Electrical and Computer Engineering COMMUNICATOR

Summer 2009

In This Issue Message from the Chair 1 Message from the Chair With the economic downturn, the nior research projects. I truly en- 2 Distinguished Lecture Series situation has been difficult for all of joyed witnessing their talent and us. Fortunately, our department has enthusiasm at our Technical Open 3 Welcome New Faculty been able to weather the storm and House last April. gain strength despite budget cuts. 4 Wireless Communication In this newsletter, I am pleased to Over the past year, various gradu- Security communicate the activities, achieve- ate students and professors have ments, and awards of ECE students been recognized for excellence 5 PhD Candidate Wins Research and faculty. Our department con- in research – a few of their stories Demo Competition tinues to thrive – in academics, in are included in this newsletter. We research, and in spirit. also hosted a score of outstanding 6-7 guests in our graduate seminar Power Systems Engineering Our faculty members continue to lecture series. These guests bring push the cutting edge of modern unique ideas to campus and help 8 Wire Fault Location engineering research. Our seniors us light the fire of intellectual curi- completed outstanding projects in osity in the minds of our students. 9 Technical Open House both our industry-sponsored Clinic Program and in their individual se- 10 Department Events

11 Donors and Friends

12 Keep in touch with ECE Page 2

Message from the Chair continued

This year, I am particularly proud to report on our success in a project of great personal interest: we succeeded in starting a new program to train the future generation of power systems engineers. Our first course under the new program, “Introduction to Electric Power Engineering,” was a resounding suc- cess with our students. We also raised funds from in- Thomas and Mary Lu Judd dustry and obtained the approval for a new perma- nent faculty position. Next year, the faculty member Distinguished Lecture Series will join our department and introduce fundamental courses in the power systems and in the power elec- tronics area. The ECE Department will soon host the fifth annual Thom- as and Mary Lu Judd Distinguished Lecture Series. The We also welcomed three new members to our fac- series brings outstanding leaders in engineering fields to ulty in 08-09, two of which joined through the USTAR campus to share their groundbreaking ideas with our stu- (Utah Science, Technology and Research) Initiative. dents, alumni, and faculty members. The lecture series is These faculty members are leaders in the microelec- open to all alumni and friends of the ECE Department. tronics and micro/nano systems fields, and will con- tribute to making the area a powerful pole of attrac- tion for the best and brightest graduate candidates. The 2008 Lecture Series Speakers

Of course, alumni and friends of the ECE Department Philip T. Krein, the Grainger Endowed Director’s Chair continue to play a vital role in our growth. If a few professor at the University of Illinois. Prof. Krein spoke stories in this newsletter strike a chord of personal in- about power systems engineering and the next revolu- terest, please consider supporting the efforts of our tion in power generation and distribution. His research talented students and faculty using the enclosed en- interests include the design of high-performance electric velope. Your commitment to our department dem- machines and control of power electronic systems. onstrates your enthusiasm for higher education, and we couldn’t excel as we do without you. Gerald Loeb, professor of Biomedical Engineering and director of the Medical Device Development Facility at I hope you enjoy this annual update on activities the University of Southern California and the Deputy Di- within our department, and thank you for your sup- rector of the NSF Engineering Research Center on Biomi- port. metic MicroElectronic Systems. Prof. Loeb discussed the future of implantable medical devices. Marc Bodson Professor and Chair Krishna Shenoy, director of the Neural Prosthetic Sys- Electrical and Computer Engineering tems Lab at Stanford University. His group conducts neuroscience and neuroengineering research to better understand how the brain controls movement, and to design medical systems to assist those with movement disabilities. Prof. Shenoy shared his insight on the future development of integrating prostheses into the human body.

2009 Brings New Distinguished Speakers

Upcoming seminars will be held during the Fall 2009 se- mester on Fridays at 3:05 p.m. Guests are also invited to have refreshments beginning at 2:45 p.m. Please watch the ECE Departmental calendar at www.ece.utah.edu for updates to the seminar schedule. Page 3 Welcome New ECE Faculty Members

Massood Tabib-Azar USTAR Professor

Massood received M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Rensse- laer Polytechnic Institute in 1984 and 1986, respectively. In 1987 he joined the faculty of the EECS Department at Case Western Reserve University. He was a fellow at NASA during 1992-1993, and was on sabbatical at Harvard University during 93-94 and at Yale University during 2000-2001.

