Spring 2008 - Institute for Complex Engineered Systems

ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Carnegie Mellon University
Spring 2008 Newsletter
www.ices.cmu.edu
vascular biomechanics
and biofluids laboratory
pages 1—2
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ICES, Carnegie Mellon University
1201 Hamburg Hall
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
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Recipient Title
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iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
Letter from the Director
message from the director
Welcome to the Spring ‘08 iNEWS edition! This bi-annual
newsletter communicates news, announcements and other
useful information to our ICES community. Inside you will
find updates on awards and events, highlights from several
ongoing research initiatives, and the latest news about the
Philip and Marsha Dowd-ICES Fellows. Application details
for the 2008 Dowd-ICES Fellowships are located on the
ICES website with the due date of May 2.
This year, we are proud that ICES swept the CIT Staff
Awards! All three winners were from ICES including Christina Cowan, for the Staff Recognition Award, Alicia Brown
for the Timothy J. Burritt Education Award and Matt San-
The FY2008 project selections for the Pennsylvania Infra-
filippo for the Rookie Award. If you didn’t make it to the
structure Technology Alliance (PITA) were recently final-
awards ceremony, you can read about the details inside
ized. Funds were available to support 33 of the 66 project
this issue. I am also excited to announce that Rebecca
proposals received. In this year’s selection process, direct
Gray has joined the ICES staff as Business Coordinator,
interactions with Pennsylvania industry partners were
joining Rhonda Moyer and Yvonne Brewster in the busi-
emphasized even more than in the past. Our colleagues
ness office. The addition of Rebecca allows us to begin
at Lehigh University, along with Matt Sanfilippo and I, are
looking at enhancing our administrative services. When
now actively working to ensure continued funding of this
you are in the neighborhood of Hamburg Hall, please stop
important program for next year.
by to welcome her.
And last but certainly not least, the ICES faculty and staff
Lee Weiss was recently named the recipient of the
are in the midst of planning for our President’s Advisory
2007– 2008 Steven J. Fenves Award given for a significant
Board meeting in May. As always, I am interested in hear-
contribution to systems research in areas relevant to ICES.
ing your ideas and comments on ICES, present and future.
Lee has been a contributor to systems research extending
far before the existence of ICES and its predecessor, the
Please enjoy this edition of iNEWS and keep sending in
NSF Engineering Design Research Center, and is greatly
your stories, comments and feedback!
deserving of this award.
As of February ‘08, ICES is home to a new Center for
Multiscale Modeling of Engineered Materials, CM2EM, with
Amit Acharya of Civil and Environmental Engineering as
Director and Michael Widom of Physics as Associate Director. CM2EM brings together faculty members from across
the entire campus in a unique mission to bridge materials
Gary K. Fedder
modeling between the atomic, nano-, micro-, meso- and
ICES Director
macro- scales that will enable revolutionary capabilities to
predict behavior of engineered materials. The interdisciplinary nature of the center and its participants makes it a
perfect fit within ICES.
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Table of Contents
in this issue …
Biomechanics Research Laboratory Addresses
1
Blood Flow And Its Relationship With Disease
Brain Computer Interface Research For
3
Impaired Motor Functioning
Dr. Lee Weiss Is The 2007– 2008 Recipient
4
Of The Steven J. Fenves Award
ICES Introduces New Interdisciplinary
5
Engineering Center On Multiscale Modeling
Honors & Awards
6
ICES Researchers’s NIH-Funded eWatch Study
7
Receives Media Coverage
Burcu Akinci’s Research On Construction Proj-
7
ect Control Is Featured
Dowd Fellowship News
8
SURE Thing Student’s Research To Be Repre-
sented At The IEEE International Conference
8
PITA Collaboration Develops Enterprise-Wide
9
The strength of a “bone” being tested at this year’s National
Optimization For Industry Competitiveness
Article Examines Combining Profitability And
“Outreach Update,” page 11.
10
Environmentally Friendly Electricity Production
Student Receives YAHOO! Grant For PITA
10
Blog Research
ICES Outreach Receives Media Attention
11
During National Engineers Week
Upcoming ICES Events
Engineers Week at the Carnegie Science Center. From
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iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
Biomechanics Feature
biomechanics research
laboratory addresses blood
flow and its relationship
with disease
regard, the lab’s work includes finding ways to quantify
the relationships between vascular biology, structure and
biomechanical forces, as well as to design simulation tools
based on medical imaging techniques in order to quantify
the interactions between medical devices and the vessel
wall. The ultimate goal of this research is to optimize the
treatment options of vascular diseases and design better
medical devices for these options.
