Engineering a path for American Indian transfer students

If a UW-Madison faculty member is late to work, it’s likely due to traffic. When Diana Morris, dean of instruction at the College of Menominee Nation (CMN), was late one morning, it was because a bear was sitting on her car.

CMN is located at the southern end of Keshena, Wisconsin, a town of about 1,200 bordered by the expansive Menominee Forest. Founded in 1993 in the president’s basement with 43 students, CMN has grown into an established two-year college that includes campuses in Keshena and Green Bay and offers more than 20 majors and certificate programs to almost 700 students.

Around 80 percent of CMN students are American Indian and represent tribal communities across the country. Most are first-generation female students, and for many, the only people with college degrees they interact with regularly are doctors and teachers. Most, even those who are traditional-age college students, have at least one child. “Many of our students don’t even know what an engineer is,” Morris says. Yet Morris and her collaborators at UW-Madison and UW-Platteville want to do much more than tell CMN students the job exists—they want to help these students actually become engineers.

The three schools are working together as part of a National Science Foundation-funded initiative to increase the number of American Indian students who transfer from CMN to UW-Madison and UW-Platteville to study engineering. The collaboration team aims for 10 students transfer in the next five years.

While the goal may seem modest, that number would more than double the current number of students who transfer to UW-Madison from CMN to pursue any field.

There are fewer than 30 American Indian students in the College of Engineering, of around 250 American Indian students enrolled at UW-Madison as of fall 2010.

UW-Madison has long recognized the importance of increasing participation of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and the partnership with CMN is yet another opportunity to do so, says Manuela Romero, assistant dean for student diversity and academic services in the College of Engineering. “Nationally, minority students are most likely to begin their academic careers at two-year campuses,” Romero says. “This is true for Native students, and if we’re going to increase participation of underrepresented students, we have to look at two-year campuses.”

Establishing a strong foundation

For the last few years, CMN has worked on expanding its programs and developing pre-engineering and materials science courses under various other national grants.

Romero had a relationship with CMN during her tenure as the director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation. When Romero joined the College of Engineering in 2009, Morris quickly got in touch to collaborate on the proposal that was eventually funded by an $825,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Tribal Colleges and Universities Program and the NSF Directorate for Engineering.

CMN also partnered with UW-Platteville, which has many first-generation college students and is located in a community much smaller than Madison. The engineering disciplines that typically are of most interest to American Indian students are civil, environmental and mechanical engineering. Faculty members from these departments at both UW schools are participating in a working group that began meeting in spring 2011. The group will help CMN develop a more extensive science and math curriculum and establish a clear path for students to transfer to either UW institution.

The collaboration team also will look at building a STEM foundation for American Indian students long before college. The grant will support an outreach coordinator to visit K-12 tribal schools in Wisconsin and perform experiments with students and give advice about how to prepare for college and a STEM major in particular. “The intent of the grant is to make sure CMN can provide a strong foundation for their students so they can go on and transfer,” Romero says. “We’re not going to see all the fruits of this labor by the end of the five-year grant. We will see the real benefits later, once CMN has the structure in place to provide students with strong skills so their students will be successful here.”

Fawn YoungBear-Tibbetts is one of the students who has made the transfer from CMN to UW-Madison. She is majoring in life sciences communication in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). Though she transferred with three other students who all enrolled in CALS, YoungBear-Tibbetts is the only one of the group who didn’t switch to different program because of challenges with the math requirements.

Relying on relationships

Exposure to STEM and access to introductory coursework aren’t the only issues that prevent many American Indian students from pursuing an engineering degree. Many CMN students also juggle childcare and significant financial concerns. “Finding pizza money on a Friday night is the least of their worries,” says Morris. Growing up, YoungBear-Tibbetts knew several scientists and her mother earned a geography degree from UW-Madison in the 1980s. “I practically grew up in Science Hall,” she says.

