Entitled "MBE Growth of Metal Oxides for Complementary Memristive Applications," this paper details the manufacturing methods for a new electronic device that demonstrates for the first time both complementary (both n-type and p-type conduction) memristors, a technology similar in nature to CMOS silicon and the first demonstration of analog memristors. These advances may be useful in next generation neuromorphic computers, which are computing technologies that mimic mammal brain functionality. In addition, Georgia Tech recently filed a patent on this technology.
Dr. Doolittle is an alumnus of Georgia Tech, graduating with his B.E.E. in 1989 and Ph.D. in 1996. Before joining the academic faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2001, he worked with the School as a research engineer. He is a member of the microsystems technical interest group.
]]>To be considered for the Georgia Trend award, companies had to demonstrate three years of sustained revenue and employment growth. John Baumstark, Suniva's CEO, accepted the award
for Suniva at the 2010 Fast 40 Gala Dinner and Awards Presentation on June 17 at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta.
Additionally, Suniva was also named among the 2010 AlwaysOn East Top 100 Companies. This honor recognizes the top emerging companies from the eastern coast of the United States that are demonstrating significant market traction and pursuing game-changing technologies in on-demand computing, digital media, and greentech industries.
]]>"Georgia Tech's Fulbright recipients are not just going to learn in another country, they are also contributing their own knowledge. There is mutual benefit in the ambassadorial spirit of the Fulbright program," said Karen Adams, interim director of Georgia Tech's Fellowship Communication Program. "Through the Fulbright program, our students and alumni are finding their places in the world."
Over the previous two decades, two dozen Tech students have earned Fulbright Scholarships, representing the Institute across the globe. "In the past three years, 12 Georgia Tech Fulbright winners have served in Japan, two in Germany and Indonesia, and others in Poland, Tunisia, Switzerland, and Mexico," Adams said. "This coming year, students will travel to the European Union, Cyprus, and Mongolia."
Computers and Conflict in Cyprus
Wang, a recent graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Economics and Law, Science, and Technology, plans to use her Fulbright in Cyprus implementing computer-assisted conflict resolution. "I look forward to applying the technical engineering knowledge I have learned at Georgia Tech to a real-world international affairs situation," said Wang.
"I have always been interested in computer applications in international affairs and policy," said Wang. "I was looking for a fellowship opportunity to go abroad for a year, and the Fulbright seemed a perfect match." She credits School of Public Policy Professor Hans Klein for encouraging her interest in the Fulbright. "Dr. Klein convinced me to apply to the Fulbright and helped me through the application process. He has been a source of invaluable guidance throughout my time at Georgia Tech with career advice and networking help."
Originally from Zhengzhou, China, Wang now calls Marietta, Georgia, home. After graduating from Walton High School, she chose to come to Georgia Tech "because of a great offer from the President's Scholarship Program here. The scholarship offered an impressive network of support as well as financial support, which convinced me to choose Georgia Tech over MIT and Caltech," she said.
Climate Change in Mongolia
Causey, currently earning his master's degree in civil engineering will spend 10 months in Mongolia studying the effects of climate change on the Tuul River and its people. An avid fly fisherman and world traveler, Causey has "a special appreciation for contributing to protecting one of the world's most pristine river systems." Causey also has a special appreciation for Georgia Tech. His grandfather, who graduated from Tech in 1935, instilled in him a sense of the Institute's "academic excellence."
Causey's interest in the Fulbright Scholarship was the result of both an international and academic experience. "The combination of a semester abroad to Denmark and undergraduate research with [Professor] Donald Webster sparked an interest in international research," said Causey. "The Fulbright program interested me because in addition to being an academic research program, its primary aim is to foster mutual understanding."
Causey devotes much of his spare time to addressing global humanitarian issues. He is involved in the Georgia Tech Initiative for Development and Education in Africa (GTIDEA) and is a tutor at the International Community School in Atlanta through the Georgia Tech Office of International Education.
Transportation Infrastructure and Climate Change in Europe
Second-year civil engineering doctoral student Thomas Wall will study the relationship between climate change and transportation infrastructure at two universities in Europe. "I applied for a Fulbright because of the opportunity it afforded to conduct research at ground zero--that is, at two of the leading universities, The University of Oxford and the University of Amsterdam--in my chosen field of study: potential impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure," said Wall. "I am looking forward to the opportunity to exchange thoughts and research ideas with researchers to further our collective understanding of the potential impacts that climate change will have on transportation infrastructure and to develop methodologies to best adapt our current management practices given this context of changing climate."
Originally deterred from applying for the Fulbright because he thought it would not fund engineering studies, Wall quickly learned that many of his fellow Georgia Tech engineering students had participated in the program. "After speaking with my current adviser, Professor Michael Meyer, we decided that the Fulbright would be a good experience, applicable to my research interests and an opportunity to gain an international perspective on," he said.
Wall came to Georgia Tech from Seattle because of the Institute's "strong, nationally competitive transportation engineering program," and the amicability of the faculty, staff and students. He also is carrying on a family tradition. "My grandfather was a civil engineer in California, who worked for an international design and construction firm," Wall said. "He worked on projects all around the Pacific Rim. His career is a very personal illustration of the responsibility that we have as civil engineers to the public. It also illustrates the global nature of that responsibility--the responsibility to positively affect communities outside of the U.S. and foster international exchange." In addition to his studies, Wall actively seeks out ways to help the global community through his involvement in the Georgia Tech chapter of Engineers Without Borders.
About the Fulbright
Named after Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Scholarship was established in 1946 as a vehicle for promoting "mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries of the world." Grants are made to United States citizens and nationals of other countries for a variety of educational activities, primarily university lecturing, advanced research, graduate study, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Approximately 280,000 students--chosen for academic merit and leadership potential--have participated in the program, enjoying the opportunity to exchange ideas and to contribute to finding solutions to shared issues.
]]>Entitled "MBE Growth of Metal Oxides for Complementary Memristive Applications," this paper details the manufacturing methods for a new electronic device that demonstrates for the first time both complementary (both n-type and p-type conduction) memristors, a technology similar in nature to CMOS silicon and the first demonstration of analog memristors. These advances may be useful in next generation neuromorphic computers, which are computing technologies that mimic mammal brain functionality. In addition, Georgia Tech recently filed a patent on this technology.
