Event: IEEE Presentation on Intellectual Property
Speaker: Tyson Benson (BSCpE ’04)
Date: September 21, 2011
Time: 6 to 7 p.m.
Location: 3043 ECpE Building Addition
Details: Questions about copyright? Eager to know more about patenting? Alumnus Tyson Benson (BSCpE ’04), a patent attorney with Advent, will be presenting and answering questions on intellectual property. Food and drink is provided.
Seminar: Cyber-Physical Systems Security of Smart Grid
Speaker: Professor Manimaran Govindarasu
Date: September 19, 2011
Time: 1:10 to 2 p.m.
Location: 3043 ECpE Building Addition
Abstract: The electric power grid is a highly automated network that uses a variety of sensors, information/control systems, and communication networks (collectively known as SCADA, EMS, DMS) for the purpose of sensing, monitoring, protection, and control functions of the physical grid. The recent findings, as documented in federal reports and in the literature, indicate the growing threat of cyber-based attacks in numbers and sophistication on our nation’s electric grid. Therefore, cyber security of the power grid—encompassing attack prevention, detection, mitigation, and resilience—is among the most important research issues today.
This talk will provide a brief taxonomy of potential cyber attacks on the power grid, and present a cyber-physical systems framework for risk modeling and mitigation of cyber attacks on the power grid that accounts for dynamics of the physical system, as well as the operational aspects of the cyber-based control system. In particular, the talk will focus on risk modeling of intrusion-based attacks on the substation automation system and data integrity attacks on the wide-area control network. Finally, the talk will conclude with discussing the experience in building a SCADA cyber security testbed and its operational capabilities.
Speaker bio: Dr. Manimaran Govindarasu is a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Iowa State University. His research expertise is in the areas of cyber security, cyber security of smart grid, and real-time systems. He recently has developed a cyber security testbed for smart grid to conduct attack-defense evaluations and develop robust countermeasures against cyber attacks. He serves on the editorial board of IEEE Transactions on Smart Grid, as the Chair of Cyber Security Task Force, and Vice-Chair of IEEE Power & Energy Society PSACE-CAMS Subcommittee. His research currently is funded by NSF and EPRC.
Event: Novel Magnetic Materials for Energy Efficiency and Energy Management
Speaker: Laura Lewis, Cabot Professor and Chair of Chemical Engineering, Northeastern University
Date: September 16, 2011
Time: 1:10 p.m.
Location: 3043 ECpE Building Addition
Abstract: It is widely acknowledged that meeting the global energy challenge requires a multipronged approach incorporating elements that range from promoting clean alternative fuels to managing market adoption of new technologies. Two key aspects of this challenge are developing energy efficiency in a variety of sectors and greatly expanding renewable energy options, including energy harvesting. While there are many energy harvesting/energy management devices on the market today, plenty of room remains for innovation and performance improvement through the development of new magnetic materials. In particular, smart networks with sensing and harvesting capabilities for energy management may be optimized by the development of novel magnetic materials with “extreme” responses to external inputs, such as strain and temperature. Correspondingly, the vision of harnessing renewable energy resources such as wind and wave power is enabled by ultra-strong permanent magnets. However, these materials are currently experiencing strategic supply chain issues, driving innovation in new materials design.
Within this context of the global energy challenge, recent work at Northeastern University on novel magnetic materials systems will be reviewed. In particular, results on the equiatomic magnetostructural compound FeRh, in thin-film and nanostructured form, are presented. Additionally, new data and interpretations of the behavior of high-anisotropy exchange-biased systems based on transition metals will be discussed.
*Acknowledgements: This work is supported by a linked grant through the materials world network scheme by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR-0908767 and the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Grant No. EP/G065640/1. Support from the Office of Naval Research and the Department of Energy under BES Award DE-FG02-10ER46711 is also gratefully acknowledged.
Speaker biography: Laura H. Lewis is Cabot Professor and Chair of the Chemical Engineering Department at Northeastern University, where she heads a Department of fourteen instructors with expertise in advanced materials and the biosciences. Prior to her current position she was a research group leader and Associate Department Chair in the Nanoscience Department of Brookhaven National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy Laboratory devoted to research in the physical, biomedical, and environmental sciences, as well as in energy technologies. She was also the Deputy Director of the BNL Center for Functional Nanomaterials, a DOE national user facility to provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate and study nanoscale materials.
Lewis received her Ph.D. in Materials Science in 1993 from the University of Texas at Austin for study on coupled magnetostructural phase transitions in transition-metal chalcogenides and pnictides. She holds a M.S. degree in Electronic Materials from M.I.T. and a B.S. degree in Physics and Earth Sciences from the University of California at San Diego. Her current research interests focus on elucidating the materials factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic, that provide functionality to nanostructured magnetic materials. Current research interests include multifunctional magnetic materials for energy applications such as magnetocaloric, magnetoelastic and magnetoelectric materials. In service to the magnetism community, she has served on a number of national and international advisory and organizing committees. She is the Conference Editor of the IEEE Transactions on Magnetics and is an active member of the American Physical Society and the IEEE Magnetic Society, as well as a member of the Materials Research Society (MRS), the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE). To date she has authored over 120 peer-reviewed publications, delivered 46 invited talks and holds two granted and two provisional U.S. patents. She is currently the PI or co-PI on research grants from NSF, Department of Defense and Department of Energy that total over $ 5 million.
Date: September 16, 2011
Time: 1 to 2 p.m.
