Engineering Commons^™

Collaborative Research: A Nanostructure Sensor For Measuring Dissolved Iron And Copper Concentrations In Coastal And Offshore Seawater, Mark Wells, Carl Tripp

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Iron and Copper serve as key co-constituents for numerous enzymes in a wide range of biological systems, and their elevated or impoverished levels in aqueous systems have dramatic consequences at organismal, ecosystem, and human health scales. Over the last decade these effects have increasingly been recognized to be important in ocean systems. Identifying sites and times where these metals cause negative environmental outcomes is greatly hampered by their comparatively sparse datasets. This problem is a direct consequence of the analytical challenge of obtaining accurate Fe and Cu determinations in saline waters at very low (trace) concentrations, and the limitations of …

Nue: Nano Science And Laboratory Experience (Scale) At Umaine, Rosemary L. Smith, Scott D. Collins, Michael D. Mason

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This Nanotechnology Undergraduate Education (NUE) in Engineering program entitled, "NUE: Nano Science And Laboratory Experience (ScALE) at UMaine", at the University of Maine, under the direction of Dr. Rosemary L. Smith, aims to introduce the basic concepts, applications, and implications of nanoscale science and engineering to all first-year engineering students at the University of Maine (UMaine). The proposed approach is to add nanoscience and nanoscale engineering content to the required 'introduction to' engineering courses offered by each engineering department. This content will be designed, developed and delivered as a 'drop-in' module, in collaboration with the instructors for each department's course. …

Csr: Small: Collaborative Research: Sane: Semantic-Aware Namespace In Exascale File Systems, Yifeng Zhu

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Explosive growth in volume and complexity of data exacerbates the key challenge facing the management of massive data in a way that fundamentally improves the ease and efficacy of their usage. Exascale storage systems in general rely on hierarchically structured namespace that leads to severe performance bottlenecks and makes it hard to support real-time queries on multi-dimensional attributes. Thus, existing storage systems, characterized by the hierarchical directory tree structure, are not scalable in light of the explosive growth in both the volume and the complexity of data. As a result, directory-tree based hierarchical namespace has become restrictive, difficult to use, …

Dc: Small: Energy-Aware Coordinated Caching In Cluster-Based Storage Systems, Yifeng Zhu

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The main goal of this project is to improve the performance and energy efficiency of I/O (Input/Output) operations of large-scale cluster computing platforms.

The major activities include:

1) characterize the memory access workloads;
2) investigate the new and emerging new storage and memory devices, such as SSD and PCM, on I/O performance.
(3) study energy-efficient buffer and cache replacement algorithms,
(4) leveraging SSD as a new caching device to improve the energy efficiency and performance of I/O performance

Dc:Small: Energy-Aware Coordinated Caching In Cluster-Based Storage Systems, Yifeng Zhu

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

As the computing capacity increases rapidly in large-scale cluster computing platforms, power management becomes an increasingly important concern. This project focuses on the research of reducing disk and memory power consumption through energy-aware cooperative caching in cluster-based storage systems. The project leverages I/O characteristics of scientific applications and dynamic power management features of disk drives and memory chips to reduce I/O energy consumption. This project involves three components: (1) investigate program context based pattern detection to predict I/O activities in the operating systems, (2) investigate disk energy aware cooperative cache management schemes, and (3) prototype the management schemes and incorporate …

Mri: Acquisition Of A Squid Magnetometer For Analysis Of Advanced Materials, Robert W. Meulenberg, Robert J. Lad, David J. Frankel, Michael D. Mason, Samuel T. Hess

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Technical Summary: Superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) magnetometry is a non-destructive technique that reveals detailed information about the electron spin interactions in many types of materials. This project will involve a state-of-the-art SQUID magnetometer and Magnetic Property Measurement System (MPMS), which is a critical tool for characterizing several types of materials currently being investigated by researchers within the Laboratory for Surface Science & Technology (LASST) and other University of Maine (UMaine) laboratories. Specific measurement capabilities include DC and AC magnetic susceptibility, magnetoresistivity, van der Paaw conductivity, and Hall mobility. State-of-the-art MPMS capabilities will be especially valuable to several research programs …

Collaborative Research: North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium, Michael Eckardt, Vicki Nemeth, Carolyn Mattingly

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium has finished its third year of Track-2 funding. In this report we summarize our overall progress and progress for Year 3.

