CORVALLIS, Ore. - Five researchers in the College of Engineering at Oregon State University have been recognized this year with National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, which is 11th in the nation for the number of awards presented to engineering and computer science faculty.

Each award provides funding of at least $400,000 for a new research project with an educational/outreach component. Before this, no more than three OSU engineering faculty had received CAREER Awards in the same year.

The 2009 award recipients are Thinh Nguyen, Ted Brekken, and Bechir Hamdaoui, assistant professors in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Desiree Tullos, assistant professor in the Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering; and Michael Scott, assistant professor in the School of Civil and Construction Engineering.

"I am very proud of the high quality faculty we have here at OSU engineering," said Ron Adams, dean of the college. "Seeing five of our newer faculty receive CAREER Awards from the National Science Foundation this year just reinforces my belief in our potential, both individually and collectively, to create a better future."

  • Nguyen will develop network coding theories and practices to make the Internet and wireless networks much faster and more reliable. The goal is transmission of fast, dependable, and high resolution videos, over wireless networks and the Internet, simultaneously for millions of people - the same way people watch cable or satellite television.
  • Brekken is studying improved ways to deliver electricity from renewable but highly variable resources, such as wind, wave, or solar energy, to the power grid. This could help reduce reliance on fossil fuel-based power.
  • Hamdaoui is developing techniques and design algorithms for next-generation wireless cognitive networks. Better allocation methods are needed, in which bandwidth will be accessed and shared by networks and end-user devices, with little involvement of any central regulatory bodies.
  • Tullos is examining the potential impacts of climate change on river ecosystems and ways to mitigate those impacts.  Her work focuses on the effects of three climate scenarios on flooding, water supply, temperature, and habitat and food resources for salmon in the Willamette Valley.
  • Scott is developing new methods to simulate fluid-structure interactions, to better understand how coastal structures respond to loads generated by tsunami run-up and hurricane storm surge.

CAREER grants are the most prestigious National Science Foundation award for junior faculty members, designed to help develop the next generation of teacher-scholars and academic leaders. Proposals are selected based on their research, education and outreach components. Since 1997, twenty-one OSU engineering faculty have won CAREER awards.

Source: 

Tracy Ann Robinson, 541-737-4646

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