Location: Alliant Energy/Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall
Details: The VRAC public tour offers participants a chance to learn about virtual reality (VR), the unique research facilities at Iowa State, how VRAC uses virtual reality as a research tool and a look at how computer graphics technology has improved in the past 25 years. In addition to the presentation, participants get to see several virtual reality applications that were developed at Iowa State. These demos typically include visiting the USS Ronald Reagan, a US Navy aircraft carrier, using VR for product conceptual design and exploring galaxies in the Virtual Universe.
Tours are free, but reservations should be made online at www.vrac.iastate.edu/tours.php
Event: ECpE Department Seminar
Speaker: Jian Tan, Research Staff Member – System Analysis and Optimization Group, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Date: September 14, 2011
Time: 1:10 p.m.
Location: 3043 ECpE Building Addition
Speaker biography: Jian Tan is a Research Staff Member in the System Analysis and Optimization group at IBM T. J. Watson Research Center. His research activities focus on performance modeling for information networks and complex service systems. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Science and Technology of China in 2002 and his Master’s and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Columbia University in 2008.
Event: Caterpillar Company Presentation
Date: September 13, 2011
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: TBA
Details: The ISU Sales Engineering Club is hosting this event. Food and drink will be provided, and business casual dress is recommended. For more information on Caterpillar, visit their Web site.
Seminar: Interplay of Multiple Inputs in Controlling the Systems Biology of C. elegans
Speaker: Assistant Professor Santosh Pandey
Date: September 12, 2011
Time: 1:10 to 2 p.m.
Location: 3041/3043 ECpE Building Addition
Abstract: Systems Biology is an exciting stream in biology that aims to understand the complex interactions between individual biological components. The holistic approach of systems biology is particularly well-suited to study small animal models, promising a new perspective to important processes in living systems such as development, aging, and adaptability. In this respect, Caenorhabditis elegans is a powerful model organism in systems biology with a fully-sequenced genome and a close genetic similarity to humans. As such, C. elegans are routinely used to study human diseases, such as muscular dystrophy, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases.
In this talk, I will present examples of the different C. elegans microchips being developed in our laboratory. These microchips allow us to control and manipulate the (chemical or electrical) microenvironment around the organism and characterize its behavioral responses. Compared to existing assays, our technique has significantly higher temporal and spatial resolution. An automated image-tracking program is developed to measure and extract relevant output parameters (e.g. body posture and movement) from each experiment. These experiments are run at real-time and with the flexibility of applying single or multiple inputs. An approach will be discussed to analyze and filter the large volume of experimental data, providing useful output information under different conditions. Our eventual goal is to model the ‘black-boxness’ of a behavioral trait and to predict how the genetic makeup produces distinct behavioral patterns in these organisms.
Speaker bio: Assistant Professor Santosh Pandey joined the ECpE department in August 2006. Prior to this, he graduated with a Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Lehigh University. His research projects are aimed at developing micro-engineered platforms for manipulating and characterizing behavior of model organisms such as C. elegans, with implications to human diseases. His current research is funded by the National Science Foundation and is performed in the Bio/Nanoelectronics Laboratory of Coover Hall.
Low Frequency Noise in Magnetic Tunnel Junctions and GMR Devices
Speaker: E. Dan Dahlberg, Director of the Magnetic Microscopy Center, College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor, and Professor of Physics, University of Minnesota
Date: September 9, 2011
Time: 1:10 p.m.
Location: Alliant Energy – Lee Liu Auditorium, Howe Hall
Abstract: The low frequency noise in magnetic tunnel junctions has been investigated. When one of the magnetic layers is switching, the magnetic aftereffect can alter the measured spectra and must be taken into account. When the magnetic aftereffect is taken into account, all spectra are consistent with 1/f noise and have magnitudes similar to those found in other magnetic states. Dahlberg and his team do not observe any magnetic contribution to the noise in any of the large area junctions (on the order of 100 microns on a side). At higher frequencies where the noise is frequency independent, the spectra are consistent with Johnson noise calculated for the junction resistance.
Speaker biography: Dahlberg is the director of the Magnetic Microscopy Center, a College of Science and Engineering Distinguished Professor and professor of physic at the University of Minnesota. His current research interests include the magnetic properties of magnetic thin films, multilayers, and tunnel junctions. His honors include an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the American Physical Society, George Taylor/ IT Alumni Society Award for Teaching, Distinguished Alumnus for the College of Science at the University of Texas at Arlington, University of Minnesota Outstanding Community Service Award, George Taylor Distinguished Service Award, and elected Distinguished Lecturer for Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Magnetics Society. Dahlberg received his bachelor’s and Master of Arts degrees in physics from the University of Texas at Arlington, and he received his Master of Science and PhD degrees in physics from UCLA.
Event: New Graduate Student Welcome Event
Date: September 8, 2011
Time: 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.
Location: Howe Hall Atrium
Details: All new graduate students in the College of Engineering this fall are invited to attend the New Graduate Welcome Event. Meet and be welcomed by Central Administration, Directors of Graduate Education, Department Chairs, Faculty, and Staff from the College of Engineering. Come enjoy hors d’oeuvres and refreshments; make new friends; network with faculty, staff and administration; and learn about the resources available to you as you begin your graduate experience at Iowa State! Please plan to arrive at promptly 5:30 p.m.
Please RSVP by Wednesday, September 7, at 5 p.m.
Event: ECpE Scholars’ Fair
Date: September 8, 2011
Time: 5:30 to 7 p.m.
Location: ECpE Building Addition Atrium
Details: Come meet other electrical, computer, and software engineers; talk with students and professors about their research; learn about exciting opportunities within the department; and win prizes! Free pizza and pop will be provided.