lab on a Chip . Quantum Leap .

Tagged for Success . Virtual Sticky Notes

SMIF . HOP . Smart Home . DiVE

Career Tributes . Special Faculty Highlights

.

.

.

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3/27

The enrichment of soil by decomposing

plant matter is a complex process involving

many factors, including microbes, plants

and nutrients. It has been thought that

plants and microbes compete against each

other in the pursuit for these nutrients.

But that might not be the case. An

exhaustive study of more than 2,800 sam-

ples of decomposing plant matter from

locations spanning the globe

is providing new insights

into this competition.

According to Amilcare

Porporato, Associate

Professor of Civil

Engineering and his Ph.D.

student Stefano Manzoni, it

appears that a diet bal-

anced in nutrients helpscontrol soil fertility and the

normal release of the green-

house gas carbon dioxide

into the atmosphere during

decomposition.

They found that the pro-

portion of nitrogen to car-

bon in this organic matter

determines how much nitro-

gen becomes available to

plants in the soil and how

much carbon dioxide is released into the

atmosphere. Their study also yielded a uni-

versal mathematical formula that can pre-

dict the decomposition process anywhere

in the world.

One of the key findings is that

microbes can adapt and do fairly well in a

nutrient-poor environment. When their

diet is lacking in nitrogen, microbes tend

to react by releasing more car-

bon dioxide into the air and

taking in less mineral nitro-

gen from the soil. So plants

can get the much needed

nitrogen earlier in the decom-

position process from the fall-

en organic matter.

Maintaining enough soil

nitrogen is important in bothnative ecosystems and in farms

and orchards. Nitrogen is the

element that most limits plant

growth around the world.

These and future studies

should help predict how much

nitrogen becomes available

when organic matter is added

to the soil, either naturally or

through added mulches and

manures.

Balanced dietNitrogen and Carbon

For the first time, we have been ableto demonstrate that the pattern ofcarbon dioxide release into theatmosphere through decompositionis governed by the same propertieseverywhere, from the arctic circleto tropical rain forests.Amilcare Porporato

Published: Science 1 August 2008: Vol. 321. no. 5889, pp. 684 - 686

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

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ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY

Amilcare Porporato, top,

and Stefano Manzoni


4/27

Duke engineers are working to harvest ener-

gy from nontraditional sources such as ocean

waves, earthquakes or the vibrations caused

by heavy traffic on a bridge.

Jeff Scruggs, assistant professor of civil

and environmental engineering, hopes to

develop a universally applicable theory for

controlling devices to harvest energy from

various vibration phenomena for applica-

tions ranging from microwatt to megawatt

scales so that they run with minimal to

no human guidance once they are placed in

operation. He was awarded a 5-year National

Science Foundation Early CAREER award to

pursue his ideas.Scruggs is drawn to problem areas where

there may already be a commercially avail-

able technology but what is missing is an

understanding of how to use it to best advan-

tage. Often, the issue is that we dont yet

mathematically understand how the disparate

components within a technological system

influence each other, he explains. This is

especially true in the case of energy harvest-

ing technology, which is a very complex

interplay of mechanical, electrical and struc-

tural elements with a need for intelligent

feedback and control systems.

Brian Mann, an assistant professor of

mechanical engineering, is focused on the

design and testing of buoys to harvest energy

from ocean waves and subsequently power a

sensor network. Experiments will first be

performed in the lab, before moving to a

wave tank and finally the ocean. The investi-

gation will take into account the challenges

of real ocean environments, such as wave

height and frequency and wind speeds, all of

which can change considerably in a short

period of time

Researchers have been studying energy

harvesting devices that operate in linear

regimes, however were interested in usingnon-linearity as a way to take advantage of

what really happens in nature, Mann con-

tinued. We want to integrate sophisticated

theory into novel experimental devices to

extract usable electrical energy.

Mann specializes in nonlinear dynamics

and vibration - a research area that investi-

gates motion, stability behavior, and natural

phenomena that causes systems to evolve in

nature. He received an Office of Naval

Research Young Investigator award in 2008

for his ideas.

Energy Harvesting

Chasing Wave PowerRenewable energy makes up only 6.8%of U.S. energy consumption today.Source: Annual Energy Review 2007

4 5

Jeff Scruggs, above,

and Brian Mann, right




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Predicting the WeatherNew Model Empowers Scientists

About one-fifth of all the waterflowing into the worlds oceans from

rivers passes through the AmazonRiver Basin.

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Roni Avissar, above, and

Robert Walko, right

After seven years of intense effort, its cre-

ators believe that the Ocean Land

Atmosphere Model (OLAM) is now ready

for prime time. The model, which con-

tains more than 120,000 lines of comput-

er code, gives weather forecasters and cli-

mate scientists the abil-

ity to forecast the

weather and climatic

conditions with greater

accuracy and more tar-

geted geographical

specificity.

OLAMs inventors,

Robert Walko, Senior

Research Scientist, and

Roni Avissar, Professorof Civil Engineering,

believe they have worked

out any major bugs in

the model and feel confident that scientists

across the world can begin using this pow-

erful new tool. They have already started

running workshops to teach scientists how

to take advantage of its capabilities.

One of the keys to OLAMs power is

its ability to pinpoint specific areas and

include them into the model. Current

models, for example, may use only one

data point for the whole state of North

Carolina in a global assessment. However,

it is obvious that conditions on the coast

can be quite different than those in the

mountains. OLAM can take these and

other variations into

account, creating a

more useful and reliable

overall picture.

OLAM can also

model phenomena exist-

ing models cannot. For

example, when studying

the precipitation cycle

in the Amazon Basin,

scientists will for thefirst time be able to

reproduce the effects of

such weather factors as

El Nino or La Nina.

Weather and climate impacts every

aspect of peoples lives worldwide, and

now scientists have a better tool for

predicting when the next hurricane may

strike or what the effects of a global

two-degree temperature rise will have

on a specific region.


