Recent Funded Research Grants

• "FY12 Clean Energy State Energy Sector Partnership" sponsored by Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board led by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability. (Awarded:  $22,820 - Project period:  1/1/2012 to 12/31/2012)

• "Field Monitoring of Experimental Hot Mix Projects Placed in Massachusetts" sponsored by the MA Executive Office of Transportation led by Walaa Mogawer, Civil and Environmental Engineering. (Awarded:  $282,742 - Project period:  2/28/2012 to 6/30/2015)

• "Greener High Strength, Lightweight and Low Cost Structural Composites using Sustainable Natural Fibers" sponsored by the MA Technology Transfer Center led by Vijaya Chalivendra, Mechanical Engineering and Yong Kim, Bioengineering. (Awarded:  $40,000 - Project period:  3/1/2012 to 2/28/2013)

• "RF Frontend on a Monolithic Integrated Circuit" sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research led by Yifei Li, Civil & Environmental Engineering. (Awarded:  $999,637 - Project period:  4/15/2012 to 4/14/2017)

• "IEEE Underwater Acoustic Signal Processing Workshop" sponsored by the Office of Naval Research led by John Buck, Electrical & Computing Engineering. (Awarded:  $5,000 - Project period:  10/1/2011 to 12/31/2012)

• "MOPE: Multi-scale Ocean Modeling in Support of the Pioneer Array" sponsored by the UMass President's Office led by Amit Tandon, Physics. (Awarded:  $20,000 - Project period:  1/1/2012 to 12/31/2012)

• "Radom Matrix Theory for Adaptive Beamforming" sponsored by the Office of Naval Research led by John Buck, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded:  $132,357 - Project period:  1/1/2012 to 12/31/2014)

• "Biological Materials Science Symposium, Orlando, March 11-15, 2012" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by Nima Rahbar, Civil & Environmental Engineering. (Awarded:  $4,000 - Project period:  2/15/2012 to 1/31/2013)

• "Determination of the Proper Virgin Binder Grader for RAP-HMA Mixes" sponsored by the MA Dept. of Transportation led by Walaa Mogawer, Civil and Environmental Engineering. (Awarded:  $449,456 - Project period:  9/11/2011 to 6/30/2014)

• "Multi-scale Modeling of Fractural Topography and Contract Analysis for Radio-frequency (RF) MEMS" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by Wenzhen Huang, Mechanical Engineering. (Awarded:  $269,383 - Project period:  9/1/2011 to 8/31/2014)

• Dr. Katja Hölttä-Otto, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, has been awarded the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF).  The award is one of the highest honors given by NSF to recognize young faculty in science and engineering who are effectively integrating research and teaching, and it provides a large grant to conduct research. Dr. Hölttä-Otto will use the grant to support her research on innovation.  Her research objective is to investigate how the successful engineering design innovation and risk balance needs to be different in small new ventures rather than in larger more mature corporations.  A predictive model of engineering design level factors contributing to new venture success will be developed.  This research is an initial step toward discovering how engineering design methods, in general, should be different in new ventures vs. larger companies.  Dr. Hölttä-Otto’s research will result in knowledge on how to balance one of the key contributor/barrier trade-offs to success: innovation versus technical risk.  This new knowledge will betransferred into a validated teaching methodology that will be immediately applied in student design projects and that will be transferred to other institutions through workshops and scholarly publications. (Awarded:  $400,000 - Project period:  6/1/2012 to May 31, 2017)

• Dr. Nima Rahbar, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, was another recipient of the prestigious Faculty Early Career Development Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Dr. Rahbar will use the grant to support his research on the mechanics of bio-inspired multilayered structures.  Strength and toughness are both vital properties for most structural materials.  Although there has been success in the development of stronger and harder materials, these materials have little to no use as bulk structural materials without appropriate fracture resistance.  Understanding the mechanical behavior of biological materials is a crucial step in the design of robust structural materials.  The superior mechanical properties of layered biological materials relates to their hierarchical structures and nature's ability to design these materials with nanoscale structural components.  This project establishes a link between toughening mechanisms in biological materials and the design of robust structural composites using mechanics models. (Awarded:  $400,000 - Project period:  9/1/12 to 8/31/2017)

• Dr. Rahbar was recently awarded the 2012 TMS STRUCTURAL MATERIALS DIVISION YOUNG LEADER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AWARD from The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society.

