September 2015
Dr. Can Bayram, 2010 Link Foundation Energy Fellow, is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and is also affiliated with the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Dr. Bayram is currently developing novel photonic and electronic energy conversion devices. Specifically, his group, Innovative COmpound semiconductoR (ICOR) Laboratory, works on developing light emitting diodes for novel lighting applications and is pushing boundaries in electronics for next generation transistors. Dr. Bayram invented GaN-on-Graphene and GaN-on-Si(100) technologies for novel device architectures, for which, he was awarded the 2014 IEEE Electron Devices Society Early Career Award and the Best Paper Award at the 11th International Conference on Infrared Optoelectronics.
In 2014, Dr. Bayram joined University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL from IBM Thomas Watson Research Center, NY. At IBM (2011-2014), he was part of a team developing a novel means of semiconductor thin film technology. They achieved record-breaking specific power solar cells and were featured on the cover of Advanced Energy Materials. Concurrently, Dr. Bayram integrated GaN-based devices on CMOS-compatible silicon substrates. Part of his work was highlighted as the frontispiece article in the Advanced Functional Materials issue.
Prof. Bayram received a PhD from Northwestern University, IL with a focus on Solid State Devices and Photonics. His thesis work has demonstrated the first ultraviolet regime single photon detection, the first hybrid LED, and the first GaN intersubband devices. He received IEEE Electron Devices and IEEE Photonics Societies' fellowship awards and the Laser Technology, Engineering and Applications Award from SPIE. He was an IBM and Link Foundation PhD fellow and the recipient of Boeing Engineering and Dow Sustainability Innovation awards.
Reflecting back, Dr. Bayram notes the significance of Link Energy Fellowship award on his career stating, “The Link Energy Fellowship gave me the freedom in my early career to pursue what I thought was critical for our society. This financial freedom led me into an impactful research front and has stimulated my career in energy conversion devices.”
Dr. Bayram currently serves on the Link Foundation’s Energy Fellowship Selection Committee and adds, “I am very proud to be part of the committee who oversees the ideas of young minds – the very minds set to shape our tomorrow.”
Dr. Brenden Epps, 2007 Link Foundation Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellow, is currently an Assistant Professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College
Dr. Epps was selected to receive a Link Foundation fellowship while pursuing a PhD in mechanical engineering at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His PhD research in experimental hydrodynamics included problems in fish propulsion, lifting surfaces, and free-surface water entry. The Link Foundation fellowship supported two thrusts of this work: investigation of bio-inspired lifting surfaces and development of numerical data processing methods for experimental hydrodynamics. The first thrust was inspired by the humpback whale, which has protuberances on the leading edge of its flippers; the research included water tunnel tests to characterize mechanism of lift augmentation by the leading-edge protuberances, and the functional benefit of stall mitigation. An outgrowth of this and other concurrent research was the need to examine velocity field data using the singular value decomposition (SVD). This research led to an error thresholding criterion useful for predicting which SVD modes are corrupted by measurement error.
Dr. Epps recently stated, "The Link Foundation provided me the opportunity to pursue a contemporary issue (whale flippers) while also having the freedom to pursue important side project (SVD error). This "side project" led to a publication (Experiments in Fluids, Vol. 48) that has since been cited numerous times. This work has recently resurfaced and is the subject of renewed investigation."
At the heart of Dr. Epps current research are fluid-energy systems for the efficient conversion, storage, and utilization of energy. Applications include marine propulsion and hydrokinetic energy conversion, and build upon a foundation of unsteady hydrodynamics, vortex dynamics, and experimental and computational methods in fluid mechanics.
Dr. Epps currently serves on the Link Foundation’s Energy Fellowship Selection Committee.
FORMER FELLOWS/INTERNS/SCHOLARS WHO ARE MEMBERS OF THE LINK FOUNDATION BOARD
Dr. Lee R. Lynd, Special Advisor to the Link Foundation Board, Link Foundation Energy Fellowship Program Administrator, 1984 Link Foundation Energy Fellow, and he currently serves as the Paul and Joan Queneau Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Adjunct Professor of Biology at Dartmouth College, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Mascoma Corporation, Focus Area Leader for Biomass Deconstruction and Conversion at the Department of Energy Bioenergy Science Center, Initiator and Executive Committee Coordinator of the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project, and Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa
Dr. Lynd was a Link Foundation Energy Fellow during the first year that Energy Fellowships were offered in 1984. "The Fellowship came at a time when I did not have support for my graduate work," stated Dr. Lynd. "Thus for me, the Link Fellowship was an important factor in letting me pursue my vision for a thesis involving cellulosic biofuels."
Dr. Lynd has followed this vision for his entire professional life. Today he is the Paul and Joan Queneau Distinguished Professor of Engineering and Adjunct Professor of Biology at Dartmouth College, Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Mascoma Corporation, Focus Area Leader for Biomass Deconstruction and Conversion at the Department of Energy Bioenergy Science Center, Initiator and Executive Committee Coordinator of the Global Sustainable Bioenergy Project, and Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.
