The Indian National Academy of Engineering (INAE)
Dr. Ahsan Kareem elected Foreign Fellow (more)

Establishment of the Midwest Isotope and Trace Element Research Analytical Center (MITERAC)
Antonio Simonetti and Clive R. Neal, co-PIs on a NSF-MRI equipment grant, have successfully received funding for the establishment of MITERAC, a new laboratory facility that shall expand the research endeavors of 18 researchers from 6 universities in Indiana and Michigan. This will be accomplished via the acquisition of the following new instruments, which will be combined with the existing high resolution Element 2 ICP-MS (with 213 nm laser ablation unit and liquid chromatographic system): multiple collector-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (MC-ICP-MS), 193 nm laser ablation and microdrilling systems, and dedicated Hg analyzers. The MC-ICP-MS instrumentation shall provide researchers the capacity to obtain highly precise and accurate isotope data from various types of environmental and geological samples. The 193 nm laser system and microdrill shall be used to acquire high quality, isotope data at high spatial resolution; i.e. 10s to 100s of micron scale from geological and archaeological samples. The Hg analyzers shall be used to quantify mercury levels in environmental samples as part of on-going research investigations in pollution remediation. MITERAC shall be a facility specializing in isotope geochemistry and trace element research; one that is fully accessible to undergraduates and graduate students, and faculty. The establishment of MITERAC will provide both graduate and undergraduate students from 6 universities with experience in handling and interpretation of isotope data, and critical hands-on training and expertise at Notre Dame in latest ICP-MS technology and highly innovative instrumentation; training that is critical to their scientific development. The facility will address research covering a broad range of research disciplines, including petrology, planetary geology, anthropology, the environment, engineering (pollutant remediation), nuclear forensics, geomicrobiology, and hydrology; the latter research areas having a direct impact on societal issues. Our proposed facility shall attract scientists/engineers and accompanying students from around the world to conduct their highly innovative research, which ultimately enhances the educational experiences of all involved.

National Science Foundation Award
Daniel P. McInnis has been selected to receive a 2009 National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Awrad (GRF). This award is based on Dan's abilities and accomplishments as well as his potential to contribute to strengthening the vitality of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise. (more to come)

DOE to Establish Energy Frontier Research Center at Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame will be home to one of 46 new multi-million-dollar Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRCs) announced yesterday (April 27) by the White House in conjunction with a speech delivered by President Barack Obama at the annual meeting of the National Academy of Sciences. The EFRCs, which will pursue advanced scientific research on energy, are being established by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science at universities, national laboratories, nonprofit organizations and private firms across the nation.The University of Notre Dame’s EFRC is one of 16 to be funded by President Obama’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Peter C. Burns, chair of the University’s Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, will be director of the new center. Burns said that this is a unique and important opportunity for scholars at Notre Dame and partner institutions to impact future energy challenges facing the nation and the world.Notre Dame’s EFRC is titled “Materials Science of Actinides.” The focus of this center, which includes participants from several other universities and national laboratories, is the elements that are the basis of nuclear energy (uranium, plutonium and other actinides). Research in the center will seek to understand and control materials that contain actinides at the nanoscale, which is about one-millionth of the size of the tip of a ball-point pen. This research is intended to lay the scientific foundation for advanced nuclear energy systems that may provide much more energy while creating less nuclear waste.As global energy demand grows over this century, there is an urgent need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and imported oil and curtail greenhouse gas emissions,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu. “Meeting this challenge will require significant scientific advances. These centers will mobilize the enormous talents and skills of our nation’s scientific workforce in pursuit of the breakthroughs that are essential to make alternative and renewable energy truly viable as large-scale replacements for fossil fuels.”The 46 EFRCs, to be funded at $2.5 million per year each for a planned initial five-year period, were selected from a pool of some 260 applications received in response to a solicitation issued by the DOE Office of Science in 2008. Selection was based on a rigorous merit review process utilizing outside panels composed of scientific experts. EFRC researchers will take advantage of new capabilities in nanotechnology, high-intensity light sources, neutron scattering sources, supercomputing and other advanced instrumentation, much of it developed with DOE Office of Science support over the past decade, in an effort to lay the scientific groundwork for fundamental advances in solar energy, biofuels, transportation, energy efficiency, electricity storage and transmission, clean coal and carbon capture and sequestration, and nuclear energy. Of the 46 EFRCs selected, 31 are led by universities, 12 by DOE National Laboratories, two by nonprofit organizations, and one by a corporate research laboratory. The criterion for providing an EFRC with Recovery Act funding was job creation. The EFRCs chosen for funding under the Recovery Act provide the most employment for postdoctoral associates, graduate students, undergraduates and technical staff, in keeping with the Recovery Act’s objective to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery. Contact: Peter C. Burns, Henry Massman Chair in Civil Engineering, 574-631-7852, pburns@nd.edu