This was not the only award that Dr. Doolittle's group received at this conference. Michael Moseley also received the NAMBE Best Student Oral Presentation Award for both 2009 and 2010.
]]>Mr. Moseley received this award at the 2010 North American MBE Conference, which was held in Breckenridge, Colo. September 26-29. His advisor is Alan Doolittle, an associate professor in ECE.
Mr. Moseley's presentation was entitled "Deeply degenerate p-GaN grown by metal-modulated epitaxy." His work involves a method of growing GaN with hole concentrations as high as 7.9e19 cm-3 or equivalently approximately 40 times higher than the previously perceived limit. This advance makes practical tunnel junctions to be used in advanced solar cells and could possibly improve the performance of light emitters such as LEDs and lasers.
Two more of Dr. Doolittle's ECE Ph.D. students, Jordan Greenlee and Laws Calley, were also chosen for the 2010 Best Student Abstract Award, which was presented at the same conference.
]]>The following Georgia Tech Ph.D. students will receive the fellowship, which includes a cash award (tuition, fees and stipend), introduction to an Intel mentor and the opportunity to intern or conduct research for Intel:
Recipients were recently invited to the Ph.D. Fellowship forum at Intel where they met top technical leaders from across the country, as well as other Intel Fellows and senior principal engineers.
According to Intel, the Ph.D. Fellowship Program is very competitive, with students pre-selected by their universities before applying for the award. Applicants are reviewed by Intel Fellows and senior technologists who choose the winners.
]]>The paper, "Particle-Induced Latchup in a Cryogenic CMOS Readout Integrated Circuit," was presented at the conference held in July and will appear in the December 2010 issue of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. It reports research results from a collaboration between a team at NASA Goddard, Dr. Cressler's team at the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and a team at Vanderbilt University.
The work is aimed at understanding heavy ion induced, single event latchup in focal plane readout circuitry that operates at deep cryogenic temperatures, something that has long been considered impossible. The team made the initial observations of the cryogenic latchup events, and explained why they can and do occur, and the potential implications for a wide class of space-borne focal plane instruments. Further work on mitigation of such effects is in progress.
Dr. Cressler leads the SiGe Research Group in the School of ECE. He holds the title of Ken Byers Professor and has been a member of the ECE faculty at Georgia Tech since 2002.
]]>A finalist in the prosthetics/orthotics/controls category, Dr. Ghovanloo and his team from the Georgia Institute of Technology received the highest number of "thumbs up" votes for their YouTube video about their work on the Tongue Drive System, an assistive technology that enables individuals with high-level spinal cord injuries to maneuver a powered wheelchair or control a mouse cursor using simple tongue movements. The research team is currently preparing for their second round of clinical trials on the Tongue Drive System, which will be conducted at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta and the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago.
Dr. Ghovanloo is an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech who specializes in biomedical device development. His main goal for participating in this competition was to promote the use of the most advanced microelectronics technologies in the field of assistive devices and rehabilitation engineering. The Tongue Drive System utilizes the latest in magnetic sensing technology combined with ultra low power RF transceivers, advanced signal processing algorithms, and smartphones.
"Sometimes when you ask our students about assistive devices, the first things that come to their minds are their grandma’s cane or the old manual wheelchair that they once saw at a hospital," said Dr. Ghovanloo, who also leads the GT-Bionics Lab at Georgia Tech. "The Tongue Drive System draws a totally different picture in the students' minds about assistive technologies and their associated field of rehabilitation engineering. Whenever I get a chance, I never hesitate to remind my students that there are very few other areas in engineering in which they can leave such a great impact in the lives of a group of human beings."
The da Vinci Awards is a prestigious international forum that recognizes the latest developments and research in adaptive and assistive technologies that enable equal access and opportunity for all people, regardless of ability. Finalists representing the U.S., Canada, and Denmark were chosen from entries received from around the world. The awards were created by and benefit the National Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society's Michigan Chapter.
The Tongue Drive System video may still be viewed on the da Vinci Awards YouTube channel at http://bit.ly/tonguedrive.
To read more about the Tongue Drive System, visit http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/tonguedrive2/ and http://gtresearchnews.gatech.edu/tonguedrive/.
]]>Dr. Vela, who is an assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE), and his Ph.D. student Gbolabo Ogunmakin, and mechanical engineering Ph.D. student Adam Vela were recognized for their paper entitled "Topologically Based Decision Support Tools for Aircraft Routing." In this paper, they introduce a decision support tool for air traffic controllers during inclement weather. The tool is based on reachability computations and provides insight into optimal routing trajectories for airplanes. Visual feedback is provided to allow the controller to rapidly assess the airspace and recommend routes through inclement weather.
The paper, "Air Traffic Maximization for the Terminal Phase of Flight under FAA’s NEXTGEN Framework," was written by ECE graduate students Philip Twu and Rahul Chipalkatty, ECE postdoctoral fellow Amir Rahmani, Twu's and Chipalkatty's Ph.D. advisor Magnus Egerstedt, and Ryan Young from Rockwell Collins. This work deals with the problem of increasing the throughput in the civilian airspace by letting aircrafts negotiate spacing and merging among themselves. The paper develops new, decentralized optimization tools for ensuring safety as well as throughput maximization, and it is envisioned to fit as a part of FAA's future NEXTGEN air traffic management framework.
]]>Mr. Yang presented his work at SRC Techcon 2010, held September 13-14 in Austin, Tex. and did a podcast on this work with his coauthor and Ph.D. advisor, Muhannad Bakir, an associate professor in ECE. Listen to the podcast.
Two key technologies that enable 3D integration of CMOS integrated circuits (IC) and MEMS are Mechanically Flexible Interconnects (MFIs) and Through-Silicon Vias. MFIs allow stress-free interconnections between chips, so that the MEMS device does not change behavior or experience performance degradation due to chip warpage. Through-Silicon Via (TSV), on the other hand, lets sensors face away from the CMOS IC, thereby allowing it to be exposed to various target materials. As a collective, these two interconnect technologies enable integration of an arbitrary MEMS technology with a state-of-the-art CMOS IC.
]]>Dr. Mukhopadhyay received this award for his work on "Thermal and Power Analysis and On-line Management in 3D Systems." An interdisciplinary effort, this project spans the domains of thermodynamics, signal/image processing, VLSI, and computer architecture to understand and control the thermal field and power in 3D systems.
