Title  : NSF 93-7 - Engineering News - Winter 1993
Type   : Letter
NSF Org: ENG
Date   : March 19, 1993
File   : nsf937

FCCSET AMT Seen as Technology Spur

A far-reaching, multi-agency Federal program is being
developed to coordinate and synergize investment in
manufacturing R&D under the auspices of the Federal
Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and
Technology (FCCSET).

Following approval of the Advanced Manufacturing Technology
(AMT) Initiative for fiscal year 1994, titled Innovation
through Integration, the program's goal is to leverage the
world-class technological capabilities of the United States
to address the manufacturing needs of a broad set of
industrial sectors. Nine agencies of the Federal Government
are participating in the AMT initiative.
Participants in this program have developed a taxonomy that
groups all advanced manufacturing research and development
into four categories:

Manufacturing Design--Tools and techniques that are used for
preparing for manufacturing;

 Manufacturing--Processes and equipment that are used for
the actual production of physical products;

 Supporting Technologies--Underlying core technologies that
are needed to provide advances in the previous two
categories; and

 Manufacturing Infrastructure Elements--Concepts and
mechanisms for managing the development of appropriate
technologies and encouraging their widespread use within the
industrial base.

The proposed fiscal year 1994 budget initiative focuses on
three interrelated, high priority thrust areas:

 Intelligent Manufacturing Cells--Next-generation
manufacturing equipment based on innovative machine
concepts, intelligent sensors and control techniques, and
the seamless flow of product and production information;

 Integrated Design Tools--Computer-based tools needed for
the rapid and effective design of new products, processes,
equipment and enterprises; and

 Advanced Manufacturing Technology Infrastructure--
Mechanisms needed to ensure that advanced manufacturing
technologies are widely understood and used within the
private sector.

The fiscal year 1994 plan represents an important starting
point in developing a coordinated Federal program in
advanced manufacturing technology. It constitutes a
foundation for developing a more comprehensive interagency
strategy in the future.

The interagency working group is currently engaged in a
series of analyses and hearings to help support selected
projects in the agencies. NSF staff active in the initiative
include Dr. Joseph
Bordogna, Assistant Director for Engineering, who has led
the working group, Dr. Thom Hodgson, Design and
Manufacturing Division Director, who has helped define the
initiative, and Dr. Stan Settles, who is on assignment from
NSF to the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP).

Faculty Internship Program Reaps Rewards

One of the Directorate for Engineering's (ENG's) newest
activities--the Engineering Faculty Internship Program
(EFIP)--is beginning to have an impact on narrowing a
critical gap between applied research and human resource
development.

Initiated in fiscal year 1990, and continuing to the present
with a low but an effective level of funding, EFIP provides
faculty in the field of manufacturing education and research
with practical experience within manufacturing
organizations. These faculty study industrial problems and
look for potential opportunities for applying the methods of
engineering research to the solution of real problems.
One such joint faculty/manufacturer study matched principal
investigator Dr. Vishnawath Prasad of Columbia University
with Ferrofluidics, Inc. to research fluid mechanics and
heat transfer in the Czochralski crystal growth process for
growing silicon single crystals. The study is putting the
host company years ahead of its Japanese competition and is
producing key elements of the next generation of technology.

In this batch process, a crucible is charged with molten
silicon, the level of which drops as the ingot is withdrawn.
As a result, the flow conditions and the impurity content of
the melt change. The joint research team conceived of a
continuous process, in which the melt is continuously
recharged with silicon pellets which thereby maintains the
level and adjusts the impurity content to ensure constant
growth conditions.

Another success story matched Dr. Thomas Kurfess of Carnegie-
Mellon University and The Timken Company, the largest U.S.
manufacturer of roller bearings. Precision measurement
(metrology) is a fundamental issue in bearing manufacture,
since performance is a strong function of dimensional
accuracy. Dr. Kurfess performed a fundamental study of
problems in measurement for Timken, including a statistical
analysis of measurement in three dimensions. This ground-
breaking work was of general interest and, with
encouragement from Timken, was submitted to the American
National Standards Institute (ANSI) for consideration as the
basis for a national standard for 3-D metrology. Based on
this success, Timken is sponsoring another internship at its
own expense.

In the EFIP program, the NSF matches cash contributions from
industry on an equal basis, up to a limit of $25,000, with
one grant per individual, per lifetime. Expectations are
that the awards will foster the establishment of
relationships that will lead to larger joint projects, with
support from NSF or elsewhere. It is also expected that the
industrial experience will influence the teaching and
curriculum of the involved faculty.