Vascular diseases and their effects, including carotid artery
disease, stroke, and abdominal aortic aneurysms (see
Two areas of VBBL research that have yielded funding and
Figure 1), affect millions of Americans. In recent decades,
press are the lab’s work on (1) understanding the blood flow
the role of blood flow and its relationship with disease has
and vessel structure relationship in native abdominal aortic
created a common focus for both prevention and clinical
aneurysms and (2) medical devices to complement carotid
management of vascular diseases. During the past two
artery stenting for the prevention of stroke.
decades, biofluid mechanics has been recognized more
widely by researchers in medicine and biology as a key
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Research
factor in the cause of arterial disease and the regulation
Receives NIH Funding
of haemostasis - stopping the flow of blood - in normal and
Dr. Finol was recently awarded $385,812 in NIH funding
diseased blood vessels. The ability to model biological flow
for VBBL’s work on predicting the rupture potential
systems experimentally and numerically is now an important
of abdominal aortic aneurysms. The grant, entitled
component to fundamental research of vascular disease.
“Bioengineering Studies of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm
Fluid and Wall Dynamics,” will support a prospective clinical
research study with the objective of investigating the
central hypothesis that, once an aneurysm is diagnosed,
the primary biomechanical determinant of rupture potential
is the non-uniform arterial wall thickness, within the context
of a dynamic assessment of aneurysm mechanics.
Seed funding provided by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Technology Alliance (PITA), a grant from the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania Department of Health, and a Dowd-ICES
Figure 1. Schematic of carotid artery occlusive disease
(left frame) and visualization of a multi-slice thoracic and
abdominal computed tomography revealing the presence
of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (right frame).
Graduate Fellowship provided for the initial stages of this
project. During this initial phase, a retrospective review
of existing patient records was conducted to determine
the feasibility of non-invasively evaluating aneurysmal wall
thickness from medical images. The NIH funded research
Housed in ICES, the Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids
will be done in collaboration with Prof. James Antaki of
Laboratory (VBBL) under the direction of ICES Research
the Biomedical Engineerign Department and Drs. Satish
Faculty Ender Finol has been conducting just such
C. Muluk and Robert W. Biederman at Allegheny General
research. The current research projects at VBBL deal
Hospital. Dr. Finol, Dr. Muluk and Christine Scotti, a former
with: (1) computational biomechanics and (2) design and
graduate student in biomedical engineering and ICES and
optimization of medical devices. The research vision
who has recently published articles on aneurysm numerical
of VBBL is based on the development of image-based
modeling (see Figure 2) in the journals Computers and
computational modeling tools that can be readily utilized
Structures and Computer Methods in Biomechanics and
in a clinical setting to analyze and plan surgical and
Biomedical Engineering.
endovascular interventions in a timely manner. In this
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Biomechanics Feature
Figure 2. Outcome of fluid-structure interaction
modeling on two patient-specific aortic aneurysms
detailing flow patterns and wall stress distributions.
Close to 2 million people in the United States suffer from
abdominal aortic aneurysms, defined as a 50% increase
in the diameter of a segment of the aorta. The inability
to fully assess the status of a patient’s abdominal aortic
aneurysm has led to extensive research into other
potential indicators of rupture or evaluative criteria for
determining surgical repair. The research group at VBBL
has developed an application for segmenting threedimensional computed tomography images of the aorta
Graduate student Gail Siewiorek injects particle solution
based on algorithms that identify and distinguish between
into a carotid bifurcation silicone model.
the interior of the artery and the outer wall surface in
order to assess the aortic wall thickness.
(see Figure 3), and they have developed computational and
experimental methodologies to support such evaluation.
Optimization of Medical Devices
for Carotid Artery Stenting
Seed funding by the Pennsylvania Infrastructure Technology
Carotid artery disease involves the narrowing or blockage
Alliance (PITA) and a small grant from the Samuel and
of this artery due to plaque build-up. Over time, this
Emma Winters Foundation provided for the preliminary
narrowing can become severe enough that a blockage
studies in this project. This research is being conducted in
will decrease blood flow to the brain and may cause a
collaboration with Dr. Mark H. Wholey, MD at the University
stroke. Carotid artery occlusive disease accounts for
of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dr. Finol, Dr. Wholey and Gail
20-30% of all ischemic strokes. Carotid artery stenting is
Siewiorek, graduate student in biomedical engineering
a relatively new alternative treatment for severe carotid
and ICES, recently published articles on the assessment
artery disease. However, it has not yet become widely
of distal protection devices in the Journal of Endovascular
accepted because there is still some concern about the
Therapy and Endovascular Today. Ms. Siewiorek is
risk of complications during the stenting procedure due to
currently supported by an NIH pre-doctoral training grant
distal embolization, which is due to a blockage that may
on biomechanics in regenerative medicine, a collaborative
occur in cerebral arteries. The research being conducted
effort of Carnegie Mellon and University of Pittsburgh.
on distal protection devices by VBBL is working to make
Future funding for this research is currently sought with the
carotid artery stenting a more successful and acceptable
goal of developing a model for the prediction of strokes
alternative treatment for stroke prevention among
and adverse peri-procedural outcomes during carotid
endovascular procedures.
artery stenting on an individual basis.
To address the risk of distal embolization in carotid
For more information on research being conducted by
artery stenting, VBBL researchers are evaluating the
the Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids Laboratory,
carotid artery flow dynamics in the presence of cerebral
please contact Ender Finol at finole @ cmu.edu. For more
protection with the primary goal of improving the design
information on the Vascular Biomechanics and Biofluids
of embolic protection filters (EPFs). The lab’s researchers
Laboratory, please visit the lab web site at http://www.
are assessing the protection devices’ performance in vitro
contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~finol/.
