Sylvester	Falk	Im	Guskov	Hunt	Lewis

Dennis Sylvester, assistant professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received an NSF CAREER Award for his proposal, “Improving Technology-EDA Integration Through Interconnect Design Tools for Nanometer Design.”

A large part of this project will focus on the development of models, metrics and design approaches to assess and improve the impact of inductance on circuit performance. The educational component of Sylvester’s program has two broad aims: 1) to introduce students to the role of on-chip interconnections in circuit performance; 2) to use group projects to prepare a diverse population of students with relevant design experience for industry.

The NSF awarded a CAREER grant to Michael Falk, assistant professor, Materials Science and Engineering, for a proposal entitled “Theory and Simulation of the Structure and Mechanical Properties of Non-crystalline Solids.”

This research ties into significant recent work done by other investigators: 1) the development of an emerging new material (bulk metallic glass); 2) the use of molecular-dynamics simulations to investigate plastic deformation in glasses below the glass-transition temperature; 3) the link between glass transition and the resultant structures and properties of the glassy solid state; 4) the relationships between non-crystalline deformation in non-network forming glasses, and the application of fluctuation microscopy techniques in predicting the mechanical properties of these glasses.

Hong Im, assistant professor, Mechanical Engineering, accepted an NSF CAREER Award for his proposed research on the “Steady and Transient Dynamics of Catalyst-Assisted Combustion in Micro-Scale Power Generators.”

Im’s work addresses a major limitation to the use of MEMS and other micro-scale devices: the availability of suitable power sources. Whereas combustion is an attractive power source because of its high energy density, there are major technical challenges at the micro-scale. Im is investigating potential solutions, such as heterogeneous catalytic reactions that could promote ignition and extend flammability limits.

Igor Guskov, assistant professor, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, received an NSF CAREER Award for his proposal, “Signal Processing Tools for Dynamic Geometry.”

The proposal resulted from Guskov’s interest in medical imaging systems and computational modeling of physical processes that produce vast amounts of surface data for analysis and visualization purposes. However, such data are often time-dependent. For example, a developing interface between two fluids or moving walls of the heart ventricles evolves over a period time. An understanding of this time-dependency is crucial. Among other things, this project is developing processing tools for these dynamic surface data.

The NSF awarded a CAREER grant to Alan J. Hunt, assistant professor, Biomedical Engineering, for his proposal, “The Biomechanics of Chromosome Movement,” which focuses on understanding, modeling and manipulating the biomechanics of chromosomal separation during cell division – a process that requires great precision.

Any imprecision in this process can lead to an unequal distribution of genetic material between daughter cells. This, in turn, can result in cell death or other abnormalities. Hunt is using two methodologies in his work: 1) computational modeling to predict the character, speed and dynamics of interactions between chromosomes and microtubules; 2) biophysical experimentation to test and refine the models.

Mark Lewis, assistant professor, Industrial and Operations Engineering, received an NSF CAREER Award for his proposal, “Monotone Optimal Policies in Parallel Processing Networks,” which describes the application of Markov decision processes to three related problems in parallel queuing systems.

In each scenario, the decision-making process increases as the number of parallel queues increases. Lewis intends to find the optimal policy for: 1) routing work, and estimating costs and time; 2) scheduling work on a number of stations capable of performing the same task; 3) factoring in the resultant deterioration of these machines; 4) load-balancing, which re-routes work from one machine to another in order to improve efficiency.