Annual Report 2013

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

College of Engineering

D e p a r t m e n t o f E l e c t r i c a l a n d C o m p u t e r E n g i n e e r i n g

Message from the department head ........................1Integrating equipment and software in the Smart Grid Lab ...........................................................2The Evaluation of Software Defined Networking for Communication and Control of Cyber Physical Systems .............................................3Image-guided thermal therapy ..................................4NASA EPSCor project: Interdisciplinary research developing tools to keep astronauts healthy ........6

ContentsAdvisory Council Members ...........................................7Research summary...........................................................8Faculty ..............................................................................12ECE Student Group Highlights ................................14

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On behalf of the faculty, staff and students, I am very pleased to present this annual report on our department’s activities and highlights. The department continues to increase its efforts on becoming more research productive while maintaining excellent undergraduate programs. We have been actively planning our role in the K-State 2025 strategic plan to become a Top 50 public research university.

Although in academics change is usually very gradual and may seem painstakingly slow, changes in the department are very evident and ongoing. For the past three years we have been fortunate to add a new tenure-track faculty member each year. In this report you will hear about how new faculty member Punit Prakash develops techniques to allow image-guided thermal therapy of human and animal disease, and how fellow new faculty member Behrooz Mirafzal develops intelligent inverters for renewable energy sources and robust power distribution systems. Joining us this school year is David Thompson, who works on brain control interfaces and other biomedical devices.

We also hope the University Engineering Initiative Act, or UEIA, will provide opportunities for similar growth in the near future. The department is planning to move into the new building being added to our engineering complex in fall 2015.

Our students continue to shine, too. Whether it’s the continued recognition of our outstanding Eta Kappa Nu chapter, the third-place finish of our Robotics Competition Team in the California Micromouse competition, or the multitude of accomplishments from our other student organizations, they all do an excellent job of representing our department.

Please enjoy this snapshot of our recent growth. While it cannot capture all of the activities that are ongoing, additional information on our program can be found at our website, ece.k-state.edu. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to explore areas of collaboration or other common interests.

Don M. Gruenbacher

Department Head

Message from the department head

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We are in the era of smart products: smartphones, smart TVs and smart meters. We’re also in the era of smart systems: smart buildings, smart houses and the smart grid.

Technology converts needs into smart applications. Smart products and systems have more functions and can make more decisions by themselves. A non-smart overcurrent protection system could be made by fuses. But a smart overcurrent protection system could be made with protective relays that have control, communication, protection and measurement functions.

In my research I will integrate equipment and software of the Rathbone Hall’s Smart Grid Lab. It is based on a power grid application: smart overcurrent protective scheme in a radial distribution system. Overcurrent relays in a radial distribution system sometimes cannot perform their relay trips for a fault situation, such as when breakers switch from one circuit path (circuit topology) to another, or equipment like transformers, lines and generator impedances were modified. This is because the fault impedances have changed, and overcurrent settings of relays need to be updated to work properly.

The objective of my research is to implement and verify a smart overcurrent protection system for a radial distribution system that would allow the relays to detect different circuit topologies and sequence impedances for setting relays by themselves.

Integrating equipment and software in the Smart Grid LabCreating a smart overcurrent protective scheme in a radial distribution system

— By Emilio C. Piesciorovsky, Ph.D. candidate

My goals include:

• Implementing an algorithm to identify circuit topologies

• Implementing an algorithm to calculate unknown sequence impedances

• Implementing an algorithm to auto-set overcurrent relays

• Applying a real-time simulator with relays in the loop to create the power and protection system

• Verifying the relay settings by using a real-time simulator with relays in the loop

Implementing a smart overcurrent protective scheme in a radial distribution system could present a great advantage for utilities. Overcurrent protections in relays could auto-set instantaneously based on identifying different circuit topologies and calculating unknown sequence impedances. It is crucial that overcurrent relays could make setting decisions by themselves to develop smart grid applications in protection systems.

Moreover, engineers use an adaptive multichannel source, or AMS, to verify their relay settings before placing relays in substations. AMSs have limitations because they can’t simulate the power system and fault scenarios based on a real-time power system model.

During my research, I will use a real-time simulator with relays in the loop instead of an AMS. The real-time simulator has the advantage that each relay could be also verified working with other relays and in real-time scenarios.

Finally, I would like to thank Noel N. Schulz, director of the Smart Grid Lab and the Kansas State Electrical Power Affiliates Program.

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Cyber physical systems emerge when physical systems are integrated with communication networks. In particular, communication networks facilitate dissemination of data among components of physical systems to meet key requirements, such as efficiency and reliability in achieving an objective. Over the past four years, my work has examined one of the most important cyber physical systems: the smart grid.

Utility companies are embracing network technologies such as multiprotocol label switching, or MPLS, because of the available support for legacy devices, traffic engineering and virtual private networks — essential to the smart grid. However, these benefits are costly for the infrastructure that supports the full MPLS specification.

More important, with MPLS routing and other switching technologies, innovation is restricted to the features provided by the equipment. In particular, no practical method exists for utility consultants or researchers to test new ideas, such as alternatives to IP or MPLS on a realistic scale, to obtain the experience and confidence necessary for real-world deployments. As a result, novel ideas remain untested.

