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SS: Dr. Ley, before you came here where were you and what motivated you to come to America?[more ...]
SS: Dr. Ley, before you came here where were you and what motivated you to come to America?
OL: I was in Mexico in Mexico City and I came to the United States in 1999 to Rice University. A scholarship offered by the university was probably one of the major motivating factors for me to come to the US. I also had acceptances from universities in France and UK. However studying there would have necessitated me to take a loan from the Government of Mexico with the burden of having to pay it back at high interest rate.
SS: Could you draw up some sort of a comparison between the education system that you came from and what you see in the US.
OL: I got my undergraduate degree in Physics, which had a totally different approach as compared to say an undergraduate major in engineering. However, I would say that the education systems in both countries (Mexico and US) are very similar.
SS: So what do you make of your experiences in America thus far?
OL: I have been in Texas for the most of it. First being in Rice and then coming to A&M in the September of 2004. Incidentally, when I first came to America I was not very fluent with English. I had only learnt French and it took me a little time to settle in with the language. With respect to people, I find the people here friendly and had no feelings of being treated as an “alien” at any time. Apart from Texas, I have not done much traveling, I have been to California, New Orleans and Pennsylvania.
SS: I want to ask you about your research areas. Specific details would certainly be of much interest to the readers.
OL: Bioheat Transfer. That is my area of interest. My research group is called the Bioheat Transfer Group (BTG) and we focus on energy and mass transport in tissues. Tissues have blood vessels that react to environmental effects. We analyze such response measuring heat flux, temperature gradients, and study such relationships with the presence of different diseases. Inflammatory diseases like asthma, arteriosclerosis, stroke and reactive hyperemia show alterations in local and global temperature gradients compared with healthy people and we are interested in estimating such alterations and use them to monitor disease progression. The advantage lies in the fact that some temperature gradients can be measured easily and non invasively, so regular monitoring of temperatures and gradients can tell us a lot about chronic diseases.
SS: How did you end up in this line especially considering you did your undergraduate degree in Physics?
OL: My undergrad course was such that it was preparing us for the 20th century. I did a large number of courses right from Physics to Biology, Biophysics, Biochemistry and such alike. I then entered a masters program with my core interest being acoustics. At that point I had a change in advisors. My new advisor had a very challenging question for me. She used to use her cell phone an awful lot and so she asked me to carry out the exercise of finding out how much energy was deposited to the brain and how the tissue will heat up. This got me interested and subsequently my PhD thesis was on hypothermia – the cooling of the brain tissues thereby reducing oxygen and glucose needs of brain tissue. Successful hypothermic strategies can help the tissue survive during surgeries requiring stopping the heart, during stroke or after brain injury.
SS: What are some of the projects going on or that have been completed as a part of your ongoing research?
OL: All the projects are related to tissue temperature, blood vessels and deposition of inflammatory cells. Calculation and location of hot spots in different anatomical regions, and the study of skin blood flow and its correlation to skin temperature forms the core focus of our research. Some of the specific projects include:
The thermal study of atherosclerotic plaque (cholesterol deposits). The plaques in arteries keep growing until breakage. This breakage was found to occur as a result of a 2-3 degree temperature increase (formation of hot spots). We calculate the effect of different parameters over the magnitude and distribution of the hot spot, some of these parameters are: blood flow, plaque an arterial geometry, as well as inflammatory cell population .
Thermal analysis of vascular reactivity – the response of arteries when an occlusion of several minutes is performed. The release of an occlusion results in a spike in the blood flow. In the case of cardio vascular diseases the response is not steep. An ultrasound machine used to measure the arterial diameter (which correlates to the magnitude of the spike) can cost around $200,000 and requires a very skilled technician. The same response can measured through temperature and heat flux and using mathematical models to relate to blood volume.
Another interesting study we are doing is with bats. The small Palid bat which weighs around 20g. Bats are fascinating creatures as they are mammals, but they can behave like reptiles. Their wing membranes have blood vessels that can be studied easily to better understand how vascular beds react to temperature alterations This project is being done in conjunction with the veterinary school.
SS: Working with animals, what does that entail? Basically the difficulties lie in the procedures that need to be followed for us to get the required permits to do the testing.
SS: Mechanical Engineering has long been a “male bastion”. Has that posed any problems for you?
OL: I’ve been in science for a long time now. It is definitely easier today than it was say 20 years ago. I have never found misogynistic people around. At the beginning though, there were a few funny incidents. My male colleagues would wonder if they should help or not. They were initially not sure how to react, say if I was carrying a heavy load, they would rush and help. After a while though people got used to it.
SS: What personal goals have you set for yourself over the next 5 years?
