Professional Enrichment Programs

The Alvine Engineering Professional Effectiveness and Enrichment Program

Engineers are invited to attend the upcoming Alvine Engineering Professional Effectiveness and Enrichment Program. The program offers a series of interactive seminars, forums, and multimedia lectures presented by outstanding UNH Tagliatela School of Engineering faculty and professional engineers and scientists. The program is free and the general public is welcome. For more information on the series contact Ismail Orabi at 203-932-7144. 

Here are selected presentations from last year:

Wed., Sept. 3, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Patent Law - An Intersection of Science and Law," with Gregory S. Rosenblatt, partner in the intellectual property practice group, Wiggin and Dana LLP.
Rosenblatt left the research lab to become a patent attorney and now defends the intellectual property of others. He will discuss the steps to becoming a patent attorney and the position's functions, including counseling inventors, representing inventors before the U.S. Patent Office, defending intellectual property and obtaining value for intellectual property.  He will detail steps associated with applying for and receiving a U.S. patent. Examples of lucrative and the not-so-lucrative, but still clever, patented inventions will also be presented. Rosenblatt graduated from Cornell University with a degree in materials science and engineering and holds a law degree from New York Law School. He is a member of the New York and Connecticut Bars and is registered to practice before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. He has patent law experience with a diverse range of technologies including metallurgy, materials processing, inorganic chemistry, electronic packaging, aerospace, ammunition and defense. In addition to patent application drafting and prosecution, Rosenblatt has conducted a number of patent reexamination and reissue proceedings, and has experience with trade litigation and foreign patent practice, including oppositions.  Before associating with the firm Rosenblatt was in-house counsel to Olin Corporation with responsibilities for the Brass, Winchester, Aerospace and Defense Groups.

 

Tuesday, Sept. 9, 4:30 p.m., Room 105, Kaplan Hall: "Project Planning," with John A. Rignoli, industrial engineering department manager at Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
Rignoli will examine how job requirements have developed from what is needed to reduce or eliminate repairs on a particular part, to helping ensure billions of dollars in deliveries annually. In all cases, planning and goals are essential to the success of the project. He will discuss some on the projects he has have been involved with at Sikorsky and how planning and goals are essential to the success of any project. Rignoli has been an industrial engineer at Sikorsky Aircraft for 24 years and has seen his career evolve from junior engineer to staff engineer to group manager and, finally, to department manager. He received a B.S. in industrial engineering from the University of Rhode Island and an M.S. in industrial engineering and an M.B.A. from the University of New Haven.

Tuesday, Sept. 16, 4:30 p.m., Room 105, Kaplan Hall : "From Concept to Customer:  The Design Process for High-Technology Products," William T. Cousins, Ph.DEngineering Fellow

Systems Engineering & Validation, Pratt & Whitney.

How does one bring a new technology to market?  What steps are required to minimize risk?  How do you quantify the stage of development a new technology?

"From Concept to Customer" discussed these ideas and more.  The quality system hierarchy of technology development will be discussed, along with its relationship to product deployment.  Technology development, validation, risk analysis, and testing are key parts of the advanced technology implementation process.  While this seminar will discuss these concepts and show various short videos that relate these ideas to what is done in the propulsion engine business (icing tests, bird ingestion tests, water ingestion tests, destructive blade-out tests, etc.) the concepts are applicable to any advanced technology development and implementation process.

Dr. Cousins holds a BSME, MSME, and Ph.D. degree from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, and has worked in the area of compressor aerodynamics, operability, and testing for over 30 years.  While spending most of his career in the propulsion industry in both a managerial and individual contributor capacity, he has also worked in the power production and air pollution control businesses.  Currently with Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, Connecticut, he holds the position of Engineering Fellow in the Systems Engineering & Validation area.  He is responsible for the development of advanced technology concepts and associated analysis, and is the Chair of the SEV Eagle Works Innovation Center Technology Board. 

While Dr. Cousins works with many engine programs, he spends a large portion of his time in the area of measurements, inlet/engine integration and unsteady flow analysis.  Dr. Cousins has continued to teach undergraduate and graduate technical courses as an adjunct professor in several universities, and as a corporate certified facilitator, has taught courses in process improvement, culture change, and six-sigma quality. 

