“I am grateful to our faculty volunteers and student organizations like Kappa Delta Sorority and Society of Women Engineers (SWE) who work hard to make sure GEMS is a rewarding experience for the girls,” said Vicki Cooper, who coordinated the event. “They generously sacrifice their time to teach and inspire girls who could become future engineers.”

The girls began the day listening to former UK president Lee Todd share his story about developing a childhood interest in engineering as the result of a similar outreach program.  To emphasize his point, Todd displayed the project he created when he was a boy as he recounted his career.

Following the keynote address, the attendees participated in three interactive sessions led by College of Engineering faculty and graduate students. Challenged by event coordinators to present STEM education in ways that compel students to want to know more, faculty members Bruce Walcott, Debby Keen, Kimberly Ward Anderson, Nancy Miller, Chuck May, Christine Trinkle and Czarena Crofcheck engaged students through hands-on demonstrations, games and experiments. Walcott, who is involved with several such outreach programs, is encouraged by how programs like GEMS benefit Kentucky.

“It is critical to the economic future success of the Commonwealth of Kentucky that the UK College of Engineering continues to conduct outreach programs such as our Girls Enjoying Math and Science (GEMS) Day. This program promotes engineering and math and science to young women at a time when our State and Nation needs more women entering the engineering workforce. Our partnership with the Girls Scouts and Susan Miller makes an ideal platform to promote the importance of the STEM education disciplines to young women.”

Alumnna Courtney Fisk has overseen each one.

“My bachelor’s and master’s degrees are in biosystems and agricultural engineering, so building projects were new for me,” says Fisk. “But, out of necessity, someone needed to oversee the construction, and once I started doing it, I enjoyed it.”

Fisk joined CAER after graduating with her bachelor’s degree in 2005. Enrolled as a graduate student, she began conducting her master’s research at CAER. By the time she earned her master’s in 2007, CAER had hired her to be a full-time engineering associate. She was later moved into an engineering program management position that has largely revolved around her construction oversight responsibilities.

“We’ve grown significantly over past few years. My first experience with overseeing construction was a greenhouse we built specifically for the large algae culturing project we have been developing since 2009,” Fisk recalls. “Once that was completed, we received money to build a new laboratory for our mineral processing group and also retrofit parts of our main building. Because I had worked on the greenhouse, I was asked to take charge of the new project. When we obtained a grant to build this lab, my familiarity with the construction process and ongoing research in biofuels gave me the experience necessary to supervise the project.”

The new structure accommodates three different energy research groups: the Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis group, which studies how to convert natural resources to biofuels; the Electrochemical Power Resources group that is working with the Kentucky-Argonne Battery Manufacturing Research and Development Center; and a group dedicated to research in the area of solar energy. Each group’s unique focus made Fisk’s job an enjoyable challenge.

“One of my main day-to-day responsibilities is to answer any questions that arise about the building. On a given day, I could receive calls ranging from which side of the door the kick plates needed to be on for the battery bunker to questions regarding building communications integration. Other days, I would handle budget issues so we could get what we wanted in an economical way.  One primary responsibility was to handle the reporting requirements that come with an ARRA funded project.”

The opening of CAER’s new lab coincided with Fisk receiving her MBA from UK’s Gatton College of Business and Economics—an endeavor that had her managing a construction project by day and attending class at night for over two years. While both finish lines have brought relief and satisfaction, Fisk—who was featured in the Fall 2011 issue of Minority Engineer magazine—is ready to continue pursuing CAER’s vision to excel as an applied research and development center with an international reputation.

“The quest for renewable energy isn’t going away,” she says. “The technology is better, materials are cheaper and UK, as well as the Commonwealth of Kentucky, are putting themselves at the forefront of this research by supporting CAER’s research into this vital area.”

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Carman was honored in recognition of his outstanding leadership contributions that have advanced the development of improved surface irrigation, management, and application efficiency through an exemplary 37-year USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) career and subsequent engineering consulting practice.

Early in his USDA-NRCS engineering career, Carman held various positions in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Indiana, where he was responsible for planning, design, and construction of large flood control and drainage projects as well as for direct assistance to farmers for erosion control, drainage, and animal waste management.  

From 1987 to 2000, Carman was state conservation engineer in Little Rock, Arkansas, where he provided irrigation engineering leadership for all NRCS programs within the state for large- and small-scale surface irrigation projects.  His technical oversight and leadership resulted in irrigation advancements to thousands of acres throughout Arkansas and several other states.  He managed the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, with much of the funding going for improvements to surface-irrigated cropland.  From 2000 to 2007, he held the position of agricultural engineer at the USDA-NRCS Water Management Center in Little Rock, where he was involved in providing assistance nationally to NRCS water specialists, and other federal, state and local partners involved with irrigation and drainage, as well as assistance in other natural resource areas such as animal waste management, wetland restoration, flood control, and agricultural and urban erosion control.

Since retiring in 2007, Carman has been owner and chief engineer of Carman Professional Services PLLC, in North Little Rock, Arkansas.  He provides professional engineering services for project management, management of water to meet quantity and quality requirements, technology development and implementation for climate data collection, water status, energy conservation, and system management.  He also serves as chief engineer and director for managing and directing all local activities associated with implementing the $400 million Grand Prairie Irrigation Project, which will deliver excess surface water to 250,000 acres of irrigated land experiencing depletion of groundwater.  In addition, Carman is involved in developing technology focused on automating surface irrigation systems.