The Club Coordination Council of Notre Dame recognized the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) student chapter at Notre Dame by awarding the Academic Club Program of the Year for the Great Lakes Conference, the regional ASCE student conference which brought over 400 civil engineering students from 16 universities to the campus in early April. The conference website is at http://nd.edu/~asce/glc2009.html

Burns named Massman Professor
Peter C. Burns, Chair of the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences for the past six years, was recently named the Henry J. Massman Professor by Peter Kilpatrick, Dean of the College of Engineering. In his comments concerning this appointment, Dean Kilpatrick indicated it is in recognition of research excellence. Burns came to Notre Dame in 1997 as an assistant professor. He initially developed a vigorous research program in uranium mineralogy, with applications to nuclear waste disposal and understanding the mobility of uranium in contaminated sites. His research activities have expanded over the years to include many aspects of actinide inorganic solid state and solution chemistry, with applications to nuclear waste disposal, contaminated site remediation, and advanced nuclear fuel cycles. His research is funded by the Department of Energy and by the National Science Foundation. He has published two co-edited books and more than 250 peer-reviewed archival journal papers in mineralogy, chemistry, materials, and crystallography journals. According to Thomspon ISI, Burns is the seventh-highest cited geoscientists in the past decade, and one of only two working at an American university to place in the top ten. Burns has received a variety of awards for his research, including the Donath medal of the Geological Society of America, the Hawley Medal of the Mineralogical Association of Canada, and the Mineralogical Society of America Award. He is a Fellow of the Mineralogical Society of America, the President of the Mineralogical Association of Canada, and is a member of several other scientific societies. Burns teaches undergraduate courses in mineralogy and field geology, as well as graduate courses in crystallography and actinide chemistry. His research group includes five graduate students, two post-doctoral fellows, and three undergraduates.

Geologist Neal named to NASA Lunar Science Institute
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has named Clive R. Neal, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, to a select team of scientists tasked with growing the nation’s technical capabilities in lunar science and developing educational opportunities in space science.The initial members of the agency’s newly formed Lunar Science Institute (LSI) represent Notre Dame, the Lunar & Planetary Institute, the Universities of Arizona, Houston, and Maryland, Rice University, Southwest Research Institute and National Institute of Polar Research. The team will investigate if the Earth and moon were resurfaced by asteroids and comets billions of years ago and how such heavy bombardment influenced the evolution of life on earth.In his role on LSI, Neal is part of a team that will be studying rocks collected at all of the Apollo landing sites, but especially those gathered around the Apollo 16 site. These particular regolith breccias (rocks formed by shock and the intense heat of an impact) are believed to be on the order of 4 billion years old and theorized to have been formed during a time and in an environment in which intense impacts were common. Extracting samples from existing breccias, the team will analyze the rocks via optical and electron microscopy to more conclusively determine the age of the breccias and the veracity of the lunar cataclysm hypothesis, as well as its probable effect on the inner solar system.In addition to studying the origin and evolution of the moon, Neal also focuses on the geochemical and environmental consequences of plate interactions and petrogenesis of Large Igneous Provinces, as well as the environmental effects of heavy pollution.A member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1990, Neal is a member of the Mineralogical Society of America, Geological Society of America, American Geophysical Union, American Association for the Advancement of Science and National Association of Geoscience Teachers. He currently is chair of NASA’s Lunar Exploration Analysis Group and the Science and Technology Panel of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program.Neal earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Leicester and a doctorate in geology and geochemistry from the University of Leeds.Prior to joining the Notre Dame faculty, he served as a visiting scientist at Johnson Space Center, Fulbright fellow and research associate at the University of Tennessee and lecturer at the University of East Anglia.Contact: Clive R. Neal, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences, 574-631-8328, neal.1@nd.edu