In 2006, we began to organize as the five North Eastern EPSCoR states (ME, NH, VT, Rl, DE) around cyberinfrastructure. The box below describes the state of cyberinfrastructure in 2008 by which time we had developed the North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium to position ourselves for grant opportunities that would help us to address our cyber deficits.

The Track-2 collaborative proposal submitted in January 2009 was designed to address these barriers in order enable our …

Synthesis And Accelerated Testing Of Oxynitride Films For High Temperature Applications, Robert J. Lad, Rosemary Smith

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION:
There is a critical need for new protective ceramic coatings that can operate in harsh environments with service temperatures in the 1000-1500oC range. These ceramic coatings must exhibit excellent heat resistance, chemical stability, fracture toughness and wear durability so they can be reliably be used in applications such high performance engines, shrouds, rotors, seals, slides, and bearings. A major problem is that conventional ceramic coatings crack and delaminate during thermal cycling in reactive gases at extreme temperatures. This project focuses on developing and testing Si-Al-O-N and Si-Zr-O-N thin film coatings and tailoring their properties to achieve high performance …

Maine Tidal Power Initiative: Environmental Impact Protocols For Tidal Power, Michael Peterson, Gayle Zydlewski, Huijie Xue, Teresa R. Johnson

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

As a result of ongoing climate change, the pressure for the development of new sources of renewable energy has increased. It is extremely likely that climate change is caused by anthropogenic activities. Thus even if dramatic gains are made in energy efficiency; the addition of novel renewable energy sources is critical to reducing fossil fuel emissions. Even current goals for a reduction in the growth of greenhouse gas emissions mean that all possible low-carbon or non-carbon emitting energy sources be considered. In the marine environment, energy in tidal currents, waves, and thermal structure may be extracted to produce electricity. These …

Maine Epscor End-To-End Connectivity For Sustainability Science Collaboration, Michael Eckardt, Vicki Nemeth, Jeffrey Letourneau, Bruce E. Segee

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This NSF EPSCoR C2 project allowed Maine EPSCoR to continue the state’s momentum to enhance the connectivity of the state’s research, higher education, and K-12 institutions through Maine’s Research and Education Network (MaineREN). Over the last few years, multi-million dollar investments have built networking and computing power at the state level, including: 1) the installation of 1,100 miles of middle-mile fiber optic cable; 2) investments in shared computing resources for high performance computing and cloud computing; 3) the Maine School and Library Network; 4) the Maine Learning Technology Initiative (grade 6-12 laptops); and 5) investments in high-performance visualization and videoconferencing. …

Ideas: Inquiry-Based Dynamic Earth Applications Of Supercomputing, Seeing The Big Picture With Information Technology, Bruce E. Segee, Yifeng Zhu, Peter O. Koons

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The goals of the project were to increase the level and volume of information technologies in the classroom and to promote inquiry-based learning. The project was tightly integrated with the Maine Learning Technology Initiative that puts a laptop computer into the hands of every 7th and 8th grade student and teacher. It was also tightly integrated with the University of Maine Supercomputer. Through the use of technology, students were able to ask “what if questions and find and visualize the answers to their questions. The focus of the inquiry was dynamic Earth modelling. This included geological evolution of the earth …

Igert: Sensor Science, Engineering, And Informatics, Mary-Kate Beard-Tisdale, Robert J. Lad, Rosemary L. Smith, John F. Vetelino, Michael Warboys

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This Sensor Science, Engineering and Informatics (SSEI) IGERT program will provide multidisciplinary doctoral training in the area of sensor systems ranging from the science and engineering of new materials and sensing mechanisms to the interpretation of sensor data. The design and management of effective sensor systems requires a holistic understanding of how information is collected, stored, integrated, evaluated, and communicated within sensing systems and to decision makers in diverse application contexts. The SSEI IGERT weaves together three research focus areas: (1) Sensor Materials and Devices, (2) Sensor Systems and Networks, and (3) Sensor Informatics. The intellectual merit of the project …

