Cynthia M. Furse - US grants

0000395
Furse

The 2000 IEEE-AP/URSI Conference on Antennas and Propagation is an annual international conference co-sponsored by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), and the Union of Radio Science international (URSI). The conference regularly draws about one thousand participants representing academia and industry. The Antennas and Propagation Society of the IEEE along with several subgroups of URSI will meet in Salt Lake City, Utah in July 2000.

Each year, the Antennas and Propagation Society promotes student participation in the conference through a number of mechanisms. One of the most important is the Student Paper Competition at the conference. This selective program brings the world's best students together in an integrated program in which they present their work to a technical audience including a group of judges. The program helps develop the students' technical audience as well as their communication and presentation skills. It also helps introduce them to the international technical community and helps to build a community of students who will lead the next generation of antenna engineers.

The AP provides financial support of various forms including assistance in low cost housing, but does not reimburse travel expenses. Travel support from NSF will ensure that the program is open to the widest range of interested applicants from the U.S. Universities.

This proposal requests travel support to defray the travel expenses for young investigators whose papers have been selected for presentation at the Conference, but who lack funds and might not be able to attend without travel support. It is proposed that the AP Technical Program Committee select those to receive the support. The total amount requested is $15,000 on the basis of an average travel grant of S700 for 20 participants. Plus 2 weeks of secretarial help. The secretary will collect papers, mail them out for review, collect reviews, and mail travel reimbursements after the conference.
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0080559
Furse

Traditional wireless communication is done in an air-to-air environment. Imbedded applications require hardware that can function in an air-to-subsurface interface or subsurface -to- subsurface interface. Examples include antennas that can be implanted in the human body for data links with implantable medical devices (cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, implantable nerve and muscle stimulators, and hormone pumps), avalanche transmitters, and communication from inside tanks filled with caustic or dangerous materials. In addition to the use of imbedded antennas for wireless communication, these antennas make excellent sensors because they are inherently sensitive to their environment. They are used for remote sensing in geophysical prospecting, dielectric measurement, agricultural measurement, animal or human proximity sensing, and potentially in ice and snow monitoring for avalanche prediction.

In addition to the present needs for imbedded antennas, the expansion of MEMS and wireless communication systems, which are expected to play a dominant role in next generation technology, will add dramatically to the applications for imbedded antennas. Ultra-small devices (small enough to be injected in a human vein, for instance) and the desire to communicate with them will inevitably lead to the need for miniaturized antennas imbedded in lossy environments. Furthermore, since these antennas can act as sensors as well as communicators, the possibilities for monitoring and controlling MEMS devices are enormous, and microstrip antennas are a natural addition to MEMS devices. This project anticipates a far-reaching need for a better understanding of microstrip antennas imbedded in lossy environments, an understanding that can contribute a dramatic new ability to sense and communicate with new frontiers in medicine, space, agriculture, and more.

Industrial interest in imbedded antennas is extremely high, and funded research projects from this laboratory are already being beta tested for commercial products. These industrial projects have provided excellent experience in imbedded antenna design, but NSF funding is needed to systematically develop a complete analysis of the effects of the critical antenna design parameters (size, shape, feed system, substrate, superstrate, etc.) on performance (gain, bandwidth, radiation pattern, resonant frequency, impedance, etc.). This rigorous understanding is needed to clarify the effects empirically observed and to produce globally optimal designs.

The objectives of this proposal are to quantify the effects of imbedded microstrip antenna design parameters on performance, design "smart" imbedded patch antennas to adapt to changing environments, develop artificial materials for testing antennas in lossy environments, and continue interfacing with industry throughout antenna developments.

0115157
Furse

The National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Aviation Pilots Association, and the Naval Air Warfare Command have identified aging aircraft wiring as one of the most significant safety issues facing aviation today. In spite of the severity of the problem, the technology to inspect the wiring to prevent serious accidents is still very limited.

This grant is part of an ongoing effort to develop a "Smart Wiring" system for in situ testing of aging aircraft wiring that promises to dramatically improve wire testing and maintenance with resulting improvement in aircraft safety. While present technology is nearing completion for pre-flight testing, the purpose of this grant is to expand the science available for in-flight testing of live wires. This requires adapting spread spectrum communication techniques to overlay FDR signals on live wires, using matched detection filters for optimal signal detection, and use of blind source separation (signal processing) techniques to analyze the returned signals to detect damaged wires.

