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Swanson School of Engineering Research Fall 2013 e-Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 1
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RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SWANSON SCHOOL OF ENGINEERING - fall 2013
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.” -- Carl Sagan, American Astronomer, Writer and Scientist, 1934-1996
On behalf of the Swanson School of Engineering and US Steel Dean Gerald Holder, it's my pleasure to send you this Fall 2013 issue of our Research e-Newsletter. Like many of us, Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos” television series deeply intrigued me and motivated me as a teenager into a life of science and discovery. As academic scientists and educators, we all strive to motivate and energize our students in much the same way, by instilling in them that somewhere out there, in their area of interest, “something incredible is waiting to be known."
The Swanson School has had a productive and exciting few months since our last e-Newsletter. This issue highlights some exciting new research grants, publications describing very innovative research, and other research-related accomplishments by our faculty. For example, a team comprised of Dr. Steve Levitan and Dr. Donald Chiarulli from Electrical and Computer Engineering, and colleagues from six other universities have received a $10 million “Expeditions in Computing” grant from the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering. Their work will develop smart machine vision systems that understand and interact with their environments, which could have a profound impact on society, including aids for the visually impaired and driver assistance capabilities for reducing automotive accidents. Read more about this and several
other new and exciting research grants below.
Dr. M. Ravi Shankar, of Industrial Engineering, and colleagues recently reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on “photomachines” – microvehicles, switches, triggers and other devices that can change shape or move with no power source other than a beam of light. A review article entitled “Impact of Shale Gas Development on Regional Water Quality” was recently published in Science by Dr. Radisav Vidic, Dr. Jorge Abad, and Dr. Julie Vandenbossche of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and colleagues from Penn State. With the Marcellus Shale located here in Pennsylvania, and the social and political issues that surround environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing, this article was very timely and addresses important concerns from a scientific/engineering sense.
I hope you enjoy looking through this e-Newsletter. Most of all, we wish you and yours a happy and healthy holiday season.
Sincerely,
David A. Vorp, Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Research, Swanson School of Engineering
William Kepler Whiteford Professor
Professor of Bioengineering
Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Surgery, and the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute
University of Pittsburgh
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Pitt research team part of $10 million NSF grant to develop “Visual Cortex on Silicon”
Developing a computer that can see the world like the human brain’s complex visual cortex has been a long-sought challenge. Thanks to a $10 million grant from the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE), that challenge may be a future reality.
A University of Pittsburgh research team is part of a seven-university group led by Principle Investigator Vijaykrishnan Narayanan, PhD, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at The Pennsylvania State University, that will receive an NSF CISE Expeditions in Computing awards, the largest single investment in computer science research that NSF makes.
Read more >
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Snap to Attention: Pitt, Air Force researchers identify polymers that react and move to light
Microvehicles and other devices that can change shape or move with no power source other than a beam of light may now be possible. The researchers are investigating polymers that “snap” when triggered by light, thereby converting light energy into mechanical work and potentially eliminating the need for traditional machine components such as switches and power sources.
Read more >
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Pitt team treats gum disease by using homing beacon to bring needed immune cells to inflamed area
The red, swollen and painful gums and bone destruction of periodontal disease could be effectively treated by beckoning the right kind of immune system cells to the inflamed tissues, according to a new animal study conducted by researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. Their findings, published this week in the early online version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, offer a new therapeutic paradigm for a condition that afflicts 78 million people in the U.S. alone.
Read more >
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Wearing Your Computer on Your Sleeve
A computational “fabric” envisioned by University of Pittsburgh researchers could lead to the development of clothing that could respond to external stimuli, monitor vital signs of patients or athletes, and help the visually impaired “sense” their surrounding environment.
Read more >
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Research on water quality data in the Marcellus Shale Region published in the journal Science
What to do with Marcellus Shale wastewater is one of the biggest concerns in Pennsylvania, and few published studies have evaluated wastewater effects on regional groundwater, according to a review coauthored by professors at the University of Pittsburgh and the Pennsylvania State University.
Published in the peer-reviewed journal Science, the review stresses the need for scientific data on water pollution caused by hydraulic fracturing and cites a lack of monitoring stations and confidentiality requirements for documentation as potential causes. The review is titled “Impact of Shale Gas Development on Regional Water Quality.”