Dr. Louis A. Martin-Vega, a former program director in ENG's
Division of Design and Manufacturing Systems (DDM), now at
the Florida Institute of Technology, is credited with
conceiving and developing EFIP.
Change in Electronic Proposal Submission

An improvement in software for the Electronic Proposal
Submissions (EPS) system is the latest step in NSF's
transition from paper-based to electronic processing of
proposals. Simultaneously, steps are being taken to resolve
current problems and anticipate potential barriers both at
NSF and the universities.
EPS software and accompanying data entry utilities and
procedures enable principal investigators (PIs) and
university administrative staff to access and complete the
NSF proposal forms, combine them with PI-created documents
(including graphics), print the proposal, and send the
proposal over university electronic networks or over
Internet for submission to NSF. Actual submission is via
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) followed by the faxing of the
signed cover sheet.

Some features of EPS include:

 The PI-created documents must be in PostScript (a trademark
of Adobe Systems Inc.) format. PostScript was chosen as the
file language format for the documents because it is widely
supported and easily handles text and graphics. The
institution, therefore, must have PostScript compatible
printers to print proposal copies.

 The university's authorized institutional representative's
(AIR) office must have access to an Internet host computer
to submit the electronic file to NSF.

  The entire submission must be electronic. Paper sections,
                            e.g.,
paper appendices, are not acceptable.

 Proposals are deemed received when the electronic file and
the faxed signed cover sheet (both pages) are received at
NSF. Submission via FTP takes only a few minutes. The EPS
office produces all required proposal copies and submits the
copies to the NSF Proposal Processing Unit where they are
processed in the normal manner.

Additional information and assistance may be obtained by e-
mail: eps@nsf.gov (Internet) or eps@NSF (BITNET), or by
telephone: 202-357-7439; FAX: 202-357-7663; TDD: 202-357-
7492.
New Meltdown Process Promising in Soil Cleansing

NSF-supported laboratory experiments using "lightning-like"
plasma arc technology hold promise for the cleansing of
radioactive contaminated ground as well as other
applications. Recent studies at the Georgia Institute of
Technology by Dr. Lou Circeo and colleagues have used this
technology for the in-situ vitrification of soils. The
process involves the complete meltdown of clay, silt, or
sand at very high temperatures (average =
7000<F128><144><F255D> C) thereby forming magma, which
subsequently cools into two types of igneous rock. The final
products include a glassy rock similar to obsidian and
porous basalt.

The highly ionized gas, or plasma, is achieved using a
special electric-powered plasma torch capable of
temperatures between 4000<F128><144><F255D> C to
12,000<F128><144><F255D> C, which is hotter than the surface
of the sun. At these high temperatures, all earthly things
will melt or vaporize. The process essentially creates an
arc nearly identical to lightning. Commercially, plasma
technology is already growing in the steel and metallurgy
industries. It is economical and operates at 90 percent
efficiency, using a water-cooled torch and any type of gas,
including air, with no requirement for oxygen in the
process.

In the experiment, funded by the Geomechanical,
Geotechnical, and
Geo-Environmental Systems program in the Division of
Mechanical and Structural Systems (MSS), the torch is
lowered into a steel chamber filled with clay or sand. A 100-
kilowatt power supply is activated and, shortly thereafter,
the plasma flame creates a pool of molten material. The
cooling period requires 40 hours before it is excavated to
uncover a spheroidal core of non-porous glassy rock.

Applications of the method include in-situ modification of
unstable foundation soils, buried wastes, and radioactive
and other contaminated ground. Geo-environmental remediation
is also possible, especially since the plasma process works
under water. Digital Video Research Sets New Links

A new research and information service at the Engineering
Research Center for Telecommunications Research (CTR) at
Columbia University establishes links with industries having
an interest in digital video, including high-definition
television (HDTV).

Called ADVENT (All-digital Video Encoding, Networking, and
Transmission), the service is organized by CTR's Image and
Advanced Television (IATV) Laboratory. Here, principal
investigators and more than 20 graduate students perform
pioneering research in the field of digital video and
provide hands-on technical expertise.

The laboratory, which is developed over the past seven
years, contains the most advanced research equipment for
displaying full-resolution HDTV signals in all formats.
ADVENT affiliates from industry are encouraged to send
researchers to the IATV Laboratory to participate in the
research.

Work currently under way in the IATV Laboratory includes
research on wavelets, the new function that provides an
alternative to the classic Fourier functions. Other research
focuses on the development of multimedia workstations that
integrate digital video with data, voice, and graphics.
Another area of research investigates a multiresolution
technique for compression and transmission.

"Digital video will be to this decade what digital audio-
including compact disks--was to the 1980s," says electrical
engineering professor Dimitris Anastassiou in explaining the
rationale for the new service. "What we have to offer is
actual expertise, with well-trained graduate students
working on the most advanced equipment."
Teaching Initiative May Spur Technology Transfer

A new initiative announced by the National Science
Foundation may significantly narrow the gap between research
results and their commercial implementation. This technology
transfer is accomplished by bringing the results directly to
the classroom for students to absorb and can then carry into
industry.