Despite the early exposure to higher education, YoungBear-Tibbetts didn’t immediately pursue a degree after graduating from high school. Instead, she moved to Minneapolis to paint murals and work for a cultural outreach program for several years.

She eventually returned to Wisconsin, and after earning her associate’s degree at CMN, YoungBear-Tibbetts decided to follow in her mother’s footsteps and continue for a bachelor’s degree at UW-Madison.

Though YoungBear-Tibbetts was more prepared than most for the culture shock of moving from CMN to UW-Madison, she still faced a significant financial and time-management adjustment. YoungBear-Tibbetts balances homework with a full-time position at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, a part-time job as a science outreach coordinator at the UW Arboretum Earth Partnership for Schools and, most importantly, her 6-year-old twin boys. “I’ve been at the point where I’ve said this is not worth it. I can’t do this. I’m leaving,” she says. “I’ve felt that. I’ve been there.”

YoungBear-Tibbetts credits her relationships with several American Indian faculty members at UW-Madison as the reason she has stayed and been successful. “When I had a problem, there was no question who I would go to. My drive was having those mentors,” she says. “You learn from a mentor, then you start mentoring other people. That’s how we do things.”

Strong relationships on campus will be important for all students who transfer from CMN, says Morris. “This is true for every student, but it is core to the success of Indian students,” she says. “The ability to build a relationship with someone on campus can be the make or break.”

The UW schools each will have advisors who work at both CMN and their respective UW institution, so students can get to know those advisors during their time at CMN and continue the relationship once they have transferred.

Strengthening the future

Despite the challenges individual students may face during the transfer process, increasing the number of American Indian engineers will have many economic and community benefits in northern Wisconsin and elsewhere.

In the Northwoods region of the state, American Indian tribes are among the largest employers, with most working for tribal governments or casinos. “But the tribes need to diversify,” Morris says. “They’re looking for workforce opportunities.”

As CMN grows, so too will the number of science-related jobs it can offer. Morris hopes students who transfer from CMN to UW schools eventually will hold some of these jobs. CMN is the first and only tribal college in the United States to host a U.S. Forest Service research station, and Morris anticipates it will create around 60 jobs. Additionally, CMN plans to establish a materials science program that will emphasize fiber and wood products and hire several engineers and scientists.

Beyond economic development, there are additional benefits to establishing a new engineering workforce in tribal communities. “Indian students say they are getting their degrees for two reasons,” says Morris. “One is to return to the community and serve in whatever way will bring the community forward. The second is to serve as a role model for the young ones, to demonstrate that this is a career Indians are engaged in.”

For YoungBear-Tibbetts, there’s no question what motivates her as a student at UW-Madison and coordinator at the Arboretum. “Most Native people have this theory that seven generations—which are either the next seven generations or the past three, present and next three generations—all have to be considered when we make any decision,” she says. “I’m not doing this for me. I’m doing what I’m doing for the kids.”

My articles include:

• Inside the Box: A new method for breast cancer imaging (cover feature), p. 12-15
  
• Piranhas and polymers: Students take materials science and ethics course in Colombia, p. 21
  
• From patient to scientist: Improving cancer communication, p. 32
  
• Matthew Kirk: From cutting class to cutting-edge entrepreneur, p. 24
  
• Beyond the classroom: Experimental space promotes undergrad learning, p. 26
  
• Friction stir welding fuses engineering research and Wisconsin industry, p. 28
  
• Early-career engineers honored, p. 6
• New simulator puts UW-Madison on the map for driving research, p. 5

I also co-wrote or contributed to:

• UW-Madison fusion experiments earn nearly $11 million in grants, p. 18
  
• UW-Madison economic impact statewide hits $12.4 billion, p. 16
  
• Air Force honors young researchers, p. 8
  
• Wisconsin Ideas: Engineers team up with Trek for cycling research and Monroe manufacturer partners with UW-Madison on electric truck, p. 27
  

Every woman over the age of 40 receives the same initial screening for breast cancer: a mammogram. Yet no two women are identical and neither are their breast cancer risks, so a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers is developing a system better tailored to women with a particularly high risk factor.

