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October 2010
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A Message from the Associate Dean

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Welcome to Drexel College of Engineering's first Research Newsletter. As the Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies, it is my pleasure to share with you the outstanding success Drexel College of Engineering's research has achieved in only the first quarter of this fiscal year. Our research expenditures are $30M, our awards total $37M and we've received 55 awards thus far. The focus of these awards span the engineering field, but one factor remains consistent; Drexel is poised at the forefront of socially conscious technology.  Hitting on pressing issues such as today's energy crisis and efficient transceiver communication, CoE is working to improve our surrounding community and the world. It's with great pleasure that I share these successes with you as we continue our commitment to excellence in the research community. 
 
Dr. Anthony Lowman
Please contact Elizabeth Brachelli, with any questions or for more information about the College of Engineering.


Research News
College of Engineering
Drexel University
3141 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Drexel Team Creates Transparent Antennas from Ink Jet Printer
A team of Drexel electrical engineers are working to develop transparent antennas that can be customized for printing to fabrics, automobiles and military vehicles. The antennas are synthesized from an ink jet printer technique that coats conductive polymers onto flexible materials. The goal is to make unobtrusive high speed wireless communications links using transceivers that are fabricated using unconventional materials. "We came up with the idea when we heard soldiers in Afghanistan were unable to communicate underground. Their transceivers were ill equipped to deal with the geological environment.  Our transparent antennas can be customized and printed out on the scene for quick and convenient communication. They can also be applied in more conventional ways, such as wheeling your car out of the supermarket without having to stop for checkout." said Dr. Adam Fontecchio, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Associate Dean of Engineering for Undergraduate Affairs. 

This project was initiated with funding from the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering Center through the ACIN institute. The faculty and student research team spun out a local business at the ACIN center in Camden, NJ.  This company, Metantenna, LLC seeks to provide clients with ink jet fabricated antennas for specialized wireless communications applications. "We're looking forward to finding additional investors in the research so that we can proceed to develop a small scale transparent-antenna distribution plant," said Dr. Timothy Kurzweg, Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Assistant Dean of Engineering.  Read More.
Drexel Pioneers Green Energy Research Efforts
Drexel University is directing multiple innovative green energy conservation research ventures. The College of Engineering is leading one of the latest energy projects in smart grid technology known as "virtual generation."  In partnership with Viridity Energy, Chika Nwankpa (ECE) and Karen Miu (ECE) will use the newly implemented energy monitoring system on Drexel's main campus to recycle wasted energy.  This system will provide real-time measurements of the University's power usage and eventually allow Drexel to sell energy back to the larger public grid. "PECO looks forward to building on our long-standing relationship with Drexel, coordinating with the University on this important project and studying the potential to apply this technology on a broader basis in the region," said John McDonald, VP of Technical Services. Read more.

In addition to heading this energy project, Drexel will be the leading academic partner to the region's Energy Commercialization Institute (ECI). The project will accelerate alternative and clean energy technology with the support of faculty research and sponsored funding. Drexel, the University of Pennsylvania and Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern PA established the ECI with $1.2 million from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and modeled after the Nanotechnology Institute (NTI). "We wanted to create a model that would build off our previous success in the Nanotechnology Institute and that fulfilled our vision for finding solutions to today's energy issues," said Dr. Anthony Lowman, Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Studies. Drexel researchers will be focusing on ECI's vision to develop high-impact energy generation, transportation and conservation. During the first round of funding, Drexel received awards for projects including developing a wind-turbine for commercial use, creating clean energy from coal and organic waste products, and developing a process to produce hydrogen fuel from fossil fuels without greenhouse gas emissions. Read More.

Engineering Awards: July 2010 to Present

Michel Barsoum (MSE), Alkali-Activated Cement (AAC) as A Sustainable Building Material, Environmental Protection Agency

Jason Baxtor (CBE), Microreactor for High-Yield Solution Deposition of Thin Films and Nanowires, National Science Foundation

Yuanfang Cai (CS), AMAComP:Empirical Evaluation of Advanced Composition Mechanisms for Software Artefacts, National Science Foundation

Edward Celiano (ACIN), ACIN PO11 Westgate HITL, U.S. Army Communications-Electronics

Edward Celiano (ACIN), PO11 TO 28 Westgate Consulting - Sensor Networking Wireless, U.S. Army

Edward Celiano (ACIN), PO11 TO 29 Speciality Systems - For Analysis and Design of a Common Tool, U.S. Army

Edward Celiano (ACIN), PO11 TO 30 Speciality Systems - Establishment of an Unmanned Aircraft, U.S. Army

Alisa Clyne (MEM), A hybrid nano-bioprinting system for tissue engineering, National Science Foundation

Alisa Clyne (MEM), Endothelial Cell-Basement Membrane Response to Strain in High Glucose (#2), American Heart Association

Kapil Dandekar (ECE), A Framework for Wireless Network Security Based on Reconfigurable Antennas, National Science Foundation

Kapil Dandekar (ECE), NeTS: Small: Cognitive Antennas for Wireless Ad Hoc Networks, National Science Foundation

Yossef Elabd (CBE), CAREER: Multicomponent Transport in Polymer Electrolyte Membranes, National Science Foundation

Yossef Elabd (CBE), Transport in Polymeric Materials used in Biomedical Devices, National Science Foundation

Yury Gogotsi (MSE), Power Reactant Delivery System for Air Independent Fuel Cell, Ingenium Technologies

Rachel Greenstadt (CS), Investigating Diversity in Online Community Filtering, National Science

Mark Hempstead (ECE), AfterBurner: Efficient Performance Scaling via Post-Retirement Processing, National Science Foundation

Mong-Ying Hsieh (MEM), Integrating Computational Thinking in Tomorrow's Mechanical Engineering Education, The MathWorks, Inc.

