Abstract: This project addresses the design of cyber-physical systems that respond to behavioral disturbances introduced by human users. The primary motivating example of this research is the design of “artificial pancreas” algorithms for the control of blood glucose in patients with Type 1 diabetes who require external insulin throughout the day to maintain glucose homeostasis.

Abstract: The principal objective of this project is the development of novel control architectures and computationally efficient controller design algorithms for distributed cyber-­‐physical systems with decentralized information infrastructures and limited communication capabilities. We are interested in distributed cyber-­‐ physical systems where the system components are able to communicate with one another. Cooperative active safety in Intelligent Transportation Systems is our focus cyber-­‐physical application.

Abstract: Human users are integral to the operation of safety-­‐critical CPS. The goal of this project is to model and analyze the actions of human users along with possible mistakes that may appear in these interactions. We seek to develop approaches that will help us understand the effect of human operator mistakes on the overall system correctness. Our focus is on medical infusion pumps used to deliver drugs to patients.

Abstract: Polymer thin films containing high-density arrays of nanotubes as through channels are  very desirable as environmentally friendly and  efficient  selective  transport  systems.  However, successful design and synthesis of polymer membranes that can be processed in solution and have precise subnanometer diameter pores, vertical channel alignment, and tunable pore interior chemistry similar to biological transmembrane  proteins  has  remained  challenging  to  produce.

Abstract: The objective of this inter-disciplinary research is to develop new wireless technologies that transform the streets of a city into a hybrid transportation/communication system, called the Intelligent Road (iRoad), where autonomous wireless devices are co-located with traffic signals, forming a wireless network that fuses transportation data from all over the city to support a wide range of new applications.

Abstract: Optical tweezers (OT) have emerged as very useful tools for manipulating cells. Biologists use them routinely for doing scientific experiments and have made many new important discoveries by utilizing them. By integrating perception, planning, and control, we have turned optical tweezers into robots for precise manipulation of microscale objects. This makes them useful tool for conducting sophisticated biology experiments that require concurrent manipulation of multiple cells.

Abstract: The collaborative NSF grant IIS-1035917 “Dynamic Routing and Robotic Coordination for Oceanographic Adaptive Sampling” aims to design innovative routing, planning and coordination strategies for robot networks, and their application to oceanography.

Abstract: The objective of this research is to investigate and implement a software architecture to improve productivity in the development of rapidly deployable, robust, real-time situational awareness and response (R3SAR) applications. The approach is to allow a commodity to device to dynamically configure itself for a pre-instrumented sensor environment, such as a truck with attached road temperature, humidity, and moisture sensors.

Abstract: Advanced autonomous transportation technologies must become robust, affordable and maintainable before safe and wide public adoption. The following research challenges of cyber-physical systems must be overcome before autonomous vehicles become practical:

Abstract: Monitoring flow-based systems (FBS) (e.g., water distribution systems) is of paramount importance, due to their economic and health impacts. FBS monitoring has been typically achieved by strategically placed, costly and complex, static sensors. To reduce the cost of monitoring, we propose a mobile wireless sensor network (WSN) system comprised of mobile sensors (their movement aided by the inherent flow) and static beacons which aid locating sensors.