131-140 of 226 results
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The US Military and Genocide: Perpetration, Liberation, Witness, and Prevention
PI Elisabeth Murray
This program aims to facilitate a stronger relationship between veteran and ROTC students through the creation of a training and discussion program using the lens of the US military and genocide.
There are two key goals we seek to achieve through the completion of this program. The primary goal is to serve veterans through discussions of key humanities texts in genocide studies. The second goal is to bridge the ROTC and veteran communities and help prepare the next generation of military officers. There are few places where veterans can discuss the history of the US military’s relationship with genocide and help put their experience into a framework for understanding the future role of the US military in genocide prevention. To provide such a framework, this project will provide training and discussion opportunities on different cases of genocide which have been directly influenced by the US military. We will look at four different themes in relation to four different case studies:
1. US military perpetrating genocide (specifically against the Seminole in Florida);
2. US military liberating genocide (Holocaust, specifically the liberation of camps);
3. US military witnessing genocide (specifically the Yazidis and others fighting ISIS);
4. US military preventing genocide (the future of Afghanistan).
We understand the humanities as key to fostering an environment free from judgement, blame, or self-recrimination. We also understand that while it is key for both our leaders and our discussion participants to understand facts about the military’s involvement in these cases, using humanities helps negotiate the often under-acknowledged emotions of fear, rage, sorrow, pain, and sometimes other and even opposite emotions such as love, hope, and joy present within the human landscape of genocidal aggression.
We believe that a program of this nature firstly identifies a narrative and on-going relationship between the US military and the processes and consequences of genocidal violence. Considering especially the increasing challenges posed by climate change, the ongoing conflict in Eastern Europe, and increased tensions in the South China Sea, providing a space for veterans to explore this narrative will also help prepare them to understand future conflicts. However, this project goes beyond the creation of a discussion space for veterans. As discussed further below, Embry‑Riddle (ERAU) has a large veteran community. ERAU also hosts one of the largest ROTC programs in the state of Florida consisting of students at three universities in Volusia County. However, there are few opportunities for these two communities to learn from each other. We believe providing an opportunity to bridge these communities will inevitably result in a stronger, more capable ROTC cadre and will provide leadership opportunities within our veteran population, adding to their skillset and knowledge transfer capabilities. The second goal of this project is to support a series of opportunities for these two communities to come together, using humanities sources as a framework for discussion. We will achieve this through the training of eight veteran discussion leaders, who will go on to lead a course under the direction of faculty offered in Fall 2023, US Military and Genocide, open to all students but targeting those in ROTC and, in Spring 2024, a series of three public discussions held at participating universities.
We believe the creation of a university course and a public discussion series on the US Military and Genocide will bring ROTC and veteran students together through deepening their understanding of the contribution of the humanities to war studies; we hope to use the community of studentship to help bridge the divide between different military “generations”. This would then continue into the facilitation of public discussions that will allow for the leadership skills gained by veterans in the classroom to be demonstrated on a larger scale and to a wider audience. Finally, we believe that both the course and discussion series will contribute to the repositioning of humanities resources into core teaching in genocide studies. While widely regarded as critical to reconstruction and reconciliation (Skavdahl 2020), humanities resources such as music and poetry are largely under-used in syllabi on genocide courses, particularly in cases other than the Holocaust (Schneider 2014). We believe exposing veterans and ROTC students to humanities sources provides a deeper understanding of mass violence than an historical study alone can convey. In genocide studies, it is easy to get lost in the numbers; 1 million dead, 500,000 dead, 6 million Jews, 13 million victims – these numbers are hard for the mind to understand and often mask the impact of each individual loss. Music, poetry, art, and oral history are not only at the center of the humanities but are at the heart of humanity; they give voice to the cultural structure of identity. Genocide is legally defined as the intentional destruction "in whole or in part a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. The destruction of culturally defined humanities artifacts are integral to the destruction of that group identity. By highlighting the value of these works in understanding the US Military’s relationship with genocide, we hope to reposition the value of the individual and to give our veterans and rising military leaders a chance to better understand their place within this relationship.Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Collaborative Research: Wideband Multi-Beam Antenna Arrays: Low-Complexity Algorithms and Analog-CMOS Implementations
PI Sirani Mututhanthrige Perera
PI Arjuna Habarakada Madanayake
PI Soumyajit Mandal
Explosion of millimeter-wave (mm-wave) bandwidth opens up applications in 5G wireless systems spanning communications, localization, imaging, and radar. This project addresses challenges in mathematics, engineering, and science in developing efficient wideband beamformers based on sparse factorizations of the matrix called-delay Vandermonde matrices (DVM). The proposed highly integrated approach is attractive for mobile applications including 5G smart devices, the internet of things, mobile robotics, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other emerging applications focused on mm-waves.