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iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
BCI Effort
brain computer interface
research for impaired
motor functioning
Our BCI platform consists of two major sub-systems: (1)
By Jeyanandh Paramesh, Assistant Professor of Electrical and
signals and compresses them for wireless transmission.
Computer Engineering
When normal motor function is impaired by amputation,
trauma or disease, it is necessary to use techniques
such as prosthetics and wheelchairs to interact with the
environment. However, the controllability of a patient
a low-power integrated wireless micro-system and (2) a
portable neural signal decoder. The wireless sub-system
records extremely low-level neural signals from several
(e.g., 32) electrodes, amplifies, filters and digitizes these
A key trade-off in this design is to minimize its power
consumption so that (1) heat dissipation does not cause
biological damage and (2) it can operate from relatively
small amounts of power that can be inductively coupled in
from an external source.
can be substantially limited by his impairments: e.g., a
patient with spinal cord injury may not be able to control a
wheelchair by hand. In this case, it is extremely important
to develop a brain computer interface (BCI) for which neural
signals from the brain are sensed, amplified, filtered and
decoded to control prosthetic limbs, electric wheelchairs,
or other external devices, leading to a dramatically
improved quality of life.
BCI is defined as the science and technology of intelligent
devices and systems responding to (1) neural processes
in the brain that generate motor movement and (2)
cognitive process (e.g., memory) that modify motor
movement. Today, with advanced technologies in medical
sensors, biocompatible materials, integrated circuit and
computational neurosciences, such a BCI system becomes
practically feasible. There is a strong interest from industry
to commercialize and market a BCI system for both medical
Figure 1. BCI Platform
An artist’s rendition of a state-of-the-art implanted wireless
sub-system is shown in Fig. 1. Because this implant uses
several discrete chips assembled on a printed circuit
board, it is too large to be embedded in the skull as
and non-medical applications.
shown. Instead, it may have to be embedded in the larger
There is currently a collaborative project being conducted
clavicle. This would require long cables from the electrodes
in BCI research between Carnegie Mellon’s Gary Fedder,
Xin Li, and Jeyanandh Paramesh of the Electrical and
Computer Engineering Department and Douglas Weber
with the Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation
at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The
major goal of our project is to develop a low-power
wireless BCI micro-system. In particular, our project
focuses on “minimally invasive” BCI technology using
electrocorticography (ECoG) recorded from the cortical
surface. ECoG has higher spatial resolution than EEG
(electroencephalography) and is safer than single-neuron
recording. The wireless interface proposed in this project
has many advantages in terms of comfort and mobility.
Most importantly, it reduces the risk of infection.
cavity far away from the brain, for example, close to the
to the implants and would raise concerns of infection. A
second drawback with this system of Fig. 2a is that the
circuits operate relatively inefficiently so that they require
an on-implant battery. Ongoing work in our lab aims to
find solutions to these problems. Their approach is to
integrate all functions (amplification, filtering, digitization,
compression and telemetry) on a tiny piece of silicon. This
ultra-low power chip would be power using on-chip coils that
couple inductively to a remote power source. Concurrently,
several groups within CMU are collaborating on a largely biodegradable scaffold that will connect the electrodes to the
implantable chip. Our group at CMU also collaborates with
UPMC to develop robust, bio-compatible recording electrodes
and test in-vivo these complex, engineered implants.
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
recording electrodes and test in-vivo these complex,
engineered implants.
Fenves Award
dr. lee weiss is the
2007– 2008 recipient of
the steven j. fenves award
Robotics Institute Research Professor and ICES faculty
member Lee Weiss was recently named the 2007– 08
recipient of the Steven J. Fenves Award. The Fenves
Award is awarded annually to a faculty member who
makes a significant contribution to systems research in
areas relevant to ICES. This award will be presented to Dr.
Weiss at the Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT) Faculty
Awards Banquet this spring.
Dr. Weiss received the Fenves Award for his significant
contributions to system engineering research in shape
deposition manufacturing, micromechanical Velcro, inkjet
printing technologies for biomedical applications and
Fig. 2a. Artist’s rendition of the signal conditioning and
the establishment of tissue engineering at Carnegie
telemetry of a current neural implant and (b) the Neural
Mellon. ICES Director Gary Fedder says, “Lee Weiss
signal processor.
embodies the very essence of the Steven J. Fenves Award
The second sub-system (Fig. 2(b)) is a robust decoder
that takes the recorded neural signal as input and
accurately predicts the kinetic parameters (e.g.,
direction, velocity, etc.) of targeted movement. Instead of
considering the neural signal decoding as a general signal
processing problem, we particularly focus on the aspect
of hardware implementation with high mobility. Namely,
the algorithms used for neural signal decoding must be
implemented in hardware with small dimension, light
weight and low power.