In 2000, a National Academy of Engineering publication identified breast cancer detection as a healthcare problem in need of an engineering solution. In the subsequent decade, Philip Dunham Reed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Susan Hagness has emerged as a leader in the search for that solution. The system will offer three-dimensional capabilities similar to a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system along with the affordability and accessibility of traditional mammography.

Hagness works closely with Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Barry Van Veen, and their collaborators span a variety of fields. Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Nader Behdad, Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering John Booske, and Radiology Associate Professors Fred Kelcz and Gale Sisney currently are contributing to the project.

The density risk

Breast tissue is made up of fatty tissues, connective tissues and epithelial tissues, which line many of the body’s surfaces and cavities. Collectively, the connective and epithelial tissues are called fibroglandular tissue, and this tissue determines breast density. If a woman has a high percentage of fibroglandular tissue, her breasts are considered “dense.”

According to research published in the New England Journal of Medicine, high breast density can increase a woman’s risk for cancer to four to six times that of women with predominantly fatty tissue. It’s a stronger risk factor than early-onset menstruation or having no biological children. In fact, few other factors exceed dense breast tissue as a risk for cancer; a Radiology paper found those that do include a breast cancer gene mutation, age or prior breast cancer.

This strong risk is also fairly common. Around 50 percent of women in their 40s and 25 percent of women in their 70s have breast tissue that is at least 50 percent dense, according to the American Journal of Roentgenology. “All of these facts point to the importance of breast density evaluation in assessing a woman’s risk and having clinicians provide appropriate prevention protocols,” Hagness says.

Unfortunately, dense breast tissue makes it more difficult for doctors to accurately screen for cancer. Research in Annals of Internal Medicine found as many as two out of every five cancers in women who have high breast density go undetected. The problem is that mammography is a two-dimensional imaging technique. A mammogram machine takes a three-dimensional volume of tissue, passes X-rays through the tissue and creates a shadow gram. All of the tissue is projected onto that two-dimensional image.

Hagness compares it to trying to find a needle in a haystack. “It’s easier to find the needle if you can sift through the hay layer by layer; it’s much more difficult if you compress all of the hay into a thin pile and view it all at once,” she says.

However, Hagness and Van Veen don’t view their system as a replacement for traditional mammography. “Mammography is the gold standard that has saved countless lives, and we don’t see a need for an alternative for women who are served well by that technology,” Hagness says. “But there is a population that is currently underserved, and we’re interested in developing a safe, low-cost imaging modality that could be used for evaluating breast density and screening women who are at high risk.”

An affordable alternative for high-risk women

A three-dimensional image of dense breast tissue would allow doctors to sift through the entire tissue slice by slice. An MRI is an example of a system that can produce these kinds of images, but these scans cost around 10 times as much as mammograms.

Beyond the cost, the accessibility of MRIs is not ideal. Not all clinics or hospitals have MRI machines, and rural clinics are especially less likely to have one. In addition, a time-intensive MRI scan is a difficult experience for claustrophobic or obese patients, who make up a significant percentage of the population. Instead, Hagness and Van Veen are developing an imaging system that can produce three-dimensional images via microwaves, a technology comparable in cost to a mammogram.

The clinical prototype will look like a box similar in shape and size to a vertical Kleenex tissue box, with tiny copper-colored antennas mounted on each side. Each antenna will transmit a low-power microwave signal, and all the other antennas will record the scattered signals from the breast. Algorithms will reconstruct those signals into a three-dimensional image of the breast tissue.

Safety is a key component of the system. “This will transmit much less microwave power than a cell phone,” Hagness says. “It’s non-ionizing, so there is no health risk.”