On the contrary, software defined networking — OpenFlow in particular — has gained support from network providers like Microsoft and Google and from equipment vendors like NEC and Cisco. Most important, OpenFlow provides the programmability and flexibility necessary to enable innovation in next generation communication architectures for the smart grid.

Using simulations I have demonstrated that a relatively inexpensive OpenFlow switch can perform as well as an MPLS switch. In particular, I developed a hybrid simulator that integrates the continuous time behavior of the power grid with the discrete event behavior of the communications network. The resulting power system analysis and network performance results indicated that OpenFlow performs as well as MPLS.

This research was extended to real-world networks to demonstrate that the current OpenFlow hardware can provide services similar to MPLS. In particular, I deployed a real-world smart grid prototype on the Global Environment for Network Innovation, or GENI, testbed using power resources from K-State and OpenFlow network resources of both K-State and GENI.

Subsequently, I developed an OpenFlow controller and demonstrated the functionality of such services as auto-route, auto-bandwidth, flow preemption, load balancing and failure mechanisms on GENI. The resulting power system analysis demonstrated that OpenFlow is capable of providing the performance necessary to efficiently support transmission operations in the smart grid prototype.

Finally, I obtained four hybrid OpenFlow switches to compare the performance of MPLS to OpenFlow for fast-reroute. From the local testbed in the Smart Grid Lab, the packet loss ratio for the OpenFlow implementation was consistently less than that of MPLS for all case studies.

I would like to acknowledge the contributions of network and systems engineers from Raytheon BBN Technologies, KanREN, Internet2 and National LambdaRail. I would also like to acknowledge faculty Don Gruenbacher, Caterina Scoglio, James Nutaro and Noel Schulz and David Ochs, for their contributions to the success of this work. This work would not be a reality without our sponsors: Department of Energy, K-State’s Electrical Power Affiliate’s Program and FishNet Securities.

The Evaluation of Software Defined Networking for Communication and Control of Cyber Physical Systems

— By Ali Sydney, Ph.D. candidate

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In fall 2012, I joined Kansas State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and established the Biomedical Computing and Devices Laboratory, or BCDL.

The lab’s research activities are centered on the design, development and evaluation of systems for image-guided thermal therapy of human and animal disease. Thermal therapy refers to the modification of tissue or body temperature for treating disease. Intense heat may be used to ablate — or destroy — tissue, for example, for minimally invasive treatment of cancer or cardiac arrhythmias. Moderate heat may be used to trigger drug release from nanoparticles or to augment radio/chemotherapy. My research group is interested in developing technology capable of controlled energy delivery for targeted thermal therapy.

The research is highly interdisciplinary, giving students the opportunity to work with experts from other fields, including biology, chemistry, mathematics and medicine. As detailed below, research activities in the BCDL provide students with a variety of opportunities to apply their engineering skills and make an impact on health care.

Nanoparticle enhanced hyperthermiaMy group is working with collaborators in the Department of Chemistry and the College of Veterinary Medicine to investigate the feasibility of precise, noninvasive thermal therapy by exploiting nanoparticles with enhanced electromagnetic absorption. By delivering these nanoparticle contrast agents selectively to targeted tissues, we hope to achieve enhanced energy deposition in these regions. Brogan McWilliams, an electrical and computer engineering graduate student, joined the group in spring 2013. He is developing custom instrumentation to measure the broadband electromagnetic properties of candidate contrast materials.

Image-guided thermal therapy:turning up the heat on cancer

— By Punit Prakash, assistant professor

Ultimately, our aim is to design a complete image-guided thermal therapy system capable of imaging where nanoparticles accumulate, treating targeted regions and monitoring heating during treatment for a precisely controlled procedure. This work is being supported by an Innovative Research Award from the Johnson Cancer Research Center and Undergraduate Research Awards, also from the cancer research center, to Emily Schnell and Sarah Carr, both seniors in electrical engineering.

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The sensitivity of the shift in proton resonance frequency used to measure temperature changes during thermal therapy procedures using magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI.

0.01 PARTSper million/degree celsius

3.8 JThe energy required to raise the temperature of 1 cubic centimeter of biological tissue by 1⁰C.

5 The number of energy modalities in clinical use for delivering thermal therapies: lasers, microwaves, radio frequency currents, thermal conduction and ultrasound.

66SECONDS

Time taken for a cell to be inacti- vated when exposed to a tempera-ture of 57⁰C. (135⁰F)

RULE OFTHUMB

Above 43⁰C, the time taken to induce cell death halves (approximately) for each one degree rise in temperature.

Devices for minimally invasive therapyAnother area of active research interest is the development and evaluation of novel devices for delivering thermal therapy. We are interested in developing both single and multiple applicator approaches for directional energy deposition. We are building computer models to study the propagation of electromagnetic energy and bio-heat transfer in biological tissue, and using these models to optimize device designs. Using this model-based approach, we can isolate the most promising devices for prototyping and benchtop evaluation.

