the 2012 ece communicator

7/31/2019 The 2012 ECE Communicator

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COMMUNICATORElectrical and Computer Engineering

In This Issue

Summer 2012

MRSEC at the U

the

University of Utah

The Materials Research Science and EngineeringCenter (MRSEC) is a six-year, $21.5 million researcheffort supported by the National Science Foundation,Utah Science Technology and Research (USTAR)initiative and the University of Utah. This new

center focuses on two interdisciplinary groups(IRGs) entitled Plasmonic Metamaterials from theTerahertz to the Ultraviolet and Organic Spin-tronics. Professor and Associate Chair of Electri-cal and Computer Engineering Ajay Nahata(pictured above with students) has been chosen tolead the Plasmonic Metamaterials team.

Read more about the MRSEC on page 6.

MRSEC at the UMessage from the ChairNew FacultyA USTAR Innovation

CenterDistinguished FacultyNew MRSEC Programat the UTechnical Open HouseA Better Hearing AidECE Class of 2012Donors and FriendsKeep in Touch

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Message from the Chair

A Look at This Year

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Welcome to this year's Communicator, the newsletter for the Electrical and Computer EngineeringDepartment at the University of Utah. We are very excited to share with you the developments takingplace in our department.

This year has been a very busy and productive one. We have increased the number of faculty on staff,with another two outstanding faculty members joining us for the coming school year. We are verypleased at the work our faculty has been doing. This past year our faculty have received funding, con-tracts, and awards from such resources as the CIA, NSF, AFOSR, and DARPA. Several of our facultyparticipated in the new Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), which is beingfunded by NSF, the USTAR initiative, and the University of Utah for $21 million over the next six years.

Our faculty have been highlighted in several news and media outlets, including Wired magazine, CNET,IEEE Spectrum, Gizmag, Popular Science magazine, and the MIT News Office. We have had exposureworldwide in such outlets as The Engineer, London; Asian News International (ANI) via Newstrack,India; Compulenta, Russia; Pressetext, Germany; Geek.com, Brazil; and CNET Australia. Our facultyhave been highlighted on television as well, including interviews on CNN and FOX13 news, where they

spoke about their current research and shared insights on the future of their work.

Because of our recent push in student recruiting, this year we had the highest number of studentsenrolled in our program in five years. These students have shown outstanding ability, which they dem-onstrated recently at this year's Technical Open House. Several graduates have already secured posi-tions at various engineering companies.

Although we are proud of our achievements, we know that a large part of the credit goes to ouralumni, donors, and friends. Thank you for your continual support and your incredible commitment tohigher education in Utah.

Sincerely,Gianluca Lazzi

New MRSEC, funded for $21 million over thenext 6 years Completion of $130 million USTAR researchfacility New faculty joining the ECE Department in July2012

U of U Engineering Department ranked oneof the best in the nation, with the graduate

school #54


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New Faculty

Dr. Simpson obtained the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engi-neering from Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, in 2003 and

2007, respectively. She worked through a grant from the GermanAcademic Exchange Service (DAAD) in Prof. Heyno Garbe'sElectromagnetic Compatibility Lab at the University of Hannover,Germany in summer of 2002. In summers of 2003 - 2006, sheworked as an engineering intern at Intel Corporation in Hills-boro, OR. In August 2007, Dr. Simpson joined the Electrical andComputer Engineering (ECE) Department at the University of New Mexico (UNM) as a tenure-track assistant professor. Herresearch lab encompasses the application of FDTD to modelingelectromagnetic phenomena at frequencies over 15 orders of magnitude (~1 Hz vs. ~600 THz). While at UNM, Prof. Simpson'sresearch activities were funded by Sandia National Labs, Intel Cor-poration, the Department of Energy, the UNM Research AllocationsCommittee, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, and theNational Science Foundation (NSF). She currently serves as associateeditor of IEEE Transactions on Antennas and Propagation.

