Alison B. Flatau

7216 Minter Place · Takoma Park, MD 20912 · (301) 270-1061

Curriculum Vita

Registered Professional Engineer in the State of Iowa: PE registration number 10192

Education

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Vortex Driven Sound in a Cylindrical Cavity, 1990

M.S. Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, Resonant Vibrations of Annular Plates, 1985

B.S. Chemical Engineering, University of Connecticut, 1978

Academic Experience

Associate Professor, Iowa State University, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and the Biomedical Engineering Program 1995 - Present

Assistant Professor, Iowa State University, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics and the Biomedical Engineering Program 1990 - 1995

Research Associate, University of Utah, Department of Mechanical Engineering 1982 - 1989

· Ph.D. Research - Investigated solid rocket motor acoustic pressure oscillations analytically and experimentally, using a sonic wind tunnel to measure acoustic pressure amplitudes excited by flow induced vortex shedding and structural resonance. Advisor: W. K. Van Moorhem.

· M.S. Research - Conducted modal analysis tests on post fired shuttle solid rocket motor inhibitors, extending laboratory tests to full scale industrial applications. Experimentally verified analytical resonance predictions for annular plates. Advisor: W. K. Van Moorhem.

Government Experience

Program Director - Civil and Mechanical Systems Division, National Science Foundation, Arlington, Virginia, 1998 – Present

· Director of the Dynamic Systems and Control Program (since 9/98) and of the Sensor Technologies Program (from its inception in 10/99 thru 5/01) with a total annual program budget of over $9 million. Responsible for formulating the vision for the portfolio of research activities encompassed by the programs, managing technical and financial aspects of the programs, and charting a course for near and long term accomplishments to reach program objectives consistent with NSF mission.

· Chair of the NSF-wide CAREER Coordinating Committee in 2000 and 2001. Lead major revision of the CAREER Program guidelines, lead first-ever Foundation-wide on-time CAREER proposal processing effort for the roughly 1800 annual submissions (over 86% processed within 6 months), and lead the first-ever external review of the CAREER Program.

· Chair of the newly charged Engineering Directorate Steering Committee for the planned “Sensors and Sensing Systems: Sensing the World” Initiative.

· Member of the Engineering Directorate Steering Committee for the “XYZ on a Chip, Engineering Microsystems Initiative” and the “Sensors and Imaging Technologies” Initiative and the Foundation-wide Information Technology Research working group. Also engaged in efforts to develop interagency funding opportunities in the area of dynamics, control, sensors, and smart/autoadaptive systems.

Industry Experience

Consultant. 1982 - Present Conducted modal analysis surveys and dynamic quality assurance test for private industries including tests of live solid rocket motors for Morton Thiokol and of 40-80 kilowatt wind turbine generators in Altamont Pass, CA. Made acoustic measurements and assessments for two community noise cases that were settled out of court. Served as expert acoustics witness for Watts vs. AGP Inc. (a soy bean processing facility). Served as an expert acoustics witness for Foodziz Inc. vs. Sempra (a 520 megawatt co-generation power plant).

Faculty Fellow - The Boeing Company, Boeing Commercial Airplane Group,

Seattle, WA 88888. Summer of 1997

Studied engineering careers, experiences, and technical challenges through participation in the Boeing Faculty Fellow initiative for impacting undergraduate education. Engaged in discussions with engineers following a variety of career paths and at all levels of Boeing's technical and management career ladders (ranging from new hires to CEO Phil Condit) to develop a better understanding of the skills and attributes industry seeks in graduating students.

Industrial Sponsorship of Graduate Student Research - Morton Thiokol, Inc., Brigham City, UT 84302. 1984-1990

Significant interaction with Thiokol at their motor refurbishment facility for modal testing of full-scale post-fired solid rocket motor segments and for analysis of vortex-shedding induced acoustic pressure oscillations. Contributed monthly reports and oral technical presentations on MS and PhD research for multiple program reviews.

Design Analyst - Technical Research Associates, 410 Chipeta Way, Salt Lake City, UT 84108 (part-time employment). 1985 - 1987

Developed computer models for analyzing acoustical particle manipulation devices using ultrasound, with applications including the separation of red blood cells from plasma and study of dynamic particle interaction.