• Dr. Liudong Xing (Electrical and Computer Engineering), together with her collaborators Dr. Vinod Vokkarane (co-PI from CIS department) and Dr. Yan Sun (PI from the University of Rhode Island) received a $425,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study the reliability of wireless sensor networks.  The goal of the 3-year project is to close the gap between traditional network reliability analysis theories and realistic sensor network system environments through new reliability theories, models, methodologies, and software tools.  The results of this project are expected to assist the design and operation of reliable sensor networks and contribute to the network reliability research and industry.

• Professor John Buck (Electrical and Computer Engineering has received a three-year $400,000 grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to develop novel adaptive beam formers for passive sonar using random matrix theory.  Such systems could yield significant performance gains in detection and bearing estimation for undersea defense.  This is a three year collaboration between UMass Dartmouth and George Mason University.

• Dr. David Brown from ECE received a $450,000 grant from ONR for training in electroacoustic transducer modeling with examples of the low frequency flexural plate bender and slotted cylinder transducers using physics based mode.

• Dr. Ramprasad Balasubramanian in CIS also has received an ONR grant to investigate Situationally Aware Task Consensus among a team of heterogeneous AUV's.

• Professor Amit Tandon in physics led the team that was awarded one of the first Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center grants.  The project entitled "MOPE: Multi-scale Ocean modeling in support of the Pioneer Array" is a collaboration between investigators at MIT and UMass Dartmouth.  The project will create models to provide insights into the turbulent mixing that regulates nutrient cycle and ocean ecosystem dynamics off the New England coast.  The project will be done in conjunction with the forthcoming deployment of a state-of-the-art underwater observation platform as part of the NSF-sponsored Ocean Observatories initiative. http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2012/01/30/daily50-Fledgling-Holyoke-computer-center-gives-600000-in-grants.html?action=emailfriendform.

• "Spatially Modulated Gain Waveguide Electro-optic Laser" sponsored by the Navel Research Laboratory led by Yifei Li, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded:  $199,880 - Project period:  8/17/10 to 2/17/12)

• "Evaluation of Plant-Produced High-Percentage RAP Mixture in the Northeast" funded by the University of New Hampshire (through U.S. Dept. of Transportation) by Walaa Mogawer, Civil & Environmental Engineering.  (Awarded:  $149,348- Project period: 8/11/10 to 12/31/13)

• "COMMON: Coordinated Multi-layer Multi-domain Optical Network Framework" sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy led by Vinod Vokkarane, Computer & Information Sciences. (Awarded:  $174,993 - Project period:  9/1/2010 to 8/31/2013)

• "GOALI: An Exploration of the Use of OpenCL, for Numerical Modeling and Data" funded by the National Science Foundation by Gaurav Khanna, Physics. (Awarded: $166,499 - Project period: 9/1/10 to 8/31/12)

• "External Pipe Sound Pressure Level Sensor" sponsored by Progeny Systems Corporation led by John Rice, Mechanical Engineering. (Awarded:  $20,984 - Project period:  7/26/10 to 1/28/11)

• "FY'11 Clean Energy State Energy Sector" funded by the Brockton Area Workforce Investment Board by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability.  (Awarded:  $34,109- Project period: 7/1/10 to 12/31/11)

• "Source Localization in a Presence of Multipath" sponsored by  the Israel Ministry of Defense led by Igal Bilik, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded:  $150,000 - Project period:  6/1/2010 to 6/1/2011)

• "Database Crawling: Exploring Database-Generated Dynamic Web Pages" funded by the Chancellor's Research Fund and the UMass Healey Endowment by Chi Keung Lee, Computer and Information Science. (Awarded: $6,057 - Project period: 6/1/10 to 5/31/11)

• "Collaborative Outreach Program: UMass Dartmouth Observatory Phase II" funded by the Chancellor's Public Service Fund and the UMass Public Service Endowment led by Alan Hirshfeld and Grant O'Rielly, Physics.  (Awarded: $9,800 - Project period:  6/1/10 to 5/31/11)

• "ARGON: Advance Reservation for Next-Generation Optical Networks" funded by the Chancellor's Research Fund and the UMass Healey Endowment led by Vinod Vokkarane, Computer and Information Science.  (Awarded:  $10,000 - Project period:  6/1/10 to 5/31/11)

• "Computer Modeling and Visualization of Physical Systems" sponsored by TCR Engineering led by Jay Wang, Physics.  (Awarded:  $28,000 - Project period:  6/1/10 to 6/1/12)