The long-term goal of this project is to develop advanced
micro-system technologies and apply them to clinical
applications. Through collaborations with several multidisciplinary groups with Carnegie Mellon, the University
of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) and the Allegheny
General Hospital, this project will eventually lead to
intelligent devices and systems that aid disabled people
and significantly improve the quality of their life.
as reflected by his significant contributions to systems
engineering research with an impact on the real world.
His service of three-plus decades at Carnegie Mellon
reflects his unparalleled quest for bringing people of
different backgrounds together by trail blazing new areas.”
Dr. Weiss has been a contributor to systems research
since before the existence of ICES and the NSF EDRC
(Engineering Design Research Center). “He has been
the keeper of the spirit of ICES by reflecting its goals and
by being an exemplar researcher for others to follow,”
continues Dr. Fedder.
The “Steven J. Fenves Award for Systems Research” is
presented annually to individuals for their contributions to
systems research in areas that are relevant to the College
of Engineering and ICES. Individuals considered for this
award have made significant contributions to systems
research in areas relevant to ICES, by furthering the goal
of interconnecting people, physical, and information;
development and demonstration of an engineered system;
enhancing education in systems through the development
of courses, publishing textbooks, or a body of knowledge
that is of pedagogical importance; and causing a
paradigm shift in systems research.
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iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
New ICES Center
ices introduces new
interdisciplinary
engineering center on
multiscale modeling
coordinate research and educational activity in multiscale
materials modeling across the Carnegie Mellon Colleges
of Engineering and Sciences. The vision of CM2EM is the
quantitative understanding of materials from the smallest
to the largest relevant scales, with a special emphasis on
emergent behavior in complex materials systems, in
order to enable the better design of applications with
existing engineering materials and to engineer new
Some important intellectual challenges of modern-day
materials with targeted functionality. The center will
science and technology deal with multiscale modeling
serve to predict the properties and performance of
for engineering materials. These challenges address
existing engineering materials systems under varied
issues such as fatigue in jet engine and electronic storage
operational conditions as well as consider theoretical
components; the design and reliability of microelectrical
aspects of the design of new materials. It will serve
mechanical systems (MEMS) devices; high-rate-deformation
as a primary hub for materials modeling activity at
in armor and weaponry; forming high strength and high
Carnegie Mellon. Civil and Environmental Engineering
ductility metallic alloys and metallic glasses for use in
Professor Amit Acharya will be the Director of CM2EM,
structural applications like auto-body parts and sports
and Physics Professor Michael Widom from the Mellon
equipment; and the high-frequency response in earthquake
College of Science will act as the Associate Director.
rupture dynamics, among others.
To date, faculty participants in CM2EM hail from the
following departments: Civil and Environmental
Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Chemical Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering,
Mechanical Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics.
Professors (from l. to r.) Amit Acharya and Michael Widom.
The mission goals of CM2EM include developing new
theory and simulation tools for engineering and scientific
Modern engineering technology manipulates the interaction
applications that often require multiscale physics.
of various materials at multiple scaling levels. The
Examples of these applications include stress management
macro-scale deals with the visible materials we see. A
in metallic and semiconductor heterostructures, earthquake
major emphasis of current research deals with smaller
rupture dynamics, and the macroscopic response of
levels of interaction within these materials, whether they
metallic glasses. The emphasis of the research, however,
be on the atomic and molecular scale in nanotechnology
will be on engineering as well as on physics. Another
or intermediate length scales as in MEMS research
goal of CM2EM includes educating the next generation of
and design. If one were to look under a microscope,
students in engineering to be well-versed in such concepts
however, it would become apparent that there are other
as nonlinear continuum mechanics, relevant aspects of
objects between the micro and macro scales which play
statistical physics, and mathematics. Most importantly, the
an important role. It is the goal of multi-scale modeling
focus of CM2EM provides an essential niche which is not
of materials to infer the laws that govern the interaction
currently a part of training to deal with the challenges facing
of materials at the coarser “meso-scales” using
modern engineering.
interdisciplinary tools from continuum mechanics, dynamical
systems theory, statistical physics, and the theory of partial
Activities of the center will include hosting a seminar
differential equations.
series, targeting research funding opportunities in focused
groups, establishing industry collaboration, and phasing
ICES Director Gary Fedder is pleased to announce the
in an interdisciplinary curriculum in multiscale modeling,
creation of a new Center for Multiscale Modeling for
which includes new and existing courses in the Colleges of
Engineering Materials (CM2EM) within ICES that will
Engineering and Sciences.
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Awards & Recognition
honors & awards
ICES Staff Members Win CIT Awards
ICES is pleased to announce that staff members Christina
Cowan, Alicia Brown, and Matthew Sanfilippo received
awards at the annual Carnegie Institute of Technology (CIT)
Staff Awards on January 31, 2008.
