The type of sensors that pick up the rhythm of a beating heart in implanted cardiac defibrillators and pacemakers are vulnerable to tampering, according to a new study involving University of Michigan researchers and others in an international team. In experiments in simulated human models, the researchers demonstrated that they could forge an erratic heartbeat with radio frequency electromagnetic waves. Theoretically, a false signal like the one they created could inhibit needed pacing or induce unnecessary defibrillation shocks.

The researchers emphasize that they know of no case where a hacker has corrupted an implanted cardiac device, and doing so in the real world would be extremely difficult. They stress that people with pacemakers and defibrillators can remain confident in the safety and effectiveness of their implants.

About the Professor: Kevin Fu is an associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research interests include making embedded computer systems smarter with better security and safety, reduced
energy consumption, and faster performance.

“ An open Q&A session including discussion on translational R&D, access to capital, markets, resources and innovation in the robotics space.”

Monday May 20, 2013
11:30 to 1:30 AM EDT
1610 IOE

Register for the in-person event

Abstract
Please join us for a special seminar on next generation robotics. Dr. Vijay Kumar, Assistant Director for Robotics and Cyberphysical Systems at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will be presenting an overview of the robotics technologies and applications. He will discuss current research areas of interest, recent breakthroughs, funding trends and a road-map of future robotic applications.

Following Dr. Kumar’s talk, Dr. Kenneth Wolf, Executive Vice President – RedZone Robotics, will share his experiences in commercializing robotics technologies including successes, failures/barriers and learnings associated with developing a commercially viable business in robotics. Dr. Wolf brings a wealth of experience in what it takes to bring a robotic technology to market.

Both speakers will be available for an open Q&A session including discussion on translational R&D, access to capital, markets, resources and innovation in the robotics space. Even if robotics is not your area of interest, this seminar is designed to provide a overview of an emerging technology and what it takes to bring promising ideas to market.

We will hear the speakers present from 11:30 & 12:00 respectively. They will break at 12:30 for lunch and return for questions while eating.

Speakers
Ken Wolf
Executive Vice President Sales & Marketing for RedZone Robotics

Mr. Wolf oversees the global sales, marketing and commercialization efforts at RedZone Robotics, Inc. based in Pittsburgh, PA. He has specific expertise in sales & marketing around robotic technologies, software and data services, especially disruptive offerings. Prior to joining RedZone in Q1 2009, Mr. Wolf was Vice President of Global Sales for Confluence Technologies, Inc., a global software firm serving the financial services industry. During his tenure, Confluence was recognized as one of Pittsburgh’s fastest growing companies. Earlier in his career he was Vice President of Strategic Account Sales for McKesson Automation where he led the sales efforts of the company’s robotics, hardware and software technologies. At McKesson Automation the flagship product was a robotic distribution system of unit dose medications used in US hospitals.

Mr. Wolf has lectured on sales processes at the Carnegie Mellon University Tepper School of Business and Don Jones School of Entrepreneurship. In 2007 he was featured in a Harvard Business School Press book entitled The Point of the Deal: How to Negotiate When Yes Is Not Enough. Mr. Wolf received a B.A. in English from Providence College in Providence, Rhode Island and currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA with his four children and wife Rebecca Gaynier who is a proud University of Michigan Alumni.

Vijay Kumar
Assistant Director for Robotics and Cyberphysical Systems at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
Vijay Kumar is the UPS Foundation Professor in the School of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania, and on sabbatical leave at White House Office of Science and Technology Policy where he serves as the assistant director for robotics and cyber physical systems. He has been on the Faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics with a secondary appointment in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania since 1987.

Dr. Kumar served as the Deputy Dean for Research in the School of Engineering and Applied Science from 2000-2004. He directed the GRASP Laboratory, a multidisciplinary robotics and perception laboratory, from 1998-2004. He was the Chairman of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics from 2005-2008. He then served as the Deputy Dean for Education in the School of Engineering and Applied Science from 2008-2012.

Dr. Kumar is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (2003), a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (2005) and a member of the National Academy of Engineering (2013). Dr. Kumar’s research interests are in robotics, specifically multi-robot systems, and micro aerial vehicles.

Sponsors
The U-M College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship

Recently, the Department of Defense has placed direct blame on China’s Military for cyberattacks that have been occurring on the United States. Research Associate Professor Michael Bailey, an expert on cybersecurity at the University of Michigan College of Engineering, explains how these attacks occur, what kind of damage they can create and discusses possible means to combat these attacks.