Dr. Lynd is a leading expert on utilization of plant biomass for production of energy, with distinctively broad contributions spanning the science, technology, and policy domains, including leading research on fundamental and biotechnological aspects of microbial cellulose utilization. A frequently invited presenter on technical and strategic aspects of biomass energy, Dr. Lynd has three times testified before the United States Senate, and has been featured in prominent fora such as Wired, Forbes, Nova, and the Nobel Conference.
The Link Foundation was among the first to recognize Dr. Lynd, but hardly the last. Dr. Lynd is the 2011 recipient of the Mines Medal of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology for contributions to engineering or science, and prestigious contributions toward resolution or understanding of the technological challenges that impact society, the inaugural recipient of the Lemelson-MIT Sustainability Prize, recipient of the Charles D. Scott Award for distinguished contributions to the field of biotechnology for fuels and chemicals, and two-time recipient of the Charles A. Lindbergh Award in recognition of efforts to promote a balance between environmental preservation and technological advancement.
Commenting on his involvement with the Link Foundation, Dr. Lynd observes, "As Administrator of the Link Foundation’s Energy Fellowship program, I am delighted and honored to be able to play a part in supporting graduate students in the critically important energy field. I take particular pleasure in knowing that receipt of a Link Fellowship may enable young researchers to pursue their dream as it did for me. I only wish we could give more fellowships. These days, we are getting about 100 of the strongest applicants in North America and we only award 3 fellowships, although many more are deserving. I would be delighted to find ways to bring more funds to this outstanding program."
Dr. Donna F. Wilt, Special Advisor to the Link Foundation Board of Trustees, Link Foundation Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship Program Administrator, 1995 Link Fellow in Advanced Simulation and Training, and she currently serves as Associate Professor in the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology
Dr. Wilt has a lifelong passion for aviation and engineering. She was first able to pursue this passion when she worked with aircraft simulators at NASA Langley Research Center while completing a BS in electrical engineering at the University of Florida. She worked on programs to apply the technology from military and airline simulations to the smaller aircraft used in general aviation operations. Here she developed a lifelong goal of making flying safer overall, while taking advantage of the safe and less expensive environment of a device that simulates the relevant aspects of the aircraft and environment.
As her career progressed, Dr. Wilt found herself drawn more to the training aspects of aviation as opposed to engineering design. She eventually become an Air Transport Pilot, Master Certified Flight Instructor, and Gold Seal Flight Instructor focusing on the beginning, or ab-initio, pilot training. The advent of the personal computer opened new opportunities for creating flight training devices (FTD) that were substantially more capable but less expensive than in the past thereby making it available to a segment of aviation where simulators had previously not been cost effective.
At the time she was ready to pursue a doctorate, there were no PhD programs in the US in aeronautics or flight training so she pursued a PhD in Science Education at Florida Institute of Technology. Dr. Wilt’s PhD research was on the forefront of how to teach higher-order cognitive skills, such as situation awareness and decision making, to beginning pilots using low-cost FTDs.
Dr. Wilt explained, “the Science Education Department was doing research in computer-based training, but had not done research in the area of flight training. The Link Foundation’s Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship gave me the freedom and ability to pursue an area of research that aligned with my passion for aviation and my goal of making aviation safer.”
Dr. Wilt holds a BS degree from the University of Florida, a MS degree in Electrical Engineering and a PhD degree in Science Education from Florida Institute of Technology.
Today, Dr. Wilt is Associate Professor in the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology where they offer bachelor, masters, and will soon offer doctorate aviation programs that integrate simulators and advanced flight training devices into the flight training programs and the applied aviation research. Dr. Wilt also serves as chair of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) Board of Directors, a position which she was elected to in July 2014.
She served on the Link Foundation’s Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship Selection Committee prior to becoming the Fellowship Program Administrator in 2012. She is proud to participate in selecting the newest Advanced Simulation and Training Fellows.
The Link Foundation is pleased to have made a difference in the lives and careers of many including Dr. Bayram, Dr. Epps, Dr. Lynd, Dr. Wilt and many others who have received Link Foundation Fellowships/Internships/Scholarships over the last sixty-two years. We count it a privilege to continue our association with them today.
We are proud of all of our Link Fellows/Interns/Scholars and of the vital contributions that they have made, and continue to make, in the advancement of simulation and training, ocean engineering and instrumentation, and energy resources development and conservation, throughout their careers. These discoveries are increasingly valuable to the world in which we live and significantly impact the advancement and security of our nation in important ways.
If you are or were a Link Fellow/Intern/Scholar, we would love to hear from you! Please write to us! We would be honored to tell your story on our page!