OL: I want to ensure my establishment in research – write papers, get grants and make sure that everything that I do is worth something.
SS: Now something about your teaching duties at A&M. What classes have you taught/are you teaching.
OL: I teach both undergrad and grad classes and subjects include – numerical methods, heat transfer, undergrad thermodynamics, convective heat transfer, radiation and also a special topics course which I am especially happy about as it pertains to my research.
SS: Teaching is something that different professors approach differently. What is your “modus operandi”, so to speak?
OL: The way I teach and the methods I adopt are influenced by my past. I come from very small schools where teaching is personalized and at the same time students are motivated to do things by themselves. I pay a great deal of importance to the clear understanding of concepts and also homework. A student should always be able to generate the bigger picture from the basics. My classroom practices involve the solution of a few sample problems and then making the students extend this to other problems. I prefer small classes and using the blackboard while I am teaching.
SS: In your personal opinion, what would you think are some of the key qualities that an engineer should have in order to be considered a “good” engineer?
OL: An engineer should know a little bit of everything and a lot of at least something. He should be able to apply concepts learnt. “Be open minded”, is an attitude that certainly helps. An engineer should always remember that engineering is an education for life.
SS: What drives you to work every morning?
OL: I like what I do. It can get frustrating sometimes, but sometimes you also get a great feeling of accomplishment when things go well. I enjoy the interactions that happen on a daily basis with people and their interpretation of subjects.
SS: Finally, since the main focus of this newsletter issue is the women in mechanical engineering, do you have any advice for women coming up in the mechanical field and any words for those who thought that doing mechanical engineering involves a lot of physical work?
OL: I guess the common image of a mechanical engineer is a mechanic or someone “fixing a car”. All I can say is that mechanical engineering gives a very nice background and can be applied everywhere. It deals with all the laws of how a system works. Getting your “hands dirty” is not a necessity. Mechanical Engineering provides a lot of versatility since it is after all the same physics being used everywhere. “Yeah there is a lot of physical and mental work, that’s just a part of science.”
Article by:
Sidharth Shivan
Graduate Student
Advanced Powertrain
Research Lab
SD: How many students do you have working with you on projects?[more ...]
SD: How many students do you have working with you on projects?
HL: I have 15 graduates and 2 undergraduates.
SD: How long have you been here at Texas A&M and where are you from?
HL: Three years. I grew up in China, Beijing , actually.
SD: What made you come here to further your education?
HL: I wanted to do graduate studies involving new things and I also had an uncle who was a professor at Princeton. By the time I graduated from college he asked me what I wanted to do and I told him I wanted to further my studies and he recommended that I go to Stevens because they have a very good surface science program and it is very close to him.
SD: How have your interests changed from when you began in engineering?
HL: Well, they really haven’t changed that much.
SD: So you pretty much always knew that you wanted to go into research?
HL: Yes and with the development of nanotechnology there has been new understanding and further exploration into new areas, as well as surface science area/material science engineering.
SD: Which do you like more the research aspect of being a professor or the teaching part?
HL: I like both.
SD: Did you plan on teaching when you entered your studies?
HL: While I was doing research in school, I liked the prospect of having both options, because I have a passion for both. Being in the classroom with students is really rewarding and enjoyable. And in the laboratory, working with students and equipment brings me a lot of joy; so both are very exciting. I am lucky to be in an area where I can enjoy all the things I want to do.
SD: What are your feelings about working in industry?
HL: I was actually in industry for four years. And basically what people do is to solve customer problems and to make the company profitable. So the product and the research go towards developing new items and ideas every few months in order to place it in the market and raise revenue for the business.
SD: What benefits did you see in the corporate approach that you can adapt to academics?
HL: I think that being in a company; has changed my approach to how things need to be done. So coming back to a university I am able to apply those skills to teaching. That also benefited me a lot in research.
SD: In your interests, it says you enjoy CMP, could you tell us something about it?
HL: That is one of my project areas, chemical mechanical planarization. The chips in computers or digital cameras are so small. In order to make them small, the key is to make them atomically flat and planarized. This technique became a standard industrial process about two decades ago and it still needs to be understood.
SD: Amongst your current research projects, which is your favorite?
HL: All of them are very exciting, so I really don’t have a rank, because I consider all of them very important. They all have a potentially large impact in industry and science.
SD: Are there any new projects that you are excited about and hoping to start in the near future?
HL: Yes, after I came here I started a new project on the piezo-nanosensors and we are trying to link that with insects, actually cockroaches. We are working with different departments to do a total system approach.
SD: Has being a woman in a primarily male dominated field affected your career?