Christina Cowan, who is the executive assistant to
Director Gary Fedder, won this year’s CIT Staff Award and
was selected based on the excellence she has shown
in the areas of job performance, dedication, positive
attitude, and contributions as a team player. Christina
has worked at ICES for the past eight years and has been
an invaluable part of the administrative team. Alicia
Brown was awarded the Timothy J. Burritt Education
ICES CIT Award winners (from l. to r.): Alicia Brown, Matt
Award for balancing her pursuit of a Ph.D. in the social
Sanfilippo, and Christina Cowan.
and comparative analysis of education at the University
of Pittsburgh with her position at ICES. Alicia began
Culture Prize, given this year in the area of science. Dr.
working at ICES in 2004 and was recently promoted to the
Franchetti, who grew up in Wiener Neustadt in Austria,
position of external relations and outreach coordinator.
is one of two co-winners in the young scientist category.
Matt Sanfilippo, who is the executive director of the
This year’s submissions were judged by a five-member
Center for Sensed Critical Infrastructure Research
panel on the basis of scientific excellence and connection
(CenSCIR), received the Rookie Award. Having worked at
to Wiener Neustadt.
ICES for less than two years, Matt received the award for
demonstrating excellence in the areas of job performance,
CenSCIR professors Jim Garrett and Lucio Soibelman
dedication, positive attitude, and contributions as a team
were recently selected to be co-editors-in-chief for the
player in his short time with ICES.
American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of
Computing in Civil Engineering beginning in January of
On January 1st of this year, ICES Director Gary Fedder was
this year. They were selected by a national committee
elevated to IEEE Fellow for his contributions to integrated
and the journal is a leading publication in the area of
micro-electro-mechanical-system processes and design
computer research in civil engineering.
methodologies. Each year, the IEEE (the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Fellow Committee
In 2007, Metin Sitti, associate professor in biomedical and
recommends a select group of recipients to receive the title
mechanical engineering, was appointed as the Adamson
of Fellow, one of the Institute’s most prestigious honors.
Career Faculty Fellow by the Department of Mechanical
Engineering for a period of two years. He was named as
Professor Fedder was awarded the IEEE Sensors
fellow in recognition of his outstanding accomplishments
Council’s 2007 Sensors Journal Best Paper Award for
and promise in the areas of micro- and nanoscale robotics.
his paper on “Electrostatically Actuated Resonant
Microcantilever Beam in CMOS Technology for the
Stefan Zappe, assistant professor of biomedical
Detection of Chemical Weapons.”
engineering and ICES affiliated faculty, has received a
National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award. Dr.
CenSCIR faculty member and Electrical and Computer
Zappe will receive $400,000 over a five-year period for use
Engineering System Scientist Dr. Franz Franchetti is one
in his research on “Automated MEMS-based Drosophila
of five recipients of the City of Wiener Neustadt’s 2007
Article continued on page 10...
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iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
News Shorts
ices news shorts
This study aims to measure life stress, particularly the
ICES Researchers’s NIH-Funded eWatch Study
Receives Media Coverage
ICES Research Professor Asim Smailagic, Director of the
Human-Computer Interaction Institute Dan Siewiorek,
and Pitt Psychology Professor Thomas Kamarck have
received press coverage on the online news sources
ScienceDaily and EurekAlert for their work studying the
effectiveness of the eWatch, a wrist-mounted instrument,
for measuring psychosocial stress exposure during the
course of daily life. The eWatch is a multisensor package
about the size of a large wristwatch, was developed by
Professors Smailagic and Siewiorek and is one of the
wearable products they have created in the Interaction
Design Studio and Wearable Computers Lab, of which Dr.
Smailagic is the director.
Professors Smailagic, Siewiorek and Kamarck have
received a $426,000 grant from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) for the first year of their four-year project,
which is part of a larger NIH initiative – Genes, Environment
and Health Initiative - to study environmental factors that
people encounter every day that may increase their risk for
certain diseases.
duration or intensity of exposure to stress, by outfitting each
participant in the study with an eWatch. The eWatch can
detect sound, motion, lighting, and other factors. Every
45 minutes during a five day period, the eWatch prompts
wearers to take part in a brief interview, recording their
responses to questions about their current events.
The eWatch was first developed as a class project in Drs.
Smailagic and Siewiorek’s Rapid Design and Prototyping
course in 2004. The development and refinement of the
eWatch was made possible by Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Technology Alliance (PITA) funding. This funding also allowed
for the continued collaboration of the LINCS lab work with
local industry including BodyMedia, a company specializing
in wearable biometric data collection devices, Inmedius,
Intel, Bosch, and R.J. Lee Group.
Over the last decade the Interaction Design Studio and
Wearable Computers Lab have collaborated in design and
prototyping of more than 30 wearable and context aware
systems, which have become cornerstones of the wearable
computing field. For more information on the eWatch
or on the work done by the Interaction Design Studio
and Wearable Computers Lab, please contact Professor
Smailagic at asim @ cs.cmu.edu or Professor Siewiorek at
dps @ cs.cmu.edu.
Burcu Akinci’s Research on Construction
Project Control Is Featured
Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
and CenSCIR member Burcu Akinci’s work on active
quality control of construction projects and accurate
documentation of project history was featured in the
Spar Point Research on-line articles. Participants in the
project, Advanced Sensor-Based Defect Management at
Construction Sites (ASDMCon), draw from the Civil and
Environmental Engineering department, the School of
Architecture, and the Robotics Institute, and many of the
key participants are active members of CenSCIR. The
project developed work processes that use integrated
project models, 3D laser scanners and embedded sensor
systems for early defect detection and management at
construction sites. For more information, please contact
Professor Akinci at [email protected].