These twooutstanding faculty members will be joining the ECE

Department starting July 1, 2012

Dr. Jamesina Simpson

Dr. Jeffrey WallingDr. Walling received the B.S. degree from the University of South Florida,Tampa, in 2000, and the M.S. and Ph. D. degrees from the University of Washington, Seattle, in 2005 and 2008, respectively. Prior to starting hisgraduate education he was employed at Motorola, Plantation, FL workingin cellular handset development. He interned for Intel, Hillsboro from2006-2007, where he worked on highly-digital transmitter architecturesand CMOS power amplifiers and continued this research while a Post-doctoral Research Associate with the University of Washington. He iscurrently an assistant professor in the electrical and computer engineer-ing department at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.

His current research interests include low-power wireless circuits,energy scavenging, high-efficiency transmitter architectures and CMOSpower amplifier design for software defined radio. Dr. Walling hasauthored over 30 articles in peer reviewed journals and refereedconferences. He received the Yang Award for outstanding graduateresearch from the University of Washington, Department of Elec-trical Engineering in 2008, an Intel Predoctoral Fellowship in2007-2008, and the Analog Devices Outstanding Student

Designer Award in 2006.

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A USTAR Innovation Center

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In April of this year, the new and much-anticipated James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Build-ing A USTAR Innovation Center, was dedicated. The undertaking of the construction of this $130million research facility resulted in a 208,000-square-foot center that promises to produce researchreflective of its top-of-the-line facilities. In addition to wet lab and research computing spaces, thebuilding also houses faculty offices, meeting rooms, and public areas.

The goal of the new center is to encourage collaboration across disciplines and enhance the connec-tion between research and industry. This outstanding facility not only provides the cutting-edge toolsneeded by researchers, but will also attract the best scientists around the globe, creating a hub of talented intellectuals working toward innovative ends. The center will also serve to further theprimary objective of USTAR, which is "to bolster Utahs research strengths and significantly increasetechnology commercialization to create many more high-caliber jobs throughout the state."

The building's namesake, James L. Sorenson, was one of the nation's foremost biomedical pioneers.Many of his inventions are now commonly used in the medical field, including disposable paper surgi-

cal masks, plastic venous catheters, and computerized heart monitoring systems. The SorensonLegacy Foundation donated $15 million to the construction and production of the new facility.

Several faculty in the University of Utah's Electrical and Computer Engineering Department will alsobe included in the innovative research taking place in the new center. USTAR faculty include theDr. Carlos Mastrangelo, Dr. Massood Tabib-Azar, Dr. Darrin Young and Dr. Hanseup Kim amongothers. ECE faculty using the facilities are part of the Micro and Nanofabrication as well as solid stateand device based technologies and research groups, in close collaboration with their colleagues fromall other engineering, science and mines disciplines. Work carried out there includes, but is not

limited to micro- and nano sensors, electronics, wireless telemetrysolutions in defense, energy and healthcare applications.

Implantable and bio-devices constitute a major part of the ongoing efforts.


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Distinguished FacultyHanseup Kim

Awards

Background

Dr. Hanseup Kim joined the University of Utah's Electricaland Computer Engineering Department in 2009 as a

USTAR Assistant Professor. Throughout his career he hasreceived various recognitions, two of the most distinguishedof which have been awarded within this last year: the 2011DARPA Young Faculty Award and the 2012 NSF CAREERAward. At the beginning of this year one of his journalarticles was highlighted on the cover page of the Lab-on-Chip Journal. Currently he is performing cutting-edgeresearch on micro/nano technology mainly for military and

biomedical applications, mainly supported byDARPA and NSF.

2011 DARPA Young Faculty Award

2012 NSF CAREER Award

According to the Pentagons Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the purpose of theYoung Faculty Award is to identify and engage rising research stars in junior faculty positions whowill focus a significant portion of their career on Department of Defense and national security issues.Dr. Hanseup Kim was one of only 39 of the nations brightest young scientists who were honored withthis award, and one out of only four faculty in the NEMS/MEMS topic area. For Dr. Kim's studies in nano-and micro-systems such as micropumps and valves, he was granted $300,000 for two years. His researchwill help address areas of need in the Department of Defense, especially as relates to medical uses.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award is offered through the Faculty Early CareerDevelopment (CAREER) Program, which selects "junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education andresearch within the context of the mission of their organizations." Dr. Kim will receive funding for$399,000 over the next five years for his project titled "CAREER: Next-Generation Micro Gas Chroma-tography System Toward Ultra-High Capacity, Selectivity, and Portability For Distributed EnvironmentalAwareness." Through this project, Dr. Kim will work to develop a wearable micro gas chromatographysystem to monitor airborne pollutants.