Mathematical modeling of thermal therapyMathematical models are powerful tools for evaluating the potential benefit of a particular device/treatment procedure. Together with colleagues in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Department of Mathematics, we are developing comprehensive models of the biological effects of thermal therapies that would incorporate the impact of heat treatment at various spatial and temporal scales. These models would provide a powerful tool for exploring novel treatment delivery strategies for optimizing specific responses to a treatment, and assessing the potential benefit of adding heat in a multimodality treatment approach. Ultimately, the researchers hope that these models will allow physicians to tailor the delivery of thermal therapy on a patient-specific basis.

+ ºC

_ ºC

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In 2011, NASA funded a three-year cooperative effort among the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the Department of Kinesiology and the Electronic Design Laboratory at K-State. It also included various NASA centers and industry partners.

Students and faculty are developing and testing new medical sensors for use in future space missions. They are studying and measuring wireless propagation inside of space suits, developing a wireless sensor communication network protocol, and developing and demonstrating radio hardware in the 400 MHz frequency band. Applications range from medical radio systems to deep-space probes. The project is also focused on increasing public awareness of NASA’s mission and how it helps generate new technologies that find their way into all facets of our lives, such as home health care.

Faculty and student efforts are divided among five overlapping tasks:

• In kinesiology, students are using off-the-shelf sensors to determine what signals should be monitored on astronauts involved in future long-duration missions to Mars or asteroids. The knowledge gained from these studies guides the efforts of electrical and computer engineering students in building new biosensor hardware and software components. Undergraduate students also examined commercial sensors to learn about industry practices.

• In the study of radio propagation inside a space suit environment, the department is working with electromagnetic models in EM Pro software, as well as a full-scale model suit made with conductive fabric to emulate the radio-opaque aluminized Mylar layers in actual NASA space suits. The full-scale suit model was commissioned under the project and designed and built by Erin Monfort-Nelson, a master’s student in K-State’s Department of Apparel, Textiles and Interior Design.

• Because batteries are dangerous to place inside such an oxygen-rich environment as a space suit, new methods of collecting energy using “energy harvesting” are being developed for the biosensors that future astronauts will wear. While energy harvesting can be done in various ways — solar cells, mechanical generators and even chemical processes — we have focused our work on the thermal gradient between the astronaut’s skin and the “cooling garment” that circulates water in tubes to keep an astronaut from overheating. This task is also researching ultralow-power radio network designs to allow our medical sensors to communicate using only the heat energy available from the human body.

• The radio being developed is a modification of a micro-transceiver designed under a previous NASA project. This radio operates in the 400 MHz UHF radio band recently made available for medical radio electronics on Earth. As an example of spin-off technology, K-State is

Biosensor Networks and Telecommunication Subsystems for Long-duration Missions, EVA Suites and Robotic Precursor Scout Missions

investigating use of the radio technologies developed in our previous NASA-funded projects to build products that could find application in hospitals or homes. The team has also started working with a local Kansas company to apply the technology toward future small satellite missions such as those that can monitor our own planet’s biosphere.

• During summer 2012 a team of undergraduate students provided workshops for three summer programs at K-State: Engineering and Science Summer Institute, EXCITE and GROW, and in 2013 hosted a group of high school teachers to help increase awareness of engineering in K-12 schools. During summer 2013, students also used the space suit model to make detailed measurements at several different radio frequencies. The goal is to determine the best solution for the intrasuit wireless networking. Ultimately we hope to make a trip to a NASA center to repeat the measurements in an actual NASA suit once the procedures are perfected.

Real space suits cost about $12 million. That’s why we use 3-D simulators and built a model of a space suit for our research studies!

The human body generates heat equivalent to a 100-watt incandescent light bulb. Our students use this fact to calculate the amount of energy that could potentially be harvested using thermoelectric generators — small devices that could fit inside a typical wristwatch. (Divide the area of the generator by the surface area of the human body and multiply by 100 watts to estimate the maximum power possible if efficiencies were perfect.)

Our “sister planet” Mars is about 70,000,000 km away from Earth even at its closest approach. That’s about 200 times farther than our moon. It’s a seven-month journey for NASA space probes and eventually for future astronauts. Now that’s a long-duration mission!

Did you know?

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Advisory Council Members

Matt Spexarth Senior product manager, embedded systems, National Instruments

Glen FountainThe Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Joel AndrewsDesign engineering team leader, Garmin International

Mark BrownSoftware engineer, Serious Integrated Inc.

William N. DowlingVice President of energy management and supply, Midwest Energy Inc.

Don GemaehlichSenior technical manager for software, General Dynamics

Ann MartinVice President of software engineering, Fusion-io

Jesse SchrinerGeneral manager EPMO, Microsoft

Terry R. WeaverManaging director, Delta Resource Group

Bob BeimsFreescale Semiconductor Inc.

Ben McBrideSandia National Labs

Leslie R.E. GordonCaterpillar

Gabe HernandezDirector of substation projects, transmission and distribution group, Burns & McDonnell

Don GruenbacherDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kansas State University

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ResearchAgents, Algorithms and Artificial Intelligence Groupece.k-state.edu/~sdas/bic/bic.htmThe AAA research group, formerly BIC, at K-State is involved in theoretical and applied research in machine learning, algorithm analysis, multi-agent systems, game theory, multi-objective optimization and soft computing techniques for prediction, structure discovery and other applications in terrestrial and shipboard power systems, smart grid and computational genomics.