Cdi-Type Ii: Collaborative Research: Cyber Enhancement Of Spatial Cognition For The Visually Impaired, Nicholas Giudice

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Wayfinding is an essential capability for any person who wishes to have an independent life-style. It requires successful execution of several tasks including navigation and object and place recognition, all of which necessitate accurate assessment of the surrounding environment. For a visually-impaired person these tasks may be exceedingly difficult to accomplish and there are risks associated with failure in any of these. Guide dogs and white canes are widely used for the purpose of navigation and environment sensing, respectively. The former, however, has costly and often prohibitive training requirements, while the latter can only provide cues about obstacles in one's …

Collaborative Research: Mechanics Of Growing Bodies: A Riemannian Geometric Approach, Alireza Shamsaei Sarvestani

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The research objective of this grant is to elucidate a differential/Riemannian geometric formulation for the mechanics of growing bodies. The proposed work is based on the concept of a changing material manifold whose dynamics predicts the evolution of the relaxed state of a material body. This theory is applicable to biological tissues in which growth and remodeling are coupled with large deformations. To achieve the research objective of this proposal, a theory of continuum mechanics based on a dynamic material manifold is introduced that couples the growth/remodeling of biological tissues with their large deformations. The proposed research will put growth …

Reu Site: Sensor Science And Engineering, John F. Vetelino, Nuri Emanetoglu

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This three-year REU site program at the University of Maine will engage eight undergraduates per year in hands-on research experiences in sensor science and engineering. The REU program will be integrated with the PIs' Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) and Research Experiences for Teachers (RET) programs. REU participants will have the opportunity to interact with faculty research mentors, graduate students, post-docs, technicians, visiting scientists, and middle and high school teachers. REU students, GK-12 fellows, IGERT fellows, and RET participants will participate in field trips to Maine companies that perform sensor research such as The Jackson Laboratory and Spectral …

Pfi: Commercialization Of Advanced Composites In Offshore Wind Energy, James Ward, Habib J. Dagher, Robert Lindyberg

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project--a Type III (A:C) partnership between the University of Maine (UMaine), an NSF PFI graduated grantee (0125343), and Maine Maritime Academy, an institution new to the PFI Program (defined as one that has never been a PFI grantee) and, in this case, new to NSF as well seeks to enable the acceleration of the development of Maine's deepwater offshore wind energy resource by employing an innovation model that will draw upon knowledge and technology from diverse sources. The proposed research addresses the development of key knowledge, experimentally-validated numerical models for combined aerolastic/hydrodynamic loadings; and an …

Reu Site: Supercomputing Undergraduate Program In Maine (Superme), Yifeng Zhu, Bruce Segee

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This award, for a new Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) site, builds a Supercomputing Undergraduate Program in Maine (SuperMe). This new site provides ten-week summer research experiences at the University of Maine (UMaine) for ten undergraduates each year for three years. With integrated expertise of ten faculty researchers from both computer systems and domain applications, SuperMe allows each undergraduate to conduct meaningful research, such as developing supercomputing techniques and tools, and solving cutting-edge research problems through parallel computing and scientific visualization. Besides being actively involved in research groups, students attend weekly seminars given by faculty mentors, formally report and present …

2011 Nanoelectronic Devices For Defense & Security (Nano-Dds) Conference: A Request For Funding To Support Attendee Participation. To Be Held Aug. 29 To Sept 1, 2011 At Nyu-Poly, Carl P. Tripp

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Intellectual Merit: The Nanoelectronic Devices for Defense & Security (NANO-DDS) Conference is a bi-annual science and technology event which has been organized for the purpose of reviewing the evolving research and development (R&D) activities in the arena of nanoelectronic devices that have direct relevance to critical capability needs for national defense & security in the future. The charter of this special conference is to unify and focus the very broad array of nanoelectronic and supporting nanotechnology activities that are currently engaged in reaching the long expected applications payoffs in core defense and security related areas such as sensing, data processing, …

Collaborative Research: North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium, Michael Eckardt

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

EPS-0918284, University of Vermont & State Agricultural College, J. L. Van Houten, linked to EPS-0918033 (University of New Hampshire), EPS-0918078 (University of Delaware), EPS-0918018 (University of Maine), EPS-0918061 (University of Rhode Island)
Collaborative Research: North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5).

