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BIANNUAL NEWS FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
2013
EE News INSIDE Nanocomputing Workshop P.2 X-Lab Monster Coil P.3 Student Honors P.5
Looking Back
Hot Dates P.8
Dr. Vijay Jain, Distinguised University Professor of Electrical Engineering, has been with the department of Electrical Engineering for roughly 38 years. When asked to reflect on his time at USF, he commented that “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to serve the department. Our graduates are our ambassadors and they have shouldered that responsibility well. They are all shining stars and many have risen to stellar heights in goverment, academia, and industry. I must also acknowledge my esteemed colleagues whose dedication to the department and the University is exemplary.
Message from the Chair - Dr. Tom Weller
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n this first edition of the new USF EE News, please join me for just a moment to look back through time. Most of us find it difficult to part with physical reminders of our past, while some prefer a cleaner, tidier attic. But we all carry memories of our experiences and in many ways this collection of memories defines who we’ve been and who we are as individuals. We invested time and energy in the experiences that are the basis of these memories, and usually the value we place on each remembrance is proportional to the size of the initial investment. Every now and then if we put just a little bit more into those memories – a peek at some photographs or a conversation with an old friend – these great memories stay alive. So to our alumni, I encourage you to put a little bit more into your memories of the Electrical Engineering Department. At one time you made an important and substantial investment in your future while getting your degree. Why not take a moment to refresh that connection? Stop in, get Linked In, or join our Facebook group and share your news with us. For now, I hope you enjoy this newsletter and our efforts to keep you informed about what the EE department is doing. On behalf of the department, I look forward to hearing from you.
Alumni News: Alumni! Do you have something you would like to share with the electrical engineering community? Email your story and a picture to jprocko@usf.edu and you could be featured in our next issue.
NSF Field-Coupled Nano-Computing Workshop Sanjukta Bhanja, associate professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering, along with Neal Andersen (University of Massachusetts, Amherst) organized an NSF funded workshop titled Field-Coupled NanoComputing (FCN’13) from February 7-8, at USF. Approximately 100 participants from throughout the US, Canada and Europe attended FCN’13 for assessment of the current status of this emerging field, identification of critical challenges for FCN, and advancement of potential strategies for realization of FCN-based nanocomputers. The workshop featured keynote talks from distinguished researchers, graduate student presentations, and an overview of NSF funding programs. Field-coupled nanocomputing (FCN) utilizes local field interactions between nanoscale building blocks to transfer information and implement logic without the need for charge transport. Each of the leading FCN paradigms - quantum dot cellular automata (QDCA), molecular quantum cellular automata (MQCA), and nanomagnetic logic (NML) is
a potential candidate for post-CMOS nanocomputing, and faces critical challenges to realization. According to Professor Bhanja, “our workshop was extremely successful in bringing together eminent scholars and pioneers of Field Coupled Nano-computing who jointly discussed, shared groundbreaking success as well as critical task ahead.” Dr. Robert Trew (National Science Foundation ECCS divisional director) represented NSF and participated in the panel discussion in shaping the path ahead for this technology. The conference technical contributions would be edited as a book by publishing an enhanced “State of the Art Survey” volume of SPRINGER book series Lecture Notes in Computer Science (LNCS). This conference will continue to provide a dedicated forum for FCN, and advancement of potential strategies for realization of FCN-based nanocomputers. The next version of the conference would be held in Politechnico-di-Torino, Italy, 2014
Engineering Student Receives NASA Fellowships
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Drew Burgett, a recent graduate of Electrical Engineering has been awarded the prestigious NASA Space Technology Research Fellowship. NASA Technology Research Fellowships (NSTRF) support U.S. graduate student researchers who show significant potential to provide the nation with a pipeline of highly skilled engineers and technologists to improve America’s technological competitiveness. NASA Space Technology Fellows perform innovative space technology research while building the skills necessary to become future technological leaders. Drew will start the Ph.D. program in Electrical Engineering at USF in August 2013. He will work on the NASA funded project “Leveraging the Radiation-Resistance and Power Efficiency of Nano-magnetic Logic to Develop More Affordable, Efficient, and Reliable Space Technologies.”