New Researcher Enhances Notre Dame’s Energy Research Efforts
The University of Notre Dame’s Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, which already is nationally respected for its work in energy and environmental issues, has strengthened those efforts with the addition of Thomas E. Albrecht-Schmitt, a renowned expert in the materials and solid-state chemistry of heavy elements, especially uranium, neptunium and plutonium.Previously a professor of chemistry at Auburn University, Albrecht-Schmitt has created several new materials with these elements that offer unique properties necessary for the advancement of clean, and green, energy.This is important because research in heavy elements yields fundamental insights that can be used to develop new technologies and processes for the safe handling and disposition of radioactive materials. Studies of these elements and their by-products help address the environmental consequences of weapons programs, as well as the release of nuclear materials into the environment from nuclear energy production.For example, novel materials that can work in extremely high radiation fields could lead to the development of advanced waste forms for safely storing the unwanted by-products of nuclear power. Likewise, the same material could offer properties that would deter these same by-products from leaching into the environment.Albrecht-Schmitt’s research interests include solid-state chemistry (focusing on actinides), nuclear waste disposal, structure-property relationships in novel crystalline solids, environmental chemistry and crystal structure analysis.He earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Southwest Minnesota State University in 1993 and his master’s (1994) and doctoral (1997) degrees in chemistry from Northwestern University.More information about research initiatives in energy and the environment in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at Notre Dame is available at http://www.nd.edu/~cegeos/Research/research2.htm.

Drilling for Answers: Clive Neal and the JOIDES Resolution [more]
Clive Neal, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences at the University of Notre Dame, is sailing the deep blue sea from Feb. 4 through March 5. His trip is not a pleasure cruise, but a unique journey that is part of a significant moment for the world of ocean research.Neal is sailing aboard the JOIDES Resolution, a riserless drilling vessel operated by the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program for scientific exploration of the ocean floor. jrs_neal@ship.iop.tamu.edu

Ahsan Kareem, Robert Moran Professor of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences at the University of Notre Dame, has been elected a member of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE). [more] [pictures]
Election to NAE is among the highest professional distinctions accorded to an engineer. Academy membership honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice or education, including significant contributions to engineering literature, the pioneering of new and developing fields of technology, making major advancements in traditional fields of engineering, or developing and implementing innovative approaches to engineering education.

Kareem Receives International Appointment
Past president of the American Association for Wind Engineering and frequent consultant to major oil and insurance companies, engineering corporations, and the United Nations, Ahsan Kareem, the Robert M. Moran Professor of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences, has been appointed advisory professor to Tongji University of Shanghai. This is one of only four such appointments in the history of the civil engineering program at Tongji, which is rated number one in China.

Kareem is the director of the NatHaz Modeling Laboratory at Notre Dame. He specializes in probabilistic structural dynamics, fluid-structure interactions, structural safety and mitigation of natural hazards. His work relates to the research efforts at Tongji that focus on wind effects on civil infrastructure — specifically the mitigation of natural hazards and the development of tall buildings and long-span bridges — and supports China’s commitment to advance the nation by encouraging international collaborations, exchange programs, and technological growth.
Additionally, the International Association of Wind Engineering has named Kareem the recipient of the Alan G. Davenport Medal. The award was presented in July 2007 at the 12th International Conference on Wind Engineering in Cairns, Australia.
He has also been appointed chair of the Advisory Board of the Engineering Mechanics Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers. The board oversees the technical activities and financial business of the division. Kareem has been a member of the Notre Dame faculty since 1990.

The Benefits of Collaboration
For several years, Stephen E. Silliman, professor of civil engineering and geological sciences and associate dean for educational programs in the College of Engineering, has traveled to Benin, West Africa. He and several Notre Dame students, graduates and undergraduates, have been working in conjunction with Moussa Boukari, professor of earth sciences at Université d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin.
Silliman, Boukari, and students from both universities have been studying the quality of water derived from groundwater wells, including the development of technological and sociological means to empower the local population so they can collect water quality data from their village wells. Other projects that have developed from the collaboration involve studying the source of uranium in groundwater wells, modeling saltwater intrusion, developing collaborative drilling projects, promoting wellhead protection, and working with primary and secondary schools in rural Benin to establish an educational exchange with K-8 schools in Indiana.

The work, supported by the a number of foundations and private benefactors, as well as the National Science Foundation, has proved very rewarding. Silliman believes that this project holds a number of benefits to those involved. “The focus on research as applied to these complex issues in Benin has the potential to impact the local population through helping them better understand and maintain their critical water resources. It also has the potential to impact the students in Benin through providing access to new technologies (techniques in hydrology), as well as to ongoing collaboration with colleagues in the United States. Finally, it has the potential to impact participating Notre Dame students by providing them with a rigorous, multidisciplinary, international research experience, while challenging them to see the talents, strength, and beauty of both their Beninese peers and the Beninese people.”

For more information about the college’s work in Benin, visit www.nd.edu/~silliman/Development/benin.

