2016 AAAS
Engineering Section Business Meeting
Friday
February 12, 2016
Washington,
DC; Omni Shoreham Hotel, Hampton Ballroom
MINUTES
1.
Introductions: Kent Fuchs, Section Chair, called the meeting to
order at 9:45 AM after around 15 minutes of networking with coffee and snacks
being served. He asked those present to
introduce themselves. The attendance list is included in Appendix A.
2.
Approval of Minutes: Dr. Fuchs asked for comments and suggested corrections
to the draft minutes of the Section Business Meeting held on February 13, 2015,
at the San Jose, CA meeting. The draft minutes were posted on the Section
website http://www.eecs.ucf.edu/aaas-m
shortly after the 2015 San Jose meeting.
Copies of the draft minutes were also distributed at the meeting. There were no comments made or changes
suggested. A motion was made and
seconded to approve the minutes. The
motion passed unanimously.
3.
Section Chair Remarks: Dr. Fuchs described some of the new
initiatives at AAAS. These include the
development of social media outreach, the expansion of international engagement
and activities, and initiatives to increase the AAAS membership. An important part of the AAAS membership
drive is to increase the membership in the engineering section since the field
of engineering includes considerable interdisciplinary research that has
national policy implications. Currently the AAAS membership is around 120,000
but has declined by about 5% last year.
Dr. Fuchs pointed out that both our section budget and the Steering
Group Fellow nomination quota depend on the number of AAAS members who have
affiliated with the engineering section.
Dr.
Fuchs also summarized some additional information regarding the 2017 Annual
Meeting. In particular, he mentioned
that the planning committee decided to eliminate the option of 180-minute
symposia. The available option now are
the standard 90-minute symposia, a new 90-minute discussion format which
focuses slightly more on audience participation, and a new 15-minute flash talk
format, which is an opportunity for an individual to briefly discuss a
particular topic or area of research.
4.
Update on the various programs and changes at AAAS: Yolanda George, our section’s AAAS Liaison, discussed the role of
sections in AAAS, including evaluating Fellows, serving as subject matter
experts for AAAS advocacy and public engagement effort, and recruiting new
members. She described the new council committee
charged with reviewing the Fellows Program, and in particular the 4-year
rule. She also mentioned the new
additions to the AAAS Family of Journals, which in addition to Science, include: Science Signaling; Science Translational Medicine; Science
Advances (an open access online journal), Science
Immunology, and Science Robotics (which will begin publication in Summer/Fall
2016). She also mentioned the AAAS Office of
Philanthropy and Strategic Partnerships, Trellis, and other AAAS Offices.
5.
Announcements: Dr. Fuchs announced the 2016-17 results of
the AAAS elections for Section M: Linda
P.B. Katehi (University of California-Davis) was
elected as Chair-Elect; Nadine Aubry (Northeastern
University) was elected as Member-at-Large; Nancy Jackson (Sandia National Laboratories) and Robert M. Kelly (North Carolina State
University) were elected as members of the Section Electorate Nominating
Committee. The term for all those who were elected starts on February 16, 2016.
Dr.
Fuchs thanked all the officers whose terms ended after this Annual
Meeting: Nicholas Peppas
as Retiring Chair, Alan Willner as Retiring Member-at-Large, and William E.
Bentley and Edmund Seebauer as Retiring Members of
the Electorate Nominating Committee. On
February 16, 2016 Dr. Fuchs will become the Retiring Chair and in that capacity
he will serve on the AAAS Council and he will also Chair the Electorate
Nominating Committee.
Dr.
Fuchs also announced that this year 35 members of our section were elected
Fellows of AAAS. A list of the names of the newly elected Fellows was
distributed at the meeting and is attached as Appendix B. The Newly elected Fellows were invited to
attend our business meeting and 11 of the 35 were able to attend. Dr. Fuchs welcomed them, and thanked them for
attending the meeting.
6.
