Dear Friends and Alumni, It is hard to escape the headlines around us in the media today. Unaffordable health care, threats to national security and rising prices for oil are just a few of the trials facing our nation. The researchers, faculty and students of the James Worth Bagley College of Engineering are meeting these obstacles head on. I’m very proud of the accomplishments the college has achieved during the last year. In this first edition of the Bagley College of Engineering Dean’s Report, our focus turns to the research being conducted at Mississippi State University that will shape not only our region, but also have an impact on our nation and the world. The college’s eight departments and 21 research centers and labs are making breakthroughs that will directly influence the future. Our college has seen how many aspects of our research can be grouped into five categories—engineering for scientific discovery, safety and security, energy and environment, healthier lives, and for the state of Mississippi. We will be sharing more about a few of these areas within this report by citing some examples of the groundbreaking engineering research at Mississippi State University. Beyond the stories shared within this report, the Bagley College of Engineering has recently gained recognition from its undergraduate and graduate students to its faculty researchers. Each individual within the college strives for excellence and it’s evident in their achievements and their amazing work. From our students gaining hands on research experience and a third-place finish in the first year of “EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge,” to a graduate student assisting the FBI in catching a computer hacker in Dallas, Texas, our students are being exposed to experiences that will prepare them for the real-world challenges they will tackle in the work place once they graduate from Mississippi State University. Our faculty researchers take their social responsibility as engineers very seriously as they work on cutting-edge technology, like the micro device being developed to help medical personnel quickly determine a person’s blood type with a single drop of blood. We also have multiple researchers going out and helping businesses in Mississippi and the region become more energy-efficient and produce more effective and cost-saving processes.
Recent Bagley College of Engineering’s partnerships have helped save companies thousands of dollars and bring millions of dollars in economic development to the state. The current economic growth of Mississippi is remarkable, and the Bagley College of Engineering is pleased to be a part of this progress. The world faces many complex challenges that will require the talents of innovative and highly skilled, engineers who can work in a global environment. The engineering educators at the Bagley College of Engineering know how critical it has become to move towards enhancing the ability of engineering faculty, students and administrators to understand the varied cultures in which they work and perform effectively in them. The researchers, faculty and students are embracing our futures as engineers who will have the skills and ability to help save the environment, improve people’s lives and enhance everyone’s quality of life. Best regards,
Sarah A. Rajala, Ph.D. Dean of the Bagley College of Engineering Earnest W. & Mary Ann Deavenport Jr. Chair
TOTAL ENROLLMENT :: Degree Levels 2,652
2,537
2,343
2,305
DEGREE PROGRAMS Aerospace Engineering (BS, MS)
2005
Biological Engineering (BS, MS) Biomedical Engineering (MS, PhD) Chemical Engineering (BS, MS)
2006
2007
Batchelors
2008
Masters
Doctoral
TOTAL ENROLLMENT :: Departmental 527
Civil Engineering (BS, MS) Computer Science (BS, MS, PhD) Computational Engineering (MS, PhD)
391
374
Computer Engineering (BS, MS, PhD)
342 263
252
219
200
Electrical Engineering (BS, MS, PhD) Engineering (PhD) - Concentrations below Aerospace Engineering Applied Physics Biological Engineering Chemical Engineering Civil Engineering
AE
BE
CEE
ChE
Batchelors
CSE
ECE
Masters
ISE
ME
Doctoral
NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ENGINEERING RESEARCH RANKINGS
Industrial Engineering Mechanical Engineering Industrial Engineering (BS, MS) Master of Engineering Mechanical Engineering (BS, MS) Software Engineering (BS)
2006
2005
2007
2008
* National Science Foundation Engineering Expenditure Rankings based on data reported two years previously.
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS GIVING TO MSU & THE BCOE
Automotive Engineering Computational Biology
73.4M
Energy Entrepreneurship
53.6M
Geospatial and Remote Sensing
77.8M
45.5M
Information Assurance Manufacturing Materials Six Sigma Software Engineering
2005
2006 University
2007
2008
College of Engineering
Most engineers feel secure at their jobs, leaving their minds free men and women in uniform have vowed to serve and protect them and their families. But, that same security and mental peace-of-mind can be hard for police forces to achieve as the tially limit mobility and hinder their ability to prevent criminal activity. It’s a daily, potentially deadly, dilemma that can be hard for civilians to appreciate. However, Dr. Kari Babski-Reeves of industrial and systems engineering and a team of researchers at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems (CAVS) hope that by engineering for safety and security they can protect and serve America’s protectors when the men and women in blue hit the streets. “By nature, body armor is stiff, and if you extend that coverage, you are possibly reducing officers’ ability to actually perform their duties, which might call for them to jump a fence or engage in a foot chase,” explained Dr. Daniel Carruth, an assistant research professor. “With our research project, we hope to help law enforcement agencies make a knowledgeable, subtle trade-off, so field officers can have maximum protection while maintaining their agility and overall mobility.”