A multi-beam array receiver is deeply difficult to realize in integrated circuit (IC) form due to the underlying complexity of its signal flow graph. Through the proposed work, mathematical methods based on the theories of i) sparse factorization and complexity of the structured complex DVM with the introduction of a super class for the discrete Fourier transform(which is DVM), and ii) approximation transforms are proved to solve this problem.
The resulting matrices are realized with multi-GHz bandwidths using analog ICs. The novel DVM algorithm solves the longstanding "beam squint" problem, i.e., the fact that the beam direction changes with input frequency, making true wideband operation impossible. Moreover, the proposed multi-beamforming networks in analog IC form will be realized efficiently while addressing precision circuit design, digital calibration, built-in self-test, etc. Besides scientific merits, both minority students and female students will be mentored to pursue careers in the STEM disciplines through the proposed project.
This project was funded by the National Science Foundation (the division of Electrical, Communications, and Cyber Systems) with award numbers 1711625 and 1711395.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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A data analytics framework for the application of pedestrian dynamics to public health
PI Sirish Namilae
CO-I Mandar Kulkarni
The central hypothesis of this NIH funded project is that combining location-based service (LBS) data with pedestrian dynamics modeling can uncover movement patterns of people in complex situations with many public health applications. In Aim 1, we will develop an application-agnostic pedestrian dynamics modeling framework that assimilates LBS data. We will compare our approach to methods that do not utilize LBS in order to evaluate accuracy of human movement across multiple scenarios. In Aim 2, we will apply the pedestrian movement and interaction information to a variety of public health domains. These include: viral infection spread at local and global scales, enhancing walkability for active aging, and safe evacuation of the elderly. Finally, in Aim 3, we will translate our pedestrian dynamics modeling framework into public health practice. We will provide our platform to different stakeholders and obtain feedback on user satisfaction to improve the system design.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Nanoscale Design of Interfacial Kinematics in Composite Manufacturing
PI Sirish Namilae
CO-I Marwan Al-Haik
This NSF-funded research will elucidate the role of interfacial kinematics and energetics in the evolution of inter-ply interfaces in composite structures during manufacturing. The research team will develop a novel experimental method for in-situ characterization of surface and interface deformations during composite processing, utilizing a customized commercial composite autoclave with a digital image correlation system. The surface strain and displacement measurements will be combined with ex-situ X-ray tomography and thermal characterization to map the interfacial thermomechanical response as a function of design and processing parameters. Additionally, the interfacial behavior will be engineered through the rapid and controlled growth of ZnO nanowires on carbon fibers to create a nanoscale interfacial component that increases the fiber bending resistance and creates an interlocking effect at the interfaces to mitigate defects propagation. The experimental research will be complemented by molecular dynamics simulations of the sliding of amorphous polymer interfaces and mesoscale simulation of flow in porous media. This comprehensive approach of in-situ characterization, interface design, and modeling will lead to a fundamental understanding of the ply movement during composite manufacturing and development of methods to reduce the occurrence of processing-induced defects.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Software Infrastructure For Analysis of Infection Propagation Through Air Travel
PI Sirish Namilae
This NSF funded project seeks to develop a novel software that will provide a variety of pedestrian dynamics models, infection spread models, as well as data so that scientists can analyze the effect of different mechanisms on the spread of directly transmitted diseases in crowded areas. The initial focus of this project is on air travel. However, the software can be extended to a broader scope of applications in movement analysis and epidemiology, such as in theme parks and sports venues. Development of the proposed software will involve several innovations. It will include a novel phylogeography model that links fine-scale human movement data with virus genetic information to more accurately model geographic diffusion of viruses. New models for pedestrian movement will enable modeling of complex human movement patterns. A recommendation system for the choice of pedestrian dynamics models and a domain specific language for the input of policies and human behaviors will enhance usability by researchers in diverse fields. Community building initiatives will catalyze inter-disciplinary research to ensures the long-term sustainability of the project through a critical mass of contributors and users.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Experimental Testbed for the Validation of Autonomous ISAM/OSAM Systems
PI Morad Nazari
CO-I Kadriye Merve Dogan
CO-I Thomas Lovell
The ability to validate individual hardware and software components of these technologies on a large scale is still in its early stages. Thus, the goal of this research is to establish an effective experimental testbed for the validation of autonomous in-space servicing and maintenance (ISAM) / on-orbit servicing and maintenance (OSAM) systems.