An ECE faculty member since 2007, Dr. Mukhopadhyay is a member of the VLSI systems and design technical interest group and leads the Gigascale Reliable Energy Efficient Nanosystem (GREEN) Lab.
]]>With the two methods presented, the researchers note that any kind of MEMS sensor can be integrated with CMOS-based electronics. Key to their platform is the physical separation of the MEMS sensor from the electronics. The researchers independently fabricate the sensor and the electronics, optimize them separately, and then put them together. The researchers describe the interconnect challenges and their two solutions.
With the growth of the MEMS technology market–almost doubling between 2004 and 2009–this work in 3D integration should be of special interest.
To listen to or download this podcast on the ELECTRO IQ web site, visit http://www.electroiq.com/index/podcasts/podcast-display/podcasts/solid-state-technology/TECHCON10/cmos-based_-mems_electronics.html.
]]>Their paper entitled "Deployment Algorithms for Wireless Underground Sensor Networks Using Magnetic Induction" was among 11 chosen for best paper honors from a field of over 3,600 papers that were submitted. Mr. Sun is a Ph.D. student who is advised by Dr. Akyildiz, who is the Byers Professor in Telecommunications.
The objective of the work is to develop wireless underground sensor networks that can facilitate many applications including intelligent farming, border patrol and intrusion detection, underground pipeline monitoring (oil, gas, water pipes), and sports field maintenance. By utilizing the new magnetic induction technique, the wireless sensors can achieve a large communication range in dense soil medium with extremely low device costs and energy consumption.
The awarded paper develops optimal deployment algorithms to use the so-called magnetic induction relay coils to connect the underground wireless sensors. The proposed algorithm also helps the end users to deploy wireless underground sensor networks with very high efficiency, low costs, and very long life duration.
]]>Mr. Gandhi presented his work entitled, "Acoustoelastic Lamb Wave Propagation in a Homogeneous, Isotropic Aluminum Plate," at the conference which was held July 18-23 in San Diego, Calif.
His work on the poster is supported by the Air Force Research Laboratory on a project that aims to understand and exploit the effects of stress on guided wave structural health monitoring. Dr. Michaels was a co-author on the paper, as was Sang Jun Lee, a postdoctoral associate in the QUEST Lab.
In addition to Mr. Gandhi winning first place at the review, Georgia Tech students advised by Laurence Jacobs took second and third place poster prizes, making it a Georgia Tech sweep of the poster competition. Dr. Jacobs is a professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the associate dean for academic affairs in the College of Engineering.
]]>His paper, "Inkjet-Printed System-on-Paper/Polymer 'Green' RFID and Wireless Sensors," was chosen for this honor by a majority vote of 150 attendants of the focused RF session.
The work presented in this paper potentially sets the foundation for the first "green" generation of RFID-enabled sensors for biomonitoring, environmental monitoring, energy conservancy, and wearable electronics. It is also the first practical demonstration of nanotechnology, inkjet-printed electronics and sensing on ultra-low cost paper substrates, a critical step for the first "Internet of things" implementations.
Dr. Tentzeris' coauthors on the paper are his graduate students, Rushi Vyas, Vasilis Lakafosis, Anya Traille, Amin Rida, and George Shaker.
]]>Facilitating Academic Careers in Engineering and Science (FACES) was founded by Gary May, the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Jeff Streator, associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering; Reggie DesRoches, associate chair in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Stephen Ruffin, associate professor in the School of Aerospace Engineering; and other faculty on the Georgia Tech campus. Funded by the National Science Foundation, FACES seeks to increase the number of African-Americans in the engineering and science fields, with the ultimate goal being to increase the number of African-American faculty members in these areas at colleges and universities.
"Over the last decade, the FACES program has contributed significantly to the formation of an environment at Georgia Tech in which the completion of a STEM doctorate and consideration of an academic career are valued by talented minority students and supported by the campus," said Dr. May. "We are very proud of what has been created here and look forward to the contributions of our students as they pursue their careers."
This achievement is one of the many milestones that will be celebrated in the coming year, as the Institute recognizes the 50th anniversary of the first African-American students matriculating at Georgia Tech.
***************************************************
FACES at Georgia Tech has another reason to celebrate. Two of its current Ph.D. scholars, Lonnie Parker and Andrea Grimes, were married earlier this month. Lonnie is a fourth-year student in ECE, and Andrea is a fifth-year student in human-centered computing. See their story in the New York Times.
]]>The College of Engineering (CoE) moved up a spot to 4th and tied with CalTech. All Georgia Tech CoE disciplines placed in the top 10 of their respective rankings, with seven of them in the top 5. Georgia Tech also retained its seventh place standing among public universities. The Institute was highlighted in "Programs to Look For" for its co-op, internship, senior capstone, and study abroad programs. To learn more, please read the news release on the Georgia Tech web site.
"Our success in ECE can be attributed to continually recruiting and retaining the finest faculty and students that are supported by a great group of research and administrative staff," said Gary S. May, Steve W. Chaddick School Chair in ECE. "While these sorts of rankings mean different things to different people, we can all be very proud of our accomplishments and the high esteem in which our peers hold us."
]]>This award recognizes lifelong contributions to industry, academia, and professional societies in components, packaging, and manufacturing technologies. Dr. Tummala will receive this honor at the IEEE 61st Electronic Components and Technology Conference, to be held next spring in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
Dr. Tummala has been on the faculty of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 1993. He is the director of the Packaging Research Center and holds the Joseph M. Pettit Chair in Packaging. He is also a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar.
]]>A Ph.D. student in the Integrated MEMS Laboratory, Mr. Samarao co-wrote the award winning paper, "Intrinsic Temperature Compensation of Highly Resistive High-Q Silicon Microresonators via Charge Carrier Depletion," with his Ph.D.thesis advisor Farrokh Ayazi, who is an ECE professor.
The technique described in this paper slashes the myth that silicon could never replace quartz resonators in frequency control applications as it was thought to be impossible to compensate for its relatively large temperature coefficient of frequency (TCF) without sacrificing other figures of merit like quality factor (Q), power handling, or insertion loss. In this work, the dependency of the TCF on the free charge carriers in silicon has been identified and extensively studied for the first time. A TCF compensation technique has been successfully demonstrated by depleting the charge carriers through the creation of pn-junctions in the body of the resonator.
