EPP Online News - Fall/Winter 2006-2007 News
David Jourdan Named Chair of EPP Advisory Board
David Jourdan, president of Nauticos, LLC, was appointed chair of EPP's Advisory Council in
October. Now in its fourth year, the nine-member Council brings together leaders from engineering
companies, technology organizations, and higher education institutions in an ongoing effort to
chart the course for future development of EPP and its programs.
Jourdan, a charter member of the Council, as well as a graduate of EPP's applied physics program, earned a B.S. in engineering physics from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1972. He then served a tour of duty on the U.S.S. Kamehameha, a nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine, before joining the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). At APL, Jourdan worked in the Navy Ocean Engineering Program for six years, and he became an expert in the analysis and use of large undersea environmental data sets. In the mid-1980s, Jourdan and two other APL scientists launched Meridian Sciences Inc., a start-up company that would be renamed Nauticos Corportation almost ten years later. Jourdan sold Nauticos Corporation to Oceaneering International in 2003, but still continues to develop ocean projects as President of Nauticos, LLC, and as President of the SeaWord Foundation, a nonprofit organization he established to support science and educational programs in ocean exploration.
For more information: http://www.jhu.edu/news/home06/dec06/nauticos.html
Zohreh Movahed Receives Water Environment Federation's Top Water Quality Award
Zohreh Y. Movahed, Instructor for EPP's Environmental Engineering, Science and Management Program,
received the prestigious Gordon Maskew Fair Medal for Outstanding Service in Engineering Education
from the Water Environment Federation (WEF), a not-for-profit technical and educational organization
of water quality professionals. The Medal, presented to a member for worthy accomplishments in the
training and development of future engineers, was awarded to Movahed during ceremonies at
WEFTEC(R).06 - the Federation's 79th annual technical exhibition and conference - in October.
Dr. Movahed was also a recipient of an Excellence in Teaching Award from Johns Hopkins Engineering and Applied Science Programs for Professionals in 2004.
For more information: http://www.weftec.org/PressRoom/Media/gordonmaskewfairmedal.htm
Ralph Semmel Celebrates first Year as Head of Applied Information Sciences Department
In fall 2005, Ralph Semmel, Program Chair of EPP's Computer Science and Information Systems and
Technology Programs, was appointed head of the newly formed Applied and Information Science Department
(AISD) at Hopkins' Applied Physics Laboratory (APL).
AISD was created at APL to respond to the critical challenges facing the government in the burgeoning area of information technology. The 400-person Department conducts research and development in the key areas of global information networks, information assurance, intelligence, and information operations.
During his 20 years at APL, Dr. Semmel has conducted significant research and development in a broad range of information technology areas. Prior to his current assignment, he served in a variety of technical and managerial roles at the Lab.
For more information about AISD visit: http://www.jhuapl.edu/aboutapl/organization/AISD.asp.
M. Lee Edwards Retires from Hopkins APL & EPP
In January 2007, Dr. M. Lee Edwards retired from the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)
after 30 years of service that began in January 1977. As a faculty member since the late 1970s and program chair
with the Engineering Programs for Professionals since 1986, Dr. Edwards' many accomplishments include the development
of the RF/Microwave option in the Electrical and Computer Engineering program (E&CE).
"Over a couple of decades, Lee raised the visibility of both JHU and APL immensely within the RF and microwave community in the Baltimore/Washington area," Says Bob Bokulic, who succeded Dr. Edwards as the supervisor of RF Engineering Group at APL. "He established and grew EPP's microwave specialty within E&CE and his efforts made a broad impact...many of the RF and microwave engineers in this area either know of him and the Hopkins program or have been in his classes over the years."
Raimond Winslow Addresses BioIT Coalition at JHU's Montgomery County Campus
Raimond Winslow, Director of the Engineering School's Institute for Computational Medicine (ICM) as well as the Center for Cardiovascular Bioinformatics & Modeling, spoke at the November meeting of the Maryland BioIT Coalition at Hopkins' Montgomery County Campus. Dr. Winslow's presentation included an overview of the ICM, current biomedical eScience initiatives, and the Cardiovascular Research Grid. His presentation was followed by a spirited question and answer session, attended by about 30 members of the local BioIT community.
For more information: http://www.icm.jhu.edu/
WSE/EPP Alumni and Student Reception and Lecture Draws Crowd
On December 5th, over 100 WSE and EPP alumni and students joined Dean Nicholas Jones for a reception and lecture at the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL). The event, hosted by Hopkins' Society of Engineering Alumni (SEA) and EPP, included an overview of the New Horizons and MESSENGER* space missions funded by NASA. Glen Fountain, New Horizons Project Manager at APL, and EPP Instructor, and Mark Perry, Hopkins alumnus and MESSENGER Radio Scientist at APL, spoke to an enthusiastic audience about these APL/NASA missions.
* New Horizons is the first mission in NASA's New Frontiers program of medium class planetary missions and will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its moon, Charon. MESSENGER is a scientific investigation of the planet Mercury by spacecraft. The name comes from "MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry, and Ranging," emphasizing the project's broad range of scientific goals.
For more information on New Horizons: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/
For more information on MESSENGER: http://messenger.jhuapl.edu/
Redesigned EPP Website Launched
In October, EPP launched its redesigned website with restructured navigation, updated content, and a design more aligned with current EPP print materials. An EPP Web Committee, comprised of faculty and staff, met regularly throughout the spring and summer to guide this project. The team based decisions on a few key parameters, including consideration of most frequently visited pages and information, following best usability practices, as well as institutional priorities and input from current students, staff, and our leadership. An online survey will be conducted in January 2007 to get additional feedback from students and others, but in the meantime, please email any comments you may have to: epp@jhu.edu.
EPP Launches Enhanced Online Academic Catalog
In November, EPP launched an enhanced online catalog which enables finding and recalling information easier and faster through improved site architecture. Other features include an easily accessible and comprehensive search function, a "Print This Page" link on each webpage, and the ability for users to save program and course information in an online portfolio that can be retrieved at any time with a username and password. In addition, each page within the online catalog features a "HELP" button that provides comprehensive and easy to understand instructions for using all of these new features.