UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Heather Dillon

2020 Faculty Award for Outstanding Scholarship: Heather Dillon

The Committee on Teaching and Scholarship is pleased to announce that the 2020 Scholarship Award winner is Heather Dillon, Shiley School of Engineering. Known as a dedicated and talented researcher among her peers, she has had a prolific record of scholarship in her eight years at the University of Portland. Dillon created her UP research lab from the ground up and developed collaborations with other industry and University partners to pursue work on renewable energy and energy efficiency. One of her colleagues wrote, “Heather has been incredibly successful in including students in her research program and mentoring them in research methods and in applying for summer research positions and for graduate school.” Dillon has mentored over 40 students and this work was recognized by the Provost Award for Faculty Mentors in 2017. She holds elected positions in the Engineering Division of the national Council on Undergraduate Research as councilor and vice-chair.

She has authored an impressive number of publications during her career including over 80 peer-reviewed journals, conference papers, and technical reports, as well as giving numerous presentations. She has also been a principal investigator for major grants which have benefited STEM education at UP. She is a co-principal investigator for a National Science Foundation grant, “Creating a Culture of Evidence-Based Teaching and Reflection,” which led to the development of observation protocols that are being tested and implemented by UP faculty to improve teaching practice. Most recently this work led to a year as a visiting Fulbright Canada Research Chair in STEM Education at the University of Calgary.

Please join in congratulating Heather Dillon on this latest honor.

Fulbright Canada Appoints Heather Dillon Research Chair in STEM Education

Shiley School of Engineering mechanical engineering professor Heather Dillon has been named Fulbright Canada Research Chair in STEM Education by Fulbright Canada. Dillon will test a STEM faculty peer observation protocol at the University of Calgary from August to December 2019.

The goal of the Fulbright project is to significantly increase the use of highly effective, evidence-based STEM teaching methods at the University of Calgary using faculty peer observation. The peer observation framework has been developed by a research team at the University of Portland to help STEM faculty adopt new evidence-based instructional practices. The research development team includes University faculty Stephanie Salomone, Carolyn James, Tara Prestholdt, Valerie Peterson, and Eric Anctil.

At the University of Portland, Dillon teaches thermodynamics, numerical methods, and heat transfer courses. Her research team is currently working on renewable energy systems, solid-state lighting, energy efficiency in buildings, fundamental heat transfer studies and engineering education.

This program is supported by Fulbright Canada, a joint, bi-national, treaty-based organization created to encourage mutual understanding between Canada and the United States of America through academic and cultural exchange.

Announcing Monthly(ish) Joy of Teaching Lunches

If you’ve taught for more than eleven minutes, according to Heather Dillon, engineering, you know that teaching is not for the faint of heart. It is important for professors to rekindle their flames from time to time, and to share the ups, downs, joys, and puzzles of their shared mission. A small grant from Collegium has allowed UP to host catered discussion lunches over the course of the fall term which will allow faculty to touch base colleagues from across campus about all the contradictions they confront when they walk into their classrooms. The hoped-for outcome is simply a booster shot of commitment to their shared vocation of teaching.

The first Joy of Teaching lunch will take place on Tuesday, September 18, at noon. Seating is limited, so to participate in any or all Joy of Teaching lunches, contact Dillon at dillon@up.edu.

 

Grants To Fund Research in Environmental and Sustainability Issues

UPsolarpowerThe Shiley School of Engineering has received three grants totaling $45,000 for undergraduate student research projects dealing with environmental and sustainability issues. The research involves collaboration with other schools and organizations, and each project is funded by a $15,000 grant from the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges & Universities (The Alliance) and the Katherine Bisbee II Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation. The grant’s funds are to be applied to projects that are easily discernable, have an element of creativity, and show a long-term benefit to the people and/or natural areas of Oregon.

The first grant involves the second phase of a partnership with George Fox University and Portland General Electric (PGE), who last summer jointly did research on solar-thermal energy production. The project, submitted by UP engineering professor Heather Dillon, provided students and faculty with a “real world” challenge in terms of renewable energy science. Students and faculty developed an automatic load control algorithm to control the electrical load based on variations in local weather. The two universities worked together closely last summer and developed project paths that allowed both schools to end up with relevant laboratory data and experiments. George Fox engineering professor Chad Stillinger was a collaborator on the project, which received feedback from industry partner PGE.

A second grant, submitted by Cara Poor, engineering, will explore the cooling effect, water retention, and water quality from ecoroofs in the Portland area. Collaborators include Ted Eckmann, environmental studies, and Lewis and Clark College environmental studies professor Jessica Kleiss. Industry advisor is Henry Stevens of the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services.