This novel idea also re-introduces single-crystal-silicon as a highly temperature-stable platform for high precision resonant sensors, including chemical, inertial, and temperature sensors. It further encourages research to extend the silicon platform for coupled-resonator tunable-filters and resonator-based mixers that are touted as primary requirements for the future of wireless communications, including cognitive radios.
]]>A highly selective honor, this award will provide support for Dr. Tentzeris to establish the first "green" wireless electronics and sensors program in China in collaboration with South China University of Technology, which is located in the city of Guangzhou.
Dr. Tentzeris will work on this project with RongLin Li, who served as a research scientist in Dr. Tentzeris' research lab until earlier this year. Dr. Li is now a faculty member in the School of Electronic and Information Engineering at South China University of Technology.
]]>This award is given to the outstanding engineering
alumnus from Rice University who is 40 years old or less and recognizes the exemplary achievements of that person. Dr. Romberg will receive this award on October 14 during the Rice Engineering Alumni Annual Open Meeting during Homecoming weekend.
A faculty member in ECE since 2006, Dr. Romberg holds three engineering degrees from Rice: his B.S.E.E. in 1997, Master's in 1999, and Ph.D. in 2003. His research focus is on the role that mathematical signal structure plays in making difficult processing tasks much easier. Recently, he has studied how sparse representations can make signal acquisition smarter and more flexible.
In the last two years, Dr. Romberg has received an Office of Naval Research Young Investigator Award, the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, and a Packard Fellowship. "All of these honors recognize Justin's impact in the technical details of research, as well as his reputation for leadership in research and education, and bring great distinction to himself, ECE, and Georgia Tech," said Gary May, professor and Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of ECE. "I am thrilled that Justin has been chosen for this special honor from his alma mater and am proud that he is our colleague."
]]>A fall 2009 Ph.D. graduate of the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at Georgia Tech, Ms. Gurbuz wrote this award-winning paper, "Enhanced Detection and Characterization of
Human Targets via Non-Linear Phase Modeling," with her co-advisors ECE Professor and Associate Chair Doug Williams and Bill Melvin, an adjunct professor in ECE and director of the Sensors and Electromagnetics Laboratory in GTRI. Ms. Gurbuz is now a senior research scientist with the Signal Processing and Remote Sensing Group at TUBITAK Space Technologies Research Institute in Ankara, Turkey.
The problem of human detection with radar may be broken down into two key tasks: 1) detecting the presence of a target and 2) deciding whether or not the target detected is human. Most current research has focused on the latter, overlooking the inherent SNR losses incurred when conventional, linear-phase detectors are applied to human targets. In fact, human targets have a highly non-linear phase history, made unique by the characteristic periodicities of bipedal motion, and differentiable from that of even other animals. This work aims to exploit the results of human modeling and gait analysis to design detectors specifically tailored to approximate as closely as possible the expected return from a human target.
]]>Engineers ages 30 to 45 who are performing exceptional engineering research and technical work in a variety of disciplines will come together for the event. The participants--from industry, academia and government--were nominated by fellow engineers or organizations and chosen from approximately 265 applicants. "As we face the challenges the next century brings, we will rely more than ever on innovative engineers," said NAE President Charles M. Vest. "The U.S. Frontiers of Engineering program is an opportunity for a diverse group of this country's most promising young engineers to gather together and discuss multidisciplinary ways of leading us into the economy of tomorrow."
The symposium will be held Sept. 23-25 at the IBM Learning Center in Armonk, N.Y., and will examine cloud computing, autonomous aerospace systems, engineering and music and engineering inspired by biology. Sponsors for the 2010 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering are IBM, The Grainger Foundation, Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Department of Defense (DDR&E), National Science Foundation, Microsoft Research and Cummins Inc.
The National Academy of Engineering is an independent, nonprofit institution that serves as an adviser to government and the public on issues in engineering and technology. Its members consist of the nation's premier engineers, who are elected by their peers for their distinguished achievements. Established in 1964, NAE operates under the congressional charter granted to the National Academy of Sciences in 1863.
]]>A much loved and respected faculty member with the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 1972, Dr. Leach taught in the areas of electromagnetics, microsystems, and electronic design and applications. He was a four-time recipient of the ECE Richard M. Bass/Eta Kappa Nu Outstanding Teacher Award--an honor determined by a majority vote of the ECE senior class--and also received several honors for his work in the classroom from Georgia Tech. He was a longtime advisor for the IEEE student branch, a technical advisor for WREK-FM (91.1), and a member of the Institute Radio Communication Board.
Dr. Leach's reach and influence never just stopped with his present pupils. Former students still enrolled at Georgia Tech, Georgia Tech alumni of various majors, and other outside parties continually called and consulted with him for technical advice. With his open door office policy, he almost always was working with at least one student at any given time. He will be greatly missed by all of us.
Graveside services were held on Friday, November 26 at 3 pm in Melrose Cemetery, located on North Main St. in Abbeville, S.C., which is Dr. Leach's hometown. For more information and directions, visit the Harris Funeral Home web site or call (864) 366-4027. A guestbook is also available at this web site.
Update Nov. 29 A memorial service has been scheduled at Georgia Tech for Thursday, December 16 at 3 pm at the Marcus Nanotechnology Building. For more details, visit the ECE web calendar.
]]>FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) is an organization that was founded to inspire interest in science and engineering among young people. The 2010 Challenge theme, "Body Forward," will have teams of students aged 9-14 exploring the cutting-edge world of biomedical engineering to discover innovative ways to repair injuries, overcome genetic predispositions, and maximize the bodies' potential, with the purpose of leading happier, healthier lives.
In this year's tournament, 337 teams are competing in 12 qualifiers and three super-regional contests, involving a total of 2,500 students. Through these qualifiers, the field will be narrowed to 48 teams, involving 450 students, that will advance to the January 29 tournament at Georgia Tech.
Volunteers are needed to serve as referees, scorekeepers, scorekeeper assistants, queue runners, pit monitors, food coordinators, judges' assistants, judges, and registration table attendants. For more information, please contact ECE Associate Professor Jeff Davis at 404.894.4770, jeff.davis@ece.gatech.edu, or visit http://www.georgiafll.org/ or http://firstlegoleague.org.
