SEAS Colonial Cable

Message from Dean David Dolling

I often use my column to tell you about events and achievements at SEAS that are centered on our students or faculty. That’s only fitting, but this time, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank several SEAS alumni for two terrific SEAS events that they are making possible. One occurred last month, and one is scheduled for later this month.

This month’s event is a talk that Mr. Allyn Kilsheimer (SEAS ’63) will give on his experience leading the Phoenix Project team, the team that rebuilt the Pentagon after the September 11th terrorist attacks. The talk will be held on February 18th as part of the SEAS celebration of National Engineers Week, and more information on it is available below. Not many schools can provide their students with an opportunity such as this, and I’m grateful to Mr. Kilsheimer for volunteering his time to SEAS.

Our other “alumni-powered” event took place on January 19th, when we kicked off the SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship with the first of four seminars. The series, which is an initiative of the SEAS National Advisory Council, had a very successful start with approximately 110 students, alumni, and community members in attendance.

The seminar series will cover four topics over the course of the semester, with one seminar each month through April. Last month’s seminar, “How I Got Started: Getting Your Idea Off the Ground,” covered the real-life experiences of three SEAS alumni entrepreneurs. Scott Gessay (SEAS ’88), Ashok Jha (SEAS ’92), and Elias Shams (SEAS ’96) generously volunteered their time to speak about their experiences launching companies, to take audience questions about the process, and to offer advice to potential entrepreneurs. John Rollins, Jr., an alumnus of the GW Business School, did a wonderful job as the evening’s moderator.

The next seminar will be held on February 17th, and will cover intellectual property. I encourage you to read more about it and to join us.

Thank you again to each of these gentlemen: events such as these are an essential part of the SEAS transformation.

Sincerely,

David S. Dolling, Ph.D.
Dean

News & Events

• SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship
• Lecture: The Phoenix Project: Rebuilding the Pentagon
• Media Seeks SEAS Faculty Expertise Following Haiti Earthquake
• Call for ClassNotes Submissions
• SEAS Seminar Series on Engineering Challenges in the 21st Century
• Call for SEAS Volunteers: Regional Science Fairs

Media Seeks SEAS Faculty Expertise Following Haiti Earthquake

Prof. Pedro Silva

In the immediate wake of the Haiti earthquake last month, the media sought the expert advice of two SEAS faculty members who could speak to the structural integrity and the emergency medical assistance issues surrounding the earthquake.

NBC Nightly News and WUSA-TV Channel 9 interviewed Professor Pedro Silva of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering about the structural integrity of buildings during an earthquake. Both interviews aired on January 13th. Video of both interviews are available online: GWU Students Learn Lessons From Haiti Earthquake (Video, WUSA-TV Channel 9), and Earthquakes 101 (Video, NBC Nightly News).

Professor Joseph Barbera of the Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering was also interviewed in response to the Haiti earthquake. The Washington Post conducted the interview, and the article (on emergency medical teams) ran on January 15th in the Post and in several other papers after being picked up by AP.

Call for ClassNotes Submissions

Many of you enjoy keeping up with your classmates, and Synergy alumni magazine is a great way to do that. Please share your news with us, and we’ll share it with your friends and classmates by publishing it in the magazine’s ClassNotes section.

You can send us any news that is important to you – where you currently work, promotions, professional or academic honors, weddings, births, or other events – and we’ll do our best to publish all the news that we receive by March 1st. Please be sure to include your name, degree, and year of graduation in your information, and feel free to send digital photos, as well.

If you wish to respond electronically, please send your information and digital photos to: jwelsh@gwu.edu

You may also fax information (no photo scans, please) to:
Ms. Joanne Welsh
202-994-3394

If you prefer to send the information via mail, please send it to:
Ms. Joanne Welsh
Director of Communications
School of Engineering and Applied Science
106 Tompkins Hall
The George Washington University
Washington, D.C. 20052

Thank you, and we very much look forward to hearing from you.

Call for SEAS Volunteers: Regional Science Fairs

Join your fellow SEAS alumni in volunteering to promote science and engineering to local high school students! The GW Engineer Alumni Association (EAA) participates in these science fairs as a way to encourage junior and senior high school students to consider studying science and engineering, to increase awareness of opportunities in these fields, and to promote GW and SEAS. This is a wonderful volunteer opportunity and a great way to get the word out about the wonderful things happening at SEAS. (Read more and register…)

UPCOMING SEAS EVENTS

SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship

The SEAS Seminar Series on Entrepreneurship began in January with the seminar "How I Got Started: Getting Your Idea Off the Ground." Three more seminars are planned for the rest of the semester. Please join us for any or all of them. These events are free and open to alumni and their guests, and to GW students, faculty and staff. To register, please visit alumni.gwu.edu/calendar.

Intellectual Property

Panelists include Asghar Mostafa SEAS ’82, President and CEO, Entourage Systems, Inc.; Randy Graves SEAS ’78, President, Graves Technology Inc.; Charles Watt SEAS ’73, ’86, Chairman of the Board, Scientific Research Corporation; and Jeffrey Sonnabend SEAS '89, Attorney at Law, SonnabendLaw. (Read more and register...)

Access to Capital

Panelists include Elias Shams SEAS ’96, CEO, Searchles, CTO and founder, Telezoo.com; Lou Wagman SEAS ’64, VP, Trump Photonics Incorporated; and Howard Tischler SEAS ’80, CEO, exORG. (Read more and register...)

Product vs. Service Entrepreneurs

The final panel will take place during the GW Summit on Entrepreneurship and will feature Allyn Kilsheimer SEAS ’63, Executive Vice President, KTLH Engineers. (Read more and register...)

This seminar series is sponsored by the GW School of Engineering and Applied Science and the Engineer Alumni Association.

The Phoenix Project

Allyn Kilsheimer, SEAS ‘63, led The Phoenix Project team that rebuilt the Pentagon after the September 11th terrorist attacks. Mr. Kilsheimer considers his work on The Phoenix Project at the Pentagon his most important opportunity for service to his community, nation, and the military.
(Read more . . .)

SEAS Seminar Series: Engineering Challenges of the 21st Century

SEAS continues the seminar series it initiated last semester with more discussions on engineering challenges facing us. Registration is not required. More information will soon be available, but in the meantime, please mark your calendars for the following dates:

How Transparent Can Our Elections Be?

Prof. Vora's abstract and bio are available online.

Life in "the Cloud" – Supercomputing

Prof. Huang's abstract and bio will soon be available online.

Pervasive Computing and Its Integration Into Our Day-to-Day Life

Prof. Cheng's abstract and bio will soon be available online.

Stay tuned for the announcement of more seminars throughout the semester.

Save the Date for SEAS Alumni Receptions In . . .

• Boston: Tuesday, March 9
• New York City
  Thursday, March 11th, 6:30 -8:30 pm
  Cornell Club
  6 East 44th Street, New York, NY
  Please join Dean David S. Dolling and your fellow SEAS alumni for a reception in New York City on March 11. Dean Dolling will update guests on what's happening at SEAS, as well as the progress and plans for the school and GW moving forward. (Read more and register…)
• Philadelphia: Tuesday, March 23

75th Anniversary Celebration of Theta Tau Engineering Fraternity at GW

Come celebrate Theta Tau Fraternity's 75 years of active service to GW and the School of Engineering and Applied Science. The evening will feature dinner and a commemorative presentation. For more information, please contact Alex Rosenheim.

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