The group has received external funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Defense, and the Department of Agriculture in the areas of gene network modeling, shipboard systems and power distribution systems.

Communication Circuits Laboratoryece.k-state.edu/crl/cclThe Communications Circuits Laboratory conducts coordinated

teaching and research in analog and radio frequency design. Within the teaching area, students design, build and test radios and radar systems at VHF through microwave frequencies. Students also design complete radios in a single-chip form using modern electronic design automation software tools. This gives our graduates the practical, hands-on experience necessary for this field of engineering. Our research efforts have been focused on design of transceivers in integrated circuit form, with special emphasis on the modeling and application of high-Q spiral inductors and performance of semiconductor processes. Lately this work has extended to research in microwave characterization of materials at frequencies of 20 GHz and higher and in radio propagation studies. Students and faculty connected with the laboratory have experience with standard bulk-CMOS, silicon-on-insulator, silicon-on-sapphire and GaAs integrated circuit processes. Designs are created with tools from both Agilent and Cadence and are tested at the board and chip levels with industry-caliber measurement equipment and probing stations. Examples of research and development work include our Mars microtransceiver developed in collaboration with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and a newer NASA project researching biosensors and radio technology for future robotic and human long-duration missions.

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The Kansas Wind Applications Centerwac.ece.k-state.edu

The Kansas Wind Applications Center missions are to educate electrical engineers on the basics of wind energy and to be a source of information on wind energy for the people of Kansas who want to harvest wind power for the benefit of themselves, their children and the state. Research projects include:

• Siting of small wind turbines, including means of assessing surface roughness and turbulence.

• Design of inverters with power factor correction ability.

• Optimization of control systems for increased efficiency and higher power capture.

• Optimal sizing and placement of distributed renewable-energy generation and storage for minimum loss and maximum renewable generation on a microgrid.

• Development of curricula for use in K-12 and informal educational settings like 4-H, focusing on topics of energy and sustainability.

• Undergraduate student design competition — design and market a small wind turbine

The center also runs the Wind for Schools program, in which small wind turbines are installed at K-12 schools throughout Kansas for educational purposes. Undergraduate students assist with school selection, communications and siting. The center coordinates a variety of industry donors to accomplish the installations with minimal costs to the schools and enhanced cooperation with electric utilities. Through 2012, 21 turbines had been installed at Kansas schools. The Wind Applications Center is funded by the Department of Energy under its Wind Powering America program.

Kansas State EPICENTERece.k-state.edu/epicenter_wikiKansas State University’s EPICENTER is a laboratory directed by Caterina Scoglio. It provides resources to analyze, build and simulate mathematical models for spreading phenomena in complex networks. One of the main goals of EPICENTER is providing policymakers with real-time, flexible modeling tools to curtail epidemiological outbreaks, whether it occurs in humans, animals, plants or computers. The most important aspect is the use of a complex networks approach for the analysis of problems relating to disciplines like agriculture, veterinary medicine, biology, medicine, social sciences and engineering.

Highlights of the key areas under K-State EPICENTER include:

• Network-based modeling for epidemics. These projects are concerned with the study and implementation of mathematical models of epidemic spreading in a realistic environment with individual-based models and meta-population models. Work on models for specific contagious diseases is in progress.

• Agent-based epidemiological simulator for rural communities. The project aims to design agent-based simulation software for a set of representative infectious diseases in a rural community to detect the conditions under which an epidemic would spread or die out, as well as to determine the direction and speed if it spreads. This project

also explores potential zoonotic diseases within the U.S. beef cattle system through agent-based simulation. Plans include simulating cattle diseases across the entire state of Kansas. These results will be used to derive and analyze optimized policies and guidelines for containment and prevention of infectious diseases within human and livestock populations.

• Modeling of interconnections among human behavior and epidemic spreading. Human behaviors play a crucial role in how an epidemic spreads in a social society. Despite the extensive studies on how human beings percept a disease and the behavior they show in response, not many results have been reported on how human behavior would actually affect the epidemic spread. This study’s goal is to provide interconnected models for epidemic spread and individual behaviors, followed by simulation and analysis of the models.

Sunflower Networking Groupece.k-state.edu/sunflower_wikiOur goals are to conduct theoretical research in emerging areas and to apply optimal networking solutions to current and future realistic

problems through simulations. General areas of interest include networking protocols, architecture, modeling and analysis, and networking solutions for smart grids.

The group’s three main topics of focus are:

• Great Plains Environment for Network Innovation — Enabling Network Innovation at K-State. The Global Environment for Network Innovations is a virtual laboratory that consists of programmable network resources from major control frameworks such as OpenFlow, PlanetLab and ProtoGENI. In this network, each experimenter is provided a conceptual slice of resources to stage innovative ideas in order to gain the experience and confidence necessary for real-world deployments. Furthermore, slice isolation mechanisms ensure that rogue experiments do not affect the operation of other existing slices. OpenFlow is the network arm of the Global Environment for Network Innovations and as such, facilitates network research in domains such as wireless networks, traffic engineering and new possibilities for future Internets. To date, the Sunflower Networking Group has enabled OpenFlow within the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and is currently engaged in ongoing experiments that span resources of Internet2, National LambdaRail, Kansas Research and Education Network, University of Washington and Raytheon BBN Technologies, to name a few.