About the Professor: Michael Bailey is a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research interests includes research on the security and availability of complex distributed systems.

One potential cause of Alzheimer’s disease being explored by researchers is related to the damage done to membranes of neurons by amyloid-beta (AB) peptides. U-M biomedical engineer Michael Mayer is exploring how the peptides are accumulating in Alzheimer’s patients, forming rings and punching a hole in the neurons. Mayer’s research has found a “Goldilocks” complex in reverse – that the medium, or “just-the-right-size” aggregates, are those that cause the damage.

About the Professor: Michael Mayer is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research group, the Biomembrane Lab, focuses on transport and signaling processes across biological membranes. The goal of the group is to increase the molecular understanding of these processes and ultimately to employ the ensuing insight to diagnose and possibly treat human disease. They are particularly interested in ion channel proteins that are involved in Alzheimer’s disease and in autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type I diabetes mellitus, as well as transporter proteins that are responsible for resistance to chemotherapy in treatment of cancer.

“ Explore the world of engineering with your child or grandchild during a day of fun-filled experiments and tours.”

Friday, August 9, 2013
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST
College of Engineering
University of Michigan North Campus

About the Event
College of Engineering alumni are invited to bring their child or grandchild back to campus for a day of fun and experiential learning. Through a series of workshops, children will explore the field of engineering and concepts of science. This event is geared for children entering 5th-8th grade, and is offered as a chance for alumni to introduce their children to engineering concepts and the Michigan Engineering campus.

Cost & Registration & Payment
Cost is $75 per family (one adult and one child) and includes 3 workshops, lunch for two, continental breakfast and snack, bus ride and tour, experiment supplies, meet and greet with the Solar Car team and parking. Registration is a 2 step process: 1) entering your information; 2) payment by check only. Make checks payable to “The Regents of the University of Michigan” and mail to: MconneX – Xplore Engineering Event; Attn.: Sandra Hines; 1458 Lurie Engineering Center; 1221 Beal Avenue; Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2102

Registration is on a first-come, first-serve basis and space is limited. Each child must attend with an accompanying adult. Workshops from nine departments are offered, with each attendee able to participate in three of the workshops. In addition, lunch and a continental breakfast will be provided, along with a tour of the Big House and Crisler Arena. After registration and payment are received, you will receive your personal itinerary, map and parking instructions for the event within 5 business days.

CANCELLATION POLICY
You must cancel your registration in writing by Friday, June 14, 2013, to receive a refund. Cancellations received after June 14 will not be eligible for a refund as we will have already incurred a majority of the costs for the event.  Please consider this before registering.

Agenda

• 7:30 – 8:45: Registration and welcome with continental breakfast
• 9:00 – 10:15: Class 1
• 10:15 – 10:30: Walk Time
• 10:30 – 11:45: Class 2
• 11:45 – 1:00: Lunch at Pierpont and meet the U-M Solar Car team, who will bring their 2012 National Championship winning car, Quantum, to a meet and greet at lunch. Find out more about the Solar Car team and how you can “buy a cell” to help their efforts
• 1:00 – 1:15: Walk Time
• 1:15 – 2:30: Class 3
• 2:30 – 3:00: Walk time to Lurie and snack
• 3:00 – 5:00 pm: A bus ride to the Big House and back for a tour of the newly renovated Michigan Stadium and Crisler Arena

WORKSHOPS

Workshops are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. During registration, participants will order the workshops in order of preference. Assignments, confirmations and itineraries will be emailed upon receipt of payment.

Have You Ever Cracked a Bone?
Learn about the types of cells and proteins found in bones and their roles in bone strength. We’ll compress and bend bones under different conditions to discover how strong bones are, what can affect their strength, and how to strengthen your own!
Title: The strength and make up of bones | BME Lecturer III: Rachael Schmedlen | Department: Biomedical Engineering

It’s a Small, Small, Small, Small, World.
Explore the fascinating concepts of nanotechnology. How small is a nano? What happens when we shrink items by 10,000 times? Can you be shrunk? Come learn the answers to these questions and more.
Title: Exploring Nanotechnology | NNIN Education and User Outreach Coordinator: Brandon Lucas | Department: Electrical Engineering

Navigate the Robot Maize
Create an autonomous miniature robot that will navigate its own way through a complex maize. Learn how to program simple commands that will allow the robot to identify obstacles and determine its response. Put your ingenuity and cleverness to the test in a contest against other participants.
Title: Robot Intelligence – Maize Challenge | Professor: Edwin Olson | Department: Computer Science Engineering

