“Maybe we need to give more homework”

The P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science paid homage to its benefactor last week with a ceremony that highlighted the diverse accomplishments and creative energies of its students and faculty.

The 2015 Celebration of Rossin Professors and Fellows honored the late Peter C. Rossin ’48, an entrepreneur in the titanium alloy industry who, with his wife, Ada, established a $25 million endowment for the college in 1998.

The event was devoted to the Rossin Fellowship Program, one part of the Rossins’ legacy, which recognizes assistant professors, Ph.D. candidates and undergraduate students for their scholarship and academic excellence and for their contributions to Lehigh and the community.

Rossin Professorships honor young faculty members who show significant career potential and a proven ability to reach out to other disciplines. Rossin Doctoral Fellows receive special preparation for careers in academia and research. Rossin Junior Fellows are undergraduate students who serve as mentors and tutors to other students, conduct outreach activities and give campus tours to incoming students.

At the event, Daniel P. Lopresti, interim dean of the college, introduced the three new Rossin Professors. Angela Brown, who joined the department of chemical and biomolecular engineering in 2013, studies the lipid-protein interactions involved in bacterial diseases with an emphasis on the penetration of cell membranes by foreign objects.

Martin Takac, who joined the department of industrial and systems engineering in 2014, is a specialist in high performance computing who develops theoretical methods to utilize “Big Data.” Chao Zhou, who joined the department of electrical and computer engineering in 2012, develops OCT (optical coherence tomography) and OCM (optical coherence microscopy) technologies with ultrahigh speed and resolution to obtain images of cancers and brain functions.

John Coulter, the college’s associate dean for graduate studies, introduced the 19 new Rossin Doctoral Fellows and gave a brief description of their activities, inside and outside the classroom and lab. The list of extracurricular pastimes ran the gamut, from painting and soccer to billiards and board games, from piano and international coin collecting to baking and barbecuing. It turned out that students could find time for kayaking and for optimizing the electrical grid, that a passion for lasers did not preclude a devotion to the violin, that a triathlete could master terahertz lasers.

The new cohort joins the college’s 53 current Rossin Doctoral Fellows.

The college’s department chairs and program directors introduced the 32 new Rossin Junior Fellows in similar fashion, and the list of outside interests lengthened. The undergraduate engineering students volunteer with the Boys and Girls Club, earn scholarships to sing in Lehigh’s Choral Arts program, study abroad in France, do internships in China and for NASA, join Christian fellowship groups, play in the Marching 97, and compete in pinball tournaments. They serve on Lehigh’s 24/7 Emergency Medical Services squad, lead the campus’s sororities and fraternities, dance, hike, ski and backpack.

“I’m astounded at how well-rounded the Rossin Junior Fellows are,” said David C. Angstadt, professor of practice and associate chair of the mechanical engineering and mechanics department. “How do they find the time in the day to do all these things?

“Maybe we need to give more homework.”

The new Rossin Junior Fellows join 32 returning Rossin Junior Fellows. Thirty other current Junior Fellows, who are graduating and completing their service, were congratulated by Lopresti.

The event was attended by Rossin’s daughter, Joan Stephans, and her husband, Peter Stephans, who met with students and faculty members during their visit to campus.
 

2015 Rossin Doctoral Fellows (and majors)

Onur Babat, industrial and systems engineering
Pelin Cay, industrial and systems engineering
Sertalp Cay, industrial and systems engineering
Hiva Ghanbari, industrial and systems engineering
Wei Guo, industrial and systems engineering
Kostas Hatalis, electrical and computer engineering
Omid Javidbakht, electrical and computer engineering
Dawei Li, computer science and engineering
Rosalin Mendez, civil and environmental engineering
Alysson Mondoro, civil and environmental engineering
Sambhawa Priya, computer science and engineering
Rahul Rajendran, mechanical engineering and mechanics
Mohamadreza Samadi, industrial and systems engineering
Dylan Schwesinger, computer science and engineering
WuRong Shi, civil and environmental engineering
Chee Keong Tan, electrical and computer engineering
Sunhua Wan, computer science and engineering
Chongzhao Wu, electrical and computer engineering
Jiyun Yao, electrical and computer engineering

2015 Rossin Junior Fellows

Nauman Ahmad, IDEAS
Roger Blumin, integrated business and engineering
Basilio Garcia Castillo, computer science and business
David Danko, integrated business and engineering
Brian Dawson, chemical and biomolecular engineering
Racquel Doherty, integrated business and engineering/industrial engineering
Sarah Dudney, civil and environmental engineering
Harry Eaton, electrical and computer engineering
Siyi Feng, industrial and systems engineering
Korey Finn, integrated business and engineering
Georgi Georgiev, computer science and engineering
Julianne Kerwood, bioengineering
Justin Klee, civil and environmental engineering
Deanne Kocher, IDEAS/mechanical engineering and mechanics
Megan Kozar, bioengineering
John Lentz, materials science and engineering
Brandon Ling, electrical and computer engineering
Joseph Lucia, civil and environmental engineering
Conrad Mason, mechanical engineering and mechanics
Kristen Mejia, IDEAS
Benjamin Mundt, computer engineering
Ji Qi, industrial and systems engineering
Jia Rao, electrical and computer engineering
Jonathan Ross, computer engineering
Amanda Ruschel, materials science and engineering
Joshua Smeltzer, materials science and engineering
Adam Svetec, computer science and engineering
Alyssa M.Talley, chemical and biomolecular engineering
Victoria Wiedorn, IDEAS
Patrick Zager, bioengineering
Dazuo Zhu, mechanical engineering and mechanics