The primary purpose of ENG's Engineering Research Deployment
Teaching Initiative is to serve as a catalyst to support and
motivate faculty and their doctoral candidates to bring the
results of their research into the classroom in a form which
may be used by students for subsequent transfer to industry.

Goals of the Initiative include:

 Developing a technology deployment route for completed
research results that have high potential for impact in
industry;

  Supporting the deployment of work that has high potential
                             for
impact on the effectiveness of teaching and the delivery of
technology to industry;

  Transferring research results to students in a form that
                           can be
taken to industry; and

 Evaluating the effectiveness of the deployment methods in
industry, after they have been implemented.
Institutions eligible to submit proposals are those with
faculty members who are performing research as well as
teaching in the undergraduate and/or graduate classrooms.
Address inquiries to the Division of Design and
Manufacturing Systems, FAX: 202-357-5167, Telephone: 202-
357-5167.
Materials Program Coordinator Named

Dr. Tapan Mukherjee, a director in the Engineering Research
Centers (ERCs) program, is assuming the role of Coordinator
for the Advanced Materials Processing Program (AMPP). He
oversees coordination efforts in this initiative, which
focuses on the engineering and scientific foundations of
synthesis and processing methods for new and existing
materials.

Materials synthesis, processing, and engineering and their
synergy are critical national research areas. Their
importance has been highlighted by the National Research
Council Report, "Materials Science and Engineering for the
1990s," and by studies by government agencies and the
private sector. The consensus is that it is essential to
enhance the nation's materials research base in order to
provide the new materials and creative people to strengthen
the competitive position of U.S. industry in the 21st
century.

Dr. Mukherjee, who will continue his role as an ERC program
director, succeeds Dr. Robert Wellek, Division of Chemical
and Thermal Systems (CTS) deputy director. In announcing the
transition, Dr. Joseph Bordogna, Assistant Director for
Engineering, praised Dr. Wellek for his productivity and
success during his tenure as AMPP Coordinator and cited Dr.
Mukherjee's research background and organizational
contributions.
1994 Grantees Conference Scheduled

The Division of Design and Manufacturing Systems (DDM)
annual grantees conference, which includes manufacturing-
related programs in the Division of Engineering Education
and Centers (EEC) and the Computer and Information Science
and Engineering's (CISE's) Division of Information,
Robotics, and Intelligent Systems, will be held at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on January 5-7,
1994.

The conference provides a unique opportunity to view the
full range of manufacturing-related research supported by
NSF and to discuss the projects with investigators, exchange
ideas, and compare research results.  The aim of the
conference is to enhance the overall research effort,
reducing duplication, and encourage cooperation among
researchers. Dr. Nicholas Patrikalakis of the Department of
Ocean Engineering at MIT will chair the 1994 conference.

The format for the conference includes a keynote speaker for
each session, which fits the current research supported by
NSF in a given discipline into the context of the current
stat of the art. The keynote paper is followed by a poster
session, where the NSF grantees are available to explain the
research project and answer questions. Each day's program
will conclude with a general discussion period, chaired by
the reporters for that day, is held in the main auditorium.

Inquiries about conference arrangements and registration may
be directed to Ms. Frances Page, MIT, (617)-253-5179
Steaming Oxidizes GaAs Chips

One reason why silicon is the material of choice in
microelectronics is because it forms a stable oxide,
permitting circuits to be etched into the surface easily.
Gallium arsenide (GaAs) has long been a promising
semiconductor material, but engineers have been unable to
oxidize its surface. However, researchers at the University
of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Engineering Research
Center's (ERC's) Center for Compound Semiconductor
Microelectronics (CCSM) recently discovered that steam can
be used to oxidize the surface of GaAs chips. It is then
possible to create the microscopic circuitry needed for
guiding light, and possibly electrons, in lasers and other
electronic and optical devices.

The Illinois team starts with a GaAs chip sandwiched between
layers of GaAs in which aluminum atoms have replaced some
gallium atoms (in the GaAs crystal). The process proceeds by
putting a chemical mask with the desired pattern on top of
the chip surface, steaming the chip, removing the mask, and
coating the chip with a thin conductor. Because the oxidized
parts of the chip are insulated, current reaches the light-
emitting GaAs core of the chip only where the mask prevented
oxidation.

In education news from CCSM, there is a new CCSM outreach
program directed at elementary school students that provides
them with positive role models while stimulating their
interest in science and technology. The Bouchet Outreach and
Achievement in Science and Technology (BOAST) brings
children from a local after-school program in a housing
project together with volunteer CCSM graduate students every
other Saturday for hands-on scientific demonstrations.