Senior Research Engineer - Wind Turbine Test Site, Energy Systems Group, Rockwell International, P.O. Box 464, Golden, CO 80401. 1978 - 1982

Installed and tested wind turbine generators, analyzed performance data, summarized test results and interfaced with manufacturers. Obtained hands-on experience with a wide variety of mechanical and electrical systems, including hydraulic systems, microprocessors and aerodynamic control systems. Worked extensively on prototypes requiring substantial system debugging, design verification, and system optimization.

Chemical Engineer - Lederlee Laboratories, Pearl River, N.Y., 10965. Summer of 1977

Experimentally determined ternary vapor-liquid equilibrium data and evaluated operating conditions of solvent recovery systems. Recommended changes resulting in time and energy savings through increased equipment capacity.

Industrial Engineer - Package Design Group, American Cyanamid Company, Danbury, CT 06810. Summers of 1974 - 1976

Developed a unique single dispensing method for packaging multiple needled sutures, and designed packages for ophthalmic and microsurgery sutures.

Honors and Awards

Two NSF Director’s Awards. 6/01 Awarded Director's Program Management Excellence award (one of seven NSF program directors to receive this award.) Award citation: For her contributions in mentoring colleagues, setting the precedent to move forward into electronic office operations, her stature as a leader in NSF-wide coordination of the CAREER program, and for her overall excellence in program management. 8/01. Awarded Director's Team Excellence award as Chair and member of the CAREER Coordinating Committee.

Invited Keynote Speaker. 12/00. Invited to give keynote presentation at the Advanced Structural Dynamics 2000 Conference in Hong Kong.

Who’s Who in American Teachers Award. 10/00. Student nomination for this award and national recognition for having “most significantly influenced their life.”

Invited Symposium Speaker. 12/99. Invited to give opening lecture on Magnetostrictive Materials at The Material Research Society Symposium on Smart Material Applications.

BOEING/A.D. Welliver Faculty Fellow. 6-8/97. One of ten faculty selected nationally to participate in the Boeing Company's summer faculty program focused on impacting engineering curricula.

National Academy of Engineers Invited Participant. 9/96. One of 120 participants selected from academia, industry, and government laboratories, in all engineering fields, age 30-45, to participate in the NAE's second annual symposium on Frontiers in Engineering.

Specialist Workshop Participant, Delhi, India. 3/96. One of 12 U.S. researchers invited to participate in the India-US Research Workshop on Vibration and Noise. (all expenses supported by NSF)

NSF Young Investigator Award, 9/94 (5 years).

Specialist Workshop Participant, Tskuba, Japan and Taejon, Korea. 3/93 and 5/93. One of six U.S. researchers invited to speak at the Japan-US Symposium on Smart Materials and Structures. One of 15 U.S. researchers invited to participate in the Korea-US Vibration Symposium. (all expenses supported by NSF)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory invited speaker; 3/93. One of ten researchers invited by American Society for Materials (ASM) to the Oak Ridge ASM Educational Symposium.

CNES-ONERA Invited Specialist to Paris, France, 12/92. One of three U.S. researchers invited by ONERA (France's NASA counterpart) to Paris, France (all expenses paid by ONERA) to participate in the CNES-ONERA Colloquium on Solid Rocket Motors

NSF Research Initiation Award, 7/92 (3 years)

US Navy Participant in NATO/ARGARD Specialist Meeting on combustion instabilities (participation by invitation only), Bath, England, Oct. 1988.

Best Student Paper award from AIAA Region 6 Student Conference for "Acoustic Interaction with Resonance and Vortex Shedding in a Cylindrical Cavity," April 1988

Tau Beta Pi (Engineering) Honor Society, Pi Tau Sigma (Mechanical Engineering) Honorary Engineering Society, and Sigma Xi Scientific Research Society.

Academic Areas of Specialization – Iowa State University

Classroom Teaching:

· Teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses (course listing below)

· Teaching approach emphasizes incorporating strong communications skills and hands-on laboratory components into course content;

· Introduced experiments into undergraduate Dynamics course;

· Introduced new course with a focus on signal processing applied to electroacoustic devices that complements smart structures and material external research support.

· Involved in joint effort with faculty in the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Departments working toward the development of an undergraduate offering in mechatronics.