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• Power grids and cascading failures. Projects include proposing mitigation strategies for cascading failures in transmission grids and optimal allocation of distributed resources in distribution grids. Load shedding and intentional islanding optimization formulations and heuristics have been proposed for implementation of mitigation strategies for cascading failures. An optimization formulation for allocating multiple distributed generators in the distribution system has been implemented for a steady state case and in process for the dynamic load, a dynamic generation scenario with a view to incorporate renewable generation in the distribution system.

• Peer-to-peer networks. Peer-to-peer networking is a distributed application architecture that generates more than 50 percent of traffic in the current Internet. Different from traditional client-server architecture, each peer is both a service consumer and a service provider in peer-to-peer networks. Peer-to-peer technologies can be used to improve system performance, scalability and robustness; therefore they are popular in file sharing, video streaming, Web caching, etc. The goal of this project is to design architectures and protocols to enhance the efficiency of peer-to-peer systems.

Medical Component Design LaboratorySteve Warren directs the Medical Component Design Laboratory. The primary mission of the laboratory is to support work in interoperable component design for medical systems: plug-and-play hardware/software elements that can be assembled rapidly to create care systems matched to patient needs. Interoperability standards, wireless devices, wearable sensors and light-based devices play important roles in this research, which targets physiologic monitoring for humans and animals. Quality of life issues — such as successful aging and technology applications for the disabled — are important drivers for the pervasive care environments addressed by these projects. This laboratory also plays an important role in engineering education via the delivery of research products into the classroom and grant-sponsored research that focuses on how students learn and how students transfer and retain knowledge over multiple semesters. Primary collaborators in 2012-2013 included Heartspring in Wichita, Kan.; East Carolina University; the U.S. Food and Drug Administration; the University of Pennsylvania; and the following K-State departments or centers: kinesiology, computing and information sciences, anatomy and physiology, Beef Cattle Institute, entomology, Electronics Design Laboratory, mathematics and physics. Project funding was received from the National Science Foundation-CCLI/TUES, CNS, CRI and REESE; NASA-HRP and EPSCoR; Cerner; and the National Institutes of Health-NIBIB Quantum.

Influence of environmental factors on outages in electricity distribution systemsEnvironmental factors, such as lightning, wind, trees and squirrels, cause the majority of outages in distribution systems. Their effects follow random processes with higher probability of outages under worse conditions. Understanding the effects of environmental variables is important for utilities to increase reliability of electricity distribution systems. The National Science Foundation is providing funding to investigate these effects. Because of the complex interaction of these factors with distribution systems, modeling becomes challenging. In this project, we are investigating regression, neural networks, wavelet decomposition, Bayesian, AdaBoost and a mixture of expert models to study effects of environmental variables on distribution systems. For example, to study the influence of lightning and wind we have used

regression, neural network and Adaboost models with maximum daily wind gust and sum of lightning strokes in a day as inputs and outages as outputs. Applying these models to five years of data, 2005-2009, obtained for service territories of Manhattan, Lawrence and Topeka, Kan., shows that AdaBoost with the neural network model significantly improves the model performance. Future research will focus on models based on a mixture of experts for wind and lightning analysis and application of these models for estimation of outages caused by animals.

Community WindBecause of increasing energy costs, diminishing supplies of fossil fuels and environmental concerns, significant attention is being paid to alternative forms of power generation. The U.S. is pushing all states for energy reform that includes a higher percentage of renewable energy in their energy portfolios. Kansas is second among all states in wind

generation potential. However, the best wind generation sites are located predominantly in sparsely populated areas, creating energy transportation problems. Therefore, interest in community wind projects has been increasing. As part of a project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, a distribution system in rural western

Kansas, where interest in community wind exists, was examined to determine the economic potential of community wind generation. A feasibility study based on historical data, economic factors and current grid constraints was performed. Because the majority of the load in this area is from pivot-point irrigation systems, load distributions were created based on temperature ranges instead of a linear progression of concurrent days. To test the economic viability, three rate structures were examined: flat energy rate, demand rate and critical peak pricing. An economic analysis found that a flat rate is the most economically viable rate structure. A Monte Carlo simulation was designed and run to simulate 20-year periods based on the available historical data. Twenty-year net present worth calculations show that community wind is a viable option to consider.

Power and Energy Systems Groupece.k-state.edu/research-power-and-energy-systemsConventional power systems are undergoing major changes and are steadily moving toward adopting the smart grid concept. This concept is based on using advanced communication, computing and power electronics to change the power system from a static infrastructure to a dynamic infrastructure with proactive delivery management. Migrating to the smart grid serves an important role in facilitating energy efficiency programs and the integration of renewable and distributed generations. The move toward the smart grid is currently one of the most active and dynamic research and development topics in the emerging field of power and energy systems.

The Power and Energy Systems Group focuses on different aspects of electricity generation, transmission and distribution systems to study various design and operation issues for effective utilization of electrical energy both in terrestrial and shipboard power systems. Specific focus is on application of smart grid technologies for exploration and

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applications of renewable energy sources like wind and solar and associated power electronics. Examples of specific projects include:

• Investigating the influence of environmental factors on outages in electricity distribution systems.