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One of the biggest challenges facing Third

World countries is the lack of clean drink-

ing water. While methods for purifying

water have changed little over the years, it

appears that a tool seen quite often in a

biomedical research lab may provide a new

way to treat water.

In a series of proof-of-concept experi-

ments, Duke engineers demonstrated that

short strands of genetic material could suc-

cessfully target a matching portion of a

gene in a common fungus found in water

and make it stop working. The relativelynew technology, known as RNA interfer-

ence (RNAi), makes use of short snippets

of genetic material that match like a

lock and key a cor-

responding segment of

a gene in the target.

When these snippets

enter a cell and attach

to the corresponding

segment, they can inhibit or block the

action of the target gene.

The studies were carried out by Cluadia

Gunsch, Assistant Professor of Civil

Engineering and her graduate student Sara

Morey. Since large-scale, centralized water

treatment and distribution systems can be

difficult to create in poorer nations,

Gunsch believes that purifying water in

the home is a more realistic goal.

The first prototypes would likely

involve a filter seeded with RNAi that

would eliminate pathogens as the waterpassed through it. These filters would like-

ly need to be replaced regularly, Gunsch

said, adding that she believes it would the-

oretically be possible to

create a living, or self-

replicating system, which

would not require

replacement.

Clean Water NeededUsing a Genetic Approach to Purification

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Sara Morey and Claudia Gunsch

Worldwide, more than 1.8 millionpeople die annually as a result ofwaterborne diseases.



7/27

One of the Holy Grails of materials science

is the development of so-called smart

materials. These would include such mate-

rials as aircraft and rocket skins that can

self-repair when damaged, or self-cool when

overheated. The goal of this research is to

create materials that act like human skin by

delivering liquid healing agents through a

network much like blood vessels.

Materials such as these will need effi-

cient delivery systems. One Duke engineer,

Adrian Bejan, J.A. Jones Professor ofMechanical Engineering at Dukes Pratt

School of Engineering,

believes that Mother Nature,

as illustrated by his provoca-

tive constructal theory, pro-

vides keen insights.

The constructal theory is

based on the principle that

flow systems evolve to mini-

mize imperfections, reduc-

ing friction or other forms of

resistance, so that the least amount of use-

ful energy is lost. He likes to use the

imagery of two trees, touching canopy to

canopy, to explain his view.

In addition to finding that flow is maxi-

mized by these branching larger-to-smaller-

to-larger systems, Bejan discovered that to

maintain this gain in efficiency, the tree

vasculature needs to become more complex

as the flow increases. This is an important

insight, he said, because as new smart

components become smaller, the efficiencyof the flow systems will need to increase.

Constructal design con-

cepts serve the vasculariza-

tion needs of these new

smart structures ideally,

because trees have evolved a

natural architecture for max-

imally delivering water

throughout the tree vol-

ume, Bejan said

Key to EfficiencyTree Branching

Examples of this branching designtendency are everywhere in nature,from the channels making up riverdeltas to the architecture of thehuman lung, where cascadingpathways of air tubes deliveroxygen to tissues.

Adrian Bejan, J.A. Jones Professor of Mechanical Engineering

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Adrian Bejan


8/27

For persons suffering from Parkinsons disease,

tremor, muscle contraction disorders (dysto-

nia) and possibly some forms of depression,

relief comes from a brain pacemaker. Called

deep brain stimulation, the pacemaker sends

electrical impulses to part of the brain, similar

to the way a cardiac pacemaker sends impulses

to the heart. The Food and Drug

Administration has approved the treatment for

a growing range of diseases.

Despite the success of deep brain stimula-

tion, there is much doctors do

not yet know about why and

how the treatment works.This lack of understanding

hampers the design new deep

brain stimulation devices.

More information may also

help doctors tune existing

devices to achieve better ther-

apeutic outcomes.

Biomedical engineer

Warren Grill is working to

solve these problems. In the

March 2008NeuroReport,

Grills team published research findings

demonstrating that the pattern of electrical

stimulation is one of the primary factors deter-

mining the effectiveness of deep brain stimu-

lation in relieving tremor. It was previously

known that the rate or frequency of stimula-

tion was critical to the success of the treat-

ment. The new study found that the pattern

of pulses was as important as the frequency,

and that non-regular patterns were not effec-

tive in relieving tremor.

The study was funded by

the National Institutes of

Health and was conducted byBiomedical Engineering grad-

uate student, Merrill Birdno,

in collaboration with Drs.

Alexis Kuncel and Alan

Dorval, both Research

Associates in Biomedical

Engineering, and Dr. Dennis

Turner, a neurosurgeon at

Duke University Medical

Center.

Brain PacemakerDeep Brain Stimulation Therapy

These new resultshelp to eliminateseveral possiblemechanisms of deepbrain stimulation a necessary step in

determining whatthe true mechanismis and may lead tonew patterns ofstimulation that aremore effective.Warren Grill

B E N E F I T :

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: ENGINEERING HEALTH

Warren Grill


9/27

Scientists may not have invented a cure for the common cold,

but it looks like they may soon be able to predict before

symptoms even appear which patients will actually get sick.

By coupling advanced computational methods with genet-

ic screening techniques, Lawrence Carin, professor of electrical

and computer engineering, and his medical center colleagues,

have found a way of predicting which people would be unlike-

ly to get sick because their particular genetic fingerprint

offers protection against the virus.

The new method provedhighly accurate in a recent

proof-of-principle study

involving 22 volunteers and

the rhinovirus, one of the

viruses responsible for the

common cold. By screening

more than 20,000 genes taken

from blood samples, Carin

and colleague Geoff Ginsburg,

discovered a handful of genes

that appear to protect people

from getting infected with

this particular virus. Results

are due soon on a similar

study involving the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). And in

the fall, the team plans to use the same method to study

Duke University students

during the upcoming flu season.

