LSU'S Biweekly Newsletter for Faculty & Staff
August 27, 2004 |
VOL. 21, NO.1 |
The proverbial light bulb switched on inside the head of LSU electrical engineering graduate Eiad Odeh during his first day of work for the Baton Rouge Department of Public Works.
After observing department employees examining blueprints and plans and tediously trying to check them against massive building code books, he began to form the idea for OptaSoft, a new company offering unique software packages that automate the building-plan review process. Now, Odeh, who continues to work for the city-parish, has a booming business on the side, as OptaSoft technology is quickly being adopted by municipalities, architecture firms and designers nationwide. In addition, he recently donated OptaSoft’s software packages and future upgrades, worth more than $207,000, to the LSU College of Engineering for use by the Department of Construction Management and Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering.
OptaSoft’s first product is “Commercial Building Inspector,” a software package that automates the plan review process, thereby increasing productivity in the review of building plans. According to Odeh, the software can reduce review time by 50-75 percent, depending on the complexity of a given plan. Odeh explained that the construction industry is dependent upon the issuance of building permits and these permits can only be issued after the building plans have been reviewed for compliance with applicable building codes, in particular the International Building Code, the accepted standard in the industry. The review process still used in most cities involves a lengthy manual review of the codes and analysis of the individual interpretations made by designers and contractors.
“The software streamlines the communication between architects and developers and the municipalities that issue permits,” said Odeh, who earned his bachelor’s degree from LSU in 2000. “Architects draw up the plans and use the software to test them (against the building code) and make corrections before sending them along to the city. Meanwhile, the software serves as a tool for a municipality’s reviewers, guiding them through the review process and reducing the time and effort needed to conduct a thorough review. Essentially, it allows both sides to communicate in the same ‘language.’”
The software, he said, turns a days-long process into one that takes only a matter of hours.
Odeh, a native of Kuwait, started developing the mathematical formulas and computer logic behind the software shortly after coming up with the idea in 2001. In developing the basis for the new software, he utilized some of the technology behind AnalyzeThat.net, a Web site he created while working on his degree at LSU. The site, http://www.analyzethat.net, offers a step-by-step tool for college or high-school students to analyze electrical circuits or mathematical problems.
As he went about developing the idea, he contacted a local Web and software company about hosting services. It was through this contact that Odeh met Mike Giddens, a programmer and Web designer who would eventually become his partner in creating OptaSoft. Together, Odeh and Giddens spent three years toiling during their after-work hours to perfect their product.
Conveniently, Odeh sold his employers on the product and the city-parish began beta-testing some OptaSoft software that Odeh and Giddens donated.
Once the duo discovered how well the software functioned and worked out the kinks, they set out to secure an ingredient crucial to the success of any start-up business: customers. So far, Odeh said, the fledgling company’s marketing effort has consisted only of a Web site, some targeted advertising and word of mouth, but the results have been extremely successful. Companies and municipalities in Michigan, Maryland, Minnesota and elsewhere have purchased OptaSoft software, and more inquiries are coming in all the time, he said.
“The product is so good that we expect a ‘wow’ when someone sees it, and we expect them to pass it on,” Odeh said. “Seeing that ‘wow’ is a great reward in and of itself. It’s gratifying to see your idea used and appreciated.”
Odeh is not only grateful for the interest his product has engendered in customers, but for the educational experience that inspired him to pursue his idea. To show his appreciation, and to aid and encourage LSU students who are pursuing their dreams, he decided to provide some 100 licenses for the OptaSoft software to LSU and two departments in LSU’s College of Engineering. Via a donation to the LSU Foundation, 95 licenses will go to the Department of Construction Management and five will be allocated to the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering. In addition to the 100 software units, the donation includes annual maintenance contracts and installation and training.
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| William Patrick |
The LSU community lost one of its own recently in Boyd Professor Emeritus William H. Patrick Jr., who passed away Thursday, Aug. 5, of natural causes.
He was 78 years old.
His was a career notable for, not only its longevity, but also the list of honors and accolades garnered along the way that are by now, too numerous to list in their entirety.
By the time he retired in 2003 – 50 years after becoming an LSU faculty member – he had been the longest-tenured faculty member at LSU.
“I know I speak for the entire LSU community, both past and present, when I say how deeply saddened we all are to learn of Dr. Patrick’s unexpected death,” said LSU System President and Interim Chancellor William L. Jenkins.
“A prominent scholar and researcher in his field, his work brought great distinction to LSU. His many contributions will continue to have an extraordinarily positive impact on LSU, our state and the nation. We extend our deepest condolences to Ruth and the entire family as they go through this difficult time. They will be in our thoughts and prayers.”
Born in Johns, Miss., Patrick was raised in Mississippi and Louisiana. After graduating from high school in 1944, he spent two years in the South Pacific serving in the military. He then attended Northeast Junior College in Monroe until 1948, when he transferred to LSU.
Patrick earned both his bachelor’s degree and doctorate in soil science from LSU before joining the faculty in 1953. In 1977, he moved his research facilities to the Center for Wetland Resources and established LSU’s Institute of Wetland Biogeochemistry. He served as director there for the next 23 years.
In 1973, Patrick served as a NATO fellow.
In 1978, Patrick was named a Boyd Professor – the university’s highest honor. The following year he received an honorary doctorate from the University of Ghent in Belgium and would later receive one from the University of Beijing in China.
His major interests – biogeochemical cycling of nitrogen, carbon and sulfur in wetlands and redox chemistry processes in wetlands – won him much notoriety for his work. He was awarded research grants from the likes of the National Science Foundation, the Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey.
He authored or co-authored more than 350 scientific papers, earning him recognition from the Institute for Scientific Information as one of the world’s most cited scientists in his field. He conducted projects on wetland ecosystems in Thailand, India, Indonesia, Egypt and the United States.
