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An interim position has turned into a full-time appointment for Robert
Throne as head of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. He was selected following a
nationwide search.
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Robert Throne |
Throne has been a member of the Rose-Hulman faculty since 2002, teaching
courses in electrical control systems, signals, optimal control, applied
biomedical signal processing, inverse problems in engineering, and
analysis and design of engineering systems. Out of the classroom, he is
currently examining how to apply inverse problems in the early detection
of breast cancer.
“The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering needs to prepare
students for a variety of futures, including industry, entrepreneurship
and graduate school,” said Throne.
“We will continue to teach fundamental concepts so that our students
have the background to learn on their own and adapt to new technologies.
“Continuing the hands-on learning experience, which has been a hallmark
of a Rose-Hulman education, makes classes engaging and demonstrates how
to apply theories and reinforces concepts,” he continued. “While
providing a strong fundamental engineering background we also need to
ensure that our students understand how material is connected across
courses and disciplines. Also, we can never be satisfied and must seek
to continuously improve the education our students receive.”
Bill Kline, interim vice president of academic affairs and dean of
faculty, added: “I am confident that Bob will continue to do a great job
in serving the mission of the department and Rose-Hulman.”
Throne earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and master’s and doctoral degrees
from the University of Michigan. Before coming to Rose-Hulman, he earned
teaching awards during an 11-year term on the faculty at the University
of Nebraska. He also was associate editor for the Inverse Problems in
Science and Engineering journal from 2002-08.
Letfullin Co-Edits Book on Computational
Studies of New Materials
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Physics and Optical Engineering
Professor Renat Letfullin has co-edited the book “Computational Studies
of New Materials II: From Ultrafast Processes and Nanostructures to
Optoelectronics, Energy Storage and Nanomedicine” with several
colleagues.
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Renat Letfullin |
Nanomaterials, materials with dimensions on the scale of a nanometer,
play a prominent role in the book, along with ultrafast processes
stimulated by short laser pulses and the exciting field of nanomedicine,
such as selective laser cancer therapy using gold nanospheres and
nanorods. Other topics covered include energy storage and
optoelectronics, semiconductor quantum wells, and tailored
negative-index metamaterials and microdevices.
The 18 chapters in the 540-page book were co-authored by leading
scientists from the United States and around the world. Letfullin joined
Tom George, chancellor of the University of Missouri-St. Louis, in
compiling chapters on the following topics “Nanoscale Materials in
Strong Ultrashort Laser Fields,” “Laser-Matter Interactions:
Nanostructures, Fabrication and Characterization,” “Nanomaterials in
Nanomedicine,” “New Dynamic Modes for Selective Laser Cancer Nanotherapy,”
“Laser Ablation of Biological Tissue by Short and Ultrashort Pulses,”
and “Gas-Dispersed Materials as an Active Medium of Chemical Lasers.”
Joining Letfullin and George as co-editors were former Rose-Hulman
chemistry professor Daniel Jelski, now teaching at the State University
of New York at New Paltz, and Guoping Zhang from Indiana State
University. The book was published by World Scientific.
Letfullin and George have also collaborated on the book “Perspectives in
Theoretical Physics,” which will soon be featured in the Library of
Congress, and on chapters in the books “Springer Handbook of
Nanomaterials,” published earlier this year, and “Recent Research
Developments in Physical Chemistry,” published in 2010.
Letfullin has extensive academic credentials in nanotechnology and
specializes in laser physics, wave optics, aerosol physics, and bio- and
nano-photonics. He is the editor of the International Journal of
Theoretical Physics, Group Theory and Nonlinear Optics, published by
NOVA. He served as senior researcher at the Lebedev Physics Institute of
the Russian Academy of Sciences (Samara branch), from 1993-2002; and
research associate at Mississippi State University, in 2002.
Kukral’s Accounts of Czech’s Velvet
Revolution
The experiences of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Geography
Professor Michael Kukral as an American student being in the middle of
the Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia were featured in a national
conference March 11-12 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that was sponsored by the
National Czech and Slovak Museum & Library.
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Michael Kukral |
Kukral is one of 10 keynote presenters at the 20th Century in
Retrospect, 1989-2011: Transition to Democracy Conference, providing
scholarly insight and first-hand accounts. Other featured speakers
include Peter Burian, the current ambassador of Slovakia to the U.S.,
and Adrian Basora, the United States’ former ambassador to Prague.
As a Fulbright Scholar in Czechoslovakia, Kukral had daily interactions
with local students, faculty, American Embassy officials, and other
foreign students that got caught in the organized mayhem of a revolution
in the final days of the Czech Republic’s Cold War. He has several
photos and films that offer unique views from this time in the country’s
history.
Several pages of Kukral’s story were featured in the book, "The Czech
Reader," recently published by Duke University press.
Kukral specializes in cultural and political geography; European, Middle
East and African geography; and environment and cultural ecology.
Waite Examines Biomedical Engineering
Education Issues at Meeting
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Lee Waite |
Lee Waite, head of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology’s Department of
Applied Biology and Biomedical Engineering, joined other academic
leaders in reviewing topics important to educating the next generation
of biomedical engineers while attending the recent Americann Institute
of Medical and Biological Engineers’ annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
Waite also attended the Council of Biomedical Engineering. A total of 64
biomedical engineering departments were represented at the council
meeting. The group will meet again at the Biomedical Engineering
Society’s (BMES) annual meeting later this year.
BMES serves as the lead society and professional home for biomedical
engineering. Besides promoting the national interest in science,
engineering and education, the organization highlights new technologies
that improve medical care and produce more and higher-quality food for
people throughout the world.
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