The "Smart Wire" concept promises a dramatic change in how cable and wire are built, analyzed, and tested in the near future. Wire will no longer be a "passive" part of a system, but will actively participate in its own diagnosis and maintenance planning. The ability to test and diagnose wire failures is critical to virtually all electronic systems, and extends far beyond aircraft wiring. The space shuttle, nuclear reactors, high speed trains, critical data and communication networks, life saving medical equipment, and even the family car will benefit by an in situ cable monitoring system.

This is a planning grant for department level reform at the University of Utah, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. In this project, the already strong laboratory component within the ECE program at the University of Utah will be enhanced by developing system-level design projects to be integrated within individual courses and also spanning multiple courses. This builds on a particular strength of the department, which already has a top-notch industrially-sponsored senior design sequence a few courses with strong system design projects. Through this change, it is expected to (1) increase student recruitment and retention (including diverse students who might otherwise not have chosen or stayed in engineering), (2) increase student motivation (system design projects are FUN), (3) increase knowledge acquisition and retention (because you can't forget something that you need to integrate at the end of the semester and perhaps next semester too), and (4) develop system-level design understanding (the formal training of which is very limited within ours and other traditional engineering curricula).

The novel aspects of this proposal include the projects themselves, the methods and concepts of integrating multiple classes within the curriculum, and the methods to assess and implement these projects. Undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty will work together to build this new program within our department.

The National Transportation Safety Board, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Aviation Pilots Association, and the Naval Air Warfare Command have identified aging aircraft wiring as one of the most significant safety issues facing aviation today. Faulty wiring is believed to have caused the TWA Flight 800 and Swiss Air Flight 111 crashes. Dozens of other crashes (commercial and military) have been related to wiring faults as well. NASA, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the National Train Association, the US Airforce, Army, Navy, and Coast Guard, and the National Science Foundation participated in a joint review of wiring for the White House Commission, identifying it as an area of immediate critical national concern.

In spite of the severity of the problem, the technology to inspect the wiring to prevent serious accidents is very limited. Aircraft wiring was meant to last the life span of an aircraft (originally assumed to be 10-15 years) without significant maintenance or inspection, so is "built into" the aircraft body and is extremely difficult to inspect or replace. Commercial aircraft now average 18 years old, and military aircraft average 16 years old. The most common method of inspecting aircraft wiring is visually checking common failure points looking for cracks or breaks the size of the head of a pin. Two other methods -- impedance / continuity testing and Time Domain Reflectometry require connecting/disconnecting wires in order to test them and are suspected of causing more damage than they prevent.

Significant increases in the number of engineering and related technology graduates from the Utah State System of Higher Education will be required over the next several years to advance the intellectual and economic well being of the state and its citizens. In response, the State Board of Regents has developed an Engineering and Computer Science Initiative within the state system of higher education with intentions to double the number of graduates in engineering and related technology majors by the year 2006. The faculty within the College of Engineering believe that efforts to improve retention, and to increase enrollment opportunities for students from underrepresented minorities, will contribute significantly toward that goal. Central to this effort is an increase in the number of scholarship opportunities available to engineering students within each of the 5 departments in the College of Engineering. For each year of the four year duration of this project, 30 need-based scholarships at $3,125 each are being awarded. The scholarships allow students to spend more time on academic pursuits, and less time employed outside the University. Scholarship recipients must: 1) be U.S. citizens, 2) enroll full time within the College of Engineering, 3) demonstrate financial need as defined by the U.S. Department of Education rules for Federal Financial aid, and 4) show academic potential or ability. Recruitment is done through the USU Office of High School/College Relations, the Multicultural Student Center, and the College of Engineering. In addition to traditional recruiting methods, the college recruits through its annual Engineering State program, a four day event held each spring in which approximately 250 high school juniors from throughout the State of Utah are introduced to the opportunities available in the various fields of engineering. In addition to scholarship opportunities, the program also provides CSEMS scholars with: 1) a formal program through which they can receive academic assistance and advising, 2) a mechanism to promote interaction with upper-division students and faculty on a regular basis, 3) research opportunities with faculty mentors, and 4) early access to co-op/internship opportunities and industry mentors. The CSEMS program is directed by faculty members from the College of Engineering and staff from High School/College Relations, the Multicultural Student Center, and USU Career Services.

