UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Shiley School of Engineering

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.

Matthew Kuhn Appointed Interim Dean, Shiley School of Engineering

Matthew Kuhn, Brother Godfrey Vassallo, C.S.C. Professor of Civil Engineering, has accepted an invitation by University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., to serve as interim dean of the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering. His appointment will begin upon the departure of outgoing dean Sharon Jones and will continue until her permanent successor has been named.
For more information contact the president’s office at x7101 or simek@up.edu.

A New Chapter for Shiley School Dean Sharon Jones

University president Rev. Mark L. Poorman, C.S.C., has announced that Sharon A. Jones, dean of the Donald P. Shiley School of Engineering, accepted the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs at the University of Washington Bothell. Her final day at the University of Portland will be June 30.

Jones has provided exceptional leadership in service to the students, faculty, and staff of the Shiley School of Engineering. She spearheaded numerous enhancements to the school’s curriculum, forged deep and sustainable relationships with significant philanthropic and industry partners, provided support for faculty scholarly and curricular development, and increased diversity among students and faculty. Today, 39 percent of undergraduate students in the Shiley School of Engineering identify as a minority, and 33 percent of its faculty are women. Among many other accomplishments, she launched Oregon’s only biomedical engineering master’s program, supported the construction of the University’s first maker space (known as “Pilot Space”), and led UP to become the only private institution to join Oregon’s Multiple Engineering Cooperative Program (MECOP).

As vice chancellor at University of Washington Bothell, Jones will oversee the university’s academic units, drive the development and implementation of academic policies, and lead efforts to enhance the campus culture for faculty and staff starting July 15.

An interim dean of the Shiley School of Engineering will be appointed shortly. A national search for Jones’s successor will be launched soon.

“Spanish for Science and Engineering in the United States,” March 12

Oscar A. Pérez of Skidmore College will present “Spanish for Science and Engineering in the United States: Past, Present, Future” on Tuesday, March 12, at 5 p.m., in Franz Hall room 120. His talk is sponsored by international languages and cultures and the Shiley School of Engineering.

Why should scientists and engineers in the United States learn a language other than English? What kind of benefits would they get from investing the significant amount of time required to be proficient in another language? In his talk, Pérez will seek some answers, first, by exploring the long, although sometimes hidden, tradition of Spanish-language learning in scientific and technological contexts. Then, he will discuss current efforts in the United States to promote the teaching of Spanish for STEM, including some pedagogical models that have been proven useful, and some possibilities to facilitate the proliferation of Spanish for science and technology course offerings within language departments or in conjunction with science and engineering programs at institutions of higher education.

The lecture is free and open to all. For more information contact Maria Echenique, international languages and cultures, at echeniqu@up.edu.

Happy 99th Birthday, Donald P. Shiley!

Faculty, staff, and students in the Shiley School of Engineering celebrated the 99th birthday of the late Donald P. Shiley on Friday, January 18. In addition to paying tribute to the life and accomplishments of Mr. Shiley, professor Aziz Inan prepared the following article:

Saturday, January 19, 2019 marks the 99th birthday of Donald P. Shiley, namesake and benefactor of the Shiley School of Engineering. Mr. Shiley was a 1951 alumnus of University of Portland with a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering. He died on July 31, 2010, at age 90.

I prepared the following number curiosities in his honor:

  1. Shiley’s 99th birthday expressed as 01/19/2019 is special because switching the places of numbers 20 and 19 in the rightmost four digits of 01192019 yields his original birthday, 01/19/1920.
  2. Furthermore, if 01/19/2019 is split as 01, 19, 20, and 19, these four numbers add up to 59. Coincidentally, the sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Mr. Shiley’s wife’s name, Darlene, also equals 59.
  3. The sum of the digits of Mr. Shiley’s new age, namely 99, equals 18 and interestingly, Mr. Shiley’s full name, Donald Pearce Shiley, consists of 18 letters.
  4. Note also that 18 equals the difference of 01 and 19, the month and day numbers of Mr. Shiley’s birthday.
  5. 2019 equals 3 times 673 and 3 and 673 are the 2nd and 122nd prime numbers. Interestingly, 122 divided by 2 minus 2 yields 59 (Darlene).
  6. If Mr. Shiley’s birthday, 01/19/1920 is split into 01, 19, 19, and 20, the product and the sum of 01 and 19 equals 19 and 20, respectively.
  7. Moreover, the sum of the prime factors of 01191920, namely, 2, 5, 47, and 317, equals 371 and twice the reverse of 371, namely 173, yields 346. Interestingly, each non-leap year has 346 days left after Mr. Shiley’s birthday.
  8. Further, 317 is the 66th prime number and 66 rotated 180 degrees results in Mr. Shiley’s new age, 99.
  9. Additionally, the reverse of 317, namely 713, times 3 equals the sum of the leftmost and rightmost four digits of 01192020, Mr. Shiley’s 100th birthday to occur in 2020.
  10. Also, 317 interpreted as 31/7 represents 31 July, the day Mr. Shiley died in 2010.
  11. Lastly, Shiley’s birth date expressed as 0119 (January 19) equals 7 times the 7th prime number, namely, 17.

Happy 99th birthday to Donald P. Shiley!

UP Student Wins Fund for Education Abroad Scholarshp

University of Portland student David Vargas Puga ’21 recently became one of only 22 students nationwide to receive a scholarship from  (FEA), a program which focuses on making study abroad opportunities accessible to all students. Vargas Puga, a Spanish and computer science double major, is the first student from UP to receive the award since the program was created in 2010. All 22 students who received the award for spring 2019 are first generation college students, and many come from minority backgrounds.

Vargas Puga, who will use his scholarship for a semester abroad in Spain, is a first generation college student from Hillsboro, Oregon with Mexican-American heritage. He speaks Spanish as his first language and decided to major in it because he believes there is always room for improvement and wants to learn how to speak the language more formally. Vargas Puga leaves for Spain in January and will stay in the country until May. He was encouraged to apply to FEA by Eduardo Contreras, assistant provost for international education, who works closely with the University of Portland study abroad programs.

In addition to the Fund for Education Abroad scholarship, Vargas Puga also received the prestigious Benjamin A. Gilman scholarship for U.S. undergraduate students who are receiving Federal Pell Grant funding at a two-year or four-year college or university to participate in study and intern abroad programs worldwide.

Shiley School of Engineering Hosting “SQL Saturday,” Nov. 3

The Shiley School of Engineering is hosting SQL Saturday, a training event for data professionals and those wishing to learn about SQL Server, Azure SQL Database, and other data advances, on Saturday, November 3, in Franz Hall. Registration forms and specific times and offerings can be found at this link.

According to organizer and computer science professor Radana Dvorak (pictures), there will be a number of 101 hands-on sessions  specifically for students and those who are relatively new to data systems, meant to help bring more young people into the data-oriented professions. This event and the workshop sessions are free to all faculty and students.

The event will need student volunteers to help speakers  and organizers. It’s a great way for students to meet experts and potential employers. To volunteer, students should register at this link. Volunteers work in two hour shifts, the rest of the time they can attend hands-on workshops or listen to the presentations. All volunteers receive a free t-shirt.

Anyone interested should register as soon as possible, since a free lunch is provided, and organizers need to have numbers for catering (and to order volunteer t-shirts).

For more information contact Radana Dvorak, computer science, at x7156 or dvorakr@up.edu.

Happy 98th Birthday, Donald Shiley

Friday, January 19, 2018 marks the 98th anniversary of the birth of Donald Pearce Shiley (pictured at left with his wife, regent Darlene Shiley), namesake and benefactor of the Shiley School of Engineering. Donald Shiley was a 1951 University of Portland alumnus who studied mechanical engineering. In his honor, Aziz Inan, engineering, has prepared the following mathematical curiosities to celebrate Shiley’s life and to express appreciation for his generosity:

  1. If Mr. Shiley’s 98th birthday expressed as 1/19/18 is split as 1, 19, and 18, 1 and 19 differ by 18.
  2. Furthermore, Mr. Shiley’s full name Donald Pearce Shiley contains 18 letters.
  3. Also, if numbers 1 to 26 are assigned to the letters of the English alphabet, the sum of the numbers assigned to Shiley equals 78 and the prime factors of 78, namely 2, 3, and 13, add up to 18 too.
  4. Shiley’s 98th birthday would have been the first day of the 99th year of his life where the sum of the digits of 99 also gives 18. Additionally, the product of the digits of 99 equals 81, which is the reverse of 18.
  5. The product of the digits of 98 equals 72 which is 4 times 18 where 4 plus 18 equals the sum of the digits of Mr. Shiley’s 98th birthday, 1/19/2018. Further, 72 equals the product of the digits of 1/19/18.
  6. If Mr. Shiley’s 98th birthday 1/19/2018 is split as 119, 20, and 18, the difference between 119 and the sum of 20 and 18 equals 81, which is again the reverse of 18.
  7. Moreover, if 1/19/2018 is split into 1, 19, 20, and 18, the sum of these numbers equals 58 where the sum of the squares of the digits of 58 is 89 and the reverse of 89 gives 98.
  8. The sum of the numbers assigned to the letters of Donald Pearce equals 98 too.
  9. Shiley’s birth date January 19 expressed as 119 equals 7 times 17 where 7 plus 17 equals 24 and the 24th prime number is 89, again, the reverse being 98.
  10. Lastly, the reverse of 119, namely 911, is the 156th prime number where half of 156 equals twice 78 (Shiley).

For more information contact Inan at ainan@up.edu.

Shiley School Joins National Grand Challenge Scholars

The Shiley School of Engineering has been accepted to the National Academy of Engineering Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP), according to engineering dean Sharon Jones. Jones credits associate engineering dean Mark Kennedy for much of the work needed to make the Shiley School’s membership a reality.

Shiley School engineering students will focus on five components of the GCSP’s mission:

  • Hands-on Project OR Research Experience: Related to a Grand Challenge
  • Interdisciplinary Curriculum: A curriculum that complements engineering fundamentals with courses in other fields, preparing engineering students to work at the overlap with public policy, business, law, ethics, human behavior, risk, and the arts, as well as medicine and the sciences
  • Entrepreneurship: Preparing students to translate invention to innovation; to develop market ventures that scale to global solutions in the public interest
  • Global Dimension: Developing the students’ global perspective necessary to address challenges that are inherently global as well as to lead innovation in a global economy
  • Service Learning: Developing and deepening students’ social consciousness and their motivation to bring their technical expertise to bear on societal problems through mentored experiential learning with real clients.

The GCSP program is a combined curricular and extra-curricular program with five components that are designed to prepare students to be the generation that solves the grand challenges facing society in this century. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE), at the request of the National Science Foundation, convened a committee of leading technical thinkers to create a list of the grand challenges and opportunities for engineering facing those born at the dawn of this new century. The committee’s final conclusions were released on February 15, 2008, and were presented at a public event at the NAE in October 2008.

 For more information, contact the Shiley School at x7292 or engineering@up.edu.

UP Students Join Stanford University Innovation Fellows

University of Portland students Alec Kauffman (civil engineering, computer science, entrepreneurship & innovation management), Jean Paul Mugisha (electrical engineering), Jeremy Revlock (business), and Elizabeth Rowe (mechanical engineering) have completed training to join the University Innovation Fellows, a global program that empowers student leaders to increase campus engagement with innovation, entrepreneurship, creativity, and design thinking. They join 224 students from 58 higher education institutions in seven countries who have been named University Innovation Fellows. The program is run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school). With the addition of the new Fellows, the program has trained 1,000 students at 185 schools since its creation.

Fellows are sponsored by faculty and administrators as individuals or teams of students, and selected through an application process twice annually. Following acceptance into the program, schools fund the students to go through six weeks of online training and travel to the annual University Innovation Fellows Silicon Valley Meetup. Throughout the year, they take part in events and conferences and have opportunities to learn from one another, Stanford mentors, and leaders in academia and industry.

More information on goals of the UP innovation fellows can be found here and here.