• Building a holonic multi-agent system for control of power distribution systems with large penetration of rooftop solar generation.

• Developing an integrated microboost inverter for photovoltaic energy conversion applications and another with power factor correction ability for small to mid-sized wind generators.

• Building a model microgrid to demonstrate stable operation under real generation and load patterns with high penetration of renewable energy.

• Analyzing economic feasibility under different conditions for wind and solar generation across Kansas.

• Studying safe reconnection of distributed generators embedded in smart grids.

• Evaluating short-term emergency ratings for double-circuit transmission lines.

• Integrated micro boost inverter for photovoltaic applications.

Several of these projects are funded by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense and the Electric Power Affiliate Program.

National Science Foundation Cyber Physical System project: Holonic Multi-Agent Control of Intelligent Power Distribution Systemsipds.cis.k-state.eduPower distribution systems of the future will have homes with smart meters to monitor energy consumption, on-site grid-connected solar or wind generation, battery storage and plug-in vehicles. The feeders will have advanced power electronic switching devices to control the system, sensors at strategic locations to measure flow of real and reactive power, voltage and current. The current level of automation in distribution systems is not adequate to handle the dynamics created by integration of a large number of these devices. In this project, funded by the Cyber Physical System program at the National Science Foundation, we are developing a holonic multi-agent system architecture capable of adaptively controlling future electrical power distribution systems. The goal is to produce a general, extensible and secure cyber architecture based on holonic multi-agent principles to support adaptive power distribution system. It will produce new analytical insights to quantify the impact of information delay, quality and flow on the design, and analysis of the power distribution system. The architecture will be capable of optimizing performance and maintaining the system within operating limits during normal and minor events, such as intermittent clouds intermittent that fluctuate solar panel output. The architecture will also allow the operation of a distribution system as an island in emergencies, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, grid failures or terrorist acts.

NASA EPSCoR Projectnasa.ece.k-state.edu/This NASA-funded project is a cooperative effort of the Department of Kinesiology, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Electronic Design Laboratory at K-State, as well as various NASA centers and industry partners in Kansas. In the three-year project we are developing and testing new medical sensors, studying and measuring intrasuit wireless propagation, developing a wireless sensor communication network, developing and demonstrating

radio hardware in the 400 MHz MedRadio band, and increasing public awareness of NASA’s mission. (See feature article on page 6 for more).

Biomedical Computing and Devices Labbcdl.ece.k-state.eduThe Biomedical Computing and Devices Lab conducts research on noninvasive and minimally invasive systems for image-guided therapy of human and animal disease. Of particular interest are technologies that enable targeted energy deposition within the body for image-guided thermal therapy of cancer and benign disease. Some projects conducted over the past year include: characterization of the broadband dielectric and magnetic properties of nanoparticle contrast agents; design, fabrication and evaluation of microwave antennas for targeted tissue heating; and theoretical modeling of energy deposition, bio-heat transfer and bio-effects to facilitate optimization of patient-specific treatment strategies. Our interdisciplinary activities provide students with the opportunity to participate in both theoretical and experimental efforts.

Wireless Communications and Information Processing (WiCom) Groupece.k-state.edu/research/communications/wicomThe WiCom group, directed by Bala Natarajan, supports a wide range of fundamental and applied research in the areas of wireless communication and information processing. The core expertise of the group is in mathematical/statistical modeling, estimation and detection/decision theory, optimization and control theory, and information theory.

The group has received funding from federal and state agencies, including the National Science Foundation, NASA EPSCOR program, Kansas Department of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Sandia National Labs, U.S Marines, M2 Technologies, state of Kansas, Kansas State University’s Targeted Excellence Program and industry partners, such as Garmin Inc., Trisquare Communications and more. Researchers in the group have contributed to more than 60 peer reviewed publications in the last five years.

Key projects in the wireless communication area include resource allocation and quality of service assurance in a competitive cognitive radio network and femtocell networks; energy aware signal processing in heterogeneous networks; and precoding for MIMO and MIMO-OFDM systems. The group’s contribution to the fields of spread spectrum communication has resulted in one awarded patent in the area of customized sequence design and two pending patent applications related to MIMO precoding.

Projects in the area of information processing in sensor networks include resource allocation in collaborative target tracking; information aggregation and fusion strategies for distributed event detection over bandwidth constrained networks; optimal control based sensor deployment strategies; sensor fusion in biomedical applications; networked control of distributed systems; and automated pavement distress detection via image processing and sensor fusion methods.

Researchers in the group have also made significant contributions to the area of estimation and control in cyber physical systems. The focus of the group is on a specific type of cyber physical system, namely spatially distributed cyber physical systems. Here sensors and actuators are physically separated but may still have overlapping observation/measurement space. The group has recently addressed the long-standing unanswered problem of quantifying the impact of information loss due to communication network on estimation and control stability in such systems.