How Much will Your Bridge Hold?
Create a bridge constructed of tongue depressors, bolts, nuts, rubber bands, and tape that will be tested for load capacity and quality of construction! Learn the principles used to design bridges and construct your own for testing.
Title: Building Bridges – Quality versus Capacity | Professor: Jason McCormick | Department: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Up, Up and Away!
Powering and building rockets continuously improves, but the basic principles have long been the same. Design your own launchers and straw rockets and experience these basic principles. Troubleshoot and problem-solve to create the optimum rocket and launching system.
Title: Creating the Optimal Rocket and Launching System | Assoc. Chair: Mark Moldwin & PhD Student: Alex Bryan | Department: Atmospheric, Oceanic and Space Sciences

Manufacturing Challenge – Taking it to the Max!
Put on your problem solving and creativity hats and take part in the manufacturing assembly challenge!  Work together with your team to figure out how to produce more high quality products in the shortest time.  Learn principles of industrial and operations engineering to design the best possible process.
Title: Manufacturing Challenge | PhD Students: Julie Prinet, Brandon Pitts & Nadine Moacdieh| Department: Industrial and Operations Engineering

Can Bacteria Actually be Good?
Bacteria provides many health and environmental benefits. First, we’ll identify places bacteria can be found and explore how bacteria can make our world a cleaner and healthier place. Then we’ll design an experiment to test questions you have about bacteria and learn how environmental engineers work with bacteria to improve the environment and the public health.
Title: Bacteria & Environmental Health – Good vs. Bad | PhD Student: Nadine Kotlarz | Department: Environmental Engineering

The World of Underwater Vehicles
Alter the design of your underwater vehicle and test the effect these changes have on the performance and maneuverability of your submarine in the Lurie Pool.
Title: Submarine & Ship Design Experiments | Professor: Dave Singer | Department: Naval Architecture

Can You Walk On or Bounce a Fluid?
Find out as we learn about viscosity, shear, and flow and explore the unique properties of everyday fluids. We will demonstrate and explore the different types of fluids and show you how to walk across a pool of a non-Newtonian fluid.
Title: Everyday Chemical Engineering | Research Assistant: Peter Valdez | Department: Chemical Engineering

“ In the last several months, Great Lakes water levels have reached historical lows, impacting tourism, shipping, and recreational activities.”

Thursday, May 30, 2013
3:00 to 5:00 PM EDT
4th Floor Forum Hall – Palmer Commons
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Please register here to attend the lecture in person
 
Abstract
North America’s Great Lakes hold the largest amount of available surface freshwater in the world, comprising approximately 21 percent of the world’s total freshwater supply. This ample supply of water supports the very fabric of life in the region by providing clean drinking water and supporting commerce and recreational activities for more than 35 million people. The Great Lakes are a dynamic system, and this is reflected in the hydrological balance and associated water levels of the individual lakes. In the last several months, Great Lakes water levels have reached historical lows, impacting tourism, shipping, and recreational activities.

Speakers
This two-hour long seminar will provide an overview of the causes and consequences of low Great Lakes water levels. Speakers include:

• Dr. Drew Gronewold (NOAA-GLERL) will discuss the drivers of Great Lakes water levels
• Mr. John Allis and Mr. Keith Kompoltowicz (USACE) will discuss current efforts directed at managing Great Lakes levels
• Dr. Michael Moore (University of Michigan) will discuss the potential implications of declining water levels

The presentations will conclude with a short panel discussion.

Sponsors
The University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment

“ Often [intellectual property] is the most valuable asset to the company, bar none, more than the building, more valuable than the land that it sits on.”

- The Recorder, November 30, 2006

Wednesday, May 29, 2013
4:00 PM EDT

Abstract
What does it take to get a trademark, copyright or patent? How is the idea of intellectual property changing in this digital age? In what ways can you best protect your intellectual property now and in the future? At this upcoming lecture, we’ll be exploring these questions and more as we learn how to navigate both basic and more advanced intellectual property issues with 2 seasoned experts. Get ready to ask our experts your own questions, as well as join in on the discussion of intellectual property with other CoE alumni, faculty and students.

Presenters

Thomas Lewry
Thomas Lewry has more than 25 years’ experience in intellectual property and commercial litigation. His litigation experience runs the gamut from intellectual property matters to general business conflicts, including breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, trade secret misappropriation, breach of fiduciary duty, and shareholder derivative matters. Tom has tried cases in federal and state courts around the country.

