Transformative approach to 5G funded by new Innovator program Nine technologies competed for $75k in the ECE Innovator Program, which emphasizes a team approach to entrepreneurial success. SkyGig, a startup company focused on improving wireless communication in the world of 5G and beyond, is the inaugural winner. [Full Story] Conducting an orchestra of sensor nodes PhD student Farzad Asgarian keeps time in the Internet of Things with frequency scaling, allowing for lower power sensor nodes that are more accurate. [Full Story] Anonymous alumnus endows award in recognition of EECS professors The Wise-Najafi Prize for Engineering Excellence in the Miniature World will recognize and incentivize outstanding research and scholarship related to engineering at the meso-scale, micron-scale, nano-scale and beyond. [Full Story] ECE Team behind COMBAT Receives Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award Eight core researchers who contributed to the Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (COMBAT) received the 2018 Ted Kennedy Family Faculty Team Excellence Award from the College of Engineering. These members include Dr. Jack East, Prof. Stephen Forrest, Dr. Leland Pierce (Deputy Director of COMBAT), Prof. Amir Mortazawi, Prof. Khalil Najafi, Prof. Kamal Sarabandi (Director of COMBAT), Prof. Dennis Sylvester, and Prof. Euisik Yoon. [Full Story] Peter and Evelyn Fuss Endowed Chair of ECE Peter and Evelyn Fuss created a Michigan ECE legacy when they endowed the Peter and Evelyn Fuss Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Believing in the power of creativity and quick action, the Fusses wanted to give the department maximum flexibility to respond to new initiatives and special needs wherever and whenever they arose. They are especially interested in expanding student diversity. [Full Story] Video: The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility The Lurie Nanofabrication Facility is a state-of- the-art cleanroom that provides advanced micro- and nano-fabrication equipment and expertise to internal and external researchers. The LNF enables cutting edge research, including semiconductor materials and devices, electronic circuits, solid-state lighting, energy, biotechnology, medical devices and unconventional materials and processing technologies. Learn more in this video. [Full Story] Dr. Tzeno Galchev is the winner of the 2015 John Atanasoff Award Alumnus Dr. Tzeno Galchev (BSE CE EE , MSE PhD EE ) is the 13th laureate of the presidential award John Atanasoff, awarded for outstanding achievements in the field of information technologies. Dr. Galchev's research interests are in the area of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). He has worked on developing microsystem technologies for harvesting kinetic energy and transforming it to electricity for supplying different wireless and mobile electronic systems using renewable energy. [Full Story] ISS, founded by ECE Alumni and Faculty, to Exhibit Wireless Left-Heart Implantable Monitoring Device Integrated Sensing Systems (ISS), co-founded by alumnus Nader Najafi and Profs. Khalil Najafi and Ken Wise, will exhibit its wireless left-heart implantable hemodynamic monitoring system for long-term management of congestive heart patients at the Heart Failure Society of America's 19th Annual Scientific Meeting (9/26-29/15). The device, called the Titan Wireless Implantable Hemodynamic Monitoring System, has passed a study demonstrating a high safety protocol and effectiveness as a pressure monitoring system for the management of patients with congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and structural hearts diseases. [Read more about ISS and Nader Najafi.] [Full Story] Nader Najafi: A Dream That Saves Lives Miniature wireless sensing and computing devices have the potential to improve peoples health, even save lives. Twenty years ago, working on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) as a student at Michigan, Nader Najafi had a dream to be part of this future reality. He turned that dream to action when he left a promising career at a large firm to return to Michigan and start his own company. As founder, CEO, and President of Integrated Sensing Systems, Inc. (ISS), Dr. Nader Najafi is now leading the development of some of the most advanced micro-scale medical technology in the world. [Full Story] Khalil Najafi to Receive 2015 IEEE Daniel E. Noble Award for Emerging Technologies Khalil Najafi, Schlumberger Professor of Engineering and ECE Chair, was selected to receive the 2015 IEEE Daniel E. Noble Award for Emerging Technologies, "For leadership in micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS), technologies, and devices and for seminal contributions to inertial devices and hermetic wafer-level packaging." The IEEE Daniel E. Noble award is one of IEEE's Technical Field Awards, which are among the highest awards given by IEEE. [Full Story] Student Spotlight: Tal Nagourney - Exploring navigation ECE graduate student Tal Najourney is exploring new frontiers in navigation technology. He and others in the group are trying to build a navigation device that doesnt need any external frame of reference, meaning the gyroscope is meant to guide navigation devices without using GPS. He worked with a professional glass blower to hone his technique. [Full Story] Christopher Boyd Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowship ECE graduate student Christopher Boyd has been awarded a prestigious NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to support his research in the area of MEMS inertial sensors. He is developing new control architectures for these sensors, including rate-integrating gyroscopes and resonant accelerometers. He also designs chips and the algorithms that control them. [Full Story] Khalil Najafi Receives 2013 IEEE Sensors Technical Field Award Khalil Najafi, Schlumberger Professor of Engineering and Chair of Electrical and Computer Engineering, received the 2013 IEEE Sensors Technical Field Award, "For leadership in microsystem technologies and seminal contributions to inertial sensors and hermetic wafer-level packaging." [Full Story] 10 Coolest DARPA Projects [Full Story] Better miniaturized vacuum pumps for electronics and sensors ECE researchers have built three different types of