Previous Years News Items

Engineering Alum Wins Stockholm Water Prize
A 1969 graduate of the University of Notre Dame, William J. Mitsch, professor of natural resources at The Ohio State University (OSU) and director of the OSU Olentangy River Wetland Research Park, was named co-recipient of the 2004 Stockholm Water Prize, the top honor in the area of water resources. On campus in November 2004, Mitsch presented a lecture, “Applying Science to Conservation and Restoration of the World’s Wetlands,” to the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences in which he discussed the work that led to the prize. [more]

CEST Co-sponsors Third Annual Environmental Symposium
Sponsored by the Center for Environmental Science and Technology and the Graduate School, the third annual Symposium on Notre Dame Environmental Education and Research was held in November 2004 in cooperation with the “Faith, Ethics, and the Environment” conference sponsored by the Reilly Center for Science, Technology, and Values. The keynote speaker was James Fredrickson, senior staff scientist and laboratory fellow at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. [more]

Research Effort May Solve Sewer Problem
Assistant Professor Jeffrey W. Talley is leading a team of researchers in an effort to develop a novel technology to address the problem of combined sewer outflow (CSO). Talley’s team is developing, deploying, and testing embedded sensors and communication networks in a tributary of South Bend’s St. Joseph River and in Elkhart’s CSO Constructed Wetland. Collaborators in the University’s CSO research effort are Purdue University scientists; Environmental Health Laboratories and Distributed Sensing Technologies of South Bend; the cities of South Bend, Elkhart, and Mishawaka; and the CSO Partnership of Richmond, Va. [more]

EMSI Offers Outreach Programs
The Environmental Molecular Science Institute at Notre Dame offers a variety of educational and outreach programs. These include: Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), a summer session for undergraduate students from across the country that provides hands-on experiences in geomicrobiology, environmental mineralogy and geochemistry, and hydrology; a high school program for area students; and a middle school outreach program.

This summer’s REU program sponsored eight students. Three local schools participated in the 2003-04 high school program; several students from the participating schools won prizes for their work at the 2004 Indiana Regional Science Fair. Forty junior high students were also served through middle school outreach activities. [more]

Kirkner Honored for Service
In spring 2004 Associate Professor David J. Kirkner was recognized for 25 years of service to the University.

Silliman Receives Kaneb Teaching Award
The University named Professor Stephen E. Silliman, associate dean for educational programs in the College of Engineering, a recipient of a 2004 Kaneb Teaching Award.

Talley Named to Joint Chiefs
Since January 2004 Assistant Professor Jeffrey W. Talley has been serving as a strategic planner for the War on Terrorism Directorate of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JSC). He is one of a handful of reserve officers who have been appointed to the JCS. A full-time faculty member, Talley’s work for the Joint Chiefs is conducted during semester breaks and summer reserve service. In fact, a good part of this past summer was spent helping to prepare Joint Staff Action Packages, white papers suggesting terrorism policies to JCS Chairman Gen. Richard Meyers, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, and President Bush.

Westerink Named Teacher of the Year
Associate Professor Joannes J. Westerink, director of the Environmental Hydraulics Laboratory, was named outstanding teacher for the 2003-04 academic year by the College of Engineering.

Related Articles
Nano- and Microparticles: Out of Sight, Out of Mind?
Invisible to the human eye, nano- and microparticles exist in virtually all groundwater systems. More important, they affect the mobility of contaminants in the subsurface. This article discusses the creation of the Environmental Molecular Science Institute and the scope of research in this area at the University of Notre Dame. [more]

The Circle of Life
By exploring how the Earth works, environmental geoscientists at Notre Dame are finding clues to pollution remediation that are very interdisciplinary and earth-friendly. In addition to a recap of research activities, this article reviews the new environmental geosciences curriculum for undergraduates. [more]

Movers & Shakers: Natural Hazard Mitigation at the University of Notre Dame
Are there ways to lessen the effects of hurricanes, tornadoes, high winds, and other natural disasters? Researchers in the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences are pioneering studies in urban environments to better understand and predict the wind flow in large cities and its affect on tall buildings and other structures. [more]

Reclaiming Those Amber Waves
The past 30 years have brought about many changes in environmental policies dealing with water, soil, and air-quality issues. What has also changed is the way engineers and scientists are approaching pollution … how to prevent it as well as how to reclaim contaminated areas. Researchers within the Department of Civil Engineering and Geological Sciences have developed cutting-edge programs to prevent and remediate pollutants in the environment. [more]