In another development illustrating a CCSM-industrial
interaction, CCSM is making use of software donated by the
Hewlett-Packard Corporation. The High Frequency Structure
Software (HFSS) and Microwave Design Systems (MDS) software
is being used by a research group that operates the high-
speed devices and integrated circuit design center. The
donation, valued at more than $100,000, is only the second
of its kind made by Hewlett-Packard to a university. The
same research group also recently received hardware--a
complete noise parameter test system for making noise
parameter measurements from 2 to 18 GHz-valued at $35,000
from Cascade Microtech, Inc.
Centers Impact on Education

A statistical study of Engineering Research Centers (ERCs)
indicates that their educational impact is as strong and
important as the impact of their research. An objective of
the ERCs is to educate a new generation of engineering
students in a cross-disciplinary team approach to problem-
solving and expose it to industrial perspectives on
research, design, and manufacturing. In addition, the ERCs
initiate innovative undergraduate and graduate degree
programs and courses and update curriculum and course
materials as new research discoveries occur.

Statistics compiled by Dr. George Brousseau, a program
director in the Engineering Education and Centers Division,
measured the educational impact during the first five years
of the program. As of the 1990-91 school year, the
cumulative totals for degrees granted were: 385 PhD, 431 MS,
and 363 BS degrees. Across all ERCs, a total of 222 new ERC-
related courses had been developed;
138 courses were significantly modified to include ERC-
related material; and 88 new textbooks on ERC-related
subjects were published or in press at the end of the year.

In 1989-90, there were 864 PhD students and 386 MS students
participating in ERCs either through courses or center
research.

Four new graduate programs have been established as a result
of the ERCs: MS programs at the University of Maryland
(Systems Engineering), Ohio State (Manufacturing Systems),
and Purdue (Manufacturing), and a graduate program at MIT
(Biotechnology). Five ERCs Renewed

Five Engineering Research Centers (ERCs) received new five-
year awards totaling $62.5 million. The renewal awards were
recommended by review teams who conducted three-day site
visits as part of NSF's evaluation after six years of
operation. The awardees and amounts to be received from NSF
during fiscal year 1992 and for the five-year renewal period
are:

 The Advanced Combustion Engineering Research Center, a
joint effort of Brigham Young University and the University
of Utah, $2.3 million and up to $11.7 million. The research
goal of this Center is to develop fundamental engineering
knowledge and tools to achieve clean and efficient use of
fossil fuels, particularly coal and other low-quality fuels.

 The Engineering Design Research Center at Carnegie-Mellon
University, $2.9 million and up to $13.4 million. This
Center continues its research to provide industry with
tools, concepts, and methodologies to improve the practice
of engineering design. It strives to develop a rational
basis for design resulting in methodologies to help
designers exploit advances in computers and communications
to enable better design.

 The Center for Advanced Technology for Large Structural
Systems at Lehigh University, $2.7 million and up to $12.5
million. The Center conducts cross-disciplinary, systems-
oriented research to improve the design, construction, and
in-service performance of large structural systems such as
buildings, bridges, and ships.

 The Engineering Research Center for Net Shape Manufacturing
at the Ohio State University, $2.3 million and up to $11.3
million. The focus of the Center's research is the cost-
effective manufacturing of discrete parts to finished or
near-finished dimensions (net or near-net shape) via polymer
processing, precision die casting, or mold forming from a
sheet or billet.

 The Engineering Research Center for Compound Semiconductor
Microelectronics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-
Champaign, $3.1 million and up to $13.6 million. The Center
focuses on research on the fabrication of optoelectronic
integrated circuits (OEICs) and their application in optical
interconnect systems.

Guest Columnist

On the Need for Intellectual Integration
by Dr. Henry A. McGee

(Dr. McGee is on leave from the Chemical Engineering
Department at Virginia Tech and serves as Director of ENG's
Chemical and Thermal Systems Division.)

We professors tend to analyze everything. We divide problems
into ever smaller pieces where we can control the variables
and really
understand what is going on, usually from a molecular
mechanistic point of view. This painstaking analytical
approach has made basic research in America the best in the
world. But along with this process, much of our teaching, as
well as our research, is now also heavily analytical in
tone. There is little synthesis, little integration, few
goofy ideas, little playfulness, and little that evokes a
sort of "gee whiz" reaction from the reader. The
psychologists would say that engineering education is a
preponderantly left-brain activity with little right-brain
activity. There is little in engineering school that is
intellectually equivalent to the studio courses in
architecture school or to composition in music school.

Not surprisingly, our enthusiasm for analysis and our
shunning of synthesis in engineering education is reflected
in both the acknowledged excellence of American basic
research and the present difficulties of American industrial
innovation.

Another outcome is our difficulty in holding on to very
bright young people who are initially attracted into
engineering. Some excellent students find in our homework
assignments, not provocative problems demanding sensitive
reflection but analytical exercises demanding stamina. We
professors need to give the synthesizing side of our minds
freer reign both in the classroom and in the laboratory.
This is the way to stimulate in our students a lifelong love
affair with engineering.