The North East Cyberinfrastructure Consortium (NECC) unites Maine (ME), New Hampshire (NH), Vermont (VT), Rhode Island (RI), and Delaware (DE) to support cyber-enabled research that requires analyses of large datasets. The project is organized around sharing resources, expertise and facilities in order to make cyber-enabled collaborative …

Exp-Sa: Explosives Tracking: A Microsystem For Detection Of Bacterial Endospores As Self-Replicating Nucleic Acid Taggants, Paul J. Millard, Mauricio Pereira Da Cunha, John T. Singer

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This proposal presents an integrated research and educational plan directed toward the production, detection, and identification of bacterial endospore taggants for explosive tracking. While the most immediate application of the research is related to stemming the activities of bioterrorists, the anticipated fundamental advances in bioengineering and sensor science and engineering will have significant societal relevance to other applications, including first-responder activities, healthcare, food safety, and pollution avoidance and mitigation.

Intellectual Merit
The investigators propose to combine bioengineering of Bacillus stearothermophilus endospores with microdevices for sample processing and taggant identification. A surface acoustic wave (SAW) microdroplet mixing/transport/incubator system will be coupled …

Career: A New Class Of Modified Mesoporous Silica Membranes With Controlled Pore Size And Surface Functionalization Through Unique Synthetic Approaches, William J. Desisto

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Artificial membranes made from sand-like materials known as silica are potentially more energy efficient than other separation processes such as distillation (change in phase from liquid to gas) because there is no phase change required to perform the separation. In addition, the opportunity exists for combining reaction and separation within a single unit using membrane reactors, thereby increasing yield on thermodynamically-limited reactions. However, the fabrication of high-quality silica membranes with pore size control and surface chemistry control remains challenging because of the inherent limits of existing synthetic approaches used to fabricate silica membranes. The researchers at the University of Maine …

Track 2 Gk-12: Sensors!, John F. Vetelino, Stephen Godsoe, Constance Holden

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This proposal describes a Track 2 project developed by the University of Maine in collaboration with several Maine public school systems in urban, suburban, and rural communities to capitalize upon UMaine's interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art sensor science and engineering resources to establish strong partnerships with middle and high schools, benefiting GK-12 fellows, teachers, middle and high school students, senior personnel, and business and community stakeholders. Focusing on sensor science and engineering, the PI, Dr. Vetelino is carefully integrating NSF RET, GK-12, REU, and IGERT programs, reaching students from middle school through the Ph.D. The synergy among the PI's education and research programs …

Goali: Multicomponent Molecular Transport In Nanoporous Materials, Douglas M. Ruthven, David Sholl, Ronald Chance

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

In recent years novel diffusion controlled catalytic processes and non-conventional separation processes such as adsorption and membrane processes have gained an increasingly important place in the petroleum and petrochemicals industries. Several factors have driven this trend, including the need to improve the energy efficiency and throughput of refineries, stricter limits on the allowable composition of gasoline and diesel fuel requiring the removal of aromatics and sulfur containing compounds to extremely low levels, the need to process increasingly complex deposits of both natural gas and liquid hydrocarbons, and the possibility of producing liquid fuels from non-traditional sources such as biomass. Although …

Exp-Sa: A Lateral Field Excited Acoustic Wave Sensor For Peroxide-Based Explosives, John F. Vetelino, David J. Neivandt

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Intellectual Merit:
The candidate films will be functionalized on the quartz surface of the LFE sensing platform and exposed to peroxide-based IEDs and the materials used to fabricate them under simulated conditions. Critical sensor element properties such as the response level, response time, detection limit, resolution, and linearity will be measured and the selectivity will be determined by exposing the sensor to known concentrations of chemical simulants. In addition the admittance of each sensor element will be measured to isolate mechanical and electrical property changes in the film so as to identify the unique chemical signature of each analyte and …

Brige: Translating Robotic Technology For Inclusive Fitness: An Innovative Robotic Rowing Exoskeleton (Rre) Development Project, Ashish D. Deshpande