All in all, Carin is encouraged by the latest results andis confident that further studies could lead to a quick and

simple method for earlier detection of these common viruses,

as well as others.

While early identification could give doctors an opportu-

nity to take measures to lessen the impact of an infection,

Carin is leaving that to others. His goal is to figure out

which servicemen might come down with a viral infection

before they embark on an important mission. With his

DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) fund-

ing, he hopes that the results of his research will help the

Navy, for example, identify those submarine crew members

who are likely to come down with an infection that could

scuttle an important mission.

Early DetectionComputers and Genes

It is thought that the rhinovirus isresponsible for between one-thirdand one-half of all the cases ofthe common cold.

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Lawrence Carin


10/27

Duke biomedical engineers led by Nirmala Ramanujam have captured

three-dimensional images revealing microscopic changes to the innerworkings of cells that occur at the earliest stages of cancer, suggesting

a possible new way of disease detection.

Their findings in animals also suggest that so-called multi-photon

fluorescence microscopya technique that had generally been limited

to the basic science laboratorymight also find use in the clinic. The

ability to examine live tissue is critical because tissue removalthe

standard biopsy approach to diagnosiseffectively erases metabolic

features that are hallmarks of cancer.

The microscope they used in the new study is just one of several

light-based, or photonic, devices Ramanujams group is investigating

for their potential to identify biomarkers indicative of cancer.

Multi-photon fluorescence microscopy

uses pulses of laser light to excite molecules

with the natural capacity to give off light, or

fluoresce. In a paper published in the

December 2007Proceedings of the National

Academy of Sciences, Ramanujams team,

including former graduate student Melissa

Skala, used the imaging method to examinethe cell structure of hamsters in early stages

of oral cancer.

The 3D pictures revealed significant

differences in the structural and metabolic

characteristics of early cancer

versus non-cancer, making their

approach a promising new way

to detect disease. The National

Institutes of Health and a

Department of Defense

Predoctoral Traineeship Grant

supported the work.

Shining Light on CancerEarly Cancer Seen in 3-D

Lung and colorectal cancers are the mostcommonly diagnosed cancers in both men

and women, and are the leadingcause of death in both men andwomen, followed by prostate andbreast cancers.Source: United States Cancer Statistics: 2004 Incidence and Mortality

Nirmala

Ramanujam,

above, and

Melissa Skala,

right

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11/27

An ability to peer into the inner workings of a cell and spy on

its behavior would go a long way toward improving the

chances that physicians can better understand disease and fig-

ure out cures for them.

One approach being developed by Anne Lazarides,

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials

Science, is the creation of nanostructures small enough to get

inside a cell with the ability to report back what is going on.

To do this, she combines tiny particles of gold with strands of

genetic material to create a nanostructure with the ability to

perform this cellular espionage.

These nanostructures create sig-

nals from subtle changes in light

reflecting off their nanoscale sur-

faces, and their sub-cellular size and

their ability to absorb or scatter

light as their structure changesmakes them appealing as biological

sensors. Because they are just a few

thousandths the size of a living cell,

nanoparticles are small enough to

pass through cell membranes,

another reason they are an attractive

potential biomedical sensor.

Theoretically, nanostructures

that report on the presence of specif-

ic molecules could give scientists or medical researchers key

information about processes within the cell, such as cell differ-

entiation, or the triggering of protein synthesis from RNA.

Tiny SpiesNanoparticles Report from Inside the Cell

In order for a nanostructure to workwithin a living system, it needs toinclude a biological component, likeDNA, that recognizes other mole-cules. DNA is both the glue thatholds all the particles together andalso the material to which specific

target molecules bind.Anne Lazarides

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Anne Lazarides


12/27

A central theme of ecology is better understanding the genetics and dynamics of popu-

lation change and how molecular interactions can influence of these changes. While

many scientists in diverse fields are tackling this issue, a Duke engi-

neer is using modified bacteria and their interactions to gain

insights into the larger world.

Lingchong You, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering,

has in essence recreated the hunter-versus-hunted phenomenon,

exemplified by a lioness chasing down a lonely zebra, in a Petri dish

with lowly bacteria. In this example of a synthetic gene circuit, You

reprogrammed two distinct populations of E. coli as predator andprey and placed them together in the same environment.

In Yous system, low levels of prey in the environment caused the activation of a

suicide gene in the predator, causing them to die. However, as the population of

prey increased, it secreted into the environment a chemical that, when it achieved a

high enough concentration, stimulated a gene in the predator to produce an anti-

dote to the suicide gene. This led to an increase in predators, which in turn caused

the predator to produce another chemical that entered the prey cell and activated a

killer gene, causing the prey to die.

Such re-programmed bacteria could see a wide variety of applications in medicine,

environmental cleanup and bio-computing. You believes that there are unlimited

ways to change variables in this system to examine in

detail the interplay between environment, gene regula-

tion and population dynamics.

Life Versus DeathKill or Be Killed in the Lab

This system is much like the natural world,

where one species the prey suffers fromgrowth of another species the predator.Likewise, the predator benefits from thegrowth of the prey.Lingchong You


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Lingchong You


13/27

A major building block of the substancesurrounding the gene snippets andguiding them through the stomach ischitosan, a key element in the shells ofcrustaceans, such as shrimp or crabs?


Gene therapy, with its promise of

providing a permanent fix to many

devastating diseases, has yet to live

up to its lofty potential. However,

Kam Leong, James B. DukeProfessor of Biomedical Engineering,

prefers to think of a different way

to use genes. He calls it gene medi-

cine, a less permanent, yet ulti-

mately just as helpful, way of har-

nessing the power of genes to treat

such genetic disorders as hemophil-

ia or diabetes.