Let's have more talk in class about quantum wires where the
structure is so small that electrical conductivity is not
described by Ohm's law but is a quantum mechanical problem.
Does Fourier's law describe thermal conduction in such
systems? Or more talk about laser-based chemical separation
processes. Or more talk about the combustion synthesis of
diamond films. Or more talk about thermal plasma techniques
for large-scale synthesis of particles of nanometer
dimensions for subsequent sintering to make new materials.
And, of course, on and on limited only by one's imagination.
It is that right-brain concept of imagination that is so
central. Interestingly, the Chemical and Thermal Systems
Division is now supporting research in all of the above
example areas and many more that are equally integrative in
tone.

A recent study by the Industrial Research Institute reveals
that industrial R&D executives value most our product of
highly trained and enthusiastic young engineers. Industrial
research managers frequently find our actual research
results to be much less interesting or valuable. But our
feelings should not be hurt, for that is always the
character of much basic research. The penalty for
experimental failure in the university setting is, however,
very low, which again argues for more synthesis and more
risk to balance better our tried and true analysis.

In fact, both analysis and synthesis are essential to
successful engineering practice. Both play essential roles
in wealth creation. Proposals that display this greater
intellectual integration fare better in the Chemical and
Thermal Systems Division.
Grantees to Study Hurricanes

Several Florida universities received NSF grants for
studying various aspects of Hurricane Andrew that devastated
southern Florida last August. The University of Miami, the
Florida International University, Florida State University,
EQE Consultants, Texas A&M University, and Clemson
University were awarded Small Grants for Exploratory
Research (SGER), which are administered by ENG's Hazard
Mitigation Section, Division of
Biological and Critical Systems. Another grant was given to
the University of Hawaii for the study of Hurricane Iniki.

A preliminary review of Andrew's structural and non-
structural damage and the available wind speed data suggest
wind speeds of between 110 and 125 miles per hour. An
economic loss of more than $20 billion is estimated. Twenty-
five deaths were directly attributable to the hurricane,
which also displaced almost a quarter of a million people.

Hurricane Iniki made landfall on Kauai, damaging some 15,000
buildings and causing losses of about $1 billion.
Industry/University Collaboration
New mechanisms to aid technology transfer and to enhance
university and industry ties are being identified following
a NSF co-sponsored workshop. Held recently in Washington,
D.C., and co-sponsored by the private Whitaker Foundation,
the workshop-"Mechanisms to Enhance University/Industry
Interaction in Biomedical Engineering"--brought together 35
participants. They included university researchers and
technology transfer officers, scientists and technical
managers from industry, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists,
lawyers, and representatives from the NSF, NIH, FDA, and
NIST.
The workshop's goal was to identify new industry/university
collaborative programs that would foster the further
development of biomedical engineering research and the
translation of research results into useful products. A
report on the workshop is being prepared and will be
available on request from ENG's Division of Biological and
Critical Systems (BCS), Telephone # 202-357-9545.
Industry/University Evaluators Serve Many Purposes

A key feature of NSF's Industry/University Cooperative
Research Centers (I/UCRC) Program is that each center has an
NSF evaluator.

The evaluator is an independent consultant assigned by ENG's
Engineering Education and Centers Division. This person
usually has a program evaluation background and is familiar
with research methodology but is not necessarily
knowledgeable in the center's area of research.

An evaluator is responsible for gathering and analyzing data
about the center's operations, impacts and perceived
success, and its evolution, as well as for implementing the
NSF's assessment program. Most evaluators also serve a
useful function within the center as an advisor to the
center director or perhaps as an intermediary with the
industrial advisors.

One typical active evaluator is Dr. Craig Scott, who serves
at the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry (CPAC),
University of Washington, and the Center for Design of
Analog/Digital Integrated Circuits (CDADIC), Washington
State University. Scott, a faculty member at the University
of Washington's School of Medicine, has an extensive
background in program evaluation and development. For both
centers, he serves as both an external analyst and an
internal advisor/consultant.

At CPAC, Scott recently conducted a series of four
evaluation studies aimed at identifying factors contributing
to or inhibiting attainment of center goals and outcomes,
whether scientific or economic. The studies focused on a
comparative analysis of the center's development history; a
network analysis of interaction patterns between university
and industrial researchers; an organizational description of
the center; and intermediate as well as long-term studies of
organizational
effectiveness. Regarding CPAC's activities and benefits, one
study showed high marks from the center's Industrial
Advisory Board members and faculty.

Scott reported recently on a followup study of graduates of
I/UCRCs nationwide. Results strongly indicated that the
graduates have had more positive career experiences than
their non-I/UCRC counterparts. Another survey of industry
employers of ERC graduates indicated that the graduates were
better than non-ERC graduates in a number of key skills and
attributes.