A new era of affordable space flight, satellite refueling, on-orbit inspection, orbit transfer and end-of-life servicing has begun as a result of the space industry's continued focus on safe, resilient and adaptable space vehicles. These developments have laid the groundwork for assembly and manufacturing in orbit or space for potential use in active debris removal, reuse and recycling of materials. Advanced navigation and control technologies are required to ensure and lengthen the mission life cycles of these orbital assets, which include launch vehicles, satellites and space stations. Orbit/attitude determination, relative motion, robot manipulator kinematics and spacecraft rendezvous/docking can benefit from new advances in geometric mechanics Udwadia-Kalaba, adaptive control, learning, sensor fusion, computer vision and data communication. These efforts aim to equip future enterprises with the ability to perform in-space servicing and maintenance (ISAM) and on-orbit servicing and maintenance (OSAM) of failed or damaged space assets, as well as in-space manufacturing and platform assembly. However, the ability to validate individual hardware and software components of these technologies on a large scale is still in its early stages. Thus, the goal of this research is to establish an effective experimental testbed for the validation of autonomous ISAM/OSAM systems.Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Flexible Body Control Using Fiber Optic Sensors, Florida Space Grant Consortium
PI Morad Nazari
CO-I Daewon Kim
This project would build on previous research that developed the dynamics formulation and control of a rigid-flexible system.
This project would build on previous research that developed the dynamics formulation and control of a rigid-flexible system. A cantilevered beam attached to a rotating central body is considered and analyzed through the finite element method. A set of matrix differential equations are obtained to describe the dynamic behavior of the system, and a control law based on a Lyapunov function is obtained and applied to the system. The development of this dynamics formulation and control also considers the rigid-flexible coupling present in the system. The control law is designed such that the system can achieve and maintain a set of desired states for the central rigid body and flexible structure. The experimental measurements obtained from the implementation of FOS sensors on the flexible body and inertial sensors on the rigid body will be utilized as the input in this control design. The research portion of the project is anticipated to require one or two graduate student research assistants and a part-time academic advisor over a one-year period.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Reconfigurable Guidance and Control Systems for Emerging On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly and Manufacturing (OSAM) Space Vehicles
PI Morad Nazari
CO-I Kadriye Merve Dogan
In this project, the ControlX team with ERAU partnership will develop agile, reconfigurable, and resilient dynamics and G&C algorithms for on-orbit servicing to capture a broad set of OSAM applications such as remediation of resident space object (RSO) (e.g., via de-orbiting, recycle, end-of-life servicing, satellite refueling, etc.) using effective tools and methods involving geometric mechanics, constrained G&C synthesis, and reconfigurable robotic manipulators (RRMs).
Dynamic response to emergent situations is a necessity in the on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing (OSAM) field because traditional on-orbit guidance and control (G&C) cannot respond efficiently and effectively to such dynamic situations (i.e., they are based on either constant mass or diagonal matrix of inertia). In these circumstances, the current challenge is to develop modeling strategies and control systems that exhibit intelligence, robustness and adaptation to the environment changes and disturbances (e.g., uncertainties, constraints and flexible dynamics). Note that the current state-of-the-art methods do not offer a reliable, accurate framework for real-time, optimal accommodation of constraints in the system dynamics that account for orbital-attitude coupling in the motion of the bodies without encountering singularity or non-uniqueness issues. In this project, the ControlX team with ERAU partnership will develop agile, reconfigurable, and resilient dynamics and G&C algorithms for on-orbit servicing to capture a broad set of OSAM applications such as remediation of resident space object (RSO) (e.g., via de-orbiting, recycle, end-of-life servicing, satellite refueling, etc.) using effective tools and methods involving geometric mechanics, constrained G&C synthesis, and reconfigurable robotic manipulators (RRMs).