of Justice grant which works in two parts. Dr. Marianne Wilhelm, a professor at Lawrence Technical University, is working to research current body armor vulnerabilities, while co-principle investigator Babski-Reeves, Carruth and their MSU team conduct tests to establish an ergonomics rating scale which, in addition to existing ballistics rating standards, will help decision makers and manufacturers evaluate their options. here, here and here, and have manufacturers simply extend the armor to cover those areas,” Carruth said. “We want to show them how to protect those areas without reducing performance.” Working though the CAVS’ Human Factors and Ergonomics Lab, the researchers are using state-of-the-art motion capture technology, thermal imaging, body temperature readings, and electromyography to conduct a battery of tests that compare additional support from the International and State Associations of Chiefs of Police and their SafeShield initiative for yield an all-encompassing evaluation, which can be adminis-
For more information about CAVS and the Human Factors and Ergonomics Lab, visit www.cavs.msstate.edu.
Not content to fill a typical mold, Dr. Greg Burgreen has spent his career challenging accepted roles. While helping to shape the science of computational fluid dynamics (CFD), he has redefined its applications and what it means to be a university researcher so he can help Mississippi State engineer healthier lives. “I don’t think I am really defined by one research project,” Burgreen explained. “In general, what I do is considered biomedical computational fluid dynamics, and its applications are quite varied. Currently, I am working on projects with government, academic and commercial entities.” Although Mississippi State does not have a medical college, Burgreen’s research has been in great demand in the medical field. He believes part of this stems from the industry-wide realization that CFD research can save money on costly development and limit the amount of animal testing necessary to develop an FDAapproved medical device. “For many decades, the accepted practice has been to research and design a prototype, conduct animal testing, evaluate the results, take a guess at what the problems are, and then repeat the whole expensive process over and over again,” Burgreen said. “Now, more computational or simulation testing methods are being utilized, allowing developers to test and correct their devices with less cost and animal sacrifice.”
Currently, Burgreen is conducting research to help both the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the University of Maryland in artificial lung development. He also has been instrumental in the advancing the development of pediatric artificial heart pumps with Jarvik Heart Inc., CardiacAssist Inc., and Thoratec Inc. However, despite these boundary-busting collaborations, some of his most groundbreaking research is being done with fellow Bagley College of Engineering researchers at the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems’ Computational Simulation and Design Center and the newly formed Mississippi Biological Systems Simulation Cluster, which comprises MSU, Jackson State University and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. “The Mississippi BioSim Cluster is working to develop a breathing lung model to simulate the entire bronchial structure of a natural lung. This will have many applications, such as enabling mapping of where inhaled aerosolized medications deposit in the lung,” Burgreen explained. “We are one of the first groups to look at a breathing lung and just received a five-year National Science Foundation EPSCoR funding renewal so this talented group of researchers can continue its work.” Created by the NSF, EPSCoR stands for Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research and seeks to expand and encourage research competitiveness. For more information about the computational fluid dynamics research at Mississippi State or the Computational Simulation and Design Center, visit www.simcenter.msstate.edu.
Solving the world’s energy problems, the natural way Wastewater micro-organisms, wood biomass, pond algae, crop harvest residue, and wood vapors are recyclable riches Bagley College of Engineering researchers are using to make bio-oil. The renewable resource can be made into fuels that power a variety of vehicles and aircraft, as well as having the ability to heat and generate electricity for homes. BCoE masterminds are creating efficient, affordable energy from nature’s resources that naturally reduce the carbon dioxide levels in the air, making the fuels environmentally friendly, and they possess the power to re-kindle the economy. Micro-organism technology Drs. Todd French and Rafael Hernandez, scientists and professors in the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, discovered micro-organisms that grow naturally in wastewater. When adding an affordable carbohydrate concoction, they grow 80 percent of their weight to produce oil made to create biofuel. The Department of Energy is especially interested in this renewable resource because most of the country’s wastewater treatment facilities are more than 30 years old and need rebuilding. Incorporating this new technology can make most city wastewater treatment facilities money producers. Dr. Bill Elmore, Hunter Henry Chair and chemical engineering professor, is working on groundbreaking research that uses oil extracted from pond scum, commonly known as algae, to make biofuel that may be pumped into fuel tanks some day. This micro-algae, known as Botryococcus braunii, has been making headlines as the next answer to solving the world’s energy problem. Synthesis gas to liquid hydrocarbon technology Dr. Mark White, director of the Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering, has invented a catalyst that converts the gas from burning wood biomass—the limbs, leaves and bark—in a gasifier, called synthesis gas, into a liquid hydrocarbon that can be made into fuel or taken to a refinery to make other petroleum products, such as plastic. The product has the same energy-producing power as gasoline. Eugene Columbus, agriculture engineering and coordinator for biomass research, is partnering with White to build a pilot plant that will produce the liquid hydrocarbons at a quantity conducive to commercial production. In addition, Columbus has created an invention that uses synthesis gas to create electricity. Fast pyrolysis technology Dr. Phil Steele, Sustainable Energy Resource Center team thrust leader, oversees a process known as fast pyrolysis that produces bio-oil from the thermal degradation of biomass in the absence of air. The bio-oil is produced by the pyrolysis of biomass, which is made from wood, agricultural products and residues. With proper upgrading, the bio-oil can be used for home heating fuel, green gasoline and diesel. Drs. Bill Batchelor and Glenn Steele are the founders and co-directors of SERC. The center’s research on alternative fuels and energy earned the 2009 Innovator Award from the Southern Growth Policy Board, a regional think tank that recognizes innovators’ efforts to create economic opportunities through environmentally friendly research. SERC and the recently formed Energy Institute include more than 50 campus researchers representing a variety of disciplines. Since its formation in 2006, SERC experts and scientists have taken a $13 million Department of Energy grant and used the government’s investment to invent three renewable energy technologies. They include micro-organism research, synthesis gas to liquid hydrogen and bio-oil technology.