Fellow Nomination Process: Dr. Fuchs asked Marwan Simaan, the section secretary
to review the AAAS Fellow nomination process which is the same as in previous
years. Dr. Simaan mentioned that our
section currently has 6,217 Members (primary affiliation: 3,139, secondary
affiliation: 1,910, and tertiary affiliation: 1,168). This year 35 members of
our section were elected Fellows of AAAS.
He also mentioned that there is a new rule beginning two years ago,
which mandates that a nominee for Fellow must have been a AAAS member in good
standing for the four consecutive years prior to the time of nomination. This means that for the upcoming election, a
member must have been a continuous member in good standing since December 31,
2012.
Dr.
Simaan then described the Fellow nomination process. There are three ways a AAAS member can be nominated:
1)
By a member of
the Steering Group (method 1),
2)
By a group of
three Fellows (method 2), and
3)
By the AAAS Chief
Executive Officer (method 3).
For
Fellow nominations by members of the Steering Group (method 1), he mentioned
that this method is subject to a quota of no more than 0.4% of the section
primary membership, which is equal to 13 for this year. Information on the nomination process by a
group of three Fellows (method 2) and a copy of the nomination form can be
found on the AAAS main website. A link
to that website can also be found on our section Website (http://www.eecs.ucf.edu/aaas-m). Dr. Simaan
also mentioned that the deadline for Fellow nominations by a group of three
Fellows is April 21, 2016, and that there is no quota for those elected through
nominations by the three Fellows method.
By May 18, 2016, all members of the Steering Group will receive from the
AAAS Executive Office copies of the nomination materials for all nominees by
the section and a voting sheet that they will need to complete and return to
him by June 15, 2016. Marwan will then
forward all votes to the Executive Office.
He concluded by saying that in all three methods, a successful candidate
must receive no less than five “Yes” votes and no more than two “No” votes.
A
discussion followed which centered on issues related to the lack of diversity of
Fellows, including disciplines, employment sector such as industry, gender, and
international. It was also mentioned that many engineers may not find a need to
become members because they get Science magazine via their university or Lab license.
There is a need to educate engineers about the value of AAAS membership. It was also mentioned
that community building was needed to not only increase the number of
engineering Fellows but to also increase the number of AAAS officers who are
engineers.
Dr. Fuchs mentioned that AAAS has appointed a
committee to review the Fellows election process. Marwan Simaan is serving on
this committee.
7.
Update on AAAS Subcommittee on Fellows:
Dr. Simaan mentioned that the Committee
on Council Affairs (CCA) appointed an ad hoc subcommittee to review the Fellow
nominations and election process and report its recommendation to the full
Committee, which in turn reports to the Council. In December 2014, the CCA
voted to authorize the creation of this subcommittee. The Council also voted
its approval in February 2015. A
subcommittee consisting of the following six AAAS members was appointed on
December 15, 2015: Ed Aboufadel (Section:
Mathematics), Jessica Gurevitch (Section: Biological Sciences), Jeanne Robinson
(Section: Chemistry), Marwan Simaan (Section: Engineering), Betty Smocovitis (Section: History & Philosophy of Science),
and Saku Vrtilek (Section: Astronomy).
The Subcommittee on Fellows was tasked with examining the following issues.
(1) Consideration of adding a statement to the nomination form verifying that
all nominees have acted responsibly in conducting their scientific work. (2) Diversity represented among the elected Fellows. (3) Effectiveness of the recent 4-year eligibility rule. (4) Concerns about the distinction and prestige of the
AAAS Fellows— individually and collectively. (5) Concerns about what is asked of and what is given to
AAAS fellows in the years after they are elected. (6) Concerns about retention of AAAS Fellows as AAAS
members. (7)
Review process of the Steering Groups to
ensure the standard of AAAS Fellow election is being consistently upheld. (8) Review process of the Council to ensure the standards
of AAAS Fellow election is being upheld. (9) The
difference in criteria and required materials for fellows nominated through the
Steering Groups and those nominated through the 3-Fellows process.
