Aerospace Engineering
Towards the Complete In-Canopy System for Autonomous Aerial Delivery
Wednesday, November 14, 2018;
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM
220 Hammond Building
Speaker: Mark Costello from Georgia Institute of Technology
Airdrop is a commonly used method of quickly deploying cargo and personnel to areas of interest. It consists of releasing a payload at altitude in the vicinity of an intended landing area. The payload is connected to an aerodynamic decelerator in the form of a parachute or parafoil to reduce the velocity in flight and at ground impact. Compared to their unguided counterparts, current guided airdrop systems are relatively costly and have substantial logistics requirements, leading to limited use in practical environments. For guided airdrop systems to be employed more frequently improvements in system cost, logistics footprint, and ease of use must be realized. Toward this goal, new enabling technologies have been developed to improve landing performance while at the same time reducing the size, weight, power requirements, and cost associated with automatic control components by an order of magnitude. This talk will discuss new guided airdrop system concepts that employ in-canopy bleed air actuation as the control mechanism, in-canopy sensing networks for feedback, and adaptive guidance, navigation, and control strategies.
Hosted by: Michelle Barnyak, Aerospace Engineering
(mlf1@psu.edu)
Biomedical Engineering
Diffuse Optical Imaging of Breast Cancer Risk and Treatment Response
Thursday, November 15, 2018;
12:05 PM - 1:20 PM
158 Willard Building
Speaker: Dr. Thomas O'Sullivan from University of Notre Dame
Diffuse optical imaging (DOI) is a class of non-invasive near-infrared imaging techniques based upon measuring the wavelength-dependent absorption and scattering optical properties of living tissues. In the red to near-infrared optical therapeutic window, these optical properties provide information about deep (several cm) tissue composition, structure, and oxygen metabolism. In particular, DOI is capable of quantifying tissue concentrations of the physiologically relevant molecules oxyhemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin, lipid, and water, as well as structural parameters including cellular size and density (obtained from scattering spectra). The significance and applicability of these and other DOI biomarkers collected with research devices have been demonstrated in numerous clinical studies of oncology, cardiovascular assessment, exercise physiology, and neuroscience. In this presentation, I will discuss how DOI has shown promise in the field of breast oncology for risk assessment, screening, differential diagnosis of benign and malignant lesions, and predicting and monitoring response to chemotherapy treatment. DOI biomarkers vary significantly in abundance and molecular state between breast cancer and normal tissue and unique cancer-specific absorption signatures have been observed. Finally, I will demonstrate how we are developing new technologies to accelerate the translation of this promising technology to clinical practice and my vision for the future.
Hosted by: Jenna Sieber, Biomedical Engineering
(jns5431)
Chemical Engineering
Determination of high pressure gasification kinetcs and the effects of V and Ni on ash/slag viscosity for reliable integrated gasification combined cycle power generation.
Thursday, November 15, 2018;
10:45 - 11:45 am
102 Chemistry Building
Speaker: Sarma Pisupati from Penn State University
Determination of high pressure gasification kinetcs and the effects of V and Ni on ash/slag viscosity for reliable integrated gasification combined cycle power generation.
Hosted by: Lisa Haines, Chemical Engineering
(lhaines@engr.psu.edu)
Fluid Dynamics Research Consortium
Experimental Measurements of Laryngeal Airflow
Thursday, November 15, 2018;
9:00 AM
22 Deike Building
Speaker: Sid Khosla from University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center
Abstract: Two basic questions in laryngeal biomechanics are: 1) what is the source of sound during voice production and 2) what produces vocal fold (also known as vocal cord) vibration. Classic theory suggests the source of sound is due to flow modulation at the glottal (vocal fold). Latter aeroacoustic theories suggest that flow structures produce additional sources of sound. Vocal fold vibration is due to a flow-structure interaction, but current theories differ in the exact details of this interaction. To validate and refine these theories, measurements in a tissue model are necessary. Until recently, such biological measurements were not technically possible. This talk will discuss experimental measurements of flow and vocal fold vibration in the excised animal larynx during voice production. The divergent-convergent shape of the vocal folds will be described. 2 D Particle Imaging Velocimetry of velocity fields between the vibrating folds will be shown, and the resulting pressure fields will be discussed. Tomographic PIV measurements of flow rate at the glottal exit will also be described. Differences between theory and experiments will be noted.