ENVIRONM & ENERGY
MENT
SCIENTIFIC DISCOVERY
The images Dr. Jenny Q. Du of electrical and computer engineering gets excited about are not that common. In fact, they are more fascinating than ordinary air or spaceborne images. The closest experience an everyday user could appreciate is when mapping a destination on Google Earth. It combines software that works with multi-spectral spaceborne camera technology, which is later processed to show a picture of the geological location selected. After simply typing in a destination and pressing the zoom-in function, the street names and buildings of the sites viewers seek are revealed. These geospatial software and hardware remote sensing and signal processing capabilities have evolved into a relatively recent technology called hyperspectral imaging (HSI), also known as imaging spectrometry. The differencefascinating details that provide more accurate and specific information than is possible using traditional multispectral technology. HSI identifies targets that have very similar backgrounds or finds targets that are smaller than the normal pixel size. For instance, HSI has been used by the military to detect military vehicles hidden under a partial vegetation canopy and to detect small military objects. Agricultural scientists use the technology to detect the progress or existence of crop disease in farm fields. The downside–using the existing HSI technology takes experts up to a couple of weeks to process the data sent from the air or spaceborne sensors. Du may have a remedy for the problem. She has created algorithm solutions that have the potential to process HSI data much quicker.
“Several federal agencies are very interested in real-time image processing. In other words, the imagery is processed quickly and available instantly. Right now, the time gap for the data collection, processing and evaluation is several weeks and by that time the problem may have escalated or changed,” explained Du. “I’m developing the algorithm design software that will perform on-board or near real-time processing. I call it on-board processing. It’s my hope to collaborate with hardware experts to develop a chip that we can attach to the air or spaceborne sensors and transfer this software to real technology.” Du’s algorithim design software adaptation to chip technology would enable the hyperspectral image data to be processed and analyzed while on-board the sensors, eliminating the lengthy time lag for results, and making information available to experts much more quickly. “We believe we have pretty mature algorithms. We’re getting to the point where we want to collaborate with a funding agency willing to invest in the research and fund the chip development to know the kinds of hardware and software co-design modifications needed for our algorithms,” she said.
PO Box 9544 Mississippi State, MS 39762
BCoE LEADERSHIP Dean Sarah A. Rajala rajala@bagley.msstate.edu 662.325.2270
Associate Dean Lori Mann Bruce bruce@bagley.msstate.edu 662.325.2270
Associate Dean Donna Reese dreese@bagley.msstate.edu 662.325.2270
Aerospace Engineering Pasquale Cinnella cinnella@ae.msstate.edu 662.325.3623
Computer Science and Engineering Ray Vaughn vaughn@cse.msstate.edu 662.325.2756
Agricultural and Biological Engineering William D. Batchelor batchelor@abe.msstate.edu 662.325.3280
Electrical and Computer Engineering Nicolas H. Younan younan@ece.msstate.edu 662.325.3912
Dave C. Swalm School of Chemical Engineering Mark G. White white@che.msstate.edu 662.325.2480
Industrial and Systems Engineering Royce O. Bowden bowden@ise.msstate.edu 662.325.7623
Civil and Environmental Engineering Dennis D. Truax truax@cee.msstate.edu 662.325.3050
Mechanical Engineering Louay M. Chamra chamra@me.msstate.edu 662.325.3260
Assistant Dean Tommy Stevenson tommy@bagley.msstate.edu 662.325.8449
Interim Vice President for Research and Economic Development W. Glenn Steele Mailing Address: P.O. Box 6343 Miss. State University, MS 39762 Phone Number: (662) 325-3570 Fax Number: (662) 325-8028 http://research.msstate.edu