Tues., Sept. 30, 4:30 p.m., Room 105, Kaplan Hall: "Project Planning and Project Management:  Learning from the Past to Succeed in the Future," with Kelly S. Magnuson, director of project management at Pfizer, Inc.
Magnuson will review the basic tenets of project management and why project management knowledge and methodology are critical to executing business strategy efficiently and effectively. She will discuss how, if a business in any industry wishes to remain competitive, it must now go one step further and use cumulative project management knowledge to improve project success. She will examine why projects fail and example projects will be highlighted to provide insight into how lessons learned can be applied to enable the success of future projects in any industry. Magnuson has over 20 years of combined teaching and industry experience.  At Pfizer she has held a variety of positions that have provided experience across a range of disciplines as well as across all phases of drug development. She has held positions of increasing responsibility within the project management discipline, serving as a project manager for drug development teams, portfolio director/resource manager for the Pfizer Research organization, and line manager roles in Pfizer Global R&D Project Management. She is currently a director of project management, managing a global, cross-functional team developing a first-in-class new medicine to treat non-small cell lung cancer.

Wed., Oct. 15, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "RFID: What Is It and How Is It Going To Affect You?" with Andy Grace, director, RFID Business Unit for George Schmitt & Co.
Grace's presentation will delve into how RFID technology is being utilized and which companies are developing, supplying, and managing RFID systems. He will discuss how Auto-ID technology affects the public, review the history of this exciting technology and describe its basic functionality.  He will cover the "global standards" and conclude with a brief status of the industry, what opportunities and challenges lie ahead, and what career opportunities may exist for engineering, business, and IT personnel as the technology evolves. Grace is a recognized expert in the RFID field and a frequent speaker at conferences around the world. He has been an RFID proponent and business executive for the past nine years and has over 40 years of technical, marketing, and sales experience in the hi-tech electronics marketplace. He has been the director of the RFID business unit for George Schmitt & Co. for the past three years and has also consulted for Impinj, Inc., the leading supplier of RFID integrated circuits. He was director of product management for RFID tags for Matrics/Symbol Technologies, now part of Motorola Corporation and ran a product line that developed RFID integrated circuits as the director of interface products for Fairchild Semiconductor Corporation. He has also been involved with a number of industry pioneering RFID systems in the airport and pharmaceutical industries.

Wed., Oct. 29, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity" with Mike Seibert, tactical uplink lead with the Mars Exploration Rover Project at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.
Seibert's presentation will provide a look at the challenges of development and continued operations of the twin Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity. The team overcame myriad technical challenges to get both rovers ready to launch by the summer of 2003.   In January 2004, both rovers successfully landed on opposite sides of Mars, beginning their three-month missions of exploration. After nearly five years, both rovers are still operating after having driven a combined distance of nearly 20 kilometers and surviving three frigid Martian winters and a global dust storm that blocked out over 99.5 percent of the direct sunlight that powers the rovers. Seibert is a tactical uplink lead with the Mars Exploration Rover Project at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Cal.  He is involved in the daily operations of both of the Mars Exploration Rovers. He is also is researching technology needed to allow in-situ processing of lunar soil to support NASA's return to the moon in the coming decades.  He received his B.S. in aerospace engineering sciences from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2005.

Wed., November 12, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Evolution of Biomedical Engineering," with Dr. Joseph D. Bronzino, Vernon Roosa Professor of Applied Science, Trinity College (Conn.), and president of the Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium.
Bronzino's presentation will focus on the technological advances that have shaped the evolution of biomedical engineering as a major activity of the field of applied physics. The era of modern medicine began with the invention of the X-ray machine which reshaped the role of the hospital from a repository for the sick to a place where advanced technological advances were applied to enhance the diagnosis and treatment of patients. Throughout the 20th century the technological advances conceived during World War II and the space program were rapidly applied to health care delivery, significantly improving patient outcomes. The process continues in the 21st century with new approaches such as tissue engineering, bio-nanotechnology, and biomarkers based on genomic information becoming commonplace. Bronzino received a B.S.E.E. degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, an M.S.E.E. degree from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, , and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He is the Vernon Roosa Professor of Applied Science, at Trinity College (Conn), and president of the Biomedical Engineering Alliance and Consortium, a non-profit organization consisting of academic and medical institutions as well as corporations dedicated to the development of new medical technology. He is the author of over 200 journal articles and 15 books and is currently editor-in-chief of the Academic Press/Elsevier BME Book Series.

Wed., Dec. 10, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Green Vehicles:  How are Plug-in Hybrids are different from Hybrid and Electric Vehicles?" with Frank Kuchinski, VP Marketing Poulsen Hybrid, LLC

Poulsen Hybrid, LLC aims to improve the way consumers commute with our Poulsen Plug-in Hybrid system that converts conventional cars into battery assisted plug-in hybrid vehicles. It offers millions of consumers the option to keep their existing car instead of having to buy a new hybrid vehicle.