Dr. Simaan mentioned that the committee has met only
twice by teleconference prior to the AAAS Annual Meeting and has only had a
chance to discuss the first two items mentioned in the paragraph above. He asked anyone who has input or concerns on
any of the items of charge to the committee mentioned above to let him know.
8.
Planning for the 2017 Annual Meeting: The 2017 AAAS Annual Meeting will be held in
Boston, MA, February 16-20, 2017. The meeting theme is: “Serving Society
through Science Policy.” The deadline for the 2017 session proposal submissions
is April 22, 2016. AAAS asked our
section to brainstorm at our business meeting and arrive at three hot topics to
be discussed at the 2017 Annual Meeting planning meeting, which will be held on
Sunday afternoon 2-4:30pm. These hot
topics will form the basis for possible collaborative symposia sponsored by our
section or co-sponsored with other section at the 2017 Annual Meeting. Dr. Fuchs asked for ideas and
suggestions. A discussion followed with
everyone present contributing ideas. A summary of these ideas is given below
(including details obtained after the meeting but before the Sunday afternoon
planning meeting):
8.1 The Human Brain and Computing
Machines of the Future
Proposed
by: Sankar Basu (Section M)
In June 2015, the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP) issued a Grand Challenge to the scientific community that addresses
three national priorities—the National Nanotechnology Initiative, the National
Strategic Computing Initiative (NSCI), and the BRAIN initiative. More
specifically, the grand challenge is to create a new type of computer that can
proactively interpret and learn from data, solve unfamiliar problems using what
it has learned, and operate with the energy efficiency of the human brain.
While it continues to be a national priority to
advance conventional digital computing, which has been the engine of the global
information technology revolution, current technology falls far short of the
human brain in terms of both the brain’s sensing and problem-solving abilities
and its low power consumption. Many experts predict that fundamental physical
limitations will prevent technology from ever matching these twin
characteristics. To wit, it is easy to observe that while the human brain
consumes less power than an electric light bulb, its capacity for recognition,
decision making, and complex problem solving, often far exceeds that of vast arrays of today’s
computing machines consuming up to megawatts of power. There are growing
problems facing our generation that range from delivering individualized treatments
for disease, to allow advanced robots to work safely alongside people, to
proactively identify and block cyber intrusions. To meet this challenge, major
breakthroughs will be needed not only in computing hardware, but in ways that a
computer analyzes images, sounds, and patterns; interprets and learns from
data; and identifies and solves problems. The Grand Challenge thus addresses
the science and engineering communities to chart a new path that will continue
the rapid pace of innovation beyond the next decade.
Recent progress in developing novel, low-power methods
of sensing and computation, including neuromorphic, magneto-electronic, and
analog systems, combined with dramatic advances in neuroscience and cognitive
sciences, lead one to believe that this ambitious challenge may now be within
our reach. The symposium will assemble thought leaders in the field from
government, academia and industry and plans to critically examine this latter
mentioned premise. The symposium will consist of 15 min presentation by each of
the 3 speakers followed by an intensive panel discussion.
Organizer:
Dr.
Sankar Basu, National
Science Foundation (CISE/CCF),
Tentative Discussant: Dr. Tom Kalil, Deputy
Director for Technology and Innovation, White House Office of Science and
Technology Policy (OSTP) https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ostp/about/leadershipstaff
.
Tentative speakers:
Relevant AAAS Sections
8.2 Knowledge Mobilization for Social Impact: Beyond
Technology Transfer and Commercialization
Organizer: Sushanta
Mitra (Section M)
Co-Organizer: David
Phipps
The traditional models of research impact from major research intensive
universities across the globe has been to enable the impacts of research
through success in technology transfer and related commercialization
activities. Twenty-first century concepts of broader research impacts are
challenging institutions to provide better and meaningful engagement with the
public at large creating impacts on policy, society, culture, and the
environment as well as traditional economic impacts. This begs the question how
(and why) are institutions creating conditions for and supporting broader
impact?