• "MRI-R2: Acquisition of a Heterogenous Terascale Shared Campus Computing Facility" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by Robert Fisher, Physics.  (Awarded:  $199,480 - Project period:  6/1/10 to 5/31/11)

• "Functionalization of Biopolymers" sponsored by Covidien led by Sankha Bhowmick, Mechanical Engineering. (Awarded $30,000 - Project period: 3/30/2010 to 12/31/2010)

• "Digital High Speed Inkjet Textile Printing System/Validation & Prototype Development Initiative" sponsored by Massachusetts Technology Collaborative led by Qinguo Fan, Materials & Textiles. (Awarded:  $50,000 - Project period:  4/1/10 to 1/30/11)

• "Energy Efficiency and Construction Enhancement - Stepping Stone" for Bristol Community College led by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability.  (Awarded:  $50,000 - Project period: 3/15/10 to 3/15/11)

• "TC: Collaborative Research: Pay-As-You-Go Security and Privacy for Integrated Transportation Payment Systems" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by Marguerite Zarrillo, Physics (Awarded $100,000 - Project period:  6/1/10 to 5/31/13)

• "Interpreting the Ocean's Interior from Surface Data" sponsored by NASA/Boston University led by Amit Tandon, Physics (Awarded $59,395 - Project period:  3/1/10 to 2/28/13)

• "Generic Pseudorandon Bioacoustic Signals" sponsored by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center led by Chi Hau Chen, Electrical & Computer Engineering (Awarded $8,000 - Project period: 2/26/10 to 9/30/10)

• "Collaborative Research: Mechanical and Electrical Response of Novel Polymer Graft" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by  Vijaya Chalivendra, Mechanical Engineering (Awarded $5,938 - Included in project period: 6/1/09 to 5/31/12)

• "Development of Micro Tensile Tester Operated in Atomic Force Microscopy" sponsored by the National Science Foundation led by Vijaya Chalivendra, Mechanical Engineering. (Awarded: $27,799 - Project period: 4/1/10 to 3/31/11)

• "Partial Underwriting for 2009 IEEE Underwater Acoustic Signal Processing" sponsored by the Office of Naval Research led by John Buck, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded: $5,000 - Project period: 10/1/09 to 9/30/10)

• "Mix Designs for Warm Mix Asphalt Technologies" sponsored by Advanced Asphalt Technologies led by Walaa Mogawer, Civil & Environmental Engineering. (Awarded: $48,049 - Project period: 1/1/09 to 5/31/10)

• "Integrated Transportation Payment Systems: Principles, Concepts, and Applications" sponsored by UMass Amherst, primary sponsor being the U.S. Dept. of Transportation led by Marguerite Zarrillo, Physics. (Awarded: $5,550 - Project period: 9/1/09 to 7/31/11)

• "Interfacial Adhesion between Polymer Substrates and Osteoconductive Minerals" for UMass Worcester led by Nima Rahbar, Civil & Environmental Engineering. (Awarded $75,000 - Project period: 11/1/09 to 10/31/11)

• "Sustainability Library Resource Corners" sponsored by the Southeastern Environmental Education Alliance led by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability. (Awarded $850 - Project period: 11/23/09 to 11/22/10)

• "Experimental Study of Oil-Brine Mixing in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve" for Sandia National Laboratories awarded to Peter Friedman, Mechanical Engineering. (Awarded $79,680 - Project period: 10/22/09 to 12/31/10)
  
  
• "NETC Research Study 03-6: Fix it First Utilizing the Seismic Property Analyzer and MMLS to Develop Guidelines for the Use of Polymer Modified Thin HMA vx. Surface Treatments" sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration led by Walaa Mogawer, Civil & Environmental Engineering. (Awarded $45,842 - Project period: 10/1/09 to 9/30/11)
  
  
• "High Throughout Point-of-Care/In-Vitro Diagnostics Platform" for the U.S. Small Business Administration led by David Rancour, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded $247,000 - Project period: 9/30/09 to 9/29/10)
  
  
• "Alternative Technologies for Numerical Relativity and Ligo Data-Analysis" for the National Science Foundation led by Gaurav Khanna, Physics. (Awarded: $160,560 - Project period: 9/15/09 to 8/31/11)
  
