Air Force Grant awarded to SPSU
Dr. David Veazie, director of the SPSU Center for Advanced Materials Research and Education (CAMRE) and a professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology, has been awarded a grant of more than $455,000 by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in the 2011 Defense University Research Instrumentation Program (DURIP) Competition.

SPSU and Georgia Tech were the only two Georgia institutions selected to receive this funding in 2011.

DURIP supports the purchase of state-of-the-art equipment that augments or improves the capabilities universities have to perform cutting-edge defense research. The Department of Defense received more than 800 proposals and awarded a total of $37.8 million to 83 academic institutions nationwide.

Dr. Veazie’s winning proposal made a case for the acquisition of a high-performance, thermal field emission scanning electron microscope (SEM) to observe, characterize and analyze advanced engineering materials.

“The acquisition of a thermal field emission SEM will lead to significant transformative materials research, design and fabrication,” he told DURIP officials. The SEM, he added, is “an indispensable tool for student research training in materials” that can be used by groups based at SPSU and also at Clark Atlanta University (where Dr. Veazie was formerly associate director of the High Performance Polymer and Composites Center) and will be central to CAMRE’s instrumentation capabilities.

“Students will utilize the SEM to acquire skills in multiple material-related disciplines, such as mechanical characterization, microfabrication, nanostructured and multifunctional materials, and material synthesis,” he said.

Glenn Allen raising funds for Brain Tumor Foundation
Former Prof. Glenn Allen, who was diagnosed with a brain tumor last June and recently retired as director of the Mechatronics Engineering Program, plans to walk in the 2011 Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation’s Race for Research on July 23 in Atlanta.

He invited others in the SPSU community to join him in walking or running in the event and/or pledging a donation on his behalf. Please visit his race page at the Southeastern Brain Tumor Foundation for more information about the race and Prof. Allen’s progress.

Civil Engineering Summer Camp
SPSU reached out to the community with its third annual Civil Engineering Summer Camp in June. The camp was designed to give kids ages 13-18 a brief introduction to what civil engineers and construction workers do in the field.

Twenty campers met daily at the W. Claire Harris Textile Center during the week of June 13 to design, build and test balsa-wood bridges. Working with senior student volunteers in Civil and Construction Engineering, the campers learned the importance of design, materials and tools, using the software program West Point Bridge Design for the initial development of their creations.

The highlight of the week came when campers got to test the strength of their bridges by suspending a series of weights from them until they collapsed.

Dr. Wasim Barham, director of the camp and professor of Civil and Construction Engineering, joined forces with Prof. Ilseok Oh and Prof. Fatih Oncul to make the camp a success.

S2S Program helps vets transition to civilian life
SPSU is finding new ways to support veterans thanks to the University System of Georgia’s newly expanded Soldiers to Scholars (S2S) Program and a new scholarship fund.

For some time, the university has offered the Georgia Hero Scholarship to members of the National Guard and reservists and their dependents. SPSU also has offered fee waivers to members of the National Guard and reservists called to active duty in support of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Starting this fall, the new SPSU Veterans Scholarship, for which just over $5,000 has been raised, will be available to veterans’ dependents.

Also new to SPSU is the S2S Program. Originally launched in January 2010 through a consortium of nine University System of Georgia institutions, S2S helps veterans and reservists transition from the life of a soldier to that of a civilian by providing them with easy access to high-quality education.

The program is funded in part through a $4.2 million College Access Challenge Grant which the state received from the U.S. Department of Education. The S2S consortium recently added three new members, including SPSU.

S2S requires affiliated universities to provide an outreach center to handle inquiries from soldiers and their families about the institution’s enrollment process and veterans benefits. Soldiers may apply for GI Bill benefits at these centers, which also will assist with housing availability, work-study opportunities, counseling and campus activities, and will serve as a hub for their social activities.

SPSU’s Veterans Affairs Office is writing a proposal to establish a Vet Center that would serve the campus’ new Active Military Personnel and Veterans Organization (AMPVO), which already has about 30 members. The goal is to create an environment where AMPVO students can use their Veterans Affairs benefits to meet with tutors, have meetings and stay informed about veterans concerns.

“We hope that S2S, the Vet Center and AMPVO unites veterans and promotes participation in the areas of fundraising and other events,” said Greg Osborne, SPSU Veterans Affairs certifying official.

Have news to share?
If your department has an upcoming event or other news to share with the campus community, please send an e-mail with all the pertinent information to Diane Payne (dpayne@spsu.edu). To be considered for use in a specific issue of the SPSU Hornet’s Nest, a news item must be submitted no less than four weeks before the date of the issue.

Volume 4, Issue 26
July 13, 2011