August 9-15, 2021

On July 29, Dr. Igor Efimov (BME) received the Heart Rhythm Society’s 2021 Distinguished Scientist Award. The award is given annually in recognition of “an individual who has made major contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of cardiac pacing and/or cardiac electrophysiology.”

Dr. Michael Keidar (MAE) received the Plasma Medicine Award (PMA) at the International Conference on Plasma Medicine, held (virtually) August 2-6. The PMA is the highest recognition awarded by the International Society for Plasma Medicine (ISPM) for lifetime achievements in the field of the plasma medicine. It is awarded by the ISPM Board typically to one individual every two years during the International Conference on Plasma Medicine. 

Dr. James Hahn (CS) has received a four-year, $2.2 million National Institutes of Health R01 grant for the project “Advancing 3D optical body surface scan technology to assess physiological and psychological effects in highly obese population.” This interdisciplinary project will develop an optical scanning technology along with machine learning to assess the health of highly obese subjects, and in particular to assess hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. Dr. Hahn is the principal investigator (PI) on the grant. The co-investigators are Drs. Marijane Hynes (Medicine, SMHS), Fang Jin (Statistics, CCAS), John Philbeck (Psychology, CCAS), Khashayar Vaziri (Surgery, SMHS), Mamoun Younes (Pathology, SMHS), Steven Zeddun (Medicine, SMHS), and Xiaoke Zhang (Statistics, CCAS). Separately, Dr. Hahn also received a one-year GW Cross Disciplinary Research Fund grant for the project “Prenatal Care Using Optical Body Scans.” This pilot project will develop an NIH R01 proposal to use optical scanning technology for prenatal care. Dr. Hahn is the PI on this grant, as well; his co-investigators are Drs. Homa Ahmadzia (OBGYN, SMHS), Fang Jin (Statistics, CCAS), Nadia Khati (Radiology, SMHS), John Philbeck (Psychology, CCAS), Christine Pintz (Nursing), Anne Siegel (OBGYN, SMHS), and Xiaoke Zhang (Statistics, CCAS).

Dr. Howie Huang (ECE) has received a one-year, $100,000 research grant from Raytheon. The grant supports the development of machine learning algorithms for cognitive radio and signal processing. In October the team will present their most recent paper, titled “Rich Feature Deep Learning Classifier for Multiple Simultaneous Radio Signals,” at the 55th Asilomar Conference on Signals, Systems and Computers.

Dr. Tianshu Li (CEE) and his collaborator at UC Davis have received a three-year, $639,105 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant for the project “An integrated computational suite for large-scale modeling of crystal nucleation.” Dr. Li is the lead principal investigator on the project. The team will deploy an integrated, large-scale, open-source computational suite for modeling crystal nucleation under realistic conditions. The infrastructure will enable broad applications in materials synthesis, surface engineering, membrane fouling, and inorganic mineralization. The project is co-funded by two NSF divisions: Division of Materials Research and Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transportation Systems. GW's share of the award is $328,338.

Dr. Lijie Grace Zhang (MAE) has received a three-year, $490,000 National Science Foundation grant for the project “Understanding Multi-stage Neural Stem Cell Function via 4D Bioprinting Reprogrammable System.” Neural injuries represent one of the most common and devastating clinical challenges worldwide. The objective of this study is to develop a novel 4D printed smart system that can change its shape over time in order to improve neural stem cell function. The study will elucidate the fundamental mechanisms of neural stem cell development and differentiation in a dynamic environment.

Dr. Igor Efimov (BME)—along with his doctoral student Rose Win, Dr. Gregory Trachiotis (adjunct faculty, BME), his colleague Dr. John Rogers (Northwestern University), and co-authors—has published the following paper in Nature Materials: Q. Yang, T. Wei, R. T. Win . . . G. D. Trachiotis . . . I. R. Efimov, and J. A. Rogers, “Photocurable bioresorbable adhesives as functional interfaces between flexible bioelectronic devices and soft biological tissues,” Nature Materials. Published July 29, 2021. The paper presents a novel bioadhesive that will be used in surgery to provide a bio interface with implantable electronics.

Dr. Erica Gralla (EMSE), her graduate student Jad El Hage, and her colleagues recently published the following article: J. El Hage, P. Gravitt, J. Ravel, N. Lahrichi, and E. Gralla, “ Supporting scale-up of COVID-19 RT-PCR testing processes with discrete event simulation,” PLOS ONE. Published July 29, 2021.