With the Poulsen Hybrid system, existing cars can become a Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in less than 4 hours. Our patented Power Assist technology provides approximately 25 to 30 miles of battery assisted power for each time the batteries are charged. This battery assisted power range has been selected for the 70% of Americans who commute less than 30 miles a day.

The Poulsen Hybrid is a completely passive and independent system that attaches battery powered motors to the car's rear wheels to supplement the car's traditional gas engine with battery power.  Simply drive the way you normally do and once your car reaches 20 mph, the Poulsen Hybrid motors are engaged to provide supplemental power to the rear wheels which reduces the amount of gasoline needed by the engine. The result is that your car will use less gas and avoid emitting 19 lbs of CO2 into the environment for each gallon of gas saved. A complete Poulsen Hybrid system with lead batteries retails for $4,550 or $8,600 with Lithium-ion batteries.

The Poulsen Hybrid was invented by Ulrik Poulsen who has an extensive background in electro-mechanical design and over 25 years experience in the industry.  

Frank Kuchinski is Vice President of Marketing for Poulsen Hybrid, LLC.  Poulsen Hybrid, LLC is based in Shelton, Connecticut and has developed the Poulsen Plug-in Hybrid system which converts conventional vehicles into Plug-in hybrid vehicles in under four hours.  Frank is a graduate of Babson College. His background includes management and marketing technology positions at Fortune 500 firms and at financial software startup company where he was responsible for the design and launch of a online portfolio management product.

Tuesday, Feb. 10, 4:30 p.m., Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B225: "Intellectual Property, What Is It and Why Should an Engineer Care?" with Rafael E. Rosado, associate general counsel, Next Generation Product Family, Pratt & Whitney

Rosado's presentation will focus on providing a basic understanding of intellectual property law.  He will give a general overview of intellectual property, with an emphasis on United States patent law. He will also look at trademark, copyright and trade-secret law, as well as employment agreements engineers are frequently asked to sign. Rosado is Pratt & Whitney's associate general counsel responsible for their Next Generation Product Family program. In this role, he is responsible for leading and managing all legal issues related to Pratt's next generation commercial jet engines. While this responsibility includes all contractual, antitrust and export issues, his primary focus is managing the program's intellectual property portfolio to ensure that Pratt & Whitney protects its technological lead and respects the intellectual property rights of third parties. Rosado received his juris doctor degree from the George Washington University School of Law and his B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Construction Management as a Project Delivery System," with Steve Blovish, project executive with the construction firm of Bartlett Brainard Eacott. 

Blovish will analyze the process of developing a construction project from conceptual need to project completion and close-out. Emphasis will be placed on construction management as a viable delivery system. Job opportunities in the construction industry will also be discussed. Blovish is a civil engineer and a senior project manager with the construction firm of Barlettt Brainard Eacott, in Bloomfield, Conn. He has worked in commercial construction for over 25 years and manages an annual portfolio of projects valued at $75,000,000.

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "At the Boundary of Nanophotonics and Nanomechanics," with Hong Tang, Ph.D., assistant professor in electrical engineering and mechanical engineering at Yale University.

Nanomechanical devices and photonic devices are promising alternatives to today's electronic devices. Tang will demonstrate that significant optical force can be produced by a single pass of light in a silicon photonic circuit. The optical force, originated from lateral photon confinement rather than from momentum transfer, is applied in a planar geometry and offers high scalability. Control and harnessing optical force will allow solid-state devices to operate under this new physical principle, and open doors to non-charge based devices. Tang is a leading researcher in the field of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS). He has expertise in nanofabrication, NEMS actuation and transduction, and nanosystem integration. Tang's research group at Yale University focuses on integrated photonics, photonic integration of NEMS, NEMS-IC, and NEMS/acoustic based sensor development. Tang received his Ph.D. from the California Institute of Technology in 2002.

Thursday, Feb 19, 12:30  PM, the Tagliatela College of Engineering, room B331 : Show and Tell :  Green Vehicles:  How are Plug-in Hybrids are different from Hybrid and Electric Vehicles? With Frank Kuchinski, VP Marketing Poulsen Hybrid, LLC.  His talk will focus on improving  the way consumers commute with our Poulsen Plug-in Hybrid system that converts conventional cars into battery assisted plug-in hybrid vehicles.  The new invention offers millions of consumers the option to keep their existing car instead of having to buy a new hybrid vehicle. With the Poulsen Hybrid system, existing cars can become a Plug-In Electric Vehicle (PHEV) in less than 4 hours.   The Poulsen Hybrid is a completely passive and independent system that attaches battery powered motors to the car's rear wheels to supplement the car's traditional gas engine with battery power.  Simply drive the way you normally do and once your car reaches 20 mph, the Poulsen Hybrid motors are engaged to provide supplemental power to the rear wheels which reduces the amount of gasoline needed by the engine. The result is that your car will use less gas and avoid emitting 19 lbs of CO2 into the environment for each gallon of gas saved.

