Faculty/Staff News of Record: Penn Staters Dec. 11, 2003

R&D Magazine has named the EnergyPlus Building Simulation Program, created with the aid of Penn State engineers, as one of the 100 most technologically significant new products of the year. EnergyPlus is a computer program that models heating, cooling, lighting, ventilating and other energy flows in commercial and residential buildings. The program’s development, led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, was a collaborative effort between Penn State, the University of Illinois, the U.S. Army’s Construction Research Laboratory, the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, the Florida Solar Energy Center, Oklahoma State University, the University of Wisconsin and GARD Analytics Inc. William Bahnfleth, associate professor of architectural engineering, directed the creation of the program’s modules for simulating heat transfer in basements and slab-on-grade foundations. Bahnfleth’s research team included graduate students Edward Clements and Cynthia Cogil, who used their portions of the work as thesis projects.

C. Lee Giles, holder of the David Reese professorship of information sciences and technology, has been named the winner of the 2003 IBM Distinguished Faculty Award. He was honored for his ongoing research on evidence-based Intelligent Consulting Engine (ebICE). The goal of this work is to develop a next-generation, multi-user knowledge management platform that inter-operates with existing document repositories and search engine technologies and can create knowledge dynamically and be redeployed in multiple settings.

Dora McQuaid, an instructor in the Department of Communications Arts and Sciences, is the 2003 recipient of the Governor’s Victim Service Pathfinder Award for Survivor/Activist. She received her award during the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s fifth annual Pathways for Victim Services Conference at University Park. She also was presented with a Citation of Congratulations by state Sen. Jake Corman during the event and a documentary film, “One Woman’s Voice,” about McQuaid's work as poet and activist was released during the Pathways Conference.

Jerzy Ruzyllo, professor of electrical engineering and materials science and engineering, was recently elected Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc., a professional association that is a leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric power, aerospace and consumer electronics, among others. Ruzyllo was recognized “for contributions to ultrathin oxidation in microelectronic manufacturing.”