 |
|
Mortenson Center Quarterly Digest - Q4 2019
|
The Mortenson Center engages in global engineering and combines education, research, and partnerships to positively impact vulnerable people and their environment by improving development tools and practice. Our vision is a world where everyone has safe water, sanitation, energy, food, shelter, and infrastructure. Learn more about the center on our website,
http://www.colorado.edu/mcedc
.
|
|
Remembering 'Mort' Mortenson
|
|
|
| Seated in front : Alice & Mort Mortenson |
|
Mauritz 'Mort' Mortenson (CivEngr'58) passed away Nov. 9th in his home in Minneapolis, MN at age 82. He leaves behind a deep personal and professional legacy
.
As chairman of
M.A. Mortenson Co.
from 1960 to 2015, he was known as a "humble servant-leader." His company built several buildings on the University of Colorado Boulder campus, including the Champions Center, Indoor Practice Facility and Visual Arts Complex. People who knew him well remember him as genuine, dedicated to his family, and a man of integrity.
At the College of Engineering and Applied Science, Mort will be remembered best for his deep commitment to global engineering education and research through the endowment that created and continues to support the Mortenson Center in Global Engineering. Bernard Amadei, the founding director of the Mortenson Center said, "Without Mort, the Center would not have had the same support and impact. They helped us build a program that is unique in the world. I'm forever grateful to Mort and his family for supporting an idea that, at the time, was kind of risky."
Current Mortenson Center Director Evan Thomas says he looks forward to helping to continue Mortenson's legacy. "Mort valued building a community of service. The family's endowment of the Mortenson Center has created a family of CU students, faculty, staff and alumni who are working around the world to alleviate global poverty," said Thomas. "The Mortenson Center will continue to embody Mort's spirit of service."
Read more.
|
|
|
Congratulations Graduates!
The Mortenson Center congratulates our students graduating this semester:
- Rana Abdel Sattar-Master's of Science in Environmental Engineering
- Kerry Hicks-Professional Master's in Environmental Engineering
- Noah Kaiser-Master's of Science in Civil Engineering
- Emma Reuter-Master's of Science in Civil Engineering
- Robin Walz-Master's of Science in Architectural Engineering
|
|
Josh Tacca
Mechanical Engineering and Mortenson Center student Josh Tacca completed his Practicum last year working with the
Range of Motion Project (ROMP) in Quito, Ecuador. ROMP is a nonprofit organization that provides prosthetic and orthotic care to people without access to these services. Amputation is more prevalent in developing countries. Only one in 10 people in need of assistive devices such as prostheses and orthoseshave access to them according to the Standards of Prosthetics and Orthotics at the World Health Organization (WHO). ROMP partnered with tech startup Tukuna to develop and test a 3D printer filament made from 100% recycled plastic bottles, which could be made into limb sockets. The plastic bottles are collected by people in Quito who pick them up from the streets and dumpsters and sell them to Tukuna. ROMP held week-long clinicals and amputees traveled to the clinic, some from many miles away, to have the prosthetists fit them with prosthetic legs.
Josh helped with patient intake and he standardized the way information was gathered from patients. He also determined the 3D settings and would troubleshoot the printing process. The method ROMP used for making a socket starts by scanning the patient's limb. Then they would modify the digital model of the leg, create a digital socket, print the socket out of recycled plastic, prepare the socket (sanding, buffing, adding a valve, etc.) and fit it to the patient. By adjusting printer settings, prosthetists were able to obtain consistent 3D prints. Tacca standardized operation procedures, from scanning to modifying to fitting the socket.
Of the practicum experience Josh said, "I gained experience working with an international non-profit and gained a better understanding of the needs and challenges of prosthetic care in resource-limited environments." Josh is currently working on processing data for a study that examined how the biomechanics and gait symmetry of sprinters with unilateral, below-the-knee amputations changed when running with different stiffnesses, heights and models of running-specific prostheses.
Read the full article.
|
|
| Emily Bedell |
|
|
|
| Emily Bedell calibrates the fluorimeter before running a test |
|
|
In low-income countries, unsafe drinking water is a leading cause of preventable disease and higher mortality, particularly through diarrheal infections, which overwhelmingly affect children in low and middle-income countries. Real-time assessment of water quality is needed to provide early warning alarms of contamination.