Carman’s other awards and honors include: Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineering inductee; Arkansas Pork Producers Association Allied Industry Excellence award; NRCS Eagle award; University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Aquaculture and Fisheries Center Service award.  His USDA awards include three Certificate of Merit awards, five Outstanding Performance Rating awards, six Special Service Act awards, Certificate of Merit for Exceptional Team Performance award, and a Superior Service Unit award.  The ASABE Arkansas section presented him with an Outstanding Engineer award.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is an international educational and scientific organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to biological, agricultural, and food systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St Joseph, Michigan, ASABE comprises nearly 10,000 members from more than 100 countries. Further information on ASABE can found at www.asabe.org.

“Dr. Nokes has compiled an excellent record as a teacher and scholar,” said Dean Lester in his announcement, “and has served as director of undergraduate studies. She will assume her position this summer following the departure of Dr. Scott Shearer, who has accepted the same position at The Ohio State University. Please join me in congratulating Dr. Nokes on her new appointment.”

Dr. Nokes received her B.S. and M.S. in Agricultural engineering from The Ohio State University and her Ph.D. in Biological and Agricultural Engineering from North Carolina State.

Her research specialty areas are solid-state fermentation for the production of industrial enzymes, modeling of compressed solvent extraction processes for enhanced biomass conversion using thermophilic bacteria and production of enzymes using thermophilic, anaerobic bacteria in solid state cultivation.

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The award, named after Andrew T. Boggs, ASHRAE executive vice president emeritus, recognizes past recipients of the Distinguished Service Award for continuing, unselfish, dedicated and distinguished service to the Society.

Colliver received the Distinguished Service Award in 1995. Seven years later, he became president of ASHRAE, serving in 2002-03. In choosing his theme for this year, Building a Better World, Colliver said: “We must build on our successes and use our passion to take us to the next level. We must set goals that have a higher purpose.” During his 2002-03 presidential year, ASHRAE focused on the four cornerstones of energy, environment, education and empowerment that give us E to the 4^th power.

Colliver then took on a new role, serving as chair of the Steering Committee for the Advanced Energy Design Guide (AEDG) projects since its inception in 2003, after identifying this beyond-code energy efficiency guidance in his presidential year. Under his guidance, the Steering Committee has overseen the development of 30 percent guides for six different building types (small office, small retail, warehouse, K-12 schools, highway lodging and small healthcare).  Over 250,000 copies of these books have been distributed. Work on 50 percent guides starts this year.  The books have been some of the most successful and most broadly distributed publications in ASHRAE’s history. The Steering Committee has also overseen the initiation of a series of guides on existing buildings, the first of which was published in 2010, Business Case for Building Owners and Managers.   The next in the existing building series is a technical guide.

Colliver also chaired the Society’s 2007 Solar Decathlon Committee, leading decisions about ASHRAE’s involvement in the event that attracts students from around the world in designing, constructing and living in sustainable homes on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Colliver is a professor at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky.

ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is an international organization of some 50,000 persons. ASHRAE fulfills its mission of advancing heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration to serve humanity and promote a sustainable world through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education.

UK’s entry featured extensive use of aluminum to meet weight restrictions while permitting the students to utilize a four-engine design and a totally redesign operator interface.

The University of Illinois Illini Pullers took top honors followed by UK, Nicholls State University, University of Saskatchewan, and Purdue University.  The five earned their top finishes by performing consistently well among all of the judging categories: Oral Presentation, Written Design Report, Static Design Judging, Maneuverability and Performance (tractor pull).

The ASABE Annual International 1/4-Scale Tractor Student Design Competition provides university students with a “360-degree” design experience, unique among collegiate vehicle-design competitions, in which they must build a tractor from the ground up, documenting their market research, testing and development; presenting their design to a mock corporate management team; and demonstrating performance in a live tractor pull.

Each team is supplied a 16-hp Briggs & Stratton engine and a set of Titan tires; they are responsible for acquiring all other components of their machines. All tractors run on a 10% ethanol fuel blend.

Students gain invaluable professional experience, and industry representatives, many of whom serve as competition judges, are able to find top job recruits among the participants. Twenty teams from across the U.S. and Canada competed in this year’s competition. In addition to those named as award winners, the field included: Cal Poly State University, Iowa State University, Modesto Junior College, North Carolina State University, Penn State University, Southern Illinois University, Texas A & M University, University of Manitoba, University of Minnesota, and University of Wisconsin – Platteville.

The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is a professional and technical organization dedicated to the advancement of engineering applicable to agricultural, food, and biological systems. Members are consultants, managers and others who have the training and experience to understand the interrelationships between technology and living systems. Founded in 1907 and headquartered in St Joseph, Michigan, ASABE comprises 9,000 members from more than 100 countries.

This was the 13^th year ASABE has sponsored the competition, and UK’s 12^th straight entry.

Courtney currently serves as an engineer in the CAER Biofuels and Environmental Catalysis Group

For more information visit the National Engineers Week site

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