Piloting the future of breast imaging

Achieving a clinical prototype has been an evolutionary process that has taken several years of research. From 2002 to 2007, Hagness led a large multi-institutional study to establish that breast tissue microwaves could convey important physiological information. The study involved measuring hundreds of freshly excised tissues from mastectomies, breast reductions and biopsies. The samples included healthy and cancerous tissues with a range of densities.

Hagness found that dense fibroglandular tissue does in fact have different electric properties from fatty tissues—a contrast that is necessary to evaluate breast density with microwaves. The work remains the definitive study on microwave properties of breast tissue, and the papers associated with the study have been cited hundreds of times. “We can distinguish dense tissue from fatty tissue, and that’s what you need to determine volumetric breast density,” she says.

Van Veen, who wasn’t directly involved in the tissue study, says the team’s work has evolved because of those findings. “Initially we had assumed tumors were these different objects that would scatter a lot more microwave signals than the healthy tissue,” he says. “But both tumors and healthy tissue scatter similar levels of energy back. That knowledge has changed the type of signal processing we do for this problem.”

The change means a shift from a radar-like approach to an imaging approach that looks for changes over time or changes due to contrast agents. With funding from the U.S. Department of Defense, Hagness and colleague John Booske are studying microbubbles and carbon nanotubes as possible contrast agents that will target tumors and make them more “visible” to the antennas.

Overall, the team is focused on moving the clinical prototype forward so the small-scale human trial can begin sometime in the next two years. This means developing and testing the algorithms that will actually generate images from the data gathered from the antennas. The team also is working on the actual sensor array that will be placed around the subject’s breast. “We’re beginning to make the transition from pure laboratory research toward clinical studies,” Hagness says.

The pilot will test around a dozen women. Participants will lie face down on an MRI support platform and place their breasts in a stabilizing structure that suspends the breast in the prototype “box.” The antennas will send a low dose of safe microwaves through the breast tissue, and the signals will be converted into a three-dimensional image. Participants will also undergo an MRI scan as a control test.

Applying engineering to healthcare

The field of electrical and computer engineering is becoming a more common home for healthcare research, says Booske, who chairs the UW-Madison Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. “Currently, at least 13 of our faculty are pushing back the research frontiers in topics at the interface of ECE and biomedical or biological technology fields, and more get involved each year,” he says. “Being involved in this research on breast cancer detection and treatment has been one of the most exciting experiences of my career,” he adds. “My interests and expertise in the science of how electromagnetic waves interact with media has enabled me to contribute, and I’ve learned so much by working alongside the interdisciplinary team of experts brought together by Professors Hagness and Van Veen over the years on this initiative.”

Van Veen says the team’s overall breadth of expertise is what sets it apart from others working on similar research. “From state-of-the-art electromagnetics to sophisticated signal processing, we have a wide breadth that other research teams working on this problem don’t have,” he says. “We’re well positioned to hopefully ultimately solve the problem.”

Solving the problem is the fun part for Van Veen, who jokes about his broad range of signal-processing research experiences. “I like to say I’ve worked on problems from A to Z, though I haven’t quite gotten to Z,” he says. “I started my career applying signal processing to acoustics and have made it to W, wireless communications.”

When Hagness joined UW-Madison in the late 1990s, it wasn’t long before Van Veen began asking questions about her interest in breast cancer imaging, and the two began collaborating. “My expertise is essentially in problems where multiple, different sensors simultaneously measure a physical phenomenon, such as electromagnetic scattering from breast tissue, ” he says.

In addition to her expertise in electro-magnetics, Hagness is a champion for increasing interest in engineering by showing students how the field can help solve global and societal challenges. She leads an introductory engineering course dedicated to the topic and works on major engineering outreach initiatives.

“All engineering fields offer enormous opportunities to address a variety of challenges in the medical arena. The reason why engineering offers this opportunity is because fundamentally, we’re problem- solvers,” Hagness says. “When a clinical need is identified, it’s a natural fit for engineers to try to address that need, and in electrical engineering, we have a lot of tools and skills to offer.”