]]>Many experts would agree that the technological innovations of the last 50 years have spawned unprecedented productivity in the U.S. workforce and a host of new industries. However, our current level of know-how and prosperity is a precarious one, since this "new economy" is critically dependent on the talents and knowledge of a diverse and available technical workforce. To ensure that the workforce of tomorrow possesses the necessary skills to maintain the nation’s unprecedented leadership in technology, as well as to increase the likelihood that future science and engineering jobs will be filled by a qualified domestic workforce, every U.S. citizen must be given an equal opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to compete.
To read the full editorial, visit the HBCU Digest web site at http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/10/editorial-a-house-built-on-sand/
]]>
The paper, “A High Linearity Inverse Mode SiGe BiCMOS RF Switch,” was presented at the conference, held in early October in Austin, Tex., and published in the conference proceedings. The BCTM is the premier international conference dealing with bipolar and BiCMOS technology, devices, and circuits.
Power handling and distortion in RF and microwave switches is a key bottleneck in many monolithic RF system applications implemented in silicon-based technology. The research presented centered on the use of a SiGe HBT operating inverse mode (effectively, upside down) to boost power handling significantly, while at the same time decreasing signal distortion.
This approach is something that had not been previously attempted in RF switch design. The performance of the improved RF switch was demonstrated, and the understanding of why it works so well was presented. Further work on integration of such switches in RF system design are currently in progress.
]]>Many experts would agree that the technological innovations of the last 50 years have spawned unprecedented productivity in the U.S. workforce and a host of new industries. However, our current level of know-how and prosperity is a precarious one, since this "new economy" is critically dependent on the talents and knowledge of a diverse and available technical workforce. To ensure that the workforce of tomorrow possesses the necessary skills to maintain the nation's unprecedented leadership in technology, as well as to increase the likelihood that future science and engineering jobs will be filled by a qualified domestic workforce, every U.S. citizen must be given an equal opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge necessary to compete.
To read the full editorial, visit the HBCU Digest web site at http://www.hbcudigest.com/2010/10/editorial-a-house-built-on-sand/
Georgia Tech, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering
404.894.2906
]]>Essentially arrays of tiny test tubes, microplates have been used for decades to simultaneously test multiple samples for their responses to chemicals, living organisms or antibodies. Fluorescence or color changes in labels associated with compounds on the plates can signal the presence of particular proteins or gene sequences.
The researchers hope to replace these microplates with modern microelectronics technology, including disposable arrays containing thousands of electronic sensors connected to powerful signal processing circuitry. If they're successful, this new electronic biosensing platform could help realize the dream of personalized medicine by making possible real-time disease diagnosis -- potentially in a physician's office -- and by helping select individualized therapeutic approaches.
"This technology could help facilitate a new era of personalized medicine," said John McDonald, chief research scientist at the Ovarian Cancer Institute in Atlanta and a professor in the Georgia Tech School of Biology. "A device like this could quickly detect in individuals the gene mutations that are indicative of cancer and then determine what would be the optimal treatment. There are a lot of potential applications for this that cannot be done with current analytical and diagnostic technology."
Fundamental to the new biosensing system is the ability to electronically detect markers that differentiate between healthy and diseased cells. These markers could be differences in proteins, mutations in DNA or even specific levels of ions that exist at different amounts in cancer cells. Researchers are finding more and more differences like these that could be exploited to create fast and inexpensive electronic detection techniques that don't rely on conventional labels.
"We have put together several novel pieces of nanoelectronics technology to create a method for doing things in a very different way than what we have been doing," said Muhannad Bakir, an associate professor in Georgia Tech's School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "What we are creating is a new general-purpose sensing platform that takes advantage of the best of nanoelectronics and three-dimensional electronic system integration to modernize and add new applications to the old microplate application. This is a marriage of electronics and molecular biology."
The three-dimensional sensor arrays are fabricated using conventional low-cost, top-down microelectronics technology. Though existing sample preparation and loading systems may have to be modified, the new biosensor arrays should be compatible with existing work flows in research and diagnostic labs.
"We want to make these devices simple to manufacture by taking advantage of all the advances made in microelectronics, while at the same time not significantly changing usability for the clinician or researcher," said Ramasamy Ravindran, a graduate research assistant in Georgia Tech's Nanotechnology Research Center and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
A key advantage of the platform is that sensing will be done using low-cost, disposable components, while information processing will be done by reusable conventional integrated circuits connected temporarily to the array. Ultra-high density spring-like mechanically compliant connectors and advanced "through-silicon vias" will make the electrical connections while allowing technicians to replace the biosensor arrays without damaging the underlying circuitry.
Separating the sensing and processing portions allows fabrication to be optimized for each type of device, notes Hyung Suk Yang, a graduate research assistant also working in the Nanotechnology Research Center. Without the separation, the types of materials and processes that can be used to fabricate the sensors are severely limited.
The sensitivity of the tiny electronic sensors can often be greater than current systems, potentially allowing diseases to be detected earlier. Because the sample wells will be substantially smaller than those of current microplates -- allowing a smaller form factor -- they could permit more testing to be done with a given sample volume.
The technology could also facilitate use of ligand-based sensing that recognizes specific genetic sequences in DNA or messenger RNA. "This would very quickly give us an indication of the proteins that are being expressed by that patient, which gives us knowledge of the disease state at the point-of-care," explained Ken Scarberry, a postdoctoral fellow in McDonald's lab.
So far, the researchers have demonstrated a biosensing system with silicon nanowire sensors in a 16-well device built on a one-centimeter by one-centimeter chip. The nanowires, just 50 by 70 nanometers, differentiated between ovarian cancer cells and healthy ovarian epithelial cells at a variety of cell densities.
Silicon nanowire sensor technology can be used to simultaneously detect large numbers of different cells and biomaterials without labels. Beyond that versatile technology, the biosensing platform could accommodate a broad range of other sensors -- including technologies that may not exist yet. Ultimately, hundreds of thousands of different sensors could be included on each chip, enough to rapidly detect markers for a broad range of diseases.
"Our platform idea is really sensor agnostic," said Ravindran. "It could be used with a lot of different sensors that people are developing. It would give us an opportunity to bring together a lot of different kinds of sensors in a single chip."
Genetic mutations can lead to a large number of different disease states that can affect a patient's response to disease or medication, but current labeled sensing methods are limited in their ability to detect large numbers of different markers simultaneously.
Mapping single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), variations that account for approximately 90 percent of human genetic variation, could be used to determine a patient's propensity for a disease, or their likelihood of benefitting from a particular intervention. The new biosensing technology could enable caregivers to produce and analyze SNP maps at the point-of-care.