Smart Grid Power System (SPS) Lab Hosted Professor Vincent Poor On March 29, Prof. H. Vincent Poor, Dean of the College of Engineering at Princeton, along with Dr. Weller, visited Smart Grid Power System (SPS) Lab at I DR 123. SPS faculty (Drs. Lingling Fan and Zhixin Miao) and graduate students (Ling Xu, Lakshan Piyasinghe, Mohemmed Alhaider, Vahid Disfani, Jean Eddy Samedi, Yan Ma and Jen-Pin Lin) welcomed Prof. Poor’s visit. Ling and Lakshan demonstrated a hard-ware-in- This Month’s Q&A the-loop (HIL) testbed for Professor Poor. The HIL testbed uses a high-performance computer and FPGA based input/ output panel to model a community power system and import/export analog/ digital signals at realtime speed. A motor drive is connected to the community power
system through the 1/0 and a Space control board. Commands issued at a desktop can change the speed of the physical motor. The HIL testbed will be used for validation of optimization and control strategies developed for smart grid. Professor Poor also listened to a brief introduction of various projects carried at the SPS lab, including: Physical layer modeling, analysis, and control of power systems penetrated with renewables and energy storage systems. Information layer decision making of power systems to achieve economic goals. For more information about SPS lab, please visit power.eng.usf.edu.
Virtual Reality Showcase Electrical Engineering Assistant Professor, Dr. Andrew Raij, was invited to demonstrate his lab’s projects at the Florida Virtual Realtiy Showcase (FLAVRS). FLAVRS took place on March 18, 2013 IEEE International conference on Virtual Reality in Orlando, Florida. A group of students from Dr. Raij’s Powerful Interactive Experiences (PIE) Lab - Tylar Murray (EE PhD), Luis Jaimes (EE PhD), Shujath Syed (EE MS), Swathi Nukala (EE MS), Juan Lopez Marcano (EE BS) and Sanjana Bontha (BME MS) - developed and demonstrated PIE Lab’s research projects for the roughly 500 international researchers attending IEEE VR. Projects demonstrated included Avatars4Change: An avatar displayed on a mobile phone that motivates behavior changes, Ambient Avatars: a miniature figure that provides ambient feedback on the user’s stress level and TeamVis: a debriefing system for medical team training scenarios. More information on these projects can be found on the PIE Lab website.
This Month’s
Q&A
Q: I have a question about Electrical Engineering. Where can I get an answer? A: Submit your questions to jprocko@usf.edu with the title “Newsletter Q & A” and you could be featured in our next issue.
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X-Labs Monster Tesla Coil Plays Mario Theme Since 2006 the undergraduate run engineering education group “X-Labs” has been pushing the limits of science and technology to inspire young students to pursue careers in the STEM fields. The environment at X-Labs is as much creative as it is technical and allows students to connect with classroom theory on a deeper level by experiencing the design process first-hand. Recently, the group has been pushing the design envelope of high-power tesla coils to wow potential students.
Over the past three years, the group has been working on a large DualResonant Solid State Tesla Coil (DRSSTC). At over 10 feet high the coil is one of the largest of its kind. The coil uses high current power solid-state BJTs to provide very efficient, compact, and controllable operation. More impressively, the control electronics enable the coil to play music through a custom made MIDI interface. The coil had its first full power runs at Engineering Expo 2013 and was
Faculty Spotlight - Dr. Andrew M. Hoff Dr. Andrew M. Hoff, Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering has recently accepted the position of Graduate Program Coordinator for the Electrical Engineering Department. He is also affiliated with the USF Center for Molecular Delivery, the USF Silicon Carbide and Wide Bandgap Group, FCoE-BITT and the Nanomaterials and Nanomanufacturing Research Center (NNRC). Recently, Dr. Hoff has also been elected to the Chair position of the Electronics and Photonics Division of the Electrochemical Society.
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an instant hit. Songs ranging from AC/DCs Iron Man to the theme from Indiana Jones came blaring into the crowd in an impressive display of 14ft sparks. A promotional video for the group’s coil hit the Internet shortly thereafter featuring the coil playing the Mario Brothers theme song. The video was an instant Internet sensation racking up over 150,000 views on YouTube.
Congratulations Dr. Buckle! After twenty nine of years of service Dr. Kenneth Buckle has retired from the University of South Florida’s Electrical Engineering department. Since 1991 Dr. Buckle served as the Graduate Program Coordinator and spurred a period of substantial growth for both the Master’s and Ph.D. programs. He also remained active in his research throughout his career with over 50 publication and four patents including significant work in solar rectifying antennas and serving as a member of the Clean Energy Research Center.
