Friends and Colleagues,
Greetings from the Institute for Sensing and Embedded Network Systems Engineering (I-SENSE). Our summer has been both productive and enjoyable, and we hope the same has been for you.
We are excited to share updates about our new hires, recognitions, patents and projects. As I’ve written in each of these letters, FAU’s sensing and smart systems pillar is growing stronger each day. Fiscal year 2021 was a record-breaking year for the pillar in nearly every important metric.
We were happy to welcome our team back to campus, and we look forward to seeing all of our students back in the coming weeks. Zoom is nice. In-person is better.
FAU is building the future of sensing and smart systems. We invite you to build it with us.
Best Wishes,
Jason O. Hallstrom,
|
|
New I-SENSE Team Members
Join us in welcoming a new postdoctoral fellow to our team, Raheleh Baharloo, Ph.D. Baharloo earned her doctorate degree in biomedical engineering and electrical engineering at the University of Florida. She will work with Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science and I-SENSE faculty fellow, on National Science Fundation (NSF)-funded projects towards novel solutions in Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
|
|
I-SENSE Faculty Fellow Awarded NASA Grant to Study Coastal Budget from Space
Jordon Beckler, Ph.D., assistant research professor at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and I-SENSE faculty fellow, received a three-year, $736,000 award from NASA’s Minority University Research and Education Project Ocean Biology and Biogeochemistry (OCEAN) to quantify sediment carbon contribution and contribute to future projections of the coastal budget. The team will use satellite images, hydrodynamic modeling and field work to improve understanding of carbon cycle processes and feedbacks in aquatic critical zones that are particularly vulnerable to environmental change. FAU team members include co-principal investigators Veronica Ruiz-Xomchuck, Ph.D., a postdoctoral fellow at HBOI, and Tim Moore, Ph.D., associate research professor at FAU Harbor Branch.
|
|
Center for Connected Autonomy and Artificial
Intelligence Experiences Rapid Growth
In March, FAU’s College of Engineering and Computer Science and I-SENSE unveiled the Center for Connected Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence (CA-AI) to advance the field of artificial intelligence and autonomy. The CA-AI is directed by Dimitris Pados, Ph.D., the Charles E. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in Engineering and Computer Science and I-SENSE faculty fellow, and includes eight faculty members and postdoctoral fellows, nine graduate students and nine undergraduate students. In the few months since it was established, the CA-AI has secured numerous grants.
Two CA-AI faculty members received the coveted National Science Foundation Early Career (CAREER) award for their work in artificial intelligence. Xiangnan Zhong, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science and CA-AI founding member, was awarded a CAREER award to investigate new reinforcement learning approaches for cyber-physical autonomy to bridge the gap between current intelligent systems and human-level intelligence. Zhen Ni, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science and CCA-AI founding member, was awarded a CAREER award for a concurrent reinforcement learning framework that has major advantages over traditional reinforcement learning methods. Additional information on these awards is available here: https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/ai-nsf-career-awards.php
In August, Pados was awarded a three-year, $600,000 grant from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to develop and implement novel space-time waveforms for directional communications with multiple input multiple output software-defined radio wireless systems. Georgios Sklivanitis, Ph.D., research assistant professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science, I-SENSE faculty fellow and founding member of the CA-AI, is co-principal investigator on the project.
The CA-AI is supported by the Schmidt Family Foundation, I-SENSE, the NSF, the U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. industry.
|
|
I-SENSE Research Predicts COVID-19
Outbreak Two Weeks Ahead of Time
Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science and I-SENSE faculty fellow, led a study published in the Journal of Big Data, in which researchers developed the first data-driven deep learning model capable of predicting a COVID-19 outbreak two weeks in advance. Co-authors include Borko Furht, Ph.D., professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science; Murtadha D. Hssaynei, a doctoral student in I-SENSE and the department of electrical engineering and computer science; Arjuna Chala, senior director of emerging technology, high-performance computing cluster systems; and Robert Dev and Lili Xu, software engineers; and Jesse Shaw, principal data scientist. For more information on the study, click here.
|
|
I-SENSE Faculty Fellow Awarded
NSF Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace Grant
Reza Azarderakhsh, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science, was awarded a three-year, $412,940, grant under the NSF’s Secure and Trustworthy Cyberspace (SaTC) program.
As part of the project, titled “SaTC: Core: Small: Expanding Frontiers of Isogeny-Based Post-Quantum Cryptography,” Azarderakhsh and his team aim to develop quantum-resistant cryptosystems in anticipation of the future construction of quantum computers.
|
|
I-SENSE Faculty Fellow Wins Ocean Changemaker Challenge
Georgios Sklivanitis, Ph.D., was one of three recipients to win the Economist Group’s World Ocean Challenge Initiative Ocean Changemaker Challenge. The international competition is aimed at leading early-career and professionals who are working to develop business solutions to ocean-related sustainability challenges.