Near-optimal Antenna Topology and Detection Strategy for
Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Communication Systems

The objective of this research is to develop methods to assess non-ideal realizable Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) capacity and optimize antennas and detectors for realistic MIMO systems. MIMO wireless systems provide additional capacity, to enable more users, additional services, and new applications for new markets. While in theory, MIMO systems promise virtually limitless increases in throughput by using many different antennas with independent communication paths, as MIMO matures its claims of boundless improvements have been tempered by real-world measurements. The approaches utilized in this project are (1) To adapt existing capacity calculations to incorporate antenna design data, and to use genetic algorithms and / or linearized inversion techniques to develop the best possible realistic MIMO antennas, (2) To use Markov chain Monte-Carlo (MCMC) methods to improve on existing detection algorithms and adapt them to realistic channels, and (3) To verify the predicted performance of the antennas and detection system.

The broader impacts of this research are to enable the continued propagation of personal communication system technologies into broader band (higher capacity) applications for entertainment, remote health care, remote security monitoring, etc. Another significant impact of this project will be felt in the NSF-sponsored Hands-on Integrated Project-Based (HIP) curriculum development effort at the University of Utah, and in a Software Radio textbook currently being written by one of the PIs. An abbreviated version of the system will serve as a multi-course design project that can combine antennas, communication, signal processing, microwave engineering, and more.

The goal of this project is to establish a sustainable high school/community college/University of Utah transition process that will nurture students and increase the number of engineering and computer science graduates by at least 180 per year. The project is in keeping with a statewide initiative in Utah and represents a grass-roots effort by enthusiastic partners. The project is student-centered and includes activities designed to improve partnership relationships between the University of Utah and feeder institutions. The project also establishes a Community Impact service learning community that includes interdisciplinary projects in the planning, preparation, and presentation of hands-on engineering modules aimed at high school students. The modules are based on real-world engineering applications. As part of this project a market survey is being conducted using state-of-the-art tools to determine why Utah students do or don't choose engineering or computer science as a major.

Transparent Solar Cell Antennas for Small Satellites

The objective of this research is to develop modular transparent antenna designs that can be placed on top of commercially available solar cells. This is an important step forward for small satellite designs, allowing an inexpensive after-market antenna to be integrated with an off-the-shelf solar panel to provide the least expensive, most flexible design.

Intellectual Merit
The approach is to use wire meshes to build patch antennas that can be adhered to the surface of the solar cell, or to use ink-jet printing to print these designs. The materials and designs will be optimized using a genetic algorithm to create patterned antennas that may appear random but provide significant improvements in performance. This project will provide a significant cost reduction for small satellites, which are becoming the backbone of inexpensive space science for universities and low-cost deployment for industry. Other applications for transparent antennas include integration onto window glass of buildings or vehicles, wearable antennas (on clothing) and antennas for vehicles built from non-conducting composites (the future of most cars and airplanes).

Broader Impact
The technology broadens communication system architecture where security, amiable appearance, and space limitations are important. The design and prototyping methods used for this project can also be used in student courses, potentially allowing college and high school students to participate in highly creative antenna design projects. The project will broaden participation of under-represented groups.

The objective of this research is to develop the critical analytical framework for Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) communication in complex channels. Existing MIMO capacity calculation software will be enhanced by including complex channel models for vehicles, lossy biological channels, and highly noisy channels. We will also integrate detector models with the electromagnetic and communication MIMO models, and verify the models via measurement.


Intellectual Merit:
Today's MIMO models do not include an accurate representation of non-Gaussian, ultra-reflective, depolarizing, and highly lossy channels seen in many personal communication channels, body-worn or implanted medical communication channels, highly reflective and lossy ('Hyper-Raleigh') channels typical of intra-vehicular communication for sensor networks inside aircraft, cars, buses, trains, ships, etc., most wireless ad-hoc network environments, or the human body scattering channel for medical imaging. This research program will provide more advanced channel models for MIMO. This will enable specialized MIMO design for each application, providing a far greater probability of initial success for the deployed systems.