Biography: Dr. Khosla is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. For the past several years, he has done research with aerospace engineers on the underlying mechanisms of vocal fold vibration and sound production. This research has focused on applications in laryngeal reconstruction and in treating unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Principles of this research have been used, in addition to standard reconstruction techniques to improve the voices of patients who had severe laryngeal trauma. One example is the laryngeal reconstruction of a patient who had not talked for 35 years; her story and voice were featured in several national and international news stories. He is also a Member of the Cincinnati Opera Board and is strongly involved in clinical and research activities with the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music. He has had a NIH K award and a current NIH RO1. He is an active member of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and is board certified by the American Board of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. He is also a Fellow of the American Laryngological Association. Dr. Khosla received his B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, an M.S. in Biomechanics from the University of California, San Diego, and his M.D. degree from Bowman Gray School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He completed his residency training in Otolaryngology and a Fellowship in Laryngology and Voice Disorders at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis.
www.FDRC.psu.edu
Hosted by: Dr. Ying Pan, Fluid Dynamics Research Consortium
(yyp5033@psu.edu)
Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
Cancer Treatment: How Can We Do Better?
Monday, November 12, 2018;
4:00 pm
125 Reber Building
Speaker: Elsa Hansen from The Pennsylvania State University
Too often, our efforts to treat cancer fail. Recent mathematical, animal and clinical studies suggest that we can improve patient responses by using "containment" type strategies that leverage competition between drug-resistant and drug-sensitive cells. Successfully using these strategies requires identifying the sub-population of patients that will benefit from containment. I will present a framework that characterizes these patients and then apply this framework to an ongoing clinical study on prostate cancer. The framework suggests that current patient selection criteria (i) includes patients that are harmed by containment, (ii) reduces any potential benefit a patient may receive and (iii) fails to identify a class of patients that would actually benefit from containment. My intention is to initiate a discussion on how tools from dynamics, control and engineering could be leveraged to improve patient selection and treatment.
Hosted by: Hosam Fathy, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
(hkf2@psu.edu)
Additive Manufacturing of Metals: From Monolithic Structures to Functionally Graded Components
Tuesday, November 13, 2018;
3:35 pm
135 Reber Building
Speaker: Allison Beese from The Pennsylvania State University
Additive manufacturing (AM) of metals can be used to fabricate complex shaped components that cannot be manufactured using traditional methods. However, the processing conditions during AM, consisting of rapid solidification and repeated thermal cycles, result in unique microstructures that differ from their wrought or annealed counterparts. To adopt AM for load-bearing applications, an understanding of the links among processing, microstructure, and properties must be developed. I will present our work on: (1) elucidating these links in monolithic components made by AM, and (2) designing and characterizing functionally graded materials made by AM in which the chemistry is varied with position, with the aim of spatially tailoring properties within a component.
Hosted by: Mary Frecker, Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering
(mxf36@psu.edu)
School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Colloquium: Towards covert and secret quantum networks
Tuesday, November 13, 2018;
4:35 p.m.
358 Willard Building
Speaker: Prof. Matthieu Bloch from Georgia Tech
Abstract: Despite steady progress in “post-quantum” cryptography, quantum-secured communication, especially in the form of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD), remains to date the only unconditionally secure technology to distribute secret keys. Quantum communication has effectively “leaped out of the lab” as most recently demonstrated in January 2018 with the deployment of a satellite-relayed intercontinental quantum network between China and Austria, leveraging the unique possibilities offered by the Micius quantum communication satellite.
In this talk we will discuss the possibility of deploying quantum key distribution that are also covert, in the sense of being provable undetectable by an adversary. While covert key generation over quantum channels is not possible under the same assumptions than QKD, we will show that, perhaps surprisingly, covert secret key generation is possible under mild assumptions regarding the quantum channels. In particular, we will provide a more nuanced perspective regarding the impossibility of covert key expansion in covert quantum key distribution. We will also discuss the construction of reconciliation algorithms for covert secret key generation, where the main challenge is to efficiently process the diffuse information that is embedded in covert signals. We show that astute signaling and coding techniques enable one to "concentrate" the information and approach the information-theoretic performance with low-complexity.
