Maggie Hayes was always an exceptional student. She reached remarkable heights in the undergraduate Naval Engineering program at Stevens. Now as a graduate student at University College London, she is a “rising star in the world of environmentally conscious ship design,” and has been awarded an £10,000 scholarship by the Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust (LRET).

Maggie received this award based on academic merit and unique research initiatives. Her work as a graduate student at UCL is to design an “environmentally friendly cruise ship to counter the poor image often associated with the vessels and industry.” Her efforts are directly in line with LRETs mission to make advances in transportation, science, engineering and technology education, training, and research worldwide for the benefit of all. Maggie’s selection as this years’ LRET winner serves as a testament to her reputation as a researcher and innovator in the naval engineering field.

Dr. Richard Bucknall, who chairs UCL’s Lloyd’s Register Educational Trust Selection Board, said: “The LRET Scholarship offers a great opportunity for Naval Architecture or Marine Engineering MSc students to study on prestigious masters courses at UCL. Students who receive The LRET Scholarship are outstanding scholars chosen for their commitment and endeavor and who are judged likely to make a significant contribution to the field in the years ahead. Maggie Hayes is an outstanding student who has a strong academic record as an undergraduate at Stevens Institute of Technology, and impressed us enormously with her focus on environmental shipping issues.”

Stevens Institute of Technology is proud to see such an impressive achievement from one of our alumni. “This award is further affirmation of the quality of the Stevens program in Naval Engineering, and the strength of our partnership with University College London. We look forward to continuing our work with UCL in the education of the next generation of creative, innovative ship designers in the US and the UK" – Dr. Michael Bruno, Dean, School of Engineering & Science, Stevens Institute of Technology.

About the Naval Engineering Curriculum at Stevens

Naval Engineering is a broad-based engineering discipline that involves the design, construction, operation and maintenance of surface and sub-surface ships, ocean structures, and shore facilities. Although these vessels and facilities are traditionally employed in the defense of the nation, many are also employed in the support of the civilian (commercial) Marine Transportation System. Because of the complexities of today’s naval and civilian vessels and supporting infrastructure, the Naval Engineer must possess a strong background in the physical sciences, mathematics, and modeling, as well as the more specialized fields of naval architecture, marine engineering, systems engineering, and environmental engineering.

Stevens Naval Engineering program was developed with the Stevens leadership in the ONR NNR Atlantic Center for the Innovative Design and Control of Small Ships and in collaboration with University College, London, which has one of the leading Ship Design educational programs in the world.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Michael Bruno
Feiler Chair Professor & Dean, School of Engineering & Science
Edwin A. Stevens
Room E-216
Phone: 201.216.5338
Fax: 201.216.8214

mbruno@stevens.edu

Since February of 2009, Dr. Thomas H. Wakeman III has been working with the European Commission on a long-term (2050) freight vision for Europe. The project cost $2.5 million euros, and the final report will be utilized in the development of a new transport policy due for release the summer of 2011.

Dr. Wakeman has attended 4 meetings with approximately 100 other invited stakeholders representing European Union (EU) banks, manufacturers, transport providers, airlines, ports and more.

Along with Stevens Institute of Technology, this international panel of advisors included institutions such as:

• Oxford
• Czech Tech University
• Austrian Institute of Technology
• Columbia University

On Feb 24th, the final meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium. Dr. Wakeman was invited not only to be a member of a small stakeholder panel to present the project results to the general EU community but was also among the 3 closing speakers including a senior officer from the Director General for Transport’s office and the head of Austrian Transport agency.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Thomas Wakeman III
Deputy Director, Center for Maritime Systems
Davidson Laboratory
Room Room 212
Phone: 201-216-5669
twakeman@stevens.edu

Dr. Thomas H. Wakeman III, Deputy Director of the Center for Maritime Systems at Stevens Institute of Technology, has recently been nominated and approved by the Academy of Coastal, Ocean, Port and Navigation Engineers (ACOPNE) to receive the Distinguished Diplomate, Ports Engineering & Distinguished Diplomate, Navigation Engineering credential. ACOPNE is an affiliate of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).

This award is based upon a detailed review of Dr. Wakemans’ extensive professional experience and significant contributions. It is truly the culmination of an entire career as a leading engineering in his field.

Diplomate status is a voluntary credential that recognizes an advanced expertise in the practice of Coastal, Ocean, Ports & Navigation Engineering. It also identifies extensive expertise, strong commitment to ethical conduct, demonstrated life-long learning and continuing professional development.

The inaugural group of Diplomates for the Academy will be recognized at a very special induction ceremony to be held at the ASCE Ports 2010 Conference in Jacksonville April 25th.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Thomas Wakeman III
Deputy Director, Center for Maritime Systems
Davidson Laboratory
Room Room 212
Phone: 201-216-5669
twakeman@stevens.edu

An adequate supply of safe, healthy food and nutrients is a vital requirement of life around the planet. Experts predict the world’s population to increase 38% by 2050 (U.S. Census, 2009) which will drive demand for the fertilizers that feed these crops even more.