Massood’s current research interests include nanometrology (microwave-atomic force microscopy), molecular electronics, novel devices based on solid electrolytes, sensors and actuators (microfluidics), and quantum computing. His teaching interests include development of courses in the area of electronic device physics and electromagnet- ics with an emphasis on solving problems and the use of computer-aided instruction tools. He has authored three books, two book chapters, more than 110 journal publi- cations, and numerous conference proceedings articles.

Carlos Mastrangelo USTAR Professor

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Carlos comes to Utah following an associate profes- sorship at Case Western Reserve University. He received the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. de- grees in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of California, Berkeley. At other times in his career, he was at the Scientific Research Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, Dearborn MI, developing microsensors for automotive applica- tions, and an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Center for Integrated Microsystems, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Carlos’s research interests include micro- and nano-systems for biomedical applica- tions, microsystems for high throughput DNA sequencing, instrumentation of single cells, and microfluidic systems for biological monitoring and drug delivery.

Michael Scarpulla Assistant Professor

Mike received his Ph.D. in 2006 in Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley after successfully defending his dissertation in III-Mn-V Ferro- magnetic Semiconductors Synthesized by Ion Implantation and Pulsed-Laser Melt- ing.

Mike’s research interests are in compound semicondcutors, dilute semiconductor al- loys, transparent conductors, and novel materials for thin film photovoltaics. He uses a variety of epitaxial growth methods such as ion implantation and pulsed laser melt- ing (II-PLM), molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), and organometallic vapor phase epitaxy (OMVPE / MOCVD) to synthesize thin semiconductor films. His research at the Uni- versity of Utah focuses on novel semiconductor materials that are environmentally benign and abundant for use in thin film photovoltaics. Page 4 Improving Future Computer Security Through New Encryption Technologies

$350,000 NSF grant seeks to improve security of wireless computer networks

“Traditional cryptography, which is how we make our wireless links private today, uses public key methods for secure secret key exchange. But now, concerns about the security of public keys in the future have spawned research into methods that don’t use public keys,” says Neal Patwari, assistant professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In September of 2008, an NSF grant to the Univer- sity of Utah boosted Patwari’s research aiming to improve wireless communication security over the next three years.

Demonstration hardware for shared secret key generation prepared The principal investigators are both assistant pro- by graduate student Jessica Croft. Secret keys generated by the fessors at the University: Sneha Kasera in Com- TelosB wireless mote from received signal strength measurements will be displayed on an LED matrix in real time. puter Science and Neal Patwari in Electrical and Computer Engineering. The NSF grant to the ECE Department will boost research aiming to improve wireless communication computer security over the next three years.

The $350,000 grant is funded through an NSF pro- gram called Cyber Trust, which seeks to improve the security of computer networks.

Opportunistic secret key exchange using wireless link characteristics and device mobility

Together, Neal Patwari and Sneha Kasera are taking a This new encryption method will provide shared very novel route to solve the problem of sharing se- secrecy on wireless links in a manner that cannot cret keys. Their research seeks to identify and measure be defeated by any potential eavesdropper. If suc- unique physical characteristics of wireless channels cessful, the research group will provide methods between two devices at different random locations – and algorithms that can be applied to make Wi-Fi characteristics that cannot be measured by an attacker links. node from another location. A function of these unique characteristics determines the shared secret between Two ECE graduate students are assisting the proj- the two devices. ect’s tremendous progress. Suman Jana and Jessica Croft have both developed major implementations In short, the radio channel is reciprocal and allows two of this novel idea. Currently, Jessica is developing radio devices to measure an identical “secret” without a new instrument that can measure the reciprocal ever needing to communicate the secret over the air. radio channels between devices in a novel man- This secret can then be used to encrypt traffic because ner. This tool will provide the future foundation no third device would be able to measure the same se- for continued progress in both tool development cret. and measurement techniques that will guarantee a successful implementation of the project’s goals. Page 5

ECE PhD Candidate Wins Best Demo Award at ACM MobiCom

Joey Wilson was honored as the 2008 Student This research uses theory found in imaging, estimation/ Demo Competition winner at the ACM MobiCom Con- detection theory, inverse-problems, regularization, sig- ference in September of 2008 for his presentation in nal processing, communications, electromagnetics, and Radio Tomographic Imaging. wireless networking.