HL: Well for me I can’t really see a major difference, because in the modern education system things are already comfortable for a woman. I have great colleagues to work with. And since I grew up in a family with no favoritism, where I had good role models, I never expected anything different. The only things I have seen is when students come in and speak with me I can tell the difference in the way of thinking and dealing with issues.
SD: If you weren’t here at A&M, what would you be doing?
HL: I will always be a professor, either here or at some university. It’s something I knew I always wanted to do.
SD: What are your other passions or areas of interests?
HL: Since I was a kid I have always wanted to understand things better, follow my curiosity. Following this desire to discover things, I like to be outside with nature and explore things. I like to hike to places where not many people go and find something new.
Article by:
Stephen J. Drake
Graduate Student
Aerosol Mechanics Lab
SS: What do you think is the reason we have so few women in the field of mechanical engineering, compared to say civil or chemical engineering?[more ...]
SS: What do you think is the reason we have so few women in the field of mechanical engineering, compared to say civil or chemical engineering?
OO: In my opinion, it’s a typical US phenomenon in terms of relative percentages. The way young children grow up, their affinity for science and mathematics has not been encouraged and that spills over into university as well. But does that argument hold when you cite civil or chemical engineering? I think we haven’t marketed ourselves as well we could, about how pervasive mechanical engineering is. Unlike other disciplines we have not been as transparent. But we have come a long way in our UG classes. The problem that needs immediate attention is the grad school. We could say over all for the US, we do not see girls in equal proportions in the arena. If we were as aggressive as other disciplines in marketing ourselves then we will be able to set it right.
SS: Dr.Ochoa, of late you haven’t been teaching any courses?
OO: Yes, I was away for 3 yrs and came back this fall. And then I was trying to finish off administrative responsibilities with Office of Graduate Studies. This semester is my first class-Design Studio and I plan to offer it again in fall. In summers I don’t teach. However my passion has been Mechanics of Composites at the graduate level, and Elasticity.
SS: What are your areas of work?
OO: Composites, composites and composites…I work mostly with them in different applications. I am thinking of working on bio medical applications too
SS: Having taught both graduate and undergraduate students, which do you prefer?
OO: I cannot differentiate. I think undergraduate courses are more challenging in that you need hold their attention long enough. But grad courses are more rewarding, they don’t need motivation and if they are there for some reason other than learning, then they will Q-drop anyway!!!!
SS: So do you approach them differently?
OO: Yes, I do. With a UG class my main aim is to make sure that they go on to grad school. With grads, however, you mentor them differently. I want them to give industry and university an equal chance. As far as UGs go all I care is-“Go to grad school!!!”
SS: As a senior faculty member do you think administrative duties eat into your research?
OO: Not really. It’s a choice you see. I enjoy doing different things every 6 or 7 years. I didn’t do any administration until the OGS came on my radar screen. I have been fortunate enough to be able to choose what I do. Even in the OGS I only do pathways to a Graduate program. Research is too much fun to give to administration.
SS: Dr.Ochoa, what made you choose mechanical engineering as your major?
OO: Well, rebellion against family tradition most importantly (Smiles). I come from a family of civil engineers. Mechanical seemed broad enough and fun enough for me!
SS: Then you shifted to nuclear engineering for your Masters in A&M?
OO: That’s right. I believed in Nuclear Energy and still do. But the politics of the period in the 70’s didn’t, so I decided I would be a lot more effective in mechanical engineering. Here you can be employed in any industry. Now Nuclear energy is becoming fashionable again and I still believe in it.
SS: Dr.Ochoa after doing your MS and PhD in A&M you joined as a faculty member here itself. Was it easy or difficult joining the same school as a teacher?
OO: You must remember that was 27 years ago. A&M was a much smaller school then. For me it was nice to be in a familiar place and just concentrate on my work. Now 27 years later we are a much bigger school, and I have no qualms about being here .Being in a small school and growing is so very exciting.
SS: So you would say A&M has changed a lot over these years?
OO: Exponentially. In 1976 when I was a student, the strength was barely 24000.It was hardly a grad school of any note. But every year it has been different. Different construction projects, different research projects, more students, more internationals and with it a lot of diversity, so it’s not dull. Even if you look at University Drive, 3 years ago it was a patch of green. Now there are so many hotels and restaurants. Growing up with change has been the norm for Aggieland.
SS: Dr.Ochoa, you are from Turkey, so how much of a cultural difference exists in the class room in your opinion?