After earning a B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Seoul National University in 1997, Dr.Kim received his M.S. in 2003 and Ph.D. in 2006 at the University of Michigan in the same field. He contin-ued with the University of Michigan from 2006 to 2009 through a Postdoctoral Research Fellow positionat the Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS). In 2009 he joinedthe Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at the University of Utah as a USTAR Assis-tant Professor. Dr. Kim's research includes work with comprehensive Micro Electro MechanicalSystems (MEMS), including micro sensors, actuators, fabrication, packaging, and integrated

circuits for MEMS.


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New MRSEC Program at the UAn interdisciplinary group of University of Utah researchers is making way in achieving next-generationmaterials for Plasmonics and Organic Spintronics. The Materials Research Science and EngineeringCenter (MRSEC) is comprised of researchers from the departments of Chemistry, Electrical & Com-puter Engineering, Materials Science & Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical Engineeringand Physics & Astronomy.

The six-year, $21.5 million research effort is supported by the National Science Foundation, UtahScience Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative and the University of Utah. The Centers researchon new materials is organized into two Interdisciplinary Research Groups (IRGs). Plasmonic Metama-terials from the Terahertz to the Ultraviolet, IRG 1, focuses on exploiting the properties of artificiallystructured materials (metamaterials) across a broad range of the electromagnetic spectrum. OrganicSpintronics, IRG 2, is working to advance our understanding of the role of spin interactions in organicmaterials for the development of a range of different spin-related organic devices. Applications rangefrom telecommunications and imaging to new magnetic memory and low-cost organic photovoltaiccells. We are among the world leaders in these two fields, MRSEC Director Anil Virkar says.

Professor and Associate Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering Ajay Nahata leads IRG 1, theresearch team focusing on Plasmonic Metamaterials, comprised of three Focus Research Groups(FRGs). Plasmonics involves using light that propagates in the interface between a metal and nonmetal.A metamaterial is a material that is structured artificially by etching, drilling, milling or other methods,thus allowing engineers to manipulate how various wavelengths of light propagate on the surfaces of such materials. Plasmonics can allow tighter focusing than is possible using conventional microscopes,which may lead to better microscopic methods for biologists, Nahata says. The plasmonic metamateri-als team also studies the potential of uncommonly used wavelengths, such as terahertz radiation, todevelop faster devices for use in future communication and computing systems.

Professor and Associate Dean of Physics and Astronomy Brian Saam leads IRG 2, the Organic Spin-tronics research effort which involves five Focus Research Groups IRG 2is working to develop organic semiconductors used to carry and

store information not only electronically by exploitingthe electrons in atoms, but also spin-

Far right:Top photograph of focused ion beam system(FIB). Right: Photographs of three nanoscale structureswritten using the FIB. The

two images on top arebullseye antennas designed for plasmonics applicationsin the ultraviolet. The imageon bottom is the University of Utah logo. The smallestfeatures are ~2000 times

smaller than thewidth of a

human hair.


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tronically by using a characteristic of electrons and atomsknown as spin.

Organic semiconductors are aimed at developing faster, moreefficient computers, displays and communications, as well asbetter solar cells, says Valy Vardeny, Distinguished Professor

of Physics and Associate Director of the MRSEC. If we canunderstand the electronic, magnetic and spintronic proper-ties of these materials, they can be fabricated far less expen-sively than standard silicon electronics, and can be engineeredwith an enormous variety of other favorable characteristics,for example, as lightweight, flexible displays, or with resis-tance to harsh chemicals or extreme temperature, Vardenysays.

MRSEC is also a proud founding sponsor of the University of Utahs inaugural hosting of the Utah Science Olympiad, whichcan be seen online at utahscienceolympiad.utah.edu. MRSECfaculty and graduate students supported the Optics event aswell as a new Materials Science division with an emphasis onnano-materials. The Utah Science Olympiad is an annual statecompetition for middle and high school students, withdivision winners advancing to a national competition. ScienceOlympiad promotes hands-on learning experiences inscience, technology and engineering.