Joey is researching methods for tracking the location of people and objects that move within a wireless net- ACM MobiCom work, even when the object being tracked does not carry an electronic device, through an emerging tech- ACM MobiCom is an annual conference dedicated to nology called Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI). addressing the challenges in the areas of mobile com- puting and wireless and mobile networking. MobiCom Radio Tomographic Imaging (RTI) is a highly selective conference focusing on all issues in mobile computing and wireless and mobile networking RTI can locate moving objects in areas surrounded by at the link layer and above. MobiCom 2008 was held on simple and inexpensive radios. RTI is useful in emer- September 14-19, 2008, in San Francisco. gencies, rescue operations, and security breaches since the objects being tracked need not carry an electronic Joey Wilson received his Bachelor’s and Master’s of En- device. Tracking humans moving through a building, gineering degrees from the University of Utah’s Depart- for example, could help firefighters save lives by locat- ment of Electrical and Computer Engineering. He then ing victims quickly. worked for L-3 Communications in Salt Lake City for four years. Joey is currently working towards his PhD in RTI works by placing many small and inexpensive ra- Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of dios around an area of interest. Each radio is capable Utah. of transmitting and receiving wireless signals, creating a dense network of “links” that pass through the area. For more information on RTI and its applications, please Objects that move within the area reflect and/or ab- visit the ECE Department’s SPAN research group website sorb the wireless signal, preventing some of the power at http://span.ece.utah.edu. from reaching its destination. An image of where the power is being absorbed can be formed using all the link power loss measurements, thus allowing one to know where objects within the area are located. Page 6

THE ECE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES A NEW POWER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROGRAM

MOTIVATION MOVING FORWARD A New Generation of Power Systems Engineers New Scholarship, Courses in Power Systems

Over the last few decades, power systems engineering pro- The Intermountain Power Agency established a new grams across the country were progressively eliminated due scholarship in 2008 to support students interested in ca- to a drop in demand for engineers specializing in the gen- reers within the power systems industry. The scholarship, eration, distribution, and transformation of electrical power. aimed at supporting local Utah students, is a first step in No such programs currently exist at any institution of higher attracting the best and brightest electrical engineering education in Utah. students to concentrate in power generation and distri- bution under the Department’s new program. But a current retirement trend is spawning a new demand for electrical engineers who specialize in power systems. A Beginning in the Fall 2008 semester, a new course titled new generation of engineers is needed to lead the industry “Introduction to Electric Power Engineering” was not in providing reliable, sustainable power supplies that are ca- only offered, but also completely packed with students. pable of meeting our needs while also protecting our envi- The number of spots in the course had to be increased to ronment. meet the demand of students anxious to experience the unique challenges that this flexible field can offer profes- The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at sionally and personally. the University of Utah is developing a new program to train students in power systems to fill this demand for the future. The course will serve as an introduction to future addi- tions to the curriculum in power systems fields.

Krein, Meliopoulos Deliver Power Systems Seminars, Help Kick-Start Program

Professor Philip T. Krein (left) of the University of Illinois, holder of the Grainger Endowed Director’s Chair in Electric Machinery and Electromechanics and the Director of the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics, delivered a seminar titled, “Power Electronics, Electrical Energy Systems, and the Next Electrical Energy Revolution.”

Sakis Meliopoulos (right), the George Power Distinguished Professor at the Georgia Institute of Tech- nology and a Distinguished Lecturer of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, presented a seminar titled, “Technology and the Smart Grid.”

Both seminars were well attended by students and industry representatives alike as they shared in the future vision of the Power Systems Engineering program at the University of Utah. Page 7

THE ECE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES A NEW POWER SYSTEMS ENGINEERING PROGRAM

SUPPORT New Chapter of the IEEE Power & Energy Society

Professor Marc Bodson, chair of the ECE Department, obtained approval for the creation of a new Utah chapter of the IEEE Power & Energy Society. The chap- ter will provide a local forum for power systems professionals and students to share enthusiasm and ideas while they develop professionally as vital members of the broader IEEE engineering community.

The IEEE Power & Energy Society is a worldwide, non-profit association of more than 21,000 individuals engaged in electric power engineering. It provides the world’s largest forum for sharing the latest in technological developments in the electric power industry.

FUNDING Leaders of Utah’s Power Industry Contribute

The ECE Department would like to recognize the following sponsors for their their support of the new program: Intermountain Power Agency, Rocky Mountain Power, Utah Rural Electric Association, Questar, Utah As- sociated Municipal Power Systems, Utah Municipal Power Agency, and Reliable Controls.