The proposed symposium will present the
institutional/local/regional/national contexts of broader impact practices and
reflect on how these different policy and cultural contexts create or remove
barriers to supporting research impact. We will pay special attention to how
institutional knowledge mobilization can support broader impacts with an
overarching goal to connect with government agencies and communities at large
and create meaningful social impact.
Format: 90 mins with 3
Speakers and 1 Moderator
Suggested Speakers:
1. Steven Hill, Head
Research Policy, Research Excellence Framework, UK
2. Paul Davidson,
President, Universities Canada, Canada
3. Stephanie Michaud,
Deputy Director, Networks of Centres of Excellence,
Canada
Moderator: Robert Haché, Vice-President Research & Innovation, York
University, Canada
8.3 Are you Safe and Secure in the Internet of
Everything Ecosystem?
Proposed by: Ram D. Sriram (Section M) and Ramesh Jain
(Section T)
We are witnessing a new revolution in computing and
communication. The Internet, which has spanned several networks in a wide
variety of domains, is having a significant impact on every aspect of our
lives. Many of the wide variety of resources on the Internet are having
significant sensing capabilities. Further these networks are extending beyond
physically linked computers to include multimodal information from biological,
cognitive, semantic, and social networks. This paradigm shift involves
symbiotic networks of people, intelligent devices, and mobile personal
computing and communication devices, and be viewed as Internet of Everything.
Data/information need to be transmitted from various devices and humans on the
Internet in a trusted and secure manner, within and across networks. Further, privacy
issues need to be adequately addressed. In this session experts from the
privacy the computer security fields will discuss the current problems and
potential solutions to address these problems in the Internet of Everything
ecosystem.
8.4 Thwarting Disease
Epidemics and Pandemics with Emerging Technologies
Proposed by: Ram D.
Sriram (Section M), Ramesh Jain (Section T), and Don Hansen (Medical Section)
Recent disease
outbreaks caused by Ebola, Zika, other microorganisms
are creating considerable devastation to the global economies. Advances in
engineering and computing technologies can be effectively used to mitigate or
reduce the effect of such outbreaks. This session will focus on the current
technologies available to thwart such disease outbreaks and what kinds of
science policies various governments should adopt to contain such
outbreaks.
8.5 Scientific
reproducibility: Legitimacy of Science and Technology in a Global Society
Proposed by: Eswaran Subrahmanin (Section M), Maryann Feldman (Section X) and
Judy Gelfand (Section T)
The practice of Science is growing globally, without the
reproducibility of results the danger of erosion of social confidence in
science is at risk. Reproducibility requires seeing science as a public good
that include sharing of data, methods and results for public scrutiny. With
computation taking a center stage in science and engineering the necessity for
data commons has become critical to this endeavor. This symposium will explore
the needs for such a global commons including the efforts such as
the Research Data Alliance and other efforts to inform the path forward
towards creating such commons. These commons are needed beyond reproducibility
for collaborative global science. We will invite people from technology and
science disciplines to address this issue.
Dr. Fuchs
encouraged all those who have suggested these ideas to develop them further and
submit them on the AAAS proposal submission website by the deadline of April
22, 2016.
Finally,
Dr. Fuchs asked for suggestions for plenary and topical lectures speakers. The names of Robert Langer (MIT) and Rebecca
Richards-Kortum (Rice) were suggested as plenary or
topical speakers as they were also suggested last year.
9.
Adjournment: Dr. Fuchs
asked each of the newly elected fellows to introduce themselves and describe
briefly their research. The meeting was
adjourned at 11:30AM. Lunch was served.