“A significant part of the human body is electrical in nature. The nervous system, the brain, cell membranes—electrical engineers can fully understand that side of the human body,” she says.

During this time, I don’t anticipate having many journalistic writing opportunities, but I’ll continue to update this blog with my various projects. We’ll just have to see where the next two years take me.

The transition from research observer to actual researcher is going to be a fascinating process, and I’m very excited for the opportunity. So keep checking back!

A smartphone application that will allow running race observers to keep track of particular runners in real time has won $10,000 and top prize at the inaugural University of Wisconsin-Madison Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize.

The idea for the app, called Runner’s Fan, came when master’s degree in business administration (MBA) student Eric Baum got separated from his girlfriend while the two were participating in a half marathon. When Baum finished, he had no way of knowing where his girlfriend was or if she was still even on the course. On the hot, humid summer day, he was concerned about her condition.

Though his girlfriend was fine, the situation inspired Baum to team up with fellow MBA students Tyler Heslinga, Vinothkumar Narasimhan and Stephen Ranjan to find a way to prevent his sense of helplessness from happening again.

In addition to allowing users to monitor a runner’s progress along a race route, the app also provides statistics about the runner’s pace and health by syncing with existing apps that record heart rate or other data. The app also could be useful for training and other sports races, such as cycling or cross-country skiing.

The Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize, sponsored by the San Diego-based mobile technology company, rewards students who present creative wireless technology products and well-developed business plans to make those products profitable. The competition was held April 28 at Union South.

“We have a lot of outstanding UW-Madison graduates at Qualcomm, and we felt a contest like this would help broaden students’ academic experience,” says Jim Thompson, the Qualcomm vice president of CDMA Technology and a UW-Madison alumnus. “We also hope to encourage students in business, engineering and computer science to pursue careers in wireless.”

Second place and $5,000 went to biomedical engineering undergraduate student Tyler Lark for Live Healthy, Do Good, a program to simultaneously make healthy food choices and charitable donations via a portable electronic device.

“When I was a kid, at dinnertime my mom would tell me to clean my plate because there were starving children in Africa,” Lark says. “Eventually, all kids realize that what we eat doesn’t really affect anyone else, but with Live Healthy, Do Good, you actually can have that effect.”

The app encourages users confronted with an unhealthy fast food choice to redirect their funds to a charitable food organization. The amount of the donation is tied to the number of calories in the tempting item, so, for example, instead of eating a hamburger, a user could donate a certain percentage of those calories to provide meals to those suffering from chronic hunger either locally or internationally.

Third place and $2,500 were awarded to Touch Live Connect, an enhanced online chatting program invented by industrial and systems engineering undergraduate student Nai-Wen (Claire) Yu.

The software emphasizes creating shared experiences for video chat users, allowing people to put themselves in a shared background (such as space or famous cities) and watch videos together while simultaneously seeing each other’s reactions. As many as six people could participate in a Touch Live Connect chat, and users could log into the program from a wide variety of electronic devices.

“Every day we hear of one more idea that has really taken off, such as Facebook, Groupon, etc. This competition offers our students an opportunity to show their creativity in this area and encourages interdisciplinary teams to not only innovate on the technology front but also think about the business potential of their idea,” says electrical and computer engineering professor Parameswaran Ramanathan, who co-coordinated the competition with John Booske, Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and department chair.

The coordinators say the competition was very close in terms of technological quality. Ultimately, the panel of six judges, including wireless experts from Qualcomm and other technology firms, rewarded the projects with the strongest business plans.

A new University of Wisconsin-Madison innovation competition will reward students for creative smartphone apps and other wireless technology products.

The inaugural Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize will be held Thursday, April 28, in the new Union South, 1308 W. Dayton St.

Open to all UW-Madison undergraduate and master’s-level students, the competition will give away more than $17,000 in prizes to participants who present interesting ideas and business plans to make those ideas profitable.