The new Power Systems Engineering initiative was made possible by recent donations totaling $232,000 from leaders of the local power industry. By invest- ing in the new program at Utah’s flagship university, local industrial leaders are ensuring a competitive and progressive future for local power generation and distribution.

State of Utah Funds New Faculty Member

The state of Utah is also supporting the new program by providing the resourc- es to hire a new faculty member specializing in power systems. The new fac- ulty member will develop coursework, research laboratories, and the academic environment necessary to train electrical engineering students to lead Utah’s power industry.

Photo credit: top left by Marc Bodson, top right by Arby Reed, bottom right unknown Page 8 Wire Fault Location in the Center for Smart Sensors

The Problem with Aging Aircraft Wiring

As wire ages, it becomes brittle and may crack and Students Get Involved break. Locating these problems can take hours, days, or more, while expensive or mission-critical aircraft sit The ECE Department knows that hands-on research expe- idle. Some faults are not reproducible on the ground rience for our students can more effectively prepare them and show up only in flight, often effectively grounding for future jobs as engineers, sometimes even more so than aircraft while maintainers struggle to replicate or find traditional coursework. the problem. The following graduate students are currently focused on The Center of Excellence for Smart Sensors is devel- the aging aircraft wiring problem: Shang Wu, Brian Jones, oping sensors to locate these and other faults in ag- Aly Magleby, Sai Ananthanarayanan, and Eric Lundquist. ing aircraft wiring. These sensors can be embedded in handheld maintenance tools, on-board Smart Connec- They are assisted by the following undergraduate research tor or Smart Wiring sensor systems, or directly into the assistants: Chad Mann, Chase Thompson, Jordan Nicholls, wiring itself. and Justin Fergusen.

Handheld systems will give maintainers eyes that can see through walls to locate the fault, remove a single Sponsors of the Center for Smart Sensors panel, and repair the damage in a fraction of the time commonly required today. Air Force Research Lab (via UTCD, ATT, IAStateU) Boeing On-board systems will allow the pilot to test all of the FAA wires in the plane with the push of a button prior to NAVAIR take-off. Next-generation systems will be constantly National Science Foundation monitoring the wiring and critical systems to which it is NASA (via JPL) attached, will dynamically trade out the damaged sec- tion, report the damage, plan and orchestrate the re- and other private companies. pair, and dynamically prepare fleet maintenance plans based on data obtained from this continuous monitor- ing. Page 9

ECE Department Technical Open House Honors Students, Alumni

Paul Turner Named Distinguished Alumnus Students, alumni honored at banquet

Paul F. Turner (left, pictured After presenting the culmination of more than a year with ECE Chair Marc Bod- of research, ECE seniors enjoyed a semi-formal banquet son) delivered the keynote hosted in the Varsity Ballroom of Rice-Eccles Stadium. address at the annual ECE Technical Open House held The Micron Clinic Team was honored as the best group on March 26th, 2009, where project, and individual students recognized for best he promoted teamwork and projects were Brandt Hammer, Jason Wayment, Ste- continuing education in the phen Sieb, Fernando Nelson, and Rohit Pathak. increasingly interdisciplinary forum of modern medical technology. Seniors present group, Clinic projects

Paul was recognized as the The graduating senior students of the ECE Department ECE Department’s Distin- presented their final projects to an attentive audience guished Alumnus in 2009 of their peers, their professors, representatives of local for his contributions as the engineering industry, and local media. Chief Technical Officer, Sr VP, and Chairman of BSD Medi- The Department would like to recognize this year’s Clin- cal Corporation. Paul gradu- ic Program sponsors: Micron, Sandia National Labs, ated from the department L-3 Communications, Rocky Mountain Power, and with his BSEE in 1971 and his ON Semiconductor. MSEE in 1983. For more information on the ECE Department’s Clinic Program, visit www.ece.utah.edu/clinics

Previous Recipients of the ECE Department Distinguished Alumnus Awards

Distinguished Alumnus Award Distinguished Young Alumnus Award

A. Richard Walje 2008 Calvin F. Quate 1997 Cynthia Furse 2008 Edward A.E. Rich 2007 Robert G. Engman 1995 Randal R. Sylvester 2007 Hyde M. Merrill 2006 Raymond J. Noorda 1994 Richard B. Brown 2006 Roger P. Webb 2005 Robert J. Grow 1993 Jonathan B. Steadman 2005 W. Cleon Anderson 2004 Mac Van Valkenburg 1992 D. N. “Nick” Rose 2003 Benjamin V. Cox 1991 Nolan Bushnell 2002 A. Tee Migliori 2001 Joseph M. Ballantyne 1999 Glen Wade 1998 Page 10 ECE Department Highlights

Spring 2009 Commencement - Congratulations, ECE Graduates!

