ECE Professor Anand Gopinath is a co-author of the newly published book "High-Speed Electronics and Optoelectronics: Devices and Circuits." Together with Sheila Prasad, Professor Emeritus of the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at Northeastern University, and Hermann Schumacher, Professor and Director of the Competence Center on Integrated Circuits in Communications, Institute of Electron Devices and Circuits, University of Ulm, Gopinath covers semiconductor materials and physics, electronic devices, optimization and parameter extraction of circuit models, optoelectronics, and building blocks for high-speed analog circuits in the book published by Cambridge University Press.

Former University of Minnesota Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering faculty member and founder of CyberOptics Steven Case was killed in a plane crash in Crystal, Minn., Tuesday night. Steve was an outstanding faculty member and made tremendous contributions to ECE teaching and research missions.

"Steve was a highly respected researcher, a popular teacher and a wonderful colleague," says ECE Department Head David Lilja. "His founding of CyberOptics is an excellent example of how University-developed research can move successfully into the commercial market place."

Steve remained a stong supporter of the University serving as an adjunct faculty member and, most recently, as a member of the department's Industrial Advisory Council. His contributions to research in optics and to Minnesota's entrepreneurial community, and his friendship will be greatly missed. To read more, visit the Institute of Technology site at http://blog.lib.umn.edu/itcomm/news/2009/06/in_memoriam_steven_case.html

The team of the University of Minnesota Solar Car - Centauraus - took home the gold at the 2009 Formula Sun Grand Prix, a three-day race, at Motor Sport Ranch in Cresson, Tex., with 487 total laps, besting second and third place University of Kentucky and Northwestern, respectively.

Centaurus, an eighth generation solar car for the University team, took 30,000 - 45,000 hours to build, weighs 600 pounds, and accommodates a 6-foot, 180-pound person. The car is capable of traveling 80 miles per hour, but the race speed was limited to 65 miles per hour. Adem Ruden, Crew Chief, has posted detailed information about the Solar Vehicle Project on a blog site http://svp.umn.edu