WPI Research is the research magazine of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It contains news and features about graduate research in the arts and sciences, business, and engineering, along with notes about new grants, books, and faculty achievements.
Issue link: http://wpiresearch.epubxp.com/i/90696
RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Major Research Awards Here is a small sample of the many notable awards from federal agencies, corporations, and entities that have supported research at WPI in recent months. New Metallurgical Tools for the Army WPI is the lead institution on an 18-month, $4 million project funded by the Army Research Laboratory to develop computational tools that can be used to predict the microstruc- ture and mechanical properties of engineering alloys. The project will help the Army, as well as the aircraft, automotive, and electronics industries, develop new nanostructured alloys for spe- cific applications. Richard Sisson, Diran Apelian, Nikolaos Gatsonis, Jianyu Liang, and Makhlouf Makhlouf (Mechanical Engi- neering) are leading WPI's research efforts. Researchers at Northeastern University and Temple University are collaborating. Driving Innovation with Biofabrication WPI has received a five-year, $3 million award through the National Science Foundation's Integrative Graduate Education and Research Trainee- ship (IGERT) program to launch an innovative [34] graduate program in biofabrication that will combine interdisciplinary research, translational engineering, and industrial and international experiences to prepare a new cadre of researchers who can translate their discoveries into solutions for societal problems. The program is being directed by an interdisciplinary team consisting of Terri Camesano (Chemical Engineering), Kristen Billiar, Ki Chon, and Glenn Gaudette (Biomedical Engineering), and Frank Hoy (School of Business). Sensors That Can Save Wounded Soldiers Ki Chon and Yitzhak Medelson (Biomedi- cal Engineering) have received a three-year, $1.9 million award from the U.S. Army to develop wearable wireless sen- sors and a smartphone application that detect the early signs of hypovolemia (loss of blood volume). The research will be con- ducted in collaboration with the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where Chad Darling, MD (Emergency Medicine), and David McManus, MD, (Medicine) are co-principal investigators. The sensor and blood loss detection algorithm will make use of light transmitted through the skin. The technology could be used to help save the lives of soldiers and civilian trauma patients. Helping Students Develop Inquiry Skills Janice Gobert and Ryan Baker (Social Science and Policy Studies) received a three-year, $1.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Education to develop an intelligent pedagogical agent that can help teach middle school students science inquiry skills while drawing on educational data mining techniques to seamlessly integrate assessment with instruction. The project will build on 12 inquiry microworlds (inter- active simulations) developed by Gobert and her team for physical science. In the project, she and Baker will develop a peda- gogical agent and a set of detectors to assess students' inquiry skills and behaviors; the system will tutor students in real time as they engage in inquiry with the microworlds. Protecting Firefighters from Toxic Gases David Cyganski and James Duckworth (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and Kathy Notarianni (Fire Protection Engineering) have received a $1 million award from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to develop a sensor that firefighters can wear to warn them that they are in the presence of carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide, both colorless toxic gases. Exposure to these toxins can cause serious short- and long-term health problems, and the gases can be present even outside a burning building, where firefighters may not be wearing protective breathing apparatus. While toxic gas detectors exist, none are able to func- tion reliably in the extreme environment in and near the fire ground. wpi.edu/+research