The trick is sidestepping the

main Achilles Heel of conventional

gene therapy delivery. Gene ther-

apy relies on an infectious agent

which has many problems of its

own to carry the desired gene to

its target. However, Leong and his

colleagues have come up with a

new cargo ship to carry its genet-

ic payload and they are beginning

to show concreteprogress with an oral

delivery system.

He has devised a

method for encapsu-

lating bits of helpful

DNA and sneaking

them through the treacherous envi-

ronment of the stomach unscathed,

where they can then enter target

cells. Leong has already shown that

in treated mice he can delay theimmunological reactions associated

with peanut allergies. He is now

testing in mice a similar approach

for sneaking in genes to help treat

asthma and a form of hemophilia.

Hemophiliacs, for example, do

not produce a specific clotting fac-

tor, making them susceptible to

bleeding. Leongs plan is to deliver

through pills genes that stimulate

the body to produce low levels of

the clotting factor. Though this

approach produces low levels of the

factor and the effect may last only a

number of days or weeks, Leong

believes it would be better for

patients to take an occasional gene

pill instead of daily injections of

proteins, as they donow. It may not be a

permanent solution,

but would represent a

vast improvement in a

patients quality of life.

Sneaking ThroughA New Way to Deliver Genes

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Kam Leong


14/27

Microscopic robots crafted to maneuver

separately without any obvious guidance

are now assembling into self-organized

structures after years of continuing research

led by Bruce Donald, a Duke professor of

computer science and biochemistry.

Each microrobot is shaped something

like a spatula but with dimensions measur-

ing just microns, or millionths of a meter.

They are almost 100 times smaller than any

previous robotic designs of their kind and

weigh even less, Donald added. Formally

known as microelectromechanical system

(MEMS) microrobots, the devices are ofsuitable scale for Lilliputian tasks such as

moving around the interiors

of laboratories-on-a-chip.

In videos produced by

the team, two microrobots

can be seen pirouetting to

the music of a Strauss waltz

on a dance floor just 1 mil-

limeter across. In another

sequence, the devices pivot

in a precise fashion whenever

their boom-like steering arms are drawn

down to the surface by an electric charge.

This response resembles the way dirt bikers

turn by extending a boot heel. Watch it at:

http://news.duke.edu/2008/06/microrobots.html

The groups latest accomplishment is

getting five of the devices to group-

maneuver in cooperation under the same

control system.

Our work constitutes the first imple-

mentation of an untethered, multi-microro-

botic system, Donalds team reported on

June 1-2, 2008 during the Hilton Head

Workshop on Solid State Sensors, Actuatorsand Microsystems in South Carolina.

The research was funded

by the National Institutes of

Health and the Department of

Homeland Security, and also

included Donalds graduate

student Igor Paprotny and

Dartmouth College engineer-

ing professor Christopher

Levey.

Microrobotic BalletSelf-organized Robots Ready for Work

The first truly modern robotdigitally operated,programmable, and teachablewas invented byGeorge Devol in 1954 and was ultimately called theUnimate. The first Unimate was personally sold byDevol to General Motors in 1960 and installed in1961 in a plant in Trenton, New Jersey to lift hotpieces of metal from a die casting machine andstack them.


24 25

: BEYOND BITS & BYTES

Bruce Donald


15/27

Krishnendu Chakrabarty is a computer engineer, and he

likes to bring this mindset to bear on matters when

pondering the future. Lately, his vision is to use the

approaches learned from building computer chips and

architectures and apply them to biological needs. In

this case, the Professor of Electrical

and Computer Engineering andother colleagues at Pratt are

advancing research into what is

known as a lab-on-a-chip.

These tiny chips are intended to

perform a wide variety and number

of different biological tests on a

small sample of blood, urine and

other physiological fluids. Instead

of taking multiple vials of blood

for a panel of tests, for example,

Chakrabarty envisions a day when

technologists will take a few drops

of blood, put them into the chip.

After inserting the chip into a

machine, out come the results.

To make this work, he believes

that there is the need for a chip

whose architecture can be reconfig-

ured. Chips exist today that per-form one function only and are

then discarded. However,

Chakrabarty wants to design a chip

whose functions can be changed

through software or modified given the circumstances.

This would make the chip more versatile and powerful.

For Chakrabarty, the success of the lab-on-a-chip

rides on the multidisciplinary approach by colleagues

across the spectrum, including fellow Pratt faculty

members Richard Fair, an expert on the solid state

devices and microfluidics, and Nan Jokerst, specialist

in heteorogeneous chip integration.

Lab on a ChipThe Future of Medical Testing

The most common blood panel takenduring a routine physical exam iscomposed of 14 different tests, measuringsuch levels as glucose, electrolytes anddifferent organ functions?


26 27


Krishnendu Chakrabarty

Schematic view of a 96-well lab-on-chip for protein crystallization that

automatically sets up 96 reagent condition solutions

(Joint work with Advanced Liquid Logic, Inc.)


16/27

While computers are getting progressively

smaller and more powerful, the underlying

principles encoding information in long

strings of ones and zeroes have not changed

markedly in 50 years.

But that could soon change.

Scientists at Duke University and elsewhere

are making advances in a new type of comput-

ing that not too long ago may have seemedpurely theoretical, but could now be possible

within our lifetimes. Literally, this new gener-

ation of computers will be a quantum leap for-

ward in technology.

The workings of conventional computers

are driven by the laws of classical physics,

where the millions of ones and zeroes are

maintained on an actual physical entity,

whether it be a chip or a hard drive, and

respond to yes or no questions. However,

chips can only get so small before they become

the size of an atom, at which time another

type of physics, known as quantum physics,

comes into play.

Jungsang Kim, Assistant Professor

of Electrical and Computer

Engineering, says that future quan-

tum computers could easily crack

cryptosystems widely used for securecommunication today whether to

bank accounts or military installations

in the blink of an eye. Current secu-

rity measures rely on the impossibili-

ty of conventional computers to calcu-

late all the computational possibilities

in a reasonable amount of time.