Broader Impacts:
This research addresses unmet communication demand for future wireless devices. In addition to the significant societal, medical, and financial aspects of that potential advancement, the research will be directly integrated into coursework at the University of Utah.

In this collaborative project involving the University of Utah (NSF Award No. 1245904) and Salt Lake Community College (NSF Award No. 1245726), the investigators are promoting the wide implementation of the inverted, or "flipped," classroom model and are conducting research on the effects of the new approach on faculty and students.

The investigators are developing a faculty training program for one of the most promising and transformative trends in STEM education -- the "flipped" classroom -- in which the traditional positioning of lectures and homework is reversed. Instead of lectures in class and homework out of class, students watch video lectures prior to class. The face-to-face time in class is then used for active and engaged problem solving, usually working with peers, guided by the instructor. The vast majority of students thrive in this learning-centered environment.

Prior to this project, "early adopter" faculty have created a number of hybrid courses in Utah, nationally, and globally. This project targets the next generation of flipped-classroom faculty (focusing on STEM faculty) to help them transform their courses and their students' education. The project is meant to help faculty help their students learn better -- learn more, learn more easily, and enjoy learning.

The principal objective of this project is a faculty training program that meets the special needs of the flipped-classroom instructor. The investigators are using the flipped-classroom structure for the training program itself. Faculty members enroll in the training program in the same semester they are teaching their course, learning "just in time" to experiment with the relevant concepts in their classroom. Weekly modules over the 15-week semester cover active learning, creating and using video materials, and other effective practices, and culminate with the faculty member teaching two weeks of class fully in the flipped format. The entire program is available asynchronously online to meet the challenging schedules of faculty.

Although the training program is designed for the flipped classroom, much of the material is relevant to a wider variety of hybrid and online courses. The project is leveraging major investments by the State of Utah, Salt Lake Community College, and the University of Utah in multimedia and video training materials for hybrid and flipped courses. The investigators intend for the training program to impact faculty beyond the state of Utah. All materials will be made available free online, with a Creative Commons license for reuse and adaptation.

Intellectual Merit
Implantable medical devices touch virtually every major function in the human body. Cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators, neural recording and stimulation devices, cochlear and retinal implants, etc. Wireless telemetry for these devices is necessary to monitor battery level and device health, upload reprogramming for device function, and download data for patient monitoring. Antennas are inevitably one of the largest if not the largest component of the telemetry communication system and are generally mounted on or in the implanted battery pack, usually in a body cavity. This limited real estate significantly constrains the performance of implantable antennas and results in substantial power loss in the body. Lost power means lost transmit distance and lost battery life.

The proposed research will fundamentally change the design of implantable antennas by tattooing (nearly invisible) conductive nanoparticles in the skin and adjacent fat layer at the body surface, coupling passively to the implant. The antenna will be able to use as much surface area as needed, and dramatically reduce the transmission lost in the body tissues.

This is a fundamental, transformative shift in antenna design for implantable medical devices, enabling the next generation of tiny wireless sensors and devices in the body. This work will evaluate the fundamental options and tradeoffs in implantable antenna design including losses in the antenna (resistive losses), coupled feed system (near field body losses), and antenna radiator (body losses). Both SAR and MedRadio regulations will be taken into account.

Broader Impact
In addition to the direct benefits to improved medical care, this project includes a substantial educational outreach/dissemination component for undergrad/K12 retention and recruitment and general public interest. In addition to traditional scientific dissemination, video tutorials, lab tours, interviews with the research team, etc. will be produced and disseminated broadly following methods currently in use by the PI. Engaging public outreach will leverage this compelling bio-themed NSF research project (having likely appeal to a diverse audience) for use as a recruitment and retention tool in undergraduate programs and high school science/math programs, or just for general interest. This will help students see that their math/science/engineering programs can be used for fascinating science that can make a difference in the world, and will help show the fun and excitement of research and invention.