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Faculty — education and overview

CHANDRA, SatishPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Auburn University, 1984 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Auburn University, 1980

Research: Multimedia coding and communication over networks, multimedia water marking and security, biomedical signal and image processing

Teaching: Electric circuits and control, multimedia compression, computer design, discrete-time and computer-control systems, digital image processing

DAS, SanjoyM.S., Ph.D., Computer Engineering, Louisiana State University, 1994

Research: Multi-agent system, machine learning, neural networks, evolutionary computation, quantum computing, game theory, modeling and optimization

Teaching: Multi-agent systems, neural networks, computational intelligence, scientific computing, computer design

DAY, DwightPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 1987 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 1981 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Oklahoma State University, 1980

Research: Computer vision, pattern recognition, speech processing

Teaching: Digital computer design, computer interfacing, digital filtering, digital signal processing, computer engineering methods, digital image processing

DeVAULT, JamesM.S.E, Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, 1977 M.S., Business Administration, Michigan Technological University, 1971 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Michigan Technological University, 1970

Research: Instrumentation, industrial control systems, mobile autonomous robotics

Teaching: Analog and digital electronics, instrumentation, control systems

DEVORE, JohnPh.D., Engineering, Kansas State University, 1984 M.S., Computer Science, Kansas State University, 1973 B.S., Physics, Kansas State University, 1971

Research: Instrumentation, embedded systems, road smoothness testing

Teaching: Embedded systems, digital design, microcontroller programming

DOUGLAS MILLER, RuthPh.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester, 1990 M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester, 1985 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Lafayette College, 1984

Research: Renewable energy (wind and photovoltaic applications), electromagnetics, bioelectromagnetics, health effects of electromagnetic fields, electronics

Teaching: Electronics engineering lab, electronics, electromagnetic

theory, introduction to biomedical engineering, wind and solar energy engineering, engineering ethics

DYER, StephenPh.D., Engineering, Kansas State University, 1977 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1974 B.S., Physics, Kansas State University, 1973

Research: Instrumentation and measurement, numerical methods, communication theory, audio and electroacoustics, history of engineering

Teaching: Electronics, linear systems, audio engineering, rapid design

GRUENBACHER, DonPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1994 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1991 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1989

Research: Communication networks, digital design, HDL synthesis and modeling, error-control coding, intrusion detection

Teaching: Networking, digital design

HAGEMAN, WillPh.D., Optics, University of Central Florida, 2010 M.S., Optics, University of Central Florida, 2008 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 2002 M.S., Physics, Kansas State University, 2000 B.S., Physics, Kansas State University, 1999

Research: Solid-state lasers, fiber lasers, nonlinear optics, optical system design, thermo-optical modeling

Teaching: Optoelectronics, electronics laboratory, circuit theory, applied optics

KUHN, BillPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1996 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, 1982 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1979

Research: Analog/digital/RF circuit design, integrated circuit development, RF device technologies, wireless telecommunications systems design and implementations with emphasis on physical layer

Teaching: Intro to electrical engineering, electronics, design of communication circuits, microwaves and antennas, IC design, digital radio hardware design

MIRAFZAL, BehroozPh.D., Marquette University, 2005 M.Sc., Electrical Engineering, University of Mazandaran, Iran, 1997 B.Sc., Electrical Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Iran, 1994 Research: Power electronics and applications in sustainable energy conversion systems and motor drives

Teaching: Power electronics and advanced power electronics

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MORCOS, Medhat M.Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 1984 M.Sc., Electrical Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 1978 B.Sc., Electrical Engineering, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt, 1966 B.Sc., Military Science, Military Academy, Egypt, 1966

Research: Power electronics, power systems, electric machines, high-voltage engineering, gaseous dielectrics, engineering education

Teaching: Power electronics, control systems, energy conversion, power quality

NATARAJAN, BalaPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Colorado State University, 2002 B.E., Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, 1997

Research: Estimation and detection/decision theory, communication systems and theory, wireless communications, optimization and control theory,

sensor signal processing and networks, stochastic modeling and analysis

Teaching: Theory of statistics, communication systems, wireless communications estimation and detection theory, information theory

PAHWA, AnilPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1983 M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Maine, Orono, 1979 B.E., Electrical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, 1975

Research: Power distribution system automation, reliability, analysis and design; intelligent

computational methods for power systems; integration of renewable resources into power systems

Teaching: Power system analysis, design, protection; distribution system design and planning

PRAKASH, PunitPh.D., Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2008 M.S., Biomedical Engineering, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2006 B.S., Electrical and Computer Engineering, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2004

Research: Image-guided thermal therapy of cancer and benign disease, hyperthermia and thermal ablation, therapeutic medical devices, bio-heat transfer, patient-specific models of image-guided interventions, medical instrumentation

Teaching: Bioinstrumentation design laboratory, theory and techniques of bioinstrumentation, therapeutic medical devices

RYS, AndrewPh.D., Electrical Engineering, Texas Tech University, 1983 M.S./B.S., Electronics Engineering, Technical University of Wroclaw, Poland, 1978

Research: Solid-state electronics, design and fabrication of integrated circuits, characterization of wide band-gap semiconductor materials

Teaching: Introduction to electrical engineering, electronics, integrated circuit design, IC devices and processes, solid-state devices

SCOGLIO, CaterinaDr. Eng., Electronics Engineering, Sapienza – University of Rome, 1987

Research: Network science, computational epidemiology, complex networks, modeling and control of epidemics, dynamic networks

