Research

The College of Engineering's number one priority is undergraduate teaching. However, we also expect our faculty to contribute new knowledge to their profession, expose students to discovery, and participate in scholarly activity.

The College's research mission is closely tied to its responsibility to provide education to future engineers in the classroom while contributingto the research environment.

Multiple research efforts are under way and changing daily. Some highlights of that work are listed below.

Tarek El Dokor in Electrical and Computer Engineering is working on a broad range of projects that couple embedded electrical systems to a variety of tasks that range from working with wheelchair-bound patients to Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAV's). His team of students has created a variety of embedded systems and software systems. Undergraduate students have the opportunity to experiment and do research in the Embry-Riddle Machine Vision Lab.

Tom Gally in Aerospace Engineering recently completed a NASA faculty fellowship at NASA Langley. His efforts were primarily focused on coupling aerodynamic simulation with structural behavior. This coupled computational system enables designers to determine the coupled effects of flutter from the aerodynamic loading perspective with the structural mechanics response.

Dr. Tom Gally in the Aerospace Engineering department created this aerodynamic simulation showing the structural behavior of the airplane. Dr. Tom Gally in the Aerospace Engineering department uses this computational fluid dynamic model to analyze air flow around the wing of a plane.

Gary Gear in Electrical and Computer Engineering continues to work with students to create an autonomous helicopter. The embedded systems he and his students created use simple commands to do complex tasks. The scenario might be for the helicopter to search for a wildfire autonomously with minimal human intervention.

Dr. Gary Gear's autonomous helicopter which was created with the help of a few of his students.

Shigeo Hayashibara of Aerospace Engineering is working in multiple areas. Most recently he and a team of students used Computational Fluid Dynamics and a wind tunnel to test and help design an aerial refueling probe. In addition, Hayashibara is working with the Center for Teaching and Learning to use streaming video to enhance instruction methods in the classroom. He and his students are also designing a computer cluster to add to the supercomputing environment on campus.

A computer simulation of the aerial refueling probe that Dr. Shigeo Hayashibara and his students designed. Dr. Shigeo Hayashibara and his students used computational fluid dynamics and a wind tunnel test to design an aerial refueling probe. A mock-up of the aerial refueling probe that Dr. Shigeo Hayashibara and his students tested in a wind tunnel.

Dr. Steve Kahne has been testing the possibility of using LED technology to replace runway lights.Steve Kahne of Electrical Engineering has been working with airport authorities to test the feasibility of using LED technology to replace airport runway lights. His efforts have involved leading a group of researchers from multiple universities to address the electrical as well as human factors considerations of runway lighting.

David Lanning of Aerospace Engineering has multiple projects and is working with multiple teams of students. Most of Lanning's research centers around fatigue analysis of aircraft structures. Of particular interest is work that he and students have been doing to determine the effect that foreign object debris (FOD) has on the life of turbine blades. First, his teams inflicts FOD damage on a turbine blade then they test a specimen representative of the blade through about a million cycles of load to determine if the fatigue life has deteriorated associated with the damage inflicted on the blade.

A view of impact damage as seen through the electron microscope. A piece of metal being viewed through the electron microscope. Such analyses are important to determine which metals would make good structural components. An aircraft component being welded together by Dr. Lanning.

Ron Madler of Aerospace Engineering spent summer 2005 at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory working with a team of students on a satellite project. In 2006 he'll spend five months at NASA's Johnson Space Center working with researchers on low orbit debris to determine if it poses a threat to spacecraft. His work also includes working with multiple student teams in the NASA Space Grant Consortium.

A weather balloon being prepared for launch. A weather balloon being prepared for launch. A weather balloon after being launched.

Al Newman works with the FAA to develop a database of when birds strike aircraft.Al Newman in Electrical Engineering spends his time working with the Federal Aviation Administration working to determine the number of bird strikes by aircraft and their effect on aviation around the country. He has created a Web site that enables airports to report bird strikes and enables researchers to assess patterns associated with damage and trends in the industry associated with aircraft and wildlife incursions.

Mark Sensmeier of Aerospace Engineering has spent multiple summers at NASA Langley working in a variety of areas. Currently he and his student team are working on optimization ideas for aircraft design.

Karl Siebold of Aerospace Engineering is working with local companies to produce simulator technologies for various aircraft. His work is primarily based in control algorithms.

Hong Zhao of Computer Engineering is working on topics associated with Quality of Service for wireless technologies.