Faculty News
Research:
Prof. Chunlei Liang (MAE) has received an Office of Naval Research 2014 Young Investigator Program award for his research project, “High-Fidelity Simulations of Fluid-Structure Interaction for Leatherback Sea Turtle Inspired Propulsion.” Working under this three-year, $510,000 award, Prof. Liang will continue his pioneering work to advance the high-order spectral difference method for computational fluid dynamics on moving, deforming, and sliding domains using unstructured meshes.
Media Mentions:
On April 19, Allan Friedman (visiting scholar, Cyber Security Policy Research Institute) was interviewed about the Heartbleed computer virus on NewsChannel 8. (video)
“Paper-based ultracapacitors with carbon nanotubes-graphene composites,” an article co-authored by members of Prof. Michael Keidar’s Micro-propulsion and Nanotechnology Lab, was published on April 22 and has received a good deal of media attention, including: Discovery, The Christian Science Monitor, ScienceDaily, R&D Magazine, ScienceNews, TechTimes, GrapheneTimes, Science Recorder, and PhysOrg. The paper citation is: Jian Li, Xiaoqian Cheng, Jianwei Sun, Cameron Brand, Alexey Shashurin, Mark Reeves, and Michael Keidar. “Paper-based ultracapacitors with carbon nanotubes-graphene composites,” Journal of Applied Physics 115, 164301 (2014); doi: 10.1063/1.4871290.
On Earth Day, April 22, Prof. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) appeared on a Voice of America (VOA) television program, “On the Line,” to discuss the economic argument for action on climate change. (video)
Conferences & Presentations:
On April 9, Prof. Tarek El-Ghazawi (ECE) gave an invited talk at the Dean's Distinguished Lecture Series at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University for Science and Technology . The talk, titled “Making Heterogeneity a First Class Citizen,” addressed hardware-software co-design issues for productive high-performance computing systems with hardware accelerators, such as Graphical Processing Units (GPUs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and others.
Prof. Tianshu Li (CEE) was invited to visit the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Vermont on April 25. While there, Prof. Li delivered a department seminar titled “Gaining molecular insight into the nucleation of ice and hydrates: Moving beyond direct molecular simulations.”
On April 15, Prof. Volker Sorger (ECE) gave an invited talk at the annual 2014 SPIE Photonics Europe conference, held in Brussels, Belgium. The paper discussed recent advances in electro-optical modulation using graphene and transparent-conductive-oxides to break the classical energy and speed limits of these devices.
Student News
Alyse Stone (MAE, senior) and her teammates, GW students Henry Palancar and Rhiannon Scanlon, formed the student start-up Koti, and won Honorable Mention and $2,500 at the Texas Christian University Values and Ventures Competition, held April 11-12 at the university. The competition is an annual event for undergraduate students around the world to pitch plans for for-profit enterprises that impact society in meaningful ways. Koti aims to revolutionize the way international NGOs, relief organizations, and governments aid individuals impacted by natural disasters. The team has developed a product that provides families temporary homes in the form of a compact cube that is affordable, lightweight, and easy to use. It uses green technology and sustainable materials, and it includes a bed, a renewable light source, and clean water.
Qi Wang (CS, doctoral student), along with Prof. Gabriel Parmer (CS), received the Best Student Paper Award at the IEEE Real-Time and Embedded Technology and Applications Symposium for their paper “FJOS: Practical, Predictable, and Efficient System Support for Fork/Join Parallelism.” The symposium was held April 15-17, in Berlin, Germany.
SEAS Computing Facility News
Security Awareness Series: Compliance and Risk Management - A University Perspective
Speaker: Brian Markham, Director, Compliance and Risk Services, Division of Information Technology
Foggy Bottom Campus:
Wednesday, April 30
1:00 – 2:00 pm
Marvin Center, Rooms 402-404
RSVP to attend the Foggy Bottom Campus session
Virginia Science and Technology Campus (VSTC):
Thursday, May 1
11:00 – 12:00 pm
Enterprise Hall, Room 176
RSVP to attend the VSTC session
Learn about the role of technology, research and the business related compliance and risk management functions, within institutions of higher learning.
The SEAS Computing Facility in partnership with Apple is proud to offer the SEAS faculty, staff, and students the following two workshops:
What's new with OS X Mavericks: Overview, new features, and tips and tricks in Apple's latest operating system. This workshop is recommended for existing Apple users.
Friday, May 2 (11:00 am – 12:00 pm) and
Friday, May 9 (1:00 – 2:00 pm)
Tompkins 201
Apple 101: Getting started with Apple computers, transitioning from Windows to OS X. This workshop is recommended for users new to the Apple operating system.
Friday, May 2 (1:00 – 2:00 pm) and
Friday, May 9 (11:00 am – 12:00 pm)
Tompkins 201
The workshops will be led by Brian Shear, the GW university Apple representative. Brian also will be available for one-on-one sessions if you have specific questions. Seating is limited so please RSVP at your earliest convenience.