Developing a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) workforce is critical to our nation's ability to compete with innovation and competition globally. However, graduate training programs in STEM are not preparing students for changes in the nature and availability of work, shifts in workforce demographics, rising competition, macro ethics, and unremitting and striking innovations in technologies and research methods. The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) recommends that STEM graduate education respond to workforce needs, connect theory to practice, utilize project-based learning, guide the exploration of diverse career paths, and develop core competencies as well as transferable professional skills. The National Science Foundation Innovations of Graduate Education (IGE) award to the University of Utah will respond to these recommendations by examining the impact and feasibility of a bold, new, transformative, team-based approach to graduate research development and entrepreneurship in engineering that optimizes the quality and consistency of mentoring interactions and relationships among members of the research team, and fosters graduate students’ professional competencies and workforce readiness. This project not only helps graduate students develop the skills and knowledge to be successful in their discipline, but also enhances the quality and effectiveness of peer and faculty mentoring relationships to create a more inclusive, supportive, and productive research environment. Results will inform the education community on best practices for training the next generation of STEM scientists.

The Lean Canvas for Invention (LCI) is a web-based course that was recently developed and initially previously piloted. It will help research teams think through a research problem and plan and implement both team and individual research projects. This project will expand the basic LCI by including formalized mentoring and career development. The first research objective is to apply the expanded LCI with seven research teams and examine differences in student outcomes (e.g., quality of research proposals, critical thinking skills, research self-efficacy, etc.) between those who participated in the LCI and a representative sample of non-LCI peers. The second research objective is to provide mentoring training and resources through interactions among students, faculty, and relevant industry stakeholders on a regular and structured basis. Quantitative surveys and qualitative focus groups with LCI participants will evaluate the perceived quality, characteristics of, and satisfaction with their mentoring relationships and how mentoring influenced graduate students’ persistence attitudes. Pre- and post-intervention surveys with LCI and non-LCI peers will examine students’ and faculty’s sense of belonging within the research team, the academic department, and the larger field of engineering. The third research objective is to foster the development of professional competencies and workforce readiness by helping students create an individualized career development plan including career aspirations, goals, and action steps that will be reviewed at specific time points. Career exploration resources, as well as structured networking opportunities with professionals in the engineering-related industry, will be provided. Pre- and post-intervention surveys with LCI and non-LCI peers will examine differences in the development of STEM core competencies as well as progress towards degree and workforce readiness indicators.

The Innovations in Graduate Education (IGE) program is focused on research in graduate education. The goals of IGE are to pilot, test and validate innovative approaches to graduate education and to generate the knowledge required to move these approaches into the broader community.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

The construction sector is a major contributor to the U.S. economy. It represents over 4% of the U.S. GDP, equivalent to 1.36 trillion dollars. Despite recent advancements, studies indicate that the construction industry is still one of the least computerized sectors compared to manufacturing, telecommunication, and retail industries. In line with this, the construction research community faces significant challenges when it comes to adopting new data science and Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions and techniques. Several factors, such as complexity and uniqueness of construction projects, the rapid pace of evolution of such technologies, and unfamiliarity of traditional construction faculty with such topics, cause this situation. As a result, it is crucial for researchers and academic experts to develop novel educational and training strategies to bridge such research skills gaps and strengthen construction research data literacy and digital fluency. This project addresses the above challenges faced by educators and researchers in construction engineering through the development of an educational and community engagement platform called CyCon (Cyber Construction). <br/><br/>The CyCon platform focuses on state-of-the-art AI/ML techniques and cloud computing solutions that serve CI (CyberInfrastructure) users, contributors, and professionals in the construction research community. The CyCon platform contains the following four training and educational components: (1) CI user resource modules, including modular learning coursework and course project libraries, to train CyCon users with basic and advanced CI research skills, (2) CI educator resource modules that provide novel strategies and online materials to efficiently train educators, (3) CI competition modules to help CyCon users practice and further advance their knowledge about AI/ML products and tools using real-world construction problems, and (4) CI crowdsourcing modules that provide a well-defined data pipeline using data warehouses to enrich construction datasets available for public use. The CyCon platform is designed as a sustainable educational and community engagement framework for the construction CI research community and is expected to significantly improve the learning and teaching experiences of CI users and educators at various construction programs nationwide.<br/><br/>This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.