| National Science Foundation Sessions
Monday November 15th
9:45am to 11:15am
Convention Centre West · Level 1, Rooms 105 & 106
John McGrath and Steve Mcknight CBET & CMMI Division Directors
NSF (CBET & CMMI) Information Session
This session will present an opportunity for NSF stakeholders to learn about the Foundation and interactively discuss pressing issues with senior leaders from the NSF Directorate for Engineering (NSF/ENG). John McGrath and Steven McKnight, the Division Directors for Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET) and Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation respectively, will present a brief overview of NSF and highlight ongoing initiatives within the NSF Directorate for Engineering and their respective divisions. Following their short presentation, they will lead an extended discussion with session attendees on a wide array of topics presently facing NSF/ENG. Topics for discussion may include managing the number of proposal submissions, the NSF Innovation Ecosystem initiative, assessment and evaluation of NSF funded research programs, and methods to support small-team and interdisciplinary research. An overarching goal of the session will be to discuss ways in which ASME and NSF/ENG can work together to strengthen the broader mechanical engineering community.
Steven H. McKnight, Division Director for Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation at NSF.
Steven H. McKnight is the director of the Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing Innovation Division (CMMI) of the Directorate for Engineering. McKnight, served as Chief of the Army Research Laboratory (ARL) Materials Division prior to 2006.
At ARL, McKnight directed a comprehensive interdisciplinary materials research program that encompasses materials science and engineering, chemistry, applied physics, process and manufacturing technology, and engineering mechanics. He oversaw both in-house research and an extramural collaborative research program with 42 academic and 38 industrial partners.
Under his leadership, the Materials Division advanced materials and manufacturing technologies for a wide array of critical Army applications, including improved opaque and transparent armors, environmentally friendly coating and corrosion-protection technologies, thin-film ferroelectric materials for antennae, as well as several new manufacturing methods for structural and armor materials.
McKnight helped establish the Army's nanotechnology research program and twice co-chaired the Army's Nanotechnology Integrated Product Team. He also served as the Army's primary representative on agency, interagency, and international materials research coordination and advisory groups.
McKnight began at ARL in 1996 as a materials research engineer, and he led the polymer engineering research team, the Polymers Research Branch, and the Multifunctional Materials Branch before becoming division chief. He advised five post-doctoral researchers at ARL. McKnight also advised seven graduate and post-graduate researchers at the University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials, where he was a visiting scientist.
"Dr. McKnight's leadership in establishing a strong interdisciplinary research agenda in the Army Research Lab's Materials Division will be a valuable asset in his oversight of CMMI," said Tom Peterson, NSF Assistant Director for Engineering. "CMMI has an important role to play in helping the Engineering Directorate address engineering's grand challenges, and interdisciplinary approaches are critical."
McKnight's personal research focuses on advanced polymer composite materials and polymer adhesion science, including innovative composites manufacturing techniques using non-traditional consolidation and curing methods for structural composite materials and composite material repair, tailored nanoscale engineering of composite fiber reinforcement for ballistic applications, and fundamental studies on the degradation mechanisms of multi-component, high-performance military coating systems.
After receiving a B.S. in materials engineering from Virginia Tech, McKnight earned his Ph.D. in materials science and engineering from the University of Delaware. He has received two Army R&D Achievement Awards as well as the 1998 Paul A. Siple Memorial Award in recognition of outstanding research. McKnight has published 33 journal articles and 19 government technical reports; he holds three patents, two patent applications, and two invention disclosures.
CMMI supports fundamental research and education directed at advances in civil, mechanical, industrial, and manufacturing engineering and materials design, with an additional focus on reducing risks and damage from earthquakes and other natural and technological hazards. These investments are leading to advances that promote the global competitiveness of the nation's manufacturing sector; enhance the sustainability and resiliency of the nation's civil infrastructure; and improve the economics of the nation's health care system.