Guest Vignette
Statistical Modeling Approaches in Image Understanding
A picture is worth a thousand words, and understanding a picture by a computer is an important and difficult problem, since it carries large amount of information. As sensor and computer technologies improve at a dramatic pace, the amount and types of image data also increase faster than they can be processed manually. There are image sensors in space, in the air, and on the ground, and some are used for biomedical applications. Image sensors cover spectral ranges from the microwave (synthetic aperture radar), infrared (IR), and visual spectra.
Professor Eom’s research develops algorithms by modeling images using statistical methods. To apply statistical modeling approaches, images are assumed to have certain properties. For example, an image is assumed to be complex enough to be viewed as a random field. Then a model is developed and an image is characterized by estimating the parameters of the model. Professor Eom is working on applications of this approach in collaboration with his former visiting scholars, Professor Jongho Kim and Dr. Peng Liu, as well as with graduate students. Examples include the reduction of speckle in synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ultrasound images, reduction of the blocking effect in image compression algorithms, the restoration of images by total variation, and compressed sensing of multispectral images. (Provided courtesy of Professor Kie- Bum Eom of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering)
SEAS Events
MAE Seminar: “A Strategy for Assessing the Credibility of Models and Simulations for Regulatory Decision Making”
Speaker: Dr. Tina M. Morrison, Advisor of Computational Modeling, Center for Devices & Radiological Health, Food and Drug Administration
Monday, April 28
2:00 pm
771 Rome Hall
Software Carpentry Bootcamp
Tuesday and Wednesday, April 29 and 30
Virginia Science and Technology Campus
More info and registration
Software Carpentry Bootcamp, a two-day intensive hands-on program for scientists and engineers, is sponsored by the GW Institute for Massively Parallel Applications and Computing Technologies (IMPACT) and will be hosted by Profs. Lorena Barba and Tarek El-Ghazawi. Software Carpentry's mission is to help scientists and engineers become more productive by teaching them basic lab skills for computing, such as program design, version control, data management, and task automation.
SEAS Seminar: “Regenerative Medicine Approaches for Treatment of Intervertebral Disc Disorders”
Speaker: Dr. Lori A. Setton, Duke University
Thursday, May 1
1:30 pm
115 Smith Hall
MAE Seminar: “Hydrodynamic Ship Design Optimization Considering Uncertainty”
Speaker: Dr. Emilio Campana, CNR–INSEAN National Research Council of Italy – Marine Technology Research Institute
Thursday, May 1
2:00 pm
640 Phillips Hall
ECE Colloquium: “Coordinated Task Management and Scheduling for MapReduce”
Speaker: Prof. Weikuan Yu, Auburn University
Friday, May 2
11:00 am – 12:00 pm
640 Phillips Hall
CEE Colloquium: “Development and Implementation of a Full Scale Biosolids Management Facility”
Speaker: Dr. Christopher Wilson, P.E., Senior Associate, Greeley and Hansen LLC
Friday May 2
2:00 – 3:00 pm
Dean’s Conference Room, Tompkins Hall
MAE Seminar: “Nanogenerators as New Energy Technology & Piezotronics for Functional Systems”
Speaker: Dr. Zhong Lin Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology
Thursday, May 8
11:00 am
736 Phillips Hall
SAVE THE DATE: Pelton Senior Design Competition & Senior-Alumni BBQ
Wednesday, May 14
5:00 – 9:00 pm
Marvin Center Grand Ballroom
Registration required
MAE Seminar: “Basic Research in Spacecraft Actuator Control Allocation & Parameter Identification”
Speaker: Dr. Frederick Aaron Leve, Research Aerospace Engineer Guidance, Navigation, & Controls Group, The Air Force Research Laboratory/Space Vehicles Directorate
Thursday, May 15
11:00 am
736 Phillips Hall
MAE Seminar: “Microfluidics Assisted Bio- and Nano-materials Synthesis”
Speaker: Prof. Amy Shen, University of Washington
Monday, May 19
1:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall
MAE Seminar: “Geometry of Collectives: Control, Dynamics, and Reconstruction”
Speaker: Dr. P. S. Krishnaprasad, University of Maryland College Park, Institute of Systems Research
Thursday, May 22
2:00 pm
736 Phillips Hall
Dissertation Defenses
Name of Student Defending: Kumar Jeev
Title of Dissertation: “Dynamic Interaction between Cap and Trade and Electricity Markets”
Advisor: Michael Duffey (EMSE)
Tuesday, April 29
1:00 pm
1776 G Street, Conference Room 120
Name of Student Defending: David John Rigby
Title of Dissertation: “Development of a Novel Electrochemical Process for Treatment of Domestic and Industrial Wastewater”
Advisor: Prof. Rumana Riffat (CEE)
Thursday, May 8
10:30 am
640 Phillips Hall
Twisty puzzle solving offers an entertaining way of improving your dexterity and problem solving skills.