OO: You are talking to an old person you see (laughs). I was a freshman in junior high school in 1966. I went to American Missionary Schools and Robert College for my undergraduate degree. I think we were more industrious than children now. I may be subjective, of course, because the children I see are those of my friends. Looking at the curriculum, after high school we could pass any freshman course. Here, I don’t see the well roundedness that I got in high school in terms of history, geography and economics and the like and I feel sad. Kids don’t know where certain countries are. But it’s not due to resources, after all the USA has the best of resources. It’s the expectation to learn and make a difference. It doesn’t come out at a rate at which we want to see. The difference is discipline and rigour in subjects. Thats missing.
SS: Do you think it’s because of the electives, that we are spoilt by choice, as it were?
OO: Look, the way electives are constructed is truly a service to what community demands. And it’s a sign that our community is less interested in being intellectually observant outside of the daily rigor and when they don’t put value to that, children can choose anything they want. But the blame is not on the child. We do not put a high value on rigorous classical instruction of sciences and arts. And when everything is left to an elective, you got to live the consequences. I think we have to tighten up, as a community.
SS: Dr.Ochoa, how would you compare industry and academia?
OO: Good question, because have done both. I have spent time with Bell Helicopter for example. I prefer academic life for its independence and flexibility. Industry is great place to be in if you are just looking for execution of an idea. If you are bound to its execution with other people, then if you fail a few others fail with you too. In a university you have the chance to fail alone graciously and can try something else. Daily routine is wonderful, students change, classes are all different and there is variety in life. However I am equally enthusiastic about industry where things are energetic and innovative.
SS: Is this why you took up teaching as a career?
OO: Surely yes. I am one of those who don’t believe learning ends. So where else could you be with all resources at your fingertips and continuously learn. It’s the easiest way to collect resources with all the students and the libraries.
SS: What are the qualities essential to make a career in academia, according to you?
OO: Commitment and passion to your field of study. And then turn to look at where you could make a difference, as in social difference, economic difference or mentoring difference. How do you take what you have learned and how you can make that useful for somebody else. If you can bring about a socio-economic dimension to it it will become a life long avocation.
SS: Do you have any current graduate students?
OO: Yes I maintained my number of graduate students while I was away and I have 4 right now. Four is a healthy enough number for me I think. Two are what I would call aerospace applications of material science, one is working on structural mechanics and composites for offshore and one works on something that I would say is like fluid or continuum mechanics. But we always deal with composites, the opportunities they offer and things like reinforcing fibres, coatings and creating the material and structure together.
SS: What do you look for when selecting a new graduate student to work with?
OO: I would like them to be opinionated on what they want to study. If they are simply asking for a project then am not that interested. But if they have an area in mind and they ask me if I am interested usually have a better relationship form the get-go. From there, they learn and I learn. But if it’s the other way round-I decide to go to grad school, but don’t know what I want to study somehow that doesn’t fit in with my personality. So I like them opinionated and committed.
SS: What are your other interests?
OO: I run. My hobbies are running and music. I enjoy classical music and live theatre very much. Running, camping … and traveling is an avocation.
SS: One final question-is there any particular personality that you are inspired by or in awe of?
OO: Well.. so many its tough to choose. But I think from my childhood my hero has been Kamal Ataturk, the founder of Turkey. There are so many others but he created a nation out of nothing. He was a great teacher and a visionary and I can truly say after everything else I have seen in life, that he remains my hero. And the second-runners up actually would be Mother Teresa. Fortunately neither is in my league, so I don’t have to compete with them. But sometimes in science we have so many idols and mentors we cross paths with, it’s also nice to acknowledge them but these two are special for me.
SS: Dr.Ochoa, it’s really great of you to talk to us. Thanks a lot.
OO: My pleasure.
Article by:
Shriram Srinivasan
Graduate Student
Mechanics Research Group
SS: Dr. Muliana, with what sort of an academic background did you make your entrance to Texas A&M University?[more ...]
SS: Dr. Muliana, with what sort of an academic background did you make your entrance to Texas A&M University?
AM: I did my PhD in Georgia Tech. It was a civil engineering degree which I completed in the fall of 2004. Prior to that, I did my BSc in Indonesia in 1998.
SS: How would you contrast the academic cultures of Indonesia and the US?
AM: The cultures in the two countries are way different. I found that in Indonesia the students were very much independent. Professors’ job is only to give lectures and exams. We hardly had office hours. The syllabuses here are more defined and we tend to stay within the course content. I feel though that it is actually better to try and ask beyond just the course content and into other related areas as well. The other thing that is very different is the relationship between the professors and the students. In Indonesia there was never much talk with the professors. There were two distinct levels between the professors and the students. Here, things are more open and it is easier to communicate.
SS: Did you always dream about coming to America?