Though many technical challenges remain, the ability to screen for thousands of disease markers in real-time has biomedical scientists like McDonald excited.
"With enough sensors in there, you could theoretically put all possible combinations on the array," he said. "This has not been considered possible until now because making an array large enough to detect them all with current technology is probably not feasible. But with microelectronics technology, you can easily include all the possible combinations, and that changes things."
Papers describing the biosensing device were presented at the Electronic Components and Technology Conference and the International Interconnect Technology conference in June 2010. The research has been supported in part by the National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN), Georgia Tech's Integrative BioSystems Institute (IBSI) and the Semiconductor Research Corporation.
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Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute
404.894.6986
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This novel wireless and wearable system allows paralyzed individuals to control a powered wheelchair, operate a computer, and interact with their environments by simply moving their tongues. The device was recently validated through its first clinical trials at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.
To view the video at the LiveWell HD site or read the article on the NIH site, please visit:
Tongue Controlled Wheelchairs (LiveWell HD Network)
]]>A 2008 Georgia Tech B.S.E.E. graduate with highest honors, Ms. Yepes is currently finishing her master's degree in the Microwave Circuit Technology Group, which is led by ECE Professor John Papapolymerou. Her research focuses on the design of compact and lightweight integrated antenna arrays in X-band and Ka-band, using multilayer low-cost organic layers for remote sensing and radar applications.
]]>UCEP's research and development program serves as a launching pad for the innovative photovoltaics technology company, Suniva, located in Norcross, Ga. Suniva's innovation in photovoltaics was awarded support from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act tax credit program, allowing the company to expand and create 50 additional jobs in the area.
UCEP was established in 1992 with funding from the U.S. Department of Energy and has been continuously funded by the DoE since its inception. The Center is led by Ajeet Rohatgi, who began his solar energy research program in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering when he came to Georgia Tech in 1985. Dr. Rohatgi is also the founder and chief technology officer for Suniva and he is highly regarded as one of the world's leading research scientists in photovoltaic (PV) technology.
The primary challenge for solar energy researchers lies in reducing solar cell cost while maintaining high performance. According to Ian Cooper, a UCEP research engineer, the Center aims to use less silicon by cutting wafer thickness, using fewer process steps to create the wafers, and creating high efficiency cells without using exotic materials, resulting in lower overall costs. One of the most highly visible facilities using solar cells developed by UCEP is the Georgia Tech Aquatic Center, which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Since that time, the Aquatic Center has produced 4 GWh cumulative AC energy since July 1996. The Center has been supportive of several educational competitions based on solar power, including the 2003 American Solar Challenge, where students built a solar-powered car, and the Solar Decathlon House Design Project.
Technology developed in UCEP spawned the development of Suniva in 2007. With its mission to "make solar sensible," Suniva manufactures high-value solar cells and modules using U.S.-based technology to address the world's energy needs. The company currently makes 18+ percent efficiency solar cells and has produced 20+ percent efficiency cells in the laboratory. The company goal is to have 20+ percent efficiency cells in high-volume production by 2011.
All cell research, design, and manufacturing is based in the U.S., according to Suniva Chairman and CEO John Baumstark. The company now operates three production lines at its Norcross headquarters and employs 150 workers, with plans to build and open a 200,000-square-foot manufacturing plant on 40 acres in Michigan that is expected to employ 500 people. Suniva has customers throughout the world--in the U.S., Europe, South Africa, India, China, and Taiwan--with plans to expand to other locations in Asia, Australia, and South America. The company recently received the Exporter of the Year award from the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. for exporting over 90 percent of its product in 2009.
]]>Dr. Kenney's paper, entitled "Parametric Power Amplifiers: Old Ideas, New Technologies," presented an overview and history of microwave parametric amplifiers (paramps). He then proposed new technologies that may enable paramps to achieve wide bandwidth, high efficiency power amplification: gallium nitride (GaN), and multiferroics. If successful, this combination could displace the few remaining niches where vacuum tubes have maintained dominance over high power transistor technology.
An associate professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 2000, Dr. Kenney specializes in electronic design and applications.
]]>Their paper entitled, “Effect of Permittivity and Permeability of a Flexible Magnetic Composite Material on the Performance and Miniaturization Capability of Planar Antennas for RFID and Wearable Wireless Applications,” was published in volume 32, issue number 4 of the IEEE Transactions on Components and Packaging Technologies.
Dr. Tentzeris' co-authors are Regents’ Professor C.P. Wong and Research Engineer Daniela Staiculescu, both of the School of Materials Science and Engineering; Lara Martin, a Georgia Tech Ph.D. graduate who now works with Motorola; Sooliam Ooi, of Blackberry (Research in Motion); and Michael D. Hill, of Trans-Tech, Inc. The team will receive this award at the 60th Electronic Components and Technology Conference, which will be held June 1-4 in Las Vegas.
Dr. Tentzeris has been a faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 1998.
]]>A Ph.D. student in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus, Mr. Mukhopadhyay joined forces with Yamini Girey and Krishna Rao from the Illinois Institute of Technology to create a Web site known as AwareNet. The site is designed to create an online forum where non-governmental organizations, volunteers, donors, and vendors can interact and share resources. Its underlying idea is to create a social media enterprise/network for people who want to help or for those who are in need of assistance.
Mr. Mukhopadhyay is advised by ECE Assistant Professor Fumin Zhang.
See also Georgia Tech Student on Finalist Team for Microsoft's Imagine Cup, written by Lisa Grovenstein of Georgia Tech Communications and Marketing; original release date was February 1, 2010.
]]>Out of a field of more than 700 international entries, their venture, known as "Waste to Watts," was one of only two recipients to receive a cash prize. Mr. Caputo is an electrical engineering major, and Mr. Molini is a biomedical engineering major.
Waste to Watts has designed a low-cost, modular back-up power supply that will run devices ranging from EKGs and patient monitors to computers and household lights for several hours when the power goes out. The most expensive components of the device are made of repurposed electronic waste, one of the world's fastest growing pollution problems. Messrs. Caputo and Molini plan to complete the third iteration of their design and ship several units with student-volunteers from Duke University to hospitals in Africa to acquire a proof of concept this summer.
To learn more about "Waste to Watts," visit http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/.
]]>Entitled “A novel conformal RFID-enabled module utilizing inkjet-printed antennas and carbon nanotubes for gas detection applications,” their paper was published in a 2009 issue of the IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, vol. 8, pp. 653-656.