Speaker's Biography: Matthieu R. Bloch is an Associate Professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He received the Engineering degree from Supélec, Gif-sur-Yvette, France, the M.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, in 2003, the Ph.D. degree in Engineering Science from the Université de Franche-Comté, Besançon, France, in 2006, and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2008. In 2008-2009, he was a postdoctoral research associate at the University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN. Since July 2009, Dr. Bloch has been on the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and from 2009 to 2013 Dr. Bloch was based at Georgia Tech Lorraine. His research interests are in the areas of information theory, error-control coding, wireless communications, and cryptography. Dr. Bloch has served on the organizing committee of several international conferences; he was the chair of the Online Committee of the IEEE Information Theory Society from 2011 to 2014, and he has been on the Board of Governors of the IEEE Information Theory Society and an Associate Editor for the IEEE Transactions on Information since 2016. He is the co- recipient of the IEEE Communications Society and IEEE Information Theory Society 2011 Joint Paper Award and the co-author of the textbook Physical-Layer Security: From Information Theory to Security Engineering published by Cambridge University Press.
Hosted by: Dr. Aylin Yener, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
(yener@engr.psu.edu)
The Leonhard Center
The Education of Our Undergraduate Engineers as Writers
Tuesday, November 13, 2018;
12:00 -1:30 p.m.
125 Reber Building
Speaker: Michael Alley from The Pennsylvannia State University
The purpose of this workshop is to create a timeline for each participating engineering discipline that shows how we educate our undergraduates as writers. Included in this timeline are the course outcomes of required writing courses such as English 015 and English 202c. Also included are the course outcomes that pertain to writing of specific technical courses for each major. The value of this workshop is that each department will have a visual representation of the writing instruction that students receive in the respective curriculum. In addition, instructors will be able to see what topics are covered and what topic are lacking for students in their discipline. Invited to the workshop will be representatives from English 015 and English 202c. Lunch will be provided.
https://pennstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0ONWVrZYftFhgX3
Hosted by: Sarah Zappe, The Leonhard Center
(ser163@psu.edu)
Biomedical Engineering
Pattern Formation in Multi-Strain Bacterial Colonies
Thursday, November 29, 2018;
12:05 PM - 1:20 PM
158 Willard Building
Speaker: Dr. Lev Tsimring from University of California, San Diego
Multi-strain microbial communities often exhibit complex spatial organization. In this talk, I will discuss two types of patterns that emerge in multi-strain colonies. One strong competitive mechanism is contact-dependent neighbor killing enabled by the type VI secretion system. It has been previously shown that contact-dependent killing can result in bistability of bacterial mixtures so that only one strain survives and displaces the other. However, it remains unclear whether stable coexistence is possible in such mixtures. Using a population dynamics model for two interacting bacterial strains, we found that coexistence can be made possible by the interplay of contact-dependent killing and long-range growth inhibition, leading to the formation of various cellular patterns. We also found that differences in biomechanical properties of the two strains (motility, friction) may lead to complex flower-like patterns that are observed in agar-plate experiments.
Hosted by: Jenna Sieber, Biomedical Engineering
(jns5431)
Chemical Engineering
Plasma-assisted Catalysis: Exploring the Effects of Plasma Environments on Catalyst Performance
Thursday, November 29, 2018;
10:45 - 11:45 am
102 Chemistry Building
Speaker: Jason C. Hicks from University of Notre Dame
Plasma-assisted Catalysis: Exploring the Effects of Plasma Environments on Catalyst Performance
Hosted by: Lisa Haines, Chemical Engineering
(lhaines@engr.psu.edu)
Electrical Engineering
Colloquium
Thursday, November 29, 2018;
4:35 p.m.
358 Willard Building
Speaker: Prof. Ding Zhao from Carnegie Mellon University
TBA
Hosted by: Dr. Minghui Zhu, Electrical Engineering
(muz16@psu.edu)