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
News Shorts
dowd fellowship news
2007 Dowd-ICES Fellow and Civil and Environmental En-
gineering graduate student Saurabh Puri and his advisor
Professor Amit Acharya are in the process of submitting a
paper that is based on research funded by the Philip and
Marsha Dowd Fellowship Seed Fund. Puri’s Dowd-funded
research is on strength, internal stress, and relaxation
in mesoscale plasticity. The goals are to understand
mechanical response at the micron scale for microelectromechanical (MEMS) devices and also to understand the
stress relaxation in stamped aluminum sheets in order to
optimize the production of auto-body panels leading to light
2007– 08 ICES-Dowd Fellows (from l. to r.): Sasha Bakhru,
weighting. The effect of this is to improve fuel efficiency
Saurabh Puri, Rowena Mittal, and Warren Ruder.
and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in automobiles.
SURE Thing Student’s Research to be Represented
Artificially designed cell factories have the ability to
at the IEEE International Conference
respond to a localized health threat by targeting the ap-
The research that SURE Thing 2007 student Michael Wahl
propriate region of the body affected by a medical condi-
conducted with his faculty advisors and Electrical and
tion and then manufacturing and delivering a biological
Computer Engineering faculty Yuanwei Jin and Jose M.F.
product to treat the condition over an extended period. In
Moura will be represented in a paper at the 5th Institute
January, 2007 Dowd-ICES Fellow and Biomedical Engineer-
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) International
ing graduate student Warren Ruder published an article
Symposium on Biomedical Imaging: From Nano to Macro.
in Trends in Biotechnology on artificial cell research, which
The IEEE conference will be held in May in Paris, France,
he co-authored with his advisor and Associate Professor in
and his advisors will be presenting their paper on “Breast
Biological Sciences and Mechanical Engineering profes-
Cancer Detection by Time Reversal Imaging.” Co-authors
sor Philip LeDuc, and Postdoctoral Research Associate in
on the article were Wahl, Jin, Moura, and a colleague from
Mechanical Engineering Ying Zhang. Their article entitled
the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
“Artificial Cells: Building Bioinspired Systems Using SmallScale Biology” is based on PITA-funded research that uses
Wahl, an undergraduate student in chemical engineering
and converts naturally available molecules in the body into
at the University of Pittsburgh, worked with Professors
active therapeutics by designing artificial cell factories.
Jin and Moura on time reversal beamforming for
electromagnetic methods of detecting breast cancer. He
In the last year, 2004 Dowd-ICES Fellow Bahareh Behkam’s
had an opportunity to model the electrical differences
research with Associate Professor and Adamson Career
between malignant breast tumors and normal breast
Faculty Fellow Metin Sitti has received follow-on funding
tissue through different materials to show the potential
from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as well as
of the time reversal microwave breast cancer detection
media coverage. Their research on propulsion systems
system. For more information on the SURE Thing summer
for miniature swimming robots used medically has ap-
internship program, please visit http://www.ices.cmu.
peared in New Scientist and on-line on Discovery News
edu/sure-thing/.
and Nanowerk. Sitti, who is a professor in both Mechanical Engineering and the Robotics Institute, and Bekham
have worked on the challenge of developing the power
and propulsion of microscale robots. In their research,
they have taken a novel approach by using the entire
microorganism as the motor and controlling its on/off
motor with chemicals.
8
9
iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
Enterprise-Wide Optimization
pita collaboration develops
enterprise-wide optimization
for industry competitiveness
The research work at ICES in EWO is performed by a
By Ignacio Grossmann, Rudolph R. and Florence Dean University Professor of Chemical Engineering
Enterprise-wide optimization (EWO) has become a major
goal in this industry due to the increasing pressure for
remaining competitive in the global marketplace. EWO
involves optimizing the operations of supply, manufacturing
and distribution activities of a company to reduce costs and
inventories. One of the key features in EWO is integration
of the information and decision-making among the various
functions that comprise the supply chain of the company.
multidisciplinary team from three Pennsylvania institutions (Larry Biegler, Ignacio Grossmann, John Hooker from
Carnegie Mellon, Larry Snyder from Lehigh University,
Jeff Linderoth from the University of Wisconsin, Andrew
Schaefer from the University of Pittsburgh), composed
of chemical and industrial engineers, and operations
researchers, (five faculty, eight Ph.D. students). The group
is developing novel models, algorithms, decomposition
methods, and computational techniques, and involves
close collaborations with industry, including ABB, Air Products and Chemicals, BP, Dow Chemical, ExxonMobil, NOVA
Chemicals and TOTAL who are members of the Center for
Advanced Process Decision-making (CAPD) at Carnegie
Mellon. Air Products and Chemicals, and NOVA Chemicals
are both headquartered in Pennsylvania.