Working with colleagues at

Georgia Tech and MIT, Kims labora-

tory is developing optical components that

will be used to help scientists create and meas-

ure the sub-atomic events that lay at the heart

of quantum computing.

Quantum LeapNext Generation Computing

ENIAC, the first computer, was builtin 1943 and weighed 30 tons, tookup 680 square feet of space andcontained 17,468 vacuum tubes.


28 29


Jungsang Kim


17/27

They are everywhere. From the E-ZPass toll

collection system in the Northeast, to man-

aging the flow of business inventory, tohelping to return lost pets, radio frequency

identification (RFID) technology has

become a ubiquitous part of modern life.

Though the technology is fairly simple,

the applications are practically limitless.

All thats needed is a reader, a device that

emits radio waves, and a transponder, or

tag, that is powered by the radio waves and

sends a response back to the reader.

In his research, Matt Reynolds,

Assistant Professor of Electrical and

Computer Engineering, is taking what he

calls this GPS for the indoors to another

level, by using RFID technology to guide

the movements of robots. His plan makes

use of thin plastic tags, self-

adhesive labels with a single

silicon chip attached to them,

placed in strategic placesaround a building. The robot,

wielding a radio transmitter,

reads the tags and follows the

unambiguous navigation sig-

nals encoded in the tags.

These tags, which can

cost as little as a dime apiece,

provide information to the sender. One of

its main advantages over bar codes,

Reynolds says, is that these tags are repro-grammable and can store much more infor-

mation than a bar code. He is working

with colleagues at Georgia Tech to perfect

a service robot for the disabled, with the

ability to pick one bottle of medicine out

of a group of many similar looking bottles.

RFID tags on the bottles present an error-

detecting verification that the robot chose

the correct medicine.

With a team of Pratt undergrads and a

graduate student in the Master of

Engineering Management Program,

Reynolds is developing an E-Locator sys-

tem in The Home Depot Smart Home at

Duke. This prototype system involves tag-

ging people and objects, so

anyone or anything in the

house can be found quickly

and easily. He has also receiveda grant from the National

Science Foundation to develop

a smart hard-hat that alerts

workers of construction hazards

by beeping when they cross the

predicted path of dangerous

construction equipment.

Tagged for SuccessGuided by Radio

RFID technology is being used to storepersonal information in passports fromacross the world, with the United Statesstarting to include them in 2007.


30 31


Matt Reynolds


18/27

It is estimated that there are more than 3billion cell phones worldwide, and as the

technology improves and the features

increase, it wont be long until talking is

the phones least used feature.

A team led by Romit Roy Choudhury,

Assistant Professor of Electrical and

Computer Engineering, has developed a

new software system that enables users to

obtain location-specific, real-time informa-

tion either passively or directly from

other mobile phone users across the world.

In simple terms, people who use the

new application will enter information

photos, comments, videos into their

mobile phone, where

it will be tagged by

the users location.

Passive information,

such as location orspeed, can also be

recorded. All this

information is then

sent to a central serv-

er, where it is available to all participants.For example, users can create some-

thing Roy Choudhury calls virtual sticky

notes, site-specific messages that people

can leave for others to pick up on their

mobile phones. As you pass a restaurant,

your phone will download reviews left by

past diners floating in the ether, or as you

pass a painting in a museum, your phone

will download information about the

artist.

Mobile phones are already more than

just communications devices, increasingly

they are coming equipped with cameras,

GPS service, health monitors, and even

accelerometers, devices

that measure speed. The

potential of this new

application, which has

been dubbed micro-blog, is practically lim-

itless, said Roy

Choudhury

Virtual Sticky NotesCell Phones Eyes to the World

By combining the sensors from allthe active phones in the world today,it may be feasible to build an inter-net-based virtual information tele-

scope that enables a high-resolutionview of the world in real time.Romit Roy Choudhury

32 33



Romit Roy Choudhury


19/27

The Shared Materials Instrumentation

Facility (SMIF) is a multidisciplinary

shared use advanced materials characteriza-

tion and clean room fabrication capabilities

facility and is used for both research and

educational purposes.

SMIF is an official Duke University

recharge center open to Duke University

researchers from the various schools and

departments as well as to external users

from other universities, government

laboratories, and industry.

SMIF is housed in the Fitzpatrick

Center for Interdisciplinary Engineering,

Medicine and Applied Sciences

(FCIEMAS). The 11,000 square foot facili-

ty consists of 4,000 square feet of class 100

and class 1000 clean room space, and over

D O N T M I S S :

34 35

: UNIQUE FACILITIES

Summary of Capabilitiesand Equipment

Characterization LaboratoriesElectron Microscopy (SEM and TEM)

AFM and Optical ProfilometryOptical (FTIR, Raman, UV-Vis-NIR)XPS and X-Ray DiffractionSample Preparation and Offline Lab

Clean Room Fabrication LaboratoryWet ProcessingHot ProcessingThin Film depositionDry Etch and PECVDPhotolithography and MetrologyNanolithography (EBL)Bio Integration Lab

SMIF features a segregated Bio Lab within the

cleanroom. This lab enables the integration of

bio-materials with nano, opto, and electrical

devices and structures.

2,600 square feet of specialized laboratory

space for characterization equipment. The

remainder of the space is comprised of facility

support areas, staff offices, and a

conference/classroom.

For more information: http://smif.lab.duke.edu

Shared MaterialsInstrumentation Facility


20/27

The Helicopter Observation Platform (HOP)

is a Bell 206B3 Jet Ranger helicopter,

which has been equipped with a three-dimen-

sional, high frequency positioning and atti-

tude recording system, a data acquisition and

real-time visualization system, and with

high-frequency sensors to measure turbulence,

temperature, moisture and CO2 concentration.