NSF evaluators like Craig Scott represent a resource that
I/UCRCs can use to build external awareness of the center's
mission, as well as to expand their understanding of their
own performance and development.
Intern Success Story

Many Engineering Research Centers with large education
budgets have programs that connect center undergraduate
students with industrial sponsors for employment and
experience. However, such programs are relatively rare among
the Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers
(I/UCRCs).

One exception is the Wireless Information Network Laboratory
(WINLAB) Internship Program, in which outstanding Rutgers
University undergraduates are employed by WINLAB corporate
sponsors during the summer between their junior and senior
years.

As Rutgers seniors, the interns take additional
communications courses including Wireless Access to
Information Networks. They can also receive academic credit
for working on a project related to their summer experience
that is supervised jointly by a corporate sponsor and a
Rutgers professor.

One WINLAB student reported his experience as an intern: "My
duties were to assist other group members in setting up the
propagation measurement system, participating in the
measurement, as well as developing software for analyzing
the data obtained from the measurement. During these two
months, I had the opportunity to participate in the project
and to work closely with a group of dedicated researchers
and professionals.... By helping each other, we were able to
achieve our goal...."

Other news from WINLAB concerns its recent move to a new
home. The new facility contains office space for all of
WINLAB's faculty, staff, graduate assistants, postdocs,
visiting scholars, and undergraduates--a total of 31
offices.

U.S.-Latin Joint Studies May Be Forthcoming

More cooperative research projects between the United States
and Latin American countries may be forthcoming following a
two-day grantees' conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico, this
summer.

Approximately 60 research papers were presented at the first
Grantees' Conference of the Structures, Geomechanics and
Building Systems Program, Division of Mechanical and
Structural Systems (MSS).

Results of the June 1992 conference include better methods
for grantees to inform their program directors of progress
and a face-to-face exchange of views from Latin American,
Canadian, and U.S. researchers. Ideas were discussed for
developing joint research projects among the international
researchers.

A copy of the "Proceedings of the 1992 NSF Structures,
Geomechanics and Building Systems Grantees' Conference" may
be obtained by writing to Dr. Rafael Munoz Candelario,
Research and Development Center, University of Puerto Rico,
P.O. Box 5000, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico 00709-5000.
"Benchmark" Book from Hazards Project

A project funded by the Natural Hazard Mitigation Section,
Division of Biological and Critical Systems (BCS), may well
pave the way for a "benchmark" document on natural hazards.

This was the consensus of a recent Estes Park, CO, workshop
organized by Professor Dennis Mileti, Colorado State
University. Some 60 experts in natural hazard prevention met
to discuss the framework and scope of the project that
assesses and reports on the state-of-the-art in this
research area and will address activities in all major
natural hazards.

The two-year project is multidisciplinary, involving
engineering and the physical and social sciences that have
been active in this field for several decades. Results from
this research will be published and are expected to provide
the natural hazard community with a benchmark document
similar to "Assessment of Research of Natural Hazards" by
White and Haas, which was published 20 years ago.
Young Scholar High on Engineering

The following is excerpted from an article by a student,
David Artiglieri of Watkins Mill High School, who
participated in one of the Engineering Research Centers
Young Scholars Programs:

"What is engineering? That is the question that I hear all
the time from my friends. Since I am in high school, I
really do not have a good answer for them. I guess that is
why I signed up for the Young Scholars Program, a program
for young, mathematically, and scientifically gifted seniors
in high school. This six-week program at the University of
Maryland, College Park, gives a basic background on the main
engineering fields. Along with the many field trips,
laboratories, and seminars given, a three college credit
course in engineering is offered.

"Engineering 101, the beginning for all engineers in
college, is the course we took. For six weeks, three times a
week, two hours a day, we learned Microsoft QBASIC computer
language, the fundamentals of drafting, and the basics of
electronics.... There were the few people that said the
class was too slow or too fast, but that was to be expected
with people from so many different backgrounds.

"One of the great things about the Young Scholars Program
was the fact that every second of our time was spent doing
something. When we were not in class, we were at seminars,
or in labs, or on a field trip.

"The seminars that were planned for us were excellent. We
had graduate students from the University of Maryland come
and talk to us; professional engineers also visited to tell
us what it is like being an engineer. The seminar from the
students was very helpful to me in finding out what it takes
to succeed in engineering school. The consensus from all of
the students was that engineers are people that are very
adaptable to all situations, are very hard working, and have
the ability to learn quickly....
"The seminar from the professional engineers--one from
academia, one from the military, and one from industry--was
very interesting, too. From them we learned that engineers
must be able to integrate science and technology with
practical
knowledge, have an interest and knowledge in a problem, be
aware of foreign cultures--maybe learn a second language--
function as an individual and in a group, communicate
clearly, be versatile and flexible, and possess values and
integrity. They stressed that the most important part of
being an engineer is to like what you are doing....