Course Listing

EM 653X (Electro-Acoustic Transduction) Fall '95

EM 551 (Signal Processing in Mechanics) Spring '90 '91 '94 '95

EM 444/544 (Mechanical Vibrations) Fall '90 '91 '93 '94 '97

EM 451 (Noise Control Engineering) Spring ’97 ‘98

EM 345 (Dynamics) Spring '92 '93, Fall '92

ESci 382 (Experimental Methods) Spring '96

AerE 110 (Aerospace Engr. Curriculum Planning) Spring '93 '94 '95 '96 '97 Fall '93 '94 '95

AerE 492 (Aerospace Presentation Seminar) Fall '95 '96 '97, Spring '96 '97 ‘98

AerE 491 (Aerospace Seminar) Fall '96 '97

Teaching Effectiveness

· Received higher than the departmental average on course evaluation forms filled out by students (departmental average indicated in parenthesis when available). Notably, on a scale where 1 = poor, 3 = average and 5 = excellent, average rating during the last two years on campus for overall teaching effectiveness was 4.75.

COURSE NUMBER:	ESci 382	AerE 491	AerE 492	EM444/544	EM 551	EM 653X
Ability to communicate	4.6	4.19 (3.83)	4.75 (3.83)	3.8 (3.6)	3.8 (3.8)	4.50 (3.9)
Instructor's knowledge of the subject	5.0	4.00 (4.50)	5.00 (4.50)	4.3 (4.3)	4.0 (4.4)	4.25 (4.4)
Enthusiasm demonstrated by instructor for teaching	4.6	4.25 (3.93)	5.00 (3.93)	4.7 (3.9)	4.5 (3.9)	4.75 (3.9)
Degree of organization exhibited by the instructor	4.0	4.19 (3.78)	4.75 (3.78)	3.9 (3.8)	3.7 (3.9)	4.75 (4.0)
The instructor's use of class time	4.4	4.13 (3.70)	4.75 (3.70)	4.0 (3.7)	4.0 (3.9)	4.75 (3.9)
Instructor created a positive learning environment	4.8	4.06 (3.90)	5.00 (3.90)	4.3 (3.8)	4.5 (3.8)	5.00 (3.9)
Instructor's ability to hold your attention	4.2	4.00 (3.55)	5.00 (3.55)	3.8 (3.4)	3.9 (3.6)	4.75 (3.5)
The fairness shown by Instructor	4.8	4.13 (3.98)	5.00 (3.98)	4.5 (3.9)	4.7 (3.9)	4.75 (4.1)
Instructor's availability outside class	5.0	4.00 (3.93)	5.00 (3.93)	4.1 (3.6)	4.9 (3.8)	5.00 (4.0)
The overall teaching effectiveness of the instructor	4.8	4.23 (3.88)	5.00 (3.88)	4.1 (3.7)	4.5 (3.8)	4.75 (3.9)

· Examples of end-of-semester instructor evaluation comments listed below:

Student Evaluation Form Comments

o EM 653X: "The class was interesting and the flexible format (lively discussions) really provoked thought about the subject matter."

o EM 551: "The course is extremely practical and certainly a lot of fun." "I was surprised how much I actually learned in the course!" and "Very willing to help students with problems"

o EM 451: “Professor really knew her stuff. The in-class demonstrations of putting the theory into practice were great…Prof was always willing to help out and explain things. The labs helped me to understand the theory, otherwise I am doubtful that I would have figured out the concepts.” “Class was very easy to learn because of good explanations.” “…the class was interesting and well taught.” “I like it the way it is.” and “Was a strong learning environment and really enjoyed the class.”

o EM 444/544: "Excellent knowledge of the subject and student-teacher rapport couldn't be better. Very willing to help students." "She was an excellent instructor." and "Her relation of theory with practical experiences was the best I have seen so far."

o EM 345: "Alison is the only teacher that has made time outside of class to make sure I understand the material. Great open door policy." and "Obviously wants students to learn the material. Very good about being available."

o AerE 491/492: "... I feel like it was a great experience. Thanks." and "She worked always based on what we should achieve, not based on a routine."