Submitted
by:
Marwan
A. Simaan
Secretary,
Engineering Section (M)
February
25, 2016
Appendix A
Attendance List
1. Kent Fuchs, Chair
2. Nicholas Peppas, Retiring Chair
3. Larry McIntire, Chair-Elect
4. Marwan Simaan, Secretary
5. Ilesanmi Adesida, Member-at-Large
6. Nadine Aubry, Member-at-Large-Elect
7. Stuart Cooper, Council Delegate
8. Molley Soichet, Council Delegate
9. Roberto Ballarini, ASCE
Representative
10. Krishna Athreya, AAAS COOS
11. Yolanda George, AAAS Program Office
12. Catherine Dideon, Senior
Program Officer, NAE
13. Lalit Chordia, Newly Elected Fellow
14. Ted
Conway,
Newly Elected Fellow
15. Jon
Dobson,
Newly Elected Fellow
16. Vincent
Harris,
Newly Elected Fellow
17. Marwan
Khraisheh, Newly Elected Fellow
18. Shankar
Mahalingam, Newly Elected Fellow
19. Sushanta
Mitra Newly
Elected Fellow
20. Martin
Richardson, Newly
Elected Fellow
21. Shelly
Sakiyama-Elbert, Newly Elected Fellow
22. Haiyan
Wang, Newly
Elected Fellow
23. Hong
Yang, Newly
Elected Fellow
24. Sankar Basu
25. Alex Dale
26. Moe Khaleel
27. Larry Nagahara
28. Ned Sauthoff
29. Ram D. Sriram
30. Eswaran
Subrahmanian
31. Usha
Varshney
32. Ge
Wang
Appendix B
Fellows affiliated
with Section M (Engineering) Elected in 2015
James Hiram Aylor, University of Virginia: For fundamental
contributions in computer engineering research, exceptional professional
service, and outstanding leadership in engineering education.
David F. Bahr,
Purdue University: For significant contributions to research and
education in materials science and engineering, particularly for advances in
experimental studies of materials reliability across length scales.
Ian Baker,
Dartmouth College: For distinguished contributions to fundamental
understanding of structure-property relationships in materials, particularly
high-temperature austenitic alloys, ice sheet fabric formation, and
nanoparticle development for cancer treatment.
Karl K. Berggren, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: For distinguished
contributions to methods of nanofabrication, especially applied to
superconductive quantum circuits, photodetectors, high-speed superconductive
electronics, and energy systems.
Venkat R. Bhethanabotla, University of South Florida: For
distinguished contributions to the fields of chemical and biomedical
engineering, particularly for the modeling and development of acoustic wave
chemical and biological sensors.
R. Byron Bird,
University of Wisconsin-Madison: For a distinguished career advancing
the science, teaching and international communication of chemical engineering,
particularly the areas of transport phenomena, polymer dynamics and rheology.
Marc Cahay, University of Cincinnati: For seminal
contributions to the study of the transport properties of mesoscopic systems
and pioneering investigations of spintronics devices.
Shu Chien, University of California, San
Diego: For continuing outstanding contributions to vascular physiology and
vascular cell and molecular biology, which have greatly increased our
understanding of vascular pathologies including atherosclerosis.
Lalit Chordia,
Thar Energy, LLC: For outstanding contributions
leading to innovations of supercritical fluid technologies and for championing
the widespread use of these technologies.
Ted Allen Conway, Florida Institute of Technology: For distinguished
contributions to the participation of scientists with physical challenges
nationally and within AAAS, and for exceptional leadership of the Committee on
Opportunities in Science.
Dennis E. Discher, University of Pennsylvania: For outstanding
contributions to the understanding of the effects of matrix and cytoskeletal
physical properties and forces on cell physiology and stem cell development.
Jon Dobson,
University of Florida: For outstanding contributions to the development
of magnetic micro- and nanoparticle-based technologies in cell engineering,
regenerative medicine and gene transfection.
Dominique M. Durand, Case Western Reserve University: For pioneering
contributions to the field of neuroengineering,
including neurophysiology and the control of epilepsy, neural prostheses, and
non-linear dynamics of neural systems.