"What a great idea to have an ethics seminar! I think that
this was one of the most important activities that we
did...my favorite seminar was the personal profile
seminar...we could discuss the personal side of our life....

"There were five different labs, three of which we were
allowed to choose.... In the chemical process lab we
simulated real-world happenings such as temperature,
pressure, and force and then converted these into signals
that the computer can understand.... The purpose of the
neural systems laboratory was to understand how the ear
processes sound into something we can understand.
Experiments were run where a model of the ear was simulated
by a computer program running under the UNIX operating
system.... The alternative energy lab showed us the
advantages and disadvantages of alternative energy sources,
especially solar energy.

"The first field trip was to the National Institutes of
Health in Bethesda, Maryland.... (At) NASA, one of the
projects that they are working on is trying to repair the
Hubble Telescope with corrective lenses....

"...I have decided that engineering is the art of solving
problems. Engineers work in separate groups.... They solve a
problem to the best of their ability, trying to protect the
environment, and keeping the costs low.... The funny thing
is that the problem is never solved; generations will
improve on the problem you thought was solved...."
SBIR Meeting for High Tech Firms

Small high technology firms are explaining research and
development opportunities as a result of two federally
sponsored National SBIR (Small Business Innovative
Research) Conferences.

Each of the conferences, one in Phoenix, November 17-19,
1992, and the other in Minneapolis, April 27-29, 1993,
includes representatives from 18 Federal agencies, 18 to 25
major corporations, and other private sector fields.

The focus is on R&D opportunities within the $500 million
SBIR program in fiscal year 1993 and other government
technology procurement, on the commercializing of SBIR R&D,
and on 16 management areas critical to high technology
firms.
ERC Publications Available

A book by researchers at the Engineering Research Center for
Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies, University of North
Carolina, Chapel Hill, promises to be of value to those
having an interest in rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective
electrochemical analysis on specific drugs of interest.

"Pharmaceutical Applications of Membrane Sensors" (CRC
Press, Boca Raton, Florida) by Drs. Vasile V. Cosofret and
Richard P. Buck is divided into three parts: design and
principles of membrane drug sensors, analytical assay
procedures for biologically active compounds, and drug-
release monitoring by membrane sensors.

Another publication, an NSF report entitled "Highlights of
Engineering Research Centers Technology Transfer (NSF 92-6),
contains descriptions of 55 examples of successful
technology transfer between Engineering Research Centers
(ERCs) and industry. Copies are available from the
Engineering Education and Centers (EEC) Division.

Also available are copies of "The ERCs: A Partnership for
Competitiveness" (NSF 91-9), which summarizes the
proceedings of a major symposium on the ERCs and contains
many of the experiences and lessons learned in the ERC
program. To obtain this report, contact Ms. Mary Poats at
the EEC; Telephone # 202-357-9707.
Staff Update

Dr. Jerome L. Sackman, a program director for Mechanics and
Materials, Division of Mechanical and Structural Systems
(MSS), is a newly elected member of the National Academy of
Engineering. The inauguration, which took place during NAE's
annual meeting last fall, recognizes Dr. Sackman's scholarly
and professional achievements.

Dr. William Hakala received a certificate of appreciation
for his cooperation and service at the First National
Conference on "Diversity in the Scientific and Technological
Workforce," sponsored by the Division of Education and Human
Resources. Dr. Hakala served as a judge for minority student
papers at this conference, which was held in October 1992.
Systems Research Center Project Succeeds for Both Industry
and University

by Peter A. Minderman, Jr., Ph.D., P.E.,
SRC Post-Doctoral Research Associate

One of the first six Engineering Research Centers
established by NSF in 1985 with Harvard University, a leader
in control systems research, the Systems Research Center
(SRC) of the University of Maryland. A central premise of
research conducted at the SRC is that advanced control
system design not only must be considered early in a
project's life but also must be integrated simultaneously
into the engineering design process. Exxon Chemical Company,
an industrial affiliate of the SRC, found that early
interaction with the Chemical Process Systems Laboratory of
the SRC eased the burden of devoting costly resources to
this effort.

In 1989, Exxon was planning to market a new family of
products requiring the design and construction of a novel
plant. Because of strict product quality specifications and
unusual process characteristics, advanced process control
techniques would be needed for safe and profitable
operations.

Exxon entered the process design phase and began to search
for technical resources to address the control problems. In
order to leverage its limited advanced control resources,
Exxon decided to utilize university experts to study the
problem. Along with other universities, the SRC submitted a
proposal. The project evolved into a joint effort between
Exxon, the SRC, and the School of Chemical Engineering at
the Georgia Institute of Technology. The SRC team focused on
the reaction modeling and control component of the novel
process, and the Georgia Tech team focused on the plant-wide
control component. This article focuses on the SRC-Exxon
components of the project.

The SRC assembled a diverse group of people for this
project, including faculty from the Chemical and Electrical
Engineering Departments. This trademark of SRC projects--
bringing together researchers from different disciplines--
provided a critical link
in the project's success.