As the co-founder of ExtremeCommsLab, Sklivanitis aims to create an innovative network, similar to Wi-Fi, that can quickly exchange information over long distances underwater, which would be capable of supporting underwater exploration and pollution detection. The challenge’s video submission is available here. For more information on his award, click here.
|
|
FAU Summer 2021 participants in the Research Experiences for Undergraduates. |
|
Summer Training Programs for the Next Generation of Researchers
This summer, I-SENSE faculty fellows and affiliated faculty members have increased the number of summer research and training programs available to high school, undergraduate students and recent college graduates.
For the fourth year, I-SENSE continued to host the sensing and smart systems Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. This summer, I-SENSE provided 11 undergraduate students from across the country the opportunity to gain in-person, hands-on experience and participate in research. Each student was mentored by an I-SENSE affiliated faculty member. For nine intensive weeks, the students work alongside FAU faculty, postdoctoral associates, graduate students and staff in the labs. The program culminated with the students giving in-person final presentations to faculty, staff and students. Friends and family were able to virtually join the presentations. There was a tie for best research project between James Jones of Boise State University and Alex Taing of University of Virginia, who were both mentored by Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of ocean and mechanical engineering. Nathan Hurtig of Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Artemis Pados of Stanford Online High School, and Maren Sorber of Brigham Young University, received the award for best presentation.
Georgios Sklivanitis, Ph.D., held another training program over the summer, called, “Software-defined Radios for Cognitive Connected Robots and Autonomous Systems.” Twelve high school students (10th, 11th and 12th graders with at least a 3.25 grade-point average) participated in this week-long program in which they were able to receive a hands-on, practical introduction to fundamental aspects of the current state-of-the-art in digital signal processing and machine learning for wireless communications, cognitive wireless connected robots and autonomous systems.
Yufei Tang, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of computer and electrical engineering and computer science and I-SENSE faculty fellow, also hosted a training program over the summer. Funded by the NSF, the intensive CyberTraining program focused on science and engineering challenges related to the security and resilience in cyber-physical energy systems. The two-week program provided 29 students and professionals with mentored training, combining expertise across electrical engineering, communication, data science and technology studies.
|
|
New I-SENSE Patent for Energy Harvesting
A team of I-SENSE faculty members, engineers, graduate and undergraduate students received a patent for a hardware and software platform that will optimize energy use in low-power embedded systems. The patent, titled “Systems and Methods for Federated Power Management,” includes Jason Hallstrom, Ph.D., director of the I-SENSE and professor in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, Jiannan Zhai, Ph.D., research assistant professor in I-SENSE, Chancey Kelley, computer and electrical engineer in I-SENSE, Alexander Roscoe, graduate student worker in the College of Engineering and Computer Science, and Michael Brown, College of Engineering and Computer Science .
|
|
Liquid Metal Sensors and AI Could Help Prosthetic Hands 'Feel'
A FAU research team is using liquid metal sensors and machine learning on a prosthetic hand to help reconnect amputees to previously severed sense of touch. Erik Engeberg, Ph.D., associate professor in the department of ocean and mechanical engineering and member of FAU’s I-SENSE and Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute, was the senior author on the paper published in the journal Sensors. Co-authors include Rudy Paul and Maohua Lin, Ph.D., research scientist, both in the College of Engineering and Computer Science; and Aparna Aravelli, Ph.D. research specialist and adjunct professor in the FIU College of Engineering and Computer Science; Ou Bai, Ph.D, director of the Human Cyber-Physical Systems Laboratory at FIU; and Leonel Lagos, Ph.D., director of research at FIU's Applied Research Center.
|
|
I-SENSE in the News
Jinwoo Jang, Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of civil, environmental and geomatics engineering and I-SENSE faculty fellow, and a team of I-SENSE engineers are developing and testing an in-vehicle sensing system to catch early brain changes that may lead to dementia. This effort is part of a $5.3 million R01 grant awarded to Ruth Tappen, Ed.D., professor and Christine E. Lynn Eminent Scholar in FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, from the National Institute on Aging in the National Institutes of Health. Their efforts were featured in news stories on NBC.
|
|
I-SENSE Faculty Fellow Becomes New IEEE Signal Processing e-Newsletter Editor
Behnaz Ghoraani, Ph.D., was appointed editor for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Signal Processing e-newsletter. The e-newsletter is available here.
|
|
I-SENSE Seminar Series
The I-SENSE team members said they are happy to resume the in-person seminar series. The series kickstarted with a talk by G. Kumar Venayagamoorthy, Ph.D., from Clemson University, on “The Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Future of Smart Grids.” Check fau.edu/isense/ or email MaryJo Jackson at mrobin72@fau.edu for information about upcoming events.
|
|
Grant Forward
Faculty and staff are encouraged to sign up for GrantForward, a search engine that helps FAU faculty, staff and students identify funding opportunities for research. Its researcher profile feature enables users to receive personalized funding recommendations and to learn about other researchers in the field.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