“As smartphones have become commonplace, there are many opportunities to create new technologies and applications that can revolutionize our lifestyle,” says competition coordinator electrical and computer engineering professor Parameswaran Ramanathan. “This competition offers our students an opportunity to show their creativity in this area.”

Media are invited to attend the competition. Winners will be announced Thursday evening.

Presentations will be held in the Landmark Room on the third floor, with posters on display in the Northwoods Room. Parking is available in Engineering Lot 17, 1525 Engineering Drive.

Competition schedule:

• 9-9:15 a.m.: Touch Live Connect, an enhanced online chatting program invented by Nai-Wen (Claire) Yu.

• 9:20-9:35 a.m.: Obsedis Technologies, an RFID-based theft-deterrent system invented by Tim McGowan and David Michaels.

• 9:40-9:55 a.m.: Snippet Messaging, a technology to enable cell phones to send text messages via short-range radio invented by Scott Hatfield.

• 10:20-10:35 a.m.: Runner’s Fan, a smartphone app that provides real-time location and statistics during a long-distance race invented by Eric Baum, Tyler Heslinga, Vinothkumar Narasimhan and Stephen Rajan.

• 10:40-10:55 a.m.: Universal Smartphone Bike Mount and Bluetooth, a system to mount a smartphone on a bicycle handlebar and attach a Bluetooth headset to a helmet invented by Laura Vetro.

• 11-11:15 a.m.: Phantom Dictionary Project, an online dictionary that focuses on ideas instead of status updates invented by Cagatay Melan.

• 11:20-11:35 a.m.: Live Healthy, Do Good, a system to simultaneously make healthy food choices and charitable donations via a portable electronic device invented by Tyler Lark.

For more information, visit http://innovation.wisc.edu/qualcomm/

In military combat, vehicle tires are crucial, as blown tires can mean troops are stranded in dangerous situations. Wausau, Wis.-based Resilient Technologies is working on a non-pneumatic tire with a honeycomb-like design, which can’t be shot out and could save lives.

UW-Madison engineers are partnering with Resilient to develop the tire and help the company grow in Wisconsin.

Resilient delved into advanced mobility technologies soon after founding in 2005, and a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense connected the company with a team from Engineering Professional Development (EPD), including faculty associates and program directors Frank Rath and Carl Vieth.

EPD in turn guided Resilient to the Polymer Engineering Center and mechanical engineering professor Tim Osswald, who worked with Resilient engineers for two years to refine and test the tire design.

Osswald remains in contact with Resilient as a consultant, but EPD also supports Resilient beyond the lab.

“Resilient views us more as a business partner,” Vieth says. “They’re using us as portal to resources on campus and beyond. “

The EPD team guides Resilient toward non-campus partners, such as machinists and automation companies, many of which are in Wisconsin. “This spins out and expands into the broader state economy,” Vieth says.

Rath and Vieth also advise Resilient on how to move toward military and non-military commercialization. “Frank is vital in directing us toward solutions in many different areas, ” says Ed Hall, Resilient chief operating officer.

As Resilient continues to grow as a company, Hall anticipates the company’s relationship with UW-Madison also will evolve.

“There are lots of subjects where you can’t just jump on Google and find out who is the best,” Hall says. “The EPD knowledge and resources make it a lot easier to find experts in the field.”

For Rath, it’s rewarding to see a Wisconsin technology startup thrive. “We worked with Resilient before they even had employees. Now they have around 20, and these are high-skill, high-tech jobs-the kind of jobs we really want to see in Wisconsin,” he says.

Hall wasn’t surprised UW-Madison offers so many connections and resources for businesses. “They’re doing lots of things that have benefits beyond basic academic benefits,” he says.

“They didn’t look at us as a science project, but as a growing business. They were interested because what we are doing could save lives.”

Story featured April 4 on UW-Madison homepage.