Yick Hsuan (CAEE), Lightweight Green Roof Systems, Environmental Protection Agency

Jeremy Johnson (CS), AF: Collaborative Research: High Performance Exact Linear Algebra Kernels, National Science Foundation

Surya Kalidindi (MEM), GAANN: Interdisciplinary Training in Mechanical Engineering and Science, Sponsored by: U.S. Department of Education

Surya Kalidindi (MEM), GOALI: Deformation Mechanisms and Microstructure Evolution in Thermo-Mechanical Processing of Mg alloys for Structural Automotive Applications, National Science Foundation

Surya Kalidindi (MEM), Use of Spherical Nanoindentation to Characterize the Anisotropic Properties of Microscale Constituents & Interfaces in Hierarchically Structured Composite Materials, Army Research Office

Moshe Kam (ECE), Reconfigurable Antennas for Commericial Wireless Networks, Adant

Minjun Kim (MEM), Collaborative Research: Biologically Inspired Robotic Microswimmers", National Science Foundation

Minjun Kim (MEM), Collaborative Teaching and Interdisciplinary Discovery-Based Experiments for Understanding Nanoscale Metrology and Manufacturing, National Science Foundation

Minjun Kim (MEM), REU Supplement: CAREER: The integration of Biomolecular Motors for Bacterial Actuation, Sesing, and Transport at Micro/Nanoscale, National Science Foundation

Youngmoo Kim (ECE), MRI-R2: Development of Common Platform for Unifying Humanoids Research, National Science Foundation

Youngmoo Kim (ECE), Summer Music Technology Program, Agilent Technologies

Kenneth Lau (CBE), CAREER: Engineering and Integration of Polymer Electronic Materials for Alternative Energies, National Science Foundation

Kenneth Lau (CBE), Solventless Particle Encapsulation via Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition, Ben Franklin Technology Partners

Spiros Mancoridis (ACIN), SAPIENT III, Lockheed Martin Corporation

Karen Miu Miller (ECE), Miu DOE/PPL: Caps & SW Placement - Engineering Services for Smart Grid Project, PPL Electric Utilities

Hongseok Noh (MEM), Microfluidics Laboratory Modules and Kits for Undergraduate Education, National Science Foundation

Chika Nwankpa (ECE), Smart Future Greater Philadelphia: Promoting Innovation, Opportunity and Sustainability Through Smart Grid Technology, PECO

Mira Olson (CAEE), Survey and Analysis of Recreational use of Streams and Rivers in the City of Philadelphia, CDM/URS

Giuseppi Palmese (CBE), Multiscale Synthesis, Modeling and Design of High Performance Polymer Systems, Army Research LAB (ARL)

Christopher Peters (ECE), Drexel University Nuclear Engineering Education Lab, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commision

Anu Pradhan (CAEE), Long-Term Bridge Performance Program, Rutgers University

Gail Rosen (ECE), Biological Systems Research on the Role of Microbial Communities in Carbon Cycling, Kent State University

Dario Salvucci (CS), Support for the International Conference on Cognitive Modeling 2010, Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp.

Masoud Soroush (CBE), Collaborative Research: GOALI: Design of Chemically Self-Regulated, Acrylic Coatings Processes through Iterative use of Chemical Quantum Calculations and Spectroscopic Methods, National Science Foundation

Jonathan Spanier (MSE), Fabrication Technology for Oxide Film Heterastructure Devices, Structured Materials Industries Inc (SMI)

Jonathan Spanier (MSE), GAANN for Renewable Energy Technologies and Infrastructure Networks (RETAIN), U.S. Department of Education

Wei Sun (MEM), A Dual Freeform Microplasma and Protein Printing Process for Tissue Engineering Application, National Science Foundation

Mitra Taheri (MSE), DU Faculty Dev. Program in Nuclear Materials Science: Design and Characterization of Radiation-Tolerant Alloys using Multiscale Grain Boundary Engineering and Advanced Microscopy Methods, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission

Mitra Taheri (MSE), Instrumentation for Research and Education in Nuclear Engineering and Nuclear Materials Science: Quantifying Radiation Damage and Detection in Reactor Materials, U.S. Department of Energy

Mitra Taheri (MSE), Multiscale Correlation of Magnetism and Microstructure at Iron/Oxide Interfaces, National Science Foundation

Mitra Taheri (MSE), Multiscale Investigation of the Effect of Alloying Elements on the Mechanical Behavior of Ultra High Strength Steels, Carpenter Technology Corporation

Tein-Min Tan (MEM), Analytical and Experimental Studies on Airworthiness and Sustainment of Aircraft Structures, Federal Aviation Administration

John Walsh (ECE), NetSE:Small: Connections over Multiple Network Paths via Delay Mitigating Codes, National Science Foundation

Steven Weber (ECE), Collaborative Research: Cognitive Ad Hoc Networks: Capacity Optimization Through Local Adaptation, National Science Foundation

Steven Weber (ECE), Rethinking Mobile Ad Hoc Networks: A Non-Equilibrium Information Theory, University of Texas at Austin

Ulrike Wegst (MSE), Complex Nanocomposites for Bone Regeneration, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Antonios Zavaliangos (MSE), GAANN: Drexel Research and Eduation in Advanced Materials (GAANN-DREAM), U.S. Department of Education

Gongyao Zhou (MEM), GOALI, Research on Functionalized Nanodiamond Reinforced Biopolymers for Micro Porous Surgical Fixation Devices, National Science Foundation