Teaching: Network science, computer networks, circuit theory, epidemic models

SOLDAN, DavidPh.D., Engineering, Kansas State University, 1980 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1976 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1969

Research: Engineering education and accreditation, curriculum development, economic models for universities, first-year experiences

Teaching: Introductory logic design, digital systems design, computer architecture

STARRETT, ShelliPh.D., Electrical Power Engineering, Iowa State University, 1994 M.S., Electrical Power Engineering, University of Missouri, Rolla, 1990 B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Missouri, Rolla, 1988

Research interests: Power system stability and control, voltage stability, applications of artificial

intelligence to power systems, wide-area analysis, measurements and control, nonlinear simulations, innovations in engineering education, learning communities

Teaching: Introduction to electrical engineering, power system stability, power laboratory, energy conversion, power seminar, advanced systems theory

WARREN, StevePh.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Texas, Austin, 1994 M.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1991 B.S., Electrical Engineering, Kansas State University, 1989

Research: Biomedicine, home care, light-based biomedical instrumentation, student learning, telemedicine, numerical analysis and simulation

Teaching: Circuit theory, linear systems, introduction to biomedical engineering, computer graphics, theory and techniques of bioinstrumentation, bioinstrumentation design laboratory, computer engineering methods for analysis, simulation and design

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ECE Student Group Highlights:

Eta Kappa Nu (HKN)The 2012-2013 academic year was another exciting year for K-State’s HKN Beta Kappa chapter. For the third year in a row, the chapter received an outstanding chapter of the year award from the national organization. The award is based on the number of current active members, man-hours and activities offered by the organization. HKN continues to provide tutoring services for multiple undergraduate electronic and computer engineering courses. Members volunteer to tutor fellow students on Tuesdays and Thursdays throughout the year. Additionally, the chapter sponsored several guest speakers at general body meetings, including John Bisch from Mustang Automation, an engineering company in Texas. For the College of Engineering/All-University Open House, HKN organized the Department of Electrical Computer Engineering curriculum display, which incorporated student projects from various classes students take while at K-State. One of the more popular traditions is the chapter’s chili feed and spaghetti feed during dead week in both the fall and spring semesters. Students have the opportunity to socialize and relax before finals week. Finally, HKN has students vote every year on their favorite faculty member of the year, and the winner receives a monetary prize to go toward labs, research, etc. This year, students selected Bill Kuhn for the honor.

Electronics Design ClubIn the club’s open house competition, Garrett Peterson won the freshman-sophomore display for his Tesla coils. Nathan Reichenberger won the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering best display award.

Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS)The 2012-2013 academic year was another productive one for the K-State student chapter of IEEE EMBS. Chapter officers started the year by attending the 2012 international conference of the IEEE EMBS in San Diego, Calif., attending technical sessions, interacting with companies and participating in student-centered professional development events hosted by IEEE. The chapter also hosted several speakers this past year, including Dr. Gary Singleton, president and CEO of Heartspring in Wichita, Kan., who encouraged students to consider how technology can improve quality of life for children with special needs. Punit Prakash, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, spoke about his research in the areas of non- and minimally-invasive image guided surgery. Chapter members participated in a national webinar, “When Medicine Meets Engineering — Paradigm Shifts in Diagnosis

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and Therapeutics,” hosted by the IEEE EMBS Society. A group of EMBS students checked out the da Vinci Robot Surgical System at Mercy Regional Health Care Center in Manhattan, Kan. Three design projects supported by the K-State EMBS chapter and Heartspring (with funding from the National Science Foundation’s GARDE program) earned open house awards: a bed sensor suite, a paraeducator glove and a paraeducator arm guard.

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers — K-State Student Branch (IEEE)The K-State student branch of IEEE provides many services to fellow students. Members facilitated tours of the companies NetApp and ICE Corp. During finals week, IEEE offered homemade breakfasts every morning. IEEE also participated in and helped with open house. The branch funded the Robotics Club maze and the electrical and computing engineering’s “Whip’n Around Campus” group, which races bicycles powered by motors from grass trimmers.

Robotic Competition TeamThe K-State Robotic Competition Team had a busy year. The fall semester

was spent acclimating new members to introductory robotics by using preassembled robotics kits such as the 3pi robot and a Bluetooth-controlled Android car. Members decided design parameters for the main competition robot, the micromouse. The team redesigned its entire robot and used NEMA-14 bipolar stepper motors instead of brushless direct current motors. Using only one battery and three IR sensors instead of sonar reduced the size and weight of the robot. The team also upgraded the microcontroller to the Arduino Due from the Arduino Uno.

The team implemented its design in the spring semester, building the micromouse chassis and writing the control code in earnest. Members implemented a flood-fill algorithm and corrective path following. The team also completed the rather major task of building its own 12-by-12-foot micromouse competition maze. It is useful for testing and allows the team to host its own competition. Members designed a control board and made it a printed circuit board. Finally, the team competed at the UCSD Micromouse Competition in San Diego and got third place out of nearly 25 teams from around the world.

The team has already started another complete redesign for the competitions next year. The team is looking forward to joining other micromouse competitions and hosting its own event, which would be the only collegiate micromouse competition in the Midwest.

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