This collaborative research project was initiated in
July 2005 and continues with the aid of Pennsylvania
Technology Alliance (PITA) funding. It has also since
received supplementary funding from the National Science
Foundation (NSF).
The current research work involves the scheduling of
cranes in steel manufacturing (ABB), rescheduling of
bulk gas production and distribution (Air Products),
optimization models for planning of refinery operations
(BP), simultaneous strategic and tactical planning in
distributed batch plants (Dow), global optimization of
multiperiod refinery models (ExxonMobil), modeling and
evaluation platform for a specialty polymer product (NOVA),
and crude oil scheduling (TOTAL). The EWO group meets
Coordinated optimization of supply manufacturing and
twice per year, and organizes a popular seminar series
distribution across a supply chain.
that is broadcast to the companies. Research results
are available on the webpage http://egon.cheme.cmu.
To fully realize the potential of IT transactional tools, the
edu/ewocp/. The new computational tools in EWO have
development of sophisticated deterministic and stochastic
demonstrated the potential economic savings that can
linear/nonlinear optimization models and algorithms
be achieved through a systematic application of these
(analytical IT tools) is needed to explore and analyze
computational techniques, and in some cases they are
alternatives of the supply chain to yield overall optimum
being adopted by the companies.
economic performance, as well as high level of customer
satisfaction. An additional challenge is the integrated and
For more information about this project, please contact
coordinated decision-making across the various functions in
Professor Grossmann at grossmann @ cmu.edu.
a company (purchasing, manufacturing, distribution, sales),
across various geographically distributed organizations
(vendors, facilities and markets), and across various levels
of decision-making (strategic, tactical and operational).
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
PITA Highlights
pita project news
Article Examines Combining Profitability and
Student Receives Yahoo! Grant for
Environmentally Friendly Electricity Production
PITA Blog Research
As of 2007, there are only two integrated gasification
Computer science professor Christos Faloutsos’s graduate
combined cycle (IGCC) energy plants in the United
student Mary McGlohon recently received a Key Technical
States. Yet, the process used by this facility is
Challenges Grant from Yahoo! The Key Technical
more environmentally friendly than other coal-fueled
Challenges Program is a new Yahoo! program that
technologies such as pulverized coal facilities in the
provides a limited number of exceptional Ph.D. students
way it separates the CO2 in the process as it captures
with $5,000 each of unrestricted funds for the support of
and stores the carbon. The PITA-supported research of
their research activities.
Engineering and Public Policy and Tepper School Professor
Jay Apt and Engineering and Public Policy graduate
Ms. McGlohon will use this funding for research she
student Adam Newcomer looks at producing electricity
is conducting with Dr. Faloutsos in blog analysis. This
from coal-derived synthesis gas (syngas) in an integrated
2007 PITA-funded project, entitled “Influence Propagation
gasification combined cycle facility. They have recently
in Large, Blog Graphs,” analyzes blogs as a social
published their work in the December 2007 issue of the
phenomenon which often influence political opinions
journal Environmental Science & Technology.
and create market or opinion trends. The goal of their
research is to ultimately forecast which trends will
While producing electricity in this way is more
prevail by looking for patterns of how blog citations
environmentally friendly than other methods, it is not
appear over time and classifying them. This project
profitable when the carbon dioxide price is less than
collaborates with the Pittsburgh office of Nielsen
approximately $50 per metric ton. In their article, Apt
BuzzMetrics, which conducts media measurement using
and Newcomer examine whether such a facility that
data-mining technology.
operates its gasifier continuously but stores the syngas
and produces electricity only when daily prices are high
may be profitable at significantly lower CO2 prices.
ices honors
...Continued from page 6.
Dr. Apt is also the Executive Director of the Electricity
Embryo Injection Technologies for High-throughput Func-
Industry Center, which employs interdisciplinary
tional Genomics Screens.” The Faculty Early Career De-
approaches to the problems of the electricity industry
velopment (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity
and merges engineering, economics, risk analysis, and
that offers the National Science Foundation’s most pres-
decision science.
tigious awards in support of the early career-development
activities of those teacher-scholars who most effectively
integrate research and education within the context of the
mission of their organization.
10
11
iNews • Spring 2008 Newsletter
PITA Highlights
outreach update
ICES Outreach Receives Media Attention
during National Engineers Week
On February 15 and 16, ICES participated with other
Carnegie Mellon departments and local organizations in the
National Engineers Week outreach activities at the Carnegie
Science Center. The ICES table was manned during
these days by ICES faculty, staff, and students who worked
with visiting children on the activity “Build a Bone.” This
problem-solving activity gives participants a list of materials
and parameters they must follow as they attempt to create
a bone that will hold the most weight when tested. This
year, a new record was set for the strongest bone, which
held 24 lbs, and it resulted in attracting the media attention
of WQED’s Rick Sebak.