As the head of Brooks Kushman’s litigation group, Tom has been the driving force behind the firm’s adoption of cutting edge technology for courtroom presentations and to deliver information to clients more quickly and efficiently.
Tom received both his J.D. and his B.S. in Computer Engineering at the University of Michigan.

Mohammed Islam
Mohammed Islam is a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan. He holds courtesy appointments in the departments of Internal Medicine and Biomedical Engineering. His current research interests include mid-infrared laser sources and their applications in fiber-to-the-home, advanced semiconductor process control, combustion monitoring, infrared counter-measures, chemical sensing and bio-medical selective laser ablation.

Mohammed has spun-out 5 companies, including angel-backed companies, venture-backed companies, government-funded companies, and patent holding companies. Each company grew out of basic scientific research done at the University of Michigan. He has either written or participated in more than 120 patents of his own research, and is a registered patent agent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He created and teaches the course EECS 410: Patent Fundamentals for Engineers.

Mohammed received the Adolf Lomb Prize for pioneering contributions to nonlinear optical phenomena and all-optical switching in optical fibers, the Texas eComm Ten Award (one of the 10 most influential people in Texas’s digital economy), and is the first recipient of U-M’s Distinguished University Innovator Award. He is a fellow of the Optical Society of America and of IEEE.

We’ve become accustomed to walking into public buildings and accessing WiFi for free. We can imagine a future where we’ll be able to access wireless signals from a vehicle or while walking down the street. With this in mind, we asked U-M engineering professor Atul Prakash about the feasibility of this idea, and if the future of wireless technology includes a free public WiFi network across the entire United States.

The “White Space” proposal from the FCC is utilizing currently empty frequency bands and making them free and open to the public sector for public wireless signals. But logistical issues, including security and verification concerns, remain a concern in its implementation, says Prakash.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Atul Prakash is a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research interests include security policy management, software infrastructure to support collaborative work, privacy in pervasive computing, intrusion detection, group security, operating system security, scientific collaboratories and Mobile Cloud Computing.

Michigan Engineering researchers are exploring how the process of nudging nanoparticles can help them change their structure – creating order from disorder. By examining matter at the nanoparticle scale, they are exploring how to create materials that can change their shape when needed, allowing for innovations such as flexible steel.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Sharon Glotzer is the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering, and professor of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Her research at the Glotzer Group Center for Assembly Science and Engineering includes assembly of nanoscale systems; supercooled and metastable liquids and complex fluids, colloids, and complex fluids; biomimetic materials design; computer simulation.

READ MORE: Entropy can lead to order, paving the route to nanostructures

A new imaging device developed by University of Michigan engineers can detect gamma ray radiation and identify its source for operators. The detection of radiation has a variety of uses, including the ability to help clean up after a nuclear accident. This new “gamma ray camera” is battery operated and can be used at room temperature, contrary to existing devices that require cryogenic freezing.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Zhong He is a professor in Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research interests include development of position-sensitive room-temperature semiconductor radiation spectrometers and imaging devices, as well as gas and scintillation gamma-ray spectrometers.

One of the major obstacles to growing new organs – replacement hearts, lungs and kidneys, for example – is the difficulty engineers face in building blood vessels. A Michigan Engineering researcher has discovered that one common approach to growing blood vessels in tissues actually produces leaky tubes. He’s found a solution: adult stem cells. In this video he explains how they could help engineers build more robust blood vessels.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Andrew Putnam is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Under his direction, the Laboratory of Cell Signaling in Engineered Tissues conducts both fundamental and applied research in the broad areas of cell and tissue engineering.

The techniques of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and horizontal drilling have come together over the past decade to change the American energy landscape. Now more and more researchers are looking into the potential risks the technologies could pose to the environment and human health. This documentary includes a visit to Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania – one of the earliest epicenters of shale gas drilling.

Industry experts and residents who live near shale gas drilling operations were interviewed, as well as researchers from the University of Michigan involved in the U-M Graham Institute for Environmental Sustainability’s integrated assessment on hydraulic fracturing as it pertains to the state of Michigan. (Reports will be released in June 2013).

