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Ten Honored at 2004 UCLA Engineering
Awards
Dinner
The UCLA Henry
Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science honored ten
men and women for their outstanding achievements in the field
of engineering and their valuable contributions to the School
at a special awards dinner October 15.
"I am
truly proud of the close ties that exist between the School, its
alumni and the community-at-large," said Vijay K. Dhir, dean
of the School of Engineering. "This will be the third awards
dinner I attend as the School's dean, and it has always reminded
me of how truly privileged we are to have so many distinguished
and accomplished people representing our School."
This year's
winners include the following alumni, students and faculty members.
 2004
Alumnus of the Year Dr. Asad M. Madni with Dean Vijay K. Dhir.
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Asad M. Madni, Alumnus of the Year
The alumnus of the year award recognizes an accomplished alumnus
who has established a standard of excellence within the engineering
profession.
Dr. Asad
M. Madni received his BS from UCLA's School of Engineering
in 1969 and his Master's in 1972.
He is currently President
and COO of BEI Technologies, where he has helped
establish the company as a world leader in rate, position and
pressure sensing components and systems.
"His
ability to transform an innovative idea into a successful commercial
product and to see how a technology can be transferred to an entirely
new set of applications has helped BEI Technologies thrive in
an uncertain economy," said Dean Dhir in remarks made at
the dinner.
Madni has
made many pioneering contributions to intelligent system design
and signal processing over the course of his career. His improvements
to Yaw rate sensing have changed the way vehicle systems are designed
and his microelectromechanical (MEMS) GyroChip technology is used
worldwide in stability control systems.
He also led the development of the extremely slow motion servo
control technique, which is used in the Hubble Space telescope's
star selector servo subsystem.
Madni participates
on several boards at UCLA, including, the Engineering Alumni Association's
Governing Board, the Electrical Engineering Department Alumni
Advisory Board, the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department's
Industrial Board, and the WINMEC Advisory Board. He also is a Fellow of the IEEE.
"Dr.
Madni is a technological visionary who leads by example, a patient
teacher and generous mentor, a person who recognizes the necessity
of educating tomorrow's engineers, and someone who truly understands
the role of science and technology in our day-to-day lives,"
said Dhir.
 Professional
Achievement Award winner
Dr. Thomas Sabol with Dean Vijay K. Dhir. |
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Thomas
A. Sabol, Professional Achievement Award
The professional achievement award honors the remarkable achievements
of alumni in their chosen fields - people who have transformed
the world through their work.
Dr. Thomas
Sabol is president of Englekirk & Sabol Consulting Structural
Engineers. He received his MS, Engineer, and PhD degrees in Civil:
Structural and Earthquake Engineering at UCLA in 1982, 1984 and
1985 respectively.
He is an adjunct
professor in the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and
Applied Science. He teaches courses in the design and construction
of tall buildings, and a graduate-level class on advanced steel
structures.
Sabol is considered
by many to be the foremost expert in structural steel behavior.
Following the Northridge earthquake, he led an analysis of the
behavior of steel-framed buildings that has led to new nationally
recognized guidelines and a much-improved understanding of the
behavior of this type of building.
People who
commute along the 405 freeway or visit the UCLA campus see Sabol's
work
first-hand every day; he led the design of such well-known Southern
California landmarks as the Getty Center, the California ScienCenter,
and two of the new medical research buildings at UCLA.
He is also
involved in many seismic rehabilitation projects on campus, including
the Math Sciences Building. For nearly 20 years, he has worked
closely with UCLA administrators to mitigate the dangers posed
by seismically hazardous buildings on the campus.
"Tom's
many accomplishments throughout the course of his career reflect
well not only on him, but also on his alma mater," said Professor
Greg Pottie, associate dean of research and physical resources,
in presenting the award. "We are fortunate to count him among
our alumni."
 Engineering
Alumni Association Service Award winner
Dr. William Goodin with Dean Vijay K. Dhir. |
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William
R. Goodin, Engineering Alumni Association Service Award
The service award honors a person who has generously given time
and talent to the School or community at large.
Dr. William
Goodin is a three-time alumnus of UCLA, earning his Master's,
PhD, and Engineering Management degrees from the School of Engineering
in 1971, 1975 and 1982, respectively. He is the Director of Short
Course and Technical management Programs at UCLA Extension.
He was a long-time
member of the Dean's Council, and served as the president of the
Engineering Alumni Association from 1998, when it was formed,
to 2002.
As president,
he attended nearly all events held by the EAA and its committees,
welcoming new alumni, offering advice and guidance to student
leaders, and serving as an informed and energetic advocate for
the School. He continues to help identify and recruit new alumni
to the Governing Board, ensuring that it remains an active, dynamic
and diverse organization.