Greg Evans,
University of Toronto (Canada): For distinguished contributions to
aerosol research, particularly the formation of research networks, and
leadership in engineering education.
Yuguang “Michael” Fang,
University of Florida: For distinguished research and teaching
contributions to the field of electrical and computer engineering, particularly
for wireless network design and cybersecurity.
Donald P. Gaver III, Tulane University: For distinguished
contributions to the field of biofluid mechanics and
surfactant transport in pulmonary pathophysiology, and for academic leadership
in the field of biomedical engineering.
K. Jane Grande-Allen, Rice University: For distinguished contributions to the
field of heart valve biomechanics and mechanobiology,
particularly for development of novel bioreactors, biomaterials platforms, and
extracellular matrix analysis.
Vincent G. Harris, Northeastern University: For seminal contributions to the
advancement of high frequency magnetism, magnetic materials, and RF device
technologies.
Kevin J. Hemker, Johns Hopkins University: For discoveries in
underlying atomic scale processes governing mechanical behavior of advanced
materials systems, including nanocrystalline,
micro-lattice, thermal barrier, and high-temperature materials.
Marwan K. Khraisheh, Qatar Foundation: For distinguished
contributions to the field of materials processing and manufacturing
lightweight alloys, and for outstanding leadership in building and
administering academic and research programs.
Timothy L. Killeen, University of Illinois: For distinguished contributions
to optical interferometry, education and government administration, and
leadership in professional service.
Shankar Mahalingam, University of Alabama in Huntsville: For distinguished
contributions to the field of combustion using laboratory scale experiments and
computational models which have led to improved understanding of wildland fire
behavior, and for service in engineering education administration.
William H. Mischo, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign:
For research relevant to the development of new digital library technologies.
Sushanta K. Mitra, York University (Canada): For distinguished contributions
to the field of micro-nanofluidics, particularly for
development of tools and techniques for energy exploration, environment
monitoring and applications in bio-systems.
Babatunde Ogunnaike, University of Delaware: For distinguished
contributions to process control systems, process engineering practice, and
systems engineering education.
Martin Richardson, University of Central Florida: For distinguished
contributions to the development of high power pulsed lasers, and for their use
in understanding the science of high power laser light interaction with matter,
particularly laser-induced plasmas.
Ian M. Robertson, University of Wisconsin-Madison: For distinguished
contributions in materials science which have advanced the understanding of
metallic materials in extreme environments, and for leadership in academic and
research administration.
Shelly E. Sakiyama-Elbert, Washington University in St. Louis: For
fundamental contributions to advanced biomaterials and for leading research on
nerve regeneration systems.
Mark. T. Swihart, University at Buffalo, SUNY: For outstanding
contributions in advancing fundamental understanding and practical
implementation of processes for producing, functionalizing, and creatively
applying inorganic nanomaterials.
Michael W. Vannier, University of Chicago Medical Center: For
distinguished contributions, mentorship, and leadership in the field of medical
imaging, particularly for image visualization, surface modeling, and X-ray
computed tomography.
Haiyan Wang,
Texas A&M University: For innovative research at the frontiers of
materials science and technology, and for exceptional potential to shape the
future through intellectual leadership and inspired teaching.
Hong Yang,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: For discovery of a new
synthesis platform for precisely-controlled noble metal alloy nanostructures,
with applications in electrocatalysis for fuel cells
and batteries.
Tian C. Zhang,
University of Nebraska-Lincoln: For exemplary professional work and
research, prolific contribution to technical literature, and voluntary
activities around the world as a technical expert and adviser.
Yuwen Zhang,
University of Missouri: For distinguished contributions to the field of
heat transfer, particularly in phase change and laser materials interaction, as
well as for service to professional societies.
Andrew L. Zydney, Pennsylvania State University: For
distinguished contributions to the field of membrane science and engineering,
particularly for systematically identifying transport and fouling mechanisms in
protein, DNA and virus filtration.