ABOUT THE PROFESSORS:

• Brian Ellis is an assistant professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Ellis is part of the Graham Institute’s team studying Michigan’s geology. His research interests cover topics related to the sustainable and safe development of emerging energy technologies. Included among these activities are geologic storage of CO2 and large-scale hydrualic fracturing of unconventional oil/gas reservoirs.
• Johannes Schwank is the James and Judith Street Professor of Chemical Engineering at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Schwank part of the Graham Institute team studying fracking technology. His research program is focused on fundamental and applied research problems in heterogeneous catalysis, thin films, and chemical sensors. A major theme is the development of correlations between surface structure of materials and their reactivity.
• Knute Nadelhofer is a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science and the Arts. Nadelhofer is part of the Graham Institute’s team studying Michigan’s environment and ecology.

> See more stories, videos, photos and information about an upcoming town hall meeting on the future of fracking. The town hall will be also be webcast.

Xavier Vlad, who heads up the Center for Advanced Material Irradiation, describes an experimental oddity: one test sample vanished from the vacuum chamber at the end of an ion beam line and appeared in a separate chamber in a different area of the lab. Dare we call it teleportation?

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Xavier Vlad is a professor of Material Irradiation at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research group, the Composition Analysis Lab (CAL), uses ion beams to probe the structure and composition of materials.

“ I will review the enormous scientific and technical progress made in fusion research, its present status… and finally some of the technical challenges that remain toward realizing a demonstration fusion power plant.”

Friday, April 19, 2013
4:00 to 5:00 PM EDT
Cooley Building – White Auditorium

Abstract
Nuclear fusion is the source of energy that powers the stars in the universe. It is a nuclear reaction of light nuclei (isotopes of hydrogen) fusing into heavier ones (helium) once they collide with sufficiently high speeds to overcome the repulsive Coulomb forces of like charged particles. This releases enormous amounts of energy through the conversion of mass (0.7 % of the original mass) into energy. In practice to achieve such a high temperature “plasma furnace” while maintaining its burn for long time durations has been an extremely challenging scientific and technological problem. The most promising approach is the so-called tokamak concept. Such a device consists of a toroidally shaped vacuum chamber, surrounded by magnetic coils and the plasma is initiated by inducing an electric current in the plasma which also creates its own magnetic field that helps to confine the plasma.

I will review the enormous scientific and technical progress made in the last few decades in fusion research, its present status, including the building of a multi-billion dollar scale burning plasma experiment (ITER) as an international activity, and finally will discuss some of the technical challenges that remain toward realizing a demonstration fusion power plant.

Speaker Bio
Professor Miklos Porkolab is an internationally recognized physicist, known for his work in both experimental and theoretical plasma physics. Since 1995 he has been the Director of MIT’s Plasma Science and Fusion Center (PSFC) and the Head of the PSFC Physics Research Division. He graduated from the University of British Columbia (BASc in Engineering Physics, 1963) and obtained his Ph.D. in Applied Physics at Stanford University in 1967. While at Princeton University in the early 1970s, Porkolab carried out pioneering experimental and theoretical research in the area of nonlinear wave-wave and wave-particle interactions and parametric instabilities. His current research interests include advanced tokamak physics research through heating and current profile control with RF waves, and a study of turbulence and transport in tokamaks.

Porkolab is a fellow of the American Physical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. His recent awards include the Karoly Simony Memorial Plaque and Prize from the Hungarian Nuclear Society (2007), the James Clerk Maxwell Prize from the American Physical Society (2009) and the Distinguished Career Award of the Fusion Power Associates, USA (2010).

Sponsors
The University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Nuclear Engineering and Radiological Sciences Department and the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Project.

“ Tremendous advances in marine technology coupled with increasing activity in offshore frontier areas present many opportunities for engineers and policy makers.”

Wednesday, April 17, 2013
4:00 to 5:00 PM EST

Abstract
Tremendous advances in marine technology coupled with increasing activity in offshore frontier areas present many opportunities for engineers and policy makers. Deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, energy exploration and increased shipping in the Arctic, and the use of Liquid Natural Gas as maritime fuel are just a few of the exciting developments within the maritime and petroleum engineering professions.

Speaker Bio
Rear Admiral (ret) James Watson was sworn in as the Director of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement on December 1, 2011. He will draw on his experience as a naval architect, marine safety officer, and public policy expert in the Coast Guard as well as his current involvement in offshore energy safety within the Department of Interior. Rear Admiral Watson is a 1985 graduate of the Rackham School of Graduate Studies at the University of Michigan and has master’s degrees in Naval Architecture and Mechanical Engineering.

Sponsor
The University of Michigan Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering department.

Abstract
Michigan Radio’s Lester Graham as moderates a town hall meeting on the future of fracking in Michigan. This live event featured a screening of Fracktopia, a documentary about the latest techniques to recover natural gas and oil and their potential consequences. Graham will lead a discussion with a panel of experts, members of the town hall audience, as well as taking questions from Twitter (hashtag #fracktopia).