Duke is committed to allowing any interested

research group to utilize the HOP, either with

the instruments and pods that we have already

developed, or with dedicated instruments spe-

cific to the planned mission. For more infor-

mation: http://hop.pratt.duke.edu/

Helicopter Observation Platform

D O N T M I S S :

36 37

: UNIQUE FACILITIES

The HOP fills an important gap in airborneobservation facilities, offering a uniquecapability that is both essential andunmatched by other airborne platforms.HOPs airborne platform is capable ofsampling undisturbed air at low airspeed(~30 m/s) and at various altitudes, froma few feet above the ground to about12,000 feet MSL, allowing researchersto measure turbulent fluxes andaerosol characteristics in theatmospheric boundary layer.


21/27

The Home Depot Smart Home is a6,000 square foot live-in research

laboratory dorm operated by DukesPratt School of Engineering.

The $1.2 million 10-person dorm, part of a

Duke Smart Home Program, creates a

dynamic living laboratory environment

that contributes to the innovation and

demonstration of future residential building

technology. The central concept of this proj-

ect is our belief that smart homes can

improve that quality of life for people of all

ages and incomes.

The smart home dorm provides students

with an opportunity for practical hands- on

engineering outside of the classroom in a

living and learning community. In addition,

we are partnering with industry to strength-

en the residential market for integrated

technology, and helping homeowners make

their own ideas for smart homes a reality.

More info: smarthome.duke.edu

The Home Depot Smart Home at Duke

earned a Platinum rating in LEED

(Leadership in Energy and Environmental

Design) from the United States Green

Building Council in 2008. The building is

the first in North Carolina to achieve that

standard, and is the first platinum-rated

residence hall on the planet.


38 39

: UNIQUE FACILITIES

The Home Depot Smart HomeA T D U K E U N I V E R S I T Y

Select Green features of the dorm:

A green roof of living plants that insulates thehome from the cold of winter and the heat of sum-mer. The roofs soil also pre-filters water that pass-es through it, removing pollutants picked up fromthe atmosphere.

Two solar power systems, including a solar thermalunit on the roof that helps heat water for showersand dishwashing, and photovoltaic panels in thefront of the house which transform sunlight intoelectricity that powers dorm lights .

Two rainwater collection systems to irrigate theproperty and provide water for toilets and theclothes washer.

Lumber that was harvested from sustainableforests, and trim that includes Southern yellow

pine from the Duke Forest. DensArmor Plus drywall, a new generation of

paperless drywall designed with a moisture-resist-ant core to resist mold.

Fiber optic wiring throughout the home that providesthe dorm with the capability for spectacular internetspeeds up to 40 Gigabytes per second.


22/27

text

Dukes DiVE is one of only seven suchvirtual reality systems in the world.

D O N T M I S S

40 41

: UNIQUE FACILITIES

The Duke immersive Virtual Environment

(DiVE) came on-line mid-November 2005

representing the fourth 6-sided CAVE-like

system in the United States. The DiVE is a

3m x 3m x 3m stereoscopic rear projected

room with head and hand tracking and real

time computer graphics. All six surfaces

the four walls, the ceiling and the floor are

used as screens onto which computer graph-

ics are displayed.

For virtual worlds designed for this sys-

tem, it is a fully immersive room in which

the individual (researcher, educator, etc) liter-

ally walks into the world, is surrounded by

the display and is capable of interacting with

virtual objects in the world. Stereo glasses

provide depth perception, and a handheld

wand controls navigation and input to into

the world for manipulating virtual objects.

Our work involves ongoing development

and refinement of processes for integrating

interdisciplinary research, kinesthetic experi-

ences with the arts, undergraduate course

offerings and educational enhancement expe-

riences for younger students (grades 9-12)

into the DiVE.

For more information: http://vis.pratt.duke.edu/

Duke ImmersiveVirtualEnvironment


23/27

42 43

C A R E E R T R I B U T E

Earl DowellWilliam Holland Hall Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

faculty

focusOur engineering faculty continue to garner

recognition at all career levels, from young

investigator to senior faculty who have made

seminal contributions to their fields. Therecent awards of eight faculty are highlighted

on the following pages. Duke's Pratt School of

Engineering has 96 regular rank faculty mem-

bers in addition to 13 research professors and

five professors of the practice.

Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Memorial Lectureship Award, International

Council of Aeronautical Sciences, 2008

Spirit of St. Louis Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineering, 2008Walter J. And Angelina J. Crichlow Trust Prize, American Institute of

Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2007

Honorary Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2004

Fellow, National Academy of Engineering, 1993

Distinguished Service Award, American Academy of Mechanics, 1994

Fellow, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 1984

Fellow, American Academy of Mechanics, 1983


24/27

44

Devendra P. GargProfessor

Department of Mechanical Engineering

and Materials Science

Garg was awarded the Inaugural Devendra P.

Garg Award for Intelligent Systems, American

Society of Mechanical Engineers in recognition

of his outstanding service and efforts in advanc-ing the field.

Brian MannAssistant Professor

Department of Mechanical

Engineering and MaterialsScience

Awarded an Office of Naval Research

Young Investigator research grant titled

Broadband Energy Harvesting in Varied

and Uncertain Environments, and plans

to develop buoys that harvest the energy

in ocean waves to power a network of

sensors.

C A R E E R T R I B U T E

Adrian BejanJ.A. Jones Professor

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science

Donald Q. Kern Award from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 2008

Fluid Science Research Award, Institute of Fluid Science, 2008

James P. Hartnett Memorial Award, International Center of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2007

Luikov Medal, International Center of Heat and Mass Transfer, 2006Edward F. Obert Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2004

Charles Russ Richards Memorial Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2001

Ralph Coats Roe Award, American Society of Engineering Education, 2000

Max Jakob Memorial Award, American Institute of Chemical Engineers and the American

Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1999

Worcester Reed Warner Medal, American Society of Mechanical1 Engineers, 1996

Heat Transfer Memorial Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1994

James Harry Potter Gold Medal, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1990

Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1988

Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 1987

Ralph R. Teetor Award, Society of Automotive Engineers, 1980

45


25/27

46 47

John DolbowAssociate Professor

Department of Civil and

Environmental Engineering

Dolbow won a Young Investigator

award from the International

Association for Computational

Mechanics. Dolbow is investigating

the stress-response reactions in hydro-

gels and applying what he learns from

his experiments to create computer

models that can predict how different

hydrogels respond to different stimuli.