The first phase of this project was to understand the
mechanisms behind the unique chemical reactions. After
surveying the state of the art, the SRC team proposed a
kinetic "first principles" model of the process and
identified model parameters with ongoing pilot plant data
from the company process studies. The researchers then
helped the company's personnel design additional experiments
to validate the model structure and parameters, forging a
close working relationship early in the project. After the
plant started up, University of Maryland personnel repeated
the model parameter identification process with actual plant
data, and they helped propose plant-level experiments. The
first-principles model's predictions of the actual plant
conditions correlated unusually well. Both models were
delivered to the plant site. Process engineers and control
engineers are now using these models for process analysis,
optimization, and debottlenecking in the plant.

However, in a complex process, there is little hope of using
a first principles model for on-line control. Chemical
processes typically do not have enormous computing cycle
reserves, so the on-line process control model has to be
"fast." This is an ideal application for neural network
models.

One researcher and his students developed new neural network
modeling techniques for this project, and the team developed
process models of pilot plant and actual plant operations. A
Ph.D. student pioneered the dynamic model identification
efforts, developed a neural network model reduction
algorithm, and began the work of developing a neural network
model to predict the residual between actual plant data and
a first principles model. Another Ph.D. student completed
the dynamic modeling development through research on
recurrent network technology and the development of
Hammerstein neural network technology.

Although the recurrent networks are the tools of choice in
the academic environment, the Hammerstein networks proved to
be better suited to the experimental limitations of the
actual plant. Researchers analyzed pilot plant and actual
plant data and then developed neural network models of these
operations.

Technology transfer receives great emphasis in the ERCs, and
this project was no exception. The software deliverables
included several first principles models, two neural network
model identification packages, and numerous neural network
model sets.

SRC personnel helped Exxon personnel plan plant-level
experiments to assist in the model development tasks.
Finally, SRC personnel visited the plant site to review
project progress and to give training sessions.

Working with ERCs on projects such as this one can be very
costand time-effective for industry. In this case, the
company received both custom and general-purpose process
modeling tools for less than the cost of two technical
person-years. According to Exxon control specialists, the
first-principles modeling component alone will yield cost
savings in excess of the price of this contract.

The project also serves as a classic example of the two-way
benefits of ERC research. Just as Exxon benefited from the
project, the SRC and the University of Maryland also
benefited, receiving real-time data that would otherwise be
impossible to obtain. The industrial experience that SRC
graduate students received provided another direct benefit
for the SRC.

As a result of this successful interaction, the company
and the center are now discussing opportunities for follow-
on work. New Institute Responds to Changing Needs Through
Novel Engineering "Think Tank"

A newly created institute at the University of California,
San Diego, is bringing together people from various
engineering disciplines to encourage innovation and help
define research objectives.

The Institute of Mechanics and Materials (IMM) was
established in November 1992 at the University of
California, San Diego, after two years of planning and
proposal solicitation by the National Science Foundation. It
is supported by an NSF grant of $1 million per year for five
years.

The main focus of the Institute is to combine research and
industrial goals in the areas of mechanics and materials. To
that end, the institute promotes stronger ties between
academe, industry, and governmental organizations. According
to NSF's Assistant Director for Engineering, Joseph
Bordogna, this liaison will provide an intellectual forum,
or "think tank," rather than a means to conduct extensive in-
house research projects. The "think tank" will be filled
with such activities as short courses, workshops, and visits
by graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, professors,
engineers, and scientists.

"This is a part of a national response to changing research
priorities and needs," said Bordogna. "We need to use every
asset, and the best of every discipline, in order to keep
pace with the changes happening in the world.
Interdisciplinary efforts and collaborations like this one
help ensure that no asset is wasted or idea unnoticed."

Richard Skalak, professor of bioengineering at USCD and the
Institute's director, explained that the Institute "will aim
to serve as an intellectual forum to catalyze the formation
of research groups when new areas or methods of approach are
identified." He pointed out that new materials are essential
ingredients for progress in every technology, ranging from
smart materials for space structures to fusion rector
containment and new biomaterials for implants. "We will aim
to contribute to many of these applications, and we will
focus on practical, industrial problems," said Skalak.

The Institute has already begun to collaborate with local
industries such as McDonnell Douglas and General Atomics. An
external Board of Governors of prominent senior engineers
and scientists will direct the Institute's activities and
assess its progress.
Calendar of Events

(Listed events involve ENG sponsorship or participation)
Feb. 5, 1993
NASA/NSF Conference on Japanese R&D in Satellite
Communications, Arlington, VA. For more information call 703-
684-2116
April 27-29
National SBIR Conference, Federal R&D Opportunities for
Technology Intensive Firms, Minneapolis, MN. For information
call 407-274-4005 (III)