RESEARCH
CCEFP Hits the Road
Over the past few months, the leadership staff from the Center headquarters have packed their bags and made site visits to the partner schools. The purpose of the site visits are to get hands on exposure to the research that is conducted throughout the Center and to meet all faculty, staff and students affiliated with the CCEFP. Most recently, the team traveled to Milwaukee School of Engineering where students and faculty alike made presentations on the research and activities going on at MSOE. The Center was well represented and acknowledged during MSOE's Celebration of Fluid Power that was held on Friday, July 13. The leadership team has previously visited North Carolina A&T State University and toured the facilities and research areas on campus. The next stop on the list is a visit to Georgia Institute of Technology and Vanderbilt University.

INDUSTRY
Most, if not all, of the individual project champion kick off meetings were held this month. Early feedback has been positive but we are always looking to improve so if you have any suggestions please let us know. Our next focus area is how we can confidentially disseminate important information, such as patent disclosures, to our Center members in a manner that is secure but yet streamlined. Our plan, which has been under development for some time now, is to create a secure area under the 'Industry' tab located on our official website that will only be accessible via individual login ID's and associated passwords. We expect to go live during August so stay tuned for more information. Please contact Mike Gust at mjgust@me.umn.edu or 612-624-4956 for further information regarding the CCEFP including how to become a member.

EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET)
The Center had a successful recruitment of undergraduate students and teachers for the REU and RET program during the summer of 2007. Across all seven partner institutions the Center is supporting 23 REU students and five RET teachers who are working on Center related projects or curriculum design associated with the work of the Center. At the conclusion of the REU/RET program, each participant will present their work to the faculty and students at their home campus but will also record an on-line presentation to be archived on the private area of the CCEFP web site. Congratulations to all participants on a successful summer program!

CCEFP Web-casts
The Center¹s on-line web-casts are now well underway. The bi-weekly web-casts are open to all CCEFP faculty, staff, students, industry and affiliated members. Web-casts feature research conducted within the Center and are presented by the graduate assistants dedicated to each project. Each web-cast has up to three separate presentations which are enhanced virtually with audio and visual resources. The Student Leadership Council organizes and moderates each meeting. There is a question and answer time following each 15 minute presentation. For those that are unable to attend during the presentations, the Center will archive each web-cast which will be available on the private area of the CCEFP web site.

GETTING TO KNOW US
The Center would like to introduce its talent. In each issue get to know the Center's students, researchers and leadership team.

Student
Ken Marek earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering in 2006 from Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas. He is now in the masters program at Georgia Institute of Technology and intends on completing his PhD in mechanical engineering. Ken was drawn to the excellent reputation of the school and its programs, as well as to the opportunity to live in Atlanta. Ken is involved in the Center¹s 3B.1 Passive Noise Control in Fluid Power under the advisement of Prof. Ken Cunefare. The purpose of his research is to develop innovative and cost effective solutions to noise control problems within the fluid power industry. Noise is created by the vibrations in the system, which can be produced directly by system components, or indirectly by fluid pulsation. Thus, noise is controlled by reducing the pulsations in the fluid and the vibrations in the structure. Ken is also the Secretary of the Center's Student Leadership Council. Outside of the lab, Ken is involved in the Graduate Student Government and the Ferst Center for the Arts. He also endeavors to set aside enough time for the variety of fun stuff that presents itself.

Researcher
Jim Van de Ven earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. In the spring of 2006, Jim completed both his masters and PhD in mechanical engineering specializing in machine design from the University of Minnesota. Since that time, he has worked at the UMN as a postdoctoral student working on Center related research such as the Small Urban Vehicle test bed. Outside of the lab, Jim bikes, a lot! He also enjoys rock climbing, snowboarding, kayaking and fly fishing. Jim has recently accepted a position as an assistant professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. We bid him farewell and wish him all the best in his new endeavors!

Leadership Team
Michael Goldfarb earned his undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Arizona. He finished his masters and PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT. During this time, the Center's Dr. William Durfee served as Michael¹s graduate advisor. In 1994, following the completion of his PhD, Michael was hired as an assistant professor in the mechanical engineering department at Vanderbilt University. He now serves on the Executive Committee of the Center and the co-leader on Test bed 4: Compact Rescue Crawler (CRC), with Dr. Wayne Book from GATech. Michael is involved in two research areas of the Center. The chemofluidic systems which are the chemically powered fluid power systems for the self-powered systems and the fluid power robot: The Compact Rescue Crawler (CRC). The CRC needs to be powered by something other than batteries and electric motors. The idea behind this research is to use hydraulics to power the machine. The research proposes to use chemical reactions to power the chemofluidic actuators. Outside of the lab, Michael enjoys cycling, soccer and spending time with his three children!