Student Honors Microcontroller Conference 1st Place — Shawn Gicka, Sean Murphy, Shaune Reynolds Microcontroller Conference 2nd Place — Benjamin Roedell, Jeffry Price, Alex Brown Microcontroller Conference 3rd Place — Denys Kukushkin, Elisha Stevenson, Daniel Yordanov 2012 Student Engineer of the Year: Florida Engineering Society — Bradley Updyke 2012 Student Engineer of the Year: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — David Touvell NSF/ASEE Fellowship — Frank Alexander, Jr. National Science Foundation Gradate Research Fellowship — Shamara Collins
Two Student Organizations Host Microcontroller Conference Student groups LogikLabs and IEEE Student Chapter hosted the Fall 2012 Microcontroller Conference November 17-18 on the Tampa campus. The conference theme was “Introducing Technology for Advancing Education” (ITAE) and its goal was to enable students to gain a greater understanding of technology through microcontrollers. The conference allows students to foster their creativity, teamwork, innovation and ability to perform under pressure, while finding solutions to real-world problems. Fifty students participated in this second conference held during 2012. Awards ceremony keynote speaker was Jim Howard, 2012 president of IEEE and manager of Electric System Compliance for Lakeland Electric. Participants were encouraged to form multi-disciplinary, three-person teams comprised of students from electrical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, mechanical engineering and industrial engineering to benefit the most from the experience. It also brought together multiple fields of engineering students to learn about the Arduino Uno R3 Microcontroller. The conference consisted of various workshops such as programming basics of the microcontroller and a basic circuits workshop to teach students what they would need to know to get started on their own microcontroller projects as well as a competition to encourage students to design, build and test their ideas to complete various challenges using the Arduino Uno R3. Left: Guest Speaker Jim Howard Bottom Right: 1st Place Team “S/\3 Super Science Squad” and Participants of the Microcontroller Conference
IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Graduate Fellowship — Ibrahim Nassar
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USF Electrical Engineering Professor Named National Academy of Inventors Charter Fellow Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering, Dr. Richard D. Gitlin has been named as a Charter Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors. Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction awarded to academic inventors who have demonstrated innovation through inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society. Dr. Gitlin was presented with a trophy and a rosette pin at the 2nd Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors, held on February 22, 2013 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Tampa. Dr. Richard D. Gitlin
The Passing of a Microwave Legend Distinguished University Professor that developed what later became the Center Emeritus, Dr. Rudolph Henning passed for Wireless and Microwave Information away on July 9, 2013. Dr. Henning’s Systems (the WAMI Center) and with it the career accomplishments ranged from Florida-based IEEE Wireless and Microwave holding the Chief Engineer position Technology Conference (WAMICON), a 3-day of the Sperry Microwave Electronics international conference. He was described as Division of the Sperry Gyroscope Co. to the father of the microwave community, and being the Associate Dean of the College was said to always have the time to answer of Engineering at USF. His honors and questions and give great counsel. He also awards were just as varied including the had more energy and clarity than anyone Dr. Rudolph Henning IEEE Centennial Medal, the Distinguished else in the room. A scholarship fund will be University Professor Award, and the NSF Presidential established in his name at the University of South Award for Excellence in Science. Henning was also Florida College of Engineering. responsible to leading and inspiring the faculty team
Outside the Classroom Professor and Chair, Tom Weller, stood in for Dean Wiencek at the “Ride the Wave” event held to celebrate the outstanding fundraising efforts of the College of Engineering.
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Professor Emeritus, Dave Snider, won two bluegrass fiddling contests last year in Tampa and in Long Beach, Ca. In both contests, he was the only entrant.
Electrical Engineering Students Place Second at 2012 IEEE Microwave Theory and Techniques Society Video Contest A team of three electrical engineering graduate students – Frank Alexander, Justin Boone and Mike Grady – took the second place in the 2012 IEEE Microwave Theory & Techniques Society Video Contest for their video titled “Mario Teaches Microwaves.” MTT-S is a technical society comprised of more than 11,000 members worldwide. The core purpose of the Society is to foster the advancement and application of RF and microwave theory and techniques. Members of MTT-S are engaged in research, development, design, or manufacturing of high frequency materials, devices, circuits, components, or systems.
Frank Alexander
Justin Boone
Mike Grady
Graduation In May 2013, the Department of Electrical Engineering conferred over 70 Ph.D., Master’s, and Bachelor’s degrees. Graduating seniors (right) attended a banquet with faculty members to celebrate the achievement.
Teaching Assistant Excellence Award The department of Electrical Engineering at the University of South Florida has selected three Teaching Assistants for the annual excellence award. This award recognizes that their service as a TA is exemplary in terms of quality of instruction, student interaction and contribution to the continuous improvement of our courses. This years winners are Md. Imran Khan, Eduardo Rojas, and Ivan Rivera.
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EE News Vol. 01, Issue 01 Spring 2013
Coming Soon - Electrical Engineering Open House Alumni, current students, and community members are invited to visit the department of Electrical Engineering. Come learn about our current research and advancements in the field. Date to be announced.
Produced by Electrical Engineering Dr. Thomas Weller, Chair Jessica Procko, Editor University of South Florida 4202 East Fowler Ave, ENB 118 Tampa, FL 33620 V: 813-974-2369 F: 813-974-5250 Editorial Contact: jprocko@usf.edu