Friday, Feb. 20, 1:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering.  Room B120: "Biomedical Engineers and Tissue Engineering," with Mark Saltzman, Ph.D., the Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering at Yale University, professor of cellular and molecular physiology, and founding chair of its Biomedical Engineering Department.

Saltzman's presentation will focus on several tissue engineering projects that his laboratory is currently working on. His talk will highlight his work on design of novel biomaterials, the delivery of protein growth factors, and the optimization of therapeutic revascularization by endothelial cell transplantation. Saltzman's research interests include drug delivery to the brain, materials for vaccine delivery, and tissue engineering; he has published over 150 research papers, three books, two edited books, and 10 patents in these fields. He received his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from Iowa State University, and M.S. in chemical engineering and Ph.D. in medical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2002, Saltzman moved to Yale University as the Goizueta Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering and, in 2003, he became the first chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 4:30 p.m., Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B225: "Professional Ethics in Engineering Practice," with Alfred N. Kovalik, vice-president of GeoDesign, Inc. and Paul K. Taormina, a structural, civil, and mechanical engineering consultant.

Kovalik and Taormina will discuss ethics, including the "code of ethics" for engineers, and will use case studies illustrating examples of questionable behavior encountered during the conduction of a professional engineering practice. Kovalik was recognized in 2008 by "Consulting -Specifying Engineer Magazine" as one of the nation's "top 40" engineers under 40-years-old in the design/building and construction industry. He has been a partner at GeoDesign, Inc., headquartered in Middlebury, Conn., since 2007. GeoDesign specializes in geotechnical, construction support, and environmental engineering. Kovalik received his B.S. in civil engineering from the University of Connecticut and his M.S. in environmental engineering from UNH. He is a professional engineer in eight states and a licensed environmental professional in the state of Connecticut. Taormina owns his own firm that provides structural, civil, and mechanical engineering consulting services rendered for engineered residences and additions and commercial, industrial, and office buildings. He is a professional engineer in Connecticut and in New York. Taormina received his B.S.M.E. and B.A. from Columbia University and B.S.C.E. from UNH. He served as the president of the Connecticut Society of Professional Engineers from 2005-2006 and as the treasurer from 2008-2009.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Design, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship," with Ulrick Poulsen, inventor of the Poulsen Hybrid.

Poulsen will discuss his invention, a system that converts conventional cars into battery assisted plug-in hybrid vehicles. This power-assist technology enables cars to become plug-in electric vehicles in less than four hours and has been created for the 70% of Americans who commute less than 30 miles per day. Poulsen is the inventor of the Poulsen Hybrid, co-founder and president of Poulsen Hybrid LLC, and CEO of Bridgeport Magnetics Group, Inc., which specializes in the design and manufacture of both standard and custom design toroidal power transformers, current sensing transformers, and inductors. He has over 25 years of experience in mechanical and electrical engineering and management. Poulsen is the holder of multiple patents for the Poulsen Hybrid and other products that he has invented.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009, 12:15 p.m., Schumann Auditorium in the Tagliatela College of Engineering, Room B120: "Progress Towards Sustainability at Yale: From Theory to Practice," with Dr. Julie Newman, director of the Office of Sustainability at Yale University. 

Newman will discuss the theory and application of the principles of sustainability development as it relates to institutional change, decision-making processes, and strategic planning on a university campus. Newman will focus on the challenge of developing a sustainable campus at Yale University and provide insights into the processes that are being established there, along with recommendations and strategies for implementation. Newman is the first director of the Office of Sustainability at Yale University. She has 15 years of experience in the field, including working for University Leaders for a Sustainable Future and assisting in the development of the Office of Sustainability Programs at the University of New Hampshire. Newman holds a lecturer appointment with the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, where she teaches an undergraduate course entitled: "Sustainability: From Theory to Practice in Institutions." She is the co-founder of the Northeast Campus Sustainability Consortium, which advances education and action for sustainable development on university campuses in the northeast and maritime region. Newman also serves as the co-editor of Sustainability: Journal of Record. She received her B.S. in natural resource policy and management from the University of Michigan, her M.S. in environmental policy and biology from Tufts University, and her Ph.D. in natural resources and environmental studies from the University of New Hampshire.