Discover Engineering Project Girl Scout Engineering Day

Outreach to Local High Schools

The ECE Department is participating in a new col- lege-wide initiative to demonstrate the potential careers of engineers to local high school students. The traveling exhibit has hands-on demonstrations contributed from each constituent department.

Sage Carson of Salt Lake City’s Troop 449 Electrical Engineering digs into the guts of a computer at Girl Scout Engineering Day. The Electrical Engineering display showcases various (Photo by Laura Seitz, Deseret News) electrical power generators, including a hand-crank generator, a wind power model, and a solar panel On February 26th, 2009, local girl scouts explored powered by a sun-replacement bulb. The demon- the exciting world of engineering to discover the stration shows students how integral electrical engi- possibilities a degree in engineering can unlock. neers are in developing the green technologies that will soon power our homes and transportation. The night, hosted by the student chapter of the So- ciety of Women Engineers (SWE) at the University of Computer Engineering Utah, gave the girl scouts the chance to play with blinking circuits, tough bridges, robots, and more. The Computer Engineering display gives students a hands-on chance to solve simple puzzles through a The scouts earned the Discover Technology Junior robotic interface. Three robotic arms, controlled by Badge and the Inventions and Inquiry Cadette Inter- remote control, will present the students with three est Patch. The girls went home with hands-on mate- tasks: painting a simple picture, solving a simple rials to continue their exploration into the fields of puzzle, and building a small structure from blocks. engineering. Students will experience the relationship between hardware, software, and control systems as they The Girl Scout activity is one of many outreach pro- themselves become the artifical intelligence making grams at the University of Utah that aim to inform it possible for a machine to solve a problem. students, and in this case young women, of the vari- ous fields and applications that an engineering de- The mobile display will travel to local high schools in gree from the University of Utah makes possible. 2009-2010 to spark student interest in engineering programs at the University of Utah. Page 11 Thank You, Donors and Friends We are pleased to recognize the following individuals who contributed to the Electrical and Computer Engineering Department between April 2008 and March 2009. Your support is vital to our continued success as an outstanding department in both aca- demic excellence and progress in research. We have made every effort to ensure accuracy, but if you have corrections or would like to report an omission to the list, please contact Nathan Weston at [email protected], or at (801) 585-9411.

James Balent ‘93 Akhlesh Lakhtakia ‘83 John ‘82 and Kim Cauch Byron ‘77 and Marjean Larson Paul Colombo ‘98 Gerald Mahood ‘60 Aukje Dalley Morris Matthews ‘73 Beulah Dalley Vaughn ‘72 and Evelyn Mower Douglas Datwyler ‘84 Charles Murphy ‘98 Terry Doepken Jeffery Neilson ‘85 Jason Doyle ‘95 Gary ‘58 and Marga Nelson Charles Forbes ‘56 Jason Nguyen ‘01 Robert ‘48 and Kathryn Goodfellow Kent Olson ‘65 Steven Hadfield ‘78 Mark Ramos Clarence (Jim) Hanson ‘93 Salman Sabbah ‘83 Tana Hardin Jeremy Smith ‘85 Paul ‘90 and Eleanor Hill John Snow ‘65 Cory Hilton Forrest ‘70 and Rolayne Staffanson Timothy ‘04 and Michele Hollist Clay Westlund ‘50 David Humeniuk ‘95 I. Cleeo ‘58 and Orpha Wright Charles Hunt ‘83

Thank You, Corporations and Foundations

Boeing Ophir-Spiricon General Electric Foundation PacifiCorp IBM International Foundation Questar Educational Foundation Intel Foundation Reliable Controls Intermountain Power Agency Rocky Mountain Power Foundation Mentor Graphics Foundation Sun Microsystems Merit Medical Systems Toyota Info Technology Center Micron Technology Foundation Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems National Science Foundation Utah Municipal Power Agency Northrop Grumman Foundation Page 12

Keep In Touch Alumni are encouraged to update their information with the ECE Department

Update your contact information online: www.ece.utah.edu/alumni_update

Or complete and submit the following survey to: The ECE Department 50 S. Central Campus Dr Rm 3280 Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9206

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