Princeton Engineering

In this wide-ranging keynote speech at Princeton's She Roars conference, Environmental Protection Agency chief Lisa Jackson talks about the historic importance of women's leadership in efforts to safeguard the health of the planet.

This summer five members of the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders are traveling to Ashaiman, Ghana, to finish construction of a library that will serve as an educational center and a community gathering place.

Technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere are unlikely to offer an economically feasible way to slow human-driven climate change for several decades, according to a report issued by the American Physical Society and led by Princeton engineer Robert Socolow.

Jane Yang talks about her undergraduate experience and her involvement with Princeton Engineering Education for Kids (PEEK), a group that uses Legos to teach basic engineering techniques to school-age children, as well as her work in Ghana as co-president of the Princeton chapter of Engineers Without Borders.

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH “My senior thesis involves transportation systems analysis—in particular, it studies methods for optimizing evacuations under large-scale disaster scenarios.” ADDITIONAL STUDIES Earned certificates in finance and engineering management systems. WHY “I’ve really enjoyed learning the wide applications that the department has in both operations research and financial engineering problems.” INTERNSHIPS Princeton University I

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH Co-designed a “scanning laser infrared molecular spectrometer” to detect gas molecules in the open air. Determined the optimal geometry and materials for the device, which has the potential to be used by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory on planetary missions or for emissions detection in urban areas. WHY “Unadulterated curiosity.” HONORS With classmate Shelley Chan, presented a proposal for a docking station to facilitate manned mi

ACADEMICS Computer graphics, digital signal processing, and robotics. For his independent work, Tralie developed a method to recognize and classify objects from LIDAR (an optical version of RADAR) data. He is starting with LIDAR scans of the city of Ottawa collected by Google. WHY “I decided to work with Professor Tom Funkhouser (computer science) after taking his computer graphics course. I had such an amazing experience in that class and was so enthralled with the material that

ACADEMICS Earned certificates in sustainable energy and engineering biology and pursued a thesis that combined both these areas with materials science. Her thesis investigated how the nanostructure of ocean microorganisms called diatoms contributes to their relatively high photosynthetic efficiency. The work could help design energy-harvesting devices based on examples from nature. WHY “I am incredibly interested in international development and how it relates to sustainability, e

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH “Michael Schoder from the Class of 2010 and I developed a cold-water hydrotherapy spa for the rehabilitation of our varsity athletes. The system consisted of a chiller unit (which housed a refrigeration system, filtration/circulation system, temperature control system, and a spa jet pump) along with a custom-fabricated pool that held up to five athletes at a time. The system provided a cost- and energy-efficient alternative to the cold-water treatment methods previ

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH Working in Professor Sigurd Wagner’s lab with funding from Universal Display Corporation, Song worked on thin-film transistors that include a hybrid insulator to combine the performance of inorganic materials with the flexibility of organic materials. She also worked with Wagner and Assistant Professor Naveen Verma on large-area, amorphous silicon-based circuits for a structural health-monitoring system. Their system combines nanoscale integrated circuits, which of

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH Using mathematical techniques called stochastic dynamic programming to analyze medical treatment decisions and health outcomes for diabetes patients. ADDITIONAL STUDIES Earned certificates in global health and health policy, and engineering biology. INTERNSHIPS After spending two summers in Sierra Leone working with a nongovernmental health organization, Hsih won a ReachOut 56 fellowship to spend a year in that country after graduation serving as program manage

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH With research interests centering on computer systems and networking, Ousterhout has worked in the research groups of two faculty members and pursued projects ranging from supporting a clean-slate Internet architecture to implementing distributed multipath techniques for managing Internet traffic. After Princeton, she plans to pursue a Ph.D. in computer science. ADDITIONAL STUDIES “I also am interested in visual arts. Drawing and painting courses have been amo

ACADEMICS “My two favorite classes have been CEE 307 Field Ecohydrology (which is taught in Kenya, where I spent the spring semester of my junior year) and CEE 305 Environ-mental Fluid Mechanics. My independent work is on turbulence in a sparse plant canopy. I conducted field research in Kenya to begin this project. The summer before my junior year I worked in Botswana with Professor Kelly Caylor’s group (with funding from the University’s Grand Challenges initiative). For

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH Working on the Photonic Neuron Project led by Professor Paul Prucnal. The project seeks to enable ultrafast computing by using nonlinear optical devices to imitate neurons. These neurons perform computation on laser pulses that encode information. ADDITIONAL STUDIES Earned certificates in neuroscience, robotics, applications in computing, and engineering biology. WHY “It’s a nice marriage of my interests in electrical engineering and neuroscience.&r

ACADEMICS “Some of the most interesting classes I’ve taken here have been in the chemistry department. I work as a chemistry peer tutor, helping those who are struggling in their freshman chemistry classes.” Earned a certificate in materials science and in engineering and sustainable energy. WHY “When I applied to Princeton University, I knew that I wanted to be a chemical engineer. It’s fast-paced and exciting, and I like that I can apply my knowledge of t

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH Designed a control system for the ascent and descent stages for the upper stage of a horizontal launch and re-entry vehicle. Applied this design to a reusable vehicle designed by Princeton Satellite Systems, which seeks to produce the vehicle for a number of space agencies for easier launch and to act as a ferry from Earth to the International Space Station.. WHY “I’m really interested in aerospace systems designs—how spacecraft come together and d

ACADEMICS “For my junior independent work and senior thesis, I have been working on analyzing fracture patterns in wall paintings excavated from the archaeological site in Thera (modern-day Santorini, Greece). I am trying to develop a model about how the fresco broke and simulate the fracture process. The results will help us to guide fragment reconstruction algorithms for other broken frescoes.” WHY “I really liked working on a project where I could actually see the o

INDEPENDENT RESEARCH “I worked with the International Water Management Institute in India after my sophomore year, and this experience piqued my interest in water issues. Junior year, I went to Togo to assess ways to provide safe drinking water to a village of 3,000 people who had neither safe drinking water nor electricity. My senior thesis is on advanced chemical oxidation techniques for treating industrial wastewater.” WHY “I joined the department because I am excit

ACADEMICS Interested in materials science and sustainable energy, in particular hydrogen energy, as well as the social impact of technology. Thesis titled “Carbon Dioxide Removal in PEM Hydrogen Purification from Coal Reformate.” ADDITIONAL STUDIES Earned certificates in materials science, sustainable energy, Woodrow Wilson School, and Japanese language and culture. (“I am a devoted fan of Japanese arts and culture.”) EXTRACURRICULAR Co-founded the Princeton