Dr. Tentzeris and his colleagues will receive this award at the IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and the 2010 CNC/USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting, which will be held July 11-17 in Toronto. Established in honor of P. L. E. Uslenghi, the founding editor of the IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, this award is given for the best Letters paper published in the preceding calendar year, judged on the basis of technical contributions, style, and presentation.
A professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 1998, Dr. Tentzeris specializes in electromagnetics and electronic design and applications.
]]>Energy Express launched on April 27 and will focus on research that encompasses the science and engineering of light and its impact on sustainable energy development, the environment, and green technologies.
Research featured in Energy Express will highlight the role optics plays in energy efficiency and sustainability, from making solar energy economical to providing energy from fusion, studying new combustion processes that can ease carbon dioxide sequestration, monitoring the nitrogen cycle, and realizing significant energy savings using solid-state lighting, such as inorganic and organic light emitting diodes (LEDs and OLEDs). To underscore the importance of optics in energy, Energy Express will also publish a series of focus issues dedicated to selected research areas, the first of which is on new developments in solar concentrators.
Created as a result of discussions from the OSA Energy Advisory Group, Energy Express may be found at http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/virtual_issue.cfm?vid=108.
]]>The team was recognized "for contributions in the integration and design of reconfigurable multiband antennas with RF MEMS switches over a wide band frequency range (8-25 GHz)." Providing wide frequency range with low power consumption and small size, this antenna can be used in a variety of multiband and reconfigurable wireless communication systems, radars, and sensors. The antenna can also be applied to Software-Defined-Radio and other multifunctional radio systems.
Dr. Papapolymerou's collaborators on this project include a recent Ph.D. graduate of his research group, Guizhen Zheng, who now works with Intel, and a former postdoctoral fellow from his team, Dimitris Anagnostou, who is now on the ECE faculty at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. His third collaborator, Christos Christodoulou, is on the ECE faculty at the University of New Mexico. They will receive this award at the IEEE International Symposium on Antennas and Propagation and the 2010 CNC/USNC/URSI National Radio Science Meeting, which will be held July 11-17 in Toronto. Established in 2003 by Professor John Kraus, this award recognizes an individual or a group who has made an exceptional contribution to the field of antennas through innovation.
A faculty member in the Georgia Tech School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 2001, Dr. Papapolymerou specializes in electromagnetics and electronic design and applications.
]]>A professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, Dr. Li and his coauthors Guocong Song and Leonard Cimini, Jr. won this award for their paper, "Joint Channel- and Queue-Aware Scheduling for Multiuser Diversity in Wireless OFDMA Networks." The paper was published in the July 2009 issue of the IEEE Transactions on Communications, Vol. 57, No. 7, pp. 2109-2121. They will receive this award on May 24 during the IEEE International Conference on Communications, to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
The award-winning paper is both theoretically and practically meaningful for cross-layer scheduling design of wireless networks. With the utility-maximization mechanism, MDU scheduling enables the network to achieve the right balance between capacity enlargement and QoS guarantees, according to the channel conditions and the level of network congestion. The novel stability analysis can be applied for stationary systems and a much wider range of scheduling algorithms compared to the existing related work. It will facilitate the design of cross-layer scheduling algorithms and QoS provisioning solutions for advanced wireless broadband networks.
]]>This year, the publication did not rank computer engineering programs because they chose to publish their new computer science rankings. U.S. News will resume doing computer engineering rankings next year.
The College of Engineering at Georgia Tech retained its 4th place ranking from last year. A news release on the Georgia Tech site detailing the rankings of other engineering disciplines may be found at http://www.gatech.edu/newsroom/release.html?nid=55382.
"Our continued success can be attributed to recruiting and retaining the finest faculty and students that are supported by an excellent group of research and administrative staff," said Gary May, professor and Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of ECE. "While these sorts of rankings mean different things to different people, I am very proud of our long record of sustained high placements among the very best of our peers."
]]>An assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering based at the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus, Dr. Zhang is being honored for his educational contributions that encourage K-12 and present university students to reach for their dreams and excel.
Dr. Zhang is the co-founder of the Robotics Teaching and Out-Reach Lab (RoToR), which supports the undergraduate course, Introduction to Automation and Robotics. The RoToR lab is also heavily used in outreach activities such as the FIRST LEGO League and Vex robotics competitions for middle school and high school students, and it is an Explorer Post for the Boy Scouts of America.
]]>His award winning product demo included bandwidth-efficient multiscreen HD/3D video streaming and advanced human-Digital TV inferface. A senior research engineer in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech, Dr. Bing works with the Georgia Tech Broadband Institute.
The 82nd Annual NAB Show is the largest of its kind, which attracts 85,000 professional from 157 countries and features 1,500 product demo booths. The event took place from April 10-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
]]>Dr. May will receive this honor during the Letters and Science Computer Science Commencement at the University of California at Berkeley on May 17. The award recognizes valuable contributions made by distinguished UC Berkeley alumni for outstanding performance in research and engineering achievements, leadership in the profession and public affairs, and service and support to the university.
A faculty member in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Georgia Tech since 1991, Dr. May is currently the Steve W. Chaddick School Chair in ECE. The School has the largest undergraduate and graduate programs of their kinds in the U.S., with almost 2,400 students enrolled.
"Gary has spent many years of hard work and dedication in advancing electrical and computer engineering education and research at Georgia Tech," said Don Giddens, dean of the College of Engineering at Georgia Tech. "He is a true ambassador for the engineering profession, and we are honored to have him in the College of Engineering."
]]>Electrical engineering undergraduate students receiving this honor are Andrew Matthew Bardagjy, Samuel Donald Coogan, and Eleazar Walter Kenyon.
ECE graduate students who were named as fellowship recipients are Jeremy Hicks, Ailar Javadi, Abigail Anne Kressner, Mario Octavio Malave, and Jiuguang Wang.
This year, NSF awarded 38 Georgia Tech students with fellowships worth more than $100,000 each. Students receive $30,000 per year for three years for graduate study, and the university they attend receives $10,500 per year for three years to cover cost of education. Students also receive $1,000 to attend an international conference. In the group
of 38 current Georgia Tech students who received awards, 10 are undergraduates (seniors) and 28 are graduate students.