Goodin remains
extremely active as Department/Academic Liaison, continuing to
reach out and engage all of the student organizations in the School.
He is a passionate advocate for engineering with the UCLA Alumni
Association and other groups on and off campus.
For many years,
Goodin has served as a mentor to engineering student groups, helping
them increase membership, strengthen ties to industry, and identify
other alumni who are willing to serve as advisors.
He also works
closely with individual student leaders, encouraging them to implement
new ideas and helping them strengthen and grow their organizations.
Van Schultz,
president of the UCLA Engineering Alumni Association, presented
Goodin with the award.
"Bill
is the face of the Engineering Alumni Association to many of our
students, and they know they can count on him when they need assistance,"
said Schultz.
 Mrs.
Marietta Orchard with Dean Vijay K. Dhir. |
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H.
John Orchard, Lifetime Contribution Award
Dr. H. J.
Orchard, who receives the Lifetime Contribution Award posthumously,
was a professor of electrical engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli
School of Engineering and Applied Science and authority on filter
design and network theory. The award was accepted on his behalf
by his wife, Marietta Orchard.
Orchard joined
the UCLA faculty in 1970 and retired in 1991 after a long and
distinguished career of research, teaching and university service.
He was particularly committed to the electrical engineering department
and a significant contributor to the circuits and systems community
of researchers. He also served as Vice Chair of Graduate Affairs
for nearly a decade.
In 2003, he
received the Technical Achievement Award from the IEEE Circuits
and Systems Society, which honors a person for his outstanding
technical contributions over a period of years.
Orchard is
remembered as an accomplished teacher, skilled administrator and
a leader in field of circuit theory and applications. Colleagues
say that he made an immediate and lasting impact on the School
when he arrived in 1970.
"The
series of graduate-level courses that he taught at UCLA on circuit
theory have influenced the careers of leaders in industry and
academic scholars," said Dhir. "Throughout his time
at UCLA, John's ability as an extraordinary teacher set him apart
from many of his contemporaries."
For many years,
Orchard received the highest course-evaluation rankings of any
faculty member in his department.
"His former students speak of John's elegant solutions, and
the clarity of his teaching style," Dhir continued. "His
knowledge in the field was far-reaching, and it was clear to all
who learned from him that John was among the foremost experts
in the world."
 Dean
Vijay K. Dhir with Lockheed
Martin Excellence in Teaching Award winner
Dr. Joe DiStefano III. |
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Joseph
DiStefano, III, Lockheed Martin Excellence in Teaching
Computer Science
Professor Joseph DiStefano, III was selected in part for his role
in developing two graduate programs: biomedical systems (now systems
biology) and biocybernetics. The committee was even more impressed
with his efforts to develop and sustain the cybernetics interdepartmental
undergraduate degree. The cybernetics program was highly innovative
at the time it was developed, and still is to this day, because
of its interdisciplinary nature and incorporation of research
into an undergraduate curriculum. The cybernetics program is widely
recognized on campus for the excellent students it attracts and
the rigorous education it provides them. Much of the program's
success can be traced to DiStefano's passion, energy, and dedication.
In 2003, DiStefano
received the UCLA Distinguished Teaching Award and the UCLA Eby
Award for the Art of Teaching. He is the Director of the Biocybernetics
Teaching and Experimental Laboratory. DiStefano's areas of research
include biomodeling, computer methodology-biomedical systems/biocybernetics,
pharmacokinetic and dynamic systems modeling and optimization,
and expert systems applications in the life sciences and medicine
research.
 Northrop
Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award winners
Dr. Glenn Reinman and Dr. Ben Wu. |
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Benjamin
Wu and Glenn Reinman, Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching
The Northrop Grumman Excellence in Teaching Award honors junior
faculty members who have demonstrated academic excellence in classroom
teaching. The 2004 recipients are Bioengineering Assistant Professor
Benjamin Wu and Computer Science Assistant Professor Glenn Reinman.
Wu was honored
for his key role in developing the new bioengineering undergraduate
curriculum, which includes 20 new innovative courses; his work
as the Biomedical Engineering Society's faculty advisor; and his
numerous contributions to the department. Wu, vice chair of the
Bioengineering Department, conducts research on functional biomaterials
for tissue engineering.
The committee
selected Reinman for his well-organized and innovative class presentations
and curricula, including a requirement for students to do design
cycle trade-offs; taking time after class to provide students
with advanced supplementary course materials; and developing a
two-part series of graduate courses covering advanced topics in
microprocessors architecture. Reinman, who joined the computer
science faculty in 2001, has research interests in computer architecture,
exploitation of instruction level parallelism, cache design and
prefetching, and load speculation, among other areas.