AM: It was everybody’s dream to come here. I used to watch a lot of Hollywood movies where all the focus was on American life! I wanted to experience the same and so I came to Georgia Tech. I like big cities and GTech offered the convenience of being a big city as well as being relatively less expensive.
SS: So was life like how you saw it in the movies?
AM: Unfortunately when I started my Masters program, I enrolled for 4 courses. I was all tied up and had no time for any fun. Once it was done I had more time and began enjoying life there.
SS: How hard was it to get a job as a professor in a college and how did you decide to come to Texas A&M?
AM: When I graduated, there were lots of job openings. I posted around 40 applications and received 6 interview calls and of those 6, 2 colleges offered me faculty positions. I chose A&M because it’s a really good school, the weather is more agreeable and I felt happy. Austin and Houston are also close by, so it is good being in a college town which is close to big cities and you don’t end up missing much.
SS: What can you tell me about your research interests?
AM: I basically work with composite materials. Their visco-elastic behavior (time dependency), computational modeling, thermodynamic properties and micromechanical modeling, interests me. Fiber Reinforced Composite is one of the materials which I focus on. Currently I am investigating multi-layer composites with different reinforcements and their simplified micromechanical models. These materials are very interesting as they have pronounced viscoelastic behavior. Another area I am looking into is the effects of temperature, loading and the environment on the mechanical properties with materials used for transport. Under my tutelage, 2 Masters Students have already graduated and 7 graduate students are currently working with me.
SS: Civil Engineering to Mechanical. What prompted that transition?
AM: After my Bachelor’s in Civil Engineering I was keen on entering the field of dynamics and controls. I was not planning at all on entering this line. In 1998 micromechanics was a new application and I showed a little interest towards that. My advisor asked me to take more courses related to fiber reinforced composites. Another advantage of this is that the applications are endless. Aero, civil, mechanical, all provide a very large scope for this research. Keeping all this in mind I thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and specialize in this field.
SS: Where do you see yourself going from here?
AM: Well, I just want to continue with whatever I am doing. I plan to extend myself into multifunctional materials and investigate coupled non-mechanical and mechanical properties.
SS: How does it feel to be working in a male dominated field?
AM: I have an older brother. Although initially my parents put me in all girl Catholics school at first, later on I went to the same kind of co-ed school like he did. As a result I had a lot of male friends. I was competing at their level throughout. The same trend continued through high school and my engineering degree. I guess because of this I have never had any troubles or felt out of place working with a male crowd.
SS: What courses do you teach?
AM: I am currently teaching Strength of Materials, which I have taught 4 times, and MEEN 368, which I believe is Solid Mechanics in Mechanical Design. I taught Viscoelastic Solid last semester.
SS: How do you look at Undergrads and Grads?
AM: Graduate students are more knowledgeable and they are motivated to go beyond their course materials as well. It’s a little different when looking at undergrads. Not all really enjoy or like what they are doing. They end up doing it because they have to and not because they want to. So it gets difficult to motivate them at times. The undergrads are not the most enthusiastic when I give them problems in class. But as soon as I say that the problems would earn them extra credit, the enthusiasm levels in class suddenly go up!
SS: What steps do you take to ensure that your teaching is most effective?
AM: Firstly, I prepare well for my classes. For undergrad classes it is normally sufficient for me to prepare a day before the class. For grad classes it is slightly more difficult. I spend the entire summer preparing for grad classes that I teach in fall. In class I like using the board. I feel that slides are not the most effective method because you tend to speak and teach very fast and it often becomes difficult for the class to catch up. I encourage my students to ask questions.
SS: If you were given the task of preparing better engineers, how would you approach the task?
AM: The engineering field is growing by leaps and bounds. Earlier, problems were much simpler. However now with the advances made, I believe the best way to make an engineer good would be to reinforce basic ideas and build on them by inserting new ones going with current trends.
SS: What makes you wake up in the morning and come into work every single day?
AM: I don’t come in the mornings! I’m just joking. Well I have a lot of work everyday and personally prefer working in the night. I guess the biggest factor is that my work is not just an obligation. It is something that I really like.
SS: Finally, since the main focus of this newsletter issue is the women in mechanical engineering, do you have any advice for women coming up in the mechanical field and any words for those who thought that doing mechanical engineering involves a lot of physical work?
AM: I believe that if you are really into engineering then you should not be scared. You should go with the attitude “I like it and I am capable of doing it, so I am just going to do it”. Society, cultures, parents often force women to go into other streams. Regardless of that, if you think its something that you would like, you don’t need to follow everyone else’s opinion.
Article by:
Sidharth Shivan
Graduate Student
Advanced Powertrain Research Lab
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