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Intellectual Merit: The opportunities for inclusion in fitness activity for disabled individuals, particularly those with severe disabilities, are extremely limited due to intrinsic, environmental, and social factors. This BRIGE project focuses on advancing robotic technology as a strategy to promote fitness opportunities for a range of individuals with disabilities. This project will 1) design, test, and build a prototype robotic device called Robotic Rowing Exoskeleton (RRE) that will augment movement, coordination, and strength in the activity of rowing; 2) yield a complete dynamics model of rowing biomechanics and parameter determination via human subject data; 3) provide a model system through …

Request For Graduate Travel Support To Attend The Nanoelectronic Devices For Defense $ Security (Nano-Dds) Conference 2009. To Be Held Sept 28-Oct. 2, 2009 In Ft. Lauderdale Fl, Carl P. Tripp

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The objective of this proposal is to support graduate student attendance to the Nanoelectronic Devices for Defense & Security (NANO-DDS) will be held at the Bahia Mar Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, FL during the weeks of September 28 to October 2, 2009. The approach is to recruit students in the science and engineering areas related to nanoelectronic devices research and development with the aim that their attendance will broaden the impact of the meeting to the education experiences and education of future scientists and engineers. There will be a formal reporting procedure that includes a narrative that explains their …

Collaborative Research: An Integrated Microstructure-Based Approach To Property Prediction For Cement-Based Materials, Eric N. Landis

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

The project is a collaborative effort between the research groups at the University of Maine and the University of California, Davis. It represents a convergence of 3D micro-structural imaging with discrete element computational modeling to address the need for quantitative links between salient micro-structural properties and bulk material performance. High-resolution 3D images of material microstructure will be produced using x-ray microtomography (XMT). These images will be used to examine the micromechanical response of cement composites to mechanical loading and drying shrinkage. 3D deformation fields and internal crack distributions will be measured at selected loading stages and correlated with the spatial …

Sensors: Detecting Microbial Pathogens With Novel Surface Acoustic Wave Devices In Liquid Environments, Mauricio Pereira Da Cunha, Paul J. Millard

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

This SENSORS proposal integrates research and education to exploit the sensitivity of a new family of LGX crystal devices operated in novel Shear Horizontal Surface Acoustic Wave (SH-SAW) propagation directions by combining them with highly selective molecular padlock probes to detect specific nucleic acid sequences associated with bacteria such as Escherichia coli O157:H7, Salmonella typhi, and Vibrio cholerae in aqueous solutions. The anticipated fundamental advances in sensor science and engineering will be relevant to numerous applications, including rapid response to bioterrorism, healthcare, epidemiology, agriculture, food safety, and pollution avoidance and mitigation.

This SENSORS program builds upon the initial proof-of-concept …

Monitoring Dynamic Spatial Fields Using Responsive Geosensor Networks, Michael Warboys, Silvia Nittel

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Many environmental phenomena (e.g., changes in global levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide) can be modeled as variations of attributes over regions of space and time, called dynamic spatial fields. The goal of this project is to provide efficient ways for sensor networks to monitor such fields, and to report significant changes in them. The focus is on "qualitative" changes, such as splitting of areas or emergence of holes in a region of study. The approach is to develop qualitative and topological methods to deal with changes. Qualitative properties form a small, discrete space, whereas quantitative values form a large, continuous …

Sst: Integrated Fluorocarbon Microsensor System Using Catalytic Modification, M. Clayton Wheeler

University of Maine Office of Research Administration: Grant Reports

Selective, sensitive, and reliable sensors are urgently needed to detect air-borne halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs). This broad class of compounds includes chlorine, fluorine, bromine, and iodine containing hydrocarbons used as solvents, refrigerants, herbicides, and more recently as chemical warfare agents (CWAs). It is important to be able to detect very low concentrations of halocarbon solvents and insecticides because of their acute health effects even in very low concentrations. For instance, the nerve agent sarin (isopropyl methylphosphonofluoridate), first developed as an insecticide by German chemists in 1938, is so toxic that a ten minute exposure at an airborne concentration of …