 Edward
K. Rice Outstanding Doctoral Student Award winner
Dr. Nael El-Farra Sabol with Dean Vijay K. Dhir. |
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Nael H. El-Farra, Edward K. Rice Outstanding
Doctoral Student Award
The Edward
K. Rice Student Award, Outstanding Doctoral Student honors the
achievements of a distinguished doctoral student on the basis
of academic excellence, research contributions and service to
the School, University, or community.
Nael El-Farra
received his bachelor's in chemical engineering at UCLA, and
graduated
with the highest GPA from among the nearly 450 engineering students
in his class. Despite competitive offers from many universities
around the country, he opted to remain at UCLA for his graduate
work.
El-Farra
is a member of Chemical Engineering Professor Panagiotis Christofides'
research group, where he has helped develop innovative methods
for solving complex process control and systems engineering
problems.
The originality
and significance of his work is reflected in the high number
of
his publications in refereed archival journals and book chapters.
With Professor Christofides, El-Farra is preparing a graduate
level textbook on control of nonlinear and hybrid process systems.
As a teaching
assistant, he has received very positive comments from his
students, and has taken extra time outside of class to ensure
that they
understand complex mathematical concepts.
"His
breadth of knowledge enables Nael to see the big picture,
and
identify and solve important research problems," said Edward
Rice when presenting El-Farra with his award. "He also understands
the importance of sharing his results to maximize the impact
of
his work in both industry and academia."
Upon completing
his PhD earlier this year, El-Farra joined the faculty at UC
Davis, in the Chemical Engineering Department.
 Edward
K. Rice Outstanding Master's Student Award winner
Ms. Ani Nahapetian with Dean Vijay K. Dhir. |
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Ani
Nahapetian, Edward K. Rice Outstanding Master's Student Award
The Edward
K. Rice Student Award, Outstanding Master's Student honors the
achievements of a distinguished master's student on the basis
of academic excellence, research contributions and service to
the School, University, or community.
Ani Nahapetian
mentored undergraduate and new graduate students through the Society
of Women Engineer's Alumnae Advisory Committee and the buddy mentor
program in Computer Science. She is also a member of the UCLA
Armenian Graduate Students Association.
Through presentations
at several universities, she encouraged members of traditionally
underrepresented communities to consider computer science as a
career option.
Nahapetian
is a member of Professor Majid Sarrafzadeh's Embedded and Reconfigurable
Systems Lab, where she is working on power minimization and scheduling
for reconfigurable distributed systems. She helped develop a reconfiguration
manager that sits between the applications and reconfigurable
hardware, and allows the applications to achieve higher performance
levels.
She regularly receives high marks from her students, and has been
called a natural teacher, enthusiastic and inspiring.
"Ani
has the rare ability to simplify complex problems, and to move
easily through layers of abstractions to better understand the
problem and its significance," said Rice in presenting
her with the award. "She is driven both by curiosity and
the desire to succeed, and has formed strong academic relationships
in her time at UCLA."
Nahapetian
completed her MS in June and is currently pursuing her PhD in
computer science at UCLA.
 Dean
Vijay K. Dhir with Edward
K. Rice Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award winner
Mr. Scott Wright. |
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Scott
Wright, Edward K. Rice Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award
The Edward
K. Rice Student Award, Outstanding Undergraduate honors the achievements
of a distinguished undergraduate student on the basis of academic
excellence, leadership, creativity, research within their academic
department and outstanding service to the School, University,
or community.
Scott Wright
was a member of the engineering honor society, Eta Kappa Nu, where
he served as publicity chair and corporate chair. He was also
an active member of the Society of Automotive Engineers' Mini
Baja team. Wright was one of two team leaders in his senior year,
and helped design and build the team's vehicle.
Wright interned
at Lockheed Martin, where he was acknowledged as a high contributor,
and maintained a 3.85 GPA, among the top five percent of students
in engineering.
Wright was
instrumental in developing the EEWeb course system spearheaded
by electrical engineering Professor Ali Sayed. EEWeb provides
students, instructors and teaching assistants with easy, online
access to course material and a full set of measurement tools
to evaluate course performance. The system proved so useful for
the electrical engineering department that it was extended to
all departments in the School.
Wright completed
his bachelor's degree in electrical engineering with a computer
science option in June and is currently a graduate student at
the University of Michigan.
Photos: Scott Quintard, ASUCLA Photography
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