by Cherie Winner | © Washington State University

Every time you board a plane, turn on a light, or chat with a neighbor, you become part of a network: the air traffic system, the power grid, the pool of possible victims of a virus.

To Sandip Roy, an assistant professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Washington State University, and his graduate student, Yan Wan (’08 Ph.D.), such networks have a lot in common. They’re all composed of distinct points, with every point connected, directly or indirectly, to every other point. Like a spider web, if you pluck one strand of the network, the whole web jiggles.

EECS' own John Yates has been chosen as 2009 Mentor of the Year in the Administrative Staff Category. He will receive a plaque reflecting this honor at the award  at the Ceremony next Tuesday, April 14, in the CUB Auditorium, from 12:30 to 2 pm.  Here is Chris Corkum's nomination letter:

"John does not necessarily fit into a specific award category, but has had a profound effect on many students. When Students working on senior projects come into John's shop, they can expect John or one of his employees, such as myself, to assist in finding parts they need or advice on methods. Additionally, John takes time to teach students soldering in soldering sessions and teaches classes in the Hands on Relay School. He does all this while making sure the lab's are in working order for the students at all times.

Former president of the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and assistant director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) William A. Wulf will visit Washington State University April 16-17 as the 2009 Phi Beta Kappa Society Visiting Scholar.

Co-sponsoring the visit are the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science’s Distinguished Speaker Series and the Office of Undergraduate Education.

Wulf, currently the AT&T Professor of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Virginia, will present an address titled, “Responsible Citizenship in a Technological Democracy,” at 7 p.m. Thursday April 16 in Room 203 of the Smith Center for Undergraduate Education (CUE).  The lecture is open to the public at no charge with a reception following in the Smith CUE Atrium.

The U.S. electrical power grid has not yet been transformed by the digital technology revolution. But Anjan Bose, the WSU Distinguished Professor of Power Engineering, thinks that is about to change.  “There’s a huge amount of excitement in the industry,” Bose said recently in his office on the Pullman campus.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law Feb. 17 by President Barack Obama, allocates $4.5 billion for improvements to the power grid. According to federal guidelines, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is expected to begin announcing competitive grants related to the power grid by May 20.

     (February, 2009)  The WSU Student Chapter of ACM took first place in the upper and lower level division in the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) exhibition held at Eastern Washington University in February.

ATS is an innovative engineering company that provides information exploitation and naval logistics services and technologies to agencies and departments within the U.S. Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and various government/civilian organizations. ATS also provides mission-critical IT support services to both government and commercial customers. Founded in 1980, ATS is a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) with offices in Silverdale, WA, Norfolk, VA and Washington, D.C. More information about ATS services and technology is available online at http://www.atsid.com.

  Anjan Bose, Regents Professor of electrical engineering and computer science at Washington State University took part in a NSF and Popular Mechanics sponsored webcast conference this spring addressing the challenges and solutions driving the future of infrastructure in the United States. 

     Moderated by Popular Mechanics editors and webcast by NSF, “Bridges to the Future” brought together leading experts on the power grid, water resources and the built environment for three, hour-long panel discussions. The sessions were all call-in programs, with conversation driven by questions that came in live from decision makers, the research community and the public.
An archived version of the Webcast is available at www.nsf.gov/bridges.

     The WSU Student Chapter of ACM took first place in the region in the International Collegiate Programming Competition (ICPC) held at Eastern Washington University in November.

     The winning team included juniors Jeremy Rehkop (Anacortes, WA), Nick Lewis (Kennewick, WA), and Matt Miller (Kennewick, WA). Two other WSU teams also participated in the competition, including Brian Lidstrom, Nathan Schubkegel, Jessica Taylor, Jeffrey Tremaine, and Phillip Marshall.
 

PULLMAN, Wash. - The Washington State University College of Business has announced the winners of its 2008 Fall WSU Business Plan Competition. The fall competition, hosted by the WSU Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, was a virtual competition with teams submitting a two-minute
video "sales pitch" of their idea electronically along with a one-page business plan summary.

Twenty-three entries were evaluated by a 34-member panel of judges that included members of the business community, entrepreneurs from successfully launched businesses, those who are currently participating in an innovative business, or professional investors such as bankers, venture capitalists, and angel investors. Judges based their evaluations on the quality of the idea, the quality of the communication of the idea (written and oral), the likelihood of success of the plan, and
demonstrated knowledge of the entrepreneurial process.

PULLMAN (Courtesy of WSUToday) — Four WSU professors -- Anjan Bose, James Cook, Guy Palmer and Diter von Wettstein -- were inducted in November as members of the founding class at the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS), a nonprofit entity providing scientific analysis and recommendations to the policy makers and legislators in the state.

Bose, Cook and Palmer will also be part of the board of directors in charge of setting policies and guiding WSAS. The board of directors is comprised of 12 faculty members from WSU and the University of Washington, and representatives from the state health department, Museum of Flight, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Bechtel Corporation.