record-breaking micro scale vacuum pumps that could greatly extend the capabilities of electronics and sensing devices that use these devices, such as gas analyzers for homeland security, healthcare, search and rescue, and other applications. They have also taken an important step towards building an integrated, easily manufactured, micro gas chromatography system that incorporates a vacuum micro pump. [Full Story] When GPS fails, this speck of an electronic device could step in In a pellet of glass the size of an apple seed, Electrical and Computer Engineering researchers have packed seven devices that together could potentially provide navigation in the absence of the satellite-based Global Positioning System (GPS.) [Full Story] Penny-Sized Vacuum System Could Help Detect Chemical Weapons [Full Story] Najafi, Peterson: Kurzweil - Low-cost precise navigation without GPS [Full Story] Najafi, Peterson: Wired - Darpas New Navigation Tool Is Smaller Than a Penny [Full Story] Najafi, Peterson: DARPA - Extreme Miniaturization [Full Story] ECE Startup ePack, Inc. Wins Masco Next Gen Manufacturing Award at Innovation Competition ePack, Inc. received the award and $25K at the second annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, held Nov. 15-17, 2011. The company specializes in advanced packaging solutions for MEMS devices, especially electronic sensors. MEMStim earned an honorable mention in the student category. [Full Story] Insect cyborgs to search and monitor hazardous environs Research conducted by Prof. Khalil Najafi and Erkan Aktakka may lead to the use of insects to monitor hazardous situations before sending in humans. Najafi and Aktakka are finding ways to harvest energy from insects, and take the utility of the miniature cyborgs to the next level. [Full Story] Most powerful millimeter-scale energy harvester generates electricity from vibrations Prof. Khalil Najafi and EE doctoral student Erkan Aktakka have built the most efficient device to generate energy from vibrations in its class. [Full Story] Najafi, Wise named Distinguished University Innovators Prof. Najafi and Prof. Wise are recognized for their role in developing breakthrough technologies in MEMS, leading to numerous startup companies. [Full Story] EECS Spinoffs Recognized as Key Innovators in Business Competition The companies Arbor Photonics (high power laser technology) and Evigia (wireless sensing) earned top prizes in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, while the student competition included prizes for Reveal Design Automation and for MiEND-Drug Screeners. [Full Story] Mini generators make energy from random ambient vibrations Tiny generators could produce enough electricity from random, ambient vibrations to power a wristwatch, pacemaker or wireless sensor. [Full Story] New High-Tech Sensors May Predict Bridge Fatigue KTVU recently broadcast a Special Report about our ongoing research to ensure the safety of America's bridges and infrastructure. [Full Story] 2010 EECS and CoE Faculty AwardsEECS Awards: Profs. Anastasopoulos, Mortazawi, Wellman Energy and Power: Engineering Sustainable Solutions From the Macro to the Micro Levels There is no shortage of energy being devoted to finding new and sustainable energy solutions. Even amidst the current economic challenges, the U.S. government is supporting these efforts with nearly a 50% increase in funding for energy-related research that includes energy efficiency and renewable energy, smart grid and efficient electrical transmission, green cars, and basic scientific research. [Full Story] Smart Bridges Under Development with New Grant Faculty from EECS are part of an interdisciplinary team developing a full range of interlocking technologies that together will sense and collect bridge status data and make it available to inspectors. U-M Press Release [Full Story] Microsystems Research for Energy Scavenging and Power Generation Micropower environmental energy harvesting generators offer an alternative source of energy for many emerging applications. A recent award-winning paper was presented at the Int. Conf. on Commercialization of Micro and Nano Systems. [Full Story] Professor Khalil Najafi Named Schlumberger Professor of Engineering Professor Khalil Najafi has been named the Schlumberger Professor of Engineering, CoE, effective March 1, 2006. Najafi is Deputy Director of the NSF Center for Wireless Integrated MicroSystems (WIMS), and Director of the NSF National Nanotechnology Infrastructure Network (NNIN). His research interests lie in the areas of solid-state integrated sensors and circuits, analog and mixed-mode integrated circuit design and fabrication, fabrication technologies for silicon microactuators and three-dimensional micromechanical systems, integrated implantable sensors for biomedical applications, packaging techniques for protection of integrated circuits and sensors for long-term implantation in biological environments, miniature implantable wireless microtelemetry systems, and design of microinstrumentation systems for sensing environmental parameters. Dr. Najafi Awarded Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award Professor Khalil Najafi has been selected to receive a 2005 Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Michigan Rackham School of Graduate Studies. Award recipients are noted for their "extraordinary achievements in the areas of teaching, scholarly research and/or creative endeavors, service and other activities which have brought distinction to the University. Professor Khalil Najafi Receives Distinguished Faculty Achievement AwardProfessor Khalil Najafi has been selected to receive a 2005 Distinguished Faculty Achievement Award from the University of Michigan Rackham School of Graduate Studies. Award recipients are noted for their extraordinary achievements in the areas of teaching, scholarly research and/or creative endeavors, service and other activities which have brought distinction to the University. Nominations are reviewed by an interdisciplinary selection committee comprised of distinguished senior faculty from a range of schools and colleges. Awardees are selected by the Dean of the Graduate School, based upon the recommendations of this committee. The award will be formally presented at a ceremony in early October 2005. [Full Story] |