The proposed work in this Phase I includes reconfigurable systems for on-orbit servicing, assembly and manufacturing with learning control methods that minimize tracking error of the end-effector of the RRM in the presence of uncertainties, optimize configuration and accommodate constraint-changing scenarios. Our developments will avoid singularity; not rely on the concept of costates or Lagrange multipliers that are restrictive; handle system uncertainties while enforcing the constraints; use RRMs in different tasks (recycle, debris removing, maintenance, etc.); not need in sensors or exact model knowledge for robotic arms. Specifically, constrained space vehicle control (predicated on Udwadia and Kalaba (UK) formalism) will offer not only accurate and resilient design but also reconfigurability in that G&C algorithms can easily be modified to suit a wide spectrum of OSAM applications. ControlX team will also consider the feasibility of hardware implementation. The selection of sensors, actuators and onboard computers will be an important trade-off between among size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints, reliability, and computing performance. A real-time operating system (RTOS) is planned to meet timing and memory management constraints, partitioning hardware resources to control software application interactions. An analysis suite for the autonomous system implementation, based on system modeling and learning techniques, will provide onboard analysis, enabling decision-making as to whether the system can continue to meet mission requirements.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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Aviation Management Education Study (AMES)
PI Jason Newcomer
CO-I James Marion
CO-I Matthew Earnhardt
The Aviation Management Education Study (AMES) is a longitudinal effort consisting of a series of research papers covering various facets of aviation education as it pertains to managers in the field and hiring of industry professionals.
In the last 34 years, corporate America and the aviation professions have changed due to (a) increased air travel, (b) outsourcing functions, (c) aviation research, (d) federal regulation, and (e) the changed U.S. economy (Katkin, et al., 2013; Mootien, Warren, Morris, & Enoch, 2013; Quinlan, Hampson, & Gregson, 2013; Rango & Laliberte, 2010). The specific business problem is the lack of current, correlated demographic data of aviation managers, as well as any resultant significance testing of the aforementioned data to determine if there are necessary academic pre-requisites to obtaining management positions in aviation.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
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NSF REU Site: Cybersecurity Research of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
PI Laxima Niure Kandel
CO-I M. Ilhan Akbas
This funding institutes a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Each year, over the summer, ten highly motivated undergraduates will conduct an intense 10-week Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) cybersecurity research program complemented by professional development activities that prepare them for future cybersecurity careers and graduate schools.
This funding institutes a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Site at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). Each year, over the summer, ten highly motivated undergraduates will conduct an intense 10-week Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) cybersecurity research program complemented by professional development activities that prepare them for future cybersecurity careers and graduate schools. Students will research existing UAV cyber threats and mitigation strategies and explore new techniques and algorithms to safeguard UAV systems. The REU program will focus on providing unparalleled opportunities for undergraduate students, especially those from underrepresented and minority groups and from institutions with limited resources, by engaging them in real-world cybersecurity research of UAVs. Through small-group, high-quality mentoring practices, the REU training will not only aid in enhancing the safety and security of UAVs in personal and commercial applications but will also build research confidence among REU participants.
The overall objective of this project is to immerse undergraduate students in research-intensive training in the cybersecurity field and encourage them to think creatively and independently through hands-on project activities. REU participants will be engaged in faculty-led projects such as UAV cyber-attacks, UAV cyber defense mechanisms, privacy protection methods for UAV communications, and Physical Layer-based cybersecurity. They will participate in activities that range from literature reviews, technical seminars, and workshops to the preparation, presentation, and dissemination of research findings. The three major goals of the REU Site are: (1) to expose undergraduate students to a variety of cybersecurity projects that are bound to build the interest, skills, and knowledge necessary to pursue cybersecurity careers; (2) to increase the number of underrepresented undergraduates in cybersecurity and STEM fields through diversity recruitment emphasis, and (3) to provide undergraduate students with strong professional skills for their future careers and graduate schools. The REU Site will leverage ERAUs? state-of-the-art facilities, research labs, and faculty expertise to promote interest in cybersecurity and develop research skills of the undergraduate students which, in turn, will contribute towards cybersecurity education, training, and workforce development.
Categories: Faculty-Staff
131-140 of 226 results