  
• "STTR Phase 1: Co-extruded Electroded Fiber Sensors and Actuators" sponsored by the Engineered Yarns Company led by Paul Calvert, Materials & Textiles. (Awarded: $45,500 - Project period: 9/1/09 to 6/30/10)
  
  
• "Pavement Rehabilitation Strategies for Ramps at Airports with Commercial Service Primary Service Levels" for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) led by Walaa Mogawer, Civil and Environmental Engineering. (Awarded: $42,999.77 - Project period: 6/18/09 to 6/17/10)
  
  
• "Sustainability Teacher Training and Community Training" for the Southeastern Environmental Ed Alliance led by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability. (Awarded $5,000 - Project period: 5/22/09 to 11/21/09)
  
  
• "Summer Support of Graduate Student to Extend Scope of MS Thesis" for the Foundational Questions Institute (FXQi), Mini-Grant awarded to Gaurav Khanna, Physics Department. (Awarded $3,750 - Project period: 6/1/09 to 5/31/10)
  
  
• "Weaving the Rainbow: Pathways to the Sciences" sponsored by the President's Creative Economy Fund, led by Grant O'Rielly, Physics Department. (Awarded $39,000 - Project period: 9/1/09 to 8/31/10)
  
  
• "Developing Green Jobs and Career Paths: The University of Massachusetts as a Leader in Growing the Green Economy" sponsored by the President's Creative Economy Fund, led by Susan Jennings, Office of Campus & Community Sustainability. (Awarded: $15,000 - Project period: 7/1/09 to 6/30/10)
  
  
• "Spatial Compressive Sensing for Passive Sonar" sponsored by the Chancellor's Research Fund and UMass Joseph Healey Endowment, led by Igor Bilik, Electrical & Computer Engineering. (Awarded $8,000 - Project period: 7/1/09 to 6/30/10)
  
  
• Walaa Mogawer from Civil & Environmental Engineering was awarded $100,000 on his proposal "Continued Operation of the Mass Highway Pavement Profiler Certification Sites" from Mass Highway. Award period: 2/25/09 to 12/31/09
  
  
• Vijaya Chalivendra from Mechanical Engineering was awarded $134,838 on his proposal "Collab. Research: Mechanical and Electrical Response of Novel Polymer Grafted CNT Reinforced Copolymer under Quasi-static and Dynamic Loading" from the National Science Foundation. Award period: 6/1/09 to 5/31/12
  
  
• Ramprasad Balasubramanian from Computer & Information Science and Co-Investigator John Davis from ATMC were awarded $110,000 on their proposal "Vessel Detection System - New Bedford ITS Deployment" from the IBI Group. Award period: 3/1/2009 to 12/31/2009
  
  
• Marguerite Zarrillo from Physics was awarded $20,000 on her proposal "Transit Management System - New Bedford ITS Deployment" from the IBI Group. Award period: 3/1/2009 to 12/31/2009
  
  
• "Selection of Pavement Preservation Strategies" for the Town of Wellesley; Walaa Mogawer (Civil & Environmental Engineering).
  
  
• "Carbon nanotube deformation sensors" for the NSF; Vijay Chalivendra (Mechanical Engineering): more
  
  
• "High-Speed Digital Printing" for MA Executive Office of Energy & Environmental Affairs; Qinguo Fan (Materials & Textiles)
  
  
• "Simulation of Giant Molecular Clouds"; Robert Fisher (Physics): more
  
  
• John Buck from the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department was awarded $337,288 on his proposal "Stochastic Eigennalysis for Adaptive Array Processing" from the Office of Naval Research. Award dates: 1/1/2009 to 9/30/2011
  
  
• Jong Ping Hsu from the Physics Department was awarded $16,500 on his proposal "Semi-Quantum Computer Transition Between Classical and Quantum Mechanics" from Z Technology. Award dates: 1/1/2009 to 12/31/2011
  
  
• Sankha Bhowmick from Mechanical Engineering was awarded $32,950 from Radiant Research LLC on his Tonsil Thermal Therapy proposal. Award dates: 5/17/2009 to 12/31/2009

COE Faculty Cluster Grants for new collaborations.

Each runs for 2 years with a budget of $25,000 per year

• "Bio And Environmental Advanced Materials Cluster" led by Sankha Bhowmick: more
• "Smart Autonomous Fault-Tolerant Environments (SAFE)" led by Ramprasad Balasubramanian: more
• "Development and characterization of an innovative material for artificial bone replacements" led by Vijaya Chalivendra: more