Fundamental to these fertilizers is a scarce resource known as phosphorus. In fact, phosphorus based commercial fertilizers are responsible for over one-third of the world’s agricultural production.

Dr. David A. Vaccari, Professor in the Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering Department at Stevens Institute of Technology has become a very active figure in this international effort to conserve our scarce phosphorous resources and was featured in a recent article on Scientific American.

His piece entitled, "Phosphorus: A Looming Crisis" focuses on three key points:

• Mining phosphorus for fertilizer is consuming the mineral faster than geologic cycles can replenish it. The U.S. may run out of its accessible domestic sources in a few decades, and few other countries have substantial reserves, which could also be depleted in about a century.
• Excess phosphorus in waterways helps to feed algal blooms, which starve fish of oxygen, creating “dead zones.”
• Reducing soil erosion and recycling phosphorus from farm and human waste could help make food production sustainable and prevent algal blooms.

There is no alternative to phosphorus in agriculture. This is precisely why it is so important to come up with solutions for its preservation. From 1993 to 2008, the global production of phosphate rock increased at an average of 2.3% per year, while worldwide population over the same period increased at 1.3% per year. At this rate the future may see a collision between supply and demand, producing shortages and/or high cost of foods resulting from these fertilizers.

Possible Solutions

Dr. Vaccari believes certain methods will help conservation drastically, several of which are outlined in his article. Agricultural erosion and improper land application of animal wastes are sources of major losses. Improved conservation will not only reduce the possibility of shortages but also improve the environment.

Additional Contributions

Dr. Vaccari’s contributions to Scientific American marked the beginning of a series of lectures, workshops and future articles that identify the issues and propose solutions for preserving and accounting for environmental and economic changes of this critical resource. He has spoken in Jinan, China, Beijing, and Tokyo. In February, he was invited to participate in a workshop on Phosphorus and Global Food Security at Linköping University in Sweden. In March, he will be lecturing on the topic at the Michigan Soil and Water Conservation Society Seminar at Michigan State University in East Lansing.

In April 2010, Dr. Vaccari will have another article on phosphorus published in Scientific American entitled, "Solutions to Environmental Challenges" that outlines immediate steps that could be taken to extend available resources.

For more information, please visit the Scientific American website and the Department of Civil, Environmental and Ocean Engineering at Stevens.

For more information please contact:

Dr. David Vaccari
Associate Professor and Department Director
Rocco
Room 301
Phone: 201.216.5570
Fax: 201.216.8739

dvaccari@stevens.edu

Memorandum of Understanding means Long-term Research for Underwater Sciences

Recognizing the strategic opportunity to form a long term research relationship and become recognized research leaders in the underwater sciences and engineering and port and maritime security, the Stevens Institute of Technology recently entered into an agreement with TNO Defence Security and Safety.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the university and the Netherlands based research organization has the potential to create joint initiatives in the fields of underwater sciences and engineering and port and maritime security, including sensing techniques and sensor performance analysis. The MOU works to enable effective collaboration on research and education and pursuit of new funding opportunities.

“Stevens Institute of Technology and TNO each have extraordinary technical expertise and experience in dealing with the numerous challenges facing our maritime community. The partnership also brings together organizations that work closely with two of the most important ports in the world - Stevens with the Port of New York and New Jersey, and TNO with the Port of Rotterdam,” said Michael Bruno Dean of the Charles V. Schaefer, Jr. School of Engineering and Science at Stevens. “My colleagues and I look forward to the challenging work that lies ahead.”

TNO is an independent research organization whose expertise and research make an important contribution to the competitiveness of companies and organizations, to the economy and to the quality of society as a whole. TNO’s unique position is attributable to its versatility and capacity to integrate this knowledge.

The objective of the MOU is to establish a mutually beneficial, cooperative relationship between TNO and Stevens to allow them to individually and mutually improve the following activities:

• Develop an internationally recognized research capability in underwater sciences and engineering and port and maritime security.
• Develop applied research opportunities and application areas for underwater sciences and engineering and port and maritime security.
• Pursue joint internal research and development proposals and collaborate throughout the proposal lifecycle
• Explore internships and participation of faculty, research staff, and students in relevant sponsored activities at each organization.

TNO Defence, Security and Safety provide innovative contributions to the advance of comprehensive security and is a strategic partner of the Dutch Ministry of Defence to build up the defence knowledge-base. We employ our acquired knowledge for and together with contractors.

We focus on Defence in the broadest sense of the word and our involvement covers a range of activities: military operations, military equipment, command & control and operational decision making, threat and protection, instruction and training. In the area of Security and Safety, the emphasis lies on combating crime, calamity and terrorism. TNO also works for the aviation and maritime sectors, markets in which our knowledge can be of good use. In terms of aviation, we concentrate largely on improving safety while for the maritime sector we focus on naval architecture. We collaborate with the defence industry and with small and medium-sized enterprises to develop innovative solutions.

For more information, please visit TNO.nl.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.

For more information please contact:

Dr. Michael Bruno
Feiler Chair Professor & Dean, School of Engineering & Science
Edwin A. Stevens
Room E-216
Phone: 201.216.5338
Fax: 201.216.8214

mbruno@stevens.edu