Department News
Faculty Honors
The Penn State Engineering Society (PSES) honors outstanding teaching, research,
and advising among the faculty of the College of Engineering. One of this year’s
recipients was Associate Professor M. Kevin Parfitt.
He was selected in the Outstanding Teaching category through a secret ballot
by committees composed of faculty, staff, alumni, and former award recipients.
Those selected for this award stand as exemplars of faculty excellence. Professor
Parfitt was honored at the PSES Awards Ceremony, which was held on March 30,
2007, in the Bayard D. Kunkle Activities Center, where he was surrounded by
family, colleagues, and friends.
Congratulations Professor Parfitt on a well deserved honor!
The AE Department is pleased to announce that Dr. John Messner was granted academic tenure and promoted to associate professor.
Congratulations!
ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service Award
For serving ASHRAE with distinction on committees and freely giving her time
and talent on behalf of the Society, Dr. Jelena
Srebric was presented with ASHRAE’s Distinguished Service
Award on June 23rd at the Society’s 2007 Annual Meeting in Long Beach,
California.
Congressional Visits Day
Dr. William P. Bahnfleth, representing ASHRAE as a member of
the Board of Directors, attended the Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group
(SETWG) Congressional Visits Day in May. SETWG brings together professional,
scientific and engineering societies, higher education associations, institutions
of higher learning, trade associations and individual companies. ASHRAE members
met with Representative John Peterson (R-Pa.), who serves on the House Appropriations
Committee. The group is concerned about the future vitality of the U.S. science,
math and engineering enterprise.
“ASHRAE has a key role to play in maintaining the global competitiveness
of U.S. science and technology and in solving the pressing worldwide problems
of energy supply, protection of the environment, and indoor environmental quality.”
said Professor Bahnfleth. “SETWG Congressional Visits Day provides an
important opportunity for ASHRAE to join with other engineering, science, and
technology organizations in meeting with our elected leaders to discuss these
issues and to encourage support for the research, education and other programs
needed to address them.”
IEC Co-sponsors Conference
Together with the Computational Epidemiology and Aerobiology Laboratory (CEAL),
the Indoor Environment Center (IEC) co-sponsored the Pan American Aerobiology
Association's (www.paaa.org) Aerobiology 2007 conference, held on the Penn State
campus June 8-11, 2007. IEC Director, William Bahnfleth was
a member of the Scientific Committee, and Indoor Aerosol Laboratory Director, James Freihaut, served on the Organizing Committee. The conference
Chair was Annalisa Ariatti, of the Penn State Department of
Plant Pathology. The IEC organized two half-day pre-conference workshops, "Nuts
and Bolts of Indoor Allergen Assays," and "Modeling of Indoor Airflows
and Aerosol Transport Using CONTAMW."
Wedding
Bells!
Congratulations to AE Bookkeeper Wendy Hummel who married Alan Flanagan on June 16, 2007.
Best wishes to the happy couple!
Student Marshal
Heather Susteric was the top 5th
year student who, with the highest Grade Point Average (3.80), was named the
Class Student Marshal to represent AE in the Spring 2007 Commencement ceremony.
She graduated with an integrated bachelor’s and master’s of architectural
engineering degree.
Heather has also held part time jobs from May 2005 - present as a Structural
Engineering Intern with Hope Furrer Associates, Inc.; and from August 2003 to
May 
2006
as a Lab Technician in the Building Envelope Research Laboratory on campus.
Throughout her academic career, she has won numerous awards including the ACI Pittsburgh Art Livingood Award; the Simpson Strong-Tie Company Structural Engineering Scholarship, the Society of Distinguished Alumni Scholarship; the Ristenbatt M & D Trustee Scholarship; the Fred and Kit Bigony Scholarship in Engineering; the Gladys Baird Memorial Scholarship; the Melvin Peters Endowed Scholarship; and the James M. Pohlen Memorial Scholarship.
A true student leader, she has simultaneously held student organization positions of President of Phi Alpha Epsilon and Vice President of Tau Beta Pi, as well as serving as an AE Student Envoy. She is also a past Team Captain and Competition Coordinator with the Penn State Ballroom Dance Club.
In
between juggling all of these activities, she has also found the time to bake
home made cookies and treats for the AE office staff and be a devoted wife and
mother! She and her husband, John welcomed their new baby daughter, Charlotte
in August 2006.
In addition to being named Student Marshal, she will be awarded a Life Membership in the Penn State Alumni Association.
Heather chose Prof. Moses Ling to serve as Faculty Marshal for the Spring 2007 Commencement. (shown left)
Commencement
Commencement for the College of Engineering was held on May 18, 2007. Architectural
Engineering conferred 41 B.A.E., 13 M.A.E., 3 M.S., 6 M.Eng. and 1 Ph.D. degrees.
An evening reception was held in the Bryce Jordan Center for the AE graduates,
their guests, and AE faculty and staff. Congratulations to our most
recent graduates!
SSAE Option Social
The Student Society of Architectural Engineers (SSAE) and the AE Department
co-sponsored the annual Options Social on March 26, 2007 at the Nittany Lion
Inn. Nine professionals represented the four options (structural, mechanical,
lighting/electrical, and construction management) in the AE curriculum.
The event included a dinner for the professionals, a panel discussion, and a reception. Everyone who attended found the evening to be very informative and educational.
If you are interested in participating at next year's option social, please contact Nancy Smith in the AE main office to have your name added to the mailing list.
PACE Research Seminar
The Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence (PACE) Research Seminar
was held on April 24-25, 2007 at the Nittany Lion Inn. Held each spring, the
research seminar combines presentations of research results and timely industry
speakers for a diverse audience of building industry professional and university
students. The theme for this year’s seminar “Building Respect.”
The Partnership for Achieving Construction Excellence (PACE) Round Table Meeting will be held on October 10 - 11, 2007. Registration details are available online at: www.engr.psu.edu/pace/index.asp
IPAC Meeting
The Industrial and Professional Advisory Council (IPAC) meetings were held in
the College of Engineering on March 21-22, 2007. AE faculty and student representatives
consulted at length with nine members of industry. The focus of the discussions
was on Continual Quality Improvement in preparation for ABET 2008.
Next AE Career Fair
The next AE Career Fair will be held on Nov. 13, 2007 at Rec Hall on campus.
Contact Lori Smith (lorismith@psu.edu)
or check online for further registration details.
www.engr.psu.edu/ae/job_placement/career_fair/index-precareerfair.asp
AE Jobs!
Are you an AE alumni who is looking for a job—-or an employer looking
to hire an AE graduate with a few year’s experience? Please check out
our AE alumni job website at:
http://www.engr.psu.edu/ae/job_placement/jobs_alum.asp
Job postings are free and provided as a courtesy to the alumni of the Architectural Engineering Department.