Sebak, who creates documentaries about Pittsburgh history,
was filming at the Science Center on Friday for a new
documentary called “Invented, Engineered, and Pioneered
in Pittsburgh.” His film crew captured on tape the testing
of the strongest bone by its young creator and by ICES
Associate Research Professor Phil Campbell, who was
working at the ICES table. Professor Campbell created the
Build a Bone activity for National Engineers Week and is
the ICES faculty coordinator for National Engineers Week
activities at the Science Center. The documentary will
premiere on WQED on Thursday, April 10.
ICES — The Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Closing Notes
upcoming ices events
iNews is the official publication of the Institute for Com-
moving 4th into engineering
Saturday, April 5th
For more information, please visit:
http://www.ices.cmu.edu/moving_4th.html
censcir symposium
Tuesday, May 6th
Singleton Room, Roberts Hall
For more information, please visit:
http://www.ices.cmu.edu/censcir
pita advisory board meeting
In May, Date TBD
Lehigh University
For more information, please visit:
http://www.pitapa.org
summer undergraduate research experience
(a sure thing!)
May 28th - August 1st
plex Engineered Systems (ICES). To submit information for
the next edition of iNews or to join our mailing list, please
contact Alicia Brown at adbrown @ andrew.cmu.edu.
Editor and Writer: Alicia Brown
Designer: tim kelly
Photography: daniel shapiro, ken andreyo, and tim kelly
Contributing Writers: amit acharya, nichole dwyer (cee
newsletter), ender finol, ignacio grossman,
jeyanandh paramesh, matthew sanfilippo, and
michael widom
Printing: Network printing services
To read more about ICES, its current structure, research
interests, projects, and people, please visit our newly
redesigned website at http://www.ices.cmu.edu/.
Please feel free to contact our director, Gary Fedder, or
use our on-line directory to identify contacts. We welcome
your comments and your ideas.
Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate and Carnegie Mellon University is required not to
For more information, please visit:
discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs or activities on the basis
http://www.ices.cmu.edu/sure-thing
Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973
summer engineering experience (see) for girls
of race, color, national origin, sex or handicap in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964,
or other federal, state, or local laws or executive orders.
In addition, Carnegie Mellon University does not discriminate in admission, employment or administration of its programs on the basis of religion, creed, ancestry, belief, age, veteran status, sexual
July 14th - July 25th
orientation or in violation of federal, state or local laws or executive orders. However, in the judgment
For more information, please visit:
ask, don’t tell, don’t pursue” excludes openly gay, lesbian and bisexual students from receiving
http://www.ices.cmu.edu/see
of the Carnegie Mellon Human Relations Commission, the Department of Defense policy of, “Don’t
ROTC scholarships or serving in the military. Nevertheless, all ROTC classes at Carnegie Mellon
University are available to all students.
Inquiries concerning application of these statements should be directed to the Provost, Carnegie
Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213, telephone 412-268-6684 or the Vice
President for Enrollment, Carnegie Mellon University, 5000 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213,
telephone 412-268-2056. Copyright © Carnegie Mellon University.
Carnegie Mellon University publishes an annual campus security report describing the university’s
security, alcohol and drug, and sexual assault policies and containing statistics about the number
and type of crimes committed on the campus during the preceding three years. You can obtain a
copy by contacting the Carnegie Mellon Police Department at 412-268-2323. The security report
is available through the World Wide Web at www.cmu.edu/police/statistics.htm. Obtain general
information about Carnegie Mellon University by calling 412-268-2000.
12
PITA is a Pennsylvania Department of Community and
Economic Development (DCED) program designed to provide
economic benefit to Pennsylvania through knowledge transfer,
the discovery of new technologies, and the retention of highly
educated students.
fiscal year 2008 pita funded
projects at carnegie mellon
For the Fiscal Year 2008, the Pennsylvania Infrastructure
Technology Alliance (PITA), through ICES, recently funded 33
It is a collaboration between the Commonwealth of
projects at Carnegie Mellon out of a total of 66 submitted
Pennsylvania, the Center for Advanced Technology for Large
proposals. The accepted projects encourage multidisciplinary
Structural Systems (ATLSS) at Lehigh University, and the
research across the College of Engineering departments, the
Institute for Complex Engineered Systems (ICES) at Carnegie
Tepper School of Business, and the Robotics Institute.
Mellon University.
The research areas funded by PITA include:
PITA’s research and education projects involve Pennsylvania
companies, faculty, and students. PITA’s programs have led
30% in biomedical and health engineering;
21% in product/process design and optimization;
to the creation and implementation of numerous cutting-edge
12% for courses and outreach programs;
technologies in Pennsylvania companies and have also enabled
12% in infrastructure safety and security technology;
several start-up companies to form within the Commonwealth.
12% in nanotechnology;
6% in environmental technologies;
for more information, please
visit the pita website at
www.pitapa.org or call
412-268 -3372
Gary Fedder, PITA Co-Director
Matthew Sanfilippo, PITA Co-Associate Director
(ICES) Institute for Complex Engineered Systems
Carnegie Mellon University
Richard Sause, PITA Co-Director
Robert Alpago, PITA Co-Associate Director
ATLSS Engineering Research Center
Lehigh University
3% in innovative infrastructure system assessment technology; and
3% in information and systems technology.