He recently served as chairman of an advisory committee for the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment study of national water quality legislation, and he served on the National Academy of Sciences committee to study wetlands.
Together with his wife, Ruth, Patrick established the Patrick Lecture Series in 1999 through an endowment to the LSU Foundation. The endowed fund sponsors an annual lecture at LSU that alternates in the fields of Human Nutrition/Food Science and Wetland Sciences/Coastal Studies.
He was also the namesake of the William H. Patrick Jr. Outstanding Student Presentation Award. The award recognizes scientific excellence and professional presentation skills in oral and poster presentations given by graduate students at the International Symposia on the Biogeochemistry of Wetlands.
Patrick is survived by his wife of 52 years; his two daughters, Terry Patrick-Harris and Dr. Carol Patrick Pisarello; his two sons, William III and Dr. Henry Patrick; his 12 grandchildren, Catherine and Ben Harris; Meredith, Madeleine and William Patrick; Anna Carolina, Laura Elena and Nicolas Pisarello; Clayton, Hayes, Hank and Molly Patrick; and his sister, Alma Webb Jones of Monroe, and his brother, E.W. “Pop” Patrick, of Lake Providence.
He was preceded in death by his parents, William Hardy and Alma Webb Patrick, and his brother, Henry Carr Patrick, who was killed in World War II.
At the time of his unexpected death, Patrick was still an active athlete, playing singles tennis and Senior Olympic basketball. He was active at University United Methodist Church and, in 1979, established the World Hunger Scholarship fund, which provides scholarships for foreign scientists who commit to return to their country on graduation.
Harry J. Longwell, executive vice president of Exxon Mobil Corp. and an LSU graduate, delivered the address at LSU’s 254th commencement exercises in the Pete Maravich Assembly Center on Thursday, Aug. 5. Some 752 students received degrees.
LSU System President and Interim Chancellor William Jenkins awarded Longwell an honorary Doctor of Science degree.
Three students graduated with perfect grade-point averages, earning the University Medal. Medalists were Kurt Andrew Maggio of Thibodaux, Shara Juanita Mixson of Baton Rouge, and Catharine Grace Wolfe of Baton Rouge. Wolfe also graduated from the Honors College.
Another 23 students graduated with honors. These are students whose grade-point averages were between 3.7 and 4.0.
Several LSU athletes also received degrees, including All-American football player Corey Webster; track All-American Walter Davis, the national champion in the triple jump and long jump, as well as a participant in the upcoming 2004 Olympic games in Athens; Temeka Johnson, starting point guard for the LSU women’s basketball team; and Zac Blanchard, a member of the 1998 LSU men’s tennis NCAA Final Four and SEC championship team.
In addition, Jeffrey Acosta, an Air Force ROTC student, received his commission. He will be stationed at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia.
The two oldest graduates were 59, and the three youngest were 22. The summer 2004 graduates represented 54 Louisiana parishes, 26 states and 40 countries. About 50 percent of the graduates were women.
LSU has named Anthony J. Lewis as the Fred B. Kniffen Professor in the Department of Geography and Anthropology. Also, Craig E. Colten, professor of geography at LSU, will assume the Carl O. Sauer Distinguished Professorship on Sept. 1.
The Kniffen Professorship is named for one of the founders of the LSU Department of Geography and Anthropology. The professorship is named after the long-time University of California-Berkeley geography professor who is one of the leading figures in American cultural and historical geography.
Lewis earned his bachelor’s of science degree from West Chester State College, his master’s from Oregon State University and his doctorate from the University of Kansas. In addition to his normal classroom duties at LSU, Lewis has served as the coordinator for the Louisiana Education Alliance and directed the state finals of the National Geographic Society’s Geography Bee for many years. Through these activities, he greatly extended the reach of the department to teachers and students across the state.
In his capacity as the Kniffen Professor, Lewis has already led a field study to Barbados. Students enrolled in the course received an intensive introduction to the island.
Colten received both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from LSU and completed his doctoral degree at Syracuse University in 1984. After graduation, Colten worked in dual positions with the Illinois State Museum and the Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, where he managed a small research team devoted to documenting past hazardous activity in Illinois. He was also the project manager for an award-winning traveling exhibit about the environmental history of the Illinois River Valley.
About 30 LSU students spent a portion of the summer “bridging” the gap between college and high school by participating in a brand new program.
The Office of Strategic Initiatives hosted the first Summer Bridge Program to promote diversity in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics through education research and mentoring.
During the two-month-long program, undergraduate students who were accepted into the LA-STEM Research Scholars Program or HHMI Professors Program prior to the summer, earned between four and seven hours of course credit while participating in a service-learning project, visiting local research facilities and attending educational workshops.
The LA-STEM – or Louisiana Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics – Research Scholars Program and the HHMI – or Howard Hughes Medical Institute – Professors Program support students interested in the STEM disciplines and allow them to participate in undergraduate research, perform community service and act as mentors.
“I thought I knew what to expect in college, but if I had not had this experience, I might be running into a brick wall this fall instead of crossing a bridge,” said Brad Corso, an incoming freshman in physics.
The service-learning course allowed students to learn about playground design and grant writing. The workshops were designed to help students improve academic performance and develop interdependence.
The group also visited both Pennington Biomedical Research Center and the Center for Advanced Microstructures and Devices.
“The LA-STEM summer has made me more confident about the fall semester,” said Andy McCullough, an incoming freshman in biochemistry. “I now know I have a community of students I can receive help from.”
The main goal for the LA-STEM and HHMI programs is to increase the number of underrepresented students receiving doctorate degrees in the STEM disciplines. For more information about the programs, visit www.lsu.edu/hhmi or www.lsu.edu/lastem.