A third grant, submitted by Jordan Farina, engineering, will focus on testing and analyzing the performance of a natural gas compressor prototype used to fuel NW Natural fleet vehicles. Collaborator on the project is George Fox University chemistry professor Davida Brown. The industry advisory is NW Natural. The Katherine Bisbee II Fund creative conservation research project is funded by a grant to The Alliance from the Oregon Community Foundation (OCF).

The Alliance represents 18 of Oregon’s regionally accredited, nonprofit private higher education institutions. For more information about The Alliance, go to www.oaicu.org.

Three Katherine Bisbee II Fund Grants in Engineering

Shiley HallThe Shiley School of Engineering has received three Katherine Bisbee II Fund OCF Grants of $15,000 each to support undergraduate conservation research projects. Heather Dillon, Jordan Farina, and Cara Poor will use the grants to support the following undergraduate conservation research projects:

  • Solar Thermal Energy Production Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration (University of Portland, George Fox University, & Portland General Electric)
  • Novel Natural Gas Compressor: Investigation & Evaluation (University of Portland, George Fox University, & NW Natural)
  • How sustainable are ecoroofs? An evaluation of the cooling effect, water retention, and water quality from ecoroofs in the Portland Area (University of Portland, Lewis & Clark College, & the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services).

The Katherine Bisbee II Fund creative conservation research project has been funded by a direct grant to The Alliance from the Oregon Community Foundation.

For more information contact the Shiley School of Engineering at 7292 or engineering@up.edu.

Shiley School Receives Grant For Student Research Collaboration

New employee and staff portraitsThe Shiley School of Engineering has been awarded a Katherine Bisbee II Fund OCF grant of $15,000 to support the Solar Thermal Energy Production Undergraduate Student Research Collaboration by the Oregon Alliance of Independent Colleges & Universities. The grant will fund a project which combines the University of Portland’s solar-thermal collection system and the electrical engineering and controls expertise of George Fox University, with Portland General Electric serving as industry partner.

For more information contact Heather Dillon, engineering, at 7309 or dillon@up.edu.

$250,000 Keck Foundation Grant

engineering grantThe University of Portland has received a $250,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation to enhance the laboratory experiences of undergraduate students in the Shiley School of Engineering. The grant will allow the Shiley School of Engineering to develop 10 new laboratory modules that support developmental and technical learning objectives.

Engineering professor Heather Dillon is one of several who will be involved in the program. She will focus on the development of the laboratory modules in the area of thermodynamics and heat transfer. In 2007 she received the U.S. Department of Energy of Science Outstanding Mentor Award for her work with undergraduate students.

Engineering professor Tim Doughty will support development of the laboratory modules in the area of systems and dynamics. Doughty has a strong history of undergraduate research and is a co-principal investigator for a current National Science Foundation NOYCE Grant.

Karen Eifler, who specializes in educational assessment and works closely with experts in STEM education, will lead the efforts of education faculty who will work with mechanical engineering faculty. She is the recipient of several teaching awards, including the 2006 Carnegie Foundation’s Oregon Professor the Year award.

Ken Lulay, engineering, will provide department leadership to the project and support the development of laboratory modules in the mechanics area. In the last two years he led the mechanical engineering faculty in development of a “Design Spine” to incorporate elements of engineering design in all four years of the curriculum.

The W. M. Keck Foundation was established in 1954 in Los Angeles by William Myron Keck, founder of The Superior Oil Company. In the area of education, the foundation supports undergraduate programs that promote inventive approaches to instruction and effective involvement of students in research.

For more information contact the Shiley School of Engineering at 7314 or spir@up.edu.

Engineers Week 2013

The 2013 Engineers Week at the University of Portland started with bridge building, flag football team battles between programs, and the Honduran Culture booth sponsored by UP’s Engineers Without Borders. Other activities included a water balloon launch in the quad, robotics demonstrations, tug-of-war, an Engineering Olympics, and more.

Heather Dillon’s thermodynamic class, ME 322, created thermodynamic-themed art which was on display. The Society of Women Engineers sponsored resume reviews and the “What Not to Wear at a Job Fair” fashion show.

Faculty, staff and students attended the mid-week 49th Oregon State Annual Engineers Week High School Banquet and Expo. Engineering program counselor Kitty Harmon presented a display and Power Point presentation at an Engineering Week event in Salem.

The week’s activities at UP concluded with the SWE Engineering and Science Career Fair in Shiley Hall, attended by thirty companies and employers. The fair was co-hosted by UP’s Career Services.

See Dillon’s slideshow at http://tinyurl.com/d79jp5d. Photos from the Career Fair are here: http://tinyurl.com/cpzxley.