One of Professor Hao Ling's graduate students, Shobha Sundar Ram, won the Best Student Paper Award at the 2008 IEEE Radar Conference. Her paper Simulation of Human MicroDopplers using Computer Animation Data outlines a new way to aid tracking human activities through building walls and other non-line-of-sight environments. This technology has important applications in search and rescue missions, law enforcement operations, and surveillance.

ECE PhD candidate, Savithri Sundareswaran, Professor Jacob Abraham, Alexandre Ardelea, and Rajendran Panda won one of three best paper awards given at the 9th International Symposium on Quality Electronic Design (ISQED 2008). The paper, Characterization of Standard Cells for Intra-Cell Mismatch Variations, discusses a new approach to predicting delay variations of gates/cells. Instead of categorizing each device fluctuation separately, the team analyzed the fluctuations in switching and non-switching devices and their impact on delay variations.

As the Texas’ electric grid operator prepares to add power lines for carrying future wind-generated energy, Dr. Surya Santoso is developing improved methods for determining the extent to which power from a wind farm can displace a conventional power plant, and how best to regulate varying wind power.

U.S. Representative Lamar Smith announced early this year he had obtained a $1.2 million appropriation for ECE researchers to create advanced wireless communications devised for military use. The research will be a collaborative effort by Computer Engineering Research Center (CERC) professors Jacob Abraham and Ranjit Gharpurey and Wirelss Networking and Communications Group (WNCG) professors Ted Rappaport and Sriram Vishwanath.

ECE professor Constantine Caramanis and colleagues at MIT are working on a air traffic system which would track rapidly changing conditions over airports. There is currently no unified decision-making framework for air traffic flow optimization, said Dr. Caramanis.

The complicated nature of the process, and the need to make quick adjustments when changes occur, will best be addressed with a mathematical model that combines theories and calculations from probability, statistics, optimization modeling, economics and game theory.

Professor Ray Chen received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award worth $4.75 million. Dr. Chen is the lead in a collaborative project to build a laser system.  The system can be used for biomedical sensors and air-borne and space-borne communications.Three other colleges are involved. Fabian Pease at Stanford will work on 3D nano-membrane lithography.

Professor Alan Bovik, ECE alumni Dr. Umesh Rajashekar, UT psychology professor Larry Cormack, and Dr. Ian van der Linde are attempting to answer 2 fundamental questions on the way to creating intelligent artificial sight: What do people look at? and What do people look for?

UT Alumnus: Steve Poizner

The Norman Hackerman Advanced Research Program (ARP) received $16.7M from the 80th Texas Legislature and granted almost 20% of it to engineering projects at The University of Texas at Austin. Projects funded at UT-ECE are:

Professor Ray Chen received an Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative (MURI) award worth 4.75 million dollars. Dr. Chen is the lead in a collaborative project to build a laser system.  The system can be used for biomedical sensors and air-borne and space-borne communications. Three other colleges are involved. Fabian Pease at Stanford will work on 3D nano-membrane lithography.