This event is free and open to the public or available via a live webcast.

Scheduled panelists include…

• Prof. Brian Ellis, Michigan Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Erik Bauss, Michigan Field Director, Energy in Depth
• Hugh McDiarmid Jr., Michigan Environmental Council
• Bill Mitchell,Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

Sponsor
University of Michigan College of Engineering, Michigan Radio and MconneX

“ Ten months after the Rio Summit, corporations and governments continue to make commitments to sustainability. Are we making progress? What’s next for our nation’s sustainability efforts? And what role for policy makers makes the most sense?”

Thursday, April 11, 2013
3:30 PM EDT

Abstract
Ten months after the Rio Summit, corporations and governments continue to make commitments to sustainability. Are we making progress? What’s next for our nation’s sustainability efforts? And what role for policy makers makes the most sense? Ms. Jackson will touch on these questions and many more.

Speaker Bio
Lisa Jackson served as President Obama’s administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from Jan. 23, 2009, until last month. During her tenure, Jackson oversaw stricter fuel efficiency standards; the EPA’s response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill; authorized carbon dioxide as a public health threat, granting the EPA authority to set new regulations regarding CO2 emissions; and laid out a failed plan to set stricter smog pollution limits by amending the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.

Sponsor
The University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment.

“ Desalination is here. In the arid southwest, from Texas to California, as well as in Florida and a few other states, the demand for freshwater exceeds the supply.”

Abstract
Desalination is here. In the arid southwest, from Texas to California, as well as in Florida and a few other states, the demand for freshwater exceeds the supply. Fortunately, many of these regions have access to large brackish groundwater aquifers, and they are being tapped and desalted. In this age of sustainability, desalination presents particular problems, not only in the energy used to accomplish the desalination itself (where great progress has been made in the past 20 years), but in all of the ancillary processes. The central issue is recovery: the fraction of extracted water that becomes the product water.

Recovery is limited because of the possibility of scale formation (precipitation of sparingly soluble salts) on the desalting membranes, a process that must be avoided. Pretreatment nearly always includes the application of anti-scalants (precipitation inhibitors) but can also include the precipitation of particularly undesirable constituents. The fraction that is not recovered is the concentrate, and its disposal in inland desalination is often expensive and sometimes problematic environmentally. Recovery is often limited to approximately 80% in conventional reverse osmosis (RO) systems, meaning that 20% of the water requires disposal.

Research in my group has included some work on pretreatment (particularly removal of silica, which can severely limit recovery) and more work on the treatment of concentrate to allow increased recovery. We have pursued two different avenues: (i) the deliberate precipitation of solids from the concentrate (with or without pre-oxidation of anti-scalants), followed by solid/liquid separation, with the liquid stream then available for further RO treatment, and (ii) the direct application of electrodialysis to RO concentrate to further increase recovery and thereby reduce the volume of concentrate.

This talk will elucidate the general problems of inland desalination, and use examples from our research (as well as that of others) to illustrate the approaches to reduce these problems.

Speaker Bio
Desmond Lawler, Ph.D. Chair of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin

Desmond Lawler is the Nasser I. Al-Rashid Chair in Civil Engineering and a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of Texas. His research and teaching focus on physical/chemical treatment processes for water and waste water, with greater emphasis on drinking water treatment. Throughout his career, he has studied particle removal processes and more recently has been studying desalination and processes for the removal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. He served as the Secretary of AEESP for two years early in his career, and has been a board member of the Water Science and Research Division of AWWA for the past several years. He is a member of the Drinking Water Committee of the Science Advisory Board of the USEPA.

Sponsor
The University of Michigan Civil and Environmental Engineering department.

With opening day around the corner, fans around the country are gearing up to watch the big hitters. We asked U-M Engineering Professor Noel Perkins to tell us the factors that going into swinging the bat, and to show us how his new technology can help analyze and engineer the perfect swing.

ABOUT THE PROFESSOR: Noel Perkins is the Donald T. Greenwood Collegiate Professor of Mechanical Engineering and an Arthur F. Thurnau professor at the University of Michigan College of Engineering. His research interests are dynamics including vibration and stability, nonlinear dynamics, experimental methods. Applications to nonlinear dynamics of elastic cables, nonlinear fluid-structure interaction, DNA supercoiling, sports engineering, MEMS inertial sensor applications, vehicle systems, axially moving materials.