Departmental Activities

· Participated in an interdepartmental faculty development program lead by members of the College of Education. Program focused on different learning styles, use of effective group facilitation skills, incorporation of Bloom's taxonomy of cognitive levels of learning in the classroom, and a variety of aids for improved instructional effectiveness. 1995 - 1997

· ABET 2000 Accreditation Activities: Spearheaded activities related to a major revision of the department's curriculum to address the revised ABET 2000 accreditation requirements. Professor Flatau’s participation in the A.D. Welliver Boeing Summer Faculty Fellowship Program complimented this interest, as ABET required that a strong curriculum reflects and responds to changing industrial expectations for well trained students, which the Boeing program is specifically designed to provide. This interest/commitment is reflected in her restructuring of the AerE 491 class (formerly dubbed ‘senior snooze’ by students) to promote awareness of and interest in life long learning opportunities. Students enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to get exposure to short courses in Pro-E, C programming, machine shop skills, V/STOL, CFD software and more, which Professor Flatau coordinated as part of AerE 491.

Mentoring/Advising:

· Professor Flatau is highly committed to mentoring undergraduate students, and, in particular, to mentoring underrepresented and minority undergraduate students, through her involvement with students in the ISU summer internship program for women in science and engineering, the LEAD program, the RCMS (research careers for minority scholars) program and the National Science Foundation REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. She has mentored over 15 underrepresented students by involving them in research activities in her lab and she has mentored over 40 undergraduate students on research projects both in her lab and on senior projects. In 1997 she took three undergraduates (two underrepresented students) to the national SPIE Smart Structure Conference where two undergraduates co-authored a paper that was awarded honorable mention, ranking fourth overall in the student paper competition (combined graduate and undergraduate papers). Even from her position at the NSF she has continued to maintain contact with and mentor former and current undergraduates, including most recently working with and supporting a former undergrad to present work from her senior project at the spring ’01 SPIE Smart Structures Conference.

· AIAA Student Branch Advisor: Served as lead advisor (of two) for the Iowa State University AIAA Student Branch. (1992 – 1999)

· Provided motivation and direction for the construction of a demonstration/portable wind tunnel (http://www.eng.iastate.edu/~hindman/common/mpegfiles/AIAADEMO1.mpg).

· Initiated "adopt-a-ugrad", the “adopt-a-lab” and “adopt-a-library” programs to foster a sense of pride in the department and provide mentoring of freshman students. New student activities during Prof. Flatau’s mentoring included trips to NASA and/or industry facilities (Kennedy Space Center fall '96 & McDonnell Douglas spring '97, NASA Johnson fall ’97 & SAC Museum and Air Force Academy spring ‘98) and tours for VIESHA (their display was judged best in both the College and the University in '93).

· Received one of two awards from the national AIAA organization made to the faculty advisors in the region for outstanding support and involvement in guidance. (1997)

· Nominated by the students for AIAA regional and national awards; received the only regional award for outstanding advisor and was nominated for national recognition. (1998)

· Tau Beta Pi Student Chapter Advisor: One of five advisors for the Iowa State University Tau Beta Pi student chapter. This chapter was awarded best in the nation (among over 250 chapters) both in 1990 and 1992, and received honorable mention for being one of the top three chapters nationally in 1991, 1993, and 1994. This award is based on student participation in chapter activities, service to the college, and community service. (1990 – 1995)

· Undergraduate Academic Advisor: Academic advisor for 48 undergraduate Aerospace Engineering students (1992-1998) and was the faculty member responsible for advising pre-Aerospace Engineering students through AerE 110 (Aero. Curriculum Planning) (1993-1997)

Research:

· Professor Flatau has developed a strong, internationally recognized research program in the development of magnetostrictive actuators for use in active vibration control applications, for which she has received NASA, local industry, State of Iowa and NSF funding. She has been invited to present her research at national and international conferences and she has contributed to and authored (with two of her students) three separate chapters on magnetostrictive devices to two books and to one encyclopedia. Her prominence in this area is also recognized through requests to participate in smart material conferences organized by several different organizations including the Engineering Foundation, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the American Physical Society, the Material Research Society as well as to participate on the Program Committee for the Smart Structures and Integrated Systems Conference of the SPIE's 5^th- 8^th Annual International Symposia on Smart Structures and Materials.

· Professor Flatau has expanded her work through collaborations on modeling with Professor Smith in the ISU Mathematics Department (now at North Carolina State University). This collaboration has lead to promising opportunities for modeling both the dynamic and hysteretic behaviors of not only magnetostrictive but also ferroelectric and piezoelectr