| A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR |
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Greetings all - during April and May, we continued our drive
to create a stronger, research-driven applied research enterprise
through the establishment of a new ARC research development
structure. This new structure will help us better support our
major sponsors by creating well-defined performance objectives,
mission-specific deliverables, and career development incentives. Our
new research-focused career development track provides recognizable
and reachable criteria for career growth.
As senior positions now require advanced degrees, I encourage
all of you to take advantage of the opportunities for higher
education that FIU brings to its employees, not only to further
your career here, but to heighten your knowledge in your area
of expertise. Details regarding FIU’s educational benefits
can be found on page 34 of the Employee Benefits handbook,
which can be accessed at the following link:
http://www.fiu.edu/personnel/publications/handbook.pdf
My sincere thanks go out to the many researchers and staff
who participated in the process.
In addition to structural improvements, we also reinvigorated
our process for identifying, pursuing, and winning external
funding opportunities. Richard Burton, our Associate Director
for Business Development, has established a new identification
and review procedure for research opportunities that is designed
to increase the quality and effectiveness of our proposals. I
look forward to your comments and suggestions on the new system.
On the awards front, congratulations to Dave Roelant and Jinsong
Zhang for being awarded $300,000 from the DoD Missile Defense
Agency to study cognitive engineering for threat assessments.
Please see this issue’s spotlight story on for a full
description of this project.
Highlights of ARC’s project support work this month
included participation in the High Level Waste Technical Exchange
Forum at the Hanford Nuclear Site 16-18 May, where ARC will
be working closely with DOE site managers and CH2M Hill Hanford
on solving problems relating to processing High Level Nuclear
Waste in 177 underground tanks in Hanford, WA, and work on
a project funded by the Metro Miami Action Plan Trust (MMAP)
to analyze and evaluate the efficiency of two Miami-Dade County
chiller plants.
Finally, please join me in congratulating all of our spring
graduates: Nelisa Chacin, Keon John, Anand Kundur, Ajay Nagabonia,
Hayri Sapmaz and Christopher Scott. Please read the story in
this month’s newsletter for information on the student’s
degrees and future plans. I also want to congratulate Jose
Varona, ARC Research Analyst, for achieving his Project Management
Professional (PMP) certification – well done !
| IN THE SPOTLIGHT - Jinsong Zhang |
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 At
ARC we get excited when one of our own secures a large
project contract. But when a staff member receives signed
approval for two major contracts within weeks of each other,
we really take notice!
Dr. Jinsong Zhang, ARC Research Scientist, recently
was awarded $600,000 in new grants / contracts for two
projects. The first project is titled “Development
of Threat Assessment Module for Theater Missile Defense
Using Belief Theory and Cognitive Engineering Approach.” This
project will focus on developing new methods of information
processing for the DoD Missile Defense Agency’s
threat level classification system.
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| ONWARD AND UPWARD: |
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FIU’s Applied Research Center takes special
pride in the successes of our staff and students, even
if that means a departure from our family.
 Recently,
Steven Portal, ARC Environmental Research Engineer,
received a generous offer from the Boeing Company,
based in Seattle, WA. Portal will join Boeing as an
Airplane Structural Analyst, where he will be responsible
for testing the structural integrity of Boeing’s
787 Dreamliner, a new aircraft still in the development.
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| ARC ENDEAVORS |
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 ARC Executive Director Harlan Sands and George Philippidis
visited the University of Florida to meet with Dr. Lonnie
Ingram, Distinguished Professor of Microbiology and Director
of the Florida Center for Renewable Chemicals and Fuels.
While there Sands and Philippidis also attended the Bioenergy
Network (BEN) meeting, a network of State-wide stakeholders
with technical and financial interests in the commercialization
of biofuels (ethanol from woody biomass, biodiesel and
biogas), a presidential priority according to President
Bush’s 2006 State of the Union Address. The
BEN has been organized in close coordination with Florida’s
Energy Office at the Florida Department of Environmental
Protection, whose Director reports to Governor Jeb Bush
on the State’s environmental and energy issues. The
State energy bill (House bill 1473 and Senate bill 888)
calls for $30M to fund State-wide efforts in renewable
energy.
| JUST VISITING |
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FIU-ARC Hosts Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure
May
2 and 3
 May 2nd and 3rd, the Applied Research Center hosted Mr. Ed Alperin,
Vice President of Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure (E&I); Patrick Woodull,
Shaw senior client manager for solid waste; Douglas Jerger, Shaw senior technical
consultant; Judith Regan, Shaw GIS group manager; and Robert Steffan, Shaw director
of biotechnology development and applications.
Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure (E&I)
ranks consistently as a top 10 design and engineering
firm (Engineering News Record). Shaw E&I
is the nation’s premier provider of turnkey
environmental and infrastructure solutions offering
fully integrated services, ranging from conceptual
studies and design to actual construction and
operations. Shaw E&I has a highly skilled
team of more than 6,000 professionals located
in over 90 offices throughout the U.S. and abroad.
| IN RECOGNITION |
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JoAnn
Bova Named 2006 Melanie Rosborough Award
Recipient
 Congratulations
to ARC Executive Affairs Coordinator, JoAnn Bova,
who was named as the 2006 Melanie Rosborough
Award recipient for her work with the American
Association of University Women.
The American
Association of University Women (AAUW), founded
in 1881, promotes equity for all women and girls,
lifelong education, and positive societal change.
Membership in the AAUW is open to all graduates who hold a baccalaureate or higher
degree from a regionally accredited college or university.
| SPRING GRADUATES |
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Each semester ARC celebrates
the graduation of its Undergrad and Graduate
students. This spring we had the pleasure of
recognizing Nelisa Chacin, Keon John, Anand Kundur,
Ajay Nagabonia, Hayri Sapmaz and Christopher
Scott as they graduated.
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