School Notes: School of Engineering & Applied Science
March/April 2012

Studying energy efficient buildings

An interdisciplinary project that studies electrical consumption in commercial buildings and develops automated methods to improve energy efficiency has received a boost from the Wells Fargo National Green Buildings Initiative. The Intelligent Buildings Project, headed by SEAS associate professor Andreas Savvides and the School of Architecture’s Michele Addington, in conjunction with the Yale Climate and Energy Institute, aims to lay the groundwork for the creation of “intelligent” buildings that are designed with better systems of managing energy use, significantly reducing the overall rate of consumption. The Wells Fargo $200,000 grant will support research and development of such systems.

Undergrads garner national award

A team of three Yale undergraduate engineering majors is the winner of the annual Collegiate Inventors Competition sponsored by the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Juniors Elizabeth Asai, Nick Demas, and Elliot Swart won first place in the undergraduate category for their 3Derm System, a handheld imaging device that obtains 3-D, high-definition images of skin lesions and other abnormalities. Their skin imaging device is a small, low-cost camera that can be used by doctors or patients to capture and upload 3-D pictures to a web-based directory. Dermatologists can remotely access the pictures in the directory and monitor a variety of skin ailments without seeing the patient in person. The group developed the device as an extracurricular project. The award includes a $12,500 prize for the students and a $2,500 donation to SEAS to support future student design projects.

Graduate students win design prize

A team led by SEAS graduate student Monika Weber was awarded first place in the Create the Future design contest sponsored by NASA Tech Briefs magazine, for their design of a new way to both detect bacteria that cause food-borne diseases and help doctors diagnose infections. Other members of the Yale team include graduate student Christopher Yerino; alumni Hazael Montanaro and Kane Siu Lung Lo; and Mark Reed, the Harold Hodgkinson professor of engineering and applied science. Their design, called αScreen, can screen food in processing plants at a cost that is 50 times less expensive than current methods. The portable device will also allow doctors to quickly identify bacteria from blood samples. Their innovation will detect the presence of bacteria in less than 30 minutes at a cost of only $1 per test.