"This is an extraordinary achievement for each of our students," said Gary S. May, Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of ECE. "It will be exciting to witness their accomplishments during their careers here at Georgia Tech and in whatever paths they choose to pursue after they graduate."
]]>This award will continue to build on and improve the existing Tongue Drive System (TDS) by creating a Brain-Tongue-Computer Interface (BTCI). This interface will use the strong neuronal connection between brain and tongue motion as a novel untapped human motor output to substitute or complement some of the functions traditionally performed by the arms and hands in disabled and able-bodied individuals. The project also enhances the functionality of the TDS hardware, signal processing algorithms, and user interface to improve its usability in various environments.
The BTCI research will ultimately transform the lives of persons with severe disabilities by helping them live active, self-supportive, and productive lives. Solutions such as BTCI may also help reduce health care and assisted living costs by relieving the burden on family members and dedicated caregivers.
An assistant professor in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering since 2007, Dr. Ghovanloo specializes in bioengineering and electronic design and applications. Before coming to Georgia Tech, he was on the ECE faculty at North Carolina State University.
]]>With this award, Dr. Zhang will establish a fundamental research program to lay out the theoretical foundation for agile marine autonomy
]]>The Imagine Cup competition is designed to empower students to use technology, innovation and creativity to help solve some of the world's most challenging social issues outlined in the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals. From designing mobile healthcare applications to enabling access to quality education for all children and creating games that teach disease prevention, young social innovators are using technology to make a difference in the life of people around the world and in their own communities.
Mukhopadhyay is working with two team members from the Illinois Institute of Technology, Yamini Girey and Krishna Rao, to create a Web site known as AwareNet. The site is designed to create an online forum where non-governmental organizations (NGO), volunteers, donors and vendors can interact and share resources.
According to Mukhopadhyay, the underlying idea of AwareNet is to create a social media enterprise/network for people who want to help or those who are in need of assistance. "Finding all these distributed resources is a herculean task," he noted. "It would be simpler to have it all under a single roof, and that is where AwareNet steps in."
AwareNet could create a scenario where, for example, a pharmaceutical company in Australia could easily locate and donate medicines to NGOs in far-flung regions such as the Sahara. A key feature of the program is a system where users can rate a particular welfare effort or provider allowing people to evaluate how effectively their donations are being utilized.
"Putting such a platform on the Internet will enable people from all over the world to collaborate," explained Mukhopadhyay. "Look what Wikipedia has become. Everyone contributed to it and now it is an indispensable resource. Why not do that for welfare?"
Mukhopadhyay said that AwareNet could play a vital role in emergency response, such as ongoing efforts in Haiti. "If this project becomes a central repository that people readily refer to, it can become invaluable," he noted. "People do not need computers to access the Internet -- phones do the job now. If there were common people in the midst of a crisis like Haiti, the information coming in would be first hand and accurate and almost instantaneous. That would enable organizations to better coordinate and plan rescue operations."
While the Coders Inc. team is optimistic about making it to the World Finals scheduled in Poland this summer, Mukophadhyay values the experience whatever the outcome. "Even if our project does not become anything huge in the future, I am happy that this competition is bringing people together to think about such things. Maybe some of the ideas will succeed and make a better future for all," he concluded.
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The multi-year commitment, which will begin in 2010 and continue through 2012, marks the second phase of Agilent's work with GEDC. The company made a similar in-kind gift in 2007 of EDA software and tools valued at $13 million.
The commitment reflects Agilent's continuing investment in the university community and the company’s dedication to staying at the leading edge of the world of electronic design. The selection of Georgia Tech and the GEDC team, under the leadership of Dr. Joy Laskar, continues Agilent's alignment with one of the world's leading research centers in communication technology.
"Access to Agilent technology has been invaluable to GEDC research and student training" said Laskar "As GEDC strives to maintain its place as a world leader in communication research technology, the Agilent alliance is one of the strong foundations of that leadership position".
This new agreement further develops the relationship between Georgia Tech and Agilent and provides an outlet for smaller start-up companies to gain access to Agilent EDA software and technologies through GEDC. The Agilent EDA Simulation Center currently provides RF, microwave-system and circuit-design instruction and research for students and start-up companies.
Qualified start-ups can utilize the Agilent tools at GEDC at no cost for the first year of a company's launch and at a reduced rate for the following three years of incubation, helping to alleviate the financial burden for new electronic design companies.
"Georgia Tech is a hotbed of great ideas that can be turned into commercial success," said Stephen Fleming, vice provost of the Enterprise Innovation Institute at Georgia Tech. "Within the area of semiconductor design, companies' access to design systems at low cost is essential to the development and prototyping process. Agilent's gift solves this problem for our companies. We are greatly indebted to them for their most generous donation."
The accessibility to Agilent products is already driving new enterprises to Atlanta and the resources at GEDC.
"When we decided to relocate our start-up company from California to Atlanta, there were several major reasons driving that decision," said Jeff Galloway, co-founder of
Silicon Creations. "Access to Georgia Tech, quality of life, cost of living, etc. A major benefit to us has been the no-cost access to Agilent's suite of design tools via their Georgia Tech Design Simulation Design donation. We look forward to a long term association and partnership."
This second phase of the Georgia Tech-Agilent partnership will also introduce Agilent Student Liaisons, two graduate research assistants who will deliver software training as well as coordinate and supervise research projects that utilize Agilent software and tools.
"We are grateful for this latest in-kind commitment from Agilent, which is the largest that ECE has ever received and for the company's longstanding and generous support of our efforts," said Gary S. May, Steve W. Chaddick School Chair of Georgia Tech’s School of Electrical and Computer Engineering. "By using these specialized tools on a regular basis, students will have important technical concepts enhanced and reinforced that they learn in our electronics and electromagnetics courses and while they are on the job in our research labs. Upon graduation, they will immediately be valuable contributors to their employers in academia and industry."
Collaborations such as this are vital as Georgia Tech seeks to strengthen ties with both the business and technology community.
"Throughout its history, much of the strength of Georgia Tech has come from successful partnerships with business and industry," said Dr. G.P. "Bud" Peterson, Georgia Tech president. "Agilent has and continues to be a leader in the development of electronic, biomedical and nano electronics. Strategically Agilent and Georgia Tech, with our new Marcus Nanotechnology Research Center, our ongoing work in the field of biomedical engineering and our growth in mixed-signal analysis, have a great deal in common and work together well."
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