The Center is committed to providing quality education and

outreach with the goal of recruiting and training the nextgeneration of diverse scientists and engineers in revolution-ary materials science and technology. MRSEC achieves thisgoal by augmenting resources and expanding capacity of existing science and engineering education programs forK-12 students and by enabling and promoting research

experiences for undergraduate students.


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Technical Open House

John Cadwell 2012Richard A. Robb 2011

John M. Zrno 2010Paul F. Turner 2009

A. Richard Walje 2008Edward A.E. Rich 2007 Hyde M. Merrill 2006Roger P. Webb 2005W. Cleon Anderson 2004D. N. Nick Rose 2003

Nolan Bushnell 2002 A. Tee Migliori 2001 Joseph M. Ballantyne 1999Glen Wade 1998Calvin F. Quate 1997 Robert G. Engman 1995Raymond J. Noorda 1994Robert J. Grow 1993

Mac Van Valkenburg 1992Benjamin V. Cox 1991

Alumnus AwardsStudent Awards

Alumnus Award

Young Alumnus

Allan R. Walton 2011Cynthia Furse 2008Randal R. Sylvester 2007 Richard B. Brown 2003

Jonathan B. Steadman 2002

John Cadwell, BSEE, MD (above) was honored as the 2012Distinguished Alumnus. He delivered the keynote speech at theECE Technical Open House banquet held on April 10th.

Dr. Cadwell designed the first microprocessor controlled EMGinstrument. In 1979 he and his brother Carl, DDS, formedCadwell Laboratories, Inc. and began selling their device. Sincethen, Cadwell has been a leader in the development and manu-facture of innovative and reliable instruments for neurophysiol-ogy. Many instruments have been providing decades of service totheir owners.

Best Group Project 2012

Best Presentations 2012

Outstanding Seniors 2012

Power Engineering ConsortiumClinic Team: Oscar Arce, Guy Miller, Raju Subedi,

Judson Westgate, Daniel YEager

Joseph Boog, Katherine Furse, Matt Strum, Paul

Allen, Jonathan Pace

Electrical Engineering: Peter HillyardComputer Engineering: Matt Strum

Left to right: Dean Richard Brown and wife, Brenda; Distinguished Alumnus Priscilla, wife and John Cadwell; Dept Chair Gianluca Lazzi and wife, Dulce


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A Better Hearing AidDarrin Young, an Associate Professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department at theUniversity of Utah, in conjunction with colleagues in Ohio, has made exciting new strides in hearing aidtechnology.

Currently, cochlear implant microphone must be worn outside the head, limiting certain activities and

alerting others to the wearer's disability. Although it is estimated that some 220,000 people with hear-ing impairments have improved their hearing through these devices, the inconvenience and socialstigma created by the external microphones have actually deterred some users. Additionally, cochlearimplants employ wires to connect the microphone to the coil, which are subject to damage. Young'swork will help minimize these current issues, through a miniature microphone that may be implantedin the middle ear.

For those with severe hearing impairments, often the issue relates to damaged or inept hair cellslocated in the cochlea, which are critical in the process that leads to the sound signals being carried tothe brain. When a sound travels into the ear, the eardrum vibrates and causes the three inner-earbones to vibrate as well. One of these bones then touches the cochlea, after which these hair cells aresupposed to move and trigger the release of a neurotransmitter chemical that carries the sound to thebrain. In patients where the hair cells are not functioning, Young's microphone would be implantedwhere the ear drum connects to the ear bones, to detect the eardrum's vibrations and convert theminto electrical signals to send to the electrodes in the cochlea, effectually continuing the hearingprocess.

Implanting Young's device would require the removal of one of the three middle-ear bones to allow thesound to carry more effectually to the microphone. Additionally, the user would be required to weara charger behind the ear at night to recharge the battery.