Dr. Michael Keidar (MAE) and his team have published the following paper: C. Corbella, S. Portal, and M. Keidar, “Non-thermal plasma multi-jet platform based on a flexible matrix,” Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 92, Issue 8. 

Dr. Xitong Liu (CEE), his graduate student Yarong Qi, and their collaborator have published the following article: Y. Qi, T. Tong, and X. Liu, “Mechanisms of Silica Scale Formation on Organic Macromolecule-Coated Surfaces,” ACS ES&T Water, 2021. This work investigates the mechanisms of combined silica scaling and organic fouling on surfaces, and it contributes to our understanding of the performance of membranes when treating unconventional water sources.

Dr. Chung Hyuk Park (BME) and his doctoral students Baijun Xie and Mariia Sidulova have published the following paper: B. Xie, M. Sidulova, and C. H. Park, “Robust Multimodal Emotion Recognition from Conversation with Transformer-Based Crossmodality Fusion,” Sensors. Published as part of the special issue Sensor Based Multi-Modal Emotion Recognition.

Dr. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE) and his doctoral student Dor Hirsh Bar Gai (EMSE) have published the following paper: D. H. B. Gai and E. Shittu, “Salmon Versus Power: Dam Removal and Power Supply Adequacy,” IEEE Engineering Management Review, Vol. 49, No. 2, pp. 126-133, 2021.

Dr. Lance Hoffman (founder, Cyber Security and Privacy Research Institute) was quoted in the TechNewsWorld article “US, NATO Accuse China of Massive Microsoft Hack” and The News-Gazette article “Big 10: What you need to know about cybersecurity: ‘Expect a future where a computer doesn't just connect you, but can also be a weapon.’”

Dr. Leila Farhadi (CEE) and her doctoral students Parisa Heidary and Asif Mahmood gave oral presentations at the IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium virtual conference, held July 12-16. They presented the following: 1) “A Reduced- Adjoint Variational Data Assimilation for Estimating Soil Moisture Profile from Surface Soil Moisture Observations;” and 2) “A Framework for Coupled Estimation of Evapotranspiration and Recharge Flux by Assimilating Remotely Sensed Land Surface Temperature and Soil Moisture Observation.” Dr. Farhadi also chaired the conference’s “Remote Sensing of Soil Properties” session. 

Dr. Howie Huang (ECE) and his collaborators at the University of Virginia and the University of Indiana organized the National Science Foundation (NSF) workshop “Multi-Campus Cyber-Security Data Curation for Research and Education,” held July 27-29. More than 50 cyber security researchers and university administrators, as well as representatives from government and industry, attended the workshop. This one-year NSF project will formulate a vision and roadmap for the creation of a multi-campus data collection and sharing infrastructure for use by machine-learning cybersecurity and privacy researchers.

Dr. Chung Hyuk Park (BME) and his collaborators (Drs. Minjun Kim and Xiao Zhang), his former post-doctoral research fellows (Drs. Juyoun Park and Jaeyeon Lee), and his doctoral student (Baijun Xie) presented three papers (virtually) at two recent international conferences: 1) J. Park and C. H. Park, “Recognition and Prediction of Surgical Actions Based on Online Robotic Tool Detection,” IEEE International Conference in Robotics and Automation, held May 30 – June 5; 2) J. Lee, X. Zhang, C. H. Park, and M. Kim, “Real-time Teleoperation of Magnetic Force-driven Microrobots with 3D Haptic Force Feedback for Micro-navigation and Micro-transportation,” IEEE International Conference in Robotics and Automation; and 3) B. Xie and C. H. Park, “Empathetic Robot with Transformer-Based Dialogue Agent,” 18th International Conference on Ubiquitous Robots, held July 12-14.

Dr. Ekundayo Shittu (EMSE), with colleagues from the International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins University, Health Systems Consult Ltd, and Preston Associates for International Development in Nigeria, presented the following paper at the virtual July 2021 INFORMS Healthcare Conference: E. Shittu, C. Wonodi, N. Chuku, and N. Ene. “Understanding the Factors Influencing COVID-19 Community Mitigation Practices: Evidence from Nigeria.”

Dr. Can Korman (ECE) recently received a certificate of appreciation from the IEEE Magnetics Society for serving the society as chair of its Washington, DC/Northern Virginia chapter from 2002-2020.