John J. McGrath, Division Director, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental and Transport Systems
Dr. McGrath received his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University. His M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from MIT were both in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on thermal science applied to biomaterials: in particular, cryobiology.
Dr. McGrath was a faculty member in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University from 1978 to 2002, where he was the recipient of the College of Engineering Withrow Teaching Excellence Award and the Withrow Distinguished Scholar Award.
Dr. McGrath is currently Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Arizona. He served as Department Head of this department from 2002 to 2008. He has been on loan from the University of Arizona since October 1, 2008 when he became Division Director of the Chemical, Bioengineering and Environmental Transport (CBET) Division in the Engineering Directorate of the National Science Foundation. He is as an ex officio member of the National Advisory Council for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB).
Dr. McGrath is a Fellow of ASME and of the Society for Cryobiology. He is a consultant to industry and serves as an expert witness in medical technology litigation.
Tuesday November 16th
9:45am to 11:15am
Convention Centre West, Level 1, Rooms 105 & 106
Multiagency Session on Innovation Ecosystems
Information for University and Industry PI's about innovation focused research encouraged and supported by various government agencies. Questions and comments are encouraged to help define focus.
Objective: Industry-focused Activities
- Commerce (Esther Lee or representative), 12 min + 6 min Q&A
- DOE (ARPA-E), (Arun Majumdar or representative), 12 min + 6 min Q&A
- DOD, 12 min + 6 min Q&A
- NSF (I/UCRC, GOALI, TRAC, and AIR), Rathindra DasGupta or representative, 12 min + 6 min Q&A
Babu DasGupta joined the National Science Foundation (NSF) in June 2006 as a Program Director in the Division of Industrial Innovation and Partnerships, Small Business Innovation Research Program. He is currently the program director for the Industry University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) program at NSF. Babu also serves as the Program Coordinator for ERC - SBIR/STTR collaboration opportunities. Before joining NSF, Babu DasGupta was the chief scientist for CONTECH Division, SPX Corporation. He was also the technical director at Meta Mold Division, Amcast Industrial Corporation. Prior to joining the industry, he was the Raymond D. Peters Endowed Professor in Materials Science at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
- NSF (Education support to enable Innovation), Richard Smith, 12 min + 6 min Q&A.
Dr. Richard N. Smith is the Program Director for Human Resource Development Division at the National Science Foundation
Thursday November 18th
1:00pm to 4:15pm
Convention Centre West · Level 2, Room 221
Proposal Writing Workshop
2.5 hours
This session provides important information for PIs about writing successful proposals.
George Hazelrigg enjoyed designing and building things when he was young. So he decided to go to college to study engineering. He obtained a B.S. in mechanical engineering from New Jersey Institute of Technology and went to work for Curtiss-Wright. There, he found that his education had utterly destroyed his abilities to do engineering design. So he felt it necessary to get a master's degree. He completed an M.S. in mechanical engineering, also from NJIT, but still hadn't regained his design abilities. While getting his MS, however, he did some teaching and liked it. So he figured that, if he couldn't do design, the next best thing would be to teach it. Five years later, he had obtained M.A., M.S.E., and Ph.D. degrees in aerospace engineering from Princeton University. Now, in addition to not knowing how to do design, he couldn't teach it either. For the next 25 years, he roamed industry and academe in an attempt to understand the theory of engineering design, including time spent at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, General Dynamics, Princeton University and a consulting firm of which he was a co-founder. He also spent a year in Korea helping to found the Systems Engineering Department of Ajou University. He joined the National Science Foundation in 1982 and, in 1996, became program director for the Engineering Design program where, for eight years, he provided support to others in the field. In January, 1996, he did a stint as Station Science Leader of the U.S. South Pole station. Since 2004, he has been Program Director for the Manufacturing and Construction Machines and Equipment program and, since the formation of the CMMI Division, he has been Deputy Division Director. For relaxation, he spends his weekends soaring over the Shenandoah Valley, and he is a certified flight instructor in gliders (CFI-G) with about 1,300 total flying hours.
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