The device has been successfully tested in four cadavers, with the microphone recording a somewhatfuzzy and muffled version of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Young intends to continue work on theimplant, improving the sound quality, minimizing the muffling, and increasing the microphone's ability topick up quieter and deeper pitches. The device currently measures 2.5 by 6.2 millimeters, which Young

would also like to reduce to 2 by 2 millimeters. Additionally, becauseof the necessity of surgery, approval from the U.S. Food and

Drug Administration would need to be obtained forthe implant. He


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In Their Own Words

B.S.E.E. Class of 2012

ECE Class of 2012

Employment

Graduate School

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I feel that the U has given me an excellent knowledge basefrom which I can base a professional career in powerengineering.

There is a good mix of professors who can teach well andother professors who have great research.

[The ECE Program] has provided me with the resourcesnecessary to pursue my passion in engineering.

Graduating class size:Gender ratio (male:female):Average GPAParticipation in IEEE:Participation in SWE:Participation in TBP:

Students with job offers:Average salary of job offers:Students accepting positions:Biggest Employer (9 jobs):

Students continuing on:Most popular program:

51 students48:33.2419 members3 members2 members

28/51 (54%)(as of Apr 2012)$62,99017/51 (33%)L-3 Communications

14/51 (27%)MS in Electrical Engineeringat the Unviersity of Utah


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Donors and FriendsWe are pleased to thank the following individuals for their charitable support between July 2011 and April 2012.

C. Edwin and Colleen Alter J. David AndersonVicki BaldwinWilma BoneBlaine and Colleen Busenbark

John and Priscilla CadwellFlorian Solzbacher and

Xiaojin ChenPin-Wei and Grace ChenDouglas and Laraine

ChristensenBeulah Dalley

James and Aukje DalleyDouglas and Denise DatwylerCharles and Eva ForbesDonald and Shari FrankeLawrence and Cynthia FurseNagendra GrandhiRobert and Linda GrowMichael and Patricia HaasSaid and Doreen HassanAlex and Karen HaymondPaul and Eleanor HillTimothy and Michele Hollist

Tyler and Shannon Hook Roger and Leigh Johnsen

We would like to recognize the following community partners for their supportbetween July 2011 and April 2012.

Applied Signal Technology, Inc.

Asynchronous Design ResearchChen Charitable FoundationCyoress SemiconductorGeneral Electric FoundationIEEE Power & Energy SocietyIntel FoundationIntermountain Power AgencyL-3 CommunicationsMicron Technology Foundation, Inc.PacifiCorpQuestar Corporation

Raytheon CompanyRocky Mountain Power FoundationUnited Way of Benton & Franklin

CountiesXE Corporation

Jeffrey and Julie JohnsonWalter and Carol McKnightGary and Marga Nelson

Joel John NelsonAndrew OstlerT. Jeffrey and Jennifer Payne

John and Rosemary Phillips John and Manell PiccoloWilliam Pohlchuck Neal Patwari and Cathleen

PowerPeter RhaKeming Zhou and Minyan

RuanKirk and Susan SamowitzMichael ScarpullaSusan Beatty SchulmanForrest and Rolayne

StaffansonKenneth and Mary TalbotScott and Alyson Talbot

John and Judy TooneMark and Cindy VernonHarold and Roberta VitaleYun Cheng and Sheue Ching

Yu

We have made every effort to ensure theaccuracy of this list, but if you would like to

report an omission, please [email protected].


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Department of Electrical and Computer EngineeringUniversity of Utah50 S. Central Campus Dr. Rm 3280Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206www.ece.utah.edu

K e e p i n T o u c h A l u m n i a r e e n c o u r a g e d t o u p d a t e t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n w i t h t h e E C E D e p a r t m e n t

U p d a t e y o u r c o n t a c t i n f o r m a t i o n o n l i n e : w w w . e c e . u t a h . e d u / a l u m n i _ u p d a t e

O r c o m p l e t e a n d s u b m i t t h e f o l l o w i n g s u r v e y t o : T h e E C E D e p a r t m e n t 5 0 S . C e n t r a l C a m p u s D r . R m 3 3 3 0 S a l t L a k e C i t y , U T 8 4 1 1 2 - 9 2 0 6

N a m e

A d d r e s s

C i t y S t a t e Z i p

E m a i l

C o m p a n y N a m e

N e w s ( a c t i v i t i e s , h o n o r s , a w a r d s )

G r a d u a t i o n Y e a r

P h o n e

F a x

C e l l

P o s i t i o n

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