Jeffrey T. ScurggsAssistant Professor

Department of Civil and Environmental

Engineering

Scruggs won a National Science Foundation

CAREER award and plans to advance a univer-

sally applicable theory for controlling devices to

harvest energy from various vibration phenome-

na for applications ranging from microwatt

to megawatt scales so that they run with

minimal to no human guidance once they are

placed in operation.

Romit Roy ChoudhuryAssistant Professor

Department of Electrical and

Computer EngineeringRoy Choudhury Won a National Science

Foundation CAREER award for a project

titled Spotlight. Roy Choudhury plans to

develop the theoretical basis for antenna-

aware networking, design distributed pro-

tocols, and implement them on an experi-

mental testbed.

Stefan ZauscherAlfred M. Hunt Faculty Scholar and

Associate Professor

Department of Mechanical

Engineering and Materials Science

Presented the 2008 Young Investigator

Award from the International Conference on

Computational and Experimental

Engineering and Sciences. Zauschers

research focuses on the intersection of surface

and colloid science, polymer materials engi-neering, and biointerface science.


26/27

Dr. Robert W. Anderson, BSCE59Chairman/Professor, Duke University

Medical Center

Mr. D. Theodore Berghorst, P04, P09Chairman and CEO, Vector Securities, LLC

Mr. Michael J. Bingle, BSE94Managing Director, Silver Lake Partners

Mr. Barry N. Bycoff, P06, P09Chairman, Aveska Inc.

Mr. Clarence J. Chandran, P07Chairman, Conros Corporation

Mr. Stephen C. Coley, BSEE67Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc.

Dr. Douglas A. Cotter, BSEE65

President, Healthcare Decisions Inc.

Mr. Charles T. DavidsonChairman of the Board, Retired,

J.A. Jones, Inc.

Mr. Daniel M. Dickinson, BSE83Managing Partner, Thayer Capital Partners

Mr. Ronald W. Dollens, P01Dollens FamilyDr. John Christopher Dries, BSE94

Mr. Fred M. Fehsenfeld, Jr., BSE73Managing Trustee, The Heritage Group

Dr. Michael R. Feldman, BSE84President, Digital Optics Corporation

Mr. James H. Frey, BSEE60Retired, Senior Vice President, Information

Systems Group, Litton Industries

Mr. Jonathan M. Guerster, BSE86CEO, Groom Energy Solutions

Mr. Philip J. Hawk, BSE76, P06Chairman and CEO, Team Inc.

Mr. William A. Hawkins III, BSE76, P09President and CEO, Medtronic World

Headquarters

Mr. Ozey K. Horton, Jr., BSE73Director, McKinsey & Company, Inc.

Mr. Vinay J. Jayaram, BSE96Financial Analyst, Morgan Stanley

Dr. Alan L. Kaganov, BSME60Partner, U.S. Venture Partners

Dr. Clinton W. Kelly III, BSEE59Senior Vice President, SAIC

Mr. Theodore C. Kennedy, BSCE52Founder, BE&K, Inc.

Dr. Stacy Stansell Klein, BSE91Research Assistant Professor, Dept of

Biomedical Engineering, VanderbiltUniversity

Mr. Lawrence J. Lang, BSE86Vice President and General Manager,

Mobile Wireless Group,Cisco Systems, Inc.

Mrs. Valerie M. Love, BSE94

Dr. Robert C. Marlay, BSEE69, P08Director, Office of Science and Technology

Policy, Deputy Director, U.S. ClimateChange, Technology Program, U.S.Department of Energy

Dr. David P. McCallie, Jr., BSE75Physician/V.P. Medical Informatics, Cerner

Ms. Martha M. McDade, BSE81, MS82President, Environmental Excellence

Engineering P.C.

Mr. Capers W. McDonald, BSE74Executive in Residence, Johns Hopkins

University

Mr. Jeffrey B. Meehan, P07, P10Real Estate Manager

Mr. George E. Murphy, BSE77, MS80CEO, TruMedia Technologies, Inc.

Mr. Bechara C. Nammour, P07, P08, P10Chairman and CEO, Capital Restaurant

Concepts, LTD.

Mr. Thomas A. Natelli,BSE82, P10CEO/President, Natelli Communities

Mr. Lionel W. Neptune, BSE82Vice-President - Affiliates, The Washington

Post Company

Mr. Richard B. Parran, Jr., BSE79, P07,P11President, ADC Professional Services, ADC

Telecommunications, Inc.

Mr. Frederic M. Poses, P06Chairman and CEO, American Standard

Companies, Inc.

Mr. David L. Pratt, BSE85Marketing Business Leader, Progressive

Insurance

Mr. Keith T. PrattChairman, Shared Vision, Inc.

Ms. Mary O. Price, BSE82Executive Recruiter, Russell Reynolds

Associates

Mrs. Janis J. Rehlaender, BSE77, P07,P09, P11Retired, Director of Corporate Planning,

Baxter InternationalChairman, Darien, CT. Board of Education

Mr. William I. Riker, Jr., BSE82

Mr. Carl E. Rudiger, Jr., BSEE61Director, Business Development, Lockheed

Corporation

Mr. Paul R. Scarborough, BSE72, P08President, Carolina Foods, Inc.