In response, Emily Bedell and her research team at the Mortenson Center are working on a new device that will detect bacterial contamination in a flowing pipe. The team will measure the amount of bacteria using fluorescence spectroscopy, a well-tested method. The device will then transmit data remotely, and alert regulators and water service providers when water supplies are unsafe to drink.
The project will focus on delivering a product that is affordable and can be deployed in remote areas of low-income countries. Additionally, the group hopes to cut down the time it takes to get results, from 24-48 hours to real-time. Once the new technology is implemented, it is expected to reduce the incidence of water-borne disease, and improve trust and reliability in water services. In Nov. Emily was awarded the Norman Edmund Gold Award, the top US prize, from Edmund Optics for this research.
|
|
|
|
Emily Bedell and her research team stand next to their prototype fluorimeter.
(From left: Emily Bedell, Lauren Mckenna, Katie Claar, Ciara Jeckel) |
|
|
|
Lavern Tendayi Nyamutswa
Lavern Tendayi Nyamutswa was a visiting student to CU Boulder in Oct. He was here to test his photocatalytic membrane on a solar simulator, and to work with Professor Karl Linden, an expert in advanced oxidation and UV treatment of water.
Lavern is originally from Zimbabwe. There he went to university for his Bachelor of Science, after which he went to South Africa where he earned an Honours in Chemistry, as well as his Master's of Science in Chemistry. He then worked in Afghanistan for three years as a lab analyst for an American fuel company. Now, Lavern is entering his fourth year as a PhD student in Chemical Engineering at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia and is set to graduate in 2020.
|
|
|
Lavern having fun in the rare Australian snow
|
|
|
|
|
| Filtration cell that contains Lavern's photocatalytic membrane. An LED is inside to show that the light is coming out of the membrane. |
|
Lavern has created an unique membrane that transmits light, unlike traditional ceramic membranes which are opaque, so as to solve the challenge of integrating membrane technology with photocatalysis. While at CU he tested the membrane with a solar simulator (like the sun). The objective is for clean water to be made, and the membrane to be kept clean, by simply exposing the membrane to the sun. This could be extremely impactful for remote communities without water treatment plants. When Lavern returns to Australia he will be writing a paper with Professor Linden on the work he has done at CU Boulder.
|
|
| Job & Funding Opportunities |
|
Tenure-track Faculty Position in CEAE
Sun. Dec. 15, 2019 - Deadline to Apply
The Department of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering at the University of Colorado Boulder is seeking applications for a tenure-track faculty position in the broad areas of water sustainability and environmental engineering. We are recruiting applicants who can contribute to themes including water reuse, resource recovery, energy and climate interactions with water supply and treatment, water monitoring, quality and management in low income and resource limited settings, optimal water management, and resilience. Of particular interest is the application of a sustainable systems framework to these and related themes. This position is part of the long-term growth plans of the College of Engineering and Applied Science and is open to applicants at the assistant, associate, and full professor ranks. Candidates must have an earned PhD or equivalent in civil or environmental engineering or a related field.
Professional registration or an ability to become a registered Professional Engineer is desirable, but not required.
Learn more and apply.
|
|
PhD Position In Environmental Studies Program
Tue. Dec. 31, 2019 - Deadline to Apply
Aug. 2020 - Position Begins
Two or more years of funding is available to enroll in the PhD program in Environmental Studies Program at CU Boulder. This includes tuition and stipend for each academic year. The PhD student will be involved in a large, interdisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation. Contact
joel.hartter@colorado.edu for full job description and information on how to apply.
|
|
Professor of Development Engineering
Wed. Jan 15, 2020 - Deadline to Apply
ETH Zurich
ETH Zurich's Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences
and the Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering
jointly invite applications for the professorship. The successful candidate is expected to work on challenges of people in low and middle income countries and develop solutions to address them. The ideal candidate will have a background in engineering/natural sciences and social sciences/humanities. Graduate level courses are taught in English.
Apply here.
|
|
Assistant Professor is Structural Engineering
California State University, Chico
Jan. 15, 2020 - Deadline to Apply
The Civil Engineering Department at California State University, Chico seeks a tenure track Assistant Professor in Structural Engineering to start Aug. 18, 2020. This position requires an earned doctorate in civil engineering or a related field; however, candidates nearing completion of their doctorate may be considered if completed prior to the employment start date.
Learn more.
|
|
|
Do you have program questions, comments, or want to change the frequency of which you are contacted by the Mortenson Center?
|
|
|
|
|
|