Read more >
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Swanson School attracts over $2 million in NSF funding this academic year
Research by Swanson School faculty has attracted signifcant funding from the National Science Foundation. Here is a recap of our most recent awards.
Wearing Your Computer on Your Sleeve: NSF grant to explore “materials that compute”
NSF grant helps Pitts researchers explore large-scale wireless sensor networks for remote environmental monitoring
Pitt research team part of $10 million NSF grant to develop “Visual Cortex on Silicon”
NSF grant helps Pitt’s next generation STEM faculty prepare for teaching in the classroom
Go With the Flow: Pitt researchers receive NSF grant to better understand how liquids and solids interact
Pitt engineering faculty receive NSF grant to develop improved solar cell manufacturing
Three-in-one: Pitt researcher receives NSF grant to study the complexity of ternary multiphase materials
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Pitt-led research team receives grant to develop four-dimensional printing to create adaptive materials
A trio of university researchers from the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the University of Illinois is proposing to advance 3D printing one step – or rather, one dimension – further. Thanks to an $855,000 grant from the United States Army Research Office, the group proposes to develop 4D materials which can exhibit behavior that changes over time.
Read more >
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Pitt faculty awarded DOE NEUP grant to develop advanced controls for small modular nuclear reactors
Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh were awarded an $800,000 grant from the through the DOE’s Nuclear Energy University Programs (NEUP) to develop advanced instrumentation and control systems for small modular reactors (SMRs). The team’s research will lead to more effective staffing at these advanced reactors, which generate less than 300 megawatts of electricity but allow for multiple reactors at one site.
Read more >
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Dr. Greg Reed discusses the potential of a wireless power grid with FOX Business News
Gregory Reed, PhD appeared on FOX Business' Money with Melissa Francis to discuss the potential of wireless transmission and distribution of electricity, as well as current trends in advancing DC technologies.
Dr. Reed is Director of the Swanson School's Electric Power Initiative, Associate Director, Center for Energy, and Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Watch the video >
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eButton health monitor gets a facelift: prototype now determines portion sizes based on shapes
A wearable, picture-taking health monitor created by University of Pittsburgh researchers has received a recent facelift. Now, in addition to documenting what a person eats, the eButton prototype can accurately match those images against a geometric-shape library, providing a much easier method for counting calories.
Read more >
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Bioengineering spin-off ALung named Tech 50 Life Science Company of the Year
ALung Technologies, Inc., a leading developer of innovative respiratory assist devices co-founded by William Federspiel, PhD, the Swanson School's William K. Whiteford Professor of Engineering was named “Life Science Company of the Year” by the Pittsburgh Technology Council’s Tech 50 Awards Program. The Pittsburgh Technology Council’s annual Tech 50 Awards recognize southwestern Pennsylvania’s most successful, innovative, and thought-leading technology companies, the backbone of Pittsburgh’s new economy.
Read more >
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Editor’s Choice in Science: Professor Judy Yang’s Crystalline Transformations in Nanoparticles
A research article by Judith C. Yang, PhD, the Nickolas A. DeCecco Professor of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering within Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, was selected as an Editor’s Choice in the Aug. 9 issue of Science, a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to showcasing scientific research. Editors chose Yang’s article, “Non-Crystalline-to-Crystalline Transformations in Pt Nanoparticles,” from the July 19 edition of the Journal of the American Chemical Society.
Read more >
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Dr. Anna Balazs receives 2013 Mines Medal from South Dakota School of Mines
Anna Balazs, a pioneer in the area of predicting the behavior of complex polymeric materials through her theoretical modeling, has been awarded the national 2013 Mines Medal by the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology.
Read more >
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Upcoming Research Conferences in Pittsburgh
The American Physical Society Division of Fluid Dynamics (DFD) 66th Annual Conference will be held in Pittsburgh November 24-26, 2013, and hosted by the University of Pittsburgh and Northeastern University.
The North American Catalysis Society (NAM24) announced it will hold its 24th annual meeting "Catalysis at the Confluence of Science and Technology" in Pittsburgh, June 14-19, 2015.
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