Mr. Kenneth T. Schiciano, BSE84Managing Director, TA Associates

Mrs. Elizabeth Franklin Sechrest, BSE79CEO & Founder, The Franklin Report

Partner, Allgood Capital Partners

Mr. Robert L. Seelig, BSE90Vice President & General Counsel, White

Mountains Insurance Group, Ltd.

Mr. J. Stephen Simon, BSCE65Retired, Senior Vice President, Exxon Mobil

Corporation

Mr. David P. Spearman, BSE77, P06, P08President, Radamerica Inc.

Mr. Jeffrey I. Spiritos, BSE76Spiritos Properties, LLC.

Mr. James L. Stuart ESQ, BSE71Attorney, Stuart Law Firm, PLLC

Mrs. Cynthia P. Walden, BSE80

Mr. Michael S. Walsh, Jr., BSCE65Retired - President & CEO, Vapor

Technologies, Inc.

Dr. Seth A. Watkins, BSE92, G93,G96, L99Special Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson LLP

Mr. John H. Weber, P08President and Chief Executive Officer,

Remy International, Inc.

Mr. Jerry C. Wilkinson, BSEE67, P98,P00, P03

President, The Wilkinson Group, Inc.

Mr. Harold L. Yoh III, BSE83, P09Chairman and CEO, The Day & Zimmermann

Group, Inc.

Mr. Christopher H. Young, BSE97

J U L Y 1 , 2 0 0 8 . P R A T T B O A R D O F V I S I T O R S

C O N T A C T S

Development and Alumni TeamRobert Judge Carr

Senior Associate Dean for Development andAlumni [email protected]

Christopher Clarke

Associate Dean for Development and [email protected]

Pamela HansonDirector of Annual [email protected]

Communications TeamDeborah Hill

Director of [email protected]

Operations TeamMichael Gunter

Associate Dean Facilities and [email protected]

Susan Bonifield

Associate Dean, Finance and [email protected]

Department ChairsGeorge Truskey

Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering

[email protected]

Lawrence Virgin

Chair, Department of Civil & [email protected]

Leslie Collins

Chair, Department of Electrical and [email protected]

Tod Laursen

Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering andMaterials [email protected]

Deans OfficeTom Katsouleas

Professor and [email protected]

Marnie Rhoads

Assistant Dean Special Projectsand Academic Affairs

[email protected]

Academic Programs TeamJeff Glass

Senior Associate Dean for [email protected]

Linda FranzoniAssociate Dean for Student Programs

[email protected]

Connie Simmons

Associate Dean for Undergraduate [email protected]

Martha Absher

Associate Dean, Education and [email protected]

Research Programs TeamApril Brown

Senior Associate [email protected]

Marianne Hassan

Associate Dean for New [email protected]

Industry Relations TeamBarry MyersSenior Associate Dean, Anderson-Rupp

Professor of Biomedical Engineering, DirectorDuke CERC

[email protected]

Russell Holloway

Associate Dean, Corporate & Industry [email protected]

Kirsten Shaw

Assistant Director of Corporate and IndustryRelations

[email protected]

48


27/27

Non-Profit Org.

US Postage

PAID

Durham, NC

Permit No. 60

Pratt School of EngineeringDuke University305 Teer Engineering BuildingBox 90271Durham, NC 27708-0271

indicatorsofexcellenceOutstanding Undergraduate Students2008 Marshall Scholar Lee Pearson2008 Fulbright Scholar Kerry Costello

2008 Fulbright Scholar Stesha Doku2008 Goldwater Scholar Daniel Roberts

Early Career AwardsOffice of Naval Research Young Investigator Brian Mann2008 Young Investigator Award from the International

Conference on Computational and Experimental Engineeringand Sciences - Stefan Zauscher

Young Investigator award, International Association forComputational Mechanics - John Dolbow

National Science Foundation CAREER award - Jeffrey T. Scruggs

National Science Foundation CAREER award - Romit RoyChoudhury

Teaching & Mentoring AwardsDuke 2007-08 Alumni Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching

Award Henri GavinPresidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and

Engineering Mentoring Martha AbsherAmerican Council on Education Fellowship Monty ReichertKlein Family Distinguished Teaching Award Wanda KrassowskaLois and John L. Imhoff Distinguished Teaching Award

- Benjamin B. Yellen

Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Teachingand Research - Warren M. Grill

Capers and Marion McDonald Award for Excellence in Mentoringand Advising - Joseph A. Izatt

Duke 2008 Deans Award for Excellence in Mentoring- Justin Jaworski

Society Recognition & Research AwardsFellow, American Society of Mechanical Engineers Tod LaursenDistinguished Member, American Society of Civil Engineers

- Henry PetroskiSenior Member, IEEE Daniel SorinFellow, American Meteorological Society Ana BarrosFellow, IEEE Krishnendu ChakrabartyFellow, IEEE William Joines2008 Daniel Guggehneim Medalist, American Institute of

Aerospace and Aeronoautics - Earl DowellSpirit of St. Louis Medal, American Society of Mechanical

Engineering - Earl DowellFellow, American Institute of Biological and Medical Engineering

Craig Henriquez

Daniel and Florence Guggenheim Memorial Lectureship Award,International Council of Aeronautical Sciences in Anchorage- Earl Dowell

President, Biomedical Engineering Society - George TruskeyStansell Family Distinguished Research Award - Piotr E. Marszalek

Fellow, SPIE - Joseph Izatt

2008 Donald Q. Kern Award from the American Institute ofChemical Engineers - Adrian Bejan

Fluid Science Research Award, Institute of Fluid Science- Adrian Bejan

Devendra P. Garg Award for Intelligent Systems, AmericanSociety of Mechanical Engineers - Devendra GargNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Advisory

Committee - Warren GrillChair, Nanotechnology Study Section, National Institute of

Health - Ashutosh Chilkokti

www.pratt.duke.edu

2008 Duke Engineering

Documents